Chapter 688: They've Always Been Here

Boom—!!!

A white-robed figure crashed into the earth like a cannonball!

The earth trembled, yet not a speck of dust rose. As Monarch Wuji's diamond-like, translucent body slowly emerged from the trench in the ground, his eyes, gleaming with fury, locked onto the old man hovering in mid-air, standing atop a black dragon.

As Yao Qing raised a finger and pointed into the air, the cracked earth instantly disintegrated into countless embroidery threads, only to reassemble the next moment, transforming into billions of black mud snakes that surged overwhelmingly towards Monarch Wuji.

Monarch Wuji's indestructible body gradually became sluggish under the binding of these mud snakes.

His body, which had barely managed to emerge, was again engulfed by the mud. These embroidery threads covered him layer upon layer, like an impossibly heavy coffin, sealing him tightly beneath.

When the last mud snake covered the surface, the entire embroidered realm fell into dead silence. Yao Qing, standing on the black dragon, looked down at the earth, his brows furrowing ever more deeply.

A brilliant sun flared from beneath the ground, as if a cigarette had burned a fiery red hole in an embroidery, its scorching aftershocks spreading wildly...

Boom—!!!

An earth-shattering explosion tore open the embroidery, forcibly breaking open the heavy "coffin." Fine threads, ignited by the flames, drifted down from the air.

A slightly disheveled figure slowly emerged from the scorching, hot void.

“If I weren't unable to use my full power... you wouldn't have had a chance to harm me,” Monarch Wuji's voice was exceedingly deep.

“If my body were ten years younger, you wouldn't have had a chance to crawl out,” Yao Qing said calmly. “Neither of us is at our peak. What's the point of saying all this?”

Monarch Wuji snorted coldly, about to say more, when his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a red meteor streaking across the sky. His eyes narrowed slightly:

“No point? That's not necessarily true.”

Monarch Wuji raised a hand and beckoned; the red meteor sharply changed course, rocketing directly towards him as if guided.

Seeing this, a glint flashed in Yao Qing's aged eyes. Without hesitation, he mobilized the embroidery threads within a hundred-mile radius, transforming them into hundreds of colossal, sky-obscuring hands, attempting to block the Philosopher's Stone.

In a flash, a sphere of mercury pierced through space, as if a part of the mercury moon from the Wuji Realm, directly engulfing the Philosopher's Stone surrounded by the numerous embroidery threads.

The crimson-glowing Philosopher's Stone tumbled within the mercury sphere, tendrils of red lightning coursing through it. The sphere of mercury seemed to gain sentience, gradually changing its outline, developing a torso and four limbs.

Within a mere ten seconds, a second "Monarch Wuji" was birthed!

This "Monarch Wuji" was identical to the original in appearance, but had only one Philosopher's Stone between its brows. Relying on its Nine Monarch-level speed and strength, it narrowly avoided all embroidery thread obstructions and slammed into Monarch Wuji's main body.

Boom—!!

A visible shockwave swept through the embroidered realm. The two Monarch Wujis rapidly merged, the brand new Philosopher's Stone churning within the mercury-like body, eventually moving to Monarch Wuji's glabella. The three Philosopher's Stones, like three red petals, were engraved upon Monarch Wuji's skin!

Monarch Wuji's aura surged once more!

Each Philosopher's Stone carried a part of Monarch Wuji's soul. When all three Philosopher's Stones gathered, Monarch Wuji's combat power became more complete. Although it was barely half of his peak strength, it was already a qualitative leap compared to when he had only two Philosopher's Stones.

Aboard the black dragon, Yao Qing watched this scene, his expression extremely grave.

“Now... can you still suppress me?”

Monarch Wuji slowly stepped forward. With each stride, the earth, woven from embroidery threads beneath his feet, began to transform into desert at an astonishing speed.

Emerald willows, vibrant peach blossoms, flowing streams, cracked soil... everything seemed to be altered by an unseen hand. Coarse yellow sand spun in the wind, instantly transforming half of the embroidered realm into a desolate, lifeless desert.

This was not a landscape woven by Yao Qing's embroidery threads; instead, Monarch Wuji had directly disrupted the threads' microscopic structure, completely transforming them into matter beyond Yao Qing's control.

Monarch Wuji was, little by little, destroying Yao Qing's Embroidered Kingdom of All Things!

In the vast desert, Monarch Wuji bent down, his hands rising again as if cupping something in the void. The next moment, a colossal sun began to gather amidst the wind-blown sand!

Yao Qing's expression changed repeatedly, his cheeks flushing with an unnatural redness. He covered his mouth with one hand, his aged body uncontrollably breaking into coughs.

“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!!”

Amidst the bellows-like coughing, crimson blood flowed down his fingertips. His face was ashen.

His upper garment slowly cracked and weathered, eventually even turning into sand and scattering behind him, followed immediately by his skin...

Fortunately, Yao Qing reacted incredibly quickly. Invisible embroidery threads emanated from within his flesh, forcefully anchoring the transforming skin to his body, preventing him from perishing on the spot. Bare-chested, he glared furiously at Monarch Wuji, a wave of killing intent spreading wildly.

Monarch Wuji's gaze swept over Yao Qing's body, his eyes narrowing slightly:

“Indeed, you forcibly used the stasis pod on yourself... but it seems the process was not smooth.”

On Yao Qing's well-proportioned body, besides large patches of aged skin, there were still blood holes piercing through his shoulders, heart, lower abdomen, and thighs, as if some extremely heavy device had once penetrated his body, connecting deep within his flesh.

His joints were long since shattered, and the bones in his arms and legs were completely broken. His movements at this moment were entirely supported by the embroidery threads connecting his limbs, making him resemble an aged marionette.

“The fact that I'm still standing here is enough,” Yao Qing replied calmly.

“Is that so?” Monarch Wuji said unhurriedly, “While the stasis pod can greatly delay aging, the body rapidly deteriorates once it leaves the device... How much longer can you last now? Five minutes? Ten minutes?”

Yao Qing did not reply. He silently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed on Monarch Wuji with a grave expression.

“The longer this war goes on, the stronger I become, and the weaker you will get...” Monarch Wuji's body continuously shifted between different materials. The colossal sun hung above his head, wildly emitting radiation outwards, yet he himself remained unaffected.

He narrowed his eyes, speaking with oppressive gravitas:

“If I can just acquire one more Philosopher's Stone, I will surely kill you on the spot!”

“The next Philosopher's Stone?” Yao Qing said in a deep voice, “I'm afraid it won't be that easy.”

“Do you think protecting them in the Main City of the Mortal Realm will allow them to escape the slaughter? My killing machines have already entered the city. Soon, the main city will be awash in blood.”

“The human body is indeed fragile; but humanity is far stronger than you imagine.”

“Do you really believe those few Divine Dao ants can stop the Wuji Realm? Or that those ordinary people, who can't even tie a chicken, can stop my killing machines?” Monarch Wuji snorted coldly.

Yao Qing shook his head.

“You study science, you are absolutely rational, you like to measure everything with numerical comparisons... but I prefer to look at humanity itself with a more emotional perspective; those people, those pioneers... I have personally witnessed the power humanity can unleash when it exists as a collective.”

“I know the stories of your so-called pioneers,” Monarch Wuji said indifferently. “They were indeed very brave, but unfortunately, they died long ago to the passage of time.”

“No...” A faint light flickered in Yao Qing's aged eyes,

“They have always been there.”