Chapter 1452: The Real Insidious Person

Tu Xin seemed to emit no aura, yet only beings at the pseudo-eleventh stage, having touched the realm of the Singularity, could truly grasp his immense power. He was, in essence, a completely different type of being. Compared to him, ordinary pseudo "mental eleventh-stage" beings who had merely grasped the Singularity were like small, unassuming hills confronting a colossal, majestic mountain; the sheer awe was overwhelming.

"Do you see?" he said softly. "Compared to you cripples, I am the perfect Singularity being, my entire body composed of singularities. You, on the other hand, are merely incomplete, defective products."

With a single palm, he effortlessly swatted away the Insectoid Mother, as easily as swatting a fly, causing her body to burst into pieces.

"Die," Tu Xin said, narrowing his eyes. He extended a finger, and a beam of light shot forth.

"This is—"

*Boom!*

The Insectoid Mother felt as if she had been violently pierced by a true singularity of cosmic creation, one formed from the collapse of a trillion colossal stars; she was utterly vulnerable. This was a terrifying combat power that far surpassed even Emperor Zun's previous display. The disparity in skill was immense. It was akin to an elementary school student, armed only with addition and subtraction, confronting a university student's advanced calculus; their respective data processing and skill application were simply not on the same level.

"This is ultimate power, the true culmination," Tu Xin declared. "I spent one hundred million years in the future, cultivating in a single breath to what is regarded as the ultimate power even in our prosperous era of future star beings—the weak twelfth stage!"

"In the future universe, ten pseudo-twelfth stage beings stand at the apex. They are the ten highest pseudo-creator gods, each governing the creation and destruction of a parallel universe. The cosmos itself ebbs and flows in their hands. I am one of these twelve creators." Tu Xin slowly turned to Emperor Zun, "I am from one hundred million years in the future. How do you intend to defeat me?"

Xu Zhi glanced at the exploded Insectoid Mother. Judging purely by the severity of her injuries, the power levels of the two sides were clearly no longer comparable. Tu Xin himself was perpetually in the most perfect "Singularity form," his very being simultaneously collapsing and exploding, creating a sight of extreme beauty. He was, in his entirety, a complete embodiment of the Grand Dao, the Singularity—the Dao itself!

Xu Zhi's scalp tingled. "This is problematic," he thought. "Although he is still a collapsing, incomplete singularity... this level of power already exceeds my current limits."

He could learn from the Insectoid Mother! He could even take over her existence. This was because he could secretly control bloodline-based beings; using the Great Universe cultivation methods of the bloodline side, his own bloodline singularity could assimilate their bloodline bodies.

However, his opponent was a new form of life. Due to the difference in species, Xu Zhi found it impossible to influence them. Unless he himself first reached the true eleventh stage and possessed the Great Universe cultivation method of a perfect singularity, which would be capable of encompassing life forms from any system, including these new system beings... This was precisely why Xu Zhi intended to be the first to break through to the eleventh stage.

"But now..." Xu Zhi was momentarily silent. "It's like unleashing a monster! The threat of these new life forms truly represents the major trend in the cosmos, exerting an unseen suppressive effect on me, an anomaly. It's akin to the body's natural defense mechanism resisting an external cancerous invasion."

Xu Zhi frowned, finding himself thinking that the Master of the Eternal Life Dao Palace was an utter fool! Wasn't he just nurturing an even more terrifying monster in an attempt to defeat him? These monsters' greatest limitation was time, yet he was now bending the rules to grant them more? This was simply the most idiotic course of action! To possess the immense power to control time, only to use it to fuel the rapid growth of newly born enemies—this was clearly the most perilous and unfavorable situation.

Furthermore, considering his control over the myriad worlds of bloodlines compared to the dominance of these new-era beings—who were completely immune to bloodlines—it was obvious that a victory for him, an ancient entity from a prehistoric universe, would be far preferable. Their defeat at his hands would be better than their defeat by Tu Xin.

Xu Zhi took a deep breath. "I overestimated the Master of the Eternal Life Realm. So much time has passed, his mind must be addled! It would be one thing if he himself came one hundred million years into the future, but to allow these new beings to arrive one hundred million years hence... they can reach the pinnacle of their civilization!"

Tu Xin reached out. Emperor Zun swiftly exploded into a cloud of blood mist. Yet, in the very next second, Emperor Zun slowly regenerated, reappearing in the distance with a heavy expression. A direct confrontation... would be quite troublesome.

He had now integrated the myriad worlds, along with the Insectoid Mothers and what were likely the universe's foremost geniuses. One could say that 99.9% of the combat power and wisdom of the old bloodline era were now concentrated within him.

"But this isn't an absolute dead end," Xu Zhi mused. "I can't defeat him now, but he can't kill me either... I could even escape this battle, return, and slowly deduce a solution, letting them provide their wisdom and work together. Perhaps I wouldn't even need a hundred million years to achieve it quickly, but..."

Tu Xin was simply too terrifying now. If he were to leave, Tu Xin alone, given sufficient time, would undoubtedly flatten the entire myriad worlds! All of his painstaking efforts would be reduced to ashes... He alone could sweep across the entire Nine-Yuan Universe. And as the myriad worlds diminished, his computing power would likewise decline, leading to a steady weakening. He feared he might not even have the strength left to turn the tide.

"The grand trend of this new era—is it still so difficult for me to resist?" Xu Zhi constantly weighed his options, feeling that despite all his caution, reality remained relentlessly cruel. He began to deduce the optimal way to handle this predicament.

"What's wrong?" Tu Xin's eyebrows arched slightly, his blood boiling as he gazed at the man before him with immense admiration, a sense of kindred spirit between them. "Come on, ancient being from the prehistoric universe, reveal your true trump card. You're not actually planning to defeat me, the strong, with your current weaker realm, are you?"

Meanwhile, on the other side. The Insectoid Mother was utterly dumbfounded. If this weren't still the era of the bloodline universe—where they were saints who controlled the Heavenly Dao, where this was their home turf, where the rules hadn't vanished, and where that guy's era hadn't yet arrived—that last strike would have instantly killed them.

"You old schemer, what kind of monster have you unleashed?" the Insectoid Mother directly cursed. "If you do this, we're dead either way! If Tu Xin wins, he'll be even less likely to spare us!"

*Cough, cough, cough.* Zhi Zhu, Master of the Eternal Life Realm, his face extremely pale, coughed twice, yet a strange, knowing curve touched his lips. "You are too young; you completely fail to see my grand design! Hurry and lie on the ground, just play dead. We have this victory in the bag; we are absolutely invincible!"

The Insectoid Mother froze. "Make me play dead?" "You old schemer, you're so practiced at that."

Immediately, a stir arose within the Insectoid Mothers. "Back then, during the War of the Eternal Life Realm, I bet this old schemer also played dead on the ground, which is how he achieved his final victory." "He probably waited for the time master to be distracted, then launched a sneak attack, and afterwards, masquerading as the time master, he took control of powerful generals like Rong Cheng in the Eternal Life Realm..." The Insectoid Mothers whispered among themselves, constantly speculating.

In the past, when three great beings competed, Zhi Zhu was clearly the weakest, only commanding dimensional space. He possessed neither the advantage of Ren Jiu, the creator and master of the great ship that was the Eternal Life Realm, nor the Insectoid Race's mastery over the origin of life. Yet, he alone emerged victorious! The weakest and most inconspicuous one somehow won, a clear testament to his cunning! They realized they had underestimated the Master of the Eternal Life Realm, who had always remained silent and appeared rather unremarkable. A silent dog is the one that bites. The more insidious a person is, the better they are at concealment.

Reflecting on it now, this Master of the Eternal Life Realm, who was clearly the most terrifying mastermind in the universe, had, after his initial, unavoidable appearances, somehow managed to be consciously or unconsciously ignored by them until now... This was far from normal.

"That old schemer, acting like a transparent man, collapsing onto the ground after a brutal fight—we almost overlooked him too," several Insectoid Mothers cursed internally. Such an ancient cosmic being's calculations were terrifying; he could manipulate others to their deaths in mere minutes!

However, they no longer mocked him. Instead, they spoke earnestly: "Senior is truly remarkable. Have you come up with another idea? Are you suggesting we also lie on the ground and play dead? What is the reason for this?"

The Insectoid Mother's eyes widened in surprise. "Could it be that all of this, from beginning to end, has been part of your calculations? We can still win? We can win just by lying on the ground and playing dead?" They couldn't fathom how; it was simply too bizarre!

"You Insectoids are all dull, reckless simpletons; how could you possibly understand my mind?" Zhi Zhu chuckled, then spoke earnestly. "Did you truly believe that I made no preparations for allowing Tu Xin to cultivate within the Eternal Life Realm?"

Everyone was puzzled. Zhi Zhu suddenly changed the topic. "What is the true essence of martial arts?" he asked.

The Insectoid Mother pondered for a moment before replying, "So-called martial arts are, at their core, techniques for killing. The strongest martial arts, then, must be those that employ the most subtle and minimal force to defeat enemies infinitely more powerful than oneself." The miraculous martial arts of those individuals were founded on this very principle. Using one's tiny, ant-like body to overcome light-year-sized giants—that was the embodiment of it.

"Do you still not understand?" Zhi Zhu smiled. "Playing dead is the most powerful martial art in the universe. Is it not the art of using the absolute least amount of force to defeat the strongest enemy?"

The Insectoid Mother was utterly shocked.

"Haven't you realized yet? The three of us, throughout this battle, have successively 'fallen' and pretended to be dead, playing our roles perfectly." With his hands clasped behind his back, Zhi Zhu calmly stated, "I know Ren Jiu's personality; he will always be passionate and spirited. He wasn't truly playing dead, but was on the verge of death. However, his initial 'collapse' was so convincing that with him setting the precedent, subsequent 'falls' wouldn't be suspected. I was the second to 'fall,' and now you are the third... Hurry and lie down."

Still puzzled, the Insectoid Mother frowned. "I don't quite understand your plan, Senior. If we go through all the trouble of playing dead and lying on the ground, we'll still be killed in the end. This seems rather foolish."

"No, playing dead is merely one step," Zhi Zhu replied. "Do you think Tu Xin doesn't have a contingency plan?"

"Time and space are sufficient to grasp all changes. Tu Xin cultivates within, believing his hidden cultivation method is flawless. Yet, he is cultivating on my territory; I have long been secretly observing the changes in every single particle of his being. The Eternal Life Realm has already recorded the method to achieve a 'permanent singularity state'..."

The Insectoid Mother was instantly shocked. "This old man is truly devious," she thought. It seemed everything was within his calculations! If the combined might of the Insectoid Mothers could defeat Emperor Zun, then victory would be assured. If they couldn't defeat him, they would simply let Tu Xin act, then opportunistically lie on the ground and play dead, secretly learning the new cultivation method Tu Xin had just deduced. Either way, they wouldn't lose.

What cunning! Several Insectoid Mothers exclaimed, realizing how naive they were.