Chapter 689: They Have Always Been There

THUD—!!!

A figure in white smashed into the earth like a cannonball!

The earth trembled, yet not a speck of dust rose. As Wuji Jun’s diamond-like, crystal-clear body slowly crawled out of the ravine in the earth, his eyes, flashing with angry light, locked onto the old man riding the black dragon in mid-air.

As Yao Qing pointed a finger into the air, the cracked earth instantly decomposed into endless embroidered silk, and in the next moment, it reorganized into billions of black mud snakes, surging toward Wuji Jun’s face like a tidal wave!

Wuji Jun’s indestructible body gradually slowed under the binding of these mud snakes.

Even the form he had struggled to crawl out of was submerged by the mire. These silk threads covered his head layer upon layer, like a heavy coffin, sealing him tightly beneath!

When the last mud snake covered the surface, the entire Embroidered Silk Realm fell into a deathly silence. Yao Qing, riding the black dragon, looked down at the earth, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

A brilliant, scorching sun lit up from beneath the ground, like a cigarette butt burning a fiery hole through the embroidery, and the intense heat waves spread wildly...

BOOM—!!!

An earth-shattering explosion tore through the embroidered picture, forcibly breaking open the heavy "coffin." Fine threads were ignited by the flames, drifting down from the sky in a flurry...

A somewhat disheveled figure slowly walked out from the scorching hot hole.

"If I weren't unable to use my full strength... you would never have had the chance to hurt me." Wuji Jun’s voice was extremely low.

"If my body were ten years younger, you would never have had the chance to crawl out." Yao Qing said calmly. "Neither of us is at our peak; what is the point of saying such things?"

Wuji Jun snorted coldly, wanting to say more, but his peripheral vision suddenly caught the red meteor streaking across the sky. His eyes narrowed slightly:

"No point? That might not be true."

Wuji Jun raised a hand in a summoning gesture, and the red meteor rapidly changed course, rushing straight toward him as if guided!

Seeing this, a sharp glint flashed in Yao Qing’s aged eyes. Without hesitation, he mobilized the embroidered silk within a hundred-mile radius, forming hundreds of giant hands that blotted out the sky, attempting to intercept the Philosopher's Stone!

In the blink of an eye, a sphere of mercury pierced through space, as if it were a part separated from the silver moon of the Wuji Realm, directly swallowing the Philosopher's Stone amidst the many silk threads.

The scarlet-flashing Philosopher's Stone rolled within the mercury sphere, with wisps of red lightning wandering about. The mercury sphere seemed to gain consciousness, its outline gradually changing until it possessed a torso and limbs.

Within ten seconds, a second "Wuji Jun" was born!

This "Wuji Jun" was identical in appearance to the original, but between his brows was a single Philosopher's Stone. Relying on the speed and power of a Nine-Lord level, he dodged all the silk thread obstructions and collided head-on with the original Wuji Jun!

THUD—!!

A visible shockwave swept through the Embroidered Picture Realm. The two Wuji Juns merged rapidly, and the brand-new Philosopher's Stone surged within the mercury-like body, finally traveling to Wuji Jun’s brow. The three Philosopher's Stones looked like three red petals engraved upon Wuji Jun’s skin!

Wuji Jun’s aura climbed once more!

Each Philosopher's Stone carried a portion of Wuji Jun’s soul. When the three stones gathered together, Wuji Jun’s combat power became more complete. Although it was barely half of his peak period, compared to the two stones from just moments ago, it was a qualitative leap!

On the black dragon, Yao Qing saw this scene, his expression extremely grave.

"Now... can you still suppress me?"

Wuji Jun walked forward slowly. As his footsteps fell, the earth woven from embroidered silk beneath his feet was turning into desert at an alarming rate.

Green willow trees, bright peach blossoms, flowing streams, cracked soil... everything seemed to be tampered with by an invisible hand. Coarse yellow sand swirled in the wind, instantly staining half of the Embroidered Silk Realm into a desolate, deathly desert.

This was not a scene woven by Yao Qing’s silk; Wuji Jun had directly disrupted the microscopic structure of the silk threads, completely transforming them into matter beyond Yao Qing’s control...

Wuji Jun was destroying Yao Qing’s [Ten Thousand Things Embroidery Kingdom] bit by bit!

In the vast desert, Wuji Jun raised his hands again, as if holding something in the void. The next moment, a massive, scorching sun gathered amidst the wind and sand!

Yao Qing’s expression changed repeatedly, and a flush of unnatural redness appeared on his cheeks... He covered his mouth with one hand, and his aged form couldn't help but cough uncontrollably.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!!"

Amidst the sound of coughing like a broken bellows, scarlet blood flowed down his fingertips, and his face turned as pale as paper.

His upper garment began to dry and weather bit by bit, eventually turning into sand and drifting away behind him, followed by his skin...

Fortunately, Yao Qing’s reaction was extremely fast. Invisible silk threads emerged from his flesh and blood, pinning the skin that was about to be transformed firmly to his body, preventing him from turning to ash on the spot. He glared at Wuji Jun with his bare chest, a murderous intent spreading wildly!

Wuji Jun’s gaze swept over Yao Qing’s body, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"As expected, you forcibly used the hibernation pod on yourself... but it seems the process didn't go smoothly."

On Yao Qing’s well-proportioned body, besides large patches of aged skin, there remained blood holes piercing through his shoulders, heart, lower abdomen, and thighs, as if some sort of heavy device had once pierced his body and connected into his flesh...

His joints had long since been crushed, and the bones in his arms and legs were all broken. His current movement was entirely supported by the silk threads connecting his limbs, like an aged marionette.

"That I am still standing here is enough." Yao Qing replied calmly.

"Is that so?" Wuji Jun said unhurriedly. "Although the hibernation pod can delay aging to a great extent, once the body leaves the device, it will wither rapidly... How much longer can you hold on? Five minutes? Ten minutes?"

Yao Qing did not answer. He silently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed intently on Wuji Jun.

"The longer the war lasts, the stronger I become, while you grow weaker and weaker..." Wuji Jun's body constantly transformed between different materials. That massive, scorching sun hung above his head, radiating heat crazily into the surroundings, yet he himself remained unaffected.

He narrowed his eyes and spoke with an oppressive tone:

"As long as I get 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 you can avoid the slaughter by protecting them in the main city of Red Dust? My killing machines have already entered the city; soon, the main city will be flowing with blood."

"The human body is indeed fragile, but humanity is far tougher than you imagine."

"Do you really think those ants of the Divine Path can stop the Wuji Domain? Or that those ordinary people with no power to truss a chicken can block my killing machines?" Wuji Jun let out a cold snort.

Yao Qing shook his head.

"You study science, you are absolutely rational, and you like to use numerical comparisons to measure everything... But I prefer to look at humanity itself with an emotional perspective; those people, those pioneers... I have witnessed with my own eyes what kind of power humanity can erupt with when they exist as a collective."

"I know the stories of those so-called pioneers," Wuji Jun said indifferently. "They were indeed very courageous, but unfortunately, they died in the passage of time long ago."

"No..." A faint glimmer flickered in Yao Qing's aged eyes.

"They have always been here."