Chapter 1448: When Humanity's Stars Shine Brightest (7) (Two in One Large Chapter)

When Humanity's Stars Shine Brightest (7) (Two in One Large Chapter)

"... Hmm?"

Hidden Clouds Domain.

Chu Changqing seemed to have sensed something, his gaze looking towards the direction of the Hanging Jade Domain...

At the same time, beast pupils as dense as stars blinked silently beneath the animal skin that blotted out the sky and sun. That "animal skin sky" surging with World-Ending Oppressive Aura also seemed to have sensed the disappearance of another World-Ending aura. A touch of astonishment emerged in all the beast pupils.

For hundreds of years, it was the first time a World-Destroying Tier aura had disappeared in this world.

Chu Changqing's gaze returned to that animal skin shrouding the firmament,

"The Red Star has already left, you have no reason to stay here... If you turn back now, there is still time."

In the countless beast pupils of the Calamity of Delusion, a touch of mockery emerged simultaneously. This Original Mother of the Vain Mountains didn't have the slightest intention to leave. As if it had set its mind on the Hidden Clouds Domain, one of the pupils contracted slightly, and a gaze that had almost condensed into physical form shrouded the earth!

After this, the second, third, and fourth pupils began to exert their power!

As the next gaze swept past, the soil was peeled away again. The surface dirt was directly annihilated and disappeared, revealing the tangled flesh and blood calamities entrenched below, as well as the stones that had originally been embedded in the earth...

In the next second, even the stones were continuously peeled away, visibly peeled from the size of a head to the size of a fist, then an egg...

Until finally, everything turned into fine dust, wandering in nothingness.

This nearly reality-annihilating ability forced Chu Changqing to cautiously wander on the edge of the gaze. But immediately after, those human skins that had already been peeled off stood up from the ruins one by one. Eerie beast pupils swirled in their eye sockets as they surrounded Chu Changqing from all directions!

The Calamity of Delusion opened more and more beast pupils. The strength and range of that peeling power frantically stacked, leaving less and less room for Chu Changqing to move.

The white-haired Chu Changqing's speed was already a large chunk slower than before. Even if every wave of his hand could throw out some differently shaped creatures, they were all directly peeled into cooked shrimp by a single gaze from the beast pupils above...

And those peeled skins would immediately be stitched into the shapes of the original creatures, pouncing towards Chu Changqing with bared fangs and brandished claws.

"Little Chu..."

"You... have disappointed me too much..."

The eerie voice imitating Lu Xun echoed sinisterly beneath the sky.

At the same time the Calamity of Delusion opened its thirteenth pupil, thirteen gazes from different directions had completely sealed off all of Chu Changqing's escape routes. Invisible Principles, like skinning blades hidden in nothingness, slashed towards Chu Changqing's figure!

Chu Changqing's pupils slightly contracted, raising his hand just about to make a move. The next moment, all the skin on his body disappeared in an instant!

The dripping flesh and blood were immediately exposed in the air. His bloody facial features still retained a trace of astonishment and terror. Those huge eyeballs that had lost the cover of eyelids almost popped out of their sockets. Every muscle line and blood vessel on his body was clearly visible!

The skinned Chu Changqing looked up at the animal skin blotting out the sky and sun, his hoarse vocal cords uttering his final sound:

"I... gave you a chance..."

Swish——

Immediately after, the blood vessels covering his body were peeled off simultaneously!

Flesh and blood!

Organs!

Under the gaze of the "Thirteen Pupils", in just a short two seconds, Chu Changqing turned into a bloody skeleton. His everything was peeled away layer by layer. Even when only bones were left, they were instantly extracted, leaving only a pool of bone marrow spilled on the earth...

Looking at that pool of "Chu Changqing" that couldn't be any deader, for some unknown reason, a trace of bewilderment arose in the Calamity of Delusion's dense beast pupils.

...

Tap—— Tap—— Tap...

Cangyun Base, underground.

Muffled footsteps echoed within the enclosed space. Old white hair silently fluttered. Chu Changqing walked through the long-dust-sealed underground corridor. In that quiet gaze was full of exhaustion...

After sensing the arrival of the Calamity of Delusion, Chu Changqing had already entered the true core area beneath the Cangyun Base. And what was entangled with the Calamity of Delusion outside now was merely "Biology No. 1 Chu Changqing", which he had replicated one-to-one using himself as a biological template.

Although Chu Changqing was a Nine Monarchs, he was still within the biological category. Using himself as a sample to cultivate a replica was not difficult for him. It was just that a replica was ultimately just a replica, allotted very little of the Nine Monarchs' power. It probably wouldn't last too long at the hands of the Calamity of Delusion.

Chu Changqing lowered his head, coughing lightly, his weak voice echoing in the corridor... Strands of old hair silently drifted to the ground.

Finally,

He stopped in front of a towering Hibernation Pod.

"It's so chaotic outside, yet you're sleeping peacefully." Chu Changqing coldly snorted.

Inside the Hibernation Pod, a man hung silently upside down in the Hibernation Pod fluid. Under the scientific research White Coat Wearer was a somewhat formal professional white shirt, with a black and blue striped tie meticulously tied, as if he had to maintain the decency of an adult even while hibernating.

Chu Changqing glanced at him, calmly opening a transparent umbrella picked up from nowhere. The five fingers of his other hand clenched into a fist...

Smashing violently towards that man's face!

BANG——!!!

Chu Changqing threw a punch, and the Hibernation Pod instantly exploded. The fluid contained inside splashed in all directions, like a blown water pipe, raining down a downpour underground!

The downpour pattered onto Chu Changqing's transparent umbrella, without a single drop wetting his figure.

His cyan-tinted pupils looked forward through the rain curtain... In a daze, a man stood up staggeringly from the floor full of fragments while pulling at his shirt collar and tie.

"Damn it... Did I gain weight, or did this tie shrink after soaking in the Hibernation Pod for too long? Almost strangled me to death!"

"Your bodily functions will not undergo any changes in the hibernation state. So, your tie shrank." Chu Changqing held the umbrella and replied calmly. "If I hadn't come, you would probably have become the first Nine Monarchs in history to be strangled to death by a tie."

"... Aren't you exaggerating a bit?"

"You're the one who started the rat race first. We agreed that everyone would hibernate together and be as comfortable as possible... In the end, you actually secretly tied a tie?"

"Wage earners are used to rat racing normally... Heh heh."

Qi Muyun pushed the round-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose and smiled awkwardly.

Rumble——

As the earth above continuously trembled, the smile on the corners of Qi Muyun's mouth instantly faded. He looked at the white-haired Chu Changqing before him and spoke slowly:

"To think that you would actually personally come to awaken me..."

"Does that mean..."

"I can live a little longer?"

Chu Changqing looked into his eyes and asked back: "Do you want to live a little longer?"

"What kind of thing is that to say? Who doesn't want to live a little longer?" Qi Muyun was somewhat helpless. "But doesn't this depend on the needs of the organization? You're an important pillar of our Nine Monarchs, holding the power over our lives... All of us trust you. No matter whose life you extend, we will unconditionally agree."

Although he said so with his mouth, if Qi Muyun said in his heart that he wasn't nervous, that would be impossible.

The current Chu Changqing was like that judge of life and death. With one golden word, he could determine the life and death of the Nine Monarchs... Standing in front of him, Qi Muyun suddenly had the feeling of facing his former office boss. That torment and oppressive feeling of waiting made him incomparably uncomfortable.

But he was only nervous about this process; he wasn't afraid of death.

Every Nine Monarchs who stepped into a Hibernation Pod had prepared themselves long ago... Perhaps the moment they opened their eyes next time, they would have to face death. This was also the reason why Qi Muyun secretly tied a tie for himself.

Their attire when they stepped into the Hibernation Pod was highly likely to be their "posthumous appearance and demeanor" when they died.

Unable to wear colorful shrouds, tying a tie would also appear a bit more solemn and decent.

"No, speak quickly! Whether it's life or death, I accept it. Could you not keep me in suspense?" Qi Muyun was truly incredibly nervous and actively asked.

Chu Changqing looked at him for a long time, finally nodding:

"You will live on."

Receiving this answer, Qi Muyun was instead taken aback:

"Then... what about him? Isn't your power only able to supply one person's life? If I live on... then what about him?"

"He will also live on."

The air suddenly fell into a dead silence.

Qi Muyun stared blankly at Chu Changqing, his gaze immediately sharpening!

"Chu Changqing, what are you going to do?"

"I made a mistake, Old Qi." A trace of a smile squeezed out on Chu Changqing's pale face. "If you make a mistake, you have to pay the price... Right?"

Qi Muyun's face also began to turn pale. He just looked at Chu Changqing's eyes like this...

The light that was once in his eyes was completely gone. Gray, lonely, blaming himself, guilty... Those eyes that were once as bright as emeralds were now like broken into fragments all over the ground, every grain emitting a suffocating pain.

For a moment, Qi Muyun couldn't speak.

He didn't know what exactly had happened outside to strike this once high-spirited biological genius to this extent. But he knew that since Chu Changqing had personally awakened him, he had no intention of leaving any leeway for himself...

"..." Qi Muyun opened his mouth, finally speaking hoarsely, "What do you need me to do?"

Chu Changqing gently raised his hand, pointing his fingertips at Qi Muyun's lips. The pad of his finger automatically split open, and a stream of scarlet blood flowed along his finger into Qi Muyun's stomach.

Qi Muyun's fists unconsciously clenched, but he didn't resist. Instead, he closed his eyes as if accepting his fate, feeling that bloody warmth drilling into his chest.

It was unknown how much time had passed before Chu Changqing moved his fingertips away from Qi Muyun's lips.

"From now on, take 1000 milliliters of blood from my body every day." After actively offering his blood, Chu Changqing's face became even paler, and even his voice was much weaker. "Stop for one day, and you will die."

Qi Muyun opened his pupils, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and smiled miserably:

"This feeling really isn't comfortable... Can I still back out now? How about you choose someone else to live?"

Chu Changqing glared at him.

Qi Muyun immediately shut up.

"Then what about now?" Qi Muyun pointed upwards. "There seems to be something causing a ruckus up there, should we slaughter it?"

"I have no combat power right now. With just you alone, can you kill it?"

"Uh..."

"Delay it."

"Delaying it is no problem... What are you going to do?"

"Go awaken that person." Chu Changqing paused for a moment. "This farce should end."

"Is the Main DPS finally going to return... With him around, the pressure will indeed be much smaller." Qi Muyun nodded. "But on my own, I can only delay it for twenty minutes at most. Although this place is relatively the closest to the Lingxu Base among other bases, the actual distance is also very far...

With your current state, is there enough time?"

Chu Changqing's gaze looked towards the northwest. His voice was calm and resolute,

"There is enough time."

...

"Careful!!"

"The Calamity of Delusion is approaching here!!"

Tu Tian, carrying a bloodstained banner on his back, shuttled rapidly across the battlefield. At this time, he was already covered in injuries. Even the wounds on his shoulders and knees were torn, revealing ghastly white bones, but he still gritted his teeth and roared with all his might!

At the same time, the expressions of those trapped by the giant flesh and blood plants instantly changed.

Because the roots and leaves of the plants had already interwoven into patches, blocking the streets, they could barely see the scene in the sky, nor could they see that "animal skin sky" slowly moving towards the battlefield. But that terrifying World-Ending Oppressive Aura had already made everyone's hearts tremble.

The crowd couldn't see clearly, but Tu Tian, who was shuttling above the battlefield carrying the banner, saw it clearly.

As that animal skin sky approached, dense beast pupils opened from beneath the skin. Large swaths of the city were "peeled"... The asphalt road on the surface was directly peeled off, revealing the soil. The numerous buildings were left with only messy reinforced concrete frameworks. The cars on the road turned into scrap iron. Even the messy streetlights lost their outer lampshades, revealing sections of filaments inside...

Even those flesh and blood plants entrenched on the surface of the buildings instantly turned into incomplete stems and threads, deprived of life.

The Calamity of Delusion simply made no distinction between friend and foe!

Anyway, what attacked this city wasn't the Calamity of the Vain Mountains, but the plants of the Bitter Flesh Forest. Since that was the case, it didn't care at all about the life and death of these Calamities. It only wanted to thoroughly turn this domain into a new "Vain Mountains"!

Right at this moment, faint thunder rang out from above the animal skin.

Rumble——

Tu Tian was taken aback. He stopped his figure in a daze above a building.

He had never heard such muffled and dense thunder...

He looked up, only to see that clouds and mist, like chaos, had at some point shrouded the sky above the Hidden Clouds Domain. Lightning plasma, almost condensed into physical form, flowed down from between the cloud layers, like the water of destruction poured down by the God of Thunder, descending from the sky!!

RUMBLE RUMBLE——!!!

At this moment, hundreds of millions of thunderbolts exploded simultaneously. All those lightning plasmas above the firmament irrigated the surface of the animal skin blocking the sky. The sky flashed frantically, and the blinding light almost burned Tu Tian's retinas.

Immediately after, an extremely foul burnt smell spread across the entire domain. At the same time, an eerie and ghastly howl rang out from above the animal skin!!

"To actually take the initiative to approach the sky..."

"What a fool."

The wet White Coat Wearer fluttered silently. A man silently tied the black and blue tie of his shirt, looking up at the firmament.

An aura of the Nine Sovereign Tier abruptly exploded amidst the roar of ten thousand thunderbolts!

The Lord of Hidden Clouds, Qi Muyun.