Chapter 1450: When Humanity's Stars Shine Brightest (9) (Two in One)

When Humanity's Stars Shine Brightest (9) (Two in One)

Hidden Clouds Domain.

Dense lightning wandered under the dark clouds. Faintly, it seemed as if a giant dark blue dragon was traveling through them.

The Calamity of Delusion that had originally covered the sky had already given up its "high-altitude advantage". It folded its exaggeratedly huge skin back into a human contour, crawling rapidly on all fours across the ruined ground.

Just as the Lord of Hidden Clouds had said, when fighting him, the closer you were to the sky, the faster you died. Even the Calamity of Delusion didn't want to experience the feeling of being struck by five hundred million thunderbolts again.

But having returned to the "human" contour, the Calamity of Delusion also stopped pretending entirely. While crawling rapidly on all fours like a beast, beast pupils opened on every inch of skin covering its entire body, looking at every corner around it from all directions with no blind spots.

Wherever it passed, every building, every inch of earth, was peeled away and annihilated... It was like an eraser peeling reality down to its bones, wiping a long, empty trace across a messy blackboard.

"Little Qi..."

"Just where are you hiding..."

It didn't notice that two streets away from it, a figure seemed to be surrounded by the wind, quietly hovering in the air. The Lord of Hidden Clouds' black and blue tie fluttered silently. His eyes were tightly closed, sensing the flow of every wisp of "wind" within this domain.

In this domain, he was like an omniscient god. As long as there was air, he could sense everything.

Therefore, whenever the Calamity of Delusion approached, he could silently hover and change positions, and then "accidentally" release some aura, drawing the Calamity of Delusion to turn its head and give chase, as if conducting a large-scale fishing game.

"There are still survivors in that direction, can't go there." He closed his eyes and muttered.

In the next second, in the nothingness where the Calamity of Delusion was advancing, a terrifying mass of energy exploded out of thin air without any warning!

BOOM——!!!

This "thunderbolt" from the Lord of Hidden Clouds wasn't the same as natural lightning. That was the instantaneous release of extreme magnetic energy from the surface of a neutron star... also known as a "Magnetar Giant Flare".

Under the blinding flash, the energy released instantaneously was close to the sun's. Even if the naked eye couldn't see any flashes or fluctuations, the terrifying energy had already directly overturned the Calamity of Delusion charging towards that direction, sending it flying extremely far like a cannonball!

But sensing this scene, no joy emerged on the Lord of Hidden Clouds' face, but rather it grew even more solemn...

The destructive power of the Magnetar Giant Flare was definitely more than just this little bit. It was the Calamity of Delusion using its gaze to peel away the energy it produced layer by layer the instant this invisible "thunderstorm" erupted. Ultimately, only a very small portion was able to penetrate the gaze blockade and actually injure the Calamity of Delusion itself.

"Besides matter, you can even peel energy bodies?" The Lord of Hidden Clouds had somewhat of a headache, "What a pervert..."

Amidst the drifting dust, the Calamity of Delusion slowly crawled up from the ruins. A patch of animal skin on its chest had already been scorched black by the electricity. It seemed to have been thoroughly enraged by the Lord of Hidden Clouds' trick, and also realized that as long as the Lord of Hidden Clouds didn't want it to, it fundamentally couldn't catch him in this domain.

It let out a low growl, its figure directly changing direction, charging straight towards those humans fighting in the Bitter Flesh Forest blockade battlefield!

Seeing this scene, the Lord of Hidden Clouds' heart turned cold.

"Oh no..."

Who said this Calamity of Delusion was dumb?

It knew it couldn't find him, so it would think of a way to force him out!

Watching the Calamity of Delusion charging towards the crowd fighting the Bitter Flesh Forest Calamities, the Lord of Hidden Clouds couldn't hide anymore. Once the Calamity of Delusion intervened in the battlefield, it would be a one-sided slaughter. No matter what, he couldn't watch the people he protected be peeled to death.

He no longer concealed his figure, soaring into the air. At the same time, his sleeves stirred slightly in the air, and an extreme cold wave that seemed to come from the Ice Age spread frantically to the surroundings!

The cold wave triggered by the Lord of Hidden Clouds was even colder than the freezing sea of the Forbidden Sea. Visible thick frost covered the earth, directly turning this area into a snow country. Even the body of the Calamity of Delusion charging in the distance was frozen...

But in the next moment, the frost on the Calamity of Delusion's body rapidly melted, peeling off layer by layer, and finally, with a gentle shake, completely collapsed!

All the beast pupils on its body simultaneously looked behind it!

In this world of ice and snow, a massive clump of mist mixed with ice crystals spun upwards. It seemed to contain a human figure inside, but it couldn't be seen clearly.

The Lord of Hidden Clouds was very clear that when fighting the Calamity of Delusion, he absolutely could not let its gaze see him. Once his true body was exposed, even for just a second, it could peel him down to the bone marrow...

But even with the ice mist protecting his body, it fundamentally couldn't block the Calamity of Delusion for long.

The dense beast pupils on the surface of the Calamity of Delusion's body constantly contracted. That ice mist with a radius of a full few kilometers was peeled down to only a fifth in the blink of an eye. The Imitator Human-like body of the Calamity of Delusion prostrated on the ground, and then its four limbs shattered the earth with a boom, charging towards that clump of ice mist like lightning!

Crackle—— Crackle—— Crackle!!

Countless streaks of lightning, like swords of judgment, frantically struck the Calamity of Delusion's body, yet failed to delay it in the slightest.

The eight beast pupils on its back dealt with all the attacks from the sky. The seven beast pupils directly in front frantically peeled the ice mist before its eyes. With fifteen pupils fully opened, it was like a moving principle; whatever attack charged towards it would be weakened to the minimum.

However, after its figure pierced through the ice mist, it discovered...

Inside the ice mist, there was no one.

"Heh heh."

A faint, teasing sound of Mockery came from the distance.

The Calamity of Delusion turned its head in astonishment, discovering that ten identical clumps of ice mist were slowly rising from different directions around it, each seemingly hiding a figure!

"You..."

"Are playing me????"

The Calamity of Delusion was thoroughly enraged. This time, it was so angry it even forgot to imitate a human voice. A sound that belonged to either a monkey, a horse, or a deer echoed from within its body. The Imitator Human form directly exploded, extending frantically. One beast pupil after another continuously appeared on the animal skin!

Sixteen pupils, seventeen pupils, eighteen pupils... twenty-five pupils... thirty pupils... thirty-five pupils...

With the expansion of the animal skin, within just a short few seconds, the number of the Calamity of Delusion's pupils had almost doubled compared to before. The scalp-numbing beast pupils covered almost every direction, and a terrifying World-Ending aura surged to the surroundings!

The ice mist was annihilating, the dark clouds were dispersing. Even the Lord of Hidden Clouds, hiding in some ruined building, felt the reinforced concrete above his head frantically dissipating!

Didn't you like to hide?

Then I'll peel everything here into nothingness; let's see if you still won't come out!

Under the stacking of thirty-five pupils, all matter around the Calamity of Delusion began to dissipate. Seeing this scene, the Lord of Hidden Clouds couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"Chu Changqing oh Chu Changqing... I can't stall for much longer. If you don't make some noise soon, I'm afraid the entire Hidden Clouds Domain will be gone..."

Before the Lord of Hidden Clouds finished speaking,

A comet-like giant shadow scraped out spatial ripples in the nothingness fifteen kilometers outside the Hidden Clouds Domain, and then accelerated again, accurately speeding towards a certain World-Ending Calamity among the ruins!

The Calamity of Delusion, currently in a state of fury, seemed to sense something. Half of its gazes simultaneously looked towards the northwest!

A blinding mass of white light rapidly enlarged in thirty-five beast pupils!!

BOOM——!!!

Under the effect of the thirty-five pupils, that white light was instantly weakened by more than half, but even so, the terrifying kinetic energy it carried still crashed roaringly into the Calamity of Delusion's body. The apocalyptic aftermath of the collision swept across the sky above the Hidden Clouds Domain, directly shattering the nearby flesh and blood plants into pieces!

At this moment, the Calamity of Delusion was like an antelope hit by a large truck traveling at full speed, instantly bounced back more than ten kilometers!!

Its body streaked out of the core area of the Hidden Clouds Domain like a shooting star, and then smashed heavily onto the peripheral earth, kicking up a massive amount of dust...

Before it could recover its wits, the second "comet" seemed to have already anticipated its landing spot, speeding right up to its face!

BOOM——!!!

It was another earth-shattering collision. Even though the Calamity of Delusion had prepared this time with all thirty-five pupils open, it still failed to weaken the "comet" too much. Its body was directly uncontrollably knocked out of the Hidden Clouds Domain, crashing onto the barren earth of the Gray World!

Two comets knocked the Calamity of Delusion out of the bounds of the Hidden Clouds Domain. This scene directly shocked the entire domain!

"What's going on? What happened?!"

"The Calamity of Delusion was actually knocked away just like that? How is this possible??"

"I don't know... perhaps another Nine Monarchs took action?"

"But did you see a figure?"

"No... but the comets that knocked the Calamity of Delusion away seemed to come from the northwest."

"Northwest?"

"Could it be..."

Dust permeated the earth of the Gray World...

The enraged Calamity of Delusion slowly crawled out from the cracked earth. Every beast pupil was trembling slightly, as if it was so angry it was about to explode. All of its eyes were frantically searching for a target, but even though it looked as far as it could, it didn't see the existence of any enemies.

At this moment, a touch of confusion simultaneously emerged in those angry pupils of the Calamity of Delusion...

Where on earth was the enemy?

...

One thousand eight hundred kilometers away.

A breeze brushed through the mountain forest, making a rustling sound.

A figure with slightly curly hair stood in front of the door of the Spirit Void Ancient Temple, gently picking up a cobblestone from the ground.

"During this period of hibernation, I dreamt of many things from the past."

"The funniest among them was when we discussed the hibernation plan before... Do you remember? When Old Lu proposed this plan, I was the only one who refused."

"The way you guys looked at me back then changed, shocked, confused... You must have been thinking, how could someone like me, who has no opinions, no subjective initiative, and just accepts whatever comes, refuse Old Lu's proposal?"

"I remember Old Lu asked me very patiently and solemnly back then why..."

"I said, because I'm afraid of the dark, and also claustrophobic."

"Hahaha... I still can't forget the wonderful expressions you guys had back then!"

"Yeah, who would have thought that a Nine Monarchs protecting a region would actually be afraid of the dark and enclosed environments... At the time, Ji Xuan and Qi Muyun, those two guys, laughed the loudest. As for you, I remember you, you also laughed, secretly covering your mouth."

"Later, Old Lu built this temple for me, a temple with excellent lighting and ventilation from front to back."

"He said... the outer shell of the Hibernation Pod is transparent. As long as I'm placed here, as soon as I open my eyes, I can see this room, as well as the swaying tree shadows and the moon outside, so it doesn't count as an enclosed environment."

"... He was always like that."

"You said you made a mistake and would disappoint him. Although I don't know what happened to you, there is at least one thing I can be certain of... and that is Old Lu would absolutely not blame you."

"If making mistakes would disappoint him, then he should have been thoroughly disappointed in me long ago."

The white-haired figure lay flat on the wooden planks in front of the ancient temple. Chu Changqing's hands were folded across his chest, as if he had already fallen into a deep sleep... The dancing tree shadows swept traces across his body, his pale face quiet and peaceful.

In front of the ancient temple's door, Wu Tongyuan, while pinching the cobblestone in his hand, glanced at him and said calmly:

"Old Lu said that a large part of the reason for the Red Star's Return is because it sensed that some biological entity was trying to control its power. The World-Endings in the Gray World, the Nine Monarchs of humanity, are all targets it wants to destroy."

"The reason we chose to enter hibernation, aside from extending our lives, more importantly, was to delay the speed of the Red Star's Return by suppressing our own life fluctuations, giving humanity a bit more room to breathe."

"The reason Old Lu didn't let you awaken us before the Red Star returned was also because once we were awakened, errors would appear in his calculations of the Red Star's trajectory..."

"So, to have been able to hold on until now by just a few of you fighting against those World-Endings, without waking us up... is already very good."

Wu Tongyuan walked to the front of the sleeping Chu Changqing, his gaze somewhat complex:

"If Old Lu were still here, not only would he not blame you, he would probably even pat your shoulder and say... thanks for your hard work."

Chu Changqing's eyelashes fluttered gently for a moment.

Then he fell back into dead silence.

"Sleep peacefully, I will handle the rest." Wu Tongyuan's gaze pierced through the dancing tree shadows, looking towards a certain direction extremely far away...

"They have been arrogant for so long... it's also time they paid some price."

He abruptly clenched the cobblestone in his hand...

And then,

Violently flung it in that direction!

Numbers jumped in the nothingness, the mass-energy equation was tampered with by the Spiritual Void Coefficient. This cobblestone thrown by him violently scraped out a spatial ripple in the nothingness, and then accelerated, catapulting forward, its own mass and speed beginning to increase exponentially!

Then it was the second acceleration, the third acceleration...

When the cobblestone scraped through the nothingness three times consecutively, the energy it contained had already surpassed Nuclear Weapons. In an instant, it crossed dozens of kilometers, and then surged again at a certain spatial node!

If someone were to look down from space, they would discover that this cobblestone, after a few accelerations, had already become a twinkling star!

This was the God of Mathematics' "skipping stones".

And after consecutive seven "skips", the original cobblestone had already transformed into a world-destroying comet, flashing with astonishing speed to the front of the Calamity of Delusion one thousand eight hundred kilometers away!!

At this moment, the Calamity of Delusion's body extended once again. The original thirty-five beast pupils skyrocketed to fifty at this moment!

Fifty beast pupils superimposed on each other, all looking at that comet flying right into its face. The blinding brilliance was frantically peeled away in the nothingness. At the same time, its body dodged rapidly to the side as if weightless, letting that "comet" almost scrape past its body!

BOOM——!!!!

But even so, a corner of the Calamity of Delusion's animal skin was still blasted to pieces by this strike.

Striking from afar without being seen, separated by a thousand miles, wounding your skin... This was the Lord of Spirit Void's ultra-long-range strike, and even more so an ultimate provocation to the Calamity of Delusion!

ROAR——!!

The Calamity of Delusion completely abandoned its human disguise. It looked furiously at the northwest direction from which the "comet" flew. Its figure directly streaked out at an astonishing speed, like a weightless afterimage straddling the Gray World, approaching straight towards the direction of Mt. Lingxu!

"He finally made a move..." Seeing this scene, the Lord of Hidden Clouds finally breathed a sigh of relief. His gaze looked towards the northwest, and he laughed softly, "Coward, if you didn't teach this World-Ending Calamity a lesson today, I would have looked down on you."

At the same time,

In front of the Spirit Void Ancient Temple,

Wu Tongyuan, the Lord of Spirit Void, seemed to sense the approach of the Calamity of Delusion, smiling faintly:

"Beast..."

"You're truly courting death."