As Wuying Qi laughed crazily, the cracks and explosions on the dome were even more intense, as if a pair of invisible hands were tearing apart the solid crust brutally.
Even the so-called "safe zone" was no longer safe. The Imperial Guards screamed and fled in panic because of the collapsing rocks. One moment of carelessness, and their flesh would've been mangled into pieces.
Even though the Imperial Guards had been brainwashed by Wuying Qi and were as resolute as iron, they were still shocked by the magnificent changes of nature.
That wasn't the fear of death, but the feeling of insignificance in the face of the vast and boundless world.
Li Yao and Long Yangjun looked at each other, both greatly shocked. They did not know what kind of terrifying influence such a big fight below the ground would have on the surface.
However, there was nothing they could do under Wuying Qi's pressure. It would take at least several seconds to retrieve the Colossi from the Cosmos Ring and be fully prepared for battle.
For a terrifying being in the Divinity Branching Stage such as Wuying Qi, several seconds were more than enough for him to have breakfast, smoke a cigarette, and read a newspaper before he blew up the two of them!
Fortunately, the tearing of the Earth's crust didn't last for too long. After reaching the peak of the apocalypse, it gradually calmed down.
The Gold Crystal Pyramid did not rise to the surface. It was still standing below the ground steadily.
However, a glittering crack was opened on the rock stratum facing the tip of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. All the way up, there were only light spots the size of needles that seemed to be leading to the surface.
Li Yao pondered for a moment and realized what was going on. He secretly cursed himself for his stupidity.
Since the Gold Crystal Pyramid did not sink naturally but was intentionally hidden below the ground by the zealots of the Houyi Clan, it was only natural that all kinds of traps had been carefully established around it so that it could be triggered at any moment. How could it be as complicated as tearing apart the entire crust?
All that was needed was a tiny crack in the rock stratum. No, there should've been some sort of vertical tube facing the tip of the Gold Crystal Pyramid in the first place. The light that the Gold Crystal Pyramid launched could penetrate through the rock stratum and reach the sky without any hindrance!
Such a structure was actually a very inconspicuous "underground silo"!
Li Yao was half happy and half worried.
He was happy that such a design would ensure the stability of the geological structure to the greatest extent, and wouldn't cause too much damage to the surface. In that case, more than half of the surface and underground towns within a radius of ten thousand miles would be preserved.
What was worrying, however, was that the Gold Crystal Pyramid would be activated much earlier than expected. Li Yao estimated that it would take at least half a day for the Gold Crystal Pyramid to be completely lifted to the ground. He did not expect that it would have a supporting silo, which allowed Wuying Qi to carry out the Next Sun Plan immediately!
So, who was the one stalling for time just now?
Wuying Qi must've been so fearless because he knew that his plan could be started at any moment, right?
Li Yao's mind raced. On the surface, he could only pretend to be overjoyed and said, "This humble subject obeys, Your Majesty!"
Long Yangjun nodded in silence, too.
Wuying Qi was very satisfied with their performance. He smiled, but then he remembered that he was suppressing someone right next to him.
Waving his tentacles of spiritual energy, he picked up Li Jialing who was about to pass out and brought him to his front.
Li Jialing's face was even more awful than a dead man's. He stared at Wuying Qi without blinking with flames of fury and desperation spurting out of his eyes.
However, when he realized that the face before his eyes belonged to his birth mother, his eyes were filled with sorrow and helplessness again.
"How do you feel right now?"
Wuying Qi smiled and said, "You have to be happy. Only when you're happy can your body be in the best state."
His lips twitching, Li Jialing glanced at Li Yao and Long Yangjun. Then, he looked at the vague brightness on the top of the rock and said stubbornly, "Just let me die!"
"You do have a backbone, but it's a pity that it doesn't help at all."
Wuying Qi observed the young man carefully. "There's something that I'm very curious about. It's understandable that Li Yao and Long Yangjun snuck into the capital to sabotage my plan. After all, they are both above the peak of the Divinity Transformation Stage. Together with their two magnificent Colossi, it is indeed possible that they can cause some damage to me. Also, they are either shouldering a great mission or boasting mysterious backgrounds. They must've come for a reason.
"However, yours?
"Despite the years of refinement in 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' and the series of fortuitous incidents, your capability is only close to the Nascent Soul Stage at best, isn't it?
"A Nascent Soul Stage cultivator in your twenties. That's quite shocking. However, in my eyes, you're not even a tiny ant. You know this as well. Why do you want to step into this situation of certain death? Just because of that tiny mechanism behind your neck?"
Wuying Qi intentionally jabbed the wound behind Li Jialing's neck with one of the tentacles of spiritual energy, making Li Jialing shudder and sweat nonstop.
However, the scene raised an insignificant ripple deep inside Wuying Qi's eyes.
"I …"
Gritting his teeth, Li Jialing faced Wuying Qi and stood straight. Holding back his pain, he shouted, "I'm here for the queen!"
"Oh?"
Wuying Qi asked, "Why are you here for the queen?"
"I want to ask her why she didn't destroy me in time when I was still in the fetus state years ago."
Li Jialing shouted, "Even if she didn't destroy me in time years ago, she clearly had ten thousand opportunities to kill me in the Martial Meritocrats Sector a year ago and when I returned to the Deep Sea Fleet with her. Why didn't she do it?"
"What kind of question is that?"
Wuying Qi was amused. "You and I share the greatest opportunities. You are the best carrier for the soul that I carefully refined. Naturally, the queen cannot kill you."
"Is that all?"
Li Jialing's eyes dimmed. After a brief silence, he raised his head again and roared, "I don't want to hear it from you. I want to hear it from the queen herself! Your Grace, come out and tell me why you gave birth to me at the beginning, and why you killed me one moment and let me go the next! Do you regard me as a 100% carrier of your soul or something else? Come out! Tell me! Tell me with your own mouth! What am I? What am I in your heart?! "
"How bold of you!"
A hint of struggle flashed in the eyes of Wuying Qi, or Li Linghai, before it was replaced by fury. He clenched his right hand, immediately collapsing Li Jialing's neck so deeply that the young man's veins, bones, and nerves were almost cut off.
"Well … Well …"
Li Jialing was unable to move at all under Wuying Qi's choke, but with a crazy smile on his face, he managed to squeeze out a voice from the unbelievable gap, "You … You won't kill me. You still need my body. Hehe. So, you can't kill me right now!
"Your Grace, did you hear me? I know that you must've heard me. Maybe … Maybe I don't have many hours left. Life is a nightmare and torture for me in the first place. Death is not scary at all. I only want to know … what I am exactly before I die? To you, does my life even have the slightest bit of meaning? Tell me, will you? Please, tell me! "
"You …"
Wuying Qi's hands were shaking.
Or rather, it was Li Linghai's hands that were shaking.
His — her originally black hair actually revealed traces of white from the ends of her hair.
Even those abyss-like black eyes were bursting with white stars, as if they were resplendent fireworks exploding in the night sky.
There were too many emotions hidden within the flames that could not be described with words.
"My — My life was given by you."
Li Jialing smiled miserably. "If my shell can help you get rid of the miserable fate of being possessed by this old fart in the past hundred years and give you back real freedom, it will be the best. I … I just want to see you again before I die. I want to see the real you. You seem to have never shown 100% of your real self in front of me.
"I want to know what the real Li Linghai is like under the mask of 'Your Grace'. Back in the mausoleum of the Supreme Emperor, even the people of the Holy League who did not have feelings were infected by you and liberated their humanity. What is Li Linghai like exactly? I hope that such a Li Linghai can show up in front of me and tell me the truth years ago. Am I just a product of a cruel plan, or … or something else?
"Don't lie to me. You can't fool me. In the Martial Meritocrats Sector, in the Deep Sea Fleet, in the Godly Might Prison, and in the capital, I can feel the real you. You are my … mother! Could it be that you're going to hide without saying a word, watch me die, and not even give me an answer? What am I? What am I to you exactly? "
More and more white hair grew on the head of Li Linghai.
It was like a surging tide that swallowed the black tide.
The whiteness in his black eyes was almost bursting out of his eye sockets.
He was obviously an unparalleled expert in the Divinity Branching Stage. Even Li Yao and Long Yangjun could not resist him head-on. However, there seemed to be nothing he could do about an insignificant Li Jialing.
Furthermore, he could have choked Li Jialing's throat easily and prevented the young man from making any sound, but he simply could not do it because of the bulging veins on the back of his hands!
In the end, he finally bellowed. With soul-stirring brilliance beaming out of his eyes, he knocked the young man out and made him lie in his arms softly.
The action seemed to have consumed a lot of his soul power and physical strength. He was even more exhausted than when he subdued Li Yao and Long Yangjun in a row just now.
The whiteness in Wuying Qi's eyes and his hair gradually faded, turning into abyss-like blackness again.
He stared at Li Yao and Long Yangjun in fury, only to discover that they were too busy looking at him, as if they had not noticed his embarrassment at all.
With a gloomy face, Wuying Qi thought for a long time. Then, he held the unconscious Li Jialing under his armpit and said to the two of them coldly, "Follow me. Although it's not the best time yet, we have to take action immediately. There is no time to waste!"
-----
In the middle of autumn and winter, it was raining nonstop. The old cow seemed to have caught a cold. Her head was spinning when she woke up in the morning. She lay on the bed for several hours without daring to move, fearing that she would pass out the moment she moved.
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