Chapter 709: Tao Follows Nature

"You are very interesting, very special."

The Three Pillar Gods, with Mother Earth carried on their shoulders, looked down at the young man before them, whose demeanor was incredibly complex. They remained silent, instead maintaining an extremely vigilant stance.

This was a unique feeling the Three Pillar Gods had never experienced, despite having met countless individuals across all timelines.

It was as if countless temperaments were intertwined: an earth-shattering ambition and a dominant, dragon-like presence, yet simultaneously profound modesty, scholarly refinement, and gentle expressions.

If one were to describe him using terms from the ancient wilderness, it would be the restraint encapsulated by the phrase "a tiger in the heart, yet delicately sniffing roses." It was also the restraint of "sitting alone by the pond like a tiger ready to pounce, resting under green trees to gather strength; if I don't speak first in spring, which insect dares to make a sound?"

At that moment, the Three Pillar Gods, unable to predict the timeline, finally grew serious.

"This spiritual essence? The ancient mythical Heavenly Lord of primeval humanity, the legendary strongest mastermind changing identities through eras—the First Prince Long Hong of the Ancient Celestial Court, Emperor Qi of the Ancestral Witch Celestial Court?"

The Three Pillar Gods narrowed their eyes slightly, scrutinizing him up and down, as three voices intertwined, rising and falling.

"You can't keep up with the times.""Your power is infinitely weaker than Mother Earth's now that the Six Realms are unified.""At best, you're only slightly stronger than the previous Underworld Emperor.""The Path of the 53rd Ninth-Tier."

The Three Pillar Gods smiled faintly, "But it's undeniable that to advance your strength to this degree alone, you are indeed a talent. However, you are about to die of old age."

"He is different; only Emperor Qi is different."

At this moment, a weak voice came from Mother Earth on their shoulder. Struggling with her fading consciousness, she argued, "His talent, wisdom, innovation, and capacity for learning are unimaginable. Even if he is weak now, his power is on an entirely different dimension than everyone else's."

Mother Earth was almost entirely convinced of this: "His strength cannot even be measured by existing parameters like realm, insight, cultivation, or level. Three Pillar Gods, you cannot calculate him at all."

Indeed, everyone who lived through that era, who had once parted the dark mist and truly seen that terrifying man, believed this implicitly: only Emperor Qi was different.

He was invincible; no one could defeat such a monster.

This was the terrifying first impression he left on everyone.

Even in the most ancient times, they exhausted every method, striving to create miracles to defeat him, but ultimately fell short.

"Ridiculous."

Listening to Mother Earth Qingteng's words, Emperor Qi's expression remained calm.

With black hair and a white robe, his eyes glimmered with endless information, and his face was as handsome as a deity's. He said calmly, "Qingteng, put away your useless, temporary flattery. As one of the ancient primordial gods, We know your nature all too well. Flattering Us is what the gods of the old Heavenly Court did, not rebellious traitors who once plotted against Us and were destined for the God-Execution Platform."

Within his Inner Heaven and Earth, countless deities and ancient beings fell silent.

This was because an ancient mythical being had actually reappeared.

"So Mother Earth's calculations weren't just to evade and delay, but also to continuously collide with every part of the land at high speed, searching for the ancient Golden Crow Heavenly Emperor hiding in the shadows?""The primordial god-emperor, rumored to be the strongest since the creation of heaven and earth?""How did he appear in our world?"

"Unimaginable."

Almost everyone had heard the mythical history of that ancient era, the dark age shaped by the Heavenly Dao.

"But his current strength can no longer keep up with the times; his combat power is far, far too low!""How is this possible!?"

All the deities were bewildered.

Even hearing Mother Earth Qingteng's declaration, "He is different," had already filled them with shock.

This person, so clearly weak, an ancient being unable to keep pace with the times—like the difference between a fierce tiger and a small cat—was still, in Mother Earth's eyes, believed without a doubt to be capable of victory.

The sense of disconnect and shock this caused was almost inconceivable!

"Pillar Gods, another fatal threat?"

Emperor Qi stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the Three Pillar Gods.

In fact, for Emperor Qi, let alone a fatal threat, even an opponent posing a slight danger was an extremely rare occurrence in his long life. It was like a tiger living among a pack of wolves; the gap between them was insurmountable.

The greatest distinction by which intelligent beings surpassed beasts was learning.

And he was the epitome of it.

Precisely because he understood his own power, Emperor Qi had almost never truly fought in his life, nor had he ever truly anticipated an opponent. Was it worth anticipating crushing a cat with a finger?

It was far more interesting to quietly learn the cats' fighting techniques and then depart in silence.

Time flew by as he remained hidden behind the scenes, observing glorious eras where heroic Heavenly Emperors rose and fell.

He even fostered opponents, secretly learning their cultivation methods and techniques.

It wasn't until the appearance of Dao Changsheng that he felt surprised.

But that surprise wasn't due to Dao Changsheng's talent being comparable to his own.

Dao Changsheng's talent was indeed formidable, but no more so than Emperor Duan Tian of that era. Dao Changsheng almost killed him by suddenly acquiring an unexpected and transcendent cultivation method out of thin air: the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art. With absolute, crushing instantaneous combat power, he sought to kill him.

They aimed to overwhelm the weak with sheer strength.

Their initial goal was very clear:

To kill him instantly with the fastest, most violent crushing force, giving him no chance to learn. They almost succeeded at the time.

"That era was the only chance, the only opportunity to kill me."

Finally, Emperor Qi slowly rose from the ground. "I had also thought that the second thing that could kill me would be time itself. Yet now, I find myself back in this land?"

He fixed his gaze on the terrifying pseudo-ninth-tier being whose power far surpassed his own. Its form had almost undergone a perfect transformation; what it lacked was energy.

Yes.

Although the energy gap between them wasn't vast,

the other party had broken through a bottleneck. These deities were like small, full bowls, while the Three Pillar Gods were still like a super-large reservoir containing only a small bowl of water, perhaps one-thousandth full, almost empty...

Its capacity had surpassed its limit, and it was eager to find energy to fill itself.

"The energy you seek is right here.... My arrival this time, to maintain my peak, brings energy no less vast than that of the Six Realms."

Emperor Qi said slowly, a surging, strange aura spreading around him. "If you want it, come and take it from Us."

The Three Pillar Gods' gaze suddenly froze.

In their perception, Emperor Qi's internal schematic showed nine spatial orifice beads within his body, with countless meridians and bones extending throughout. And within his brain, a demon core was slowly growing...

A demon core!

It was a demon core...!?

This demon core was octagonal and earthy gold in color, very different from the traditional black crystal material.

"Is this a demon core? How is this possible? The material is different." The Three Pillar Gods were clearly unnerved. Upon seeing such a bizarre sight, they immediately began frantic analysis: "Not of our bloodline? Some kind of仿制 bloodline construct? But it only has sixty percent of the original demon core's power."

Meng Mei's expression instantly became agitated.

That demon core was a "tycoon gold" color, clearly indicating a pay-to-win aesthetic.

Possessing this common material was the distinct racial mark of Mount Akina Speed: the clone creature alchemy factory.

Meng Mei still remembered how back then, this fellow had sworn to become the new Emperor Qi, claiming his self-evolved alchemy factory—with its copying, pasting, and cloning abilities—would surely replace him!

But to think, he had still suffered a crushing defeat at Emperor Qi's hands?

Clearly, Mount Akina Speed had been silently on the Ancient Wood Planet, and behind the scenes, some incredibly desperate and tragic story must have unfolded.

"It's you! Mount Akina Speed, I'm afraid you are now inside Emperor Qi's Inner Heaven and Earth, acting as a processing factory?" Meng Mei felt as though she could see right through into Emperor Qi's Inner Heaven and Earth, where an alchemy factory trembled as Emperor Qi handed over alchemy blueprints, demanding demon cores be crafted according to them...

Meng Mei was utterly stunned.

No wonder Mount Akina Speed had never mentioned his whereabouts or whether he would follow Emperor Qi; he hadn't uttered a single word. So this was the truth.

She couldn't help but murmur, tears welling up as she looked through Emperor Qi's body,

"So this is it. In the end, you still fulfilled your dream and truly became Emperor Qi himself?"

The ground was covered with blood foam.

The sky was enveloped by the aura of death.

"Is this the power of the demon core? A very wondrous power." Emperor Qi murmured, feeling his body, as if speaking to a long-lost friend rather than a formidable enemy. "Previously, I dissected the viruses in the air. Fortunately, having a demon core instead of just a genetic chain allowed for research."

"The world became much clearer. Although I haven't placed my primordial spirit within it, the computing power it provides has increased my learning speed by countless times."

"You..."

After a momentary surprise, the Three Pillar Gods regained their composure.

For what did it matter if the opponent had integrated a demon core?

It was still full of flaws.

In fact, it was less difficult to breach than Mother Earth Qingteng's law-body, which was connected by incense pathways and converged the faith of billions of beings in her Inner Heaven and Earth.

A body unprotected by laws was like paper that could be crumpled at will.

Just like when dealing with Daojun's body before, a slight grasp was enough to seize his inner space.

"But ultimately, this cannot be allowed to continue."

"The demon core lineage is not a combat technique, nor some heaven-defying fighting method, but..."

"Die."

The Three Pillar Gods struck fiercely.

*Snap!*

Emperor Qi suddenly vanished from his spot. With a resounding boom, his body swelled and rose, transforming into a colossal giant to meet the Three Pillar Gods' attack, but it was still too slow.

"Then, let me see the gap between me and you, and how big my full-strength strike is compared to a true pseudo-ninth-tier!"

Emperor Qi raised his head, lifting his arm high.

*Snap!*

Emperor Qi instantly exploded into a bloody mist.

But in an instant, Emperor Qi's manifestation of laws became incredibly profound, allowing him to evade the Three Pillar Gods' fatal grasp and slowly regenerate his flesh and blood nearby.

"I was just a moment away from death; it truly is an irresistible force." Emperor Qi's expression turned grave as he confronted his weakness squarely. "My full-strength strike was truly laughable."

"There won't be a next time," the Three Pillar Gods said softly.

Having seen it once, they would certainly be prepared for the same method again.

Next time, death would be certain.

"Yes, I can no longer rely on clever tricks, because there won't be a next time."

The reborn Emperor Qi's bloodline began to sprout bronze-colored green vines, which spread throughout his body, connecting everything internally to form earth incense pathways, forging him into an impenetrable iron plate.

And within the nine great spaces in his body,

countless ancient deities, along with all living beings, began to kneel and worship heaven and earth, offering incense.

A silent, profound resonance began to grow.

"You..."

The black ape with three heads gazed at him incredulously.

"Mother Earth Qingteng, the bloodline civilization you pioneered is indeed admirable." Emperor Qi felt a surge of heat throughout his body as he murmured, "Even I must admit that the formation diagrams and Dao patterns you developed herald a great era."

He closed his eyes. "Establishing incense meridians within the body, stacking the incense of all beings—it truly is an increasingly perfect Pangu True Form, and it even borrows the weight of all living beings."

"It seems to be this method?" His body sank heavily, and he, like Mother Earth Qingteng, actually superimposed the power of all beings within his body onto himself.

In an instant, beads of blood seeped from his entire body. "No, no, it was clearly the same path... So that's it, it also utilizes some kind of spatial positioning algorithm to achieve relative balance?"

As he spoke, a strange aura once again emanated from Emperor Qi's entire body, suddenly bringing him into balance.

"You..."

The Three Pillar Gods' expressions changed completely.

They instantly realized that this ancient primordial mythical emperor must have studied the bodily characteristics of both sides while secretly observing their fight for a few days.

Mother Earth Qingteng's incense system, the new Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, and even their own demon core lineage.

How could such an existence be in this world?

Fighting, deducing, and constantly learning all at once?

"I must say, times are changing. Today, five thousand years later, it's a joyful return, filled with anticipation and cheer. What wondrous cultivation methods... The demon core lineage, while not directly making me powerful, the new Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art has instantly increased my combat strength fivefold." Emperor Qi stood with his hands behind his back, his posture magnificent and exceptional. He said calmly, "Yet, Mother Earth Qingteng is ridiculously foolish. With such massive mass and terrifying combat power, she is actually utterly unable to unleash it."

"Die!!"

The Three Pillar Gods fully unleashed their murderous intent, their aura erupting intensely, revealing power infinitely greater than before.

"Withdraw what I just said; that wasn't the strongest blow. This is."

Emperor Qi's aura exploded around him as he charged forward fiercely.

The two instantly collided.

*Snap.*

Meng Mei quietly departed.

"Emperor Qi is still as honest as he was back then, diligently studying your cultivation methods, constantly pondering. He speaks a great deal, but in reality, he's using your expressions and reactions to verify whether his deductions are correct."

At this moment, Meng Mei's expression changed dramatically. The fear they had experienced back then was now for the Three Pillar Gods to taste.

Moreover, back then, there was only the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art to learn from, but now, Emperor Qi has far too much to learn.

*Boom! Boom!*

Meng Mei lay on the ground, watching the Three Pillar Gods, whose murderous intent spread, instantly blast Emperor Qi apart.

"To kill Emperor Qi, you must beat him to death in an instant, using absolute power to crush him at the realm level! If the gap isn't significant, he will continuously learn, understand your techniques, and eventually surpass you."

Armin's expression subtly changed.

"Yes, he is that terrifying man."

"He has always triumphed over the strong with his weakness. Only enemies with over five times his combat strength can pose a threat, and those at the same realm or lower have no chance of winning against him."

"Three Pillar Gods, right now it's still an absolute suppression. Even if Emperor Qi grasps our Incense Dragon Vein law phenomenon, it will only ensure he isn't beaten to death instantly. But if they don't quickly kill him, if they don't kill that monster faster..." Meng Mei said.

At her vulnerable tone, Armin suddenly got goosebumps.

Meng Mei, still completely exhausted, handed over control of her body to Armin.

Armin also took the opportunity to flee the area.

The clash between the two monsters, both terrifying enemies of their world, meant they truly had to seek survival in the cracks, facing a terrifying predicament with enemies pressing from both sides.

*Boom!*

Emperor Qi was continuously blasted apart, as if taking Meng Mei's place.

With the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art's super-fast recovery ability, Emperor Qi had at least over ten billion beings within his body, generating energy to continuously supply an eternal power furnace.

Meng Mei stared blankly at the two figures.

She suddenly froze.

"I finally understand. If the Three Pillar Gods are like a 'physical Buddha,' as Buddhism states: 'All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, like dew drops or lightning flashes; thus, they should be perceived.'"

"Then Emperor Qi is like a 'chemical Dao,' the Dao of myriad transformations and clandestine learning, or simply 'chemistry,' as Daoism states: 'Man emulates Earth, Earth emulates Heaven, Heaven emulates the Dao, and the Dao emulates nature!'"

Following the Dao of nature, humans constantly imitate all things in the world.

She had never believed Mount Akina Speed's fallacious arguments before, but now she had no choice but to believe. "Everything... everything seems to be a fated war in the unseen, re-enacting everything..."

"It's a reappearance of the conflict between ancient Buddhist and Daoist philosophies!"

"Is it you, observing from the unseen, Ancient God?"