The Silence Blade struck with ferocious force. Although the previous blow had cost Wuji considerable energy, without his support, Wuji was now essentially at the mercy of his enemies.
Ming Qi followed closely behind, Fire Emperor Sword in hand.
"You have no escape!"
Ming Qi thought to himself as the Silence Blade, flashing with soul-snatching brilliance, struck Wuji. The next moment, Wuji swayed like a lone leaf in the wind and rain.
"Hahaha! You think you can kill me, Wuji, with just this one move? You're dreaming!"
Wuji, who had thought himself powerless, suddenly erupted with an unprecedented burst of light, his entire body swelling like a rapidly inflating balloon.
"Hmm?"
Ming Qi was startled. This Wuji was truly powerful. He hadn't expected him to survive the Silence Blade's blow without losing his fighting strength.
Even with Wuji's current burst of powerful aura, Mingqi was certain he was already at the end of his rope, unable to withstand any further resistance. Now was the perfect time to take him down with one swift blow.
Swish!
Mingqi abandoned all magical powers and surged forward with the unparalleled speed of Star Induction, his Fire Emperor Sword blazing with powerful flames.
Wuji, standing in front of him, didn't retreat after being struck. Instead, he charged straight at Mingqi, a blade of light rapidly condensing in his hand. Though this blade was countless times smaller than the previous massive blade, it was more concentrated.
The next moment, the two collided, the powerful impact of divine power separating them instantly. Mingqi, ignoring the immense force, flew backward, glancing at Wuji in the distance.
Wuji's face was pale, clearly weakened.
Mingqi retreated several hundred meters, halted his retreat, and immediately turned to charge again, leaving him no chance to breathe!
Wuji laughed heartily, looking up to the sky. Seeing Mingqi charging again, he immediately met him.
In just a few breaths, the two clashed over ten times, each time exerting their full might. The surrounding space was completely shattered, and their original form could no longer be seen.
However, by this point, both were exhausted. Mingqi naturally would not retreat, and Wuji had no intention of fleeing either.
"We're strangers, why are you fighting me to the death?"
Wuji asked angrily. The battle between the two was now clear; it would not end until one side was completely defeated.
"Those who steal the world's origin are my enemies!"
Mingqi replied coldly. Wuji showed no remorse for his wrongdoing, which infuriated Mingqi even more.
"Hmph!"
Unexpectedly, upon hearing Ming Qi's response, Wuji sneered, "Do you think I'm the only one draining this world's essence? What a joke!"
As they spoke, the two collided again, the impact still intense. Even though both were already heavily depleted, the destructive power of a Martial God-level expert was undeniable.
"Who else?"
As Ming Qi asked coldly, he pondered. Tianhuang's essence was severely damaged. Judging from the situation, if only Wuji, along with the earlier actions of Tianyi and the others, had been responsible, it would have been impossible to destroy it to such an extent. It seemed someone else was indeed doing the same thing.
"Who? Hahaha, who else could it be! It's your Tianhuang gods! They're the culprits!"
Wuji laughed until his face paled and he coughed up blood.
"You're lying!"
Ming Qi's heart trembled. His intuition told him that what Wuji said was very likely true, but he still found it a little hard to believe. Although the gods of the present-day wasteland weren't native, this was, after all, the land they had inhabited for hundreds of thousands of years. There was no reason for them to destroy it.
"Lying? Hahahaha!"
Wu Ji threw his head back and laughed, his laughter tinged with sarcasm.
"Your gods are just like me—scum, complete thieves!"
"Enough!"
Ming Qi snapped coldly. He had already believed it. At this point, there was no need for Wu Ji to lie. He had seen that, despite his arrogance, Wu Ji disdained lying. Moreover, for a powerful being, lying was a humiliation.
"Alright, then, come and kill me!"
Wu Ji had stopped moving, floating in the air, looking at Ming Qi with a haughty expression.
Ming Qi didn't attack immediately. An opponent like Wu Ji, while arrogant and domineering, deserved respect.
"I, Wuji, have dominated for thousands of years, but I never imagined I'd fall into the hands of an unknown junior today. Well, the world is in turmoil, and I've had enough of living. Why don't you take action?"
Wuji muttered to himself for a moment, then noticed Mingqi still standing there motionless, and he roared in anger.
"Go away."
Mingqi was silent for a long time, but finally decided to give up.
It was true that Wuji had lost, but Mingqi's desire to kill him had suddenly faded. Although Wuji had once been the villain who extracted the essence of the Heavenly Desolate, and although he had once besieged the Holy Flame Emperor, things had changed, and after so much time, everything had faded.
"Haha, mercy?"
Wuji let out a long roar, but instead of leaving, he once again summoned his divine power. In an instant, his body was enveloped by a dense cloud of divine energy.
Mingqi frowned, knowing what Wuji was going to do.
"Although you lost, you didn't flee. You are a worthy opponent."
Mingqi gave his reason.
"This has nothing to do with you! Nameless, if you ever descend to the Dark Side, slay the Immortal King of the Eternal Moon Land for me!"
Boom!
With a resounding, earth-shattering explosion, the divine power surrounding Wuji exploded instantly, quietly forming an endlessly deep black hole, drawing in countless fragments of space.
Seeing this, Ming Qi quickly waved his hand to summon the Book of Life and Death, unleashing a blast of annihilation to shatter the impending black hole.
Wuji ultimately chose to self-destruct, which didn't surprise Ming Qi much. Given Wuji's character, such a choice after defeat wasn't surprising. He didn't choose to self-destruct during the clash, demonstrating the dignity of a powerful being.
Such an opponent deserves respect.
"Once I've finished my work, I'll go to the Dark Side and slay the Immortal King for you."
Glancing at the now-calm void, Ming Qi quickly descended to the ground.
He was currently exhausted and needed to recover. He also needed to comprehend the newly acquired World Axis, seeking traces of the Milky Way Power within it. The gods of the Desolate World were also draining the world's essence, and he simply couldn't manage both. His top priority was to find the Milky Way Power. With it, he could fully restore the Desolate World's essence, and then settle accounts with the gods of the Desolate World.
Quickly choosing a relatively quiet spot, Ming Qi set up a warning array and began his recovery.
A day later, the recovery was complete, and Ming Qi opened the World Axis to examine it carefully.