Chapter 1088: Metal Corpses
The girls dug out this corpse. To be exact, it was a corpse made out of metal. It was very similar to the Mortal Monarch who had an iron-cast body. Each part of the body was made from exquisite parts arranged in a truly breathtaking manner.
However, there was one difference between this metal corpse and the monarch. The monarch had a human head with flesh and blood while the head of this corpse was made from metal. Its skull was even more meticulous and awe-inspiring. It was simply the epitome of craftsmanship.
No cultivators could create such an exquisite skull. Furthermore, this corpse was much bigger than the Mortal Monarch. If the monarch was a growing boy, then this corpse was a mature adult.
The girls glanced at each other after fully digging out this metal corpse. They had seen the monarch before and felt that his body was incredible. Some thought that he was the only one in this world with such a unique constitution. However, they managed to find a body so incredibly similar to his in this lost civilization.
“There are more down there.” Bai Jianzhen noticed that there were even more corpses underground and got started right away.
They were experts who could move mountains and flip oceans. In the blink of an eye, these metal corpses were all excavated. There were dozens of them, not just one.
The girls were perplexed and ended up staring at Li Qiye. During this whole process, Li Qiye only stood there and watched without being surprised at all; it was as if everything was within his expectations.
Li Shuangyan had to ask while looking at the corpses: “Is the Mortal Monarch related to this lost civilization?”
Li Qiye looked at the corpses. After a while, he looked away while answering: “Maybe, but one can argue otherwise as well.”
“What do you mean by that?” The knowledgeable Mei Suyao found the answer too cryptic.
Li Qiye glanced into the far distance and said: “In a sense, the Mortal Monarch was born in this era. However, he also has nothing to do with this era.”
“He has lived from this lost civilization all the way until now?” This was the most shocking thing the girls had heard yet.
Li Qiye gently shook his head and smiled: “It is impossible to live for that long with regular means. At a young age, the Mortal Monarch was imprisoned in the darkness and banished for an eternity. Even so, when he saw the sunlight again, he was on the brink of death.”
Li Qiye left out the tales afterward. When he found the Mortal Monarch back then, the monarch was already halfway to hell. Li Qiye used extremely heaven-defying means to save him. Because of this, the monarch had a humanoid head.
“Just what is this lost civilization?” Mei Suyao was very curious about this mythical era.
Li Qiye said: “Who knows? The Mortal Monarch doesn’t either because he doesn’t have any memories of it.”
Mei Suyao was about to say something else, but she refrained from doing so. She knew that even if the Mortal Monarch didn’t know, Li Qiye certainly did.
“Okay, ladies, we have to keep going. We probably still have a long way to go.” He smiled at the group.
They continued on the road. It seemed like Li Qiye knew where he was going since he was only going straight. From the beginning, the girls thought that this place was only a desert, but they soon found out that this wasn’t the case.
Not long after, they saw a huge citadel in this vast desert world, a citadel made out of metal.
Judging by its appearance, it was very similar to the fortress that the Insect Pipe transformed into. Who knows what kind of metals made up this great citadel. In terms of construction, it resembled an iron man, as it was made from countless tiny pieces.
From an architectural perspective, this incredible citadel should be towering all the way into the sky. However, it was collapsed on top of the golden sand. Looking around, one would find broken parts scattered everywhere.
Chen Baojiao carefully looked at it and murmured: “It was burned down.”
From the crumbling ruins, this citadel must have been incinerated by an extremely ferocious fire of an unimaginable scale.
“Not just ordinary flames, it must at least be of the heavenly flame level.” Mei Suyao noticed some clues.
Li Qiye only gave it a glance and didn’t say anything. He led the girls onward.
The even more astonishing matter came after as they went further into this land. They saw an iron man, an extremely gigantic one of an unbelievable height. He was as big as a mountain with billions of exquisite parts placed together.
Also, there wasn’t just one gigantic iron man, there were several hundred! This scene gave the feeling that one was entering a forest of metal, resulting in an indescribable sensation.
The majority of these iron men were destroyed. Some were split into two, others had their chests penetrated. Some were torn into little pieces, but of course, there were still some completely intact...
Regardless of their form, none of them were alive. They did not fall down on the ground due to supporting their bodies with mighty divine swords.
Without a doubt, they had experienced a terrible war while they were still alive. There was even a chance that this once-prosperous land was broken into little pieces and became submerged in sand later on.
“Just what exactly are these iron men?” Chen Baojiao spoke in awe.
“They fought to the very last moment! I’m afraid when they fell, their world was destroyed as well.” Bai Jianzhen was visually moved as well.
From the situation ahead, one could imagine the horrifying calamity that fell upon their era. Every single existence in this world stood up and fought to the very end. Alas, their valiant efforts still couldn’t save their world.
Li Qiye looked at one of the giants and slowly stated: “They’re extremely powerful. In the present day, they would still be at the level of God-Monarchs or Godkings.”
The group kept on going. Along the way, the girls saw even more ruins of citadels buried in the sand as well as fallen metal giants. Many of them were completely broken.
The biggest iron man they saw was half buried underground. The parts that could be seen spanned for thousands of miles. From this, it was easy to imagine just how large it was when it was still alive.
“If placed in the present, it would be extremely close to an Immortal Emperor, if not already at that level. An Emperor Assailant at the very least.” Li Qiye gave a quick glance and made his assessment.
After hearing this, the girls were shocked once again. Li Shuangyan was astounded: “Just what kind of era was this!”
“An era that reached the peak of prosperity from the accumulation of millions and millions of years. There were too many experts to count.” Li Qiye said dismissively: “An era completely different from ours. The path they walked is completely different from us cultivators.”
“In the end, they were still destroyed.” Mei Suyao muttered: “What are they really? Just what kind of enemies did they face for an entire world to be destroyed like this?”
“Did they meet a formidable enemy like an Immortal Emperor?” Bai Jianzhen had to ask.
“Immortal Emperor?” Li Qiye chuckled and shook his head: “If my guess is correct, their world had existences as powerful as Immortal Emperors, and not just one. However, even beings of this level couldn’t save this world.”
The girls felt breathless after hearing Li Qiye. Even a confident person like Mei Suyao felt quite suffocated.
In their minds, Immortal Emperors were invincible. This was the belief that everyone held. But now, even a world protected by Immortal Emperors was still annihilated in the end!
“Aren’t emperors supposed to be the strongest?” It was Chen Baojiao’s turn to ask: “There are existences even stronger than them?”
“There is no doubt that Immortal Emperors are the strongest.” Li Qiye flatly said: “However, this is limited to the world of the living, the world of sentient beings.”
“Then you mean there is a world of the dead?” Li Shuangyan followed the logic of his response.
“World of the dead?” Li Qiye shook his head: “I don’t know if there is a world of the dead or not. Sometimes, the things Immortal Emperors have to face aren’t necessarily people. To be more specific, they might not be living beings and could be something else entirely.”
“Like what?” Bai Jianzhen couldn’t help but ask: “Like the existence that destroyed this world?”
Li Qiye didn’t answer directly. He looked up at the distant sky and eventually spoke: “One day, you all will understand. Of course, this is predicated on you all being strong enough to see that day.” Li Qiye turned back and stared at the girls: “Thus, you all still have a long way to go. When you actually become an existence like an Immortal Emperor in the future... that is only the beginning.”
The girls felt a pressure right away from realizing how weak they were. Even though very few could stop them among the younger generation, they felt that they were quite trivial in the grand scheme of things.