Chapter 1061: Tianhuai

Chapter 1061: Tian Huai

"Everyone, don't panic... We will definitely ensure your safety."

Among the crowd, Young Sect Master Huai Mang, draped in a black robe, was striving to calm the anxious people around him. However, he was still just a youth. No matter how much he tried to explain, the frightened elderly people didn't seem to trust him much. They continued to chatter amongst themselves, making the entire abandoned factory incredibly noisy.

Seeing this, Huai Mang's face was filled with helplessness... Fortunately, Pu Xiachan quickly rushed over, shielded Huai Mang behind her, placed her hands on her hips, and shouted in a penetrating voice: "Stop the noise, all of you!! When we evacuate later, those who are making noise will be at the back of the line!!"

"Thank you, Sister Xiachan," Huai Mang said sincerely.

"Don't thank me. You're not suited for calming others anyway; just let me handle these things in the future," Pu Xiachan patted her chest. "Why don't you go rest for a bit?"

"I..." Huai Mang was about to say something when his mind suddenly stirred. He turned his head to look in a certain direction. "That aura... This is bad." Before Pu Xiachan could question him, Huai Mang gritted his teeth, pushed through the crowd, and dashed out. His speed was incredibly swift; in a flash, he disappeared from everyone's sight.

Thump—thump—

Rapid heartbeats echoed in Huai Mang's chest. He would never mistake the owner of that aura.

Since arriving in the Boundless Realm, Huai Mang had constantly restrained himself from doing anything irrational or detrimental to the group. Even though he could always feel that familiar aura lingering in the air, he diligently continued his work of calming the people. But now, the owner of that aura was actively approaching the crowd... Huai Mang didn't know what the other person intended to do, nor did he dare to think about it. Just as the Tower Lord of Tongtian had said, perhaps that person was no longer the relative he knew. However, if they intended to kill these hundreds of thousands of people, he had to stop them at all costs. It was to protect these citizens, and even more so, to protect the person closest to him... to prevent them from becoming an unforgivable sinner.

Huai Mang ran with all his might. Several slender vines covered in green eyes coiled on the road ahead. Upon sensing Huai Mang's approach, they immediately changed direction and extended towards him. "Get lost!!!" Huai Mang roared. Several invisible personas, like a fierce gale, swept across the ground, directly tearing apart all the vines blocking his path. The silver clouds on Huai Mang's sleeves danced wildly in the wind as he plunged into the desolate district. The area was filled with grotesque and eerie green-eyed vines, and a faint mist hung in the air, possibly some kind of toxin.

In the eerie silence, Huai Mang slowly came to a halt. The dilapidated street, dancing vines, and peering green eyes... In this suffocating environment, countless threads converged in the air, and two disheveled Twilight Society members hung suspended on either side of the street, like prey wrapped in spider silk.

"Cough, cough, cough... Damn it, I can't believe I was the first one caught," Club Seven muttered, covered in blood. "And you, how did you get caught too?"

Spade Eight, who had "split up," remained silent for a moment. "The sewers are full of tentacles from those vine creatures. I just walked right into them."

Huai Mang didn't recognize the two, but he estimated they were likely members of the Twilight Society. His gaze lingered on them for only a moment before shifting deeper into the mist... A figure, also draped in a silver-clouded black robe, slowly ascended from the profound silence. The oppressive force of an Eighth-Rank individual, like a crushing mountain, bore down heavily on Huai Mang's shoulders. His face paled, and his body swayed precariously as he remained rooted to the spot. Two gazes pierced through the mist, locking onto each other.

Huai Mang gazed at the familiar yet unfamiliar face. After an unknown amount of time, he hoarsely uttered two words: "...Brother."

Click, click, click, click—

Four brass-colored bullets were loaded by Chen Ling into the revolver cylinder. With a flick of his wrist, the cylinder spun with a whirring sound before instantly locking back into place...

"...Let's go," Chen Ling said calmly, one hand gripping the boning knife and the other holding the revolver, as he looked towards the mist not far away.

"That's it?" Jian Changsheng asked uncertainly. "That fast?"

Jian Changsheng had witnessed the entire process of Chen Ling activating the Revolver of Yesterday. Chen Ling had simply reached his hand into the foreheads of four individuals, fumbled for a moment, then extracted a bullet from each, which he then inserted into the revolver. The entire process combined took less than three minutes.

"It's not fast already," Chen Ling shook his head. "Any slower, and the other society members might all be captured..."

"But Commander Han Meng hasn't returned yet. Should we wait for him?" Sun Bumian glanced into the distance.

"...No need," Chen Ling looked at the three. "Time waits for no one. We can't always live under the protection of the strong... Isn't there a lone Judgment Agent nearby? Let's test it on him first."

"Is that..."

"Brother?" Tian Huai frowned. He carefully observed Huai Mang's face, his eyes briefly losing focus before a trace of killing intent began to spread. "I've long heard that Twilight Society members enjoy toying with people's minds... Now it seems that's truly the case."

Huai Mang froze in place. He looked into Tian Huai's cold eyes, and even though he had been prepared, his heart still ached with a sharp pain... Before he could say anything more, Tian Huai waved his hand. Countless threads converged in the void, and a fierce roar erupted from beneath Huai Mang's feet! The next moment, the streets on either side seemed to come alive, transforming into a colossal stone puppet hand that directly seized Huai Mang, as if to crush him.

However, Huai Mang reacted instantly. He took a deep breath to calm himself and, as if knowing what was to come, leapt from his spot beforehand, perfectly dodging all of the giant hand's fingers and precisely slipping through a gap. He was Tian Huai's younger brother; he had been training under his brother since childhood... He understood Tian Huai's methods extremely well.

Seeing this, Tian Huai's eyes narrowed slightly. He lightly patted the cloth pouch at his waist, and one by one, visible "boxes" outlined themselves in the void behind him... These boxes were exquisite and ancient in appearance, like folk craftsmanship. They now floated vertically in the air, resembling a neat display wall. With a casual flick of Tian Huai's finger, the lid of one of the boxes lifted. An ancient and mysterious puppet, as if pulled by strings, rapidly expanded against the wind, transforming into a colossal entity seven or eight stories tall, which then crashed down before Huai Mang!

"Earth Fiend Puppetry... Mountain Bearer."