Chapter 1078: The Direction of Destruction

Chapter 1078: The Direction of Demise

Chen Ling felt himself floating.

It was like being freed from some kind of restraint, silently drifting in the wind. He didn't know where he was supposed to go, but a mysterious force seemed to be drawing him forward.

After an unknown period, the familiar sensation of darkness and coldness welled up within him...

He slowly opened his eyes.

"This is... the audience seats?"

Chen Ling looked down and found himself sitting in the same chair he had occupied before. The "audience" members who had filled the surroundings were all gone, as if he were the only one left in the entire seating area.

Directly in front of him, the stage was plunged into darkness. Countless "figures" crowded the stage, writhing and scrambling, like a carnival of demons.

Had he returned to the theater?

Chen Ling vaguely remembered being on the bell tower just moments ago, where the King of Silver had ambushed him and stolen his "self"... How had his consciousness returned now?

Chen Ling didn't believe the King of Silver would kindly release his consciousness. The only possibility was...

Something had happened to the King of Silver.

Chen Ling's gaze turned back to the stage. His brows furrowed, and he subconsciously raised his hand, moving closer to the edge of the stage... But then, an invisible wall separated him, keeping him out.

"Damn it..." Chen Ling murmured to himself.

The audience had stepped onto the stage, and he had become the audience below. This meant his body had been completely taken over by Mockery Disaster.

This wasn't the first time this had happened. Chen Ling knew very well that he couldn't break through the Fourth Wall and reclaim the stage with his own power... Last time he succeeded, it was with the assistance of his Master, Yao, and the Land of Divine Sacrifices, and Mockery Disaster was also sealed by the spirit tablet.

The current situation was clearly more difficult than before!

Chen Ling's mind raced, trying to find a way to break the deadlock... Just then, his peripheral vision caught sight of the scene displayed on the stage curtain, and his pupils suddenly contracted!

"This is... Mockery Disaster?"

The Butcher looked at the scholar's scattered limbs on the ground and murmured to himself.

The scholar who had just been chatting and fighting alongside them had, in the blink of an eye, turned into fragments. The bloody scene and the terrifying aura of Mockery Disaster in the distance left an extremely deep shadow in his heart...

Although he had long heard of the horrors of the world-ending disaster, only now did he realize the immense gap between humanity and true destruction.

As the ground beside them opened up with a crack, a bloody, mangled body was spat out from it. It was the heavily wounded Hong Xiu.

"...She couldn't even withstand two moves?"

The Butcher's face turned incredibly grim upon seeing Hong Xiu's injuries.

"That thing is simply beyond our ability to resist..." The Farmer, weakly carrying his hoe, walked over from the side. He glanced around at the grim, nightmare-like world and gave a bitter laugh,

"Today, none of us will leave this domain of disaster alive..."

"But the Four Kings of the Twilight Society have made their move. Chen Ling is one of theirs, so maybe they'll have a way?"

"A way?" The Farmer shook his head.

"Didn't you notice? All four Kings practice the Way of the Theater God, and Mockery Disaster... is the natural enemy of the Way of the Theater God."

He looked towards the battlefield and murmured to himself,

"They will all die at the hands of Mockery Disaster..."

Boom—!!!

A wave of air, imbued with a "world-ending" oppressive power, erupted from the distant battlefield with a mighty roar. Visible ripples swept across, causing the entire domain to tremble slightly.

Four figures in theatrical robes were simultaneously sent flying backward through the air, slamming into the ruins like cannonballs.

"Ugh—"

Excruciating pain radiated from all over Mo Jiao's body. He violently opened his mouth, spitting crimson blood all over the ground, appearing utterly disheveled.

Not only him, but Ning Ruyu, Luan Mei, and Wenren You were also injured. Their original facial masks were shattered, and their blood-stained faces revealed worry and anxiety!

From the depths of the dust-filled ruins, an entirely black "figure" slowly walked out.

As he slightly raised his hand, the countless red butterflies fluttering in the air transformed into a vivid red paper umbrella, which he gently placed on his shoulder. The rim of the umbrella spun continuously with the friction of his fingertips, like fate endlessly, silently turning.

Ning Ruyu took a deep breath, supporting his body with his long spear, and slowly stood up again from the ruins. His pure white robe, once unsullied by the mundane, was now stained with blood, a shocking sight.

"Senior Brother..."

Seeing this, Luan Mei and the other two struggled to get up, but at that moment, they had no strength left and could only call out anxiously.

Ning Ruyu gripped his spear shaft tightly, his eyes fixed on the "figure" slowly approaching him.

"Give my junior brother... back!"

A theatrical stage expanded behind Ning Ruyu. He stomped his feet hard on the ground, and he shot forward like a white flash of lightning.

A resounding operatic vocal burst from Ning Ruyu's mouth, like spring thunder erupting in the sky. The "Sheng" facial mask once again covered his face. As the tip of his long spear swept forward, the dark clouds in the sky churned rapidly!

A gigantic spear tip, large enough to pierce heaven and earth, materialized from between the clouds, as if a divine general from a play had entered reality. As Ning Ruyu thrust his spear, it descended like divine punishment, glaring angrily at the "figure"!

The "figure" stood still. With a casual wave of the red umbrella in his hand, the theatrical stage behind Ning Ruyu shattered with a thunderous crash.

Ning Ruyu's "performance" was interrupted, and he was forcibly ejected from his "divine general" portrayal. The "Sheng" facial mask on his face dissipated again, and the gigantic spear tip descending from the sky also transformed into countless red papers, vanishing into nothingness...

With a single wave of Mockery Disaster's hand, all of Ning Ruyu's Way of the Theater God enhancements were stripped away. Only he, with his spear, remained, falling from the sky!

Ning Ruyu violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his face instantly turning as white as paper.

The "figure" gently twirled the red paper umbrella in his hand, and an invisible blade traversed the long sky, directly slicing open Ning Ruyu's chest, carving a grotesque bloody wound that ran from his shoulder to his waist!

His white robe stained with blood, Ning Ruyu's body plummeted towards the ground, accompanied by several cries of alarm that echoed through the sky:

"Senior Brother!!"

"Eldest Senior Brother!!!"

Below the stage, Chen Ling watched this scene unfold, his eyes instantly turning crimson, roaring with rage that seemed to tear at his very being.

He pounded his fists against the invisible wall, an unprecedented fear and rage surging through him... He wasn't afraid of Mockery Disaster, but rather of "loss."

Chen Ling wasn't afraid of death; he had already died once when he realized his true identity... But later, the entire Twilight Society mobilized, old friends returned, and he found new meaning in his existence, giving him hope to live on.

But now, the warmth and hope he had finally gained were heading towards destruction right before his eyes...

And the source of the disaster was himself.

"Eldest Senior Brother!!!"

Chen Ling's fingers dug tightly into his palms, crimson blood seeping out. He pounded the Fourth Wall repeatedly, but could only leave trails of bloody imprints in the void...

In the scene on the curtain, "he" was walking step by step towards where Ning Ruyu had fallen.