Chapter 1081: Destroy It

The Boundless Domain.

Luan Mei and the other two's exclamations echoed in the wailing cold wind. Ning Ruyu's blood gradually stained the ground crimson. Under the large red paper umbrella, Chao casually withdrew his gaze.

Ning Ruyu's sacrifice indeed bought considerable time for the people inside The Bridge. Many had already left the Calamity Zone and reached the safe areas of the Gray Realm.

However, the majority of civilians were still on The Bridge at this moment.

The figure gazed far into the distance at the golden chains above the firmament, then raised a hand again, reaching into the void...

Of the nine Eighth-rank powerhouses present, five were already dead, and four were gravely wounded and close to death. Looking across the entire domain, no one could stop the Calamity Chao in the slightest.

"It's over..." Sun Buming's bitter voice came from the side. "That Executor was right; we're all going to die here..."

Jian Changsheng clenched his teeth. For some reason, as he looked at the figure holding the red paper umbrella, his heart rate accelerated, as if something was about to burst from his chest.

Jian Changsheng knew that most of those tens of thousands of people wouldn't survive, so he simply closed his eyes, awaiting the arrival of despair.

However,

The moment the figure reached into the void, everything around them suddenly froze.

In the dead silence, Jian Changsheng felt a strange sensation. He opened his eyes blankly and saw everything before him folding like paper.

Ning Ruyu's corpse, Luan Mei and the other two, even Sun Buming, Jiang Xiaohua, Hong Xiu — everything within sight quickly folded and condensed behind Jian Changsheng, like a three-dimensional children's picture book, eventually transforming into a blank optical disc, quietly floating in the hand of a young man in a theatrical robe.

Jian Changsheng stood amidst the empty void, stunned for a good while before regaining his senses, and spoke in surprise:

"Senior Red King?!"

The familiar youthful face before him was no different from a savior in Jian Changsheng's eyes. If anyone could still save them now, it would only be the Red King of the Twilight Society, who had not yet appeared. After all, ever since leaving the Mortal Realm, he had been suppressing the Calamity Chao and had even rescued Chen Ling.

But the next moment, Jian Changsheng was slightly startled.

Compared to the Red King in his memory, the Red King before him looked much more haggard. His bloodshot eyes revealed profound weariness and complexity, and beneath his youthful facade, he seemed to carry a world-weary soul.

"Since Chao is here, I cannot maintain this 'save file' for too long," the Red King said calmly and directly.

"Spade 6, Jian Changsheng, do you... want to save Chen Ling?"

"Yes, but..."

Jian Changsheng regained his composure, a bitter expression on his face. "But I'm only a Fourth-rank. I'm not even enough to stick in Chao's teeth... It still depends on you, Senior, to save him."

"This time, I cannot save him," the Red King shook his head.

"The Calamity Chao has two states: one is a 'stable state' where a certain consciousness dominates, and the other is an 'unordered state' where all consciousnesses are chaotic simultaneously. The Chao we encountered in the Gray Realm was in a stable state.

In the stable state, I can find an opportunity to use the rank-token to restrain his actions, but in the unordered state, the rank-token cannot trap him... unless one of the consciousnesses within Chao regains dominance."

"Then... how can Chen Ling's consciousness take dominance??"

"That, he can only do himself," the Red King said indifferently. "Only if he takes that step will there be a sliver of possibility for him to fully control the Calamity Chao in the future... If he cannot, 'Chen Ling' is destined to fail... and this era will also be destined to fail."

Jian Changsheng didn't understand the Red King's meaning, only asking cautiously:

"Then... what if he doesn't take that step?"

The Red King was silent for a moment. He glanced at Ning Ruyu's corpse on the optical disc, the dying Luan Mei and others, and the eerily radiating Calamity Chao... and slowly spoke:

"Then I will immediately go and kill all remaining Nine Monarchs, reverse the era, and restart the world."

The Red King's tone was calm and detached, as if this was no difficult feat for him, but in Jian Changsheng's ears, it shocked him speechless.

Jian Changsheng could feel that the Red King was serious...

"Then what did you mean earlier about me saving Chen Ling?" Jian Changsheng retorted.

"For Chen Ling to take that step, he must face the backlash from Chao's other consciousnesses. During this time, if someone can divert Chao's attention, his success rate will greatly increase," the Red King paused.

"But I am of the Theatrical God Path; without using a rank-token, almost all my abilities are ineffective against Chao..."

"You're not... thinking of me, are you?!" Jian Changsheng's eyes widened. "How could I possibly..."

"The only one who can potentially distract Chao now is you."

The Red King's gaze towards Jian Changsheng was solemn like never before. "Jian Changsheng, the power within you is far greater than you imagine..."

"The power within me?"

Jian Changsheng was somewhat bewildered. Previously, whenever Chen Ling lost control, there seemed to be a reaction within him, but he didn't know what exactly happened.

"Within you, there dwells the soul of a former Demigod from the Martial God Path," the Red King paused. "But now, his power is only around Seventh-rank. Trying to distract the Calamity Chao with that is almost impossible."

Hearing the first half of the sentence, Jian Changsheng was visibly startled. After all, having a second soul hidden inside sounded quite unsettling, and he hadn't noticed it himself at all...

"Then..."

"His power is insufficient to distract the Calamity Chao, but there is something on you that has been continuously suppressing the demigod's killing intent, like a reservoir, storing it and isolating it from the outside world.

If all the killing intent stored there is released, you will gain the power of a demigod for a short period, allowing you to distract the Calamity Chao.

So, it's not the soul within you that can help Chen Ling...

It is you, Jian Changsheng."

Jian Changsheng was stunned.

He seemed to realize something and looked down at his neck...

There, a silver pendant shaped like a knife hilt hung quietly.

"It's this..."

This pendant was made by Chen Ling and Sun Buming using a Heaven-Reaching Astrolabe, storing a large amount of human fortune. It was precisely because of its existence that Jian Changsheng's misfortune was suppressed. Although he didn't gain good luck, he at least approached the level of an ordinary person.

It was also the first time Jian Changsheng learned that his misfortune was originally caused by the demigod's killing intent, and this pendant had isolated the demigod's killing intent within him, temporarily shielding him from misfortune...

"What should I do to release the killing intent?"

"Destroy it."

The Red King slowly spoke, "Destroying the vessel will instantly release all the accumulated killing intent within it, but the misfortune that was once isolated will also return like a tide... In other words, your life will once again become arduous.

I will not force you to make any decision. To save or not to save, you choose."

Jian Changsheng gripped the pendant in his hand and lowered his head, falling silent.