Chapter 1122: Red Paper Slaughter

Bang!

Jian Changsheng was struck as if by a train head-on. Blood surged as he spun several times in the air before crashing heavily into nearby rocks.

“Damn it!” Upon seeing this, Jack of Spades’ facial tattoos seemed to come alive, engulfing most of his body. Dense spikes, like the jaws of a Venus flytrap, surged overwhelmingly towards the two bishops.

Just then, a hand covered in black fur gently rested on his other, human shoulder.

Jack of Spades' pupils constricted slightly. That half of his body instantly transformed into fine, venomous spikes, which exploded in mid-air. In an instant, a dozen spikes pierced into the black-furred body, but they were firmly stopped by the terrifying strength of the skin and the protective fur, only penetrating less than half a fingernail's thickness.

The black-furred ape-man, clad in leaves, seemed unfazed by the pain. He held a thick bone club, from an unknown creature, and swung it with a whistle towards the wildly growing, strange plants before him. The tip of the bone club shimmered with a chaotic glow.

Boom!!! Earth-shattering power swept across the land. Jack of Spades' calamitous body was sent flying backward by the strike. He only managed to stop himself when his exceptionally resilient, slender roots plunged into the Grey Realm's soil, but most of the plant tissue on his body was already withered from the impact.

Jack of Spades' face emerged from the plant's veins. He scanned the nearby battlefield, seeing that Jian Changsheng and Sun Bumian had both been subdued by the two bishops and were lying helplessly on the ground. Only Jiang Xiaohua, covered in bandages, was barely holding on, relying solely on his physical strength to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the bishops.

But Jiang Xiaohua was ultimately outnumbered. Unable to utilize his divine powers, his injuries were growing more severe and his movements increasingly sluggish. It seemed he was nearing his limit.

Jack of Spades knew clearly that bishops could easily defeat enemies equivalent to a sixth-tier divine path. These three juniors alone were no match for the bishops, and he himself was entangled with an Arch-Bishop. Even if he wanted to help, he was powerless.

Almost simultaneously, another whistling sound cut through the air. The bone club, shimmering with chaotic faint light, descended from the sky.

Jack of Spades' mind raced. As if having made a decision, he used his two Venus flytrap flaps to protect his head, bracing himself for the Arch-Bishop's bone club strike!

A dull thud instantly ripped through the sky! Thud!!

The surface of the Venus flytrap caved in severely. Under the chaotic glow, his body crashed heavily to the ground, like a plant trunk utterly crushed. He lay motionless.

The Arch-Bishop stood still, the leaves at his waist gently swaying in the wind. With the bone club resting on his shoulder, his narrow eyes scanned the distant battlefield.

By now, Jiang Xiaohua was also firmly pinned to the ground. The two bishops stood with their feet on the bodies of Jian Changsheng and the other two, opening their mouths to emit strange, ape-like roars. They seemed to be communicating.

A moment later, the Arch-Bishop let out a roar. Then, with a backhand, he hoisted the plant mass from the ground onto his shoulder, as if carrying spoils of war, and walked straight ahead.

Seeing this, the two bishops said no more. They likewise dragged the unconscious Jian Changsheng and the other two towards a nearby cliff...

The Jiangtian Cult Outpost.

“...Forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five…” Chen Ling was hidden beneath an old wall. Using the faint glimmer of distant dawn, he meticulously counted the figures wandering outside. His eyes narrowed slightly.

That night, Chen Ling had largely understood the situation here. While it outwardly appeared to be a relaxed, primitive village, Chen Ling's careful observation revealed that every three Jiangtian Cult members shared a house, with strict demographic divisions. Furthermore, all cult members adhered to a uniform and fixed daily schedule. It was less a village and more a military camp or a rigorously disciplined religious training ground.

“This is going to be somewhat troublesome…”

Given this setup, if Chen Ling wanted to eliminate everyone in this village, he would have to eliminate the three Jiangtian Cult members in each house simultaneously. Otherwise, any survivor would expose his presence and trigger a full siege from the entire outpost.

But for the current Chen Ling, it was merely a minor inconvenience.

Chen Ling's gaze fixed on a house at the very edge of the village. He reached up and tore at his chin, and as a piece of skin drifted into the air, he had transformed into the Jiangtian Cult member who had carried the torch yesterday. Clad in a red robe, he walked directly towards it.

Creak—

As the door creaked open, the three Jiangtian Cult members resting inside looked up, puzzled, towards the entrance.

“Zheng Ye, what are you doing here?” Seeing the familiar face, the three were startled.

“I came to talk to you about the two Fusionists from last night.”

Calmly, Chen Ling closed the door behind him.

“Those two Fusionists? What happened to them?”

“I found something on them. Come closer…”

As he spoke, Chen Ling walked towards the three men. Meanwhile, a playful smile appeared in his slightly crimson eyes…

The next moment, he forcefully tore at his own cheek.

Whoosh!!! Under the horrified gazes of the three men, half of Chen Ling's body transformed into a crimson monster. Three red paper tentacles shot out rapidly, like lightning, piercing into their astonished, open mouths, then through their throats and necks!

It all happened too fast. The three couldn't even utter a sound. Perhaps due to the abundant vitality granted by the Red Star's power, they didn't die immediately, even with their throats pierced. Instead, they struggled in horror…

They watched, wide-eyed, as their own bodies were pierced by the three red paper tentacles. Then, as Chen Ling casually raised his hand, their bodies hung in mid-air like sausages.

Chen Ling, transformed into a red paper monster, was a terrifying entity, as if stepped out of a nightmare. Dense red paper tentacles coiled like snakes throughout the room. The three Jiangtian Cult members were utterly powerless against him. They could only desperately clutch the red paper piercing them with both hands, their legs flailing wildly… They stared fixedly at Chen Ling, who remained half-human, half-monster, their eyes filled with unprecedented horror.

Chen Ling, half-human, half-calamity, seemed to inhale the scent of the Red Star's power permeating the air. A look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

“A familiar scent… truly delicious.”

Chen Ling’s lips curved upwards, and he unconsciously licked his lips. Immediately after, dozens of crimson paper sheets surged from his body, directly piercing the bodies of the three Jiangtian Cult members.

These red paper tentacles continuously writhed, like living entities, frantically devouring the blood within the three men. At the culmination of this, the look of ecstasy on Chen Ling's face intensified, as if he were indulging in a joyful, monstrous feast.

Soon, the bodies of the three Jiangtian Cult members were drained dry and dropped to the ground with a thud. Lifeless, only their eyes remained, wide with horror and despair, staring fixedly in Chen Ling's direction, unable to close even in death.