Chapter 1132: Foldback

By Sanjiu YinyuWord Count: 1324

"Hmph."

Jack's voice drifted up from the dark underground, and faintly, plant roots writhed below. "I've been digging this tunnel for almost a day to complete it... You're lucky I finished it just now; otherwise, I couldn't have saved you."

"No, wait!" Jian Changsheng cried out urgently as he fell. "We can't leave yet! Hearts is still up there!"

"What Hearts?" Jack's voice sounded confused.

"Chen Ling!" Jian Changsheng had no time to explain. He immediately grabbed a protruding rock beside him, using the terrifying strength in his fingertips to halt his descent, and looked up...

The tunnel Jack had dug was extremely deep; from this depth, the torches on the ground were almost out of sight. Moreover, the Crimson Heaven Cult members hadn't pursued them, likely due to the inconvenience during the ritual. Jian Changsheng gritted his teeth, pushed off the edge of the tunnel, and like a cheetah, charged back towards the surface!

"Is he crazy?!" Jack exclaimed, dumbfounded by the sight. "I went through all this trouble to dig this tunnel for him, and now he's halfway out and wants to go back to his death??"

Sun Bumian watched the figure rush back towards the surface without hesitation. After a moment of internal struggle, he let out a helpless sigh... He activated his Cloud Steps, stabilized himself in mid-air, and then lifted his foot, preparing to ascend towards the surface.

"You're going too?"

"What choice do I have?" Sun Bumian shrugged. "He's adamant that person is Hearts, and we can't just leave like this... Let's trust him this one time. If he's wrong, I wouldn't mind having a junior named 'Sun Changsheng' added to my family tree."

As he finished speaking, he stepped into the void, soaring upwards like a bolt of lightning!

"Then you..." Jack turned to the last of the "Six" generation. Before he could speak, the latter had already plunged both hands into the vertical cliff face, his slender body arching like a beast... Then, pushing off with his feet, he scaled the cliff with the speed of white lightning, tearing through the air in the narrow space with a series of roars!

Jack: ...

He looked at the three disappearing figures above him, then at the tunnel he had painstakingly dug below his feet, his expression utterly priceless. "...So I'm just supposed to leave???"

"What's happening?! They actually escaped?!""When did the stone locks on them open??""And a tunnel... Damn it, they had already secretly dug an escape route!"

After Jian Changsheng and the other two plunged into the earth, both the two cardinals and the ordinary Crimson Heaven Cult members were utterly shocked, seemingly unable to comprehend how they could have achieved this silently while God's Path was suppressed.

"What should we do? Should we pursue them?" someone asked anxiously.

The High Priest remained with his palms pressed against the altar, muscles bulging on his arms as if straining to support something... He opened his wild, ape-like mouth, letting out a series of low growls. Seeing this, Zheng Ye immediately spoke:

"Don't pursue them! Completing the ritual is paramount! Quickly, bring the reserved vegetables and fruits!" For the ritual, offerings didn't necessarily have to be human; anything from Earth would suffice... Now that the ritual was halfway complete and the High Priest couldn't move freely, there was no need to risk pursuing the escapees.

As soon as he spoke, several Crimson Heaven Cult members on the periphery immediately moved, running towards the vegetable and fruit storage. Dust billowed, the ground rumbled, and the ritual was thrown into disarray.

Chen Ling quietly stood at the edge, his heart, which had been in his throat, finally settling.

"It seems these three aren't as foolish as I thought..." Chen Ling had originally worried that Jian Changsheng and the others wouldn't be able to escape on their own, leaving him to disrupt the situation himself... But now it seemed they had been preparing their escape methods all along.

With them gone, Chen Ling felt much more at ease.

Chen Ling's gaze fixed on the High Priest at the center of the altar. He lightly licked his lips. This hunter, who had always hidden at the edge of the crowd, finally took a step forward.

Audience Anticipation: 3Current Anticipation: 58

*Bang—!!*

Just then, the ground in front of the bonfire suddenly burst open, and a dark figure shot out from underground! Jian Changsheng, propelled by inertia, burst through the surface. His leather attire emerged from the dust, and under the bewildered and astonished gaze of many Crimson Heaven Cult members, he landed heavily back on the ground!

After him, two more figures ascended: one floated in the air with Cloud Steps, and the other slammed to the ground like a cannonball, knocking down two or three surrounding Crimson Heaven Cult members on the spot.

Chen Ling: ???

Chen Ling, who had been about to act, was utterly baffled. He racked his brain but couldn't fathom why these three had come back again.

"They want to disrupt the ritual?!" Zheng Ye, startled, immediately exclaimed, "Stop them! Don't let them get near the High Priest!"

As soon as he spoke, the surrounding Crimson Heaven Cult members swarmed forward. The two cardinals, with a cold snort, moved with such speed that they left trails of afterimages, charging directly towards the three. With God's Path unusable, for these three to still dare to return was no different from seeking death.

Jiang Xiaohua, without a word, charged irresistibly towards one of the cardinals, engaging him in a brutal fight with his terrifying physical strength. Sun Bumian glanced at Jian Changsheng, sighed silently, and then pointed into the air at the other cardinal:

"—Freeze!"

Although God's Path was unusable, Sun Bumian knew more than just God's Path... His Theater Dao secret techniques were already perfected.

Jian Changsheng had no other means; he could only forcefully push through the crowd. His gaze fixed on the red-clad figure standing not far away, and he shouted:

"Chen Ling!! I knew it was you! Come with us, quickly!"

Chen Ling's expression became incredibly complex at this sight.

He knew his disguise had been seen through by Jian Changsheng... This guy had witnessed him consuming Crimson Heaven Cult members in the Red Dust Realm, so it was likely the subtle detail of swallowing his saliva just now that gave him away.

He didn't deny it; he simply stood there quietly, shaking his head calmly:

"No... I'm not leaving."

"Why??"

"I can't go back."

"Bullshit!!" Jian Changsheng gritted his teeth and shouted, the words he had suppressed for days pouring out. "Aren't they just those rumors spread in the Human Realm?! Let them say whatever they want! We just need to be ourselves! Who cares what they think?!"

"...Rumors?"

Chen Ling gave a bitter laugh, his eyes filled with helplessness.

Countless Crimson Heaven Cult members surged towards Jian Changsheng. Even the two cardinals temporarily broke free from Jiang Xiaohua and Sun Bumian's entanglement, heading straight for him... Amidst the roaring torches, Chen Ling's solitary shadow danced like a specter.

He gently spread his arms, like a scarlet fire about to consume everything, the power of calamity surging wildly within him!

"What they say isn't entirely rumors."

"Look closely at me now... Am I still the same Chen Ling?"