Chapter 1143: Separations?

As Jian Changsheng collapsed face-first to the ground, Chen Ling dismissed the revolver in his hand and slowly stood up. He walked straight towards the "spectators' area" nearby.

Sun Buxian and Jiang Xiaohua's eyelids twitched. They simultaneously turned their heads to look elsewhere, as if they hadn't noticed anything here at all, but were instead admiring the beautiful scenery of the Grey Realm.

"It's understandable that Spades would rush in blindly," Chen Ling said, a little speechless. "But how did you two end up joining the commotion?"

"I don't know," Jiang Xiaohua replied honestly.

"Spades said everyone should come... so I came."

Chen Ling turned to Sun Buxian. "What about you?"

"...Do you believe me if I say I came to join the Integration Faction?"

"You? What have you integrated?"

"What I integrate isn't important. What's important is that I need the Integration Faction's power to avenge myself!" Sun Buxian gritted his teeth, as if remembering something.

Chen Ling couldn't follow Sun Buxian's train of thought. His gaze fell upon a somewhat familiar figure.

"I recognize you... We met in the Limitless Realm." He hadn't recognized them when he saw the rotting plant earlier, but now seeing the person themselves, Chen Ling quickly recalled where they had met.

"Diamond J of the Twilight Society. I'm just a guide," Diamond J said with a shrug.

"A guide... Are you part of the Integration Faction?"

"I used to be."

Noticing the peculiar expression on Diamond J's face, Chen Ling wisely chose not to ask further questions.

"Anyway... that's the situation," Chen Ling earnestly explained again. "Right now, I'm at the Integration Faction learning to control the Calamity of Mockery, and I also have some matters to attend to... I won't be able to return anytime soon."

Sun Buxian blinked. "I know. We both saw everything that happened."

"...So you didn't try to stop him?"

"Could we have stopped him?"

Chen Ling was momentarily unable to refute.

"But speaking of which, since you knew everything, why didn't you explain it clearly from the start? Did you really have to fight him?" Sun Buxian couldn't help but ask.

"He came here with resentment; he wouldn't be satisfied without a fight," Chen Ling said, pausing for a moment. "Also, I have a premonition that the Human Realm is about to descend into chaos... He needs to suffer a bit to motivate him to focus on improving his strength."

"The Human Realm is going to be in chaos? How?"

"I'm not sure yet; I have too little information... I need to go back and discuss it thoroughly with Teacher Ye."

Chen Ling glanced at the time and said nothing more. Instead, he stepped onto the centipede's head, his large red opera robe slowly rising in the night.

"This is important, so I'll be leaving now... It shouldn't be long until we meet again."

With that, Chen Ling turned in the dim light.

The menacing centipede army, as if receiving a command, swarmed and crawled towards the Mother Tree of the Integration Faction, quickly disappearing over the horizon.

Only after Chen Ling had gone far away did a faint groan come from behind.

Jian Changsheng was seen holding his head, staggering as he got up from the ground. The wound from the black stick, which had pierced him earlier, had mostly healed thanks to the Blood Robe, but he still appeared covered in bloodstains and very disheveled.

"Spades, are you alright?" Jiang Xiaohua asked softly.

"...I'm fine, just a bit of a headache," Jian Changsheng said, shaking his head. "I feel like something's been added to my mind..."

Sun Buxian immediately thought of the "Realm Chaos" Chen Ling had just mentioned and asked curiously:

"What did you see?"

"I saw... a crimson star fall from the sky."

"A crimson star???" Sun Buxian froze, his expression instantly turning grim. "No wonder... This is indeed a serious matter."

"Where's Hearts?"

"He's already left, back to the Integration Faction."

"Oh..."

Chen Ling's apology undoubtedly dispelled all the resentment in Jian Changsheng's heart. His most important goal in coming all this way had been achieved. As for whether Chen Ling would return... he had already given an explanation, so it didn't matter if he didn't.

A faint breeze swept across the barren lands of the Grey Realm, whistling through the ruins of the Crimson Sky Cult branch. Pebbles and remnants of bodies rolled past them, and the world fell into a deadly silence.

Finally, Sun Buxian was the first to speak:

"So... what now?"

Their purpose for this trip had been to find Chen Ling. Now that he wasn't at the Integration Faction and Chen Ling's matter had been resolved, they were momentarily at a loss as to where to go.

"I'm going to find a place for arduous training!" Jian Changsheng declared without hesitation. The shadow of being brutally beaten by Chen Ling earlier still hung over him like a dark cloud, making him grit his teeth even as he spoke.

"Especially this damn killing aura inside me... I absolutely must find a way to fully harness it for my own use!"

"How do you plan to do that?"

"..." Jian Changsheng scratched his head. "I don't know yet... I'll just have to figure it out bit by bit."

Diamond J looked at Jian Changsheng.

"What's inside you is unusual. Without a proper method, trying to control it rashly will only harm you... You should have experienced this firsthand."

Jian Changsheng recalled the recent scene, his brow immediately furrowing in distress. "So what do I do???"

Diamond J was silent for a long time before speaking again:

"Perhaps... you still need a 'teacher' to guide you."

"Big Brother Chen Ling, who are they?" On the centipede's back, Xiaotao couldn't help but ask.

Chen Ling paused for a moment. "They are my companions from the Human Realm."

"Oh..."

Xiaotao and the other three nodded slightly. They immediately imagined the legendary "companions" from novels: powerful protagonists always surrounded by a group of strong, interesting, and outstanding supporting characters. Their eyes began to sparkle.

Xiaotao even felt a bit of regret. She should have gathered her courage earlier and interacted with those legendary companions. If word got back to the Integration Faction, everyone else would probably be incredibly envious.

"By the way, Xiaotao, do you remember how you got here?" Chen Ling suddenly asked.

Xiaotao paused, exchanged a glance with Miaomiao, then roughly explained what happened. It was similar to Xiaobai's previous description; even the location of the ball of thread was the same.

Chen Ling sat atop the giant centipede's head, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

Chen Ling had figured out all the other processes, but there was one thing he didn't understand: Since the Calamity of Thought couldn't easily leave the Storm Island, how did it manage to leave that mark on the Integration Faction's Mother Tree?

That was the Integration Faction's headquarters. Under its canopy, even calamities couldn't approach. It was unknown how far it was from the Mother Tree, yet it could leave a physical trap without anyone noticing?

Chen Ling pondered for a long time but found no answer. As the centipede army crawled through the Grey Realm, Xiaotao and the others, who had been nervous at first, gradually grew drowsy, perhaps due to exhaustion from being controlled by the Calamity of Thought. Eventually, they simply leaned against each other and fell asleep.

When the morning sun slowly rose in the distance, the silhouette of the towering Mother Tree finally emerged from the horizon.