Chapter 1321: Bring the Wine!!

At that moment, Chen Ling felt a line of small characters silently vanish from the twisted divine path beneath his feet. "On your most familiar stage, defeat another 'self'." Chen Ling had won. Although the process had been incredibly tortuous and perilous, he ultimately emerged as the sole victor on this stage.

Chen Ling did not leave immediately, nor was he in a hurry to claim the rewards for this performance. His gaze remained fixed on the headless, black-robed phantom at his feet. "I am not you; I will not make the same mistake," he muttered. "This time… I won't leave you the slightest chance to turn the tables." Chen Ling slowly squatted down, his four arms reaching for the black-robed phantom's body, his eyes glinting with ruthlessness and madness! He opened his mouth menacingly and bit into the silent head! "Aaaaaaaah!!!" The black-robed phantom, which had been feigning death, was instantly engulfed in intense pain, its sharp wails echoing across the entire stage!

Like Chen Ling, a beheaded audience member would not die; at most, they would lose the ability to resist. Chen Ling could, of course, cut the black-robed phantom into pieces and consume it bit by bit, but that still seemed too risky. The black-robed phantom was simply too strange; Chen Ling didn't trust leaving it alone on the stage. Furthermore, he had witnessed the phantom extracting Yang Xiao's ability and knew that the power of the Aurora Monarch could upset the balance of internal strife among the calamities. If the phantom got another chance to cause trouble and extract Yang Xiao's ability, everything would be over. Ultimately, the black-robed phantom was "illiterate" in this regard; if it had chosen to extract Yang Xiao's ability from the start instead of the other calamity, Chen Ling would never have had a chance to retaliate. This victory had been hard-won, and Chen Ling could not afford to leave himself any potential hidden dangers.

As Chen Ling took the first bite, a surge of negative emotions flooded his mind—a part of himself that he had once forced out of his body. But now, he had to personally force all of it back into himself. His hatred, his rage, his resentment, his grievances... With every mouthful Chen Ling consumed, these elements exploded in his mind, shattering his consciousness and sanity.

"You're insane!" the black-robed phantom struggled, on the verge of death. "If you swallow me whole, your mind won't be able to bear it! You'll become a true lunatic!" Chen Ling laughed loudly while chewing the remnants in his mouth. "You think you can?! I'd like to see how far you can push me into madness!" With one bite, Chen Ling tore off half the head, chewing it ferociously, then turned his gaze to the remaining half of the body and continued to bite wildly.

Throughout this process, Chen Ling continuously used the Aurora Monarch's ability to stabilize his soul, preventing himself from being overwhelmed by the negative emotions. Otherwise, he would have collapsed on the spot, or even become a vegetable, upon devouring the entire head in one go. However, the Aurora was not omnipotent, and moreover, these negative emotions were inherently his own. Chen Ling could not use it to completely eradicate these emotions, only to ensure his mind remained conscious.

Bite after bite after bite... As more and more negative emotions poured into his body, Chen Ling's aura grew increasingly stronger. This third 'slaying of evil' allowed him to control a power of 'mocking disaster' that was several times greater than the previous two combined! Chen Ling didn't know how much stronger he would become after this 'slaying of evil,' nor did he have time to consider it. He simply devoured the black-robed phantom's body mechanically, his soul, enveloped by the aurora, teetering like a sapling in a raging flood.

Pain, an unprecedented pain! It felt as if a thousand people were cursing him in his mind, and the overwhelming negative emotions made Chen Ling's eyes bloodshot. As he swallowed the last piece of the black-robed phantom's body, he immediately staggered to his feet and stumbled towards the reality behind the curtain.

"Wu Yi!!!!" "Wine!!!" "Quick, give me wine!!!" Chen Ling, who had just been ready to dismember Wu Yi, suddenly opened his eyes wide and roared, his eyes almost splitting from their sockets!

The next moment, the world-destroying pressure that had been confining Wu Yi suddenly vanished. Wu Yi was startled at first, then a surge of wild joy, like surviving a catastrophe, washed over it! It was the King! Its familiar King was back! Although Wu Yi didn't know what had happened, it rushed out of the underground palace without hesitation, leaving behind only a red-robed mad king clutching his head, roaring heart-wrenchingly in the empty hall.

At this point, Chen Ling was barely holding on. He felt his consciousness tearing apart, two different personalities fiercely arguing within him! He had never felt time pass so slowly. Finally, Wu Yi, accompanied by a group of centipedes, approached, carrying jar after jar of Five-Poison Wine, making hissing sounds outside the palace.

Chen Ling let out a low growl, and the next moment, his body transformed into a red lightning bolt, flashing directly from the main hall to outside the palace. Before the centipedes could even clearly see what was happening, Chen Ling had already landed heavily on Wu Yi's back, clasped an entire jar of Five-Poison Wine in his hands, and tilted his head back, guzzling it down! The overflowing liquid trickled down Chen Ling's lips as he swallowed greedily, finishing the entire jar in mere seconds. The centipedes were all dumbfounded; it was important to know that the amount in this jar was ten times that of a single cup served at the welcoming banquet. Drinking so desperately, even the venomous chiefs might not be able to withstand it.

But after finishing one jar, Chen Ling showed no sign of stopping. He slammed the empty jar to the ground with a bang, then rushed to another unopened jar, smacked it open with his palm, creating a crack, and tilted his head back to continue chugging! Endless pain surged in Chen Ling's mind; the only relief came from the extreme euphoria brought by the Five-Poison Wine!

"Your Majesty, you cannot drink any more," Wu Yi said, seeing Chen Ling finish a second jar. "Even you cannot drink Five-Poison Wine like water... It will cause problems!" Wu Yi instantly grew restless and tried to say something to dissuade him.

But Chen Ling couldn't hear it at all. After smashing the jar in his hand, he abruptly looked at the third jar beside him. A mere second later, he was cradling the cracked jar and chugging loudly! *Bang—!* Chen Ling once again smashed the empty jar. "Bring more wine!!!" Chen Ling roared incoherently. Wu Yi was utterly dumbfounded. It tried to lead the drunken Chen Ling back to rest, but Chen Ling suddenly flung his sleeve. "Don't touch me!! Don't any of you touch me!!!" Wu Yi immediately froze. It was at a loss, unsure whether to comply or not, but as Chen Ling unleashed his world-destroying aura across the area, it obediently turned back to fetch more wine.

The fourth jar, the fifth jar, the sixth jar... Chen Ling didn't remember how much he had drunk; he only knew that the endless euphoria finally allowed him to recover from the pain and catch his breath, before his vision went black and he completely lost consciousness.

*Thud—* The large red opera robe collapsed to the ground, utterly drunk.