Chapter 1322: Illusionary Assault

Seeing their king lying drunk on the ground, the many centipedes exchanged bewildered glances.

The commotion Chen Ling had caused earlier had already disturbed several calamities of the Ghost Mirth Abyss. Numerous venomous insects, perched on distant cliffs, looked towards them, rustling as if discussing something, but soon dispersed as if nothing had happened, seemingly unsurprised by Chen Ling's heavy intoxication.

Wu Yi had initially intended to carry Chen Ling back to the palace, but remembering Chen Ling's earlier instruction not to touch him, it dared not make any extra movements.

After much deliberation, it simply stayed by Chen Ling's side, guarding the mud-like figure and intending to wait there until the king awoke.

Time passed, minute by minute.

Chen Ling, whose face had initially shown pain, gradually relaxed, his chest rising and falling steadily, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

***

Jadefall Realm.

On the bustling streets, three subtly disguised figures quickly moved through the crowd, heading straight towards the edge of the realm.

"It's a good thing the Jadefall Realm isn't a hard shell like the South Sea Realm. Otherwise, it would take us a lot of effort to get out unnoticed," Sun Bumian remarked, looking at the approaching boundary line in the distance.

Jian Changsheng shrugged. "Worst comes to worst, we'll just fight our way out."

Sun Bumian was a little speechless. "I'm telling you, after half a year in the Gray Realm, isn't your killer instinct a bit too strong? Yesterday, when you bought clothes, they overcharged you by a hundred, and you almost split them with a sword."

"What?! No, I was just acting! And I was holding a plastic toy sword!" Jian Changsheng protested, completely innocent.

"I know you were acting, but..."

"But you played the part too convincingly," Jiang Xiaohua quietly added.

Jian Changsheng was speechless.

"Well, didn't you tell me to act fiercer? So people wouldn't realize we were outsiders, making it easier to bargain?" Jian Changsheng grumbled. "Didn't he end up giving us a discount?!"

"Alright, alright, next time I'll handle the bargaining myself."

Sun Bumian let out a long sigh.

After arriving at the Jadefall Realm, Jian Changsheng and Jiang Xiaohua found a hotel, washed off the accumulated grime, bought new clothes, and had a hearty meal. Just as they were about to get some good sleep, the strange nightmare, suspected to be Chen Ling, slapped each of them awake.

Fortunately, the three of them were already well-rested. Upon discovering Chen Ling's unusual state, they chose to depart immediately.

The trio reached the edge of the Jadefall Realm, where there was no wall, only a circular iron fence for warning. After all, the Jadefall Realm was quite large, neither possessing natural barriers like the South Sea Realm nor having an abundance of power gods to construct "black walls" like the Hidden Cloud Realm. Thus, these measures were the only way to warn residents not to proceed further.

Jian Changsheng and the others simply climbed over the iron fence, stepping outside the Jadefall Realm's boundaries.

Just as they were orienting themselves and preparing to head directly to the Ghost Mirth Abyss, a series of rumbling sounds echoed from the distance.

"...Is that an earthquake?"

Sun Bumian looked down and saw small, scattered stones on the ground trembling faintly, as if something massive was approaching.

Jian Changsheng frowned, sniffed the air twice, then dropped to the ground like a dog, listening to the sounds of the earth with his ears.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't talk," Jian Changsheng replied. After discerning for a moment, his expression suddenly turned grim.

"Damn it... it's those bastards from the Mountain of Illusion!"

Sun Bumian was greatly shocked. "You can tell that?!"

"It's simple. If it were the giant tortoises from the Forbidden Sea, you'd smell their fishy odor from a mile away, but there's none here, so rule them out first. The insects from the Ghost Mirth Abyss move underground, not on the surface. The vegetation in the Bitter Flesh Mire moves extremely slowly. The skeletal behemoths from the Wilds of Sighs are fast and heavy-footed. And the abominations from the Mountain of Illusion are all skin and no bone, so they're very light. The sounds these four calamities make when running on the ground are completely different."

Jian Changsheng explained earnestly.

As the three spoke, the tremors beneath their feet grew stronger. In the distance, beneath the sky, clouds of dust swept towards them like a sandstorm!

Sun Bumian was about to say something else, but the next moment, a dense, ear-splitting shriek erupted from within the dust storm!

*Buzzzzz—!!!*

It was as if thousands of beasts roared simultaneously, and a terrifying aura swept across the sky!

At the same time, the Jadefall Realm behind the trio also seemed to sense the anomaly, as figures began to soar from the city.

With the furious calamities from the Mountain of Illusion charging from the front and the Jadefall forces rushing to defend their home from behind, the trio was caught in the middle, in an awkward predicament.

"They seem to be heading for the Jadefall Realm..." Jiang Xiaohua said dully. "What do we do?"

"Damn it, why do they have to attack just when we're about to leave??"

Jian Changsheng was annoyed.

With the calamities of the Mountain of Illusion besieging the city, it wouldn't be easy for the three of them to fight their way out. Even if they were formidable fighters, it would be difficult to break through a well-prepared doomsday territory.

Sun Bumian glanced at the many figures rapidly approaching from behind and said in a deep voice:

"Forcing our way through the Mountain of Illusion now is definitely not an option. We'll have to take cover for a while, at least until the Jadefall Realm's forces can hold off their main army. Only then can we find an opportunity to break through."

Though Jian Changsheng was anxious, there was no other way. Sun Bumian's judgment was the most accurate; even if they were to force their way, they needed to wait for the right moment.

"I hope that guy, Red Heart, can hold out until we get there..."

He murmured to himself.

***

Ghost Mirth Abyss.

A desolate cold wind swept through the narrow abyss, producing wailing sounds like ghosts. The scattered sand and pebbles were blown along the ground. Inside the dark, deep centipede nest, a monstrous shadow slowly opened its eyes...

It was the seventh day since Chen Ling had activated "Slayer's Blade."

And today,

was the day the Centipede Venom Head would challenge the "King."

That night, the Centipede Venom Head couldn't sleep a wink. Every time it closed its eyes, images of the terrifying and insane "King" slowly toying with and dismembering centipedes would surface in its mind.

It trembled, it feared, it was so terrified by the King's shadow that it couldn't sleep.

The Centipede Venom Head was filled with immense regret. It should have challenged the King directly seven days ago instead of delaying until now. This wasn't because it believed these seven days had given the King a chance to recover, but simply because these past seven days had been an agonizing torment. Compared to being tormented by fear, it would rather have been killed by the King then and there.

After days of torment, when it truly faced this moment, its heart was surprisingly calm. The Centipede Venom Head's massive body slowly crawled out of the cave. Its movements were slow yet resolute, like a prisoner about to head to the execution ground.

Today, it had to end everything.