Chapter 1338: Thanks to Jiang Tian

Chapter 1339: Thanks to Crimson Sky

A world-ending pressure, terrifying in its might, surged from beneath the leaden-grey clouds!

The moment Chen Ling unleashed his power, the blazing torch at the village's center seemed to be suppressed by an unseen force, gradually dimming and shrinking. Light receded from around Chen Ling like a tide, while darkness, like a ravenous flood, furiously consumed the entire village.

Chen Ling's hair seemed to defy gravity, each strand rising and floating. His feet, too, lifted from the ground, slowly ascending into the air... His pitch-black theatrical robe billowed wildly, though there was no wind.

Upon that pitch-black, grotesque face, a pair of crimson eyes gleamed like mocking devils.

Cloaked entirely in black, Chen Ling gazed down upon the struggling ants, like a god mockingly toying with mortals.

"You... dare to defy me?"

"Are you even worthy?"

Extreme negative emotions surged within Chen Ling, as if a second personality had awakened inside him, causing him to burst into maniacal laughter.

Audience Expectation Value: 2Current Expectation Value: 27

Under the hurricane-like, world-ending pressure, the two archbishops gritted their teeth, clutching their bone staves tightly. They pushed off the ground with immense force, rocketing skyward like two missiles.

In the human realm, an archbishop was powerful enough to overwhelm a Rank 7 combatant. Beyond their unique ability to disrupt all divine paths, their physical prowess was comparable to disasters of the same caliber. Now, the two archbishops gripped their bone staves, swinging them skyward with all their might, generating successive sonic booms.

Yet, before the current Chen Ling, their efforts were still mere child's play.

"Clowns."

Chen Ling uttered the words indifferently, then stomped forcefully on the empty air beneath him!

THUD—!!!!

As the black-robed figure stepped down, space itself warped. The terrifying force compressed the air, unleashing a sharp, instantaneous shriek, and visible shockwaves swept across the sky!

The next second, the two fully committed archbishops were swatted down like insects. Their bones simultaneously twisted and fractured, and after violently spewing a mouthful of blood, they plummeted back to the earth like meteors.

CRASH!!!

The earth shattered, and houses collapsed. In the wake of the archbishops' impact, half the village was instantly reduced to dust.

Yet, bodies enhanced by Crimson Star Aspiration Power were remarkably resilient. Even after enduring a direct blow from Chen Ling, the two archbishops did not die instantly. Instead, they were deeply embedded in the earth's cracks, their chests heaving violently, their breastbones shattered.

Blood stained their eyes. Just as they struggled to free themselves from the earth, a dark silhouette silently materialized above them...

In that instant, their eyes reflected nothing but endless terror and despair.

Two hands suddenly clamped down on their necks, pressing their bodies back into the earth. Under the crushing force, the surrounding ground actually rippled like waves.

The two archbishops clutched desperately at the arm constricting their throats, yet even with all their might, they could not budge it an inch. Their bodies were effortlessly and slowly lifted, like cured meat, suspended before the pitch-black theatrical robe...

Those grotesque crimson eyes were mere inches from their faces.

"It's been a long time since I tasted an archbishop's essence."

Chen Ling lightly licked his lips.

CRACK!

With a sudden surge of strength, Chen Ling snapped off the archbishops' heads with his bare hands. Two crimson geysers of blood shot skyward, spraying like fountains across the surrounding ground...

Large quantities of Crimson Star Aspiration Power were absorbed into Chen Ling's body. He could feel his spiritual power rapidly escalating, an indescribable sense of euphoria spreading throughout his entire being!

An expression of ecstasy appeared on that pitch-black face...

Witnessing the archbishops' demise, the bishops and cultists who had initially mustered the courage to fight Chen Ling to the death now shrieked in terror. Chen Ling's method of killing was too brutal and bloody; fear instantly consumed their minds, and they once again turned to flee.

Compared to the black-robed Chen Ling before them, even the giant scorpion seemed more benevolent.

"Run?"

"You've all seen me; where could you possibly go?!"

"Hahahahahahahaha!!!!"

As Chen Ling greedily absorbed the Crimson Star Aspiration Power, he burst into wild laughter. He raised a hand and clenched it in the air towards the crowd, and an invisible storm swept forth!

Thought Storm!

Thought Storm was an ability that the black-robed theatrical figure had previously extracted. As the black-robed figure and Chen Ling's personalities merged, this ability became a part of Chen Ling. However, it could only be actively used when this second personality was invoked.

As the Thought Storm swept through, all the fleeing Crimson Sky cultists simultaneously froze.

Their vision blurred, and they suddenly saw their "companions," who had been fleeing alongside them, transform into black-robed "Chen Lings," all leering back at them...

This sight utterly terrified them, scattering their wits. They screamed, fighting the "Chen Lings" who seemed to cling to them, while frantically fleeing without direction.

From a realistic perspective, the Crimson Sky cultists appeared to suddenly go mad, brutally slaughtering one another in a chaotic, bloody frenzy!

Cultists who managed to strike down the "Chen Lings" beside them ran desperately in circles, then, as if caught in an inescapable maze, they inadvertently sprinted straight towards the black-robed Chen Ling...

The figure in the pitch-black theatrical robe, a mocking smile on his lips, unhurriedly advanced towards them.

With every step he took, a Crimson Sky cultist perished. Puffs of blood mist exploded in the shadows, and illuminated by the dying embers at the village's center, his shadow writhed like a fanged, clawed demon.

Chen Ling's spiritual power steadily climbed, from barely breaking through Rank 6, to mid-Rank 6, then to late-Rank 6...

In this carnival of slaughter, Chen Ling accomplished in just ten minutes what would take ordinary divine path practitioners years of arduous cultivation.

Chopsticks, forks, spoons, plates, candlesticks, napkins, tables, chairs, stools...

With every fallen Crimson Sky cultist, a lively object would appear behind Chen Ling. Gradually, the number of living individuals in the entire Crimson Sky cult branch diminished, replaced by an increasing symphony of clinking and clanking... This branch had transformed into a haven for "cutlery."

As Chen Ling killed the last struggling Crimson Sky cultist, the echoing screams abruptly ceased.

Rivers of flowing blood stained the ground with severed limbs and also splattered the bouncing cutlery scattered everywhere. The black-robed Chen Ling absorbed the last wisp of Crimson Star Aspiration Power, and his spiritual strength surged all the way to the peak of Rank 6.

He stood still before the extinguished torch, like an elegant gentleman who had just finished a meal, a satisfied smile playing on his lips...

In the darkness, he slowly spread his arms:

"Thanks to Crimson Sky."

The dark figure chuckled, a sound like a ghostly whisper.