Chapter 1397: Negotiation Breakdown

Chen Ling could not possibly agree to Sizai. Setting aside Chen Ling's fundamental human principles and emotions, Sizai's move was a blatant exploitation of him.

Who was Sovereign Lingxu, Wu Tongyuan? He was a super-bug-level entity capable of manipulating Lingxu numbers, the pinnacle of the Nine Sovereigns' power. Although he appeared unaggressive in the era archives, Chen Ling had no doubt about the monstrous power he would wield once he became a complete Nine Sovereign. It was no wonder that no Extinction Domain had attacked the Lingxu Realm yet. It seemed that from the very beginning, Sizai had intended for him to deal with this most troublesome character.

Regardless of whether Chen Ling could defeat Sovereign Lingxu now, he refused to become Sizai's "weapon."

"Are you... afraid of... the creature inside you?" Sizai's voice echoed in Chen Ling's mind.

The next second, a strange light, like a sharp thorn, instantly pierced Chen Ling's body! Those present on the surface of the sea were pure consciousness entities, yet Sizai's light-thorn caused Chen Ling no sensation. He frowned, instinctively looking down at his abdomen...

No, wait... Sizai's attack wasn't aimed at his consciousness?

After a delay of about half a second, a sharp pain erupted from Chen Ling's abdomen. This was not an injury to his consciousness; rather, something in the abdomen of his physical body, which lay dormant in the underground palace, was struggling frantically!

In the silent palace, Chen Ling's body gradually ceased its tremors, and a trickle of crimson blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Chen Ling felt that an unseen force, which had been restricting him, had vanished.

"It killed the Vow Gu?" Chen Ling was somewhat surprised.

The Vow Gu had been specifically prepared by Chu Changqing for the Scornful Disaster. He had been utterly confident that this creature could restrain the Scornful Disaster... but he had overlooked that even if the Vow Gu could restrain the Scornful Disaster, it could not restrain other Extinction Disasters. Just then, for example, Sizai had directly used some method to forcibly seize control of the Vow Gu's consciousness, effectively forcing it to commit suicide within Chen Ling's body. Given Sizai's immense power, precisely controlling a creature to commit suicide was a trivial matter.

However, Chu Changqing could not be blamed. When he designed the Vow Gu back then, he had never imagined that the Extinction Disasters would one day unite, much less that other Extinction Disasters would actively assist the Scornful Disaster in eliminating the Vow Gu.

The eradication of the Vow Gu meant that Chen Ling could now freely enter and exit the Human Realm and, consequently, launch an attack on the Lingxu Realm.

"You believe I'm not going to the Lingxu Realm because of this?" Chen Ling sat calmly on the throne, his eyes cold as he regarded Sizai. "Are you... underestimating me too much?"

A storm swirled before Chen Ling, and those mysterious, oppressive eyes remained fixed on him.

"I was peacefully recuperating with the Fusion Faction... It was you who secretly plotted, destroying the Fusion Faction's mother tree, and it was you who used the children of the Fusion Faction to threaten and lure me into the South Sea Realm! It was you who had the Feared Disaster attack the South Sea Realm, causing my preparations to be ruined and over half of the Fusion Faction's children to be killed or wounded! From the very beginning, you intended to use Sovereign Nanhai to force me out of the Human Realm. You didn't want me to continue living freely outside; you wanted to gradually lure me into becoming your weapon... to deal with Sovereign Lingxu for you! Wasn't my consumption of the Vow Gu all part of your scheme? And now you're feigning assistance by removing the Vow Gu, thinking I'll fight for you??"

"Sizai... you are a two-faced scoundrel!"

Chen Ling emphasized the word "scoundrel" with chilling intensity. He stared at Sizai, making no attempt to hide the disgust and mockery in his eyes.

He slowly rose, his grand red opera robe swirling wildly in the storm. He could feel the world of consciousness beginning to tremble, sensing Sizai's rage being ignited before him. But Chen Ling didn't care. He was never afraid of anyone. If Sizai dared, it could kill him right here, but he was certain Sizai wouldn't. Every single one of the Extinction Disasters before him wanted to survive the impact of the Red Star's return. Therefore, they would absolutely not engage him in combat before their decisive battle with the Human Realm.

"I'm telling you, what you've plotted against me will not simply pass... One day, I will make you pay." Chen Ling's voice was bone-chillingly cold.

The storm before him grew increasingly violent, and the sea surface churned wildly as if boiling. All Extinction Disasters could feel Sizai's fury burning fiercely.

"Scorn... are you truly unafraid to perish beneath the Red Star? Even if you don't consider yourself... what about your subordinates? Are you going to let them... wait for death with you?" Sizai demanded, almost roaring.

"Die? Hahahaha!!" Chen Ling's shadowed face broke into laughter. "I've lived long enough! If the Red Star could eradicate both me and the Scornful Disaster, I would truly welcome it... As for those creatures in the Ghost Scorn Abyss... they are merely my playthings, and it's their honor to be buried alongside me."

Chen Ling had indeed had enough. He identified as human, yet he had been cast out by humanity. Living day after day as the Scornful Disaster among those venomous creatures was tedious and dull. Add to that the damned audience and the suffocating expectation levels... he was thoroughly exhausted. He was still alive only because he did not want to unleash the Scornful Disaster's other personalities. He knew the Scornful Disaster too well: once the "Chen Ling" consciousness stepped off the stage, the other consciousnesses would frantically vie for control of the body. Those entities would do anything for amusement... perhaps disguising themselves as him to harm the people he once cared about, or simply annihilating them all. If he could die beneath the Red Star along with the audience in his mind, it would undoubtedly be a release for him, and the best ending he could imagine for himself.

And if Chen Ling died, the Ghost Scorn Abyss would surely descend into chaos, and those venomous creatures would inevitably surge into the Human Realm seeking survival. Given this, it would be better to take them all down with him, eradicating them completely and cleanly.

"You... truly are a madman!!" This thought resonated in the minds of all the Extinction Disasters.

Sizai's fury burned fiercely, but it quickly forced itself back to calm. Just as Chen Ling had guessed, not a single Extinction Disaster present dared to challenge him now.

With negotiations broken, Sizai had nothing more to say. It merely cast a cold glance at Chen Ling before a voice resonated in his ear:

"Even without you... we will achieve ultimate victory. And... we also owe you our gratitude... for your contributions to the Disasters."

The next second, the thoughts sustaining this world were severed, and Chen Ling's consciousness was directly expelled, plummeting continuously towards his body in the void.