Chapter 213: Red Clouds and Red Sun

Chaotic explosions echoed through the manor. In the distance, Chu Muyun stood at the edge of the aftermath, his woolen coat billowing in the fierce wind. He stared blankly at the red sun suspended in the air, only snapping back to reality after a long moment, his eyes still wide with shock. The scene of the red-robed figure biting and shattering the Soul-Shattering Orb earlier was incomprehensible even to him. Although the person's face was different from Chen Ling's, it had to be Chen Ling. What madness was this kid up to now? Chu Muyun pushed up his glasses, his expression as grave as he had ever seen it as he looked at the battlefield. "...He actually released that thing. This is bad..."

This was Chu Muyun's first time witnessing the Destroyer's appearance. However, to his surprise, the calamity now seemed not to be the Destroyer's complete form, but only capable of unleashing approximately Tier 5 power. Could it be that Chen Ling was still restraining him? Had he not fully died yet?

One thought after another flashed through Chu Muyun's mind. Just then, an earth-shattering roar interrupted his thoughts.

The aura of the paper sun suspended in the air suddenly surged. Its countless crimson paper tentacles, which had previously resembled rays of light emanating from the sun, rapidly extended and writhed, now transforming into a vast, sky-obscuring red cloud that completely covered the Stars Merchant Guild. In contrast, the paper figures fluttering everywhere became visibly tiny, like flies buzzing wildly beneath the cloud. The dense crimson paper intertwined to form a descending sea of clouds, pressing down majestically upon them. With such terrifying numbers and pursuit speed, the paper figures had no escape. Tentacle-like strands of red paper coiled around their rapidly drifting bodies, completely enveloping them within the crimson cloud. No matter how the Puppeteer tried to control or fold them, they could not break free in the slightest.

As the red cloud writhed, the paper figures were gradually dragged towards the central red sun, eventually adhering completely to its surface. Then, their bodies seemed to melt, transforming from three-dimensional to two-dimensional, slowly becoming etched onto the red sun like scribbles drawn with a pen.

*Puh—!!* The Puppeteer's face turned pale, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his body swaying precariously. At that moment, his connection with all the paper figures was severed. He stared in horror at the constantly writhing red cloud, his eyes filled with disbelief. "This is impossible... It was just Tier 5, like me. How did it suddenly reach the threshold of Tier 6?!"

A calamity capable of self-improvement in such a short time? But crossing a tier in just a few minutes... the speed of its improvement was simply terrifying. If this continued, where would its limit be?

The red cloud, supporting the sun, slowly moved through the air. As it advanced, one building after another was enveloped by its dangling tentacles. What were once incredibly solid walls instantly became thin, flimsy paper, and with a gentle squeeze from the tentacles, grotesque cracks instantly covered them. They held on for only about two or three seconds before being mercilessly crushed into ruins! It was like a moving natural disaster. Everywhere it went, all living beings were pierced crimson, and all buildings were leveled. In just a few minutes, the Stars Merchant Guild was largely destroyed! Even Chu Muyun, at this moment, dared not confront it directly, retreating swiftly from the battlefield amidst the flurry of countless crimson tentacles.

"That good-for-nothing Pushu ran away again... How are we supposed to fight this?!" The Puppeteer watched the red cloud drifting directly towards him, fine beads of sweat breaking out on the hand gripping his paper knife. It had been a long time since he had experienced such a desperate battle. Even though they were both Tier 5, the crimson paper monster was now completely overwhelming in power. The Puppeteer's mind raced. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to abandon the fight with the crimson paper monster and turned to flee into the distance. Let whoever wanted to defend the Stars Merchant Guild do so; he was just someone who got paid to do a job. Losing his life here would be an extreme loss. If Pushu had already run, why shouldn't he?

The Puppeteer was incredibly fast, treading on paper sheets, he transformed into a streak of light and flew out of the Stars Merchant Guild. But just then, another anomaly occurred!

A bone-chilling cold instantly swept across the entire guild. The Puppeteer, who had just run a few hundred meters, seemed to sense something, his pupils contracting sharply! It was the aura of Tier 6. He turned back in shock to see a fine slit opening in the center of the paper sun within the swirling red cloud, gradually spreading outwards. From a distance, it looked like a pale eye slowly opening from the center of the sun...

Falling. Falling... As if in an endless abyss, a figure cloaked in a large crimson opera robe fell continuously downwards like a meteor, eyes tightly shut. Countless whispers echoed around his ears. They were the wailing faces of struggling souls, agonizingly pleading for something... In the surrounding abyss, pairs of crimson eyes slowly lit up.

The number of those eyes was immense, even more than the soul faces swirling around the red-robed figure. The moment they were gazed upon, the soul faces seemed to go mad, their wails and pleas almost piercing the red-robed figure's eardrums.

The red-robed figure's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, as if he were caught in a nightmare. His eyelids trembled rapidly, and then he suddenly opened his eyes!

*Thud—!* The instant he opened his eyes, a theater rapidly materialized beside him, and he crashed heavily onto the stage floor, making a dull sound.

The red-robed figure struggled to his feet, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. He noticed the empty seats in the audience below the stage and paused, then finally came to his senses.

He looked up to see a massive cascade of soul faces pouring down from above the stage like a tidal wave. This was the first time anything from the outside world had appeared within the theater, and with their emergence, clear anger flared in the eyes of the remaining audience members.

They all rose from their seats, their crimson eyes fixed on the red-robed figure on the stage. They raised their hands, seemingly reaching out to grab him through the air...

"Soul-shattering evidence search... This is my only chance." A look of determination flashed in the red-robed figure's eyes. Without hesitation, he spread his arms wide, embracing the torrent of souls pouring down. The moment his figure was engulfed by the soul waterfall, the surrounding scene vanished into thin air; in its place were fragments of memory, reeling backward like a frantic film. These fragments swirled around the red-robed figure, extending like a vortex to a profound and mysterious abyss, like a black hole...