Chapter 219

Chapter 219 End

“This is… Jian Changsheng?”

On the stage, Chen Ling looked at the figure behind the grand curtain, who was wielding a long spear and fighting furiously in the red sea, a look of surprise appearing in his eyes. The Jian Changsheng before him was vastly different from the one he remembered, especially those dark eyes and the chilling killing intent erupting from him, which reminded Chen Ling of the black greatsword that pierced the sky in the Ancient Military Repository. But why would such ancient and chilling killing intent appear on him? Chen Ling knew something must have happened to Jian Changsheng; otherwise, he would have been utterly dead back in the Ancient Military Repository, given that the performance condition at the time was “no one survives”—meaning, the current Jian Changsheng was, in effect, resurrected.

While monitoring everything happening behind the grand curtain, Chen Ling fully focused on widening the crack. The crack was now just wide enough to fit a hand, then an entire forearm, but it was still some distance from fully penetrating the grand curtain.

“You must hold on a little longer…” Chen Ling gazed at the blood-colored figure, silently praying, and continued to painstakingly move his palm inside the grand curtain.

Within the red clouds, the dark-eyed Jian Changsheng seemed to grow weary of the seemingly endless red papers. He stepped forward mid-air, causing a sharp sonic boom as his foot struck the air!

Boom—! A black domain rapidly expanded around him! Killing intent and lightning intertwined within the domain, like two gigantic grinding stones rotating in opposite directions, tearing apart all red papers that attempted to enter. The moment this domain unfolded, an insurmountable forbidden zone appeared within the surging red sea! Wielding his long spear, the dark-eyed Jian Changsheng walked through the air, his entire domain moving forward with his steps, forcibly tearing a gap in the red sea!

In the crimson sun-like eye suspended high above, the image of the dark-eyed Jian Changsheng was clearly reflected. Those pupils slightly contracted, and faint red flames seemed to flicker within them… The next moment, a beam of scarlet light burst forth! The instant this light appeared, the surrounding red sea immediately receded, creating a space with a radius of over a hundred meters, as if unwilling to be tainted in the slightest. The light was directed precisely at the dark-eyed Jian Changsheng, who stood within his domain!

Veins bulged on the dark-eyed Jian Changsheng's hand, his entire being on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy. Dense lightning erupted from the spear's shaft, and with a forceful swing, the long spear transformed into a black electric current, clashing against the scarlet light!

Boom—!! The moment they collided, a world-shattering, arc-shaped aftershock wildly spread across the sky. Several wisps of scarlet light, torn apart by the spear, swept across the manor, instantly distorting everything they touched… The stone brick outer wall suddenly transformed into the exterior of a Western-style church, the babbling stream in the courtyard turned into dark, netherworld river water, and even the ginkgo trees standing by the roadside transformed into cartoon trees adorned with golden apples… Those wisps of scarlet light seemed to twist reality and fantasy, merging entirely different performance scenarios into a chaotic world.

As the aftershocks of their collision swept through, a subtle crack began to appear in the void above the Constellation Guild building… It was as if an invisible, colossal shield, previously inverted over the guild, was slowly revealing itself to everyone's sight. And at this moment, a wisp of aura belonging to the red paper monster slowly drifted out from that crack…

Beep—! Beep—!! Beep—!!! In the core area of Aurora City, a piercing alarm suddenly blared from the top floor of a high tower. Red lights flashed wildly in the corridors, and countless figures rushed through them.

“What’s going on?! Where is that alarm coming from?!”

“It’s Laboratory 0… Lord Aurora’s vital signs are skyrocketing; he seems to be on the verge of waking up!”

“Lord Aurora?? He’s been dormant for over three hundred years; why is he suddenly waking up for no reason?”

“His brainwave patterns suddenly became active just now, as if stimulated… He must have sensed something and is now in a state of alert.”

“Alert? What in Aurora City could possibly put Lord Aurora on alert??”

In the center of Laboratory 0, a massive transparent stasis pod stood majestically. Enveloped in an unknown pale blue liquid, a slender, white-haired figure floated suspended upside down within it. Misty aurora silently flowed around him, and his snow-white hair drifted without a sound. He resembled a specimen encased in blue amber, serene and mysterious. At this moment, the white-haired figure’s eyelashes were gently trembling, and tiny bubbles drifted from his mouth and nose, suggesting he was about to awaken.

A group of scientists in white lab coats gathered outside the laboratory, anxiously watching the scene.

“What should we do now? Should we allow him to awaken?”

“He doesn’t have much time left. If he awakens, his bodily functions will recover, but his lifespan will deplete even faster. Increase the drug dosage; we absolutely cannot let him wake up!”

“Increase the dosage again? But…”

“Aurora City is a ticking time bomb right now. If he wakes up, we’ll have even less time to defuse it… Whatever happens, we need to buy time first!”

“…Understood.”

Large quantities of medication were injected into the white-haired figure’s body via syringes. His skin turned an unhealthy pale white, and as fewer bubbles floated up, his gently trembling eyelashes gradually became still and calm.

Constellation Guild.

“As expected, someone is deliberately concealing the aura here.” Chu Muyun’s eyes keenly caught the wisp of a crack above the guild building, and an understanding look appeared on his face. “It seems reinforcements have arrived…”

Chu Muyun looked around, trying to locate the reinforcements. However, in the current manor, besides a few lucky guards who had hidden in corners and hadn’t been devoured by the buildings and trees, there were no other figures.

That shouldn’t be… To be able to support such a large-scale domain and also conceal the aura fluctuations of those two monsters fighting, the reinforcements ought to be within this very manor.

Chu Muyun possessed secret eyes and was quite confident in his observational abilities. Yet, after searching for a long time, he couldn’t find any trace of potential reinforcements… Finally, he let his gaze fall back on the guards hiding in the corner.

“Can’t see me, can’t see me, can’t see me…”

“I don’t want to die yet…”

“Damn it, is this a dream? How can even buildings and trees eat people?!”

“Our hiding spot seems pretty good; those building monsters walking around don’t seem to have seen us…”

“Maybe we’re just lucky.”

These guards crouched beside a pavilion, their faces pale with fright. They had personally witnessed their companions being devoured by various strange things, yet they themselves remained unharmed while crouching out in the open, which left them bewildered.

Just then, an inconspicuous figure among them slowly stood up…

Only when this person stood up did the others notice his presence, as if they had unconsciously ignored him before. The guards looked at the standing figure with confusion, asking incredulously:

“Hey… who are you? How come we’ve never seen you before?”

“Strange, have you been crouching here with us this whole time? How come we didn’t see you earlier…”

“I didn’t see him either.”

The inconspicuous figure didn’t reply; he simply gazed calmly at the subtle crack in the sky, his eyes slightly narrowed…

“It’s time to end this…”

The next moment, his face visibly transformed. Faint blue patterns outlined his features, intertwining like a painted face mask adhering to his skin. If Chen Ling had been there, he would have instantly recognized the identity represented by these facial patterns. While studying traditional opera stages, he had seen this type of face paint… It belonged to a role that had gradually evolved and been forgotten. The Five Elements of Opera – The Concluding Role.