Chapter 385: Gun

"Huh..."

Chen Ling watched the stage, his eyes unconsciously narrowing.

He wondered if it was an illusion, but in his vision, the iron chariots rushing towards Gao Chong seemed to be changing wildly. Sometimes the shadow of a white crane flashed, then an old man, then a youth wearing a black headscarf. It was as if two distinct stages were overlapping before his eyes, but when he focused, all the changes vanished. The iron chariots remained just iron chariots.

"What's going on?" Chen Ling's confusion deepened as he witnessed the bizarre scene.

Ever since the performance began, Chen Ling had felt something was amiss, though he couldn't quite place it. Something must have happened during the show, but perhaps the power it contained was beyond his comprehension.

"Slay them, overturning men and horses, and mock your meager ambitions!"

Seeing the numerous iron chariots approaching, Gao Chong showed no hint of retreat. Gripping his gold-inlaid tiger-head spear, he let out a mighty roar and charged towards them!

With a single step, his gold-inlaid tiger-head spear plunged like lightning into the base of one of the iron chariots, and he heaved it upwards!

Boom—!!

A thunderous roar erupted!

"You heard the opera too?"

Hearing this, Elder He's heart sank. Recalling what had just happened to Liu Ying, his expression became incredibly serious.

"What did you hear?"

The headscarf figure's face was pale. He constantly looked left and right, as if the sound was right beside his ear.

"It sounded like... 'slay us, overturning men and horses'?"

The wailing wind echoed around them. Elder He stood atop a flock of cranes, his gaze growing colder.

"What arrogance! I'd like to see who dares to be so brazen in the Mortal Realm!"

No sooner had Elder He finished speaking than his body swayed. He frowned in confusion and looked down, discovering that the white crane supporting him was trembling uncontrollably, as if it had seen something terrifying. Its body emitted a piercing creaking sound!

"Elder... Elder He..."

"What is it now?"

"We... seem to have turned into chariots?"

"What?" Elder He was taken aback.

Before Elder He could react, an explosion erupted from nothingness. A spear shadow, like a colossal pillar reaching the sky, pierced through the veil of void, a killing intent from another world, sweeping across the heavens!

Elder He's pupils suddenly constricted!

Boom—!!

The next moment, countless white cranes were shattered into oblivion, transforming into myriad specks of ink that scattered through the air.

Only Elder He reacted swiftly, immediately controlling the white crane beneath him to dodge the spear shadow. Meanwhile, the headscarf figure, also standing on a white crane nearby, was not so fortunate. Although the headscarf figure was flying on a white crane, he had no control over it. In this critical moment, he could only passively prepare for defense. Yet, before he could even pull a brush from his pocket, the spear's light instantly pierced through his body!

Even then, the headscarf figure didn't register what had happened, only faintly hearing a clear operatic voice echoing in his ringing ears:

"...With urgency, I'll raid their bandit lair, just like the Five Yama Kings pursuing souls to their doom!"

The scene before his eyes dissolved into darkness.

As the ink and blood-stained limbs shattered in the air, they vanished without a trace before they could even fall.

Elder He, alone on a single white crane, stood drenched in cold sweat beneath the empty sky, watching the spear shadow vanish just as mysteriously. Every hair on his body stood on end!

If the previous spear strike that killed Liu Ying could be explained by Liu Ying's tracking having allowed the enemy to pinpoint his location, how could this current scene be explained? They were merely traveling in mid-air when a spear thrust from nothingness nearly annihilated them, indicating that the enemy had completely mastered their movements!

But... how did they do it??

Even now, Elder He had not sensed the slightest feeling of being spied upon, nor was there any premonition before the spear shadow appeared. This meant that whoever was hiding in the shadows attacking them possessed strength superior to his own. Yet, even across the entire Mortal Realm, there should only be a handful of individuals stronger than him!

"Is this a trap? Was Red Heart 6 just bait?" Elder He's mind raced. "Was I his target??"

Without much hesitation, Elder He steered the white crane beneath him and fled rapidly in the opposite direction!

Given the circumstances, Elder He had completely abandoned the idea of killing Chen Ling. After all, self-preservation was paramount. Remaining here, uncertain of the enemy's identity, would be an absolute disadvantage.

However, just as Elder He flew a few hundred meters away, a snippet of opera suddenly reached his ears:

"Ah, what a formidable barbarian from the south! He slays our army, strewing corpses across the fields, unchallenged by any foe. My lads, retreat to the southwest!"

Elder He froze on the spot. An operatic voice... He heard an operatic voice too?

"Could it be the Way of the Opera God?" Elder He murmured to himself. "But I've never heard of such a powerful Way of the Opera God before... Haven't these divine paths long since declined?"

Both Liu Ying and the headscarf figure, who had previously heard the operatic voice, had become targets of that spear and died instantly, almost like a "murder premonition." And now, he, too, was hearing the same sound.

Crucially, the direction he was retreating in was precisely southwest!

Another cold sweat broke out on Elder He's back. He knew he was now targeted and accelerated his flight. No matter who the enemy was, the ability to kill from such a distance surely stemmed from a domain's unique properties. And every domain had boundaries; by escaping the opponent's domain, he would naturally be safe.

As Elder He's figure receded, the operatic voice not only didn't fade but grew even clearer!

Thump—!

As Gao Chong's spear sent the first iron chariot flying, a few drops of ink splattered from the spear tip, landing on the stage floor below.

Chen Ling, who was currently sitting in the front row, suddenly froze as his gaze fell upon those few drops of liquid.

"This is... ink?"

Chen Ling seemed to realize something, his eyes shifting to the lifeless figure in the corner of the stage. "Was that someone from Fleeting Canvas?"

Earlier, Chen Ling had wondered who this person, suddenly pierced to death on stage, could be. Now, he had his answer. In Willow Town, confined by this circle, who else would be using ink besides the Fleeting Canvas masters who came to hunt him?

However, these "masters" had mysteriously died on the stage without even seeing him.

"Are they... protecting me?"

Chen Ling stared blankly back at the stage. The majestic figure, clad in white robes and silver armor, stood ramrod straight in the center, like an invincible god of war!