Chapter 594: Believers of the Red Star

It would be false to say that Liu Qingyan didn't want to go in and see Chen Ling, but at that moment, the previous conversation involuntarily resurfaced in her mind.

"Envoy... do you think he would agree to let me follow him if I found him?""Perhaps not.""Why?""Some people are used to going it alone and don't like having others around... especially those from the Twilight Society."

If she were to go in and watch the performance, even disguised as she was, she believed Chen Ling would still recognize her at a glance and might feel she was haunting him. Since Chen Ling had already explicitly stated he didn't want her to follow him, she would just watch from afar. This was something she had decided long ago.

Liu Qingyan didn't want to bother Chen Ling or make him feel she was troublesome. It didn't matter whether she saw him or not; knowing he was there was enough.

Liu Qingyan walked through the crowd, passed the entrance of a cheap hotel across the street, and suddenly stopped.

She looked up at the small, dark windows on the second and third floors of the hotel, then at the brightly lit theater directly opposite. A hint of hesitation flickered in her eyes. After much internal debate, she still reached for the banknote in her pocket.

"Here, I should be able to hear, right?"

Liu Qingyan pressed her lips together slightly and still walked into the dim hotel entrance.

Jinghong Tower.

Jian Changsheng, having finished checking all the tickets, finally let out a long breath. He followed Diamond 10 back to the theater and sat down on the threshold.

"Right, where were we?"

"The Crimson Sky Cult."

"Oh, right, I've heard of them. Aren't they, like the Twilight Society and the Integration Faction, among the highest-priority wanted organizations in the Nine Realms, public enemies of humanity?" Jian Changsheng was startled. "What? The power outages... are they related to them?"

"From the perspective of the Nine Realms, that's true, but we're different from those guys," Diamond 10 said seriously. "Our goal at the Twilight Society is merely to reverse the era and restart the world. Our path is correct and beneficial to all of humanity! It's just not recognized by the Nine Realms... but the Crimson Sky Cult's existence is purely parasitic to humanity."

"Do you know what the members of the Crimson Sky Cult believe in?"

"I remember it's... believing in the Red Star?" Jian Changsheng recalled.

"Exactly." Diamond 10 nodded slightly. "The Crimson Sky Cult fanatically worships the Red Star. They believe that the existence of human civilization is a mistake, a viral civilization that has spawned on this planet. Since it's a mistake, it needs to be corrected..."

"They regard the Red Star as an envoy sent by heaven, charged with correcting and restoring everything. Wherever the Red Star passes, civilization regresses, and everything reverts to its most primitive origin."

"Believing in the Red Star and destroying civilization?" Jian Changsheng couldn't help but say, "These are the true lunatics, right? How could anyone believe such things?"

"Actually, it's quite normal. The more turbulent and dark the era, the more prevalent various religious beliefs become... The regression of material civilization already exceeds the comprehension of ordinary people, and with the realms continuously facing crises, people need faith as a spiritual anchor."

Diamond 10 shrugged and continued, "Those who believe in the Red Star, those who believe in integration, those who believe in science, those who believe in various metaphysics and witchcraft... In this era, there are simply too many miscellaneous beliefs."

"I've heard that in other realms, some even believe in something called the 'Silent Angel'? They say it's a great being from beyond this world, with six gray wings, capable of destroying heaven and earth with a snap of its fingers... Anyway, the stories just get more and more fantastical."

"An angel? Is that true...?"

"I don't know. Anyway, few have seen him so far."

"Wait... so, what does the Crimson Sky Cult have to do with the power outages?" Jian Changsheng was still puzzled.

"The Crimson Sky Cult believes in the Red Star, and its followers acquire a certain power from it, making themselves conduits for the Red Star," Diamond 10 paused for a moment. "Every cultist is a mobile, miniature Red Star. If they stay in one place for too long, the aura they emit will cause nearby 'tools' to malfunction. For example, electrical circuits will inexplicably fail, and electromagnetic signals will be blocked..."

"If they remain longer, things assembled by human hands like tables, chairs, and cabinets will break down, turning into scattered parts on the ground. Not to mention more precise items like explosives or firearms... Even a blanket will unravel into countless threads, falling apart and blowing away with a gentle touch."

"The aura they emit can even affect the operation of divine paths. The denser the Red Star aura they carry, the more severe this effect becomes."

"If facing an enemy at the bishop level, divine path skills of rank six and below will completely go awry. We could even accidentally be killed by our own skills."

Jian Changsheng's eyes widened. "That's way too bizarre!"

"That's not even the most bizarre part... Because all Crimson Sky Cultists carry the Red Star aura, if they appear in groups, they can release the Red Star aura within their bodies through a suicide ritual. As long as there are enough of them and their positions follow a certain pattern, they can actively attract the convergence of the Gray Realm."

"In other words, they can influence their surroundings while alive, and even summon the Gray Realm upon death, leading to numerous calamities. Theoretically, if enough Crimson Sky Cultists perform the ritual, they could even summon world-ending calamities and their kin to descend, destroying an entire realm."

Jian Changsheng gasped!

He now understood why the Crimson Sky Cult was listed as one of humanity's public enemies. Their very existence was a threat to humanity's Nine Realms; even if they simply stayed within a realm and did nothing, they would cause irreversible, adverse effects.

"So, the recent frequent power outages, could they be..." Jian Changsheng swallowed.

"I hope I'm overthinking it," Diamond 10 muttered, glancing at the dark night sky above. "If the Crimson Sky Cult is also involved... things could get troublesome."

The Hotel.

Liu Qingyan took the key and kerosene lamp from the counter and slowly ascended the narrow, old staircase towards the second floor.

Creak—creak—

A grating sound came from the wooden staircase, as if it would break from age at any moment. Liu Qingyan stepped on it, her brows unconsciously furrowing.

As the hotel was without electricity and there were no windows in the hallway, it was almost completely dark. As she reached the second floor of the hotel, a faint smell of mildew assailed her. The flickering kerosene lamp dispelled a corner of the long corridor's darkness, revealing several wooden doors with room numbers written on them.

Liu Qingyan glanced at the key number in her hand and walked directly to the door of the room at the very end, slowly inserting the key.

She gently turned the key, but before she could push the door open, a crisp click came from inside the lock. Immediately after, the entire doorknob fell off the door and landed on the old floor with a dull thud.

Thump—!

The doorknob, which had been perfectly intact just moments before, lay shattered into pieces on the floor.