Chapter 615: Indiscriminate Attraction

"Wang Jincheng, what brings you here?"

A voice drifted from the distance. Wang Jincheng turned his head to look, only to see a figure in a black and white spotted top standing there, with eyes wide with surprise.

Wang Jincheng recognized this person. He had previously encountered this individual when he and two other Hall members participated in the successful, almost overwhelming, suppression of "Spade 6" and "Heart 9."

It was Yang Muquan of the Eighth Hall.

"I received your distress call and came as quickly as I could," Wang Jincheng said with a weak smile.

"You're so badly injured, why are you running around?" Yang Muquan frowned immediately. "Our people from Fusheng Hui are already on their way. In your condition, don't push yourself. Just stay on the side."

Wang Jincheng glanced behind Yang Muquan and saw that three or four members of Fusheng Hui had indeed arrived. However, due to the immense size of the converging Gray World zone, others were likely farther away and would take more time to reach the location.

Currently, these individuals were encircling a partially ruined site, perched on the rooftops of several tall buildings, their faces grave as they gazed into the distance. In that direction, dozens of red-robed figures were gathered, and a colossal blood-drawn circle emanated a nauseating aura.

"Is this... the Beidou Conglomerate?" Wang Jincheng asked, looking at the location of the gathering and finding it strangely familiar.

Though most of the buildings here lay in ruins, Wang Jincheng had attended a birthday banquet here not long ago, and thus recognized the site. The fact that these Jiangtian Cultists had chosen the Beidou Conglomerate as their gathering point—was it a coincidence, or something more...?

"Yes," Yang Muquan replied gravely. "One of our patrols passed through here previously. Logically, such a large-scale gathering of Jiangtian Cultists should have triggered severe civilizational decay and been easily detected... Yet, I passed through this area multiple times before and noticed nothing amiss."

"I surmise they were hidden deep underground, which is why their aura didn't impact the surroundings. They've only now resurfaced to attempt a 'World-Ender' level summoning ritual."

Wang Jincheng's eyes narrowed, and he spoke with a chilling tone:

"So, that old scoundrel Mu Chunsheng is involved in this as well?"

"Now is not the time to pursue that... The Jiangtian Cult's ritual has already begun. If we don't find a way to stop them, should they truly summon the Calamity, the entire Red Dust Realm will be doomed."

"What should we do now?"

"We can only force our way in before they complete the ritual."

"Can we even get in?" Wang Jincheng frowned deeply. "They've gathered too many people, and two bishops are overseeing the ritual. Even from this distance, I can feel divine abilities starting to spiral out of control. If we get any closer, I'm concerned that..."

"There's no other choice. Are we just going to stand here and watch them complete the ritual? If we can just get close enough, even if we can't kill all of them, reducing their numbers would still be beneficial..."

Wang Jincheng opened his mouth, but found no words to counter.

Meanwhile,

Above the ruins of the Beidou Conglomerate, a dense congregation of Jiangtian Cultists was assembled. Each individual's position appeared meticulously adjusted, forming a colossal red circle when viewed from above.

Two red-robed figures stood at the circle's center, one pointing a finger skyward, the other earthward, their fang-filled mouths agape, their bloodied mouths gasping ceaselessly amidst the sighing winds.

"Hoo-hah, hoo-hah, hoo-hah!!!"

These seemingly meaningless gasps sounded like a signal to the other Jiangtian Cultists. Simultaneously, they drew sharp daggers from their waists and cut open a gash on each wrist.

Copious blood streamed from their wrists, dyeing everyone's hands crimson and rolling down their fingertips to the ground. The blood of dozens of individuals merged together, spreading outward like a sanguine ocean...

The Jiangtian Cultists encircling the two bishops simultaneously knelt and prostrated themselves on the ground, their palms and foreheads completely submerged in the pooling blood, like devout worshippers, whispering prayers:

"Supreme Jiangtian, Exalted Savior... Supreme Jiangtian, Exalted Savior... Supreme Jiangtian, Exalted Savior..."

"Hm?"

Not far from the Beidou Conglomerate, Plum Blossom seemed to sense something and turned her head to face that direction.

"What is it? Did you find a way?" A flicker of hope ignited in the disheartened Heart 9.

"...No, but it seems quite lively over there."

"Lively? How lively?"

Before Heart 9 could finish speaking, he saw a wisp of faint, almost imperceptible red smoke slowly ascending into the sky from that direction, and an indescribable sense of oppression assailed them from afar.

Heart 9 had never felt such an aura. Beneath that red smoke, his divine essence seemed to waver.

"That is..."

"Shall we go take a look?"

"Let's go!"

Heart 9 nodded without hesitation, reasoning that since they didn't know the way anyway, checking out the commotion couldn't hurt. What if they encountered someone they knew there, or recognized the surrounding area once they arrived?

As the two rapidly approached the Beidou Conglomerate, a vast sanguine sea slowly materialized before their eyes.

Crimson figures, one after another, knelt and rose within the blood sea, their devout chants echoing through the skies. The oppressive aura that weighed so heavily on Heart 9 emanated from the blood of these individuals, and after merging, converged upon the two bishops at the center, condensing into a faint red mist that drifted skyward.

"Jiangtian Cultists? What are they doing?" Heart 9 asked, puzzled.

"They're trying to attract the attention of the 'World-Ender'."

"Attract the attention of the World-Ender?"

"The Jiangtian Cult's power fundamentally stems from the Crimson Star aura they possess. Through rituals, they can manipulate these auras to facilitate the convergence of the Gray World with reality... Therefore, what they can truly summon is only the Gray World itself; they don't possess a direct 'summoning' method for the calamities within it."

"However, there's one peculiar thing... Though the reason remains unknown, the power of the Crimson Star appears to hold a strong attraction for 'World-Ender' class calamities."

"In other words, 'World-Ender' class calamities will deliberately or unconsciously pursue the Crimson Star."

"I haven't heard that explanation before..."

"I heard it by chance from a certain individual. Moreover, this phenomenon only applies to 'Ninth-Tier' calamities; ordinary calamities do not exhibit such a reaction. Therefore, in theory, Jiangtian Cultists can actively release a greater concentration of the Crimson Star aura from their bodies through bloodletting. As long as enough Jiangtian Cultists participate and the total volume of blood is sufficient, the Crimson Star aura within it will become extremely potent."

"This potent Crimson Star aura, to a World-Ender, is like a highly conspicuous bonfire. Thus, there's a strong likelihood they will be drawn to it... which is what they refer to as 'summoning'."

Heart 9 nodded slightly. The next moment, he seemed to recall something, and his expression suddenly turned peculiar:

"Wait, are you saying this isn't directional like Gray World summoning... but rather, any 'World-Ender' class entity could potentially be drawn to it?"