Chapter 635: War Paintings

Chen Ling nodded slightly.

"Guernica," Clubs 8 slowly began, "is an anti-war painting created in the 20th century CE before the Great Cataclysm, by a very famous painter, based on the disaster of fascism. In this painting, the city is attacked by an external enemy, and innocent residents are brutally massacred... Everything you've seen along the way, whether people, cattle, or horses, are all victims of this disaster."

Only then did Chen Ling realize. No wonder those gigantic figures earlier all seemed to be chased by something, their faces showing fear and despair. Chen Ling had thought there was some terrifying creature within the painting, but now it seemed the "monster" chasing them was the invisible "war" itself.

"This painting was retrieved from the Ancient Qindao Repository by Lu Liang, also known as the Third Hall. The painting itself forms an independent space, and the emotions of the victims within it radiate outwards, similar to a form of radiation, making those present feel their suffering. You've only just entered, so the situation isn't serious yet... If you stay here for a long time, even deliberately keeping away from those figures won't help. Their influence spreads throughout the entire painting; even from a distance, you'll still be affected. As time passes, this influence will accumulate within you, completely affecting your mind."

"No wonder..." Chen Ling recalled his previous experiences. Indeed, as Clubs 8 had said, he was affected when he got close to them. However, now that he was further away, he didn't seem to feel anything unusual... Was it because not enough time had passed? This was no longer important to Chen Ling. Forget staying for several months; if he couldn't get out within 24 hours, he would die of boredom, and then the "audience" would turn everything upside down.

"Are you... alright now?" Chen Ling couldn't help but ask, looking at the utterly haggard Clubs 8.

Clubs 8 forced a bitter smile. With a casual tug at the wall behind him, the clean white plaster peeled off like a canvas, revealing a wall covered in messy lines and figures before Chen Ling.

"I haven't slept in over three months." Clubs 8 pointed to the wall, where a realistic pendulum clock was drawn in the corner, its hands constantly moving with the seconds, and beside it were deep scratch marks, seemingly used to record the days. "The moment I close my eyes," he continued, "the despair and pain of the war overwhelm me... I feel like I'm being hunted by something invisible, just like those figures outside."

Clubs 8 let out a long sigh. "In the eyes of the Floating Life Painting, the Twilight Society is the source of realm destruction, the engine of disaster. That's why the Second Hall threw both of us in here—partly to trap us, and partly to punish us with the suffering of this war... This mental torment is far more terrifying than physical suffering."

"This is truly... an undeserved misfortune," Chen Ling muttered.

"It's not exactly an undeserved misfortune. After all, I did betray the Floating Life Painting... The fact that they didn't kill me directly shows they still have some regard for old ties."

"So, how do we escape from here?"

"Escape?" Clubs 8 shook his head. "There's no escape... Guernica is said to be a transformed part of the Azure God's Dao Foundation, almost perfect. It can only be opened from outside the painting; whatever happens inside will not affect the outside world."

"You mean this cage can't be opened from the inside no matter what? It can only be accessed from the outside?"

"Yes, but Guernica is always personally guarded by the Second Hall. There's no way he would willingly open the painting and let us out."

Chen Ling glanced at his audience expectation value, his expression grim. If this was the case, Chen Ling's current situation was far too passive... He hadn't expected things to be like this after entering Guernica. Fortunately, neither he nor Clubs 8 lacked connections.

Chen Ling had left Liu Qingyan as a contingency, and it shouldn't be difficult for the Twilight Society to follow the clues and find the Mortal World Base... The only question was whether they could infiltrate the base and retrieve Guernica from the Second Hall.

Chen Ling could only silently pray that they would rescue him within 24 hours... Otherwise, once the audience expectation value ran out, everyone would be finished!

"The Mortal World Base is actually in the Gray Realm?" Jian Changsheng asked, following Liu Qingyan and looking at the grayscale world around them, his eyes full of shock.

"That truly is unexpected," Clubs, equally puzzled, remarked. "I've traveled through several realms, and I've never heard of a base being separate from its realm... The Mortal World is an exception."

"So why would they do that? Was it Lord Mortal World's decision, or someone else's at the Mortal World Base?"

"I don't know that... Perhaps you should ask Clubs 8; he was once the Ninth Hall, after all."

"No, he won't tell you," Hearts 9 suddenly interjected.

The others looked at him, puzzled.

"That guy is very stubborn... or rather, too principled," Hearts 9 shrugged. "He's been with the Twilight Society for a few years now. He's willing to risk his life for missions, but he's never willing to reveal a single secret of the Floating Life Painting... In his words, the Floating Life Painting recognized his talent and gave him opportunities, and no matter whether what they do is meaningful or not, he won't do anything to betray them."

"Not even you?" Clubs' eyebrows slightly rose. "You're practically his half-master, aren't you? Weren't you two the closest?"

"It has nothing to do with that... As I said, that's just his personality," Hearts 9 said, half-joking. "Perhaps that's the stubbornness unique to a 'genius'."

"If he's so grateful to the Floating Life Painting, why did he betray them?" Jian Changsheng retorted.

"Betray? No, he didn't betray them... He simply renounced his title as the Ninth Hall himself and then left the Mortal World Base. Of course, I then brought him into the Twilight Society. When those two pieces of news spread simultaneously, it naturally created the impression that 'the Ninth Hall was subverted by the Twilight Society and betrayed the Floating Life Painting'."

"I see, no wonder he suddenly became so nervous when he heard the Mortal World Realm might be the next to be destroyed, and he quietly came to the Mortal World Main City..." Jian Changsheng pondered. "But I still don't understand why Clubs 8, the esteemed first genius of the Azure God's Dao and the youngest Hall in history, would leave the Floating Life Painting for no apparent reason."

"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics..." Hearts 9 mused for a moment. "However, he seemed to disagree with certain aspects of the Floating Life Painting, so he wanted to go out and find a solution himself."

"...Did he find it?"

"Whether he found a solution or not, I don't know," Hearts 9 grinned. "But... he found me, anyway."