Chapter 644: You Are a "Person"

The Fourth Wall began to waver.

The actor in the robe had sung only a few lines, and the black clouds around Chen Ling had mostly dissipated. But he did not continue singing; instead, he looked at Chen Ling with complex eyes and slowly spoke:

"Sixth Apprentice..."

"Do you still remember how to sing the rest?"

Chen Ling stood amidst the black clouds, his brows unconsciously furrowing as if he was struggling to recall something.

Past memories flowed before his eyes like film scenes, but his perspective was that of an observing "third party," both familiar and strange... as if it wasn't he who was experiencing these things, but someone else.

He saw stars twinkling across the dark sky, the prairie breeze fluttering the colorful banners on the rooftops. The old actor held a songbook in one hand, his other hand behind his back, diligently teaching "Chen Ling" the correct melody.

Chen Ling pondered for a long time, then his lips parted, and he continued the Master's song:

"'The earth and rose red are your warm bed,''Frost and setting sun your heavy makeup;I will weave hope into dancing kapok flowers,Until the rocks remember their fragrance...'"

Unlike the Master's song, this time, the Requiem was sung by Chen Ling himself, its clear melody lingering vividly in his ears, unaffected by the weakening influence of The Fourth Wall.

As the song resonated, the memories in Chen Ling's mind gradually became clearer. He began to immerse himself in the role of "Chen Ling." He saw Ning Ruyu fighting him with a long spear, witnessed Luan Mei slowly descending the snowy mountain with her cloud steps, saw Wen Renyou placing dishes before him, the old actor face-to-face teaching him how to sing the Requiem, and the clown dancing wildly, babbling in front of him... It was as if everything in the Ancient Opera Trove had been his own personal experience.

The crimson eyes in the void behind Chen Ling closed one after another. The "audience" seemed to lose interest, fading away without a trace. The red embers at the corners of his eyes slowly receded into the depths of his pupils, leaving only a faint black mark, which still obscured the face of "Painted Beauty."

"'Oh, weeping souls,''Please gently close your eyes;When dusk falls in the darkest age,I shall grant you dawn and blue skies.'"

The moment Chen Ling finished singing the last word, the surrounding resentment and unwillingness completely dissipated. The entire "Guernica" was empty, leaving behind only endless void and silence.

Chen Ling rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling as though his head was filled with paste. His eyes were full of doubt and confusion.

"What... what just happened?"

Chen Ling could barely recall what had just transpired. He felt as if his consciousness had transformed into smoke, drifting out of his body and falling towards the countless crimson eyes behind him... The sensation was bizarre; he was like an observer, watching everything numbly and stiffly, yet unable to perceive any emotions.

Even now, Chen Ling hadn't completely shaken off this feeling.

"Master?"

Chen Ling saw the curtain in the void and the familiar figure behind it. He immediately spoke, "Master, why are you here?"

"My true form isn't here. I simply felt a sudden premonition and split off a part of my mind to take a look." The Master glanced at the corner of Chen Ling's eye. "It's fortunate I came, otherwise, all our efforts would have been in vain..."

Chen Ling was startled. "What efforts would have been in vain?"

The Master shook his head, not answering, but instead asked a question:

"Sixth Apprentice, how do you feel now?"

"I... I can't quite describe it. It feels as if a veil surrounds me. Everything looks clear, yet I always feel... it's not real."

Chen Ling hesitated for a long time, eventually settling on the words "not real." He couldn't find a more fitting description.

"That's not a veil. That's the lingering Fourth Wall."

"The Fourth Wall from the Ancient Opera Trove?" Chen Ling frowned even harder. "Why is it on me?"

"Because you were actively transforming yourself into an audience member. When you view everything in the world from a spectator's perspective, all things become unrelated to you, merely a 'story'... At that point, The Fourth Wall naturally appears."

"I actively transformed myself into an audience member..."

Chen Ling recalled everything he had just experienced. When he was hit by the soldiers' emotions, he had indeed continuously given himself mental suggestions to reduce his empathy... But Chen Ling couldn't understand: could mere psychological suggestion lead to such severe consequences?

"Sixth Apprentice, remember my words."

The Master stood behind the curtain, his expression more solemn than ever.

"Under no circumstances are you an audience member. You are a truly existing 'person.' Your existence is defined by yourself. If even you abandon the characteristics of being a 'person,' no one can save you..."

After speaking, the Master raised a hand and tapped the corner of his own eye.

Chen Ling froze.

He instinctively reached out and touched the corner of his own eye, speaking with partial understanding:

"...I remember."

Seeing this, the Master nodded in satisfaction. "I have other matters to attend to, so I must leave first... As for things here, act as you see fit."

"Master, with the Mortal Realm in such chaos, won't you intervene personally?"

"Me?" The Master smiled.

"I am not the protagonist of this grand play... However, when the time is right, I will come."

With that, the Master lightly flicked his sleeve and turned to walk behind the curtain.

The curtain gradually closed. The Master seemed to remember something, and his voice came out from behind it again:

"Oh, right, remember to keep that flower for me... It's a fragment of the Dao Foundation of the Azure God Path. It will be useful to me later."

The stage curtain closed completely, then faded and vanished into the void the next moment.

Chen Ling, holding his broken sword in one hand, looked back in the direction where the soldiers' bodies had been. In the void, only a small flower drifted silently...

"Is this the Dao Foundation fragment?"

Chen Ling stepped forward with his cloud steps, reaching out to grasp the small flower...

Now that "Guernica" had been cleared by Chen Ling, no one could stop him. The moment Chen Ling's fingertips touched the flower's stem, an indescribable sensation surged from his palm into his heart!

Buzz—!

In the dark void, the light cast by the relief door suddenly brightened. Beams of shining lines descended from the projection, converging into a light beam that connected with the Dao Foundation fragment in Chen Ling's hand.

The connection between the key and the door, imbued with some powerful authority, was now clasped in Chen Ling's palm. A brilliant light spread through his pupils,

And a massive miniature realm, hidden among flowers, slowly bloomed in the void before him!

"This is..."

Chen Ling murmured to himself.

"Hm?!"

In front of the massive relief door, an eighth-tier pressure surged like a tide, impacting the patterns on the door.

The abstract face of the Second Palace suddenly seemed to sense something. It sharply turned its gaze towards the scroll that was slowly opening its door, profound shock appearing in its triangular eyes!

"...How is this possible??"