Chapter 648: Seizing the Painting

The Hongchen Base.

Buzz—

The large relief door vibrated slightly, opening a gap under the influence of "Guernica" and the abstract key.

Meanwhile, inside the frame where the Second Hall resided, a massive hand, formed from trapezoidal pieces, tightly gripped "Guernica." Its triangular eyes were filled with shock and fury.

"Guernica" is nullified... How is this possible? What did you do?!"

The Second Hall never imagined that "Guernica" would be empty, completely void, as if ransacked by bandits. Even Plum Blossom Eight, despite being imprisoned within for so long, hadn't managed to harm any of its characters. How could Chen Ling, a mere third-tier, achieve such a feat?

Moreover, Chen Ling had seized part of the large relief door's authority. The Second Hall naturally wouldn't let him go. Just as it was about to act, a sudden flash of white light appeared before its eyes.

The next moment, "Guernica" had vanished without a trace.

The Second Hall was momentarily stunned. Its vast, abstract face snapped backward, revealing a figure that had, at some point, appeared inverted, standing on the hollowed-out ceiling of the long corridor!

Pure silver serpentine earrings swayed gently. A figure wearing a white baseball cap was toying with a rolled-up scroll, a large bump protruding from the back of his head.

"Did I make it..."

Bai Ye subtly exhaled.

"The Rogue God's Path?" The Second Hall narrowed its eyes. "Is it the Usurper of Fire... No, the Twilight Society?"

"You guessed correctly." Bai Ye's fingertip lifted the brim of his baseball cap slightly, revealing a faint smile. "Unfortunately, there's no prize."

As his words faded, he transformed into an afterimage, rapidly gliding away along the semi-hollowed ceiling. However, even with Bai Ye's impressive speed, the Second Hall scoffed coldly, and a domain rapidly expanded!

Just as Bai Ye, holding "Guernica," was about to escape the corridor, the ceiling beneath his feet suddenly warped. The originally splendid and aesthetically pleasing ceiling seemed to have its colors erased, its shapes suppressed, and its lines stretched... In a matter of breaths, it transformed into a simple, abstract square.

At the center of the square was an absolute, blank void, as if connected to a bottomless abyss.

Not just the ceiling, but all matter covered by the Second Hall's domain transformed into abstract geometric shapes. A sense of danger welled up in Bai Ye's heart. He leaped from the square ceiling without hesitation, his body momentarily suspended in mid-air.

The next moment, all the geometric shapes converted from two-dimensional to three-dimensional. Countless colossal pillars, like the gnashing teeth of a monstrous beast, crushed the space where Bai Ye was into fragments!

Boom—!!

Before the large relief door, the Second Hall's voice rumbled lowly:

"To dare to venture alone into the Hongchen Base... Should I call you brave, or foolish?"

From the shattered space, a figure lightly leaped out of the geometric shapes. He pinched the brim of his baseball cap with his fingertips, and the next moment, the baseball cap surprisingly transformed into a tall magician's top hat.

"Who said... I came alone?"

Bai Ye tossed the black top hat high into the air, where it spun, mysterious and profound.

A chill flashed in the Second Hall's eyes. It gave a cold snort, and a floating circle instantly elongated into a black line that shot out, piercing through the black top hat like a bullet!

However, the moment the line tore through the top hat, it dissolved into a flurry of white doves, scattering in all directions.

As the Second Hall's attention was drawn by the doves, Bai Ye's figure seemed to be hidden by light and shadow. He seized the opportunity to continue his escape out of the corridor, showing no intention of engaging the Second Hall in direct combat.

Although Bai Ye was seventh-tier, he had almost no chance of victory against an eighth-tier opponent. This one-tier difference was like a chasm, not easily bridged. Moreover, Bai Ye's Rogue God's Path was not primarily suited for combat. Now that he had secured the painting containing Chen Ling, there was no need for him to remain.

However, the Second Hall had no intention of simply letting him leave.

"Tricking me?" The Second Hall, realizing it had been deceived by a hat trick, felt its rage intensify. A pair of abstract arms extended from within the frame,

"Do you truly believe you can escape from under my very eyes??"

The moment the words fell, the geometric shapes surrounding Bai Ye simultaneously extended dozens of abstract arms, blocking his escape from all directions.

At the same time, a section of Bai Ye's sleeve suddenly twisted, transforming into three abstract concentric circles that wrapped directly around his wrist, binding "Guernica" and forcibly dragging it from his grasp!

Bai Ye was startled. He immediately reached out, attempting to "steal" the scroll back. However, it was instantly drawn into a nearby cube, then flew out from another cube remotely, traversing hundreds of meters in an instant, returning to the Second Hall.

Having retrieved "Guernica," the Second Hall's expression noticeably relaxed. Its abstract hands grasped the scroll and slowly unrolled it, seemingly to confirm whether Chen Ling and Plum Blossom Eight were still inside...

Then, it froze.

In its triangular eyes, an undeniable look of bewilderment emerged... The scroll in its hands was completely blank, utterly empty.

This wasn't "Guernica" at all!

"A splendid performance."

A voice came from the other side.

Beside Bai Ye, the tall Card of Diamonds Ten, dressed in a black magician's robe, slowly placed a top hat back on his head. He subtly snapped his fingers, and eighteen identical "Guernicas" floated around him.

"...Unfortunately, your luck doesn't seem to be very good. Would you like to try again?"

"You have eighteen more chances, or..."

"...it could be eighteen thousand."

The Card of Diamonds Ten clapped his hands. The eighteen "Guernicas" swirling around him replicated and spread wildly, instantly transforming into eighteen thousand identical scrolls that filled every corner, like countless grains of sand in a vast desert.

Among them, there was only one real "Guernica"... or perhaps none at all.

Seeing this, the rage in the Second Hall's eyes almost solidified. All the abstract shapes filling its domain twisted. It spoke grimly:

"...Do you really think I can't do anything about you?"

"This is the Hongchen Base, my home ground... As long as I seal this place, you won't be able to escape, no matter how skilled you are! If I kill you, "Guernica" will naturally fall into my hands."

Facing the Second Hall's threat, Bai Ye appeared unfazed. His hands in his pockets, he smiled faintly:

"You're right, this is the Hongchen Base... But you're not the only one here, are you?"

"What do you mean?" The Second Hall's triangular eyes narrowed.

"Besides you, this Hall, the Hongchen Base also has a large number of ordinary Floating Life Scroll members and new recruits who haven't yet been trained... And our Twilight Society didn't just send the two of us."

Bai Ye gestured beyond the domain,

"Guess what they're doing right now?"