Chapter 650: Compromise and Crisis

Yang Muxian glanced at the Floating Life Painting members and apprentices they controlled, his voice as cold as ice: "Are you threatening us?"

"Yes, I am threatening you!" Heart 9 laughed wildly. "I know what you're thinking. Sacrificing a few Floating Life Painting members or apprentices might be acceptable if it means killing us Twilight Society members... but is that really the case? With the Boundless Realm at your doorstep, can you truly afford such heavy casualties at this critical juncture?"

As soon as he said this, Yang Muxian and the several Sixth-Tier Floating Life Painting members behind him immediately changed their expressions.

With the realm war on the verge of breaking out, every Divine Path Wielder, regardless of rank, is crucial combat power. Since the Boundless Realm dared to invade, they must be confident in their ability to suppress the opposition. And Divine Path Wielders can only be countered by other Divine Path Wielders. If there's a significant disparity in numbers, they would inevitably face situations where one person fights many, or large numbers of Divine Path Wielders would rampage unopposed, slaughtering civilians.

The Boundless Realm's goal was to slaughter civilians to refine Philosopher's Stones. A Fourth-Tier Divine Path Wielder could easily slaughter thousands of people. The Twilight Society had abducted over a dozen Floating Life Painting members, ranging from Third to Fifth Tier, along with dozens of apprentices of Second Tier and below. If the Twilight Society truly went insane and killed them all, the already insufficient manpower of Floating Life Painting would suffer another devastating blow.

The loss of these dozens of personnel might mean that dozens of Witch Divine Path Wielders would go unopposed, leading to hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties.

At this critical moment, the Twilight Society's actions were undoubtedly a devastating blow, striking Floating Life Painting's vital artery. Combined with Heart 9's almost maxed-out taunting ability, it instantly made Yang Muxian and the others extremely uncomfortable.

As Yang Muxian wavered, in the void at the end of the corridor, an abstract geometric domain gradually tore open. Countless chaotic lines danced like a storm within it, and two figures could be vaguely seen standing inside.

Deep within the domain, a colossal geometric face floated before the relief door. Its eyes stared at the scene outside the domain, and the abstract shapes surrounding it trembled violently with rage.

"That's how it is," Bai Ye said slowly.

"I know that all of us combined are no match for you alone... But sometimes, strength isn't everything."

"Our Twilight Society never interferes in matters between realms. It makes no difference to us whether you or the Boundless Realm live or die... But since you abducted our members, we have to demand an explanation."

The laziness and nonchalance on Bai Ye's face gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness and iciness.

He slowly held up two fingers: "Now, I'll give you two choices."

"Either release Heart 6 and Spade 8 and let us leave the Mortal Realm Base... or we'll fight to the death. We'll severely cripple you, ensuring the Boundless Realm eventually razes the Mortal Realm, and your millions of civilians will die with us."

As Bai Ye's voice fell, the entire Mortal Realm Base fell into a dead silence.

Spade J gently pulled down the brim of his magician's hat, sparks seeming to flicker at his fingertips. Diamond 10 stood motionless as a dead tree among a dozen living coffins. Heart 9 chuckled, his back skin peeling open like steel to reveal hundreds of gunpowder cannons. Chu Muyun glanced at the blood-soaked broken leg on the ground, which was slowly recovering, and unconsciously tightened his grip on his blood-stained spiked hammer. Jian Changsheng solemnly bit his fingertip, letting drops of blood slowly fall to the ground.

All members of the Twilight Society were ready for action.

This was a blatant threat, and the most arrogant and overbearing open conspiracy. There was no doubt that if the Second Hall refused, these madmen would fight to the death and turn the place upside down.

All the Floating Life Painting members present, including Hall Master Yang Muxian, looked towards the Second Hall deep within the domain, anxiously awaiting his decision.

The Second Hall stared intently at Bai Ye and the others, light flickering in its abstract eyes.

After an unknown period, it spoke slowly, word by word: "Very well... you win."

"You can take the people, but leave *Guernica*."

Hearing the Second Hall's reply, the Twilight Society members remained on high alert. After all, no one knew if these individuals would go back on their word and launch a surprise attack. Bai Ye's eyebrows slightly raised. After a moment of hesitation, he took out the real *Guernica* from his pocket and unfurled it with force.

The moment the rolled-up painting was unfurled, a red figure swiftly leaped out from it. Chen Ling, carrying the unconscious Spade 8 on his back, landed steadily on the ground.

Chen Ling's gaze swept across his surroundings. Seeing Bai Ye beside him, he knew his guess was correct.

Ever since he saw that familiar white light within the painting, Chen Ling had guessed that Bai Ye and the others had made their move. So, he had been waiting for the opportune moment inside the painting. The instant the painting unfurled, he leaped out, a boning knife clutched in his hand, ready for battle.

Bai Ye and Chen Ling exchanged a look, and the corner of Bai Ye's mouth, hidden beneath his baseball cap, subtly curved upwards. Then he rolled *Guernica* back up and tossed it to the Second Hall.

"Open the door for us," he said flatly.

"And the Foundation Fragments that were originally in the painting."

Bai Ye paused, looking at Chen Ling in confusion, unaware of the Foundation Fragments' existence.

Chen Ling gave Spade J a profound look. After a moment of silence between them, Chen Ling opened his palm and gently tossed a delicate, swaying flower towards the Second Hall.

"Now, can you open the door?"

The Second Hall snorted coldly. A ghostly portal slowly materialized among them. This door temporarily connected the green leaf where the Mortal Realm Base was located with the flower representing the Mortal Realm itself, linking them. It was almost identical to the staff passage Yang Muxian had used to lead Chen Ling previously.

Spade J stepped forward. After confirming the door was safe, he nodded slightly to the others.

"Let's go."

Spade J took off his magician's hat. With a gentle wave towards Heart 9 and the others, he absorbed them all into it. Then, without hesitation, he plunged through the door, giving the Second Hall and the others no time to react!

As Spade J's figure vanished beyond the door, the tense, oppressive atmosphere in the Mortal Realm Base finally eased slightly. The figures sealed in the living coffins by Diamond 10 dropped one by one. Even the Floating Life Painting member whose leg Chu Muyun had broken stood up completely unharmed, looking at his knee with utter shock.

"Are we really just letting them leave like this??" The more Yang Muxian thought about it, the angrier he became, and he couldn't help but ask the Second Hall.

The Second Hall opened its mouth, then its gaze suddenly fell upon the small flower in front of it.

The delicate, swaying flower gradually faded as Chen Ling and the others departed. Finally, it transformed into a paper dove and landed on the ground with a soft thud.

The fires of rage blazed in the Second Hall's triangular eyes. It slowly turned its head, its gaze locking onto the partially opened relief door. It spoke chillingly:

"I only promised them they could leave the base... but I didn't say they would leave the Mortal Realm alive."

"It's time for the Chief to awaken."

The next moment, a large number of red threads, as if alive, slowly flowed out from the cracks in the relief door.