Chapter 656: The Truth of the Scroll

On the other side of the Mortal Realm.

"By the way, does anyone know which way Willow Town is?" Ten of Clubs suddenly asked.

The many members of the Twilight Society, walking along the road, stopped simultaneously. They looked at each other and fell silent.

"You mean you don't know?!"

"I thought Six of Hearts knew. Wasn't he the one who suggested going to Willow Town?"

"I know how to get to Willow Town from the main city, but the problem is, I don't know where we are right now..." Chen Ling looked at Nine of Hearts, who was walking in front. "He was leading, so I thought he knew the way."

"I don't know either!"

"Then why were you leading?"

"You didn't tell me to stop, so I just assumed I was going the right way!"

As they were talking, Eight of Clubs, who was on Chen Ling's back, fluttered his eyelashes slightly. A moment later, his eyes slowly opened.

Nine of Hearts, who was still wildly bickering with Chen Ling, saw this and immediately forgot everything else, quickly walking over to Eight of Clubs. "Well, well, little weakling, finally awake?"

"...Damn it, why is it always you I see first thing when I open my eyes?" Eight of Clubs rubbed the corners of his eyes wearily, not bothering to hide the disdain in his gaze. "Looks like the nightmare hasn't ended... I'll just sleep a bit more."

The mockery Nine of Hearts was about to unleash on Eight of Clubs died in his throat, and his face instantly twisted as if he'd swallowed a fly.

Having been "hurt" countless times by Nine of Hearts, Eight of Clubs had long been forced to grow thorns. The mere sight of Nine of Hearts' face would trigger a natural counterattack.

"I don't recommend you keep sleeping," Chen Ling said, his face stern. "You've been on my back for several hours."

"...Sorry, I just said that casually."

Eight of Clubs got off Chen Ling's back, his head still fuzzy. He frowned, looking around, and asked as if still half-asleep: "Where are we? Did we leave *Guernica*?"

"Yes, we're out... but I don't know where this is."

"Hiss... My head hurts, but those noisy sounds really do seem to be gone." Eight of Clubs rubbed his temples, observing his surroundings, and said with some uncertainty, "This looks like Maple Incense Town."

"Maple Incense Town?" Chen Ling hadn't heard the name before. "Do you know which way Willow Town is from here?"

"Yes."

Eight of Clubs, being a former Hall of Fleeting Pictures, knew the Mortal Realm like the back of his hand. He immediately raised his hand and pointed in the opposite direction from which Chen Ling and the others had been walking, "Over there."

The members of the Twilight Society: ...

Although frustrated, there seemed to be no other option but to dutifully turn back.

"What's going on now? Why are we going to Willow Town?" Eight of Clubs asked, following behind the group.

"The Realm War has begun. We need to find a suitable place to wait until everything settles down."

"It's already started??" Eight of Clubs was startled. "Who has the upper hand now?"

"Don't know."

"...Alright."

"More than that, I'm still more curious about where Lord Hongchen is," Jian Changsheng said suddenly, as if something just occurred to him. "Oh, I haven't asked you yet... what exactly does this painting you drew mean?"

"My painting?" Eight of Clubs' eyes were filled with confusion.

Jian Changsheng took out a scroll from his pocket and unfurled it. The scene of Su Zhiwei lying amidst blood-like petals appeared before everyone.

"This one."

"This? Who said this painting was drawn by me?" Eight of Clubs shrugged. "Lord Hongchen's condition has always been the highest secret of the Hall of Fleeting Pictures. Not to mention I was only the Ninth Hall Master back then, even the Second Hall Master wasn't qualified to see Lord Hongchen's true form... If I couldn't even see her, how could I paint her?"

"Then this is..."

"This painting, I stole it from the Hongchen base. At the time, I thought I might find some clues about Lord Hongchen from it... but before I could hand it over to the Twilight Society, I was caught by the Second Hall Master and locked up."

"No wonder." Jian Changsheng shrugged. "I was wondering, if you wanted to give us clues about Lord Hongchen, why wouldn't you write them clearly on paper instead of hiding them so obscurely in a painting..."

"Wait," Chen Ling interrupted, puzzled, "You said even the Second Hall Master wasn't qualified to see Lord Hongchen's true form?"

"Then who drew this painting?"

"Naturally, our Chief drew it back then," Eight of Clubs paused. "No, strictly speaking, it wasn't drawn..."

"What do you mean?"

"It's normal for you not to see the Chief's divine abilities, as you're not from the Qing God Dao," Eight of Clubs pointed at the scroll. "Didn't you notice? This painting doesn't feel very flat when you touch it."

"Indeed... So?"

"This person wasn't painted with a brush," Eight of Clubs explained seriously. "...Instead, it was embroidered stitch by stitch, with extremely fine threads."

Chen Ling abruptly stopped.

Audience anticipation 3

Mortal Realm border.

Cloud and Mist Town.

Boom—!!

Eerie green flames, like a mushroom cloud, billowed up from the town. Highly corrosive strong winds swept across the land, carrying a pungent stench that spread outwards.

A figure covered in blood stumbled out of the eerie green inferno, slowly moving across the web-like cracked earth.

"This is Architect 002... cough, cough, cough... I failed..."

"I couldn't stop the seventh-rank of the Boundless Realm, repeat, I couldn't stop him!"

"I request support—"

Bang—!

Before he could finish, a withered hand reached out from the eerie green flames, instantly piercing his chest. His voice abruptly cut off.

A figure draped in a black robe casually pulled his hand out of the flesh. Eerie green flames immediately erupted from the wound, enveloping the body of the Hall of Fleeting Pictures member, burning him to ash in a matter of breaths.

"A sixth-rank dares to block me... truly overestimating himself."

The black-robed figure snorted coldly, stepped over the charred remains on the ground, and walked straight towards the direction of the Mortal Realm's main city.

The black-robed figure, possessing seventh-rank strength, was already a top-tier existence in the Witchcraft Association. After entering the Mortal Realm, he easily slaughtered a town, and then this fearless sixth-rank ran over...

The black-robed figure admitted that this Qing God Dao member had some skill, able to contend with him for so long as a sixth-rank... but the final outcome was never in doubt.

With each step, the black-robed figure left an eerie green flame footprint on the ground, mysterious and chilling. His form was elusive; occasionally, a single step would cover hundreds of meters.

Soon, he arrived at the next town.

But by then, the town was already empty. No one could be seen in the streets or houses, only the mournful sound of the wind.

The black-robed figure walked along the town's roads, frowning as he scanned his surroundings.

"So they evacuated the people in advance... quite quick with their movements."

With no one left in the town, there was no point for the black-robed figure to stay. He continued towards the Mortal Realm's main city. He refused to believe that these millions of people could escape much further.

However, just as he was about to leave the empty town, an unexpected change occurred!

The houses around the black-robed figure suddenly twisted. Their original colors and complex structures faded away simultaneously, leaving only the most basic, simple lines. These lines, in the next moment, seemed to come alive, transforming into monstrous gaping mouths that lunged and bit at the black-robed figure!