Chapter 697: Smashing the Infinite

"Brother Lin..." Li Qingshan saw the scene, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then hesitated.

Li Qingshan sensed a change in Chen Ling... his eyes seemed to hold something new. His expression remained calm, yet it radiated an intense sense of danger!

After burying Huang Suyue, Chen Ling walked past Li Qingshan. His crimson opera robe swayed as he approached the main entrance of the opera house and slowly came to a halt.

Drip-drop—drip-drop—

The pattering rain streamed down from the eaves, dancing lightly in the wind like a curtain of beads.

Chen Ling raised his head, standing like a statue. His gaze seemed fixed, perhaps on the rain-swept eaves, or the dense rain clouds in the distance, or even the vast and complex alchemical array within the clouds.

"Kong Baosheng," Chen Ling said suddenly.

"...Sir."

"Why didn't you leave?"

Kong Baosheng opened his mouth, then lowered his head and whispered, "I... I couldn't bear to leave the main city, couldn't bear to leave Jinghong Tower."

"And you?" Chen Ling turned to Li Qingshan.

"I am a descendant of the Pioneers. Hongchen is the home our ancestors guarded. I cannot bear to watch it be trampled," Li Qingshan replied firmly.

Chen Ling was silent for a moment.

"So, neither of you intends to leave?"

"I'm not leaving!"

"Sir... I'm not leaving either!"

Chen Ling tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the plaque with the three large characters: "Jinghong Tower." The last time he was here, he tried to persuade everyone to flee to Liuzhen. He hadn't expected them to reunite in this very opera house.

Perhaps, this was fate's design.

A complex glimmer flickered in Chen Ling's eyes. Moments later, he crouched down, using his blood-stained fingertips to slowly write something in the mud in front of Jinghong Tower.

"Since none of you are leaving, then stay and watch a play."

"Watch a play?" Li Qingshan was startled. "What kind of play?"

"I have a play I wish to perform for the Wuji Domain... though I wonder if they can handle it."

"Sir, didn't you say you don't perform in the rain?" Kong Baosheng asked, bewildered.

Chen Ling smiled.

He didn't reply, simply stepped calmly into the rain.

His crimson opera robe fluttered in the wind. In the blink of an eye, the countless falling raindrops gradually thinned out, eventually vanishing into thin air!

The continuous heavy rain of several days mysteriously ceased the moment Chen Ling took a step.

Li Qingshan and Kong Baosheng both stood stunned, then, as if realizing something, lowered their heads to the spot where Chen Ling had just stood...

At the entrance of Jinghong Tower, a line of characters was written in blood, the strokes sharp as if carved by a blade!

—The actor steps out, and the heavy rain abruptly ceases.

"The rain stopped..."

In the wailing wind, the crimson opera robe fluttered like a bloody phantom down the desolate street.

As he murmured, massive shadows crushed the surrounding streets, following behind him like a pitch-black abyss, slowly devouring the war-torn Hongchen!

Chen Ling's latter words echoed softly:

"Follow me, and we shall crush Wuji."

The City Wall.

Boom—!!!

Intense flames, like a colossal python, tore a breach in the city wall, then shot straight into the sky!

The scroll that had previously covered the city wall was completely consumed in that moment. The raging fire burned countless holes through it, connecting them into a vast expanse, and finally utterly annihilated it into nothingness.

Several Floating Life Painting members on the city wall simultaneously spat out a mouthful of blood, their faces deathly pale.

Countless black-robed figures emerged from the ruined town. Around them swirled countless silver torrents, numbering in the thousands, all gathered outside the city gate!

Seeing this, Plum Blossom 8's face became incredibly grim.

Even though he and the other Floating Life Painting members had given their all, they couldn't completely defend the city gate. During the previous skirmishes, waves of silver monstrosities had already slipped through into the city. He wondered what was happening in the main city now.

Now, the Witchcraft Association was amassing more and more forces. It was impossible for their few remaining defenders to hold the main city.

Floating Life Painting was at its last gasp.

"Kill them all!" the leading six-rank black-robed figure said deeply. "The President's Philosopher's Stone is almost complete... break into the city quickly and accumulate souls!"

As he spoke, many black-robed figures from the Witchcraft Association simultaneously rushed towards the city wall, using their overwhelming numerical superiority to divide the battlefield and encircle the remaining Floating Life Painting members!

Simultaneously, the thousands of silver torrents directly broke through the blockade and poured into the city.

As they passed, the entire city seemed like a land ravaged by locusts. All buildings were shattered and torn apart by their impact, collapsing with a roar... Even the ground was ripped open, revealing rough, uneven stones beneath.

"Damn it..."

Plum Blossom 8's eyes flashed with rage at this sight. He was about to intercept the unstoppable silver torrent when three black-robed figures descended from the sky, blocking his path.

The oppressive power of three six-rank Witch God Arts crashed down!

Plum Blossom 8's pupils constricted slightly. He instantly raised his hand, drawing a scattered star chess net, but the combined might of the three six-rank figures ripped a gaping hole in it. The terrifying pressure drove his body deep into the ground, pinning him as if in a cage.

But these three black robes sought more. They had long discerned that this young man possessed extraordinary strength, recognizing him as a leader of Floating Life Painting. If he were killed, Floating Life Painting would lose its top-tier combat power.

Lethal attacks surged from all directions, instantly leaving Plum Blossom 8 covered in wounds. However, he was no ordinary six-rank, relying on terrifying mental power and several wisps of ethereal ink to resist the surrounding onslaught!

Meanwhile,

In the ruins behind the main city, the ground was churned up as if by a giant plow. Wang Jincheng, also heavily wounded, stood atop the uplifted earth, coughing as he painstakingly maintained his Divine Art.

Since the beginning of this domain war, Wang Jincheng had been forced to face seven-rank enemies, sustaining severe injuries. He had then constantly moved throughout the main city, maintaining order at the police station and sweeping away the silver monstrosities, which only worsened his injuries.

But at this point, Wang Jincheng had no choice but to fight despite his wounds; otherwise, if the Wuji Domain breached Hongchen, he too would be doomed.

"Cuiwei Mountain Roar!"

Wang Jincheng activated his last reserves of mental power, pulling a massive black pyramid from deep within the earth. It hung in the sky, obscuring the sun, then crashed down towards the silver torrents that had breached the city wall!

But before the pyramid could fall, several black-robed figures rushed out in unison. Various sacrificial artifacts and venomous insects, exuding a chilling aura, streaked across the sky, colliding with the pyramid!

Boom—!!

A visible shockwave swept through the air, and countless cracks spread across the base of the pyramid!

Wang Jincheng was, after all, already severely wounded, and among the Wuji Domain's army were several masters of his own rank. This attack was destined to fail.

Simultaneously, several black afterimages shot straight towards Wang Jincheng's face!