Chapter 723: Eternal Life?

Upon seeing this, Liu Qingyan froze. She stared at the four enormous cards on the wall in front of her, and as if something clicked, she looked up at the sky. Through the oppressive clouds, a faint, indistinct ray of moonlight pierced through a gap.

"Twilight Society…?"

Liu Qingyan, of course, knew what these four playing cards signified. Their appearance here indicated that she had been noticed by the mysterious organization, and that some unseen presence was watching her at this very moment.

At the same time, above the four playing cards, a line of moonlight reappeared:

"Reverse the Era, Restart the World?"

Liu Qingyan fell silent. This was an invitation… an invitation to join one of the world's most dangerous organizations.

Liu Qingyan didn't know if this was the standard procedure for others joining the Twilight Society, but for her, the direct projection of the four playing cards was undoubtedly striking. The moment she saw this, the image of a figure in red appeared in her mind.

Was he a member of this organization…?

Liu Qingyan's gaze swept over the Five of Clubs, the Five of Spades, and the Five of Diamonds, her eyes finally resting on the Five of Hearts. She closed her eyes and pondered for a long time before finally parting her lips slightly and giving her answer:

"I'm sorry, I refuse."

The moment her words faded, the moonlit street suddenly fell silent.

After a few seconds, the moonlight projected onto the wall slowly shifted, gradually transforming from the four playing cards into three characters:

"Why?"

"Reverse the Era, Restart the World… I actually don't care about the Twilight Society's philosophy," Liu Qingyan said slowly. "I'm willing to follow Lord Chen Ling, but sacrificing myself for Lord Chen Ling is different from sacrificing myself for the Twilight Society."

Liu Qingyan was clear-headed. She knew that joining the Twilight Society would mean adhering to its philosophy and undertaking various tasks to reverse the era. However, her only concern was Chen Ling, and there was no need for her to do anything else.

She possessed that path; she was the only one in the world who could locate Chen Ling regardless of distance. Therefore, she would always be able to follow Chen Ling's footsteps.

Ultimately, Liu Qingyan followed Chen Ling, not the Twilight Society itself.

After Liu Qingyan refused, the moonlight on the wall gradually dissipated, as if nothing had happened. Just as she thought the invitation had concluded and was about to turn and leave, another line of moonlight appeared.

This time, the moonlight changed after a long pause, as if it were a decision made after careful consideration:

"—If you are uncertain about your own path, find me in Changdao Ancient Tomb."

Upon seeing this sentence, Liu Qingyan's steps faltered.

*Rumble! Rumble rumble rumble—*

At the edge of the Mortal Realm, a familiar sound rumbled to life again. Acrid black smoke rose from the front of the tractor, and the entire vehicle began to vibrate.

"This car is still here?" Heart 9 patted the crude metal body of the vehicle, a look of disdain on his face, as if he could already feel how uncomfortable it would be to sit on.

"It's been stored here ever since we came out of the Aurora Realm," someone explained. "The original plan was for it to be a quick escape after the Mortal Realm was destroyed… Although the Mortal Realm is still barely holding on, the Realm Train is definitely out of commission. The Boundless Realm cut off the tracks long ago. Even if other realms have received news and want to help repair Mortal, it will take time. In short, the only way to leave here in the short term is with this."

"Tsk, fine… But the two newcomers aren't here this time, so who's going to drive the tractor?"

After a brief silence, everyone turned to look at Spade 7, Chu Muyun.

"Club 8 is too gravely injured; I need to treat him on the way," Chu Muyun calmly stated, pushing up his silver-rimmed glasses.

Heart 9: ?

Heart 9's eyes widened, about to retort, but seeing Club 8 covered in blood, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his words. Noticing everyone's gazes on him, he waved his hand impatiently:

"Alright, alright, I'll drive, is that okay?"

Heart 9 grudgingly climbed into the driver's seat. The others, carrying Yao Qing's coffin, sat in the back trailer. With a steadily growing hum, they slowly rumbled out of the Mortal Realm, bouncing along.

*Rumble rumble rumble rumble—*

Figures in suits sat around the coffin. They watched the rolling dust of the Mortal Realm fade into the distance, their gazes complex.

"We've witnessed the demise of two realms in a row," someone remarked, "and I didn't expect Mortal to pull through… Honestly, it's a bit hard to get used to."

"It's normal," Club said blandly. "Life finds a way. Humans aren't that fragile in the face of danger; otherwise, we wouldn't have survived the most difficult period of the Great Cataclysm. Of course, not all realms have figures like Lord Hongchen and the leader of the Azure Divine Path. The situation of the Mortal Realm cannot be replicated."

"Speaking of which, since the Mortal Realm was saved, the Boundless Realm must be in a bad state, right?"

"The Boundless Realm, you ask…?" Diamond 10 smiled faintly. "Lord Boundless tried to gain an advantage this time but ended up losing big. Not only did he fail to achieve immortality, but he also lost nearly half his soul and the entire Witchcraft Association. Most importantly, all other human realms now know that the Boundless Realm has gone mad."

"Next, they will face the judgment of the other five human realms."

"Judgment? I like that word. So what will happen to the Boundless Realm?"

"How would I know? I'm not the one making decisions for humanity. But there should be news soon…"

"Tsk tsk tsk," someone mused, "Lord Boundless killed so many people and gambled the entire Boundless Realm just to seek immortality… Is immortality really that great?"

"Good question. I'll tell you when I achieve immortality."

"Immortality, huh…"

Bai Ye lay lazily on the edge of the trailer, his head tilted back, toying with a white flower in his hand. After a long moment of thought, he murmured uncertainly, "To be immortal in this era… it would be quite lonely, wouldn't it?"

"Boss! One bowl of Cheung fun! One double-skin milk, please!"

A young man in a Tang suit sat down casually, crossing his legs and leaning against the restaurant's old tiled wall. He yawned lazily, covering his mouth with one hand.

"Xiao Sun, finished with your performance today?" a middle-aged man asked with a smile, parting the curtain from the kitchen.

"Yeah, not many people today… and not much in tips." The young man rummaged in his pocket, a few copper coins clinking inside, and sighed helplessly.

"It was really strange today. Some customers came to eat just now, and they seemed to be discussing some realm war or something… Ah, I don't really understand." As he spoke, the boss emerged with the dishes, placing them one by one in front of the young man. "You're a regular. The double-skin milk is on the house this time."

"Hey, thanks, boss!"

The young man clasped his hands together and grinned, bowing to the boss. A pair of stylish, small round sunglasses rested on the tip of his nose, giving him a carefree, roguish look.

He picked up his chopsticks, about to eat, when a hawker's cry came from outside the door:

"Extra! Extra!!"

"Lord Boundless tears up realm rules, actively initiating a realm war against the Mortal Realm! Demigods fallen! Lives extinguished! Is it the distortion of human nature, or the decay of morality?!"

"First large-scale war since the Great Cataclysm! Only five yuan! Bringing you firsthand news reporting!!"

The young man's chopsticks paused slightly. He turned his head, looking through the restaurant's glass door, and waved repeatedly to the newsboy outside, who then jogged in.

"Boss, want a newspaper?"

Without a word, the young man pulled out all the copper coins from his pocket and thrust them into the child's hand.

"Thanks, boss!" The boy pulled a newspaper from his satchel, about to leave, when he was suddenly drawn to a fiery red lion's head mask on a nearby chair.

"Your big hat is so cool!"

"What big hat? This is a lion dance head," the young man said, lightly tapping the child's head with the rolled-up newspaper. His eyes, hidden behind the small round sunglasses, silently rolled. "You don't know quality…"

The young man pulled his sunglasses down and carefully read the contents of the newspaper, his expression gradually growing intrigued…

He picked up the lion dance head with one hand. Like a gust of wind, he turned and walked out of the restaurant.

"Xiao Sun! Aren't you eating?"

"Sorry, boss! Something came up, I have to go on a long trip!"

The young man turned back, waved to the boss, and then gradually disappeared at the end of the street…

The fiery red fur of the lion dance head swayed gently in the wind, drawing the gazes of passersby. The young man reached one hand into the lion's mouth, as if fumbling for something.

"Strange… where did I put it? I remember I had it… Oh, found it."

The young man's lips curved upward as he pulled out a playing card from the lion's mouth.

"The Boundless Realm, huh… interesting."

The card flipped in his fingertips, a flash of red streaking through the air…

—Six of Diamonds.

End of Volume Two: *Painting the Crimson Face*.Next Volume: *Ritual Dance of the Gods*.