Chapter 971: From Beyond the World

Author: Sannjiu YinyuWord Count: 1253

The mask fit perfectly onto Chen Ling's face.

Chen Ling had already changed back into his large crimson opera robe. With the black and white mask covering his face, his already vibrant and dangerous aura became imbued with an even deeper layer of mystery.

At the same time, Shen Nan took off the bell from his waist and handed it, along with the mysterious banner, to Chen Ling.

"Do these two items have any special abilities?" Chen Ling asked, puzzled.

"No, they are merely props for the God-Sacrifice Dance," Shen Nan replied truthfully. "However, once you complete the divine descent, they will become part of the ritual, allowing you to control the power more easily."

Chen Ling nodded, then slowly walked into the drizzling rain under the gaze of everyone present.

Raindrops tapped against the black and white Nuo mask. Recalling Shen Nan's movements, Chen Ling hoisted the banner onto one shoulder while gently shaking the bell with his other hand.

Ding-dong—

The crimson opera robe danced in the rain.

Light, fluid, and eerily mysterious, Chen Ling's movements and steps perfectly replicated Shen Nan's performance earlier, almost without a single flaw. Perhaps due to the difference in color between his opera robe and the Nuo mask, Chen Ling's dance conveyed a more ethereal and otherworldly sensation.

Lu Xun, Yang Xiao, and Su Zhiwei were all captivated by Chen Ling. Beside them, Shen Nan's eyes gleamed with anticipation, yet he nervously clenched his fists.

The Nuo mask swayed in the rain, and as Chen Ling's strange dance continued, an inexplicable aura began to emanate from him.

A peculiar sensation arose within Chen Ling.

As Shen Nan had explained, the God-Sacrifice Dance was a way to communicate with "gods." It resembled the four fundamental secret arts of the Ancient Opera Repository, integrating the essence of shamanism into its movements. However, merely dancing was not enough to truly complete a divine descent.

The next step was to transfer Yao's soul into the Nuo mask during communication with the 'god,' thereby imbuing the mask with a soul.

"Yao," Chen Ling silently chanted Yao's name in his mind as he danced.

"Mm."

A voice echoed from deep within Chen Ling's heart, and a soul began to voluntarily withdraw from his body, surging towards the mask on his face.

This was the first time Yao had appeared in the perception of those present. The moment Shen Nan sensed it, profound shock filled his eyes.

"What a powerful soul!"

Although Shen Nan had previously sensed Yao's presence through Chen Ling, it was like looking at flowers through a fog—unclear, only vaguely perceiving it as a Shamanic God-Path. But when Yao truly revealed its complete soul, even Shen Nan, a Nuo, was awed by the soul's oppressive power.

He had never witnessed such a powerful soul.

When Yao was in the Tianshu realm, it had devoured the soul power of dozens of prodigies imprisoned by Kongwang. Although it still lacked a physical body, in terms of soul strength alone, almost no one could compare to it, with the exception of a few unique God-Paths. Chen Ling and Shen Nan were no exception.

"A distorted Opera God-Path, and a terrifyingly powerful Shamanic God-Path soul... What kind of monster will their combination create?" Shen Nan murmured to himself.

The crimson sleeves of the opera robe danced like slithering snakes in the rain.

As Yao's soul temporarily settled within the Nuo mask, Chen Ling's God-Sacrifice Dance became increasingly imbued with power. A certain aura began to connect with the void, and Chen Ling started guiding this aura to establish a link between himself and Yao within the Nuo mask.

Under the power of the God-Sacrifice Dance, it seemed as though a thread was about to form between Chen Ling and Yao. "Opera" and "Shamanism" began to slowly intertwine, and a hurricane slowly rose from beneath his feet!

Witnessing this, Shen Nan's eyes shone brightly!

It was at this moment that an unexpected anomaly occurred.

A strong burning sensation began to emanate from Chen Ling's collarbone. In the unseen, an even more powerful connection directly shattered the link Chen Ling and Yao were just about to establish!

Chen Ling, startled, looked down to see a ghost-face mark on his collarbone glowing with intense purple light!

If the connection Chen Ling had just established was like a fleeting strand of spider silk, then the power erupting from his collarbone now was like a heavy chain, connecting him to Yao while also extending to the very end of the void...

"This is..." Chen Ling immediately recognized the source of this aura.

"The God-Sacrifice Ground???"

Chen Ling clearly remembered that not long ago, the Red King had taken him to the deepest part of the Forbidden Sea, into Jizai's maw, where they found a corner of the Ancient Shamanic Repository. This was the God-Sacrifice Ground, which stored all "sacrifices" from human civilization throughout history.

Using the power of the God-Sacrifice Ground, the Red King had awakened Yao within Chen Ling, helping Chen Ling reclaim the stage from Chao. It was then that a remarkably close connection was forged between Chen Ling, Yao, and the God-Sacrifice Ground.

The God-Sacrifice Dance Shen Nan taught Chen Ling was a method of "sacrifice," a channel to communicate with 'gods.' It was like giving Chen Ling a set of keys to connect to a "network." But what Shen Nan didn't know was that the very core of this "network" was now in Chen Ling's hands.

Boom—!!!

The power of "sacrifice" surged out like a torrent through the ghost-face mark on Chen Ling's collarbone. The Shamanic God-Path energy contained within it was too immense, completely exceeding the limits Chen Ling and Yao could bear.

The Nuo mask on Chen Ling's face shattered with a loud crack.

At the same time, an overwhelming aura from the God-Sacrifice Ground, using the God-Sacrifice Dance as its medium, burst forth from Chen Ling's body like a pillar of fire, soaring into the sky!!

"This... How is this possible?"

The Nuo mask in Shen Nan's hand trembled slightly, as if drawn by the aura of the God-Sacrifice Ground. If Shen Nan hadn't gripped it tightly, it likely would have flown out on its own. He stared blankly at the scene before him, his face filled with confusion.

He had anticipated Chen Ling might fail, and even prepared words of comfort, but the current situation had utterly surpassed his comprehension.

The aura of the God-Sacrifice Ground, with Chen Ling as its vessel, burned fiercely like a blazing torch in the darkness.

Before Shen Nan could say anything, a gaze seemed to pierce through the world's barrier, slowly locking onto the old hut. As that gaze focused here, everyone on the open ground also saw it.

It was a monochromatic world.

There was no color there; the sky and earth consisted only of black, white, and gray. Boundless seawater churned beneath lead-gray clouds, and countless grotesque runic monsters writhed on the surface, like a dance of demons. Each one exuded a terrifying aura.

Beneath the surface of the sea, a colossal, terrifying shadow, large enough to obscure the sky, slowly emerged. Its enormous, lantern-like eyes, hot with an infernal glow, opened in the abyss. Its gaze traversed the world's barrier, peered into the universe where Chen Ling resided, and then gradually locked onto Chen Ling on the open ground of Guanzhou Mountain... or rather, the unique aura of the "God-Sacrifice Ground" emanating from him.

Roar—!!

The colossal shadow, coiled in the abyss of the Forbidden Sea, seemed enraged by the aura of the God-Sacrifice Ground. Its deafening roar nearly shattered the eardrums of Yang Xiao and the others.

Then, a towering tsunami began to surge across the sea surface, and the "world-destroying" giant shadow shifted its body, beginning to approach the direction of Earth.