Chapter 1116: Ball of Yarn

As the words fell, the six shadow centipedes shook even more violently.

The lead centipede didn't hesitate, carrying Chen Ling and darting into the depths of the Gray Realm in a flash. The other small centipedes originally wanted to run, but in their panic, they bumped into each other in a daze. Following a hiss from the big centipede in the distance, they obediently followed behind and disappeared at the end of the horizon.

Inside the Mother Tree, the crowd of onlookers stood with their mouths agape in shock, only coming to their senses after Chen Ling and the Calamities had disappeared.

They had heard various legends about Chen Ling, but only at this moment did they truly witness his power...

Not to mention anything else, that big centipede alone could wipe out almost all of them. After all, most of them were young and hadn't yet fused to the level of [Slaying Evil], nor did they possess any offensive power. If they were stranded outside the Mother Tree, that Calamity could take their lives.

But Chen Ling just stomped his foot, and their whole family was scared out, and with two sentences, he made them obey. This kind of oppressive force was something no other Fusion user could achieve; it was the terrifying dominance possessed only by a King of Calamities!

At this moment, the legendary pasts of Chen Ling circulating within the Fusion Faction were truly visualized in everyone's eyes.

"Where is Brother Chen Ling going?"

"He must be going to save Linglong and Xiaobai, right?! So amazing!!"

"If it's Brother Chen Ling, he will definitely be able to save them..."

The worry and fear that had haunted all the young boys and girls of the Fusion Faction dissipated for the most part with Chen Ling's departure. Their eyes reignited with the fire of hope, and they were incredibly excited. Even when Zhao Yi and Old Wolf set out to search for people, they hadn't had such an intense reaction.

What brought all this about, besides the scene of Chen Ling summoning the Calamities, was more so the stories behind him, and the young people's longing and trust in him... This was the power brought by a "legend."

A joyful, boiling atmosphere spread within the Mother Tree.

Behind the office window, Teacher Ye quietly watched Chen Ling's departing back, whispering to himself:

"The Scarlet Sovereign of the Ghost-Mockery Abyss, the Faceless King who mocks fate..."

Teacher Ye smiled slightly and put the syringe back into the box.

Click—

The black box locked again.

……

"Sixteen..."

"Seventeen..."

"Eighteen..."

On the other side of the canopy, a petite figure was carefully groping forward along the branches of the Mother Tree, using the dim light of a kerosene lamp to dispel the darkness, while bending down to continuously pick leaves that were about to wither and placing them into a small basket at her waist.

A roar came from the distance, followed by another round of exclamations from the crowd. Xiao Tao wiped the sweat from her forehead and couldn't help but ask:

"Sister Miaomiao, what happened over there?"

On the other side, not far from her, Miaomiao shouted in surprise:

"Xiao Tao, you don't need to pick anymore! Brother Chen Ling has summoned a group of Calamities and gone to find Linglong and Xiaobai himself!"

"Huh?!"

Xiao Tao was stunned for a moment, then held onto the tangled branches and climbed down bit by bit.

"Really? Where, where?"

"Really, he's already gone... in that direction."

Xiao Tao looked in the direction Miaomiao was pointing, but could only see the deep night and the eerie, chilling outlines of the Calamity territories in the Gray Realm.

She hugged the small basket in her arms, the figure in the bright red opera robe appearing in her mind, and muttered to herself:

"If it's Brother Chen Ling... it should be fine."

"I think so too!" Miaomiao took her hand. "Alright, you've picked quite a few withered leaves today, let's go back quickly."

"...Yeah."

Xiao Tao nodded and followed Miaomiao down the canopy. Just then, her peripheral vision seemed to catch something, and a look of confusion flashed in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Sister Miaomiao... look, what is that?"

Miaomiao squatted down with Xiao Tao and looked together at the trunk of the Mother Tree. They saw a mass of black lines, like chaotic graffiti, drawn on the surface of the trunk—messy, disorderly, and nonsensical.

"It must be someone's prank, right?" Miaomiao reached out and rubbed the lines, but couldn't erase them at all.

"To actually scribble on the Mother Tree, we must tell Teacher Ye when we get back and find out who it is to punish them severely!"

Miaomiao said as she looked away, but the next moment, she found that the mass of lines seemed branded onto her retina; no matter where she looked, they wouldn't go away.

The chaotic lines spun wildly before her eyes, like an abstract storm, swallowing everything in her sight bit by bit...

"Xiao Tao... something seems wrong... I..."

Miaomiao staggered in dizziness, wanting to grab Xiao Tao's hand, but found that Xiao Tao was just as sluggish as she was, standing in place. A mass of pitch-black, disordered lines spread in her pupils, eventually occupying her entire eyeball.

A breeze blew over the canopy of the Mother Tree, and the two girls stood there blankly.

After a long while, they suddenly moved their feet stiffly, and like souls who had lost their way, they walked together toward the depths of the Gray Realm...

……

Jian Changsheng sat on a giant rock, one hand supporting his head, watching a lead-gray cloud formation that looked like a mushroom drift overhead, as if he were in a daze.

Vaguely, the shouts of two other people drifted into his ears:

"Four 5s!"

"Six 6s!"

"Six 6s? Reveal!"

Jack of Diamonds shouted, directly opening the dice cup in front of Sun Bumian. After counting the points, he laughed: "You lost!! Drink!"

Sun Bumian scratched his hair in annoyance, looking eagerly at Jiang Xiaohua.

Jiang Xiaohua sat cross-legged on the ground with a pile of empty wine bottles beside him. Hearing Jack of Diamonds shout to drink, he didn't say a word, silently tilting his head back and finishing a bottle of wine.

A faint flush had already appeared on Jiang Xiaohua's cheeks. He glanced at Sun Bumian gloomily and said in a muffled voice:

"You're so bad at this... Diamond."

"Damn it, that shouldn't be..." Sun Bumian's old face flushed red. He stared straight at the dice in front of Jack of Diamonds, feeling incredulous. "Back in the day, I was a veteran who dominated casinos both at home and abroad. How can I not win..."

Jack of Diamonds ignored Sun Bumian's muttering. After seeing Jiang Xiaohua finish his drink, he also picked up his own bottle and clinked it with Jiang Xiaohua's, saying very happily:

"Come on, I'm thirsty, I'll have a drink with you!"

After saying that, he also tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

"Again!"

The sound of two dice shakers overlapping made Jian Changsheng feel annoyed. He couldn't help but stand up, walk over to Jack of Diamonds, and ask directly:

"Seriously, buddy, at this rate of stopping and going, when in the hell are we going to reach the Fusion Faction??"

Jack of Diamonds looked up at him and let out a hiccup.

"You don't get it... Without clear directional guidance, it's best not to travel in the Gray Realm at night, otherwise it's very easy to lose your way and walk into a Calamity territory.

There are train tracks connecting the human realms, so you don't have to worry about getting lost, but we are heading deep into the Gray Realm now... If you want to arrive at the Fusion Faction safely, you have to listen to me."