Chapter 1143: Parting?

As Jian Changsheng collapsed, Chen Ling dissipated the revolver in his hand and slowly stood up.

He walked straight toward the "viewing area" to the side.

Sun Bumian and Jiang Xiaohua’s eyelids twitched, and they simultaneously turned their heads elsewhere, as if they hadn't noticed anything here at all and were simply admiring the beautiful scenery of the Gray World.

"It’s one thing for Spades to recklessly charge in... but how did you two get caught up in this?" Chen Ling was speechless.

"I don't know," Jiang Xiaohua answered honestly.

"Spades said we should all come together... so I came."

“……”

Chen Ling turned to look at Sun Bumian. "And you?"

"...Would you believe me if I said I came to defect to the Fusion Faction?"

"You? What have you fused with?"

"What I fused with isn't important. What matters is that I need the power of the Fusion Faction to take my revenge!" Sun Bumian gritted his teeth, as if remembering something.

“？”

Chen Ling couldn't keep up with Sun Bumian’s train of thought. His gaze shifted to the last figure, who looked somewhat familiar.

"I recognize you... we met in the Wuji Domain." He hadn't recognized him when looking at that pile of rotten plants earlier, but now that he saw the person himself, Chen Ling quickly remembered where he had seen him.

"Twilight Society, Jack of Diamonds. I’m just the guide." The Jack of Diamonds shrugged.

"A guide... are you with the Fusion Faction?"

"I used to be."

Seeing the strange look on the Jack of Diamonds' face, Chen Ling tactfully didn't ask further.

"Anyway... that’s the situation." Chen Ling explained earnestly again. "I’m currently learning to control the Calamity of Mockery at the Fusion Faction, and I still have some things to handle... I won't be able to go back for a while."

Sun Bumian blinked. "I know. We saw the whole thing."

"...Then why didn't you stop him?"

"Could we have stopped him?"

Chen Ling was unable to refute that.

"Speaking of which, since you knew everything, why didn't you just explain it from the start? Why did you have to have this fight with him?" Sun Bumian couldn't help but ask.

"He came here carrying resentment; he wouldn't have been satisfied without a fight." Chen Ling paused for a moment. "Besides, I have a premonition that the Human Domain is about to fall into chaos... Giving him a taste of defeat is the only way to stimulate him to focus on improving his strength."

"The Human Domain is going to fall into chaos? How?"

"I'm not sure yet. I still have too little information... I need to go back and discuss it carefully with Teacher Ye."

Chen Ling checked the time and said no more. He stepped onto the head of the centipede, and his bright red theatrical robe rose slowly against the night sky.

"This is a serious matter, I’ll be going first... It shouldn't be too long before we meet again."

With that, Chen Ling turned away into the dimness.

The ferocious centipede legion seemed to receive an order, swarming toward the direction of the Fusion Faction’s Mother Tree, and soon disappeared at the edge of the horizon.

Only after Chen Ling had gone far away did a faint groan come from behind.

Jian Changsheng was seen holding his head, stumbling as he climbed up from the ground. The wounds pierced by the black rods had already mostly healed thanks to the effect of his blood-colored clothing, but he still looked covered in blood and in a sorry state.

"Spades, are you okay?" Jiang Xiaohua asked softly.

"...I'm fine, just a bit of a headache." Jian Changsheng shook his head. "It feels like something was added to my brain..."

Sun Bumian immediately thought of the "Domain Chaos" Chen Ling had mentioned and asked curiously:

"What did you see?"

"I saw... a red star falling from the sky."

"A Red Star???" Sun Bumian was stunned, his expression turning ugly. "No wonder... this is indeed a major event."

"What about Hearts?"

"He’s already gone, back to the Fusion Faction."

"Oh..."

Chen Ling’s apology had undoubtedly dissipated all the resentment in Jian Changsheng’s heart. The main purpose of his long journey had been achieved. As for whether Chen Ling returned or not... he had already given an explanation, so it didn't matter.

A breeze from the Gray World swept across the barren land, whistling through the wreckage of the Jiangtian Sect’s branch. Stones and remnants of corpses rolled past them, and the world fell into a deathly silence.

Finally, Sun Bumian spoke first:

"So... what now?"

The purpose of their trip was to find Chen Ling. Now that he wasn't at the Fusion Faction, but his affairs were settled, they didn't know where to go.

"I'm going to find a place to train hard!" Jian Changsheng said without hesitation. The shadow of being beaten up by Chen Ling was like a dark cloud hanging over his heart, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"Especially this damn killing intent inside me... I must find a way to make it completely my own!"

"What do you plan to do?"

"..." Jian Changsheng scratched his head. "I don't know yet... I'll just have to figure it out bit by bit."

The Jack of Diamonds watched Jian Changsheng.

"That thing inside you is not ordinary. Without a method, using it recklessly will only hurt yourself... You should have experienced that firsthand."

Jian Changsheng recalled the scene from earlier, his brows furrowing in distress. "Then what should I do???"

The Jack of Diamonds was silent for a long time before speaking:

"Perhaps... you still need a 'teacher' to point you in the right direction."

……

"Big Brother Chen Ling, who are those people?"

On the back of the centipede, Xiao Tao couldn't help but ask.

Chen Ling paused for a moment. "They are my companions from the Human Domain."

"Oh..."

The four of them nodded slightly, immediately imagining the legendary "companions" from storybooks. Beside every powerful protagonist, there is always a group of strong and interesting supporting characters. Their eyes began to light up.

Xiao Tao even felt a bit of regret. She should have gathered the courage to talk to those legendary companions earlier. If she told this story back at the Fusion Faction, everyone else would probably be incredibly envious.

"By the way, Xiao Tao, do you remember how you got here?" Chen Ling suddenly asked.

Xiao Tao was stunned. After exchanging a look with Miaomiao, she roughly recounted the process, which was about the same as Xiao Bai’s description, even down to the location of the ball of yarn.

Chen Ling sat on the head of the giant centipede, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

He had figured out the rest of the process, but there was one thing he didn't understand... Since the Calamity of Thought couldn't easily leave the Storm Island, how did it leave that mark on the Fusion Faction’s Mother Tree?

That was the base of the Fusion Faction. Beneath the canopy, no calamity could approach. It was an unknown distance from the Mother Tree, yet it managed to leave a tangible trap without anyone noticing?

Chen Ling pondered for a long time without finding an answer. As the centipede legion crawled through the Gray World, Xiao Tao and the others went from being nervous to drowsy, perhaps due to the exhaustion of being controlled by the Calamity of Thought. In the end, they actually fell asleep leaning against each other...

When the dawn sun slowly rose in the distance, the silhouette of the towering Mother Tree finally emerged from the edge of the horizon.