Chapter 1456: Him

"I said, I don't know."

The Gray King closed her eyes helplessly. "He has always been like this, saying nothing, hiding everything in his heart... It’s really... annoying."

When she said the last two words, Chen Ling could feel a hint of resentment in her tone, but it wasn't truly malicious; it was the kind of "tough love" one only shows toward someone they are close to and trust.

Chen Ling’s brows were locked tight. He looked at the Red King’s corpse in the coffin, and the figure he had never been able to see through couldn't help but surface in his mind again...

“……”

"The confusion in your heart is already too deep; it’s hard to completely dispel. However, my Ancient Treasury of the Opera Dao has a secret technique that can anchor your mind and help you fight against the backlash of the Divine Dao... Will you learn it or not?"

“……”

"Old Six, your bowl is too small. Not to mention comparing it to Old Five, you should at least use a basin like your master."

“……”

"Old Six... there are some things that I don't want to hide from you, but it’s not the right time yet... Knowing everything in advance will do you no good."

“……”

"You are my disciple; if I don't do it for you, who would I do it for? In this era, I am the only one who can suppress the Mocking Disaster for you and help you accumulate experience... While I am still here, I must do more for you... However, I can only help you with this once. When I am gone in the future, you must not try it lightly."

“……”

"Mastering the Mocking Disaster is more important than anything else."

“……”

"Reverse the era, restart the world. Whether it is you or your four senior brothers and sisters, you must first move toward this goal... After that, we can talk about master and disciple."

“……”

"No, I don't believe it!" Chen Ling gritted his teeth and spoke.

"The dignified Red King of the Twilight Society, a Demigod of the Opera Divine Dao, how could he die so easily? He’s probably laying out another scheme in the dark. Maybe this corpse is also something he prepared in advance, and he himself is hiding on the Red Star or somewhere on Earth, waiting to observe everything that follows!!"

The Gray King looked at him with a complex expression. "Chen Ling... can't you feel it?"

"What?"

"The position of the Opera Divine Dao Demigod, which was originally occupied by your master... has returned to the heavens and earth."

Chen Ling froze in place.

Chen Ling had stepped onto the twisted Opera Divine Dao of the Mocking Disaster, so he couldn't sense the changes in the true Opera Divine Dao... but all other practitioners of the Opera Divine Dao in this world had already sensed this change... The return of the Demigod position of the Opera Divine Dao to the heavens and earth meant that the original Opera Divine Dao Demigod was dead.

The Red King was really dead.

"You... how could you just die like this?" Chen Ling looked at the figure in the coffin, his fists clenched tightly. "You haven't explained all this to me, you haven't apologized to me, I haven't forgiven you yet, and I haven't had the chance to return to the Ancient Treasury of the Opera Dao...

You just died without a word. What will happen to the Twilight Society? What will happen to the Ancient Treasury of the Opera Dao? What about my senior brothers and sisters??"

The Red King in the coffin was silent and still.

Chen Ling’s emotions became increasingly agitated. After leaving the Ancient Treasury of the Opera Dao, he had suffered so many grievances and setbacks outside. He had thought that sooner or later he would get a direct response from the Red King, but he never expected that what he would wait for in the end was just a corpse full of secrets...

The anger and frustration he had suppressed in his heart during this time erupted uncontrollably at this moment!

"You created me!"

"You taught me how to use the Painted Rouge!"

"You brought me back to the Ancient Treasury of the Opera Dao when I was most lost and gave me a home... But why..."

"Even though you did so much for me, why did you treat me like a chess piece? Knowing you were going to die, you had my senior brother find me, but you refused to say a single word about wanting to see me?? I really don't understand what role I play in your heart??"

Thump—!!

Chen Ling’s fist slammed heavily onto the Red King’s coffin. A gust of wind swept out, and the once-calm lake surface rippled.

The Gray King stood quietly in the distance. Liu Qingyan looked at the nearly collapsing Chen Ling, her lips pressed together. She wanted to step forward to comfort him, but was stopped by the Gray King’s hand... The Gray King looked at her and shook her head silently.

Facing Chen Ling’s repeated questioning, the corpse could not make any response. Chen Ling’s chest heaved violently. After a long time, he finally calmed down a little...

He turned around and looked at the Gray King.

His voice was extremely hoarse,

"You said you wanted to bring me to see him... was it just to see his corpse?"

"It wasn't me who wanted to bring you here." The Gray King repeated, "It was him who said before he left that after he died, I should bring you to find him..."

“……”

Chen Ling’s gaze returned to the Red King.

It was the Red King who had the Gray King bring him over... Based on his understanding of him, he shouldn't have just let him come to pay respects to his "remains." But now that he was dead, what was the point of having him come over?

What exactly did he want to convey to him through this corpse?

Chen Ling was silent for a long time, his gaze locked on that sleeping face of the Red King...

Face...

Opera Divine Dao?

Chen Ling reached out hesitantly toward the corpse’s face.

That was it. The Red King was of the Opera Divine Dao. If his corpse could leave behind any secret, the most likely place would be on his "face"... He knew that the Red King had always used a fake face. After all, no matter what, this Opera Divine Dao Demigod and leader of the Twilight Society couldn't possibly be a teenager, especially since he had experienced a world restart and was at least several hundred years old.

Chen Ling was indeed very curious: what was the true face of the Red King, this Opera Divine Dao Demigod, underneath the skin?

Chen Ling’s fingertips touched the edge of the cheek, and sure enough, he felt a slight protrusion. He exerted force and tore that face skin off!

Rip—

As the handsome youth’s face skin dissipated into the air, Chen Ling’s pupils constricted suddenly!

It was a face exactly the same as Chen Ling’s.

"How is this possible..." Chen Ling subconsciously took half a step back. "Red King... am I myself?"

A "Chen Ling," a "Chen Ling" draped in a bright red opera robe, was lying quietly in the center of the coffin. The facial features were exactly the same as Chen Ling’s, only the expression between the brows looked a bit more weathered.

Chen Ling was dazed for a brief moment. He seemed to understand why the Nine Sovereigns of this era seemed to know him, but also seemed not to...

So the previous generation of the Red King they knew looked exactly like him?

No...

No!!!

This isn't right!!!

Chen Ling reacted quickly, his breathing extremely rapid.

"I am Chen Ling, but I was fabricated!"

"In essence, I am the Mocking Disaster!"

"But you... you cannot be the Mocking Disaster. There is no aura of the Mocking Disaster on you at all!"

"And this appearance of mine is the appearance of Yao!! But... but Yao is of the Witch Divine Dao, how could he become an Opera Divine Dao Demigod??"

"You are not me! You are not Yao either!!"

"You..."

"You............"

"Who exactly are you??？！!"

Chen Ling’s eyes were filled with scarlet bloodshot veins. He reached out again, touching the Red King’s cheek...

He felt another protrusion.

Underneath "Chen Ling’s" face skin, there was another layer of skin...

Chen Ling’s hands began to tremble, but he finally grabbed this layer of skin and... tore it off violently!!

As the face skin gradually disappeared into the air, Chen Ling saw the person’s appearance, and his whole body couldn't stop shaking crazily!

His chapped lips parted slightly, and he struggled to make a hoarse sound:

"A..."

"A-Yan????"