Chapter 1466: New Master of the Ancient Treasury

Chou Peak.

A figure walked along the rugged mountain road, climbing step by step.

His mud-covered feet stepped onto the mountain rocks one after another. With every step he took, the mud on the soles of his feet decreased slightly. By the end, the soles of his shoes gradually became clean and smooth... Every step was as steady as a rock.

The mud along the way, under the tempering of the rugged rocks and wind and frost, gradually settled like jade, just like a perfect edge emerging from within.

The red-based, black-patterned theatrical robe fluttered in the wind;

the vermilion earrings swayed silently.

He climbed to the mountainside step by step and looked back, seeing a black dress following him like a shadow... The strong wind on the mountainside blew the black dress, causing it to dance. The girl looked up at him, and beneath her messy hair were eyes that were equally firm.

“Why did you follow me?” Chen Ling asked slowly.

Liu Qingyan pursed her lips slightly.

“Master said... in the future, I will be your Gray King.”

Hearing this, Chen Ling frowned subconsciously. He said in a deep voice:

“Your life is your own, not your master’s... You don't have to obey everything she says.”

“Yes, I know,” Liu Qingyan took a deep breath. “I also know you have very important things to do, but in the future, you will definitely encounter many troubles. You can't do it alone... At the very least, you need someone to help you deal with those troublesome things; you need a loyal shadow.”

Chen Ling didn't answer. He continued to stare at Liu Qingyan. On the rugged mountain road, the two figures, one red and one black, fell into silence.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Liu Qingyan argued actively, which was rare for her.

“This isn't my master’s order; this is my own choice...”

“From the Red Dust Realm until now, many things in this world have changed, and many people have changed, but my heart has never changed in the slightest... It didn't change in the past, it doesn't change now, and it won't change in the future.”

Liu Qingyan paused for a moment and bowed on the steps. Her figure gradually overlapped with the figure from the Red Dust Realm...

“Your humble servant, Liu Qingyan, is willing to follow Lord Red King forever.”

From the Red Dust Realm to the current turmoil of heaven and earth;

Chen Ling had grown from the weak Heart 6 he once was into the Red King he was today;

Liu Qingyan had also changed from a helpless believer into a disciple of the Gray King. No one knew what rank she was now, but it was certain that she was a world apart from her past self...

The world was changing, strength was changing, identity was changing... but Liu Qingyan was still the Liu Qingyan from the Red Dust Realm.

At this moment, even Chen Ling was a bit dazed. He looked at the girl in the black dress who overlapped with his memories and fell into a brief silence.

He had once rejected Liu Qingyan because at that time, his future was chaotic, and he couldn't even figure out who he was. Moreover, he was too weak—too weak to guarantee his own safety, let alone bring along a weak girl who had no ability to protect herself.

But now...

Chen Ling stared silently into Liu Qingyan’s eyes for a long time.

In the end, he slowly closed his eyes, turned around, and continued to walk up Chou Peak step by step...

After a while, in the howling cold wind, a voice drifted down from above Liu Qingyan:

“...Follow me.”

Liu Qingyan clenched her fists silently, and her whole body became excited!

She knew that Chen Ling had agreed... She quickly suppressed this joy in her heart, took light steps, and followed closely behind Chen Ling.

In the howling wind,

Chen Ling stepped onto Chou Peak.

The small stone house stood quietly on the peak, just as it had in Chen Ling’s memory... Chen Ling’s first reaction was to look for the Clown, but after searching inside and outside the house, he couldn't find him.

Finally, he discovered his Fifth Senior Brother, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, on top of the highest and most dangerous rock.

The Clown was asleep.

His eyes were red and swollen, as if he had just cried his heart out. Now, he was curled up on top of the rock like a kitten, fast asleep...

Perhaps because he had cried too sadly, the Clown was sleeping very deeply, so much so that he didn't notice Chen Ling and Liu Qingyan at all.

Chen Ling’s gaze was complex as he saw this.

His Fifth Senior Brother was also of the Theater God Path. After the Red King died, he must have felt it immediately.

The Clown was different from him; he had been adopted by the Red King since he was a child and had received all the love and care from the Red King and his other senior brothers and sisters. Now that the Red King was dead, it was as if the sky had collapsed for him... Chen Ling couldn't imagine what kind of pain and torment he had experienced alone on Chou Peak.

Chen Ling didn't wake him up, but turned to Liu Qingyan and said:

“Help me take care of my senior brother. I’ll be out in a moment.”

“Yes.”

Chen Ling walked straight toward the cliff of Chou Peak.

Facing the empty cliff before him, Chen Ling gently rubbed the spot between his brows with his fingertips... That was the location of the Red King’s final stroke of the Painted Vermilion Face.

The Red King’s final stroke, in addition to perfecting his mask, had also granted him a unique key in this world... the full authority of the Theater Path Ancient Treasury.

From now on, he was the master of the Theater Path Ancient Treasury.

Chen Ling raised his hand and waved into the void. Two curtains pulled open from the void, like a stage about to open, revealing a portal to another space.

Chen Ling stepped into it.

Chen Ling had previously possessed a portion of the Theater Path Ancient Treasury’s authority, but that had been “lent” to him by the Red King, like an incomplete “user” permission. But now, Chen Ling could be considered the “administrator” of this ancient treasury.

The moment he stepped into the Theater Path Ancient Treasury, everything here was presented completely in his mind.

The image area, audio area, text area, performance area, mask museum...

When Chen Ling came last time, he was just a “guest” visiting, but this time, he had become the master of it all.

Chen Ling moved through these areas. Each area carried memories of his life here, but when Chen Ling searched through the Theater Path Ancient Treasury, he couldn't find his “Home of the Old Six”... He couldn't even sense that grassland that had been so beautiful in his memory.

It was disturbingly quiet here.

Chen Ling frowned in confusion, wandering around until he finally arrived at the text area filled with scripts.

He walked through the tall bookshelves,

and stopped in front of four empty bookshelves.

—[Sheng], [Dan], [Jing], [Mo].

Looking at these four empty bookshelves, a daze flashed in Chen Ling’s eyes. He subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed the edge of the bookshelf... as if sensing something through his authority.

In his mind, four points of light lit up silently.

“This is...”