Chapter 1580: Splitting into Two Paths

Chen Ling guessed that he had most likely encountered a group of disasters head-on.

If that was the case...

Chen Ling's brain worked at high speed. As if he had thought of something, he closed his eyes.

A storm of thoughts brewed in his mind, as if he were struggling to find something... After a long while, a few faint points of light emerged from the depths of his thoughts.

Fortunately... the Thought Storm could ignore spatial distance. Even though Earth and the Gray Realm hadn't intersected yet, he could still transmit messages to the other Nine Lords on Earth through the Thought Storm.

With a thought from Chen Ling, his consciousness crossed the barrier of worlds and arrived at the Shennongjia camp.

At this moment, everyone in the tent had grave expressions.

They had all witnessed Chen Ling's disappearance just now and knew that their disappearance was most likely related to the hat. At this moment, they were all looking at the hat vigilantly, as if ready to strike at any moment.

"Director Chen is gone too... What should we do?"

"Wait," Yang Xiao replied without hesitation. "Trust Director Chen; he will definitely come back."

The group nodded slightly. At the same time, a voice echoed faintly:

"I'm back."

“？？？”

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, completely bewildered, only to see that figure draped in a red-bottomed, black-patterned opera robe appearing behind the curtain again, looking at them with a grave expression.

"No way, that was too fast, right?" Qi Muyun couldn't help but complain.

"Only a thought of mine has returned; my physical body is still in the Gray Realm."

"The Gray Realm... is that the dangerous, disaster-filled otherworld you just mentioned?" Wen Ruoshui asked, surprised. "That hat sends people there directly? Is Ji Xuan there too?"

"That's right," Chen Ling nodded slightly.

"But the current situation is a bit troublesome..."

"Director Chen, if there's anything we can help with, just say the word," Su Zhiwei said earnestly.

"Yes, there is." Since Chen Ling chose to return with his consciousness, he naturally wouldn't just report the situation; he needed the help of these people.

His gaze fell directly on Wen Ruoshui in the corner.

"Dr. Wen, I need you to put on that hat and come help me."

Dr. Wen was stunned for a moment, then nodded without hesitation: "No problem!"

Finding and rescuing Ji Xuan in the vast Gray Realm was not an easy task... Furthermore, perhaps by the time they found Ji Xuan, he might have already been killed. If that were the case, the only person who could rewrite the situation was Wen Ruoshui.

Not long ago, Wen Ruoshui was able to reverse a city destroyed by a natural disaster using his own ability—a heaven-defying feat that even [Cards] couldn't achieve. As long as Dr. Wen was there, they would have multiple chances to try again. Even if Ji Xuan were already dead, they could start over.

Of course, Chen Ling could have asked Dr. Wen to use his ability now to reverse the event and prevent Ji Xuan from being teleported to the Gray Realm... But Chen Ling didn't do that. He chose to have Dr. Wen enter the Gray Realm with him, and there was only one reason...

Chu Changqing was also still in the Gray Realm.

Opportunities to enter the Gray Realm early were too rare, and Chu Changqing had been taken away by the Turbid Disaster for too long. Chen Ling wanted to seize this opportunity not only to save Ji Xuan but also to bring Chu Changqing back from the Bitter Flesh Turbid Forest.

Perhaps this was why Mo Yao's letter said "Find Ji Xuan" instead of "Save Ji Xuan."

Mo Yao wanted him to seize the opportunity to use that hat to enter the Gray Realm!

Having figured this out, Chen Ling's goal was clear. Wen Ruoshui was a necessary assistant for Chen Ling. Besides him, Chen Ling thought for a moment and added:

"Wu Tongyuan, you come too... and Qi Muyun."

Wu Tongyuan and Qi Muyun's combat power wasn't high, but their abilities were very unique. At critical moments, they might play unexpected roles... Besides, Chen Ling also wanted to take this opportunity to test whether these two really had no weaknesses.

Qi Muyun agreed readily, while Wu Tongyuan hesitated for a moment, seemingly a bit scared... But thinking of the oath they had just made, he gritted his teeth:

"Okay!"

Wen Ruoshui was the first to step forward, put on the hat, and vanished instantly... Then came Qi Muyun and Wu Tongyuan.

"Director Chen, we can help too." Yang Xiao and Su Zhiwei looked at Chen Ling simultaneously.

"No... you don't need to come over; you have a more important task." Chen Ling's gaze was very serious. "That hat is a one-way passage, meaning we can go to the Gray Realm, but there is no 'door' to come back... I need you to find a way to open a 'door'."

"Open a 'door'..." Yang Xiao frowned tightly. "But... but we have no way to establish a connection with the Gray Realm?"

"We do," Su Zhiwei suddenly looked up, her eyes bright as torches.

"Wushan Town!!"

Reminded by Su Zhiwei, Yang Xiao remembered. Back in Wushan Town, the missile that was dropped carrying the wake of the otherworld had briefly opened a passage connecting to the Bitter Flesh Turbid Forest... That was also the closest humanity had ever come to the Bitter Flesh Turbid Forest.

"Now that all the residents of Wushan Town have been relocated to the base, we can completely replicate the scene from back then and open a passage to the Bitter Flesh Turbid Forest! To receive Director Chen and the others back."

"Exactly, this is the best plan," Chen Ling nodded.

Although Chen Ling wanted to give more instructions, it was a race against time in the Gray Realm, and he had to save Ji Xuan immediately. He also believed that although replicating the Wushan Town explosion was difficult, with the wisdom and abilities of Yang Xiao and Su Zhiwei, plus Lu Xun, they should be able to accomplish it.

"I'm going to save Ji Xuan first. In the Gray Realm, I can only hold them off for 24 hours at most... I'll leave Earth to you."

After leaving these solemn words, Chen Ling's consciousness dissipated into thin air, having already returned to the Gray Realm.

The leisurely atmosphere of the camp had now become extremely tense. Although Su Zhiwei and Yang Xiao had a general direction, they still felt a bit uncertain...

"Only 24 hours... time is too tight," Su Zhiwei said in a low voice. "This time, we must have the assistance of national power."

"Exactly, but wasn't that otherworld wake missile developed and used by foreign countries? Can we have one?"

"On this point, perhaps only by contacting the higher-ups will we know... Maybe our country has already developed this technology? This can be left to Lu Xun; he has the closest relationship with the higher-ups," Su Zhiwei paused for a moment. "If we don't have this kind of missile..."

"If we don't, then I'll fight my way to the West and snatch one back!"

Yang Xiao replied decisively.