Chapter 1645: Qi Muyun’s Request

The figure walked straight to the table and sat down slowly.

"Let’s stick with Qi Muyun." He smiled helplessly. "The title of Cangyun Lord is probably already notorious."

At this moment, the Cangyun Lord had changed into a brand-new white shirt, his tie meticulously knotted at his chest. He sat at the table, dressed formally but with a casual posture, and poured himself a cup of tea, acting as familiar as if he were home.

Chen Ling was somewhat surprised. He had already seen several of the Nine Lords by now, and the Cangyun Lord seemed to have changed the least. Compared to the Qi Muyun in the era archives, other than dressing a bit more flamboyantly, he didn't seem to have changed at all, as if all these years of time and suffering had just brushed lightly over him without leaving a trace.

The Cangyun Lord seemed to notice Chen Ling’s gaze:

"Why do you keep staring at me?"

"You... are not quite what I imagined." Chen Ling hesitated for a moment before saying.

"You Red Kings can enter the era archives, right? You should have seen me before."

Hearing this, Chen Ling was slightly startled. The Cangyun Lord seemed to know a lot about the era archives; did that mean the previous generation of Red King had told him these things too?

Did this mean that the Cangyun Lord, like the Aurora Lord and others, was also one of the Nine Lords trusted by the previous Red King?

"I have indeed seen you... but usually, the Nine Lords I’ve seen are quite different from the Nine Lords of this world."

"That’s true." The Cangyun Lord sipped the tea on the table. "Everyone has been through so much; we are no longer the ignorant, young selves we once were. Everyone has their own philosophies they hold onto, and we even have disagreements... Only I am still standing in place."

The Cangyun Lord’s words directly pointed out the complex relationships among the current Nine Lords.

The Nine Lords were indeed still the Nine Lords fighting for the destiny of humanity, but they had grown bit by bit from their initial confusion, not knowing the direction and only knowing how to twist into a single rope... And as their power gradually grew and their experience enriched, their understanding of "protecting humanity" also diverged.

Lou Yu chose to pursue eternity, Wu Tongyuan staked everything on the Akashic Records, Ji Xuan traveled through time again and again, Chu Changqing voluntarily became a vegetable to sustain his companions, and Wen Ruoshui sacrificed herself to forge the key to restarting...

Compared to them, Qi Muyun indeed had no clear goal... Or perhaps, he was still that same person from his youth who wanted to twist everyone into a single rope.

"As far as I know, the Cangyun Domain is in a very difficult situation right now." Chen Ling looked into his eyes. "You came to find me at this juncture... what is it for?"

The Cangyun Lord fell into silence.

His gaze held no struggle, no hesitation; he just looked calmly at the misty rain outside, and a moment later, slowly said something that made Chen Ling’s heart jolt:

"I would like to ask the Twilight Society’s Red King... to hold a funeral for the Cangyun Domain."

Chen Ling was frozen in place.

"You..."

The Cangyun Lord’s answer was completely beyond Chen Ling’s expectations... The Cangyun Lord, who had protected the Cangyun Domain for hundreds of years, was asking him to hold a funeral for the Cangyun Domain?

This was a bit too magical.

"Do you know what holding a funeral for a domain means?" Chen Ling asked.

"I do."

The Cangyun Lord nodded.

"Ending the future of the domain, comforting the dead souls, and... embalming my corpse."

Chen Ling frowned as he looked at the Cangyun Lord, discovering that the other party seemed to be serious. This wasn't some foolish talk said in a moment of heat, but the result of careful consideration.

"You should be able to see... the Cangyun Domain has no future left." The Cangyun Lord paused for a moment.

"I have already ordered all the 'sparks' in the domain to be sent to the Lingxu Domain. After they leave, only some terminally ill citizens will remain here."

"They have lost their families and have no ability to take care of themselves. Rather than dying in pain and despair, it would be better... to let them end their lives in peace ahead of time."

Chen Ling stared into the Cangyun Lord’s eyes. "So, you had already thought of this day... right?"

"That’s right."

"From the first time Wu Tongyuan requested to dispatch personnel, I had already anticipated it... No one can stop this invisible catastrophe. Even Lou Yu’s eternity cannot do it. The final hope of humanity lies in the hands of only two people."

"One is Wu Tongyuan, who is staking everything on the Akashic Tower, and the other... is you."

The Cangyun Lord pointed at Chen Ling.

"But you, you have the Twilight Society; you don't need anyone’s help..."

"Wu Tongyuan wants to build the Akashic Tower. Relying on the Lingxu Domain’s own strength, it is absolutely impossible. He needs a larger supply of manpower and, at the same time, to shift the plague risk within the domain away... Only in this way can the construction progress of the Akashic Tower be guaranteed."

"So, you sent almost all the manpower to the Lingxu Domain and brought all the patients into the Cangyun Domain." Chen Ling frowned tightly. "It was you who destroyed this domain you protected for hundreds of years with your own hands. Are you... not afraid of bearing the infamy of the ages?"

"But someone has to do it, don't they?" The Cangyun Lord slowly closed his eyes. "The Nine Lords cannot all fight on their own; someone has to sacrifice... Since I chose to believe in Wu Tongyuan, I must believe in him to the end."

The theater fell into deathly silence again.

Even though the Cangyun Lord’s words were extremely calm, Chen Ling could still see the pain and struggle hidden in the deepest part of his heart from his eyes...

His journey here was probably not as easy and calm as it appeared on the surface.

"And what about you?"

"The suffering of this domain began because of me, and it should end because of me."

The Cangyun Lord’s palm touched his chest gently. Beneath his neat shirt was a heart covered in hideous veins. A wisp of the Turbid Calamity’s aura drifted out, and a flash of complexity crossed the Cangyun Lord’s eyes. "I want to give them all an answer..."

"Dying here is the best ending for me, Qi Muyun."

The moment he sensed that wisp of Turbid Calamity aura, Chen Ling’s pupils contracted slightly.

When he was in the Fusion Faction, he had learned about the characteristics of the Turbid Calamity, and he immediately reacted to what the Cangyun Lord had done... He had actually forcibly let the Turbid Calamity parasitize him, living and dying with it.

Theoretically, this was indeed the best way to kill the Turbid Calamity, but in fact, the Cangyun Lord could have forcibly let it parasitize someone else, like a death-row prisoner... As long as the death-row prisoner was killed, the Turbid Calamity would also die, and the Cangyun Lord himself could live.

But the Cangyun Lord didn't do that...

Perhaps in his eyes, he was the person who deserved to die most in this domain.

"You are one of the Nine Lords. You living is more valuable than dying." Chen Ling said in a deep voice.