Chapter 1658: The Promised Morning Glow

*Drip—*

A drop of blood fell from the tip of Chen Ling’s nose.

Although from a third-party perspective, these Tongtian Star Position holders were pitifully weak, and Chen Ling had barely attacked before finding all their flaws, only Chen Ling knew that if they had truly worked together seriously, combined with those terrifying Dao-foundation secret treasures, their combat power would have reached a terrifying level.

Everything that happened in the real world was the result of Chen Ling [Card]-ing the situation many times.

As for what Li Shengmen didn’t finish saying…

Chen Ling was very sorry.

When they reached the next world, if there was a chance, he would let him finish.

As Li Shengmen’s ghost, which looked very resentful even after death, was recovered by the large red paper umbrella, Chen Ling slowly looked up at Li Qingshan not far away…

Li Qingshan smiled slightly.

“Brother Chen, must I die?”

“……Yes.” Chen Ling was silent for a moment. “Only by becoming a ghost can I take you to the next world… Otherwise, with the world’s restart, you won’t even be able to leave behind a speck of dust.”

Li Qingshan and Chen Ling had known each other since the Red Dust Domain. Chen Ling knew that Li Qingshan would truly believe what he said… Even if it was just one sentence, Chen Ling wanted to give him an explanation.

“No wonder… you had to send Baosheng away with your own hands.” Li Qingshan indeed had no doubts, nodding in sudden realization.

“Then, I really should grab a ‘ticket’ in advance.”

“You can also wait a while longer… until I destroy the Ling Xu Domain, and then we can go together.”

“Forget it.” Li Qingshan shook his head. “Now that I’m the only one left, they’ll definitely be suspicious if I go back alone. Besides, I am a Tongtian Star Position holder. Although I don’t want to be enemies with Brother Chen, I can’t betray them either… It’s fine if my journey ends here.”

“Your journey won’t end.” Chen Ling said earnestly. “Death is just a new starting point.”

Li Qingshan smiled. He brushed the sleeves of his green opera robe and asked calmly:

“Should I do it myself, or will Brother Chen help me?”

“……I’ll do it.”

Although no matter who killed them, as long as they were ghosts, they could be collected into the large red paper umbrella… but ghosts killed by Chen Ling himself would receive the blessing of [Abyssal Ghost Crossing]. If they reached the next world, it would be more convenient to find a way to resurrect them.

“That’s good. I trust Brother Chen’s technique.” The smile on Li Qingshan’s face grew richer.

The dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and the torrential rain became a light drizzle…

This heavy rain had lasted all day and was finally coming to an end.

The hazy red water mist, like a giant ship carrying dreams and beauty, drifted over the dead domain. Even the roaring sounds of battle between the Jiao Long warriors and the Twilight Society in the distance gradually disappeared. Everything around was silent, with only massive amounts of ghosts crawling out from every corner of the city, swarming into Chen Ling’s large red paper umbrella…

Ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand… fifty thousand, sixty thousand.

His opera robe fluttered without wind.

*Drip—*

With the last drop of red rain falling from the rim of Chen Ling’s umbrella.

He raised his hand lightly, his fingers shimmering with the faint light of red paper, and touched Li Qingshan’s forehead… Killing from here, the first thing cut off was the nerves, allowing the deceased to feel not a hint of pain.

“‘Oh, weeping soul,’”

“‘Please gently close your eyes;’”

“‘When twilight falls on this darkest of eras,’”

“‘I will promise you the morning glow and blue sky.’”

The last line of the Requiem fell.

Chen Ling’s fingertips touched Li Qingshan’s forehead…

Almost instantly, the latter lost consciousness, fell backward, and was caught steadily by Chen Ling, who helped him sit gently on the ground.

A green-robed ghost drifted out from Li Qingshan’s corpse. He looked around, saw Chen Ling, smiled, and waved at him… then stepped into the large red paper umbrella.

*Woo-woo-woo—*

The wailing cold wind swept through the empty, dead street.

Under the gray-white sky, the opera-robed figure stood alone with his umbrella, a pair of cinnabar earrings swaying silently.

“Is this……”

“Reversing the era……”

Chen Ling closed his eyes in exhaustion, as if he had been hollowed out.

The previous Red Kings did not have the ability to mock calamity, nor could they take the ghosts of so many people into the next world… They could only watch helplessly as their relatives and friends were gently erased with the world’s restart, not even leaving behind a trace.

Although Chen Ling had the ability to take them away, killing those former companions and friends with his own hands was undoubtedly a form of pain.

Which of these two pains was more agonizing, Chen Ling didn’t know… and he couldn’t distinguish. He only knew that the end of the Cangyun Domain, the deaths of Li Qingshan and the other Tongtian Star Position holders, might just be the beginning.

Since it had begun, he was destined to never be able to turn back.

At this moment, a bottleneck within him suddenly loosened, and his aura began to climb steadily… Surging spiritual power crashed through the shackles, and on the illusory Twisted Dao, he took another step…

Finally, he stepped onto the eighth stair!

Eighth-Order—this was a rank Chen Ling had never dared to imagine. If he took one more step forward, he would become a true demigod like the Red King and the Nine Lords… But at this moment, there was not a hint of joy in his heart.

Around Chen Ling, only the wailing wind remained, as if he were the only person left in this world… An extreme sense of loneliness and bitterness welled up from the bottom of his heart.

I don’t know how much time passed,

A voice sounded gently in front of him.

“Heart… I missed you.”

Chen Ling opened his eyes abruptly to see a white-haired figure wrapped in bandages standing before him, looking at him eagerly.

Before this, Chen Ling hadn’t sensed his aura at all.

“Xiao Hua?”

“Hey, I say you really have no sense of timing, Plum. Heart is already so tired he’s resting his eyes, why are you still foolishly crowding him?”

Sun Bumian, dressed in a suit, rested his elbow on Jiang Xiaohua’s shoulder while pulling down the small round sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, speaking with some helplessness.

“But… he looks very sad.” Jiang Xiaohua replied in a low voice.

“Sad?” Sun Bumian scrutinized Chen Ling’s face suspiciously for a moment. “I don’t see it… hasn’t he always had that cold, expressionless face since becoming the Red King?”

Chen Ling: ……

“How did you two get here?” Chen Ling asked subconsciously.

“Oh, I saw that most of our members had arrived, and it was more than enough to take out those Jiao Long warriors, so I thought I’d be lazy… We wandered around nearby and happened to see you standing here like a fool, so we came over.”

Sun Bumian’s mouth curled up, his lion-pupils behind the sunglasses looking at Chen Ling with a smile, speaking leisurely.