Chapter 1731: Sigh

“Alchemy Society...”

Chen Ling murmured the name, his brows slightly furrowed. “I never heard of this organization in the previous world.”

“Actually, they existed in the previous world too, but over three hundred years of development, they gradually changed their appearance until no one recognized them.” Liu Qingyan paused for a moment. “Lord Red King, do you remember the Sorcery Association?”

“Of course.”

“Their predecessor was the Alchemy Society.”

“What?” Chen Ling was surprised.

When Chen Ling was in the Wuji Domain, he dealt with the Sorcery Association quite often, whether it was the alchemy genius Duran, the association president Brand who instigated the Wuji Monarch to refine the Philosopher’s Stone, or...

Wait...

Chen Ling seemed to realize something. “So that’s it. Brand was a member of the Alchemy Society?”

“To be precise, he was the person chosen by the Alchemy Society to control the Sorcery Association.” Liu Qingyan continued.

“The original intention of the Alchemy Society was to pursue the Philosopher’s Stone, which only appeared in rumors... and Brand met the Wuji Monarch of that time at the most opportune moment.”

“But he was too naive. He thought he could lure the Wuji Monarch with the Philosopher’s Stone and slowly make the other party work for the Alchemy Society. But who knew that the Wuji Monarch was not only not bewitched by him, but was even more ruthless? After knowing how to refine the Philosopher’s Stone, he instead used the Red Dust Domain to get rid of Brand, both removing a thorn in his side and reasonably controlling the entire Sorcery Association.”

Hearing this, Chen Ling finally understood the cause and effect back then... In the end, Brand’s plan was good, but he encountered the Wuji Monarch, Lou Yu, who was a truly ruthless person among the nine monarchs.

“Does the Alchemy Society still exist in this world?”

“I have been tracking their whereabouts for these hundreds of years. However, because Ying Fu secretly planned to attack the eight major bases and seize power, those people from the Alchemy Society were probably also absorbed into the Chengtian Domain... Our intelligence network in the Chengtian Domain is relatively weak, so there are only vague clues at the moment.”

“But one thing is certain: the Alchemy Society of this world is hidden deeper than the Sorcery Association of the previous world.”

Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The Alchemy Society was the culprit behind the Red Dust Domain becoming nuclear ruins and the core reason for the Red Dust Monarch’s accident in both worlds. It was one thing that he didn’t know about the Alchemy Society’s existence in the previous world, but now that he knew what was going on, he naturally wouldn’t let them go.

“There’s one more thing I haven’t figured out.” Chen Ling turned to look at Liu Qingyan. “The Gray King said that the Changdao Ancient Treasury has a Dao-foundation treasure that can help people extend their lives, which is why you could walk through these three hundred years of time safely... But Ying Fu, he is also just flesh and blood. How has he lived until now?”

Liu Qingyan smiled bitterly:

“Ying Fu’s method of extending life is the highest secret, even within the Chengtian Domain. With our current intelligence, we haven’t been able to penetrate this matter... But I suspect, perhaps... it also has something to do with the Alchemy Society.”

“Good... summarize the current clues about the Alchemy Society later, and then tell me. I’ll go investigate this.” A cold glint flashed in Chen Ling’s eyes. “I want to see what exactly they are planning...”

“Yes.”

Liu Qingyan nodded respectfully. “Lord Red King, where are you planning to go now?”

Chen Ling pondered for a moment, looked up in a certain direction in the distance, and a complex look flashed in his eyes:

“...Home.”

……

Gray Realm.

The location where the Wuji Domain originally stood had been replaced by a brand-new, massive, and prosperous domain. Towering city walls perfectly protected the city. Just looking at the area covered by the domain, it was twice as large as other domains.

Within the domain, houses, fields, factories, and commercial districts were orderly. A large number of buildings were connected compactly, and all kinds of dazzling transportation tools shuttled through them...

This was the largest and most prosperous domain in human history—【Chengtian】.

And in the core area of the Chengtian Domain, a palace where the ancient and the modern coexisted sat like a coiled golden dragon, ruling the world.

“...After receiving the news, we rushed to the Red Dust Prison immediately.”

“After taking stock, there were no casualties among the residents, only some buildings were affected, causing some property damage... Although the cracking of the outer wall is a bit tricky, it can be solved.”

“We arrived at the core area suppressing the Red Dust Domain. The four marquises had already died in battle. On that ground, someone used their blood to write two large characters...”

Under the solemn main hall, a figure lowered his head, struggled for a long time, and finally slowly spat out two words:

“——【Twilight】.”

On the golden throne, a finger tapping the back of the chair stopped suddenly.

In an instant, the temperature of the entire hall dropped rapidly. Everyone reporting to the person on the throne felt as if they were in an ice cellar, and their bodies couldn’t help but tremble...

A vast imperial dominance, like a monstrous river, raged from the golden throne, making them unable to breathe.

But this aura only appeared for a few seconds before vanishing without a trace.

Even though the aura lasted for such a short time, everyone’s backs were already soaked with cold sweat. If it had lasted another half-second, they probably would have lost their strength and knelt down directly.

I don’t know how much time passed before a calm voice sounded from the throne:

“I know...”

“You may withdraw.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone felt as if they had been granted amnesty: “Yes.”

They had thought that since the Red Dust Prison was attacked and four marquises died, His Majesty would be thunderously angry and would behead all relevant personnel on charges of “incompetence”... After all, what His Majesty hated most was dereliction of duty, and this was a major matter involving the million-strong population of a prison. If anything had really happened to the residents, it wouldn’t be enough for them to die a thousand times... So before coming, they had even written their suicide notes to their families.

But they didn’t expect that His Majesty would only be angry for a moment and then let them go... without even a hint of accountability.

As everyone retreated, the hall fell into dead silence again.

Only the figure on the golden throne continued to tap the back of the chair, making a slight tapping sound...

No one knew what he was thinking. A moment later, those sharp, sword-like eyes slowly looked toward a certain direction in the void, and a golden color swirled within them.

“A fine ‘Twilight’...”

“Is it the twilight of the Twilight Society... or the twilight of my Chengtian Dynasty?”

“Chen Ling... you’ve been missing for hundreds of years, why did you have to choose to come back at this time...”

“If only you had stayed missing forever...”

A sigh sounded from the throne.