Chapter 411: Cloud Step

Dawn.

A faint frost crept from the end of the night, crossed the snow-capped mountains, and in a moment, it had colored most of the sky.

A figure draped in red stepped through the air from the peak of the snow mountain, as if treading on invisible stairs, returning step by step to the surface of the grassland, which was covered in morning dew.

"Hoo..."

A thin white mist drifted from the corner of Chen Ling's mouth. He looked at the figure in the cheongsam who was still standing in front of the snow mountain and bowed. His bright red opera robe fluttered in the dawn.

"Thank you, Senior Sister, for your guidance."

"No need to thank me; it is you who understood it extremely quickly," Luan Mei looked at Chen Ling with a complex expression.

Although Luan Mei had a premonition when Chen Ling vaguely grasped the prototype of the [Cloud Step] two days ago, she was still incredibly shocked when she watched Chen Ling fully master it overnight.

He was worthy of being the little junior brother for whom Master made an exception to accept as a disciple... worthy of being a natural Opera God.

Luan Mei looked at a metal cart slowly approaching in the distance, and the small mountain covered with black cloth on it, and said calmly:

"It's time for you to set off."

Chen Ling looked back and saw that Third Senior Brother Wen Renyou had already pulled the cart to his front. Perhaps because the things loaded on the cart were too heavy, two ruts were left deep in the grassland. Fortunately, the cart itself was sturdy enough and showed no signs of collapsing.

Chen Ling walked to the front of the cart, looked at the black mountain standing in front of him, and said in disbelief:

"These... are all..."

Wen Renyou, who was on the side, gently pulled the black cloth. As the fabric slid off, a golden mountain made of countless golden treasures was exposed under the dawn, as dazzling and eye-catching as a light bulb!

Golden crowns, golden scepters, golden carvings, golden wine cups, golden necklaces, golden armor...

Chen Ling looked at the dazzling golden mountain in front of him, his mouth wide open in shock...

In both his lives, he had never seen such a magnificent scene. Any one of these golden treasures, if placed before the catastrophe, would be a treasure that he, as a "corporate slave," could never touch, but now they were piled in front of him like trash...

Even through the screen in a movie, he had never felt such a concrete impact, and he was speechless with shock for a moment.

"We made a preliminary calculation; there's about four hundred kilograms here," the End-Role patted the cart full of goldware. "If you transport it to the Red Dust Main City and convert it into copper coins, selling it for tens of millions shouldn't be a problem..."

"Four hundred kilograms??"

Chen Ling looked at the golden mountain in front of him, his expression suddenly somewhat strange.

According to the gold price before the Great Catastrophe, four hundred kilograms of gold would definitely be worth more than ten million. What's more, these were not ordinary gold, but golden treasures. Any one of them taken out could be something buried with Cleopatra...

"Little junior brother, it doesn't matter how much money you sell it for; returning safely is the most important thing," the End-Role added. "You can throw it all away if necessary. Anyway, for the Ancient Opera Treasury, these things don't count for anything."

Chen Ling nodded, and as if remembering something, asked in confusion:

"By the way, Senior Brother, how should I enter the Red Dust Realm?"

Last time, Chen Ling got lost in the white flower field because he didn't know how to enter the Red Dust Realm... This time, he had to go back in from the Gray Realm, so he couldn't make any more mistakes.

"That's simple," the End-Role explained. "You keep walking east from here until you encounter a field of white flowers. Find the most inconspicuous little flower among them and stay next to it... When it's noon, walk around it three times in each direction, then clap your hands, and you can go in."

"...Ah?"

Chen Ling's eyes were full of astonishment.

The last time he heard such an outrageous way to enter, it must have been in "Journey to the West"... But they had set up a maze. Could it be that the Red Dust Realm was also protected by a maze?

If that was the case, then how did he get in last time?

"The existence of the Red Dust Realm is quite special. If you want to enter from the Gray Realm, you can only take this back door," Ning Ruyu added. "If your rank was high enough, you could enter directly with a curtain like us, saving the trouble... But it's still a bit early for you."

"...Alright, I understand."

After the group gave Chen Ling instructions for a long time, the sky gradually brightened. Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Ling covered the cart with the black cloth again and pulled it slowly toward the outside of the Ancient Opera Treasury.

This cart was a simple four-wheeled trailer with no power system, and it could only be pulled by Chen Ling's own strength. Fortunately, with his current strength, pulling four hundred kilograms of gold was not a problem.

"Little junior brother, a week is definitely enough to go to the Red Dust Main City and come back from here."

"Don't be too nervous. Just treat it as a training trip down the mountain. Earn as much money as you can, but safety first."

"Little junior brother, we'll wait for you to return fully loaded."

“……”

Several senior brothers and sisters stood at the entrance of the Ancient Opera Treasury, watching Chen Ling leave while pulling a cart of gold. Even after that figure completely disappeared into the Treasury, they still didn't go back, but stood there looking into the distance.

"Wanna bet?"

"Bet on what?"

"Old Five."

"Old Five... he has almost never left Clown Peak, right?"

"But I bet he'll definitely follow."

"I bet he'll go too."

"Me too."

“……”

"Forget it, then what's the point of betting? Let's go back to sleep early."

……

The invisible curtain was pushed aside.

Chen Ling, in his red robe, pulled a black mountain out from the top of Clown Peak. He passed by the small stone house, looked inside, and saw no one.

"This guy... what exactly does he want to do?"

Chen Ling couldn't guess the Clown's thoughts. This inexplicable guy had first chased him to death, then sent flowers night after night, ran for his life like he'd seen a ghost when discovered, and then hadn't appeared for several days... Now Chen Ling was basically familiar with the Ancient Opera Treasury, but he still knew nothing about this Clown.

He shook his head, decided not to think about it, and continued to pull the cart down the mountain.

By the time he left Clown Peak and moved slowly along the black earth toward the Red Dust Realm, a short figure on the mountainside peeked out sneakily, blinking his eyes as he watched the direction Chen Ling had left in.

He scratched his head, his small face smeared with white ash full of struggle, and began to pace anxiously in place.

"...If he gets beaten to death or crippled, we'll just avenge him." When Master's words echoed in his ears again, the Clown shuddered violently.

He seemed to have made up his mind, clenched his fist with one hand, and made a cheering gesture on his chest!

"Eeya!!"

He darted out, leaped from the mountainside, spread his limbs in mid-air, glided like a bird toward the distance, and disappeared into a black dot at the end of the horizon.