Chapter 471: Confusion Surging

"Why does our magic have no effect on him？！"

Inside the movie world, countless wizards flying in the air saw the red-robed figure standing straight on the shattered earth, their faces shocked.

The next moment, they saw that figure slowly raise both hands toward the sky above, his scarlet pupils full of mockery, and then his ten fingers exerted force suddenly, as if hooking into the void!

*Rip—!!*

As "Chen Ling" slowly tore with both hands, one world after another began to twist and shatter, like a script being slowly ripped apart. Jagged cracks emerged across the sky and the earth...

Ancient castles, cities, starry skies, mechs... the worlds that had been stacked upon him like layers of a pastry were now like fragile sheets of paper, humming as they were torn into fragments bit by bit!

"Damn it, these can't contain him either," Mo Jiao said in a deep voice.

"The natural enemy of the Theater God Path... this is my first time hearing of such a thing." Ning Ruyu’s brows were tightly locked, as if he were pondering something. "The natural enemy of the Theater God Path, yet it’s trapped within the body of a gifted Theater God, and he’s even the junior brother of our Theater Path Ancient Treasury..."

Ning Ruyu’s gaze shifted to his master, who stood silently beside him, seemingly guessing the intention behind taking the junior brother as a closed-door disciple.

If that were the case...

"He’s out," Luan Mei suddenly spoke.

*Bang—*

With a soft sound, over a dozen discs shattered in unison.

A figure in red, topped with a black smiling mask, walked through the debris of the scattered discs. As he approached, the seats from different eras within the theater began to tremble violently, slamming against the ground with a rhythmic *thud-thud-thud*!

Pairs of illusory scarlet eyes began to emerge on these seats, turning to follow "Chen Ling" as he advanced, as if they were watching a magnificent performance.

He walked straight toward his master.

【Audience Expectation -1】

"Chen Ling."

The master stood quietly in place, watching him approach. "Do you, yourself, accept this face?"

This was the first time the master had called him "Chen Ling" instead of "Old Six." The moment these words rang out, they seemed to carry a certain magic, drilling frantically into Chen Ling’s ears and exploding in his mind like a thunderclap!

Secret Technique, 【True Word】!

*Hum—!*

In the pitch-black world, Chen Ling’s eyes snapped open.

It was as if he had just woken up from a nightmare, jolted by his master’s voice, cold sweat soaking his back... He looked around at the darkness that had stained his surroundings and finally realized what had happened.

His sixth face... was actually the "Audience"?

They had actually taken advantage of this opportunity to intervene in the performance while the expectation value hadn't yet dropped below 20%? This was a situation that had never occurred before!

"Do you, yourself, accept this face?" His master’s words echoed in Chen Ling’s mind, and his fists clenched involuntarily.

Until now, Chen Ling had constantly relied on performances to maintain his expectation value precisely because he didn't want to be replaced by the audience, didn't want to become a mindless monster... How could he possibly accept the face of the audience? How could he let a group of twisted, sadistic viewers control his life?

"No, I do not accept it."

Chen Ling took a deep breath, and a melodious singing voice echoed once more through this world:

"Heaven and earth are illusory, the true self is selfless, the Fan Spirit is my reliance, drawing my holy visage..."

In this world of "no form, no self," his face had already been occupied by the "Audience." Since that was the case, the only way to resist was to quickly paint his own facial makeup and use it to reclaim control of his consciousness!

As Chen Ling’s singing began, images of his past experiences started to emerge in the darkness, the vast majority of which were from Chen Ling’s life before he transmigrated.

His childhood, his growth, his friends, his family, his work... This history spanning over twenty years was the main component of Chen Ling’s life. The moment these memories appeared, the darkness around Chen Ling began to recede, and he gained a small space of his own.

Only at this moment did Chen Ling understand what his master meant by an "anchor."

But just as Chen Ling prepared to use this as a foundation to fight the "Audience" for control of his consciousness, a sudden change occurred!

Within the surging darkness, a massive entity was rapidly outlined, and endless confusion drilled into Chen Ling’s mind, causing his spirit to shake violently!

"Confusion... transmigration...?"

Chen Ling finally remembered the essence of the confusion he had previously forgotten. He clutched his head in agony, a look of pain appearing on his face.

He never expected his own confusion to erupt at such a critical moment. With the appearance of this question, his memories from before "transmigration" were almost entirely negated, collapsing like a row of dominoes being pushed over!

The "anchor" belonging to the pre-transmigration Chen Ling began to shatter, and he was once again shrouded in darkness. Under the onslaught of confusion, all his perceptions began to waver.

……

"What’s going on? Does the junior brother’s makeup look even more hideous?"

Ning Ruyu was the first to sense the change in Chen Ling’s makeup, his brows knitting tightly.

【Audience Expectation -1】

"Chen Ling" stared fixedly at his master, raising a hand to brush aside the void, and a corner of an invisible curtain was pulled back.

Seeing this, Wenren You spoke in a deep voice, "Damn it! He wants to escape!"

The four senior brothers moved in unison, flashing toward the figure in red, but "Chen Ling" was faster. With a flick and a sway, his figure passed through the invisible curtain and vanished directly from the 【Performance Area】!

"Where did he go?!"

"He went to the deepest part of the Theater Path Ancient Treasury!"

"Quick, stop him!!"

The four brothers immediately tore open the invisible curtain, their figures following one after another, weaving frantically through the Theater Path Ancient Treasury in pursuit of the red-clad figure!

With everyone gone, only the master remained in the 【Performance Area】. He stood quietly in his stage robes, and after an unknown amount of time, his figure flickered and vanished into thin air...

Meanwhile, deep within the Theater Path Ancient Treasury.

An invisible curtain was pulled back in the void, and the red figure streaked across the sky like lightning!

This was a place even deeper than the 【Text Area】, 【Performance Area】, and 【Skin Area】; it was the core of the entire Theater Path Ancient Treasury. Strangely, however, there were no records of text or images here, nor anything related to "theater." All that met the eye was an endless desert.

Sand swirled in the air. Across the arid, desolate desert, "Chen Ling" moved straight toward the depths. A few seconds later, the figures of Ning Ruyu and the others appeared, locking onto the direction "Chen Ling" had taken almost instantly.

However, just as they were about to give chase, the master’s voice sounded calmly:

"...That’s enough."