Chapter 639: Prelude to War

The Sixth Hall gritted her teeth and recounted the events from beginning to end.

Including the deserted streets, the heavily guarded cathedral, the magnificent palace, the insane Brand, and... the awakening of Lord Wuji from the Mercury Moon.

During this process, the Second Hall also summoned all the other Halls. Except for the Fifth Hall, Old Crane, who was killed by the Twilight Society over half a year ago; the Seventh Hall, who was killed by Lord Wuji; and the Ninth Hall, who was imprisoned in "Guernica," the remaining Halls were all gathered here.

"The Philosopher's Stone..." the Second Hall muttered to itself.

"Among the Nine Lords, there actually exists such a maniacal entity?" Yang Muquan's brows were tightly knitted together. "But why choose the Red Dust Domain? In terms of population, the Tian-Shu Domain would be more suitable, wouldn't it? And it's closer to the Wuji Domain as well."

"I don't know. They likely have some deeper reason for choosing to strike at Red Dust... but that is no longer important."

The Second Hall said in a deep voice:

"The current Wuji Domain not only possesses Lord Wuji, a ninth-rank powerhouse, but also a massive Witchcraft Association, an ancient treasury of witchcraft, and the population and productivity of an entire domain... In a sense, it is even more dangerous than the Twilight Society!

If such a behemoth chooses to strike at other domains, the blow will be devastating. The new order that humanity spent hundreds of years building after the Great Cataclysm would likely be destroyed in an instant."

"Wait, but the Red Dust Domain has already been hidden in flowers by the Lord of Red Dust. Even if they come to kill us, they can't get in, right?" the Fourth Hall suddenly interjected.

"Have you forgotten? The runes laid on the tracks of the Domain Trains all originate from the Witch God Path. From the day the Domain Train connected to the Red Dust Domain, the Wuji Domain has held the key to entering it..."

"...Damn it, they couldn't have been planning this since then, could they?! That was over three hundred years ago!"

"Since they wanted to kill the envoy, they were already prepared to completely tear off the mask of civility..." Lu Liangren's eyes narrowed, a wisp of killing intent drifting out. "If nothing goes wrong, they are already mobilizing their forces, preparing to carry out a domain-wide massacre."

"Then what should we do now? Ask other domains for reinforcements?"

"All we can do now is pass the news of the Wuji Domain to the other domains, but reinforcements... I'm afraid it will be hard to wait for them," the Second Hall said in a deep voice.

"The distance between domains is already extremely vast, and communication relies solely on the Domain Trains. However, the trains connected to the Red Dust Domain go to the Aurora Domain and the Wuji Domain. To reach other domains, one must transfer through these two.

Now that the Aurora Domain has been destroyed, it's equivalent to the Red Dust Domain only being connected to the Wuji Domain. That is to say, even if other domains sent reinforcements, they would have to pass through the Wuji Domain... Do you think the Wuji Domain will let the trains arrive smoothly?

As long as they use some methods, like cutting a section of the tracks in the Gray Realm or directly tampering with the runes on the tracks, the Wuji Domain and the Red Dust Domain will be completely isolated from the other domains."

"No wonder they chose the Red Dust Domain... this position is just too advantageous for them." Yang Muquan's face was incredibly ugly.

"Then what's next..."

After the group discussed it for a while, they all turned their eyes to the Second Hall, their expressions grave.

With the Chief absent, the Second Hall was the person in charge of the Floating Life Painting and the highest decision-maker of the Red Dust Base... Now that an external enemy was approaching, only he could control the overall situation.

The Second Hall's abstract face slowly swept over the crowd, and finally, he spoke solemnly:

"I believe you all understand the situation the Red Dust Domain is facing now... What we are facing is the greatest turning point in human destiny since the Great Cataclysm, and also the first domain war in human history.

Our Red Dust Domain has never done anything wrong... but war has never been about reason.

Do you remember what the Chief said when he founded the Floating Life Painting?"

The several Halls looked at each other and nodded in unison:

"The Floating Life Painting is born only for the Red Dust;"

"We hold no power, we do not interfere, but we exist forever, and we protect forever."

"Correct." The Second Hall's voice became increasingly serious. "Now, the war has arrived.

I know that within the Floating Life Painting, there are those who are greedy for life and afraid of death, and those who harbor ulterior motives, but now I want them to be clear: neither the Floating Life Painting nor the Red Dust Domain has any way back... If you don't want to become fodder for the Philosopher's Stone, you must fight to the death.

It is also time to let the Wuji Domain know that the guardian of Red Dust is not to be trifled with."

"I'll go." Lu Liangren's voice sounded from behind the crowd, his eight-foot brush seemingly stained with a hint of frost-white in the killing intent. "I will personally lead people to the front lines to meet the enemy."

His gaze was as sharp as a knife.

The Second Hall nodded slightly:

"Good. Recall all Architects still in the Red Dust Domain, and all the Halls, follow Lu Liangren to meet the enemy, and drag them to the edge of the domain as much as possible."

"All of them?" Yang Muquan was startled. "If all the Architects leave, there will be no one to maintain the 'Red Dust,' and then the truth of the domain will..."

"With tens of millions of lives at stake and the survival of the domain on the line, we can't worry about that anymore." The Second Hall answered decisively. "The Wuji Domain has surely mobilized all its power this time. If we don't go all out now, we will undoubtedly be defeated."

"...Yes!"

All the Halls present followed behind Lu Liangren, about to leave, when Lu Liangren suddenly seemed to remember something and looked back at the Second Hall.

"I'll handle the front lines, then..."

The Second Hall paused for a moment, the abstract face in the frame slowly turning, as if looking behind the door:

"...I will awaken the Chief."

……

"Guernica."

"So, what rank are you exactly now?"

"Sixth rank." The Jack of Plum Blossoms said helplessly. "In the Divine Path, the jump from third to fourth rank is a hurdle, and from sixth to seventh is another... Crossing this hurdle brings a world-shaking change in strength, but there are also countless people who get stuck here. I've been stuck at the sixth rank for several years now."

"Aren't you the number one genius of the Green Divine Path? You get stuck for this long too?"

"You haven't reached the sixth rank yet, so you can't feel it... This hurdle has nothing to do with talent." The Jack of Plum Blossoms shrugged. "By the way, have you asked enough? You've been dragging me into conversation for hours... my mouth is dry."

"It's not like I have anything else to do... Besides, you won't tell me the secrets of the Floating Life Painting, so I can only ask about other things."

“……”

Chen Ling saw the Jack of Plum Blossoms' face full of resentment and felt no guilt at all. He glanced at the audience expectation value; ever since he started chatting with the Jack of Plum Blossoms to fish for information, although the expectation value was still dropping, the speed had slowed down a bit.

"Talk therapy" was still quite effective!

Chen Ling didn't give up on the treatment and continued to ask:

"Then let's change the subject... how much do you know about your Chief Hall?"