Chapter 652: Four Bell Tolls

A torrent of red silk threads surged out from the gap in the relief gate, covering the ground beneath Yang Muquan and the others like a tide in the blink of an eye, and continued to spread toward the corridor behind them.

Yang Muquan and the others were startled, subconsciously stepping back to keep their feet away from the torrent of threads.

"What... is this?"

Even as the Eighth Hall Master, Yang Muquan knew nothing about the situation behind the relief gate, and seeing this scene, he was somewhat bewildered... He tried to look through the gap in the opened relief gate, searching for the legendary figure of the Chief, but could only see a misty haze.

"The Chief’s awakening requires time," the Second Hall said calmly. "We should leave."

"Leave? Where to?"

"The Chief is reclaiming his domain. The Red Dust Base is about to disappear."

Yang Muquan was stunned, looking again at the tide of threads gradually covering the entire Red Dust Base, and spoke in disbelief:

"The Red Dust Base... will disappear?"

"To be precise, it won't disappear..." The Second Hall paused for a moment.

"It will be one with the Chief."

……

Red Dust Domain.

A phantom portal opened high in the sky, and several figures flashed out one after another, falling rapidly!

"Damn the Floating Life Painting!! I knew they weren't that kind-hearted!!" The whistling wind rushed past Heart 9’s ears, and he immediately cursed loudly, "Opening the door so high! Are they trying to fall us to our deaths??"

At this moment, the Twilight Society members were almost level with the clouds. Falling from this height would turn anyone into a pulp of meat. The Second Hall opening the door here was undoubtedly harboring some ulterior motives... It certainly knew that such a small trick couldn't kill the Twilight Society members, but it was no problem to disgust them a little.

Chen Ling naturally wasn't afraid of falling to his death, but he didn't use Cloud Step immediately because he saw Plum Blossom J move.

Among the crowd, Plum Blossom J pressed one hand to the brim of his magician’s hat and whispered something, and the group’s bodies became as light as feathers, their falling speed slowing rapidly until they finally landed steadily on the ground one after another.

"Phew... finally escaped from the tiger’s den." Jian Changsheng patted his chest, relaxing completely, his gaze sweeping around. "Where is this place?"

"It’s not the Red Dust Main City; it should be one of the surrounding small towns."

Chen Ling looked around carefully. Although the buildings and roads were similar, this wasn't Willow Town either. It should be that the Second Hall had opened a door at random, not caring at all where it dumped them.

Just as everyone was still observing the environment, Heart 9 had already walked up to Chen Ling, staring at Plum Blossom 8’s unconscious face for a long time before asking with a frown:

"What’s wrong with this kid?"

"Nothing serious, he just fainted."

"But why does he look so terrible? And he’s lost so much weight..." Heart 9 turned his head and shouted at Chu Muyun, "Corpse-Smasher Chu, come over here and take a look at this kid."

Hearing the words "Corpse-Smasher Chu," Chu Muyun’s face turned green. Although he was extremely unwilling to deal with Heart 9, he still walked straight over.

He pried open Plum Blossom 8’s eyelids, and the faint light of [Secret Pupil] flashed through his pupils before he said faintly:

"Nervous breakdown, mental exhaustion. He must not have rested for too long... Nothing else."

"Then why is he asleep and looking so pained?"

"Not sure, maybe he’s having a nightmare."

"Tsk, are you any good, Corpse-Smasher Chu? The kid is still growing; you need to examine him properly."

"Are you questioning my professionalism?" Chu Muyun flicked the spiked hammer in his hand, a chill flashing in his eyes behind his silver-rimmed glasses. "And stop calling me 'Corpse-Chopper Chu' every single day... I've been putting up with you for a long time."

"What, it's not like I gave you that nickname for no reason. What kind of doctor treats a patient by beating them half to death first?"

"That's called 'breaking to build.' What do you know?"

Seeing Heart 9 and Chu Muyun at each other's throats, Bai Ye, who was watching the show from the sidelines, helplessly spread his hands:

"Why are you two bickering again... weren't you quite united just a moment ago?"

"That was to save Heart 6 (Club 8), wasn't it?"

The two answered in unison, then glared fiercely at each other, sparks almost flying between them in the void.

Chen Ling: ...

Chen Ling had finally figured it out: for the Dusk Society, unity was merely an occasional occurrence, while infighting was a rigid necessity. In an organization filled with such eccentrics and lunatics, how could the members possibly get along peacefully? To say nothing of anyone else, Heart 9 alone could keep everyone in a state of chaos.

It was also at this moment that Chen Ling caught a glimpse of the girl in the black dress at the edge of the crowd, stepping forward:

"Qingyan, thank you for your help this time."

"It is my honor to serve you, my lord." Liu Qingyan lowered her head slightly and spoke softly.

"With the Realm War about to begin, the Red Dust Realm is no longer safe." Chen Ling glanced at the Dusk Society members still bickering. "You broke through the Red Dust base with us, so you can be considered one of our own... If you don't have anything urgent to attend to, following us might actually be safer."

Liu Qingyan was startled. She looked into Chen Ling's eyes and suddenly asked:

"My lord, do you want me to join the Dusk Society?"

"No, I'm just giving you a suggestion so you won't be in danger for the time being... Whether or not you join the Dusk Society isn't up to me; it depends on the thoughts of the higher-ups and your own wishes." Chen Ling paused.

"However, I must remind you that you know the reputation of the Dusk Society within the human realms. The act of joining the Dusk Society itself means dancing with danger... Weigh the pros and cons yourself."

Liu Qingyan lowered her head, as if lost in thought.

Clang—!

A deep, resonant bell toll came from afar, interrupting her thoughts and the arguments of the other Dusk Society members.

At this moment, everyone froze, then simultaneously looked in the direction from which the bell sound came.

Clang—!!

The sound of the bell came from outside the small town, but its reach was enough to cover more than a dozen surrounding towns. The moment the residents of the town heard it, a look of bewilderment appeared in their eyes...

This was the first time they had ever heard such a bell.

Clang—!!!

"The Disaster Bell?" Jian Changsheng said with some surprise upon hearing the familiar sound. "Why three tolls again... Is there another large-scale disaster invasion?"

"No, that's not right..." Diamond 10's eyes narrowed slightly.

After a brief pause, the fourth toll of the Disaster Bell rang out like a thunderclap!

Clang—!!!!

Four tolls of the Disaster Bell, each louder than the last. The final toll overlapped with the echoes of the previous three, exploding in everyone's ears!

"Since the establishment of the Disaster Bell in the human realms, only three situations have ever been defined: one toll represents a small-scale disaster invasion, two tolls represent a medium-threat disaster invasion, and three tolls represent an extremely dangerous large-scale disaster invasion... because in the philosophy of that time, the greatest disaster humans could conceive of was a 'Disaster'."

"A fourth toll has never been defined, but now it has happened, and it is even more dangerous than the three-toll disaster."

"Who could have imagined that the one bringing this disaster is not a Disaster..."

"But humanity itself."