Chapter 659: Deformed World

Chen Ling turned his head abruptly to look at Club 8.

"What is your Chief's name?"

Club 8 was stunned. "This... I don't know. Since the establishment of the Floating Life Painting, everyone has just called him Chief."

"Then what is his relationship with the Red Dust Lord? Are they siblings?"

"...Huh??"

Club 8 looked confused. It seemed he hadn't lied to Chen Ling before; the world's understanding of this Chief was extremely limited... However, Chen Ling already had the answer in his heart.

From before the Great Cataclysm, protecting the Red Dust Lord, and his divine path related to embroidery... Who else could it be but Yao Qing?

But Chen Ling still couldn't imagine that the only ordinary person in the museum back then, the boy who had once been angry at his own weakness, had actually become the leader of the Green God Path in this era.

How did he survive the Great Cataclysm? And how did he live until now?

What exactly had he experienced in these three hundred-plus years?

One question after another flashed through Chen Ling's mind. He looked down at the embroidery in his hand, his mood unable to calm down for a long time.

"Will your Chief participate in this Realm War?"

"If it involves the Infinite Lord, the Second Hall will most likely wake him up." Club 8 said thoughtfully. "However, I heard that the Chief's state is a bit special, and waking up takes time... I don't know if it will be in time."

Chen Ling fell into silence.

The Dusk Society members followed behind Club 8, continuing to move along the small path toward Liu Town.

At first, there were town residents carrying luggage passing by them from time to time, who should have been refugees going to the Red Dust main city, but as time passed, fewer and fewer people could be seen on the road. In the end, almost only empty towns remained, standing in the misty rain.

Faint sounds of war echoed from the distance, sweeping across the empty town. As the group made their way through the deserted streets, all that remained before their eyes was desolation and coldness.

9 of Hearts walked at the very front, hands in his pockets, swaggering along. He casually plucked a small flower from the roadside and held it between his lips.

"How much further to Willow Town?"

"At this pace, a few more hours," 8 of Spades replied. "Of course, if we all moved at full speed, we'd be there in no time."

"That would be too conspicuous. For now, let's keep a low profile; otherwise, they might mistake us for operatives from the other domain... Besides, the war won't reach us here, so walking slowly is just fine."

No sooner had 9 of Hearts finished speaking than his expression turned peculiar. He licked his lips and spat the flower he had been chewing onto the ground with a "ptui."

"That's weird... why does this flower taste sour?"

"Sour?"

"Yeah, sour and astringent. Don't believe me? Try it."

"Forget it, I'm not as bored as you are," Jian Changsheng shrugged.

On the contrary, Chu Muyun, having heard this, also plucked a flower from the roadside. He held the broken stem in his mouth for a moment, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper...

He spat out the stem, his tongue stained with a layer of green. He stared closely at the base for a moment and muttered:

"Indeed... this taste is strange."

9 of Hearts was about to say something when his peripheral vision caught the ground. The small flower he had just been chewing suddenly flickered, and like a magic trick, it transformed into a bare, limp, dark yellow leaf.

9 of Hearts froze for a second, then immediately turned to look at Jack of Spades, who was walking at the back, and began to grumble:

"You crafty bastard, you look so honest and upright, yet you play these tricks to mess with me!"

Jack of Spades glanced at the leaf on the ground, frowned, and shook his head. "It wasn't me."

"Not you?"

9 of Hearts looked at Chen Ling. "Oh, so it was you, kid!"

"...It wasn't me either."

At this moment, Chen Ling was still thinking about Yao Qing and naturally wouldn't be playing such a malicious prank. However, he was also puzzled—if it wasn't him or Jack of Spades, who else could have done this?

"If it wasn't you two, then who?" 9 of Hearts widened his eyes.

Just then, Bai Ye's voice suddenly came through:

"...Something's not right."

At that moment, everyone followed Bai Ye's gaze. They saw that not only the flower 9 of Hearts had plucked, but the entire patch of roadside flowers they had just passed, were all flickering slightly, turning into the same dark yellow leaves and collapsing onto the ground like withered, limp husks.

There was no psychic fluctuation, no warning. It was as if they had just blinked, and the world had changed its appearance... Those dark yellow leaves were not any plant Chen Ling recognized; they looked like deformed mutants, incredibly ugly.

The willow trees on the riverbank withered visibly, turning into bare, rotten wood that grew in twisted shapes on both sides of the river. The water weeds in the shallows bled out like ink stains, dyeing the water a murky green as it flowed silently forward. Even a flock of swallows flying through the misty rain suddenly stiffened and plummeted, crashing onto the hard ground one after another, turning into puddles of viscous, multi-colored liquid.

This mutation came from behind them, brushing past their faces like a gust of wind and spreading far into the distance...

It was as if an invisible hand had swept over, stealing away all vitality and color. The white-walled, tiled houses that had originally sat among the flowers and willows were suddenly exposed amidst withered, grotesque plants... The Red Dust town, which had been misty and vibrant with spring, suddenly turned into a dead, silent ruin.

"This... what is this..."

"Is it a Domain?"

Bai Ye, Jack of Spades, 10 of Diamonds... almost everyone's expression shifted slightly. They released their Domains simultaneously, scanning their surroundings with vigilance!

The mutation before them was clearly not a natural phenomenon. The only thing they could think of was the ability of a "Domain"... But even Bai Ye and Jack of Spades, who held the highest ranks, hadn't sensed any enemy psychic fluctuations, which made their skin crawl.

Chu Muyun scanned the surroundings with a grave expression. Finally, he crouched down and dipped his finger into a smear of the viscous liquid left by a fallen bird. A faint blue glow bloomed in his pupils as he seemed to be analyzing its composition.

His brow furrowed tighter.

"No, this is..."

"No need to be so tense," 8 of Spades suddenly spoke up from behind the group. "This isn't an enemy attack."

Everyone turned back to look. The boy was standing there quietly, his eyes fixed on the strange, ugly dark yellow leaves and withered wood, his expression incredibly complex.

"8 of Spades, what is going on?" Bai Ye asked in a deep voice.

8 of Spades remained silent for a long time, then finally, as if he had made up his mind, he let out a long sigh...

"This isn't a Domain, nor is it some kind of trick..."

8 of Spades raised his hand and pointed at the lifeless, empty town.

"This is the true appearance of the Red Dust Domain."

Everyone stood frozen in place.