Chapter 712: The Sky Is Crying

Alchemy array.

Brand watched helplessly as the Calamity of Breath’s second dragon breath missed, stamping his feet in annoyance.

The Calamity of Breath’s first dragon breath had directly caused a million people to be buried beneath the earth. If there were just one more, it would be equivalent to harvesting another Philosopher's Stone... Added to the two million souls already on hand, refining a total of three Philosopher's Stones would allow Wuji Jun to recover to almost his peak state!

He hadn't expected the Red Dust Jun to intervene halfway, forcibly dragging the Calamity of Breath into the Gray Realm battlefield, causing Brand’s plan to fall through completely.

"...Forget it, having this many souls is enough."

Brand refocused his gaze on the surging sea of souls beneath the clouds.

Countless old people, youths, and children were all painfully drawn by the alchemy array, hanging in mid-air like pigs hung by iron hooks in a slaughterhouse. Their expressions were gruesome, and one could even see some members of the Floating Life Painting, or even Hall-level members, among them.

All human souls that died in the domain war were gathered here, and they were the materials Brand had prepared.

"Enjoy the pain." Brand raised his palm and pressed it onto the alchemy array beneath him. The next moment, wisps of red electric light began to roam on its surface, conducting to the surging sea of souls!

"The more painful you are, the faster the Philosopher's Stone will be refined..."

Red electric light surged within the sea of souls. All figures that came into contact with this electric light twisted suddenly, as if someone were roughly and viciously molesting their bodies, breaking them like toys, stretching them, rubbing them into balls, or fusing them with each other.

Under this extreme soul pain, the sea of souls condensed and shrank bit by bit...

The souls wailed, and the cold wind whistled!

……

Crackle—

Red electric light roamed the firmament. The souls, which originally couldn't be seen by human eyes, could occasionally be glimpsed under the illumination of the electric light... This scene fell into everyone’s eyes like a living hell!

"Mr... Mr. Li." Kong Baosheng stared blankly at the blood-colored flashing souls in the sky, his eyes full of confusion.

"That is..."

"It’s human souls."

Li Qingshan spoke with a grave face, "It seems that the Wuji Domain was willing to pay any price to break into Red Dust just for this... They have been collecting human souls from the very beginning."

"War... souls?"

Kong Baosheng stood frozen for a long time, as if thinking of something, and looked back sharply at the backyard of the Jinghong Building!

Two graves stood silently on the withered earth;

"No... no!!"

"Doesn't that mean... Grandma and Miss Huang are also there??"

Kong Baosheng’s face turned deathly pale. He subconsciously took a step back, seemingly unable to accept this reality.

Li Qingshan was silent for a long time. "I’m afraid so."

"How could this happen... Why?!!" The veins on Kong Baosheng’s neck bulged. He looked at the blood-colored sky, his eyes splitting with rage. "Grandma didn't do anything!! She was just a patient who had been bedridden for years... And Miss Huang, Miss Huang was such a good person, she protected so many people!! Why not let them go even after they’re dead?!"

Li Qingshan stood there quietly, unable to answer, because he didn't know the answer either.

And now, the answer itself was no longer important...

Dense red lightning roamed among the clouds, and the souls twisted frantically in pain. They struggled, but didn't make any sound, only bursts of extremely cold wind whimpered—as if the sky were crying.

……

"...Is this the end?"

In the ruins of the city wall battlefield, Wang Jincheng, exhausted to the point of collapse, lay on the ground like a corpse, staring blankly at the sea of souls appearing from time to time in the red electric light, his eyes full of unwillingness and bitterness.

The domain war had reached this point, the halls were all destroyed, the Floating Life Painting was almost wiped out, the Chief was at the end of his rope, and the Red Dust Jun could only fight two with one in the Gray Realm... All the foundations of the Red Dust Domain had been squeezed dry; they had nothing left.

This was a difficult war, a tragic war. Wang Jincheng had done everything he could, but seeing the two million souls of the Red Dust Domain ultimately become materials for the Wuji Domain, while he was powerless to stop it... This inner pain and torture were harder for him to accept than his physical injuries.

"...Cough cough cough cough..."

A young man dragged his blood-covered body, struggling to step over the corpses of the Sorcery Association, stumbled, and fell to the ground in a sorry state.

Wang Jincheng turned his head with difficulty. He recognized the young man—the former Ninth Hall of the Floating Life Painting, now Plum 8 of the Twilight Society.

Plum 8’s injuries were no lighter than Wang Jincheng’s. He had fought many experts of the Sorcery Association single-handedly and had also reached his limit... But what made him feel even worse was the mental trauma.

Plum 8 looked at the sea of souls wailing in agony. In a trance, he felt as if he had returned to "Guernica." Despair and pain nearly suffocated him, and his whole person seemed to be splitting apart, leaving him only able to hold his head in pain.

Sweat mixed with tears, silently soaking the ruins, leaving dark water marks.

Plum 8’s voice was hoarse and bitter:

"In the end... I still couldn't change anything."

The ending of "Guernica" had finally shone into reality, even more cruelly. Plum 8 hadn't been able to reverse this war, nor had he been able to prevent the sacrifices... Death, pain, and despair seemed to be the final destiny of all wars, not changed by anyone’s will.

Wang Jincheng looked at him with complex emotions. Although he didn't know why this Twilight Society member wanted to help the Red Dust Domain, he had seen Plum 8’s efforts... If it hadn't been for Plum 8’s overall command and bloody battle, the Red Dust Domain would have been broken long ago.

Wang Jincheng felt that the Twilight Society didn't seem as heinous as the outside world rumored... That guy was the same.

I wonder where that guy has run off to now?

Just as Wang Jincheng was pondering, his peripheral vision caught something, and he suddenly froze.

In the ruins where dust swirled in the distance, a figure wearing a bright red theater robe was stepping on the void, walking from the earth toward the sky...

His expression was calm and solemn, like a theater actor about to go on stage. The war fires of the ruins and the blood sea of the sky reflected his figure. In this desolate and desperate world, his bright theater robe was like the only vivid color, attracting everyone’s attention.

His appearance gave people an inexplicable premonition... as if the grand play of this war was nearing its end, and the final actor was taking the stage to put a period to everything.

"...Is it him?" Plum 8 stared blankly at Chen Ling, who was ascending the void stage, not knowing what he was thinking.

The actor in the void slowly opened his lips...

The next moment, a melodious and highly penetrating voice echoed over the entire Red Dust Main City.

"『I see the sky crying』..."