Chapter 1453: He

Chapter 1456: Him

"I told you, I don't know."

Gray King closed her eyes helplessly. "He's always been like this, never saying anything, keeping everything hidden inside... It's so...annoying." As she uttered the last two words, Chen Ling sensed a hint of complaint in Gray King's tone. Yet, it wasn't truly malicious, but rather the exasperated affection one feels towards a close, trusted person—a desire for them to do better.

Chen Ling's brows furrowed. As he gazed at Red King's corpse in the coffin, the figure he could never quite decipher reappeared in his mind...

"The confusion in your heart runs too deep; it's difficult to completely dispel. However, my Ancient Artifice Archives possess a secret method that can anchor your mind and help you resist the Artifice Pantheon's backlash... Will you learn it or not?"

"Sixth Junior, your bowl is too small. Never mind comparing it to Fifth Junior's; at the very least, you should be using a basin, just like your master."

"Sixth Junior... There are some things your master isn't unwilling to tell you, but the time isn't right yet... Knowing everything in advance won't do you any good."

"You are your master's disciple; if not for you, then for whom? In this era, only your master can suppress the Calamity of Mirth for you and help you gain experience... While your master is still here, I must do more for you... However, your master can only help you with this once. When your master is no longer around, you must not easily attempt it."

"Controlling the Calamity of Mirth is more important than anything else."

"Reverse the era, restart the world. Whether it's you or your four senior disciples, you should first strive towards this goal... After that, we can talk about the master-disciple relationship."

"No, I don't believe it!" Chen Ling gritted his teeth and spoke. "How could the mighty Red King of the Twilight Society, a demigod of the Artifice Pantheon, die so easily? He's most likely scheming in the dark again. Perhaps this corpse was prepared by him in advance, and he himself is hiding somewhere on Cinnabar Star or Earth, waiting to observe everything that unfolds!"

Gray King gave him a complex look. "Chen Ling... don't you feel it?"

"What?"

"The demigod position of the Artifice Pantheon that your master once occupied... it has returned to the heavens and earth."

Chen Ling froze abruptly.

Chen Ling walked the path of the Calamity of Mirth's twisted Artifice Pantheon, so he couldn't sense the changes in the true Artifice Pantheon... But all other Artifice Pantheon practitioners in this world had already perceived this change... The demigod position of the Artifice Pantheon returning to the heavens and earth meant that the original Artifice Pantheon demigod had died.

Red King was truly dead.

"You... how could you just die like this?" Chen Ling stared at the figure in the coffin, clenching his fists tightly. "You haven't explained any of this to me, you haven't apologized, I haven't forgiven you, and I haven't even had a chance to return to the Ancient Artifice Archives... You just died without a word. What about the Twilight Society? What about the Ancient Artifice Archives? And what about our senior disciples??"

Red King in the coffin remained silent and still.

Chen Ling's emotions grew more agitated. After leaving the Ancient Artifice Archives, he had endured so many grievances and setbacks outside. He had expected to eventually receive a direct response from Red King, but what he ultimately received was just a corpse filled with secrets... The anger and frustration he had suppressed in his heart for so long uncontrollably burst forth at this moment!

"You created me!"

"You taught me how to use the Vermilion Brush!"

"You brought me back to the Ancient Artifice Archives when I was most lost, and you gave me a home... But why..."

"Even though you did so much for me, why did you treat me like a mere chess piece? You knew you were going to die, you sent First Senior Disciple to find me, yet you refused to even say you wanted to see me?! I truly don't understand what role I played in your heart!"

*Thud—!!*

Chen Ling's fist slammed heavily onto Red King's coffin. A strong gust of wind swept forth, sending ripples across the previously calm lake surface.

Gray King stood silently in the distance. Liu Qingyan watched the nearly broken Chen Ling, her lips pursed. She wanted to step forward and offer comfort, but Gray King stopped her with a hand... Gray King looked at her and silently shook her head.

Faced with Chen Ling's barrage of questions, the corpse could not respond. Chen Ling's chest heaved violently. After a long while, he finally calmed down somewhat...

He turned around and looked at Gray King. His voice was incredibly hoarse.

"You said you wanted to bring me to see him... was it just to see his corpse?"

"It wasn't me who wanted to bring you here," Gray King repeated. "He said before he left that after he died, he wanted me to bring you to find him..."

Chen Ling's gaze returned to Red King. Red King had asked Gray King to bring him here... Based on Chen Ling's understanding of him, he wouldn't just want him to gaze upon his "remains." But since he was now dead, what was the point of bringing him here? What exactly did he want to convey to him through this corpse?

Chen Ling remained silent for a long time, his gaze fixed on Red King's sleeping face... His face... The Artifice Pantheon?

Chen Ling hesitantly reached out his hand towards the corpse's face. That's right, Red King was of the Artifice Pantheon. If his corpse held any secrets, they would most likely be on his "face"... Chen Ling knew that Red King had always used a false face; after all, there was no way this Artifice Pantheon demigod and Twilight Society leader could genuinely be a young boy, especially considering he had experienced a world reset and was at least several hundred years old. Chen Ling was indeed very curious about the true appearance beneath the skin of Red King, the Artifice Pantheon demigod.

Chen Ling's fingertips brushed the edge of the cheek, and indeed, he felt a slight protrusion. He pulled hard, tearing off the mask-like skin!

*Rip—!*

As the handsome young boy's face dissipated into the air, Chen Ling's pupils suddenly contracted!

It was a face identical to Chen Ling's.

"How is this possible..." Chen Ling instinctively recoiled half a step. "Red King... is myself?"

A "Chen Ling," clad in a large red theatrical robe, lay quietly in the center of the coffin. His features were exactly like Chen Ling's, but the expression in his brows seemed a little more weathered.

Chen Ling was momentarily dazed. He seemed to understand why the Nine Monarchs of this era seemed to recognize him, yet not recognize him at the same time... So the previous Red King they knew looked exactly like him?

No...

No!!!

This isn't right!!!

Chen Ling quickly came to his senses, his breathing becoming ragged.

"I am Chen Ling, but I am fabricated!"

"Essentially, I am the Calamity of Mirth!"

"But you... you can't be the Calamity of Mirth; there's no aura of the Calamity of Mirth on you at all!"

"And my appearance is that of Yao!! But... but Yao is of the Witchcraft Pantheon, how could she become a demigod of the Artifice Pantheon??"

"You're not me! You're not Yao either!!"

"You..."

"You............"

"Who are you, exactly??!!!"

Chen Ling's eyes were filled with bloodshot veins. He reached out again, touching Red King's cheek... He felt another protrusion. Beneath the "Chen Ling" face, there was yet another face...

Chen Ling's hand began to tremble, but he finally gripped this face and... violently tore it off!!

As the face gradually vanished into the air, Chen Ling saw the person's true appearance, and he couldn't stop himself from trembling uncontrollably!

His chapped lips parted, and he struggled to utter a hoarse sound:

"A..."

"A'yan????"