Chapter 1010: The Non-Existent Divine Path

The Non-Existent Divine Path

Whoever steps On Stage, that person is "Chen Ling".

Chen Ling had wondered before why, when he released the Calamity of Mockery last time and was completely dragged Off Stage, he had also turned into the appearance of an Audience member... He once thought it was this Theater that had assimilated him with the Audience, but looking at it now, that was not the case.

After another "Audience" usurped the Stage, it became a "Chen Ling" with a different personality. It was ecstatic and cherished this opportunity immensely, even pretending to be the previous "Chen Ling" to beg for mercy from Master...

If Yao hadn't helped him descend On Stage once again, he would probably still be an "Audience" Off Stage right now.

"[Mockery] is not a single person... but a group of 'Audience'..."

"I..."

"Am just one of them?"

Chen Ling was like a drowning person struggling in a tsunami. His entire person was almost submerged by Bewilderment, but at this moment, he was gradually finding the source of the Bewilderment...

At this moment, Chen Ling was standing on the Fourth Order steps. Countless pairs of mocking scarlet pupils surrounded both sides of the stairs. The twisted stairs led step by step to the end of the firmament, where a warm star was silently flickering.

That was the direction of "home" that Chen Ling had once thought.

The destination of walking the Twisted Divine Path was to return home... This was the motivation that supported Chen Ling step by step until now. But as Chen Ling delved deeper into the Bewilderment, everything changed.

That warm star visibly changed, becoming a scarlet and bizarre pupil, like an eyeball gouged out of an Audience member's eye socket. It hung high above the unreachable firmament, mockingly looking down upon Chen Ling, who was treading the steps, crawling wretchedly like an ant.

The bizarre eyeball Divine Path Star;

The countless "Audience" on both sides of the stairs;

The "performance goals" that needed to be completed for every Advancement;

And that mysterious and unpredictable twisted "Drama God Path" that did not belong to any Divine Path...

"Actually, I've always been very curious. My so-called 'Twisted Divine Path' is actually just a combination of two Divine Paths, and can't be considered truly twisted... But your Drama God Path truly exudes a bizarre aura from beginning to end."

"Can your thing... really be considered a 'Divine Path'?"

Shen Nan's voice echoed in Chen Ling's ears once again.

As if thinking of something, Chen Ling gave a miserable smile... He understood, he understood it all.

How could there be any "Twisted Drama God Path",

How could there be any "Divine Path Skill",

From the very beginning,

This was the power of [Mockery]...

...

Tens of thousands of "Audience" members, Formless and faceless. They took pleasure in mocking the world, and they could become anyone... Anyone who stepped On Stage could become "Chen Ling"...

Twisted Drama God Path First-Tier — [Formless].

...

The words that silently appeared on the floor;

Doctor Lin's replaced tea water;

The Peach disguised as a heart;

The tampered cry for help letter on the way to the Ancient Vault of the Military Path...

Whenever Chen Ling's Expectation Value dropped, the "Audience" would intervene in the performance. Their tricky and bizarre stagecraft often pushed Chen Ling into the abyss of mockery;

Twisted Drama God Path Second-Tier — [Scarlet Trick].

...

The Formless King Who Mocks Fate.

A fate manipulated like a puppet, with the prerequisite of only being able to Advance upon completing a "performance". Thinking about it carefully, the conditions for each performance seemed to perfectly coincide with the events Chen Ling was experiencing...

It was as if there was a giant unseen hand pushing Chen Ling toward the plot that the "Audience" anticipated the most.

Twisted Drama God Path Third Tier — [Fate Weaving].

...

Tampering with reality, denying everything.

The calamity Domain of the World-Ending Calamity [Mockery]. Under those mocking pupils, any established reality that did not go according to its wishes would be directly overturned. It was also by relying on this ability that it completely overwhelmed the Calamity of Taboo and kicked Jian Changsheng, who was possessed by Bai Qi...

Twisted Drama God Path Fourth Order Domain — [Cut].

Chen Ling realized that all the skills he currently possessed had appeared during the process of the Audience intervening in reality.

From the very beginning, he was not acquiring skills from a Divine Path...

Instead, he was step by step taking control of the power belonging to [Mockery].

...

"Brother, you must survive..."

"What exactly is at the end of the Drama God Path? Go see it for me, okay?"

A familiar voice echoed in Chen Ling's ears once again. He seemed to abruptly awaken with a start, surrounded by howling wind and snow, alongside the figure of the youth he could never forget.

The youth's Theatrical Robe swayed in the wind. He looked at Chen Ling, holding thirty-six Drama God Path fragments in his hands, his eyes brimming with tears...

A-Yan...

Chen Ling's body began to tremble.

As if realizing something, he slowly looked behind him... A Divine Path hung down from the firmament, connecting with the half of the Divine Path paved by Chen Yan...

"No... that's not right..."

Chen Ling's eyes were bloodshot. He gave a forceful yank into the void, and a false curtain abruptly fell!

Unknown when, that half of the Drama God Path hanging down from the firmament had become ferocious and twisted, its entire body exuding a scarlet and bizarre aura, as if filled with despair and ominousness.

Chen Yan's thirty-six Drama God Path fragments had indeed paved half a Drama God Path for him... But the other half that was drawn over was not the Drama God Path at all, but...

"How could this be..."

Seeing that half of the Twisted Divine Path connecting with the Drama God Path he had paved, Chen Yan stood in place, deep horror surfacing in his eyes.

"That's not the Drama God Path... Brother! Wait a minute! Things aren't quite right..."

"Chen Ling!! Stop right now! You can't walk down that path!!" Chu Muyun's voice rapidly transmitted over. He was like a streak of light, desperately trying to block Chen Ling.

"Brother!! That's not the Drama God Path! You can't walk it!"

All the voices intertwined by Chen Ling's ears.

Yet it was as if he hadn't heard them.

Pairs of scarlet pupils surfaced behind him, looking mockingly and excitedly at Chen Ling, as if they had bewitched him with some stagecraft, leaving only one voice echoing in his ears...

"Walk upon this path, and the world will belong to Brother."

Then,

Chen Ling slowly took a step forward, taking one step onto it.

...

Everything around was broken and shattered. Draped in the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe, Chen Ling fell powerlessly to his knees on the Fourth Order of the Twisted Drama God Path, like a dried-up corpse that had been drained.

"The Divine Path is also fake..."

"All the efforts I've made... were step by step, becoming the Calamity of [Mockery]..."

"No wonder so much Bewilderment was hidden in my heart..."

Chen Ling squeezed out a self-deprecating and despairing smile. The hem of the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe trembled along with his miserable smile, appearing bizarre and ghastly on the Twisted Divine Path.

He had already peered into the majority of the Bewilderment surging in his mind, but there was still a portion that remained mysterious and unpredictable beneath his feet.

"If from the very beginning, I was a member of the 'Audience'... then where did 'Chen Ling' come from?"

"Who sealed my Bewilderment..."

"And who made me become me?"

"I'm about to find it... the final answer..."

Chen Ling slowly reached out his hand, probing toward the deepest part of that Bewilderment.