Painting Mutation
Chen Ling was not someone who liked to slap people in the face.
But the situation was special now. He understood the painting "Guernica" far less than Eight of Clubs. Now that this mutation suddenly appeared, only Eight of Clubs could provide an explanation... Although doing this offended the senior a bit, Chen Ling believed Eight of Clubs would understand.
After two crisp slapping sounds, the unconscious Eight of Clubs finally opened his eyes with difficulty. Feeling his burning cheeks, he was stunned in place for a moment.
"You..."
"Sorry, the situation is urgent, I could only force a reboot."
Eight of Clubs: ...
Eight of Clubs glanced behind him and found that the burning woman was actually charging straight towards them. His expression changed instantly. He didn't have time to argue with Chen Ling about the slaps and immediately looked down at his palm.
In his palm, the several drawn "arrows" were all spinning rapidly, seemingly completely malfunctioning.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know... When I first entered 'Guernica', I endured the emotional influence, left positioning on all the Roles in the painting, and summarized their usual movement trajectories before drawing that house in the safest place," Eight of Clubs said in a deep voice. "But now, their movement trajectories are completely disrupted... No, it should be said that this painting has been disrupted."
"How could the painting be disrupted? Isn't it in the hands of the Second Hall?"
Eight of Clubs didn't speak. He just looked up at the nothingness overhead, his gaze seemingly wanting to penetrate something.
"Outside... something major must have happened."
...
Buzz——!!
A low rumble sounded from the Grand Relief Gate.
In the center of the door, that Picture Frame that looked like a giant lock suddenly trembled violently. Countless regular geometric shapes drifted out from it, floating in mid-air like bubbles, and finally converged into an extremely abstract three-dimensional human face.
This human face was almost as big as the Grand Relief Gate. A rolled-up scroll between its brows was spinning around, and two triangular pupils stared at the door. Rank 8 aura spilled outwards...
"After so many years... it's time for this door to be opened."
With a thought from the Second Hall, "Guernica" shot out from his brows, circled in front of a geometric figure that looked like a key, and crashed head-on into the center of the Grand Relief Gate!
Dong——!
A trace of the aura of the Divine Path Foundation of the Path of the Arts rippled out from "Guernica", spreading slowly to the surroundings along the lines and patterns on the relief. The entire Grand Relief Gate trembled!
...
At this time.
On the other side of the Red Dust Base.
The originally quite lively base seemed to be shrouded in a thick dark cloud. The atmosphere was oppressive and dull, like the dead silence before a storm.
Members of the Floating Life Painting walked quickly through it. Some were sweating profusely with anxiety, some sat in the corner staring blankly in confusion, some wiped their weapons and paintbrushes silently, and some gathered in twos and threes, drawing topographical maps of the Red Dust Domain barehanded on various walls of the base, arguing about something until their faces were red.
Apart from these people, those "quasi-Floating Life Painting" members wearing blue robes were the most worried and fearful.
"Do you guys think... is there really going to be a war this time?"
"What do you think? Didn't you see how heavy the Killing Intent was when Elder Lü passed by just now?"
"It's said that Elder Lü has already returned to the Red Dust Domain, gathered all the Architects, and is going to the front line to meet the enemy... The other seniors in the base are also packing up. Whether they want to or not, they are forced to go to the battlefield. It seems the situation is really quite serious."
"But didn't they say several seniors directly refused to fight? They even said they wanted to break away from the Floating Life Painting and fly far away?"
"Hmph, is it strange to have people greedy for life and afraid of death? The Floating Life Painting is originally not an organization under militarized management. Usually used to being loose, how can they go to the battlefield just like that... However, even if they break away from the Floating Life Painting, where can they go? Enter the Gray World to seek death? Or be killed by the Wuji Domain that's slaughtering their way over?"
"It's not as complicated as you think... Those Floating Life Painting seniors who wanted to leave didn't even make it out the base gate before they were butchered by the Eighth Hall."
"Ah??? Isn't Elder Yang usually the most amicable? He actually killed people in public?"
"Elder Yang said, now is an extraordinary time. These people have nowhere to run if they go out, and will most likely only collude with the enemy... If the secrets of the Red Dust Base fall into the enemy's hands, that would be terrible."
"That is true..."
While the crowd was talking, a white dove without any aura fluctuations was resting on the semi-hollowed-out dome. A pair of eyes glowing with faint blue light stared at the long corridor below.
Buzz——!
A low hum spread out from the depths of the Red Dust Base, and the floor of the entire palace trembled with it.
All the Floating Life Painting members still in the Red Dust Base, as well as the apprentices wearing blue robes, looked doubtfully towards the depths of the Red Dust Base, not knowing what had happened...
At the same time, the white dove standing on the semi-hollowed-out dome also turned its head to look in that direction, strands of blue light flowing in its pupils.
"Jack of Clubs, what are you still waiting for? Go quickly!" Nine of Hearts' voice faintly came from within the dove.
"It's not that I don't want to go, but I'll easily be exposed the moment I move..." Jack of Clubs said helplessly. "Using Stagecraft to trick the Domain is fine, but my Path isn't good at disguising like Six of Hearts. If I move even a bit and am seen by someone, it's over."
"Can't the Red Dust Base have pigeons?"
"...What do you think?"
"..."
"Then what do we do now? Just jump down and start fighting? That Third Hall is not here, the base only has two Rank 7 Hall Masters now, and an Rank 8 Hall Master sitting in the deepest part... The odds of winning aren't high."
"If Queen of Hearts was awake right now, it would be great. With his abilities, temporarily tricking these Floating Life Painting people shouldn't be a problem..."
"Wait, don't rush first." Chu Muyun's voice sounded calmly. "Give me a few seconds... I'll speed up his progress a bit."
"Eh? Corpse Shattering Chu, why are you pressing down on Bai Ye's head?"
"Fuck! Why are you pulling out a hammer!?"
"!!!"
Bang——!!
A burst of Bai Ye's muffled groans came from within the dove.
The next moment, this dove hovering on the hollowed-out dome flapped its wings and flew straight towards the depths of the Red Dust Base along the top of the corridor.
The blue-robed apprentices communicating below saw something white fly past at a glance. Just as they were about to say something in confusion, a white light suddenly flashed across the sky, and they stood blankly in place like statues...
After a few seconds, they snapped back to their senses and looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Just now... where were we?"
"I don't know, no impression... I just feel like I forgot something."
"Right, do you guys think... is there really going to be a war this time?"
"What do you think? Didn't you see how heavy the Killing Intent was when Elder Lü passed by just now?"
"..."
With the departure of the white dove, the Fourth Hall not far away suddenly seemed to perceive something and frowned, looking in this direction...
[Audience Expectation Value +2]