Chapter 639: The Play Debuts!

Chapter 639: The Play Debuts!

“In a moment,” a hoarse voice said into the minds of the audience, “all of you will witness a crucial event that played out in ancient times. It is a complete recording of the time when the Imperial Sovereign of the region upon which we all stand viciously beheaded Crimson Mother!

“The gods believed this recording to be evil, and thus banned it for all time. However, after the countless years that have passed, today... we managed to dig up a copy of the recording, and will now play it in full for you.”

The voice itself seemed ancient, as if it had been dragged through countless years of time. At the same time, it seemed full of sighing and emotion.

“Hopefully, everyone in this region, including cultivators and mortals of all species, we who are stuck in an endless loop of fate, can remember this extremely important scene. And that is because, after this recording is released, it will once again be locked down by the gods.”

The wind was blowing in Moonrite! Everyone in the Moonrite Region, regardless of where they were, and regardless of what they were doing, now had the same image and the same voice in their mind. The image was incomparably clear, and the voice didn’t contain even a hint of static. It was clearly the result of the sudden use of some incredibly powerful magic.

At first, most people were taken aback. However, they quickly realized that everyone around them also had blank looks on their faces, indicating that everyone was seeing the same thing. Waves of astonishment began to spread through all the cities of all the species in the region, building up into an unheard-of tempest.

Some cities had devolved so deeply into insanity and despair that they were little more than ruins filled with dazed survivors. However, as the tempest built, the numbness of their heart was shaken. They emerged from the ruins in their shabby clothing, climbing out of the holes in the ground and the piles of corpses, to look in shock up at the sky.

The sky was red, and there was no image projected there. But by looking up, they were able to focus even more clearly on the image in their mind.

Scenes like that played out everywhere in the Moonrite Region. In some cases, people came out alone. In other cases, they were in groups. Refugees in the wilderness had previously been trudging along silently with no destination in mind. Some of them even reached the point of just falling to the ground and closing their eyes. But now, as that image appeared, their hearts and minds stirred.

Some cities controlled by major species had remained mostly peaceful despite the insanity sweeping the region. However, the impending arrival of Crimson Mother hung over them like a sharp blade. With that blade hanging there, they had no choice other than to accept their fate. They couldn’t resist. They couldn’t fight back. And thus, when the image and voice appeared, their silent hearts trembled.

Most shaken of all were the cultivators in the region, especially those who were part of the Moonrite Region. They were powerful experts from all places, all species, and all sects. When the red moon had appeared the previous month, all of them had been filled with alarm. However, they still had the will to fight back. They were organized into small resistance squads. Unfortunately... not everyone could be like the Moonrebel Congregation cultivators. Most cultivators didn’t have the courage and valor to defy a god. After all, those who didn’t resist might survive until Crimson Mother showed up. Those who resisted... could very well be killed in battle with the Red Moon Cathedral. Therefore, the image was like a huge blow to their minds.

That blow was even more dramatic to the cultivators of the Red Moon Cathedral.

And thus, as everyone in the region paid close attention, the big play began. Updated from n0velb(i)n.c(o)/m

In the image, the dome of heaven was like a mass of fish scales rippling constantly. Endless clouds of blood formed, filling the sky and making it seem like a blood hell was taking over. Thunder rumbled, and black bolts of lightning snaked out, connecting with each other to form a huge cage within the blood hell.

Suppression was the main theme of the image. The ground below was also the color of blood. Countless corpses had been piled together to form 9,999 mountains. Each of those mountains was 3,000 meters tall. They loomed over the lands, organized into a circular pattern that was a huge spell formation. Endless blood flowed down the corpse mountains, which gathered in the middle of them all to make a massive blood lake.

He smashed her head into the ground. Having accomplished that, he looked down, just as expressionless as before.

“Because of your origin, the Ancient Emperor chose to ignore your behavior. He didn’t wish to be infected with the karma of the place you come from. But... the song you were singing was just too unpleasant to hear. It interrupted my fourth son’s dream.”

That voice echoed into the minds of all living beings in the Moonrite Region, creating unprecedented waves of shock within them. It was truly a shocking scene. And the mortals of the region were especially astonished to see Crimson Mother smashed with a single stomp. And all of it was because her singing interrupted the dream of this man’s fourth son.

The subversive image was so shocking that many people just couldn’t believe that it was true. However, the image was incredibly realistic, and the pressure it created was real. Everyone felt their hearts pounding like mad. When all was said and done, most people were too suspicious. That was especially true of the top experts from the various nonhuman species in the Moonrite Region. There was no way that one simple image was going to completely alter their belief system.

The Captain had actually predicted that would happen, which was why he had organized the play into two acts. Now that act 1 was over, the image blurred, and the hoarse voice once again spoke into the minds of the audience.

“Now, there will be a short intermission. After enough time has passed for an incense stick to burn, the second act of this amazing historical play will begin.”

The Heir Apparent turned off the Eye of Heaven’s recording function. Nodding, he said, “That’ll work.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ning Yan, who had been performing as the Imperial Sovereign, quickly pulled his foot up. His majestic nature vanished, to be replaced with ingratiating nervousness.

“Big Sis Nether....”

Nethersprite got to her feet and looked coldly at Ning Yan. Ning Yan shivered. He had really put everything he had into that final stomp. In reality, from the very beginning of act 1 until the end, the Heir Apparent and his siblings had been secretly using their magical techniques to make things look perfectly realistic. As a result, Ning Yan had been left with the mistaken impression that he had been more effective than he really had been.

“Everyone get ready for act 2,” the Heir Apparent said. With that, he gave some more instructions to Ning Yan, then some detailed pointers to Wu Jianwu. Finally, he had Chen Erniu do a few run-throughs with the executioner’s saber.

Princess Brightblossom, Fifth Sister, and Eighth Sib also gave some advice. They wanted act 2 to be very realistic.

After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, the Heir Apparent activated the Eye of Heaven. Ning Yan and everyone else took their places, and the image again appeared in the minds of the people of Moonrite. The performance was about to begin.

However, at that exact same moment, a wind picked up on the stage! It came suddenly, filled with an ancient aura, causing the hair and garments of everyone present to stir. And their hearts trembled as a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering killing sensation appeared. That killing sensation was just the beginning. The land started to tremble, and wild colors flashed in heaven and earth.

All of the performers were visibly shocked. Ning Yan, Wu Jianwu, Nethersprite, Li Youfei, and the Captain all turned to look at Xu Qing.