I'm not a drama god

Within the rock centipede, the Second Hall sensed a terrifying aura filled with destructive power.

Such an aura startled even him, who had already reached the eighth rank… Most importantly, Chen Ling hadn't even raised a finger the entire time, and it was impossible to see how he summoned such a rock centipede. The Second Hall realized that he couldn't see through Chen Ling at all, which precisely meant that Chen Ling's strength might far surpass his own.

After only a brief exchange, the Second Hall realized that he and Lü Liangren alone were absolutely no match for this figure in theatrical robes...

Can……

What, then, are these old friends from the mortal world?

The abstract pupils on the picture frame stared at Chen Ling, and suddenly it seemed as if he remembered something...

Most of the old friends of Lord Hongchen are also old friends of the Chief... A bright red theatrical robe, extraordinary strength, mysterious background... Could he be...?

"It's you...it's actually you?!" The voice from the Second Hall trembled slightly.

"You know me?"

This time, it was Chen Ling's turn to be surprised.

“I’ve heard him mention you…” A complex look appeared in the abstract eyes of the Second Hall. “When the Red Dust Base was first established, your legend was always circulating… but now, I’m afraid no one remembers it anymore.”

Chen Ling's heart skipped a beat.

He took a deep breath and slowly began to speak:

"So, you're from the time of the Great Cataclysm."

"Back then, it was the Chief who saved me... I was by his side when he founded Fushenghui."

Young Lü Liangren looked at Chen Ling and the Second Hall with a blank expression, seemingly unable to understand how the group, who had just been at each other's throats, suddenly started reminiscing like long-lost friends.

Upon hearing the Second Hall's answer, Chen Ling's eyes lit up.

"Then you should know what has happened over the years, right?"

"You...don't know?" The Second Hall looked Chen Ling up and down, his tone somewhat strange.

"It's a long story... I disappeared from this world for over three hundred years," Chen Ling replied. "I know nothing about what happened during those three hundred years... no, from the beginning of the Great Cataclysm until now."

The Second Hall is one of the few beings who has existed since the Great Cataclysm and has remained conscious to this day. From him, Chen Ling may be able to learn what happened during the time he disappeared.

After a long silence, the second hall finally spoke slowly:

"After the cataclysm, the world descended into chaos, the original order collapsed completely, and eight doomsday bases became humanity's last refuge..."

"After these eight bases appeared, they took in a large number of people, and even some survivors who had fled from overseas. Everyone found a safe place and had enough resources, and they all thought that this catastrophe was about to end..."

"But then, the Gray Dimension began to intersect with Earth, and a large number of calamities poured into this world and kept impacting the eight bases."

"And in this process... someone appeared."

"He calls himself the Ninth Emperor, a human [Emperor] from the past. He recruited a group of powerful subordinates from somewhere and carved out a large area of ​​pure land in an era when all eight realms could barely survive the waves of calamity... and then established a brand new realm."

"They call it... [The Realm of Heavenly Embrace]."

"In that era, the Chengtian Realm possessed two demigods [Dukes], nine eighth-rank [Marquises], and countless seventh-rank [Heavenly Guards]. They became the strongest pillars against the calamities of the Gray Realm... They recruited a large number of skilled divine cultivators, built extensive city walls, repaired the tracks of the realm train, and stabilized the chaos in the human world."

"At that time, everyone placed their hopes on the [Chengtian Realm], believing that the Ninth Lord would surely lead humanity to defeat the Gray Realm calamity and reclaim their homeland... Meanwhile, the other eight Lords were also growing rapidly, and everything was thriving."

"But what the emperor did next surprised everyone."

"He secretly guided the eight major bases and the last human leadership to push forward the hibernation plan. Just as the other eight rulers were about to fall into slumber, he suddenly launched a coup, wreaking havoc in the major bases and taking advantage of the panic and chaos to forcibly seize control of the eight major bases' governments..."

"Since the other seven lords had already entered a semi-dormant state, even if they could vaguely sense the situation outside, they could not easily wake up. After all, once they woke up, they would never be able to fall asleep again, and humanity would lose a place to live decades later... They could only watch helplessly as the base changed hands, and after being bound by some kind of shackle, they fell into a deep sleep and lost consciousness."

"But Lord Hongchen is an exception..."

"Just as she fell into a deep sleep, the Red Dust Base was hit by a nuclear explosion. The people who had just completed the coup were forced to release her from her dormant state. After the Red Dust Lord withstood the nuclear explosion, he was furious and killed all the Chengtian agents who had been hiding in the base."

"She originally wanted to seek an explanation from that emperor, but she was besieged by two demigods from the Chengtian Realm. In the end, the emperor, who had also stepped into the demigod realm, personally intervened and together they forcibly suppressed her."

"After suppressing Hongchenjun, they forcibly injected her with a sedative, but since they couldn't prolong her life, she only fell into a deep coma."

"That emperor seemed to have foreseen the future. He had the young chief disciple, who was still inexperienced at the time, brought to him and told him that if he wanted to save Hongchenjun's life, he would have to sacrifice himself by performing a human body embroidery. This was the only way to save her..."

"Although the chief hated the emperor to the core, he still did as he was told in order to save Lord Hongchen..."

"After that, the Chengtian Realm regained control of the Red Dust Base. They spent a long time building an insurmountable wall around the eight realms and named it 'The Prison'..."

"Then they continuously reinforced the concept of 'prison' among the people of the boundary, guiding them to leave the boundary and settle down in the outer city they built."

"As time went by, the inhabitants of those realms who once followed the Eight Lords of Faith died one after another. Their descendants gradually left their respective realms and became residents of the outer city. The Chengtian Realm held an increasingly important place in their hearts, and they paid less and less attention to the eight realms that had once protected them..."

"In a sense, the Chengtian Realm has successfully 'instrumentalized' the Eight Lords, using them only to maintain the realm... The original inhabitants of the eight realms have been spiritually assimilated by the Chengtian Realm. They do not understand the distinction between realms. In their eyes, they are just citizens of the Chengtian Realm in different cities."

On the painting in the second hall, a hand is depicted pointing to the mortal world beneath one's feet:

"now……"

"This mortal realm is nothing more than a 'ruins' that nobody cares about."