Chapter 332: The Fortune Protection Gathered in Ninglan New City
Fear and anxiety are instinctive emotions that arise when a person faces the unknown, essentially fearing two things: d*ath and a life worse than d*ath.
Playing with a Dream Demon in the Dream World might be the funniest joke. After an initial state of confusion, the other party quickly realized that the problem and predicament she faced were merely the Dream World itself, and the master of manipulating dreams was the Dream Demon herself.
Upon realizing this, she began her counterattack.
“Impossible! How could you possibly master the power of dreams! This can’t be! I must be dreaming… there’s no way I could lose to a witch in this matter!”
Once we both held the same abilities, the next competition was about our tactics and tricks, but it’s clear that the other party had never dealt with me before.
And here she howled like a defeated dog.
“Well, maybe you’ve seen too little.” I casually remarked before getting serious; after all, I didn’t have much time to play with a Dream Demon. “My patience is wearing thin.”
In the next moment, I delivered a heavy blow to the Dream Demon, shattering her Dream World. She collapsed to the ground like a dead dog, as her energy had been drained too much, leaving her in such a predicament.
In the Dream World, she couldn’t defeat me, and in reality, because she had exhausted so much energy, she couldn’t even pass the security here. Frequent travels between reality and dreams had already proven to be a significant drain on the Dream Demon, and that was my intention.
“So, are you interested in chatting with me now?” At this moment, I stood in front of the Dream Demon and asked.
“What… what do you want to ask…?”
“The purpose of your coming here.”
“Of course, it’s to use this as a springboard to invade your Main World… Why shouldn’t we share a piece of such a great place like the Main World? Moreover, we’re here to seize your Fortune. You natives probably don’t even know what Fortune is, right? A bunch of puppets manipulated by a script. Your strength is so great; you must be the Child of Fortune. To tell you the truth, your encounter has long been predetermined, yet you foolishly think it was an accident!”
“Oh.”
“Oh? That’s your reaction? Do you even know what this signifies! It means you are merely… merely a tool that is being played with! Your fate is controlled by others, and everything about you is not your own will! You are not living for yourself!”
“Of course I know what a script is, what a Child of Fortune is. I also know that you are one of the lower-tier beings among Abyss Demons, right? Is the strength of the Extraordinary Races just this much? How do you sleep at night?”
At this moment, the Dream Demon was left at a loss for words after my barrage of remarks. This was completely different from the intelligence she knew! Where was the so-called stupid native of the Main World?
Where was the so-called ignorance?
“Moreover, there’s one thing you guessed wrong. I’m not a Child of Fortune; I don’t think highly of that so-called Fortune. What you mentioned has nothing to do with me.”
“And let me reiterate my question: What is your purpose in coming here!? This Underground City—why are you here? Is there any other Dream Demon that came down besides you?”
“What?”
“Not going to say, huh? Looks like I’m going to have to apply a little more pressure.” I said while pretending to use my ability, immediately intimidating the Dream Demon.
“Don’t! Don’t! I’ll tell you!”
“Tsk… even a Dream Demon is afraid of d*ath?” I scoffed, reminding me of the Dream Demon I killed before, who was quite tough.
“Speak quickly.”
“Just one! Only me!”
“And what next? Your purpose.”
“To investigate the situation in the Underground City. The City Lord has controlled it too tightly; we can’t find any opportunity to come down.”
“Oh? Aren’t you Dream Demons supposed to have many tricks? How could this be difficult for you?”
“We… didn’t initially notice the Underground City. Later, when we did pay attention, the passage to this place had already been sealed off. The City Lord also doesn’t allow us to interfere with the Underground City…”
“Oh? You even fear that City Lord?” I raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
“Fear? No way! We just worry that the guy won’t listen…”
“Won’t listen… oh… since you want that City Lord to listen, then what’s your plan?”
“You think I would tell you?”
“Mm~ suddenly becoming tough? Is this a matter of principle?”
“k*ll me, if you can! Go ahead and k*ll me! I won’t tell you anything about these questions! k*ll… ugh!” At this moment, the Dream Demon widened her eyes, her body in the Dream World pierced by my attack. Her expression was one of shock that I really did k*ll her again.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard such a strange request; I’ll grant it.” I watched as she slowly collapsed, her expression of disbelief never fading until her body dissipated into nothingness.
But that’s fine, I still have the Resurrection Spell, right?
Watching as the Dream Demon revived once more, a chilling smile crept onto my face. “Congratulations on achieving this in your life: dying twice.”
“You!”
“Come try my techniques; here you can’t escape the laboratory, nor life and d*ath. Speak early to be reborn, understand? Hehe.”
“I don’t believe it! The Resurrection Spell… how could it be used so many times by a native of the Main World! But you won’t pry a word from me!”
“Then let’s see.”
My grim voice echoed in the Dream Demon’s ears as I decisively killed her again—once, twice, three times…
As soon as she entered reality, I would drag her consciousness into the Dream World and torture her. After all, I didn’t know if I could still take advantage of resurrecting her after killing her in reality.
Thus, torture, k*ll, and revive…
Once.
Ten times.
Thirty times…
“Demon! Don’t come near! You are worse than those demons from the Abyss!”
“Thank you for the compliment, but if you can speak clearly, then… continue to d*e for me!”
“Stop!”
In the end, this shout seemed to exhaust her last ounce of strength.
She collapsed to the ground, her mind devoid of the energy to ponder why I could use the Resurrection Spell so many times.
“Speak.”
I simply uttered a word, my tone laced with an undeniable quality, making the Dream Demon on the ground tremble.
“You… you ask…”
“Oh?” I looked at this pitiful Dream Demon, had she forgotten the question we just talked about?
“Then I’ll ask again with great mercy: What plan do you have to control the City Lord?”
“Complete the Destruction Ceremony, forcibly seize the protective Fortune of Ninglan New City…”
“Elaborate on what the Destruction Ceremony is?” I asked calmly, though I was somewhat surprised to hear this answer. These Dream Demons were no longer satisfied with the Fortune from Nightmares?
The Fortune of a Nightmare was a substantial amount from the last script node, not lacking at all.
It seems that their greedy nature knows no limits; there is only more.
“Primarily… primarily focused on the destruction of Ninglan New City… we need a change in the City Lord within the city… Fortune must circulate, the new City Lord must ascend to the position in front of the public… then the Sacrifice Ceremony will be used to sacrifice the new City Lord and forcibly seize the protective Fortune…”
“Oh, I see… then, that fellow named Ninglan Qiuyu revolting and killing his father was also orchestrated by you?”
“Yes… yes…”
“Truly splendid… then how many of you Dream Demons have come?”
“I don’t know…”
“Don’t know? Roughly?”
“Not really sure… we… are unaware of how many of us have come; we were just… forced to come by higher-level demons…”
“Tsk… what else do you know? Spill it all.” Since they brought up the high-ranking demons, I presumed they truly did not know. Just like me, I also had no idea how many people were affected by this Nightmare incident, because I simply didn’t care.
“I… really don’t know anymore…”
“Being stubborn will come at a price.”
However, after my torturous interrogation, the Dream Demon yielded no useful information. All that remained was numbness; at this moment, d*ath and a life worse than d*ath held no meaning for her.
Although I also wanted to bring this fellow to the Extraordinary Research Base for everyone to research together, trapping a Dream Demon was far more challenging than trapping a Nightmare, and without me, they wouldn’t even know if they could contain this creature. So to be cautious, ultimately, I decided to k*ll her completely again, not using the Resurrection Spell, even erasing the information she held in the Dream World.
Such a Dream Demon had no chance of resurrection left, as the Resurrection Spell required a target. Otherwise, to resurrect without a target would not be resurrection; it would be creating life.
However… if that’s the case, doesn’t the resurrection and the ultimate topic of creating life in the Alchemy field have some connection?
There should also be differences, as resurrection brings an existing life back to its original state, while creating life involves a higher level altogether.
Even leading Fool Dream to become a true life, fundamentally, this process cannot truly be called creating life.
After using the Resurrection Spell so many times, I also gained some insights. Looking at the spot where the Dream Demon had vanished, I took out that Resurrection Spell Spellbook.
Then, taking advantage of this moment, I violently dismantled the Spellbook.
Removing those unnecessary structures and the real editorial framework of the Spellbook that had no effect on me, I left behind the essence of the Resurrection Spell’s ritual and runes.
In the end, I was shocked to discover… the runes involved in this Resurrection Spell… were so simple that all the runes were recorded in my Memory Shelf Spellbook!
“This… how is this possible?”
The Resurrection Spell… it’s the Resurrection Spell! Shouldn’t such a technique be more difficult, requiring a person to spend a lifetime researching it?
Or is it true that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, and perhaps I was overthinking everything?
Or is… everything part of the Academy Head’s plan?
I quickly recorded the original runes and spell rituals from the Resurrection Spell Spellbook in their entirety into my Memory Shelf Spellbook, and then the Resurrection Spell Spellbook completely collapsed in the Dream World.
This is the price or consequence of violently tearing apart a Spellbook, which is why I usually attempt this in the Dream World; I can’t afford to do this in reality.
I had acquired the ritual of the Resurrection Spell. Later, I would cross-reference it with the content of those runes recorded in the Memory Shelf and see if I could piece together the secrets of the Resurrection Spell. At the very least, I should understand the principles involved, right?
However, this matter cannot be hurried, and every piece of information obtained from that Dream Demon is a gain for me.
Those Dream Demons actually conspired for the Fortune of Ninglan New City, but thinking about it, it seems quite reasonable, as Ninglan New City was built on this wasteland, even the Academy Head called it a miracle. Plus, it seems to belong to the realm of the Main World, and it wouldn’t be strange to have the Fortune of the Main World.
Thinking this way, perhaps the initial City Lord of Ninglan truly had the potential to be a Child of Fortune, arising from Fortune and overcoming calamity. No one interfered with the Fortune or even the script here; Fortune is the original Fortune, a miracle formed by the hope of these lives for self-rescue.
If those Dream Demons were allowed to succeed, Ninglan New City would certainly face disaster.
Although I am unclear about what would happen if the Fortune is seized, it’s likely to have continued misfortunes year after year.
Sigh… I forgot to ask that Dream Demon before killing her. Even just to satisfy my curiosity, it would have been fine.
Recently, I have been spoiled by Teacher Ji and the Academy Head. I subconsciously want to learn more about the unknown.
This matter can be considered wrapped up; I opened the door to the laboratory but suddenly realized that the security measures at the Extraordinary Research Base seemed to have significantly increased.
“May I ask, what’s going on? Why are there so many guards here?”
“Scholar Xiao Han!” The person in charge of the security detail became serious upon seeing me. “Miss Ninglan Qiuyue previously reminded us of a possible Dream Demon invasion in the Underground City, so the base needed to strengthen security measures.”
“I see.” I nodded. It seems Ninglan Qiuyue is very cautious, even more than I expected. Even though I know this behavior offers no meaningful protection, I won’t say it out loud; providing psychological comfort to everyone is the reason they are holding their posts here.
After encouraging them a bit, I found a deserted area. The next moment, my body became ethereal, and then my entire form completely vanished from this place.
At the same time.
In my accommodation.
I suddenly opened my eyes, and my confused and vacant pupils gradually focused and became spirited.
“Xiao Han, you’re back?”
“Eh? Sister Bai! You really are always there by my side!” I immediately sat up, looking over at Sister Bai, wanting to give her a hug.
However, missing her at once brought a soft laugh from her.
“Don’t forget that you’re in reality.”
“Then this is fine~” In the next moment, I entered the Dream World again. My consciousness took the form of the Dream World and pounced on Sister Bai.
“Mm? Xiao Han, stop fooling around… eh?” Bai Yu chuckled as she pushed me away. She found herself not resisting such playful intimacy from Xiao Han, but while thinking this, she noticed that the version of Xiao Han in reality had not fallen asleep.
“Xiao… Xiao Han, did you succeed?”
“Sort of… but it’s still quite uncomfortable to divide my focus, and… it seems I can only use it in this special scenario where dreams invade reality. It feels like… I’m sleeping and dreaming while also being awake; maintaining it is somewhat tiring.” At this moment, both the version of me in the Dream World and the one in reality spoke simultaneously.
