Chapter 342: Sacrifice Ceremony
At this moment, as they watched my departing figure, they felt a mix of emotions.
Though we had only exchanged a few simple words, they sensed a considerable gap. The self-proclaimed apprentices and scholars they encountered along the way showed great respect for them as outsiders. Even in casual chats, there was mention of Xiao Han, and the looks in their eyes were unmistakable.
They instinctively felt that they were impressive, with some even wanting to ask them highly specialized questions, which startled them into quickly waving their hands to decline.
As they wanted to continue forward, however, they were stopped by the security personnel at the base.
“Sorry, ladies, ahead is a restricted area. If you don’t have the corresponding permissions, you cannot enter.”
“Eh?” The group stopped in surprise but soon expressed their understanding.
After all, the base wasn’t a place for outsiders to stroll around. Many areas were classified at high secrecy levels and even dangerous, with no entry allowed without the proper clearance.
“Eh? But you shouldn’t be able to stop us, right? What would you do if outsiders tried to force their way in?” At this moment, the talkative Aiko curiously asked.
“This question… sorry, if we can’t stop them, we will immediately report it and place them on the Extraordinary Research Base blacklist. Even the entire Underground City won’t welcome them, and we would unite with other outsiders to expel them. Of course, if the intruder causes serious consequences, the higher-ups might inform Scholar Xiao Han. Given her rigorous attitude towards knowledge and research, I believe she wouldn’t just stand by.”
“Eh, inform Sister Xiao Han?”
“Yes, are you friends with Scholar Xiao Han?”
“Of course! I’ve fought alongside Sister Xiao Han, and we’re quite good friends!” Aiko proudly patted her somewhat flat chest.
“So it’s that kind of relationship. However, I’m sorry, you still can’t enter this area. This is a highly scaled containment area constructed with the participation of Scholar Xiao Han, and the danger level is very high. Without special authorization, we cannot allow passage.”
“Eh?” Aiko didn’t expect that this would be such a problem. It seemed there was no hope.
However, the more they insisted, the more curious they became, especially understanding that this was a containment area. What kind of things were contained here to deserve such high-level treatment?
“Um… may I ask what exactly is contained in here?”
“It contains most of the nightmares that have appeared in the Underground City to date.”
“Eh? You’re revealing this so easily to us?!”
“This is not classified information. If you really want to know, you can inquire around the base or directly ask Scholar Xiao Han, and you can find out. However, I can’t disclose any deeper information, and please, don’t break in.”
In the end, Tan Han and her group didn’t press further; after all, damaging their reputation would bring them no benefits.
With the recent influx of outsiders, those scholars and technicians in the base were naturally the most excited. However, after interacting with the newcomers for some time, their enthusiasm waned significantly. They also understood one thing: not all outsiders were as impressive as Scholar Xiao Han.
Since they weren’t on the same level, there was no need to treat them kindly. The scholars’ attitude of being unapproachable and their strange tempers soon surfaced, mostly manifesting as ignoring the outsiders, as they held a superior position in the academic hierarchy.
Many scholars evaluated these outsiders as feeling inferior… to the apprentices of the base.
“Uh… wow, those scholars really changed their faces too quickly, right? I’m curious how Sister Xiao Han navigated through such an environment. When they mentioned her, they all showed such respect.”
After leaving the base, Aiko kicked a stone by the roadside in frustration. After all, she was a student of the Dwarven Academy, and the temperament of dwarves was not always forgiving.
Moreover, her mastery of dwarven forging skills was evaluated as merely blacksmithing! If she hadn’t yet learned more advanced forging techniques at the academy, she would have really wanted to slap them in the face!
“Maybe that’s Xiao Han’s charm? Besides… even if they don’t say anything, we should know very well: if we also had the ability to capture nightmares and contain and research them, we might gain similar treatment.” Tan Han said with a smile.
“Capturing nightmares… I can definitely k*ll them, it’s just a bit troublesome… how could I possibly capture them alive? Nightmares don’t have physical bodies; they’re quite cunning!”
“Exactly! And don’t forget, the Ground Patrol Team is equipped with a weapon called the I-type Nightmare Killer. Maybe that’s also a product of researching nightmares…”
“The Nightmare Killer… Oh! The batch that Ninglan Qiuyue brought from the Underground City seems to indeed include this… I’m envious… how come Sister Xiao Han knows everything?”
……
As the large light-blocking cloth obscured the radiance emanating from the Earth Vein, the Underground City entered nightfall.
After leaving the base, I initially intended to return, but after some consideration, I decided against heading back immediately.
One point was very clear: Ninglan Qiuyu and the Dream Demons were indeed colluding. The likelihood of those three Dream Demons all lying was quite low. Furthermore, since there was a Dream Demon on Ninglan Qiuyu, this only strengthened my conviction.
Moreover, before nightfall, the City Guard had retreated to the surface, beginning preparations for the inauguration speech of the new City Lord. However, the protagonist, Ninglan Qiuyu, did not join them. Coupled with Ninglan Qiuyu’s ambition to unify the surface and underground and his control over the means to summon Dream Demons, it was easy to speculate what he might do.
Now, the only uncertainty was the form in which he would introduce disaster into the Underground City.
But one thing could be confirmed: this Ninglan Qiuyu had already begun to act impatiently, coincidentally just as I was about to go back and rest, leading to my stumbling upon him not far from the base.
The area I currently stood in was precisely where they had been earlier.
They had left a very complex pattern here, a bl**d-red design, clearly a kind of magical formation or possibly a ritual made using bl**d.
I sensed the unique aura of extraordinary power belonging to the Dream Demons but felt even more prominently the fluctuations of Soul Material.
This implied that conducting this bloody ritual indicated that at least one, if not more, individuals had already died.
“What the hell is this… a tool for summoning Dream Demons?” I frowned as I examined the complex arrangement and combination of runes. This was a rune combination I had never seen before, so I was unclear on its exact effects.
Perhaps earlier, I might have been troubled by this, but not now.
After all, I had teleported my main body here, so I had everything I needed.
Subsequently, I took out a portable Earth Vein Operating System from my storage preparation.
It seemed I hadn’t used it for a while, but given the proximity to the Earth Vein, it started up quickly. Simulating the possible effects of this ritual using the system was refreshingly easy.
Of course, I could use the Dream Rewriting Spell to replicate it within the Dream World, but I feared unexpected occurrences; what if I accidentally summoned a Dream Demon?
Therefore, it was safer to simulate it with the Earth Vein Operating System, and it conveniently allowed for a backup; primarily, it was just easier.
After some operations, I finally got this ritual successfully running on the Earth Vein System. Through the system’s analysis, it seemed to form a sacrifice ceremony. Parts of the structure indicated it was a component of a large-scale ritual since this independent ritual was incomplete and seemed to have structures for linkage with other rituals.
But one point could be confirmed: sacrificing flesh and Soul Material to summon an unknown entity was all the Earth Vein Operating System provided as possibilities.
“Sacrificing… flesh and Soul Material, Ninglan Qiuyu is planning something big.” After realizing this, a cold sweat broke out on my back. Although I didn’t like those ordinary people in the Underground City, I certainly hadn’t planned to eliminate them until now. Unlike Ninglan Qiuyu, who had no grievances with these people and directly sentenced them to d*ath to use as expendables.
“Oh? Isn’t that Miss Yang Yuelan? I truly didn’t expect to meet you here.”
A sudden voice came from behind me; it was none other than the Ninglan Qiuyu I thought had gone far away.
“Hmm? Indeed.” I put away the Earth Vein Operating System and turned my attention to Ninglan Qiuyu. I didn’t feel like I had exposed myself that quickly, but I still didn’t understand why they were attacking with a counterstrike.
Unless… they knew I was tracking them.
But how could that be possible?
“May I ask if Miss Yang Yuelan can pretend that nothing happened?” Ninglan Qiuyu instinctively touched his pendant, which resembled the one Ninglan Qiuyue had. I sensed the aura of a Dream Demon coming from it.
“Of course, I can’t be bothered with your troubles.”
“Haha, it seems you really are the outsider who can detect Dream Demons. It appears my assessment of you wasn’t mistaken.”
“Are you planning to confront me?” I had thought they would let it go this time; unexpectedly, it was my unpredictable actions that prompted them to confront me first.
“You could say that. The Dream Demon residing in Ninglan Qiuyue was killed by you?”
“What else would it be?”
“I see you haven’t shown any signs of surprise. Haven’t you already suspected me?”
“Hmm.”
“Then why don’t you expose me?”
“Because I can’t be bothered with your troubles.”
Moreover, I had already relayed this matter to the higher-ups at the base, but from the demeanor on the other side, it didn’t seem… like he had communicated with them.
“You may not care, but I can’t treat you as if I didn’t see you.”
“Oh?” I glanced at Ninglan Qiuyu and his two bodyguards. I sensed the aura of Dream Demons from one of his bodyguards, indicating that the Dream Demon had directly occupied their bodies. Dream Demons had such means?
Plus, the Dream Demon had previously even demonstrated methods similar to nightmares by pulling the consciousness of the City Guard into the Dream World, indicating that this Dream Demon’s abilities were even more terrifying than I had imagined.
But watching them approach me so recklessly, I confirmed one more thing: the higher-ups at the base had not revealed my strength to him, nor… my ability to interfere with both the Dream World and reality.
Is this all they had?
How dare they?
“Do you see me as a thorn in your side?”
“Of course. I began to take you seriously when I learned you can detect traces of Dream Demons. I even started to be wary of all outsiders. But after testing, it seems you are the only special one. That simplifies things.”
“Oh, so this elaborate plan is to eliminate me?”
“Elaborate plan?” Ninglan Qiuyu’s mouth curved into a mysterious smile, “How could it be an elaborate plan? Dealing with you is just a bonus…”
“Mainly to sacrifice the civilians here?” I preempted him.
Although it was phrased as a question, my tone was quite certain.
“Haha… those guys at the base hold you in high esteem. It seems you are indeed knowledgeable; you even understand the methods of Dream Demons. It seems there is indeed an unusual connection between you outsiders and Dream Demons?”
“Think whatever you like, but don’t associate me with those disgusting beings,” I whispered, and seeing the two bodyguards gradually approaching, I put my Spellbook in an active state, ready to take them down at any moment, “Besides… who gave you the confidence to think you could take me down with just two Dream Demons?”
“Wouldn’t you know if we didn’t try?”
Just as the other party smiled and said this, two concentrated Fireball Spells shot through the foreheads of those two men. Even though I knew these two were merely puppets controlled by Dream Demons and were innocent, I wouldn’t show mercy at this moment.
With two thuds, the two men collapsed, and even the two Dream Demons controlling them died entirely under the powerful and sudden magic. The compressed exploding Fireball ignited their bodies in an instant, and the next moment, the bodies that fell to the ground turned to charred remains.
In that moment, the smile on Ninglan Qiuyu’s face froze, fear began to grow in his shrinking pupils.
Did he dare to personally summon Dream Demons to eliminate me, relying on the belief that outsiders trapped in the Dream World couldn’t harm him?
He looked at the charred remains on the ground; those were living individuals just like him, who existed in reality!
Instinctively, Ninglan Qiuyu’s body began to tremble uncontrollably, a desperate reaction from someone used to a life of luxury in the face of d*ath. Fear had fully taken over his body; the burnt smell from the two bodies stimulated his nostrils and made him realize he had picked the wrong person to provoke.
In the next moment, he buckled at the knees and knelt on the ground.
“Don’t… don’t k*ll me…” he pleaded in a trembling voice, his posture submissive as if he wanted to burrow into the ground.
“Eh… had I known it would come to this, why bother…” I sighed, contemplating how to handle this situation, when Ninglan Qiuyu’s body suddenly erupted with a powerful aura. A dark energy slowly emanated from his body, and at that moment, Ninglan Qiuyu’s limbs tightened, muscles bulging, tearing apart his clothing.
At that instant, the Dream Demon within the pendant also made its appearance.
“You should accept the blessings of the Abyss. Only by possessing strength do you have the right to become the new king of Ninglan New City, as your formerly frail body was merely your shackles.”
“Thanks to you as well.” The Dream Demon spoke, turning its gaze to me.
I wasn’t polite and immediately shot back with a Fireball Spell.
Swish—!
The other party raised a hand and conjured a shield to block the attack effortlessly.
“Don’t show off such petty tricks in front of me; they might work on my clones, but…”
“Clones?!”
