Chapter 121: The Ninth Dream Entry
“Something’s wrong, there’s a problem somewhere......”
After waking in fright from three consecutive nightmares, Mo Lin finally realized that something strange was happening.
But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out exactly what was wrong.
In the first layer of dreamscape, “Ding Fan” looked at the pondering Mo Lin with some surprise:
“This is only the third death, and he’s already realized that something’s off?”
Just as he was about to wait for Mo Lin to fall asleep again under his psychological suggestion, turning into his subconscious for the fourth time to kill him again, Jingyue stopped his mental hint.
He rubbed the prayer beads in his hand:
“I didn’t expect that I underestimated this Anaconda Demon. It seems that being able to kill Wuzhen and Jingchen, both skilled in illusions, really means it has some ability.”
“Its soul power should be far higher than most demonic beasts of the same level.”
Jingyue pinched one of the beads:
“Hehe, but to merely be useful among Earth Rank demonic beasts is nothing worth mentioning. As long as one is caught by my Soul Arts, all Earth Ranks are no different before me.”
After the brief surprise, Jingyue increased the output of his Soul Arts. At once, Mo Lin within the first dreamscape felt drowsy again:
“Ah~ so sleepy~”
Watching Mo Lin eventually fall asleep again, “Ding Fan” transformed into another Taoist in robes:
“This time...... hmm, a Taoist called Gong Yang, is it?”
......
After being captured and killed by “Ding Fan,” Mo Lin had several more nightmares in succession.
In one, because he killed Gong Yang’s Black Jiangshi, Gong Yang led several Hair Jiangshi to pluck off all his scales and kill him.
In another, he was plotted against by the Black Bear, and after entering the Black Wind Stronghold, was slain by the joint hands of the Black Bear and the Eagle Demon.
In another, after killing Hong Tianfeng, he was hunted down and killed by Hong Wen, who swore vengeance.
In another, he was caught in the battle between Mountain Lord, Jingchen, and Zhu Dongfeng, and died from the aftermath.
In another, while seizing the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce’s Demonic Core, he was captured alive by the Prince of Jiyang, used to make a python robe, and died.
The unending nightmares made Mo Lin’s nerves increasingly fragile. Whether he was “dreaming” or waking back into “reality,” he always felt like he couldn’t breathe.
Mo Lin wanted to resist sleeping, to avoid falling into nightmares, but he could never withstand the overwhelming drowsiness. Each time he fell back asleep, only after being killed in a nightmare would he “wake up.”
And so, Mo Lin entered the “double dreamscape” for the ninth time.
The “Prince of Jiyang” appeared beside Mo Lin, gently stroking his scales, as if bidding farewell to an old friend of many years, and softly sighed:
“Amitabha......”
“Though this poor monk excels in Soul Arts and delights in killing within dreams, each time I enter a dream, I must personally experience what each of you has once lived.”
“This gives me an illusion of having accompanied each of you through half a lifetime.”
“Whenever this poor monk is about to send one away, I actually feel a sorrow, as though parting from a dear friend.”
“But this feeling, in the end, is but flowers in a mirror, moonlight on water, an illusion after all.”
As the “Prince of Jiyang” spoke with emotion, his form slowly changed, finally revealing himself as Jingyue of the White Horse Temple.
His appearance was no longer as energetic as at first, but rather weary. Clearly, even for Jingyue, entering dreams to slay the serpent eight times in succession had taken its toll:
“You, as a Anaconda Demon, to endure eight times of ‘double dreamscape,’ that alone is enough to astonish this poor monk. Among the hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts this poor monk has guided in dreams, you rank in the top three.”
“But it ends here. No one has ever awoken from this poor monk’s ninth dreamscape. Anaconda Demon, let this poor monk send you on your final journey, fulfilling my duty as a half-lifetime companion.”
“Do not fear death. Death is not the end, but merely another form of beginning.”
With that said, Jingyue began his ninth transformation, ultimately taking on the form of “Dong Li,” and slipped into Mo Lin’s ninth dreamscape.
This time, once Mo Lin died in the dream, he would never wake again.
......
“Cough cough...... Anaconda Demon......”
Inside the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce, within the “Yisi” room, Ning Zhuo’s bloodshot eyes stared at him. His large hands were gripping Mo Lin’s tail.
Between him and Mo Lin, there was another figure—his daughter, Ning Ruirui.
But at this moment, his Ruirui had been pierced through together with him by Mo Lin’s tail.
Looking at the father and daughter strung before him, Mo Lin instinctively tossed them into his mouth, as though killing and devouring had already become his instinct.
But halfway through the action, Mo Lin suddenly forced down this instinct.
The scales atop his head twitched, and his expression grew confused:
“Wait, why do I always swallow corpses into my belly each time? There’s no real reason for that, is there? Is it supposed to be destroying the evidence?”
While Mo Lin was still pondering, he heard sounds outside the “Yisi” room:
“Chu Huai? Brother Ning Zhuo? Haven’t you finished yet? Where are you?”
Mo Lin recognized the voice—it was Lin Rui, a lower Earth Rank martial artist who guarded the resource warehouse for the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce. He must have noticed Ning Zhuo and the others were taking too long inside, so he came looking.
Mo Lin regretfully glanced at the various resources stored in the “Yisi” room:
“What a pity. If I could devour all of this like last time, it would be great......”
Just as he muttered his regret, he froze again:
“Last time? Why did I say last time? Could it be that I’ve already devoured these things once before?”
“And why would I devour these things? They’re all minerals and such—what use would they have for me?”
A wave of discord welled up inside Mo Lin’s heart.
At this time, Lin Rui’s voice grew closer and more urgent outside:
“Where have you all gone? Are you in the ‘Yisi’ room?”
Outside the door, Lin Rui seemed to place his hand on the doorknob, about to push it open.
Seeing this, Mo Lin no longer had time to think. He had to decide immediately—kill Lin Rui, or flee.
With his current strength, it was obvious that leaving quietly, without drawing the attention of the other members of the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce, was the wisest choice.
Mo Lin reluctantly looked at the resources around him:
“If only I could use that move, then I could risk it once more. That move ‘......’, what was it called again?”
Mo Lin shook his head.
He felt as if he had forgotten something very important, something that would lead him to make a different choice.
The sense of discord in his heart grew stronger.
Lin Rui pushed the door open and entered. Mo Lin quickly hid in a corner. Without “......,” he did not plan to linger in the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce.
Once Lin Rui left the room, he would leave as well.
But unexpectedly, as if granted clairvoyance, Lin Rui turned left and right, walking straight toward Mo Lin’s hiding spot.
Finally, he stopped before Mo Lin, pupils shrinking, and activated the alarm talisman in his hand:
“Enemy attack!!!”