Chapter 498 - 497: Ambush

Chapter 498: Chapter 497: Ambush

The Curse Master quickly threw a small, half-palm-sized cloth doll from his pocket.

The doll transformed upon landing, growing to the height of a man. It was a Cyan Turban Warrior.

"Carry me!" The Curse Master was already severely injured, and casting another spell was like pouring salt on the wound. He coughed incessantly. "Quick, get going!"

Fortunately, the Puppet he summoned was at full strength. It immediately hoisted him onto its back and fled.

...

Hee Lingchuan’s eyes shot open as he sat up, startling the Soul-Catching Mirror by his pillow.

"You’re finally awake!" the Mirror sighed in relief.

It wasn’t that Hee Lingchuan enjoyed sleeping beside the thing, but he was in the habit of placing the Mirror facing outward. If anyone were to launch a sneak attack at night, they would be seen by the Mirror immediately.

It could sound an alarm and confuse enemies.

Hee Lingchuan grabbed the Mirror and got up, pulling on his boots as he snapped, "And you call yourself the Soul-Catching Mirror! A filthy thing invaded, so why didn’t you capture its soul? ’Forget capturing its soul, you couldn’t even block it?’"

"What thing?" The Mirror was confused. "I didn’t see anything come over."

"I don’t know. It was covered in faces and didn’t die even when I cut off its head. I was doing a mission in Ghost City when it suddenly emerged from the water and tried to kill me." Hee Lingchuan stated with certainty, "It must have come from the outside."

"Hiss... From your description, could it be a Nightmare?" The knowledgeable Mirror shimmered. "How did you manage to provoke something like that?"

"Two of them got in, and you didn’t notice?"

"Nightmares are only supposed to appear in dreams, right?" the Mirror cried, feeling wronged. "Where was I supposed to see it? I can’t catch it unless it runs into the Mirror on its own!"

Hee Lingchuan gave it a suspicious look.

Nightmares don’t exist in reality. In theory, the Mirror’s words were sound.

’But something still feels off, doesn’t it?’

"Did it get you?" the Mirror asked with great concern. "You don’t seem to have any new problems."

"No." Speaking of which, he suddenly remembered that the Grand Square Pot hadn’t blocked the monster either.

’How strange.’

But recalling how the giant red shadow and the Juluo Tree had dealt with the monster, he had a faint inkling as to why.

’Let them in to trap them like dogs?’

In any case, the monster failed to escape. It ended up being carved up by the Juluo Tree and the giant red shadow, leaving just a head for Hee Lingchuan as a souvenir.

The Mirror asked again, "So what happened to those two things?"

The fact that Hee Lingchuan had woken up meant the other party had been the unlucky one.

To be honest, although it hadn’t seen the Nightmare arrive, it had felt it.

But the Mirror didn’t dare make a peep.

That thing specialized in destroying people’s Dream Realms, and its Soul Village was very similar to a Dream Realm. Currently, it was in a shattered, unrepaired state. If a Nightmare got inside and went on a rampage, it would be well and truly finished.

So, when the Nightmare passed by, it had no choice but to pretend it was an ordinary mirror.

"Ghost City ate them," Hee Lingchuan said as he climbed out the window and ran west. "What kind of monster is a Nightmare, anyway?"

’Eaten...’ The Soul-Catching Mirror, which had been gloating, shivered. ’Looks like my luck wasn’t so bad back then, huh?’

"You don’t know?" It was first amazed, then speechless. "You didn’t even know what it was, and you still managed to turn the tables and kill it! Sigh, Ghost City is way too good to you."

"Cut the crap." After its short seclusion, this damn mirror seemed to have gotten even chattier, but Hee Lingchuan could automatically tune it out.

"You know of the Nightmare?" The Mirror was still its knowledgeable self. "It’s also called the Night Patrol Deity."

Hee Lingchuan recalled the monster head’s shock and lament, "You’re clearly sleeping, so why aren’t you in your Dreamland?" Obviously, it thought it had entered Hee Lingchuan’s Dream Realm.

"These things appeared a long, long time ago; their origins are unknown. One theory is that they are also formed from fragments of a person’s Divine Soul, but they feed on the Essence, Qi, and Spirit of ordinary people. If a victim dies in their dream, they also die in reality. Later, some Curse Masters found a way to communicate with them, because killing someone in a dream leaves no trace—the victim simply never wakes up, with no wounds on their body and no discernible cause of death."

’Never wakes up?’ Hee Lingchuan’s heart skipped a beat. ’Where have I heard that before?’

"Don’t just give me hearsay. Do you have anything more concrete?"

’Heh, you have high standards.’ "I do. As it happens, my work is similar to a Nightmare’s, so I know it has two ways of attacking: either it pulls you into its world, or it invades your Dream Realm and turns it into a nightmare."

’This thing can alter its prey’s Dream Realm?’ Hee Lingchuan had a revelation. No wonder that Nightmare was so surprised when it couldn’t change the environment in the cavern.

Panlong City wasn’t even Hee Lingchuan’s home turf, so how could it let the Nightmare alter it at will?

"Is a Nightmare’s ability to create nightmares very powerful?"

"Of course!" said the Mirror. "Even though it’s your dream, a Nightmare can turn it into its own home turf. Only by subjecting you to endless nightmares can it drain your essence and weaken your Divine Soul in boundless fear, before finally devouring you."

It seemed that after breaking into Panlong City, the Nightmare had never been able to use its strongest abilities.

Hee Lingchuan recalled the enormous Nightmare that had appeared underwater.

Hee Lingchuan and the Juluo Tree had killed its Clone, so the main body had come for revenge personally.

Even though it wasn’t its home turf and it hadn’t had time to change the environment, Hee Lingchuan knew from the first clash that he was no match for it.

’The pressure that ghostly thing exuded was intense.’

But it was a case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Before the fiend could even display its power, it was taken out in one fell swoop by the giant red shadow that arrived right after.

Hee Lingchuan ran quickly, crossing three hundred zhang in the time it took to talk with the Mirror, before arriving at his destination:

The Tongfu Inn.

Someone like him, arriving full of fury to take revenge, naturally wouldn’t use the main entrance. Instead, he sent a blast of palm wind to shatter a wooden window and started by tossing a fragrant ball inside.

The thing was colorless and formless, but its stench was overpowering. Basically, no creature with a nose could stand it.

A Curse Master was still human and couldn’t escape a physiological reaction.

Sure enough, a roar echoed from inside the room, and two figures burst out through the window. They were enraged.

’Huh, two of them?’

Hee Lingchuan first saw a man charge out the window, swinging three swift axe strikes right at him.

His speed was incredible. Hee Lingchuan had barely blinked before the man was on him, a white-glowing axe swinging horizontally for his neck.

’So fast!’

Hee Lingchuan raised his blade to block.

CLANG! CLANG! Two more followed in quick succession, meeting speed with speed.

The opponent’s three wild axe swings were like a tempest. His aura locked down the space all around Hee Lingchuan, leaving no room for retreat or evasion. He could only meet them head-on.

The sharp aura extending from the axe blade was less than a foot long, yet it was so condensed it seemed solid.

It wasn’t that the man lacked the power to extend it further, but that this length was the most lethal, no different from the axe blade itself.

Thanks to his experience from the fierce battles on the plateau, Hee Lingchuan leaned back and ducked his head.

The wind from the axe grazed past his Adam’s apple, missing his vital point by a mere half-inch!

It had been a long time since he’d faced such a ferocious opponent.

The second axe aimed for his heart, the third for the crown of his head.

The opponent’s furious aura surged over him, making Hee Lingchuan feel as if he weren’t facing a living person, but an onrushing avalanche, or a cannonball just fired from the cannons of Panlong City!

Anyone with slightly less Daoist Practice would have been instantly suppressed by such a powerful pressure and immediately beheaded.

Fortunately, Hee Lingchuan’s blade skills had been honed amidst turbulent waves, giving him a deeper understanding of auras than the average person.

Besides, he had witnessed even stronger, more ferocious attacks.

The True Power from his two Dantians circulated wildly, allowing him to forcibly withstand these opening Three Axes.

At this point, he also discovered that the wind from the opponent’s axe carried fine ice crystals, like snow or powder. They were unnoticeable at first glance, but a glacial chill spread wherever they landed on his body, which immediately began to stiffen...

These ice crystals had a slowing effect. A few more and he’d probably be shivering from the cold.

After taking all three axe strikes, Hee Lingchuan had used up twenty percent of his True Power. His arms ached, and a cut had even split open the Tiger’s Mouth of his left hand.

The opponent also seemed a little surprised, letting out a soft "Oh?"

’After taking his three Tornado Axe strikes, this kid is still standing, and his weapon is still intact?’

Just then, the second dark figure arrived.

It had intended to come through the wooden window, but its body was too massive. With a BANG, it burst through the window frame, even smashing a large hole in the wall before it could charge toward Hee Lingchuan.

Although its presence was overwhelming, it wasn’t as fast as its companion. Hee Lingchuan got a clear look at its form.

It was, shockingly, a Giant Bear.

When on all fours, its shoulder height was nearly six chi, taller than an average man. From the front, it was as round as a battering ram.

The entire building trembled as it ran.

’What would happen if this thing stood up?’

Hee Lingchuan already found it difficult to fight the man in front of him; what would happen if a Giant Bear joined the fray?

The opponent naturally sensed his predicament, and the light of his axe flared once more.

The Giant Bear pounced as well, about to flank him.

It loved bullying opponents like this. A few times, it had ganged up with its companion and smashed their enemies into meat paste.

’So satisfying.’

At that moment, however, Hee Lingchuan suddenly dropped with a WHOOSH.

They had been fighting on the roof. The Tongfu Inn’s construction quality was quite good; otherwise, how could the roof have withstood a Violent Bear’s frantic charge?

In truth, it was the battle between Hee Lingchuan and his opponent that had placed the heaviest burden on it.

All Hee Lingchuan had to do was kick out, and that section of the roof collapsed, sending wood and tiles crashing down to the floor below with a RATTLE.

The man and the bear fell down with it.

But Hee Lingchuan, in mid-air, shot out a hand. A Sleeve Arrow shot out with a FFFT and embedded itself in a wooden beam on the opposite side.

He used the momentum to pull himself away, narrowly escaping the opponent’s axe. With a few more leaps and bounds, he easily landed on the beam.

In the blink of an eye, the man and the bear landed on the ground.

The falling debris naturally couldn’t harm them. Hee Lingchuan personally saw a wooden beam fall toward the man, who didn’t even bother to dodge, simply taking it on his shoulder.

With a BANG, the beam snapped in two. The man brushed the wood chips off his shoulder.

’What a tyrannical body, what powerful True Power.’

"Who are you?" Hee Lingchuan scrutinized his two opponents. "Why did you put a curse on me?"

This man was taller than him, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, his face full of ruthlessness. He also wore an eyepatch over his right eye.

He was a killer at a glance. Hee Lingchuan couldn’t mistake the chilling killing intent radiating from him.

’How many people did he have to kill to cultivate such a murderous aura?’

’But can a person like this also be skilled in Curse Arts?’ He was highly skeptical.

The man raised his axe and tapped his chest. "United Guard, Fanx Sheng."

The Giant Bear also spoke. "United Guard, Fanx Bao."

’Different species with the same surname?’ Hee Lingchuan tilted his head. "Are you two brothers?"