CHAPTER 512: DREAM DEMON

Allen was a female servant in the City Lord’s mansion; her parents had sold her to traffickers when she was six years old.

Because of her pretty looks, she eventually ended up in the City Lord’s mansion, serving as a maid for guests.

She was now twenty years old.

Ever since she could remember, she had always been busy, flattering others, and struggling for food, drink, and survival.

Looking back carefully now, it seemed there had never been any good times in her brief memories of over a decade.

She didn’t understand what ’happiness’ meant.

Until now!

Walking quickly along the familiar ’passageway,’ a smile unconsciously appeared on Allen’s face.

What is happiness? Not having to worry about food or drink, not having to fear the bullying or exploitation of others, having endless exotic delicacies to enjoy, being able to drink when thirsty and sleep on a well-made, soft bed when tired, just like those I once served. And even having handsome young men to play and frolic with.

"This is the Illusory Immortal Realm!"

"Enter the Immortal Realm, and you shall remain youthful and immortal, able to enjoy the world’s splendor to your heart’s content."

An ethereal voice arose from ahead:

"Come in here, and the suffering of the mortal world will completely leave you, leaving only endless pleasure."

WHOOSH...

The end of the ’passageway’ was a water curtain.

Allen hastened her steps, letting the water curtain wash over her body as she stepped into a grand hall.

The coarse hemp clothes she wore had somehow transformed into soft, pure white, and smooth silk.

The calluses on her hands and the grime under her feet had vanished; her skin was as soft as a newborn baby’s.

The floor beneath her was paved with gold and jade, the walls on either side adorned with pearls. Nearby streams flowed with ambrosia, while trees bore fruit of soft bread and delectable pastries...

The sky was a brilliant blue; the air was fresh.

Couches were readily available for lounging, and with a mere stretch of her hand, she could pick dates that were once far beyond her reach.

"Allen!"

A group of handsome young men hurried over.

"You’re here! Come on, we’ve found a great place for hide-and-seek in the back hall, and we were just missing you."

"Hehe..." Allen approached with a laugh, taking the young men’s hands and sprinting towards the back hall, her movements lively, filled with joyous energy.

A palm-sized, transparent squid fell from behind her, its tentacles, covered in eyes and serrations, waving as if deep in thought.

The ’Illusory Immortal Realm’? So they’ve created this dreamscape and brought all the sleeping citizens of the City of Death here? Quite a clever trick!

He also had the ability to create Illusion Realms with his spiritual power and had even set up a soul cage around the periphery of the Divine Domain Fragment.

However, he couldn’t make an Illusion Realm so realistic, nor could he accommodate so many people within one.

A Dream Demon! No wonder Mei Weiya had no way to deal with it. This thing hides in other people’s dreams. It can’t be killed unless its true body is found!

Carl muttered under his breath, then waved his tentacles and plunged into the ground, extending like tree roots.

His tentacles, centered on the grand hall, spread out in all directions, connecting with everyone who had entered the dreamscape.

Seven hundred and sixteen people! Seventeen palaces, over two thousand Illusion Realm servants, and it’s pulled more than seven hundred people into this dream... This creature’s spiritual power must have already exceeded forty!

Carl mused, his tentacles whipping rapidly.

An Upper-level Vassal? This is a terrible turn of events! Had I known, I certainly wouldn’t have agreed to Mei Weiya’s request. Against an Upper-level Vassal specializing in dreams, even I might not escape unscathed if I’m not careful.

"Who?"

Suddenly, a chilly voice arose by Carl’s ’ear,’ accompanied by a sensation like being pricked by needles.

"Hmph!"

Carl grunted, his tentacles quivering violently.

Instantly, the ground of the ’Immortal Realm’ trembled. The hundreds of people playing inside stopped their activities, their faces filled with panic.

"You’re courting death!"

His ’vision’ blurred, and then ’Barn’ abruptly appeared before Carl, raising a hand to unleash witchcraft.

Barn? Carl’s heart trembled, but then he regained his composure. The Dream Demon had merely latched onto his stray thought-waves, manifesting a figure Carl feared. ’Barn’ couldn’t possibly be alive; the Dream Demon was just using his appearance to attack.

Shock God Stab!

BANG!

A large hole burst open in Carl’s squid head, splattering ichor. The intense pain made it hard for him to control himself.

Injuries sustained in a dream manifested in reality; such wounds were no different from those inflicted physically.

Fortunately, Carl’s Constitution was unique. Even if his head were to shatter, he wouldn’t die instantly, let alone from a mere hole.

"Wake up!"

With a furious roar, his tentacles thrashed wildly.

RUMBLE...

Instantly, the entire ’Immortal Realm’ trembled violently. The thunderous noise jolted the sleeping people awake.

With the dreamers gone, the dreamscape immediately became less real.

"Stop!"

Dozens of ’blades’ sliced toward Carl’s tentacles, severing his connection with the people in the dream. Consequently, while more than half were startled awake, many still remained in the dreamscape.

"Hmph!" The Dream Demon snorted coldly, fingers flicking, unleashing barrages of mind-targeting Shock God Stabs. "Are you the helper Mei Weiya called?" it sneered. "It’s useless! As long as people are dreaming, I can leave at any time. You’ll never catch me."

"Ugh..." Carl grunted, swinging his tentacles to intercept the attacks. He seemed less anxious now. "So, you’re just a Middle Position Vassal. The dreamscape’s realism comes from the energy you’ve borrowed from the dreamers. No wonder! But a dream is still a dream. There will always come a day to wake up."

"HAHA!" the Dream Demon laughed. "Foolish! The real world is filled with cruelty; even Divines have their troubles. Only a dream can create a perfect world. Mei Weiya accuses me of creating illusions, of giving people unrealistic fantasies, but has she not considered the inadequacies of the real world? The Immortal Realm I’ve created both satisfies their imagination of a better life and increases my power. What’s wrong with that?"

"What’s the use of saying all this?" Carl lunged forward. The phantom of a Buddha materialized above him and pressed down.

Ten Thousand Buddha Hands—Bodhi Seal!

Bodhi, representing wisdom, could penetrate all illusions, making it perfectly suited for dealing with entities causing trouble in a dreamscape.

BANG!

The palm seal shattered a side hall, but the Dream Demon’s figure had already vanished.

"It’s useless," the Dream Demon reappeared above the main hall nearby. "As long as people are dreaming, I can enter anyone’s dream. I can never die."

"Then they won’t dream!" Carl snorted. The Buddha phantom behind him soared into the sky, transforming into the visage of a Wrathful King Kong. It roared:

"AWAKE!"

"AWAKE!"

The roars continued, reverberating through the dreamscape.

The massive head of the Wrathful King Kong filled the entire dreamscape, and its Fear Aura jolted the dreamers awake.

Yet, twenty or thirty people, though terrified and trembling, refused to wake from their dreams.

"My body in the real world has been tormented by illness for decades. Even if I die, I want to die here!"

"I know this is a dream, but so what? As an ordinary person, this is the only place I can experience beautiful dreams that could never be realized in the outside world."

"From birth until now, I’ve been a laborer, a slave my entire life! I don’t want to go on like that anymore! Just let me die here!"

"..."

"Oh, great Master of Dreams, I am willing to offer you everything I have, just to live here forever!"

"HAHA!" the Dream Demon cackled. "See? Even with all your power, you cannot satisfy the desires of the human heart. This is an eternal flaw of the real world."

"Hmm?"

Before it finished speaking, its expression suddenly froze.

One after another, figures in the ’Immortal Realm’ collapsed and burst like bubbles.

This was...

The physical bodies of the dreamers in the real world had perished!

* * *

「City of Death.」

Mei Weiya hovered in mid-air, her eyes piercingly watching the crowd below.

Over a thousand Death Knights went door to door, pushing into houses to check. If anyone was found asleep, they were decapitated with a single stroke.

"The real world is cruel, yet unavoidable. Even an existence like myself must struggle for survival..."

"Escape is useless!"