Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 253 - 250: Merging Calamities, Assault on the Dream Realm

Chapter 253: Chapter 250: Merging Calamities, Assault on the Dream Realm

Several days whizzed by, and in the blink of an eye, the night of the full moon on October 15th arrived.

All around Dengzhou Prefecture, there was an immoderate air of desolation. As night just began to fall, not a single person could be found in the broad streets or narrow alleys.

A tense and terrifying atmosphere permeated everywhere.

In every household throughout the city, whether wealthy or not, lamps were lit, vainly hoping that the feeble flames would ward off some horrible things lurking in the dark.

In an ordinary family in Yunhe County, a sudden harsh scolding from an adult broke the silence:

"Er Zi, get up quickly, it’s your third brother’s turn to sleep now!"

"Oh."

Even if the child was still bleary-eyed, they dared not linger in bed, but had to rub their eyes and climb out, making room for another child.

Looking around, under the dim light of the oil lamp, the entire family had gathered in one room.

By their side was a bucket of cool water just drawn from the well, and several pairs of eyes attentively watched over one person falling asleep.

They listened intently to the watchman’s calls from outside, with each person sleeping for no more than a two-hour stretch at a time before being awakened to switch with another.

If someone accidentally overslept, or showed any unusual signs while dreaming, the others would not hesitate to douse them with a ladle of cold water from head to toe.

No matter how deeply they slept, they would be awakened once again.

The common folk really had no choice.

In recent times, the number of killings in dreams within the bounds of Dengzhou Prefecture had increased, making sleeping an increasingly dangerous affair.

The forms of killing manifested by the Weird during these dreams varied.

Once targeted by the Weird,

most people would wander in their dreams, maniacally wielding sharp weapons and indiscriminately slaughtering living people, only to awaken and find their entire family lying in pools of blood;

they would then kill themselves in despair and fury, and despair was the Weird’s favorite seasoning.

Another portion of people started confusing dream with reality, becoming entrapped in strange dreams they couldn’t escape, with any injuries sustained within the dream directly reflecting upon their physical bodies;

broken bones, disemboweled stomachs, skinned alive... they died in horrendous ways not to be endured.

And a few with special life charts, Heart Light, or Official Energy, were considered top delicacies; they were personally hunted by the Monsters of the dream, progressively drawing closer day by day;

The more fearful the individuals were, the stronger and quicker the Monsters approached, and once caught, they would be devoured whole...

Luckily, they discovered this abnormality in a timely manner.

Wang Yuan had issued an early warning to all citizens through the City God Temple and his "Living Yama" faith system, at the first instance.

And, together with Huang Wu, who was skilled in "Moon in the Water and Flower in the Mirror" techniques, he used the folks on official ships from the Marquis Mansion as test subjects to formulate and widely disseminate initial "Precept Taboos":

"[Rule One, While awake, the Dream Realm is sealed off, Monsters roaming in dreams cannot harm those who are awake.

If you don’t want to be killed or eaten, the easiest way is not to fall asleep!]

"[Rule Two, Even Mages and Daoist Soldiers and Generals of great ability cannot stay awake all the time.

Once asleep, the depth of sleep corresponds to different levels of danger.

The first level, drowsiness, one can easily wake up with outside stimulation, and it is harder to fall asleep again after waking, safe!

The second level, light sleep, one will wake only with stronger stimulation, and it is relatively easier to fall back asleep after waking up, relatively safe!

The third level, deep sleep, usually enters into deep sleep about a two-hour period after falling asleep, and it is hard to awaken even with stimulation, dangerous!]

They discovered that the risk of being attacked during drowsiness and light sleep was relatively low, and as long as one didn’t sleep more than a single two-hour period entering deep sleep, the danger was still relatively manageable.

That’s how the daily life of the citizens of Dengzhou Prefecture was ensured not to collapse.

However, as time progressed, should the power of the Evil God grow stronger, and if they kept ignoring it, the consequences might become more uncertain.

Thus,

on this night of the full moon, taking advantage of the strongest power of the "Auspicious God · Guarding Taiyin" and the weakest influence of the "Evil God · Moon Breaking Great Loss,"

the team finally consisting of Wang Yuan, Huang Wu, and Xu Zhenzhi prepared to take action.

It may not be to immediately execute the one who might have become the Weird, Young Master Huadie, but at least they endeavored to understand what exactly was happening within the Dream Realm now.

In the procession residence of King Jing of Ninghai State,

listening to the gentle patting on the shoulder and the accompanying lullaby coming from behind in the bedroom, Wang Yuan couldn’t help but curl his lip.

There were two people in the room.

One was his Big Cousin Zhou Jinhuan, and the other was the girl, Duan Zhiyin, who was one of the first to encounter the Monsters in dreams and took on the role of the "bridge" into the Dream this time.

Ever since the little girl had arrived, this fellow had been fussing around like a doting father, warm and attentive, as though he couldn’t bear even the slightest inconvenience for her.

Even though his mouth was always full of how open Tanhuan women are, or how soft Moluo women are, or how spicy women with colorful eyes are, in reality, he wasn’t much different from an inexperienced youth.

By the look on his face, even a Fool would know what he was up to.

And with one aged twenty-seven and the other only seventeen, the two standing together gave off a subtly problematic vibe.

"Big Cousin, you can’t go on like this. Bootlickers have no future. Can’t you be more reserved, like me?"

Just as Wang Yuan was inwardly scoffing,

"Xiao Yuan, open your mouth, ah."

Huang Wu peeled a shiny grape and placed it into the mouth of the Ghost Baby nestled in her arms.

Lying in his sister’s soft embrace, eating sweet grapes, Wang Yuan couldn’t help but feel a little floaty, as if even his bones had lightened somewhat.

"See, little sisters who need to be taken care of are cult classics, while considerate big sisters are eternal gods!"

The reason he was so relaxed wasn’t that they didn’t take the dream realm seriously.

It was because this time, unlike the unplanned encounter with the old eunuch, they had made all kinds of preparations in advance and minimized the possibility of disaster.

No matter how much they pretended to look aggrieved, it would be meaningless.

Better to relax and keep cheerful to avoid directly falling into a nightmare later.

Yes, this was all for work.

The lonely old man Xu Zhenzhi couldn’t stand the "sour stench" of the young people inside and outside the room and hid in a corner, busily calculating fortunes and disasters.

"’Age Star Crosses the Sky’. Today is dominated by [Evil God・Moon Breaking Great Loss]. One could easily find out by checking the Yellow Calendar."

It’s no secret that its power is weakest on a full moon night.

"I’m afraid many demons and heretics will, like us, enter the dream realm to explore today. We must be on guard."

Wang Yuan waved his hand.

"No need to guess, I know that the public dream in Dengzhou Prefecture will be very lively tonight."

While many cultivators had fled Dengzhou due to the dread of "Age Star Crosses the Sky," there were even more heretical demons who had come chasing after the [Evil God Order].

After the shrinkage of the "Dragon Qi Prohibition," places below county cities no longer suppressed magicians and demons and ghosts, turning Red County Shenzhou into a place where demons dance wildly everywhere.

Various demons brazenly claimed territories and set themselves up as kings; some treated the local populace as strategic resources and bred them, while many others faced total annihilation.

Many demons didn’t understand the concept of sustainability and moved on to the next area like locusts after causing havoc in one place.

As the second of February draws closer, the [Tribulation Energy] in Dengzhou becomes denser and denser.

This has directly led to the growing strength of the [Evil God Order] over time, attracting more and more heretical forces here.

It seems set to combine the two great calamities of "Age Star Crosses the Sky" and "Yunhe Bridge Falling Dragon" into one.

This is reflected in the increasingly thick tribulation clouds looming over Wang Yuan’s head.

Now, he had no doubt that if he could survive this tribulation, it would probably be enough to help him accumulate the resources for a Mage Realm promotion.

Only needing to perform the corresponding promotion ceremony, he could ascend to heaven in one step.

Bell, bell, bell...

After an indeterminate amount of time, a bell hanging on the room’s door suddenly rang by itself, prompting the three people waiting outside to become alert.

"It’s here!"

Following the plan, Xu Zhenzhi waved out a roll of yellow cloth.

On the yellow cloth were two white candles tinged with a hue of pale yellow, three sticks of red incense, a bowl of yellow rice, and a piece of white paper cut into the shape of a human.

He arranged a makeshift Dharma Altar.

Xu Zhenzhi sat cross-legged in the center of the yellow cloth, bit his right index finger, and, with his blood that contained Spiritual Qi, quickly drew a talon-wielding Blood Talisman on the white paper, filling the air with a glimmer of blood-red light.

Picking up the three sticks of incense, he lit them from the candle’s flame, sending up wisps of smoke that disappeared three feet above his head.

The old man bowed to the paper figure with the incense in hand, inserted it into the bowl of rice, and began to chant:

"Deceit Monster, Deceit Monster, anger and jealousy combine their essence, ghosts and spirits combine their form, your heart matches mine... Hear the decree and come quickly, Imperial Decree!"

The paper figure on the altar trembled slightly and then stood up on its own, taking the shape of a beautiful girl with a graceful figure.

Turning around, she gave the three people a cold smile but said nothing.

Under Wang Yuan’s [Unsightly Observation], however, it was clear that this was a [Weird]!

——One of the seventy-two Deceit Spirits and Secret Gods.

From the Taoist book compiled by humans of the Nine Soldiers, "Jade Imperial Fairy Book Eight Extremes Divine Chapters Three Sovereigns Secret Text・Spirit Sect Chapter."

Just as the name implies, there are a total of seventy-two kinds of [Weirds].

Although they each have different abilities, they all have one thing in common, the "Precept Taboo":

"[Use true rituals, offer sacrifices, burn declaration texts, and then loudly call its name; you can command them like the ’Peach God Tao’ commands the ’Yaochi Golden Boys’]."

Just like [Weirds] slowly encroach on this world by devouring the flesh and blood of the Human Clan.

Utilizing some of the low-risk [Weirds] for one’s own ends is also considered to be Nine Soldiers’ "Slaughter Science" countering the encroachment of the "Killing Tree."

This girl-like [Weird] is named: [Biting Stone God].

Sometimes taking human form, she loves to sleep at night and is adept at stealing people’s True Qi in upside-down dreams of Yin and Yang.

If people frequently have erotic dreams, it’s very likely she’s the culprit.

This type of [Weird] originates from female magicians who fail at Yin harvesting meditation and violate precepts, also known as the deceitful and good-natured spirits, and they are experts in manipulating dreams.

No matter how deep they go into the dream realm, she can overturn the dreams, bringing them back to reality.

Xu Zhenzhi firmly ordered:

"Biting Stone God, obey my command, go!"

The girl waved her sleeve and, taking Wang Yuan and Huang Wu with her, stepped forward, and the colors of heaven and earth changed before their eyes.