Chapter 499: Ambush

The sorcerer quickly threw a half-palm sized cloth doll from his pocket.

The cloth doll transformed upon landing, growing to human height; it was a Green Turban Strongman.

"Carry me!" the sorcerer coughed incessantly. Casting another spell when already severely wounded was only making things worse. "Quickly, go!"

Fortunately, the summoned puppet's power was undiminished; it truly picked him up and ran outside.

He Lingchuan suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, startling the Soul-Snatching Mirror that lay by his pillow.

"You're finally awake!" the mirror sighed in relief.

It wasn't that He Lingchuan liked sleeping with the mirror; rather, he habitually placed it facing outwards so that if anyone tried a night attack, it would detect them immediately.

It could warn him and confuse enemies.

He Lingchuan grabbed the mirror and got up, putting on his boots while grumbling, "You call yourself a Soul-Snatching Mirror, yet when something nasty invaded, why didn't you snatch it away? You couldn't even block it, let alone snatch it!"

"What thing?" the mirror asked, confused. "I didn't see anything come near."

"I don't know. It had many faces all over its body, and its head wouldn't die even if chopped off. I was on a mission in Necropolis, and it suddenly emerged from the water, trying to kill me," He Lingchuan affirmed. "It definitely came from outside."

"Hiss... Are you saying it was a Nightmare?" The knowledgeable mirror flickered. "How did you provoke such a thing?"

"Two of them came in, and you didn't notice either?"

"Nightmares are only supposed to appear in dreams, right?" the mirror dramatically protested. "How am I supposed to detect it? Unless it voluntarily runs into the mirror, I can't catch it."

He Lingchuan looked at it suspiciously.

Nightmares do not exist in reality, so theoretically, there was nothing suspicious about what the mirror said.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"Were you hit?" the mirror asked, sounding particularly concerned. "You don't seem to have any new problems."

"No." As he said this, he suddenly remembered that the Grand Square Pot also hadn't stopped the monster.

Very strange.

But recalling how the Red Giant Shadow and the Juluo Tree dealt with the monsters, he vaguely guessed a reason.

Perhaps it was better to let them in, then close the door and beat the dog?

In any case, the monsters couldn't escape; their ultimate fate was to be divided by the Juluo Tree and the Red Giant Shadow, with one head left over as a souvenir for He Lingchuan.

The mirror asked again, "What happened to those two things?"

The fact that He Lingchuan could wake up indicated that his opponents had met with misfortune.

To be honest, although it hadn't visually detected the Nightmares' arrival, it could feel them.

But the mirror dared not make a sound.

These things specialized in destroying others' dreams, and its own soul-realm was very similar to a dream. Moreover, it was currently in a broken and unrepaired state. If a Nightmare burrowed in and wreaked havoc, it would truly be finished.

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

"Necropolis ate them," He Lingchuan said as he climbed out the window and ran west. "What kind of monsters are Nightmares?"

The Soul-Snatching Mirror, which had just been gloating over their demise, shivered. It seemed its luck had been pretty good back then.

"You don't know?" It was first surprised, then speechless. "You didn't even know its origin, yet you managed to kill it! Sigh, Necropolis is really good to you."

"Enough talk." After this broken mirror had been in a short 'seclusion', it seemed even more garrulous, but He Lingchuan could automatically ignore it.

"Do you know about Nightmares?" the mirror asked, still its knowledgeable self. "They're also called Night Roaming Gods."

He Lingchuan remembered the monster's head's shock and resentment, asking, "You were clearly sleeping, why weren't you in dreamland?" It was clear the creature thought it had entered He Lingchuan's dream.

"These things appeared a very long time ago, their origin unknown. There's a saying that they are formed from parts of human souls but feed on the life essence of ordinary people; if a victim dies in a dream, they also die in reality. Later, some sorcerers found a way to communicate with them because killing in dreams leaves no trace: the victim never wakes up, has no physical wounds, and no discernible cause of death."

Never wakes up? He Lingchuan's heart stirred. Had he seen something like this before?

"Don't just tell me rumors, is there anything more concrete?"

"Oh, quite demanding," it scoffed. "Yes, coincidentally, something similar to a Nightmare happened, so we know it has two methods of attack: either it pulls you into its world, or it invades your dream and turns it into a nightmare."

This thing could also change the prey's dream? He Lingchuan suddenly understood. No wonder that Nightmare was so surprised when it couldn't alter the environment in the grotto.

Panlong City wasn't even He Lingchuan's home ground, so how could it be arbitrarily modified by the Nightmare?

"Is the Nightmare's ability to transform dreams into nightmares very powerful?"

"Of course!" the mirror said. "Although it's your dream, the Nightmare can turn it into its home ground. Only by tormenting you with endless nightmares can it deplete your essence, weaken your soul, and finally devour you in boundless terror."

From this perspective, after the Nightmare invaded Panlong City, it was never able to use its most powerful methods.

He Lingchuan remembered the enormous Nightmare that appeared underwater.

He Lingchuan and the Juluo Tree destroyed its clones, so its true form came personally for revenge.

Even though it wasn't its home ground, and it didn't have time to change the surrounding environment, He Lingchuan understood immediately that he was no match for it.

The oppressive aura that dreadful thing brought him was very strong.

However, there was a greater danger lurking. Before this fiend could unleash its power, it was swept away by the Red Giant Shadow that arrived shortly after.

He Lingchuan ran very quickly, covering three hundred zhang while talking to the mirror, and then arrived at his destination:

Tongfu Inn.

Someone as intent on revenge as him naturally wouldn't use the front door. Instead, he shattered a wooden window with a palm strike and first threw a pellet inside.

This thing was colorless and shapeless, but it reeked terribly; any creature with a nose could barely tolerate it.

The sorcerer was also human and couldn't escape physiological reactions.

Sure enough, a roar echoed from inside, and two figures burst through the window; his opponents were enraged.

Uh, two?

He Lingchuan first saw a person burst out of the window and swing three axes at him in rapid succession.

The speed was extreme; he had just blinked when the opponent was already upon him, a white-glowing axe sweeping horizontally at his neck.

So fast!

He Lingchuan extended his blade to block.

Three consecutive "clang" sounds rang out as fast met fast.

The opponent's three wild axe strikes were like a raging storm, their aura completely locking down He Lingchuan's surroundings. Retreat was impossible, evasion was impossible; he could only brace himself and take them.

The axe blade's emitted energy, less than a foot long, had solidified into substance.

It wasn't that he lacked the power to extend it, but that this length was the most ferocious, no different from the axe blade itself.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan had experience fighting fiercely on plateaus; he leaned back and retracted his neck.

The axe's force almost grazed his Adam's apple; just half an inch more and he would have been struck in a vital spot!

He hadn't encountered such a formidable opponent in a long time.

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

The opponent's violent airflow swept towards him, making He Lingchuan feel as if he wasn't facing a living person, but an oncoming avalanche or a cannonball just fired from Panlong City's cannons!

Someone with slightly less cultivation, facing such powerful oppression, would likely be immediately suppressed and killed.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan's blade techniques were forged amidst crashing waves, and his understanding of spiritual energy was deeper than that of ordinary people.

What's more, he had witnessed even more powerful and fierce attacks.

The true energy in his two Dantians circulated wildly, allowing him to forcefully withstand these "three opening axe strikes."

At this moment, he also discovered that the opponent's axe force carried tiny ice crystals, like snow or powder. Seemingly unremarkable at first glance, they brought a sudden chill when they clung to the body, instantly causing stiffness...

These ice crystals had a natural slowing effect, and if more of them clung to him, he would probably shiver from the cold.

After receiving all three axe strikes, He Lingchuan had used up two-tenths of his true energy, his arms ached, and the web of his left thumb was split open.

The opponent also seemed somewhat surprised, letting out a slight "eh?"

After taking three of his whirlwind axe strikes, this kid could still stand, and his weapon was still intact?

At this moment, the second dark figure also arrived.

It had intended to come out through the wooden window, but its body was too massive; it burst the wooden window with a "bang" and even smashed a large hole in the wall before finally rushing towards He Lingchuan.

Although its momentum was unparalleled, its speed was not as fast as its companion's, allowing He Lingchuan to see its true form at a glance.

It was, strikingly, a giant bear.

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

When it ran, the entire building trembled.

What would happen if this thing stood up?

He Lingchuan already found it difficult to contend with the man in front of him; how could he possibly handle an additional giant bear?

The opponents, of course, sensed his predicament, and the axe glowed again.

The giant bear also lunged, ready to flank him.

It loved to bully opponents this way; on several occasions, when attacking with its companion, they had directly flattened enemies into meat patties.

It was extremely satisfying.

At this moment, He Lingchuan, with a whoosh, dropped.

They were originally fighting on the roof. Tongfu Inn's construction quality was quite good; otherwise, how could the roof withstand the furious charge of a berserk bear?

Actually, it was the battle between He Lingchuan and his opponent that caused the heaviest burden on the roof.

He Lingchuan only needed to raise his leg and kick, and this part of the roof would collapse, wood and tiles clattering down to the first floor.

The man and the bear also fell down.

He Lingchuan, however, reached out in mid-air, and his sleeve-arrow "clanged" as it impaled the wooden beam opposite.

He used the force to pull himself, successfully withdrawing from under his opponent's axe. With a few more movements, he easily climbed onto the beam.

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

The falling heavy objects naturally couldn't harm them. He Lingchuan personally saw a wooden beam fall, and the man didn't even dodge, directly shouldering the impact.

With a bang, the wooden beam snapped into two. The man brushed his shoulder, dusting off the wood chips.

What a formidable body, what powerful true energy.

"Who are you?" He Lingchuan scrutinized his two opponents. "Why did you cast a spell on me?"

This man was taller than him, broad-shouldered and powerfully built, his face full of ferocity, and he wore an eye patch over his right eye.

He was clearly a tough character; He Lingchuan wouldn't mistake the chilling killing intent radiating from him.

How many people must have been killed to forge such an aura of dread?

But could such a person also be skilled in sorcery? He was very doubtful.

The man raised his axe and patted his chest. "Concentric Guard, Fan Sheng."

The giant bear also spoke: "Concentric Guard, Fan Bao."

"Different species, same surname?" He Lingchuan tilted his head. "Are you two brothers?"