Chapter 615 - 608: The Plan
"Where is this...?"
Zhou Yuanjue narrowed his eyes, cautiously observing his surroundings. The city, in every respect, seemed to be real.
He crouched down, gently running his hand over the ground. He walked to a street corner and caressed the grayish-black architecture, feeling the surrounding airflow and inhaling the faint, musty scent of decay in the air.
Finally, he focused inward, examining his own body. He confirmed he wasn’t present as a Spirit Body. Then again, ever since he’d embarked on the path of Yuan Yi, nothing could separate his Spirit from his physical form.
’Compared to the ability Doctor Nightmare used in our last encounter, this place is more like a real world. Is this the power one possesses after their Ancestral Power has fully revived? To be able to drag me from the real world into such a strange place... It’s incredible.’
Zhou Yuanjue frowned slightly. For now, he hadn’t found a way to leave this place.
However, he wasn’t particularly worried. Faintly, imperceptibly, he could still sense a thread of connection to the real world. Part of this was the special link between his Spirit and the will of the world, but the strongest was the connection to the "hidden measures" he had left behind.
These were portions of his own "body tissue," scattered across the world through channels in Donghua, Beisha, and Bosha Country.
The True Spirit of a Celestial Demon possessed an incredibly uncanny regenerative ability, and now, with his own cellular regeneration, he could achieve something similar.
At a critical moment, he could even choose to abandon this body and regenerate himself from those scattered pieces of tissue.
However, cultivating a new body and fully restoring his consciousness would consume a great deal of time and Energy. Given the current situation, it was a price he couldn’t afford to pay.
Therefore, if at all possible, he could not afford to lose this body.
Still, since a connection to his hidden measures in the outside world existed, it proved this strange region wasn’t completely cut off from reality. Therefore, a true escape shouldn’t be that difficult.
’This can’t just be a method to trap me temporarily. My enemies are probably somewhere in this world, secretly watching me, waiting for some kind of opportunity.’
...
...
Just as Zhou Yuanjue had predicted.
High above Nightmare City, at the center of a vast cloud of gray fog, lay the Nightmare Space where the Master of Nightmares had been.
Twelve figures, led by the Master of Nightmares, stood within the Nightmare Space. Before them was an object like a projection screen, on which Zhou Yuanjue’s every action within Nightmare City was clearly displayed.
"To construct a world between reality and the True Realm using the Power of Boundaryless, open a True Realm gate from afar, and forcibly seize him... even you must be under immense pressure. To use the Power of Boundaryless to this extent just to prevent his escape, isn’t that a bit of an overreaction?"
"With the power of the twelve of us, he wouldn’t have a prayer of resisting, even in the real world."
Ancestral Hong, wearing a coronet and what looked like imperial dragon robes, gazed at the figure on the screen and spoke lightly.
"Hong, after all these years, you still haven’t shed your arrogant habit. Back then, if it weren’t for your arrogance, you wouldn’t have accepted the challenge from Lin of the Xuan Clan alone, fighting him on the open sea where he held the advantage. How else could you have been suppressed in an abyssal trench ten thousand meters deep?"
"I agree with Nightmare’s approach. Once you make a move, you must ensure it’s foolproof. I’ve fought him before; I’m well aware of his capabilities. Within the limits of his lifespan, he’s practically unkillable. If we want to eliminate this threat completely, we must pay the necessary price."
Ji said.
"Looks to me like he scared you witless,"
Hong sneered.
"Enough, all of you. Suppress your base natures. Now is not the time for arguments."
"Even I cannot maintain this near-real Dream Realm for too long. There are a few points I need to clarify with you all now."
"The reason I expended so much power to construct this Nightmare City was to trap him so we can cast the True Realm Seal, severing the connection between his primary will and reality. This in itself is not an easy task; it requires him to be in a relatively weakened state to increase the probability of success."
"Remember, compared to us at our peak, this man may not be considered powerful. However, his Life Force and survivability are on an absolutely incredible level, making him extremely tricky to handle. I wouldn’t have made this decision otherwise."
"However, we can’t reveal an overwhelmingly oppressive threat all at once, lest he abandon his true body and regenerate using his hidden measures in the outside world. This Nightmare City cannot yet sever his connection to reality."
"We must proceed slowly, giving him a glimmer of hope while continuously testing his limits and whittling down his power, until the conditions for the Seal are met."
"I need to stay here and conserve my strength to cast the final True Realm Seal. The rest of you cannot reveal yourselves all at once, to prevent him from making a desperate sacrifice to escape his bonds. We can’t let the tiger return to the mountain."
"So, which of you is willing to go first and probe his true limits?"
the Master of Nightmares asked.
"The Far East Continent has been my territory since ancient times. According to his Data, it seems he grew up within my domain. I’m quite curious what kind of being could warrant so much of your attention."
Hong spoke, a mocking smile touching his lips as he glanced toward Ancestral Ji. "And while I’m at it, I’ll see just who it was that managed to scare Ji witless."
In ancient times, the Donghua Territory was ruled by two Primordial Ancestors: Ji and Hong. Though they were neighbors, their relationship was far from harmonious due to their fundamental natures.
"The only thing you have here with Nightmare is a single True Spirit, a single drop of Source Blood. It doesn’t matter if you die, but don’t let your foolishness interfere with our plan again."
Ji said, his expression placid.
"Heh. Do you think I’m you?"
"We may only have power at the Ancient True King Level, but our fundamental natures far surpass those of Ancient True Kings. Perhaps I alone can bring this whole plan to its conclusion."
Hong watched the screen, where the image of Zhou Yuanjue wandered through the silent Nightmare City. A strange smile touched his lips. "Let’s just see... how much has one of my former ’subjects’ improved."
He moved toward the gray, foggy wall of the Nightmare Space and stepped forward, his body disappearing completely into the mist.
"If that idiot dies, will it affect our operation?"
The moment Hong’s figure vanished, Ji, whose face was a mask of perfect, classical elegance, turned toward the Master of Nightmares and asked bluntly.
"Theoretically, his True Spirit is attached to my Power of Nightmare, not a tangible physical body. He can’t die."
The Master of Nightmares considered this for a moment before replying.
「Meanwhile」
"Hm?"
Wandering through Nightmare City, Zhou Yuanjue sensed a disturbance in the sky and slowly looked up.
He saw a black dot plunging from high in the sky, heading right for his position.
’Something strange is falling down.’