Chapter 272
It was a dream I saw at midnight.
At that time, all the talkative souls had already drifted into peaceful slumber.
The blue, white, and orange orbs of light flickered in the hands of the Keybearer, exuding a terrifying power that seemed capable of drawing in a person's very soul, making it impossible for Xia'er to tear her gaze away.
"Do I still need to recite poetry? With this ability?" Xia'er asked curiously.
She rummaged through her mind for any knowledge or methods related to the "Dream Thief" potion, but found no such memories.
"This is merely a way to anchor you to reality," the Keybearer said, forcing down her inner shock as she spoke slowly. "It's best to set a trigger phrase for both opening and closing, to avoid the 'Dream Thief' becoming trapped in the dream."
"Of course, different 'Dream Thieves' have different methods of distinction, depending on their personal preferences."
"As for deeper layers of double dreams, even a level 3 'Subverter' wouldn't easily attempt that. Just forget about it; for a typical 'Dream Thief,' being able to wake up instantly from a single layer of dream is already quite impressive."
"Now, give it a try. Drag me into the dream; I won’t resist at all."
This was the most the Keybearer had spoken in one go.
She didn’t say all this out of a genuine desire to teach the red-haired girl before her, but rather to calm her own slightly shaken emotions.
It was the first time she had seen someone drink a potion like this, completely disregarding their own life.
Even with her experience of the Reenactment Ritual and having entered the dreams of a "Dream Thief" multiple times as a "Instigator," she wouldn’t dare to drink a potion without any preparation.
At the very least, she would wait until a new round of the Reenactment Ritual or just after it had concluded; that would be the safest approach.
After all, life is only lived once. The Keybearer had gone through this herself. Before she ascended to become a "Dream Thief," she had been taken into dreams by the "Dream Thieves" of the Joyous Society several times before finally drinking the potion.
This "Faceless One" was extremely dangerous.
The Keybearer watched the girl before her, who had opened her palm as if studying something.
Suddenly, a tricolor orb exploded in the girl’s hand, and a faint fourth color seemed to emerge, before bursting forth violently, startling the girl into retreating several steps.
However, upon witnessing this scene, the Keybearer’s furrowed brow slowly relaxed, and her tone softened a bit. "It’s okay; this is a normal phenomenon. You missed the step of constructing the dream. You need to build a dream in your mind, like this room and me at this moment."
She had made the same mistake as most novice "Dream Thieves." Fortunately… while the bizarre girl before her was indeed extraordinary, she wasn’t so extraordinary as to construct a dream without guidance.
At this moment, under the Keybearer’s guidance, Xia'er began to sketch out the room and the Keybearer in her mind, then opened her palm again to reveal the tricolor orb.
Looking at the floating orb in her palm, Xia'er turned to the Keybearer and asked, "Isn’t this orb too conspicuous? The target will know they’re about to be dragged into a dream the moment they see it. What’s the use of that?"
These techniques, absent from her memories, were indeed a blind spot for Xia'er, so she humbly sought advice.
In a previous simulation, she had been dragged into a dream without any warning, and she wanted to know how that was accomplished, as her simulated self hadn’t noted how it was done in her notebook.
Upon hearing Xia'er’s question, the Keybearer’s orb flickered and quickly morphed into a pen. "This pen is a dream construct. As long as you focus on it, even for a moment, you will be pulled into the dream."
So that’s how it works…
Under her control, the orb in Xia'er’s hand began to twist, transforming into an exquisite pocket watch. Holding the familiar watch, she gently opened the silver casing.
Buzz—
A humming sound filled the air as the colors around Xia'er rapidly faded into an endless expanse of pale purple mist, with the Keybearer standing before her.
Then, the surrounding mist slowly coalesced, rapidly forming a carpet, a sofa, furniture—everything was being constructed at breakneck speed.
These objects seemed to resemble what they were supposed to be, but upon closer inspection of the furniture’s patterns, one would find that the originally exquisite designs were now a jumbled mess, like a poorly loaded texture in a game, rough and unrefined.
"Mm."
The Keybearer in the dream nodded slowly, seemingly unfazed by the scene. She looked at Xia'er and said, "Now, try to construct the scene of you instigating the Grand Archbishop of the Holy Ascendancy, or the scene you mentioned about summoning a deity."
"I will point out any deficiencies in your construction during this process."
Xia'er nodded, her eyes slightly closed as the surrounding images began to tear apart.
In the Keybearer’s eyes, the rough scene gradually disintegrated, and soon, stone bricks replaced the previous exquisite decorations. In just a few breaths, the mist had constructed a vast underground sanctuary.
The Faceless One stood at the front of the sanctuary, with the holy seat behind her.
A multitude of mist began to twist and merge into kneeling figures before her, some of whose faces were particularly clear and exquisite, seemingly familiar from her memories.
"Ha!"
Xia'er leaned back, sitting directly on the holy seat, crossing her legs and swaying her body as she sighed, "How nostalgic."
In contrast to Xia'er’s relaxed demeanor, the Keybearer, after a brief glance at the surrounding scene, quickly made a decision in her heart.
She recognized this place.
Dedun Manor, the underground sanctuary of the Holy Ascendancy.
Was this… what the underground sanctuary looked like before it was destroyed?
Then, does that mean the people below are cultists?
"Jidi."
Xia'er called out, waving to one of the women kneeling below.
"Yes, my lord."
The dream construct resembling Jidi slowly rose, kneeling before Xia'er, bowing deeply, and kissing the top of her shoe.
"Ugh…"
Xia'er pulled her legs back, a look of disgust on her face.
Why are the constructs in dreams so subservient? Although they do act according to her stereotypes.
"Have them pray."
Xia'er waved her hand and said.
At that moment, her gaze fell on the ground in the lower left corner.
The once empty ground now had several buckets of fresh blood, all constructed within the dream, her own blood.
Clang—
Xia'er kicked over a blood bucket, and the blood formed thin streams that began to spread toward the crowd below, quickly outlining a blood array around the perimeter, then rapidly spreading inward.
Just as the blood array was about to take shape, the Keybearer raised her hand and said, "Wait, clear the people out first."
"Oh."
Xia'er nodded, snapping her fingers, and the cultists on the steps instantly dissolved into mist.
The complete blood array was now presented before the Keybearer.
What kind of sacrificial array is this… why have I never seen it before?
The Keybearer squinted her eyes, the shape of the array firmly etched in her mind.
"What is that blood?" the Keybearer asked, pointing to the blood bucket beside Xia'er.
"From the extraordinary."
"Mm… continue."
The Keybearer nodded, signaling Xia'er to proceed.
The mist reformed the kneeling cultists on the ground, and the blood array connected them together. As Xia'er whispered, the blood light suddenly flared up.
The words Xia'er whispered were directly recorded in the Keybearer’s mind.
Then, a horrifying scene unfolded before the Keybearer.
As the Faceless One’s murmurs fell, the cultists and extraordinary beings within the blood array suddenly exploded, their flesh splitting open as if possessed by a will of its own. The bloodlines that emerged coalesced in midair, forming a crimson vortex.
The cultists below were gradually absorbed into mounds of flesh, even suspended by the bloodlines, creating an utterly chilling spectacle.
Amidst this terrifying sacrifice, a burst of starlight drifted out from the blood array.
This starlight entered the body of the figure previously referred to as "Jidi," and immediately, "Jidi's" body began to undergo violent changes.
Crack—
Crack—
The grotesque scene of twisted flesh made the Keybearer frown slightly as she gazed at the blood and flesh cocoon forming before her, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into her heart.
Even the spiritual alarm in her mind began to emit a faint buzzing.
In the dream… there’s even a reaction? And this is within her conscious dream.
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