Is the malevolent entity inside the coffin about to emerge? As the grotesque ghostly hand protruded from the coffin, Zhang Yuanqing's heart surged with frantic beats, the sound of "thump-thump" echoing in his ears. A wave of uncontrollable fear surged through him, shattering his composure. Under the influence of this fear, his body trembled slightly, his hands and feet spasming. My fear has been amplified... Zhang Yuanqing, though experienced, immediately sensed the subtle sabotage by the dream-weaving master. Amplifying emotions and consuming rational thought—this was the dream-weaving master's signature technique. Taking a deep breath, he strained to suppress his fear. Yet, the inner fear not only failed to subside but intensified, nearly overwhelming his sense of reason. This was no ordinary dream-weaving master—this was a Level 6 dream-weaving master. To ignite the emotions of a Level 4 Saint merely took a moment. Zhang Yuanqing didn't collapse instantly. On one hand, the Night-Wanderer Spirit was resilient, and he also possessed the abilities of the Illusory Domain. On the other hand, he had been practicing the "Pure Yang Washing Body Record" for some time, making him exceptionally resistant to negative effects. "The way out of the dream is simple—just awaken," Zhang Yuanqing murmured to himself, his spirit invigorated. He surged toward Chen Xue Dao on the other side of the fire, shouting, "Father-in-law, wake up! Wake up!" Zhang Yuanqing stepped over the fire and reached out to push Chen Xue Dao's shoulder, but his hand passed through the mountain deity. He froze. It wasn't the others who had been pulled into the dream—it was *him* who had been pulled in! When had he entered the dream? At the moment the door closed? Or earlier, when the gate of the ancestral hall was blown open? A cold sweat broke out on Zhang Yuanqing's back. At that very moment, the lid of the coffin was violently lifted by a tremendous force and landed with a loud "clunk." A distorted, terrifying figure rose straight up from the coffin, humanoid in form but with four heads growing from its shoulders—each head highly decayed and face swollen. Pale eyes stared from the grotesque countenances. With a series of crisp cracking sounds, the four heads rotated simultaneously 180 degrees, turning squarely toward Zhang Yuanqing, their pale, haunting eyes fixed upon him. This situation he had encountered once before—when Pang the steward used props to assassinate him. The white-clad murderess in his dream was nearly invincible, and even now, when he recalls it, he still carries psychological residue. But then, with Wuhen Master's aid, he had managed to prevail. Now, deep within the副本, no one remains to assist him. As his thoughts raced, Zhang Yuqing halted his retreat, drew out his steel blade, and struck the monster advancing toward him. "Clang!" The bright blade struck the central head of the monster, splashing sparks of brilliant light. The blade instantly surged upward. The crease at the base of Zhang Yuqing's grip cracked, blood seeping through, the pain so intense he nearly lost his hold on the blade. "Hh-hh~" Black, fetid smoke erupted from the four heads of the monster, which bent its arms, and with sharp claws, plunged them forward. How swift! Zhang Yuqing blinked, then felt a sharp stab in his chest—ten dark claws piercing his torso. Without hesitation, he kicked out with a forceful blow against the monster's steel-hard chest, and then stepped back. Four monstrous creatures emitted low, guttural roars, leaping with ease over seven or eight meters before charging in. Zhang Yuanqing had no chance to check his injuries—he launched himself sideways. After falling, he didn’t hesitate, rolling continuously. The creatures bounced and jumped toward him, plunging their fingernails downward again and again, only to miss each time. Their attack pattern mirrored exactly what I saw in zombie films as a child—was this a nightmare drawn directly from my childhood fears? Zhang Yuanqing’s sense of urgency surged. He rolled faster and faster. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his waist and back, halting his rolling motion. He collided with a pillar. Damn it… Zhang Yuanqing’s face tightened, and almost immediately, a foul odor filled his nostrils. In a rush, he raised his sword overhead. "Clang!" The dark-glossed fingernails struck the blade, then the corpse-stained hand clenched tightly. Under the agonizing sound of metal bending, the steel sword was compressed into a steel rod. Zhang Yuanqing, his scalp tingling, rolled swiftly past the monster's feet and pushed off the ground to escape toward the outer edge of the yi zhuang. He tried to pull open the grille door, but no matter how hard he strained, it only vibrated with a steady "clank-clank," refusing to open. With no choice, he hastened toward the slender coffins. "Ping-pong-pong!" the sounds of impact continued as Zhang Yuanqing used the obstacles to fend off the monster, struggling desperately. One coffin after another collapsed or was thrown aside, and his situation grew increasingly perilous. The stronger the Dream Master, the more dangerous the dream became; the greater the gap in their levels, the more intense the pressure once they entered the dream. Zhang Yuanqing was now reduced to the status of a mere ordinary person. "Who are you?" "Get out! Just get out of there, you damn it!" he roared, desperately dodging the monster's attacks. As he spoke, he was pierced twice more—though the wounds were not severe, they were deep, and blood gushed steadily from them. Yet the figure behind the scenes remained silent and unresponsive. The two continued to clash for several more minutes. In the dream, Zhang Yuanqing, merely an ordinary person, grew more and more injured, his movements growing slower and slower. Finally, under the relentless pursuit of the monster, he failed to evade a lucky dodge and was pierced through the heart by a sudden leap and thrust. Yuchuan Mei is a renowned evil specialist from the southern sect, a celebrated figure within the Virtuous Order. Official records document a substantial amount of her career history. She is a powerful practitioner, among the elite of the sixth tier, and even Fu Qingyang has failed to defeat her. As a Dream Master, she appears and disappears without trace, often absent from sight, yet she consistently intervenes during the annual killing missions, eliminating official agents. She particularly favors handsome male agents. Rather than killing them, she transforms them into servants, using them for her own amusement. Moreover, she has a strong predilection for suffering—on several occasions, she has willingly risked her life to experience Fu Qingyang’s techniques, nearly escaping his mastery each time, which speaks volumes about her resilience. During the terror attack Li Xianzong orchestrated at Songhai, Yuchuan Mei attacked Fu Qingyang, buying him valuable time. Zhang Yuanqing still remembers Fu Qingyang’s assessment of her: a complete neurotic! Upon hearing her name, Yi Chuan Mei murmured, "Oh? You know me? Ah, the night wanderer of Taiyuan Gate? Your level is rather low—how could I have matched with someone so frail? I don't know what your true appearance is like, but unfortunately, you're too weak. Should you die in the dream, you'll perish in reality as well." Her bright and charming gaze held a playful cat-and-mouse charm. She hadn't recognized him—after all, he still bore the form of Lin Ci. Zhang Yuanqing's face grew pale, his body hanging limply in midair, struggling to draw breath, asking, "How did you discover me? Could you tell me, so that I may die with clarity?" Yi Chuan Mei smiled gently, "You guess!" Zhang Yuanqing looked at her with deep disappointment, his spark of awareness fading, replaced by stillness. He had passed. Outside, the wind and rain raged on, while within the estate, the flames danced and flickered. The镖masters sat around the bonfire, their heads bowed, asleep. By the door, Chen Wei leaned against her lover Lin Ci, sleeping soundly. Suddenly, Lin Ci's body dissolved into radiant light. "Hmm?" Chen Wei wobbled slightly, opening her drowsy eyes. At that moment, in the depth of her dark, luminous gaze, she saw another figure—Lin Ci had appeared out of nowhere, already standing before her. He held a delicate purple-gold pumpkin hammer in his hands and brought it down with a resounding crash. "Boom!" Chen Wei's head burst open like a watermelon, brain tissue and bone fragments splashing outward. Her body stiffened instantly, then collapsed backward. "Dead... I've killed Yuchuan Mei?" Seeing the blood-soaked, headless body, Zhang Yuanqing was both stunned and delighted. Though it was unexpected that the enemy was Yuchuan Mei, the overall course of events unfolded exactly as he had anticipated. Chen Xue Dao's words had inspired him: if he couldn't escape the dream, then he would simply stay awake—staying awake would make him fearless against the Dream Master. Thus, he went out actively to gather dry wood, secretly using the Yata Mirror to create a perfect duplicate of himself. His true form then departed, hiding outside the Yi Zhuang, closely monitoring all activities within by sensing and communicating with the duplicate. Previously, in his dream, Yuchuan Mei had remained elusive, and he had hesitated to act. Only when her presence manifested clearly in the dream did he decisively enter the Yi Zhuang to attack the physically vulnerable Master of Dreams. Women who had escaped Fu Qingyang’s attacks were now struck down by a single blow to the head. "To be safe, let's check whether the blood disaster still persists," said Zhang Yuanqing, pulling out the ghost mirror and holding it to his face. The reflection showed him with a blood-tinged aura across his brows and eyes. He looked surprised. At the same time, someone coldly asked, "How did you discover me?" As the words were spoken, the scene instantly transformed—the fire-lit Yi Zhuang vanished, and Zhang Yuanqing found himself standing in the courtyard of the Yi Zhuang, beneath a night of rain and wind. The latticed gate, glowing faintly with the dim light of the fire, was less than ten paces away. He had never entered the Yi Zhuang at all—the entire scene he had just witnessed was a mere illusion. "Click~" The gate opened, and Chen Wei stepped out, her expression gloomy. Though still graceful and radiant, she lacked the boldness and warmth of the fire master. She studied Lin Ci carefully and asked again, "How did you discover me?" The earlier curiosity in her gaze had vanished entirely. Indeed, she wasn't easy to kill. Hm—she hadn't attacked immediately, that was right. A lower rank of the duplicate didn't necessarily mean her true form was weak. She was uncertain about his strength. She was therefore delaying, summoning the Lady Countess... Zhang Yuanqing tugged at his lips. "You guessed it!" Yi Chuan Mei immediately narrowed her eyes, staring at Zhang Yuanqing for a moment before suddenly laughing softly. "I wondered why the opponent seemed so weak—turns out it was just a duplicate. I never noticed that. Who exactly are you? I'm growing more curious about your identity every day. "After Fengdu's Ghost King ascended to the rank of Sovereign, among the six-level celestial officials of Taiyuan Gate, I've had dealings with quite a few of them. You're different from any of them." Zhang Yuanqing maintained focused attention, mentally preparing for the confrontation while simultaneously communicating with the Silver Yao Princess and the Blood Rose outside the estate. He once again managed to smile: "You guess!" Yuchuan stood beneath the eaves, catching a string of raindrops in her hand, and smiled gently. "Since you've uncovered my disguise, you should know how I detected yours. Honestly, if there hadn't been certain restrictions, I would have killed you last night." Restrictions? What restrictions! By now, Zhang Yuanqing was certain that the other party was cautious and thus probing. He welcomed the opportunity to appear confident and gather information, saying: "It was during the performance at the open-air theater, wasn't it? I declined your proposal." Yuchuan nodded slightly. "We both know the relationship between Lin Ci and Chen Wei. Hm—what a young man, full of vitality, who has experienced love, should have declined his lover's advances under the circumstances, especially when the conditions were "Besides these so-called moral paragons from your official circles, I simply can't think of any other possibility." That's how it happened—by sheer coincidence—we were paired together... Thinking back on sharing a bed with this woman, even kissing her, Zhang Yuanqing felt a chill run down his spine. After all, she was a top-tier Level 6 character. He hesitantly asked, "You mentioned restrictions—what kind of restrictions?" Of course, the Princess and the Blood Rose searched for hours outside, yet not a single figure was seen within the entire estate—definitely, the enemy must be inside. Zhang Yuanqing smiled slightly and said, "It's your turn to respond." Yuchuan Mei paused and replied, "The coffin can only feed two people per night. During the day, I'm unable to use my profession's abilities—this is my limitation." That doesn't quite make sense. Why didn't you simply have the coffin consume me and Chen Xue dao directly? Zhang Yuanqing quickly analyzed. He believed Yuchuan Mei wasn't being entirely truthful, or had withheld part of the truth. Yuchuan Mei repeated her point: "You concluded my identity solely based on us opening the door late?" Zhang Yuanqing said, "No one knows the Fire Specialist better than I do. Fire Specialists rarely seek partners among their own profession, as their temperamental nature makes it difficult for them to nurture lasting relationships." "Chen Wei simply can't have any connection with Zhao Youcai—unless Chen Wei isn't really Chen Wei. When I left the inn this morning, didn't I leave something behind in the room? Actually, I went to check Zhao Youcai's bedsheet. Hm, Yi-chuan, you're quite lovely—really well-nourished." He deliberately spoke in a teasing tone to convey his confidence and to influence Yi-chuan's judgment. Yi-chuan sighed, "If you hadn't turned me down that night, I wouldn't have sought out Zhao Youcai to relieve my tension. He performed quite well at the teahouse. Still, if I could, I'd prefer to find you—after all, you're the Night-Wanderer. Though not every Night-Wanderer is a Magician-King, I particularly appreciate your resilience." How many women has the Magician-King slept with... Zhang Yuanqing now had no idea what expression to adopt. At that very moment, a sharp, piercing cry rang out from the Yi-zhuang. Yi-chuan smiled gently, "The time has come. My mission is complete."