Nightmare Master – CH 009

Chapter 9. Farce

Darkness vanished, and dawn broke.

Before Xie Yuzhu could respond, a deep, dense forest suddenly appeared around her. Ancient trees, hundreds of years old, towered into the clouds, blocking out the sun. A misty, damp atmosphere permeated the air; the scenes of fire and blades were gone.

Xie Yuzhu landed on the ground covered with withered leaves, looking up as the ruhk in the sky dissipated into ashes, seemingly merging with the mist.

Yun Chuan was shrouded in the mist and ashes of the forest. Sunlight filtered through the mist, creating a hazy golden glow. She was immersed in this radiant golden light, as if she were from another world.

Xie Yuzhu stood silently facing Yun Chuan for a long while, then suddenly raised her hand between them, saying seriously, “Wait! Wait! I need to sort this out.”

She paused, then sat up, clutching her head, and said thoughtfully, “You killed those who kidnapped you because they coerced you first, which is understandable. But what about the four people from Fu Family Village? Why did you kill them?”

“They wanted to steal my bag and bracelet.”

“Oh, they were robbers! That is even more understandable! Besides that, have you used this bracelet to kill anyone else?”

If it were limited to killing with the bracelet, then the rumored close friend did not count, leaving no one else.

So Yun Chuan answered, “No.”

Xie Yuzhu let out a long sigh of relief, clutching her chest and exclaiming, “My heart has been pounding all night! I was terrified! Why are you so quick to judge? You were fighting back in self-defense; you are not a bad person, not even ruthless! What kind of language is that!”

Yun Chuan pointed at her: “But you said…”

“I said, you are not a bad person. Yun, Chuan, is, not, a, bad, person! Do you understand?!”

Xie Yuzhu said, each word distinct, her voice loud but trembling. Her face was covered in mud and dust, her eyes filled with unease, as if this assertion was a promise that needed to convince not only Yun Chuan but also herself.

Yun Chuan looked slightly confused. After a moment of silence, she lowered her fingers and said, “Alright.”

Xie Yuzhu took a deep breath, patted Yun Chuan’s shoulder, and said with lingering fear, “Sister Yun Chuan, do not say anything carelessly. Once you have a reputation, you can never get it off.”

They found a quiet spot in the dense forest and sat down to bandage each other’s wounds from their ordeal. After talking with Yun Chuan, Xie Yuzhu felt she had grasped the truth of the matter and felt exasperated by Yun Chuan’s apparent ignorance.

“You really do not know anything… Did you not see the notices posted in the city? You cannot just use anything you find that is inlaid with glowing blue stones! Using it makes you a spirit bandit, and you will be wanted by all the immortal sects!”

Yun Chuan turned her head: “What’s a spirit bandit?”

Xie Yuzhu rubbed her forehead, leaning against a fallen giant tree, and said angrily, “It’s a long story, and it all comes down to Ye Minwei. All this mess is her fault!”

Yun Chuan opened her mouth, then hesitated.

“When Ye Minwei was still revered as the Master of All Things, she and the Master of Dream Ruins created a cultivation method called ‘Nightmare Cultivation.’ This method has nothing to do with Nightmare Arts; it is used by cultivators to break through realms and improve their cultivation. If successfully cultivated, one’s cultivation greatly increases; even those who have already reached the peak can expand their cultivation by another seven chi.

However, this method requires refining one’s essence with nightmares. If not refined properly, not only will cultivation not increase, but a sentient being will also arise within the essence. This being will absorb all the cultivator’s spiritual power and memories, detaching itself and wandering the world—this is the Nightmare Beast.

Now, returning to Ye Minwei, twenty years ago, she failed in her Nightmare Cultivation, and the Nightmare Beast escaped Mount Kunwu.

Everyone only realized after seeing Ye Minwei’s Nightmare Beast that she had secretly turned all sorts of magical techniques into magical artifacts. People like us, with no foundation or cultivation, knowing nothing of internal energy, mental techniques, movement techniques, incantations, or hand seals, can use magical artifacts like immortal cultivators just by acquiring them.

Ye Minwei’s Nightmare Beast runs around carrying a bunch of magical artifacts, throwing one at anyone it likes. Ordinary people who have gained the magical powers of these artifacts often use them for evil and are called ‘spirit bandits.’ From then until today, the world has been in chaos.”

Xie Yuzhu pointed at Yun Chuan: “Now you are a spirit bandit.”

Yun Chuan nodded thoughtfully.

At this point, Xie Yuzhu felt worried. Yun Chuan had repaired the bracelet and could have used the power of the magical artifacts to avoid obstacles all the way to the center of the dream world, where she could ask the Nightmare Masters to release them. But the center of the dream would be reflected in the bronze mirror. With so many people from the immortal sects watching, Yun Chuan’s appearance would surely expose her identity as a spirit bandit.

“Using magic with the power of a spiritual artifact is a serious crime, not to mention you’ve killed someone. If those people from the immortal sects find out, there’s only death on your hands. We cannot go to the Nightmare Master.”

Yun Chuan had bandaged Xie Yuzhu’s wounds, so she tore off strips of cloth to bandage her own, saying as she did so, “Let’s just hide secretly until their competition ends and all the dreams shatter, then we can naturally leave.”

Yun Chuan gasped softly in pain. She pondered Xie Yuzhu’s words for a moment, then asked doubtfully, “Are you thinking of me?”

“Yes…is this not as expected? You’ve saved me so many times! The most important thing in life is loyalty; I understand that!” Xie Yuzhu held up her hand, waving it to her lips. “I promise I will keep it a secret.”

Yun Chuan stared at her, her expression unchanging as she shattered her loyalty: “I saved you for five hundred taels of silver.”

Xie Yuzhu stared, choked for a long time, and finally managed to say, “A gentleman judges by actions, not intentions… No, Sister Yun Chuan, can you please not be so honest?”

A rustling sound came from the woods, as if something had come to life and was exploring.

“They are awake; we should go.” Yun Chuan finally stood up, the bracelet on her wrist slowly turning. She said, “The bracelet is not completely repaired; it is barely usable and will break again soon, and it will be even worse. Judging from the duration of the dream, it will not last until the end.”

Xie Yuzhu was dumbfounded: “Then what do we do?”

“We will go to the center of the dream to find the Nightmare Master.”

“And then?”

“I am not good at what happens next; you figure it out,” Yun Chuan said frankly.

Xie Yuzhu paused for a moment, rubbing her temples, and said, “I understand. This situation is just bad luck, a life of many misfortunes; I am going to shorten my lifespan.”

At this moment, the people in the Zhaiyue Tower were maintaining a delicate order amidst the chaos. The Nightmare Masters were trapped on the high platform by the white paper and could not escape. They used their Nightmare Arts to summon Nightmares to fight against the white paper. For a time, swords, seas of fire, floods, and ferocious beasts appeared one after another on the high platform, arriving with great force, but they were all cut into pieces or buried and dissipated by the white paper.

This cage of white paper was indestructible; it was stronger than the Nightmare Master behind it, more than anyone expected. The awakened Nightmare Masters could only try in vain, while those who had not yet been defeated continued their nightmare battle, remaining motionless in their seats.

On the other side, the Immortal Sect disciples and the Zhaiyue Tower servants remained calm. The Immortal Sect members were only invited to witness the alliance meeting, not to be in charge. Seeing that the one disrupting the meeting was also a Nightmare Master, they assumed this was an internal struggle among Nightmare Masters, and it was not appropriate for them to interfere. So, after their attempts to destroy the white paper failed and seeing that the white paper did not seem to want to attack them, they also remained still, watching the nightmare battle on the bronze mirror.

The Zhaiyue Tower servants were even more indifferent, figuring the Nightmare Masters could afford to compensate for any damaged tables and chairs, as long as they did not demolish the pavilion.

Suddenly, someone from Xiaoyao Gate’s seats shouted, “Quickly look at position B in the Xun area!”

The Immortal Sect disciples all turned their dream reflections on the bronze mirror to position B in the Xun area. Here, a chaotic battle raged between three men. A short, dark-skinned man in his forties pounded a massive drum, each strike shaking the heavens and earth, shattering anything that approached him. A pale-faced, scholarly-looking man in his thirties manipulated countless giant trees, their branches stretching out like living creatures to entangle the opposing side; once severed, they oozed scalding poison. Finally, a tall, thin man with a pointed head waved his hand, unleashing swarms of locusts that devoured everything in their path.

The battle raged on, a fierce and evenly matched struggle, the three dreams merging, intertwined and bizarrely chaotic. Two disheveled women hid behind the branches of the giant trees. One of them cried out, “I told you I am the sixth young lady of the Xie family! Let us out!”

The servants of the Zhaiyue Tower outside the mirror, witnessing this scene, were terrified, their cries of alarm rising and falling.

“Sixth Young Lady! Why is the young lady in a dream?”

“Why is Yun Chuan here, too?”

“What’s going on!?”

The disciples of the immortal sects at the banquet exchanged bewildered glances, then could not help but look towards the Fuguang Sect. Everyone knew that the eldest and second young masters of the Xie family cultivated at the Fuguang Sect. Although they were not present this time, the Fuguang Sect maintained a close relationship with the Xie family. Ignoring the flying white paper, Uncle Zhuang immediately rushed to the Fuguang Sect’s seats, pleading with the disciples through the paper fence to help rescue Xie Yuzhu.

The nightmare master in the dream world was adding fuel to the fire. The middle-aged man beating the drum said, “I only know the eldest son, eldest daughter, and second son of the Xie family. Who has ever seen a sixth daughter? You say you are the sixth daughter of the Xie family, so you are?”

The pale-faced scholar advised, “Regardless of who they are, two weak women have mistakenly entered this dream world. We cannot just ignore it!”

The drummer shook his head: “How can we intervene? It was not us who summoned them into the dream. I doubt it was that Old Sixth Zhao either. If we did not summon them, how can we release them? Who knows how they got in? A young lady from the Xie family and a white-haired girl—these chaotic competition rules might very well be their doing!”

“In my opinion, these rules have been flawed for a long time. Everyone should stop!” the scholar shouted.

The pointed head controlling the locusts finally spoke, laughing loudly, “Who cares about the rules? The winner is the leader! Xu Shu, if you want to play the good guy, just admit defeat. Once all the dreams are shattered, they will be out!”

The drummer, looking as if he’d expected this, said, “Look, even if you stop, that madman Old Sixth Zhao will not! You are distracted protecting those two now; you will be defeated in no time!”

Xu Shu angrily retorted, “Qian Qianfu, all you do is spout nonsense!”

They kept talking and fighting, exchanging words and then engaging in combat. Xu Shu was indeed struggling to protect Yun Chuan and Xie Yuzhu. The giant log blocking their path crumbled to dust with each drumbeat, and the locusts swarmed in like a dark cloud, devouring even the wild rabbits and mice, leaving only skeletons.

Xie Yuzhu screamed and staggered back, feeling certain she’d have nightmares tonight, and all of this would have to happen all over again.

Just as the black cloud of locusts was about to swarm them, at the critical moment, Yun Chuan raised her hand. Ash, hidden in her sleeve, surged forth from her arm, rising into the sky with a gust of wind, erecting a towering wall that crashed down upon the locusts.

The dark cloud was scattered by the wall. Xie Yuzhu clutched her chest, looking at the calmly composed Yun Chuan beside her.

Yun Chuan’s bracelet peeked out from under her sleeve, hanging on her slender, white wrist, its layers of rings swirling with a dazzling blue light.

After a moment of stunned silence, Yun Chuan casually put her hands behind her back and said, as if reciting a mantra, “Ah, I’ve been exposed.”

Xie Yuzhu was speechless for a moment at this abysmal acting, glancing at the gray sky.

Outside the bronze mirror, the disciples of the Immortal Sect had been in chaos ever since Yun Chuan blew away the ashes. A cacophony of voices erupted: “Spiritual artifact,” “Azure Crystal,” “Spirit bandit”—the disciples of Xiaoyao Gate, who possessed the Chuiyan Huahui Technique, had all stood up, surrounding the bronze mirror and discussing amongst themselves.

“She’s a spirit bandit! Who is she?”

“She stole the Chuiyan Huahui Technique!”

“Did she lure Young Lady Xie into the nightmare? How did she get in?”

Just as doubts arose, Xie Yuzhu, in the bronze mirror, leaped away from Yun Chuan, pointing at her and shouting dramatically, “Sister Yun Chuan, you are actually a spirit bandit! I trusted you so much! I… I misjudged you!”

Yun Chuan grabbed Xie Yuzhu, poking her throat with a sharp twig, and said, “Do not move! Listen to me obediently! Or I will kill you!”

The servants of the Zhaiyue Tower gasped in shock, and Uncle Zhuang’s shouts echoed throughout the entire pavilion.

Wen Ci leaned against the vermilion gate, her brows furrowed, staring at Yun Chuan’s blood-stained reflection in the bronze mirror. Her initial surprise had completely turned to rage, her teeth grinding together.

“Ignorant! Audacious! She’s asking for trouble!”

She was told not to touch the nightmare magic, but she insisted!

After a pause, as if still not satisfied, Wen Ci added angrily, “What a terrible performance!”