Xing Yue leaned his back against the cold wall. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier until they finally closed completely, and he drifted into sleep.
In a daze, he felt as if he were floating.
The darkness of the dungeon no longer seemed so pure. A strange halo with a somewhat blurred color permeated from somewhere, illuminating the prison that had originally been lit only by torches.
The light was not dazzling, yet it made everything appear somewhat surreal, as if viewed through a layer of rippling water.
Xing Yue looked down, and his heart suddenly jolted.
He saw that the walls and floor of the dungeon, even the iron bars of the cells, had been covered at some point by a layer of milky-white grids that looked like blood vessels.
These grids throbbed slightly, intertwining with one another in a dense mass.
As if they possessed life, they rose and fell in a rhythmic breath.
Xing Yue followed these pathways with his gaze and was horrified to find that the source of these white grids actually came from the prisoners in the other cells!
The grids, like vines, were slowly overflowing from the seven orifices of those prisoners, spreading and growing silently.
They looked very much like some kind of wild creeper, covering everything they could touch.
Xing Yue’s heart pounded. He did not understand why such a bizarre transformation would occur in the Blackwater Dungeon.
To make matters worse, his spiritual power was locked, and his hands and feet were in shackles; he was completely unable to resist.
The dreamlike light became increasingly brilliant, and a figure slowly walked out from the depths of the dream-light.
The newcomer held a lantern that emitted a soft glow.
His face appeared somewhat blurred in the halo, but Xing Yue recognized him at a single glance.
It was the City Lord!
This was very strange. Xing Yue’s rank was not high; he had only seen the City Lord a few times from a distance at large gatherings and had never even spoken a word to him.
It was even more impossible for the City Lord to know a minor figure like him. But at this moment, an inexplicable certainty told him that the person before him was the City Lord of Lantao City.
The City Lord approached with the lantern, the light dispelling some of the darkness surrounding Xing Yue.
A peaceful smile graced his face, and his voice was calm. "Xing Yue, come with me."
Xing Yue stood up subconsciously, only then realizing that his own body was also emitting a faint glow.
He had no time to think about why the City Lord would appear at the lowest level of the Blackwater Dungeon. He hurriedly bowed and spoke in an urgent tone.
"Lord City Lord, your subordinate Xing Yue has urgent matters to report!
"Qudao County has been occupied by the Bone Temple! They use eerie methods and can control an army of skeletons!
"Thousand Isles County is plagued by copper poison, and the people are suffering. I fear it is inextricably linked to those demon monks! Please, Lord City Lord, investigate clearly and send reinforcements soon!"
Xing Yue poured out all the intelligence that had been distorted by Chen Zhou.
He hoped that even if the commander didn't care, the City Lord, as the master of a commandery, wouldn't continue to sit idly by.
These were matters of life and death.
The smile on the City Lord’s face remained peaceful. He gently raised his hand, gesturing for Xing Yue to say no more.
"I am already aware of this matter, and Lord Jieyin is also aware. Everything has its arrangements; you need not worry."
He looked at Xing Yue with approval. "Xing Yue, you are loyal to your duties and unafraid of danger. You ventured into a perilous place to bring back information. Your heart is commendable, and your courage is admirable.
"There is too much suffering in this turbid world. You have fulfilled your duty; you have worked hard.
"Think no more of what comes after; I will handle everything.
"Now, lay down the burdens of the mortal world. Brave and loyal one, come with me. This City Lord will take you to Sukhavati..."
As the City Lord spoke, Xing Yue felt his consciousness begin to grow chaotic.
His thoughts were like sinking into a warm quagmire, difficult to focus. He only wanted to follow that lantern and that peaceful figure ahead forever.
"Yes, Lord City Lord," Xing Yue responded mechanically, his eyes gradually losing focus.
The City Lord nodded slightly in satisfaction, held the lantern, and turned to lead the way.
Xing Yue followed behind him like a guided puppet.
As the lantern's light illuminated the path ahead, the vascular grids on the walls, which had only been throbbing slowly, seemed to be injected with vitality. They detached from the walls one after another, winding toward their respective sources.
Squelch! Squelch!
Faint sounds echoed in the silence.
Those white grids crazily wound around the prisoners' bodies, tightening further and further until they wrapped them into one wriggling white cocoon after another.
Once these white cocoons formed, they floated up in an orderly fashion as if possessing consciousness, following behind Xing Yue like a silent guard of honor.
Surrounding them was boundless darkness, with only the lantern in the City Lord’s hand emitting a light that guided the way.
Xing Yue followed with unsteady steps, only to find the sensation beneath his feet becoming stranger and stranger.
It was no longer cold and hard, but had become warm and soft, even possessing a sticky elasticity.
The walls on both sides also lost their stony texture, their color turning dark red and covered in fine folds, as if he were walking inside the cavity of some giant creature.
The City Lord was ahead, chanting in a low, ethereal, and distant tone.
"The sea of bitterness is boundless, let dreams be your boat, ferrying all beings to the shore beyond."
"Cast off the heavy shackles of the flesh; the soul ascends to the Brahma Heaven."
Xing Yue was groggy, nearly on the verge of total surrender.
However, just as his consciousness was about to be completely lost, another anxious voice rang out clearly in his mind and ears.
"Xing Yue! Wake up!"
The City Lord’s chanting continued.
"All is suffering; only dreams are eternal."
"Xing Yue! Wake up!"
"Pure Land of Great Dreams, enter Sukhavati together."
"Xing Yue! Wake up!"
The two voices gradually merged, as if demonic sounds were piercing his ears.
Amidst this chaos, Xing Yue suddenly felt something flicker sharply deep within his sea of consciousness.
It was a bone seed deeply planted within his sea of consciousness.
The bone seed seemed to be stimulated by this external dream power. It vibrated slightly, carrying an absolutely sober will that pierced through the barrier of the nightmare like a sharp sword.
A chilly aura made Xing Yue shudder instantly, and his mind cleared at once.
The blurred colors before his eyes, the City Lord’s chanting, and the floating white cocoons behind him all shook violently.
They looked like images with a poor signal.
The City Lord walking in front seemed to have sensed the anomaly. He turned his head in surprise, his lips still moving as if he wanted to say something comforting.
But Xing Yue could no longer hear him.
All the scenes rapidly dissipated like a shattered mirror.
The City Lord’s peaceful face distorted in the warped light and shadows, eventually settling into a familiar face filled with anxiety.
It was Deputy Commander Zhao Qianjun.
Zhao Qianjun was crouching in front of him, hands gripping his shoulders, shaking him forcefully.
"Xing Yue! Wake up! Wake the hell up!"
Xing Yue gasped for breath, cold sweat instantly drenching the clothes on his back.
He looked around. Where were the dream-light and the City Lord?
He was still inside that individual cell in the Blackwater Dungeon, leaning against the cold, rough stone wall with shackles on his hands and feet.
"Deputy... Deputy Commander Zhao?" Xing Yue asked, still shaken.
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