Chapter 1 Nightmare

His body couldn't help but tremble. At that moment, Jiang Cheng finally felt completely relieved. A moment later, the hand on his shoulder slowly disappeared.

Jiang Cheng understood that Wu had put in a great effort to wake him from the Nightmare Assault. His aura was very weak now, and invading a dream of that magnitude was a terrible drain on him.

Wu, like him, needed rest.

He turned his head to look at Fatty. The sight of his sleeping face made Jiang Cheng feel dazed. If it hadn't been for Wu's appearance, he would have suspected that everything before was just an ethereal dream.

But that dream had almost cost him his life.

Thinking about the moment Wu's hand touched his shoulder, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt at ease. He could feel that Wu was telling him to rest.

Perhaps he was exhausted, or perhaps he had suddenly relaxed, but he actually fell asleep, and had another dream. In the dream, countless bizarre scenes flashed by, as if playing a slideshow.

These scenes instinctively made Jiang Cheng uneasy, as if foreshadowing something. The scene suddenly changed, and Jiang Cheng found himself on a path.

Under his feet were interlocking bluestone slabs, likely untouched for a long time, covered with moss. Pale green mist swirled around, and if he listened carefully, he could faintly hear a commotion ahead.

Following the direction of the noise, he came to the edge of a lake. The commotion grew louder, and Jiang Cheng could even distinguish laughter, singing, and orchestral music intertwined, a magnificent scene!

But the next second, the blood in his veins turned cold, and he was as startled as a frightened bird. He remembered, how familiar this scene was. It was the Pleasure Tower he had glimpsed in the Xixie Mountains!

A breeze blew past, and the surrounding green mist dissipated like wind sweeping away clouds, revealing a vast lake. And on the dark, greenish lake, stood a towering pavilion.

No, that wasn't right. To be precise, the magnificent pavilion wasn't standing above the water, but was a reflection. The huge reflection was cast on the lake, illuminated by lights, and the sounds of orchestral music came from within the reflection.

It was actually a pavilion in the water!

People say that flowers in a mirror and the moon in the water are beautiful but unattainable. But the Pleasure Tower gave Jiang Cheng a completely different feeling. Jiang Cheng was inexplicably certain that the pavilion was real. But, like the mountain people said, all those who tried to find it never returned, and were left as guests in the tower.

The Dengxian Terrace, the Pleasure Tower. Jiang Cheng woke up in great fear, his chest heaving violently, and cold sweat had already soaked his entire body. Fortunately… fortunately, it was just a dream.

The sky outside was already faintly bright. Jiang Cheng took a long time to calm down and still hadn't fully recovered. He had a feeling that he hadn't completely escaped. The Pleasure Tower had already set its sights on him, and this… wasn't over.

Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried footsteps outside the door, followed by a knock. Fatty was startled awake and opened the door, and Numbers 2 and 13 rushed in.

Number 2's face was grim, and Number 13 was even more visibly nervous. "Mr. Luo just sent a message that today's plan to enter the mountain is canceled. Something happened on their side."

Fatty perked up immediately upon hearing this. "What is it? What happened?"

"It's not clear yet. Mr. Luo told us not to go anywhere, and that he'll come to us after he's dealt with things over there. He has some things to say to us in person."

Judging from Number 2's expression, the situation was definitely more complicated than they had imagined. An atmosphere of unease was brewing. Jiang Cheng didn't immediately reveal what he had experienced. He was observing, his previous experiences had made him wary of everything around him.

He trusted Fatty, and Numbers 2 and 13 nearby should be fine. After all, Wu had already appeared and hadn't issued a warning. But he wasn't so sure about Luo Yunshan and the others.

Time passed anxiously, and it wasn't until nearly noon that Luo Yunshan arrived in a hurry with his people. The powerful old man looked very different from before. His eyes were red, and his brow was furrowed with anxiety. And Jiang Cheng found a hint of unspeakable fear in his eyes.

"Mr. Luo, what happened?"

Number 2's calm tone seemed to give Luo Yunshan some confidence. The latter waved his hand, indicating for everyone to sit down and talk. Then, he took a bottle of mineral water that Fatty handed him, opened it, and took several large gulps, finally freeing himself from the great gloom. He looked up, his voice hoarse, and his first words stunned everyone. "The team we were planning to send into the mountains to scout ahead has been completely wiped out."

After a long silence, someone finally came back to their senses. "They're all dead?"

"Yes."

"What happened?" Number 13's voice rose. "Who told them to act first? Didn't they know to wait for us to act together?"

After a pause, Luo Yunshan took a deep breath, as if he still couldn't accept the reality. "No, they didn't even enter the mountain. They died in the town, in… in their rooms."

"Four people to a room, a total of 27 people. All of them… all of them are dead. These people were lying in their beds, they didn't go anywhere. What's even stranger is that there were no injuries on their bodies, and there were no signs of a struggle in the rooms. The clothes, the beds, the equipment in the rooms, everything was normal. It was as if they fell asleep and then just died."

"There were people on duty outside their residences all night, but according to their recollections, last night was very quiet, nothing happened, and they didn't hear any unusual sounds."

"We checked the surveillance video… there was nothing unusual, it was a peaceful night."

"This isn't the only supernatural event. There have been several other cases in the town at the same time, with the same scenario. So far, a total of 43 bodies have been found, and a significant number of the victims are disciples."

"There was also an elite team directly under my command, a total of 7 people, responsible for the security of important figures. They all died this time too."

Hearing this, Numbers 2 and 13's eyes narrowed simultaneously. They immediately realized the problem, this strange ability was very similar to Number 3's - killing in dreams.

But according to their understanding of Number 3, although Number 3's ability was terrifying, it wasn't strong enough to silently kill 43 people, including elite disciples, in one night.

"I'm sorry, we won't be able to gather enough manpower to enter the mountain again in the short term. I've already reported everything here, and support troops are on the way."

"If this isn't resolved, I'm afraid more people will die."

Luo Yunshan's face became even more unsightly. This kind of silent death was the most terrifying, and put more psychological pressure on people. After all, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't be next.