Chapter 304: Chapter 300: Li Chengguang (3)

A silvery-white tunnel curved downward, unfathomably deep, as if without end.

Dim yellow lights flickered on the walls, struggling to illuminate the long, narrow space.

Hu Qi’s legs were shockingly powerful, and his speed was astonishing. He advanced steadily down the tunnel, and it wasn’t long before he saw its end.

However, the scene at the end was completely different from what he had expected. There was no heavy, steel-forged gate, nor were there heavily armed guards on watch.

All he saw was an old wooden door standing silently in his path.

The wooden planks of the door were already dry, cracked, and faded, with a few fissures appearing. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Peering through the cracks, he could see an inky blackness behind the door.

The lock hanging on the door exuded an air of age and decay, its body covered in dark red rust.

It looked as if it had been soaked in blood, giving off an inexplicably strange feeling.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment. A faint chill could be felt seeping from the direction of the door.

It made one’s heart beat uncontrollably faster, their feet feeling as if they were nailed to the ground.

Behind that door, something terrifying seemed to be lurking.

Beside the wooden door sat a wicker chair.

At that moment, an old woman with a full head of white hair lay on the chair, wrapped tightly in a funeral robe.

The funeral robe was a deep, somber black, its hem stained with dust from some unknown place, making it look filthy.

Tucked into her waist was a suona. Its body had several scratches, and the brass mouthpiece was slightly faded.

Hu Qi stared at the wooden door. ’This must be a special Dream Eye,’ he realized.

As for the old woman in the funeral robe before him, she had to be a Dream Master.

’To be assigned to guard this place, she must be anything but ordinary.’

And indeed, Hu Qi could sense the auras of three or four different Dream Eyes on her.

’A Dreamwalker?’

Hu Qi’s gaze flickered.

’The surrounding walls are all made of Gold. Trying to use the Mirror Person’s Nightmare Power to bypass her and get inside is clearly impractical. That only leaves one option: force my way in.’

With this in mind, he walked up to her.

However, as soon as he came within a meter of her, the old woman, who had been as still as a corpse, suddenly snapped her turbid eyes open.

In that instant, her funeral robe billowed violently, and the faint sound of mournful wails drifted out, as if filled with endless sorrow and resentment, making the atmosphere even more sinister and bizarre.

"Hmm?"

The old woman let out a startled and suspicious sound, her gaze sweeping warily around her.

But the area was empty. There was no sign of a person, nor any trace of a Nightmare’s aura.

’Did I just imagine it?’

The old woman wondered to herself, her brow furrowing slightly. For a split second, she had definitely felt a disturbance from a Dream Eye.

But the current silence made her wonder if she was just being overly sensitive.

Yet, at that very moment, the air beside her suddenly began to vibrate violently.

A powerful gust of wind rushed toward her, sending her white hair flying wildly.

BANG!

Immediately after, a piece of white joss paper appeared without any warning.

Then, as if struck by an incredibly powerful and irresistible force, the joss paper exploded on the spot, showering white fragments everywhere.

"Hm? Who’s there!"

A look of shock and anger flashed in her eyes as her hand reached for the suona at her waist.

But the next moment...

THWACK!

A hand-chop struck her directly on the neck.

The old woman’s eyes bulged. Her body stiffened, and she fell rigidly to the ground, knocked unconscious.

The next second, the mournful wails and the joss paper in the air all vanished, as if they had never been there at all.

Hu Qi’s figure materialized. He looked at the unconscious old woman, a little surprised.

’Interesting. She was actually able to detect my presence.’

’However, for her to be assigned to guard a place where Dream Eyes are imprisoned, she naturally has some skill. On top of that, this body’s strength is limited. While I can use the Twisted Light Talent, it’s a world of difference compared to my main body. Thinking about it that way, this situation isn’t so strange.’

Hu Qi glanced at her but didn’t take the Dream Eyes from her body.

He could tell that the old woman was on the verge of death, kept alive only by the power of the Dream Eyes she possessed. If he were to take them, she would die instantly.

’She’s done nothing to wrong me, so there’s no need for that. Besides, there are plenty of Dream Eyes behind this door.’

Hu Qi bent down, took a red key from her, and walked toward the wooden door.

As if sensing his approach, tormented, struggling faces began to emerge on the surface of the door.

Hu Qi paid them no mind. He inserted the key into the lock, gave it a slight twist, and the lock clicked open. He then pushed the door open.

A downward staircase appeared in the doorway. Further ahead, it was pitch-black, without a single glimmer of light.

This was no problem for Hu Qi, however. He could clearly see a massive, hollowed-out space below.

Faint, esoteric Ghost Talismans could be seen on the surrounding walls, emitting a dim, ethereal glow.

However, Hu Qi didn’t sense anything unusual from them. ’They’re probably just useless decorations.’

In the very center of this space sat a giant, inverted, bronze-colored Copper Bell.

The giant bell was dusty and even had a few corners chipped off, looking as if it had been taken from some dilapidated temple.

But strangely, although the giant bell was motionless, the sound of DONG! DONG! DONG! faintly echoed throughout the space.

Hu Qi could clearly feel the Dream Eye powers under his control becoming suppressed.

’This giant bell is strange. To be placed here, it must possess the power to suppress Dream Eyes.’

Besides this giant bell, there were rows of tightly packed, connected rooms.

Each doorway had its own number and the name of a Dream Eye.

The room closest to Hu Qi’s left read "001 Blood Gloves," followed by "002 Deceitful Buddha Bead..."

Clearly, these rooms were where the Dream Eyes were stored.

Other than that, there were no other guards here.

Not even a single security camera could be seen. It wasn’t that the Security Bureau didn’t want to install them, but that they couldn’t.

After all, this was a place where numerous Dream Eyes were imprisoned. Although the Gold barriers had a sealing effect and the Copper Bell provided suppression, it was inevitable that wisps of Nightmare Power would occasionally seep out and affect the surrounding environment.

Any electronic devices placed here would be completely useless.

Moreover, Nightmare Power could easily cause living beings to hallucinate. If people were stationed to guard this place, they would inevitably be influenced by the Nightmare Power, and might even inadvertently break the seals.

Without hesitation, Hu Qi walked directly to the door with the words "001 Blood Gloves" written on it.

Below "Blood Gloves," a line of small text was also written.

Blood Gloves: Originates from a construction site in Tianhang City.

Killing Pattern: Normally white. If a living creature comes within a 200-meter radius, blood will begin to flow from the glove’s surface.

This blood comes directly from the creature’s own body.

This process cannot be interrupted.

It continues until the creature’s blood is completely drained, its life extinguished, leaving behind only a glove dyed crimson.

Evasion Method: Sever one’s own hand. It will not act on a creature that has no hands.

The door wasn’t locked, only secured by a simple latch.

Hu Qi slid the latch open and gave the door a gentle push, opening it.

The room wasn’t large, about the size of a changing room.

On the wall hung a single glove.

The glove looked no different from the cheap, white cotton gloves used by workers.

However, the moment Hu Qi pushed open the door, droplets of dark red blood began to seep from the surface of the white glove.

At the same time, Hu Qi could feel a portion of the blood in his body being drawn out by some kind of force.

However, the process was very slow.

It couldn’t even keep up with the rate his body produced new blood.

Unfazed by this, Hu Qi remained unmoved.

A faint golden flame appeared on the surface of his body, directly blocking the power of the Blood Gloves. He then reached out, grabbed it, and enveloped it in a terrifying flame.

In less than three seconds, the glove turned into black smoke and was inhaled by Hu Qi.

Modification Points +150 (23%)

Blood-red text floated before his eyes.

At the same time, the Crimson Sun Flame Fire, condensed from his Cultivation of the Crimson Sun Demon Elephant Flame Prison Skill, grew richer. The power converted from this Dream Eye was like the finest kindling.

For him, it was comparable to some kind of Treasure of Heaven and Earth.

After doing this, Hu Qi didn’t linger. He walked out and opened the next room.

...

Just as Hu Qi devoured the Blood Gloves, in the Security Bureau on the surface, a figure who had been sitting upright in a dimly lit office suddenly snapped their eyes open.