Chapter 1 The Impending Doom

The evil thing in the coffin was about to emerge.

Staring at the grotesque, ghostly hand reaching out from the coffin, Zhang Yuanqing's heart pounded wildly in his chest. All he could hear was the thumping, a surge of uncontrollable fear rising within him, shattering his composure.

Under the influence of this fear, his body trembled slightly, his limbs spasming erratically.

*My* fear is being amplified! Zhang Yuanqing, with his vast experience, immediately realized that the insidious Zhangmeng Shi (Dream Controller) was at work.

Amplifying emotions and devouring reason were the Phantom Master's signature moves. He took a deep breath, desperately trying to suppress the rising fear. However, instead of subsiding, the fear intensified, threatening to overwhelm his sanity. This wasn't an ordinary Phantom Master, but a Level 6 Zhangmeng Shi. For a Level 6 Zhangmeng Shi, igniting the emotions of a Level 4 Xingzhe (Adept) was effortless.

The reason Zhang Yuanqing hadn't instantly collapsed was twofold: firstly, the Night Watcher's soul was strong and possessed abilities in the realm of illusion; secondly, he had been practicing the pure Yang body-cleansing technique for some time, granting him considerable resistance to illusionary effects. The way to escape the dream was simple: wake up. Zhang Yuanqing muttered to himself, his spirit rallying. He lunged towards Chen Xuedao, who was on the other side of the bonfire, and shouted, "Godfather! Wake up! Wake up!" Zhang Yuanqing reached across the bonfire and reached out to push Chen Xuedao's shoulder. However, his hand passed right through the mountain god. He was stunned. It wasn't that everyone had been dragged into a dream, but that *he* had been dragged into a dream. When did he enter the dream? When the door closed?

Or earlier? When the door of the Yi Zhuang (Mortuary Village) was blown open? Hmm... A cold sweat broke out on Zhang Yuanqing's back. Just then, the coffin lid was blasted off with tremendous force, landing with a deafening crash. A distorted, terrifying figure rose stiffly from the coffin. It had a human form, but with four heads growing from its shoulders. Each head was highly decayed, its face bloated and hideous.

The copper nails on the coffin clicked and creaked. The four heads turned 180 degrees in unison, twisting towards Zhang Yuanqing. Four pairs of terrifying eyes stared at him with a ghastly gaze. By the dim light of the fire, Zhang Yuanqing made out their appearance. They were the four missing escorts. They must have been monsters conjured from his own anxieties, not the real evil thing in the coffin. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he saw the monster leap into the air, shooting straight out of the coffin like a speeding car, charging towards him with brute force. Zhang Yuanqing retreated, trying to activate his Night Watcher's teleportation technique, but it failed. The inventory was also inaccessible. He had encountered this situation once before when Steward Pang tried to assassinate him with a magical item.

The white-clad killer in the dream was almost invincible. Even now, Zhang Yuanqing was still psychologically scarred by the experience. Only then, he had Master Wuhen's assistance. But now, he was in a dungeon, and no one could help him. As thoughts raced through his mind, Zhang Yuanqing stopped retreating and drew his steel blade, slashing at the oncoming monster. As the gleaming blade struck the head in the middle of the monster, blinding sparks flew. The blade instantly buckled, and Zhang Yuanqing's tiger's mouth split open, blood flowing, making him almost lose his grip on the sword. "Oh...oh..." The four heads of the monster spewed out rancid black smoke.

The monster raised its arms, its sharp fingernails stabbing forward fiercely. So fast! Zhang Yuanqing saw a blur, and then a sharp pain erupted in his chest. Ten black fingernails pierced his chest. Without thinking, he kicked the monster's steel-hard chest, forcing it back. The four-headed monster emitted a guttural growl. With a leap, it easily crossed seven or eight meters and pounced again. Zhang Yuanqing had no chance to check his injuries. After being knocked down, he immediately rolled continuously. The four-headed monster bounded over, repeatedly bending down to stab with its fingernails, each time missing. This monster's attack style is just like the zombie movies I watched when I was a kid. This is a nightmare extracted from my childhood fears. Zhang Yuanqing's sense of crisis surged, and he rolled faster. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his lower back, stopping his momentum. He had crashed into a pillar. Damn it! Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed slightly. An acrid stench assailed his senses the next second. In haste, he raised his sword and lifted it upwards.

The dark, glossy fingernails stabbed into the blade. Then, a hand covered with silken veins gripped it tightly. There was a tooth-aching sound of metal twisting. The wrought-iron sword was twisted into a steel bar. His scalp tingling, Zhang Yuanqing scrambled away from the monster's feet and pushed himself up. He tried to pull open the door.

But no matter how hard he tried, the door only shook. Helpless, he ran towards the coffins. Amidst the constant crashing and banging, Zhang Yuanqing used the obstacles to desperately fend off the monster. One by one, the fragmented corpses in the coffins were knocked aside. His situation became increasingly dangerous. The stronger the Zhangmeng Shi, the more dangerous the dream. The greater the level difference between them...

After being trapped in the dream, Zhang Yuanqing was directly suppressed into an ordinary person. "Who are you?! Come out! You motherfucker, get out here!" Zhang Yuanqing roared in exasperation as he dodged the monster's pursuit. As he spoke, he was stabbed twice more by the monster. The wounds weren't large, but he was covered in blood. The person behind the scenes remained silent. After a few more minutes of trembling, Zhang Yuanqing, who was just an ordinary person in the dream, became more seriously injured. His movements gradually slowed. Finally, in the monster's relentless pursuit, he failed to dodge and was hit by a leaping stab.

His heart was pierced through! The ferocious monster raised its arms, like a long spear, lifting Zhang Yuanqing high into the air. "You actually don't have a backup plan?" A soft, alluring voice suddenly spoke. Zhang Yuanqing struggled to look up at the abyss. He saw a figure suddenly appear next to the monster. It was a voluptuous, tall, and extremely seductive woman. Her features were delicate and beautiful, her eyes filled with captivating desire, like a ripe peach, a peach that anyone could take a bite of.

"Yin Chuanmei!" Zhang Yuanqing blurted out. His expression changed drastically, filled with shock. This wasn't a disguise, but a genuine emotion. Yi Chuanmei was a high-level Saint of the Nihility Sect's Southern Branch, a notorious and evil figure. The official records of her activities could fill a large stack. This person was powerful, a leader among Level 6s. Even his father, Yang, hadn't been able to kill her. As a Zhangmeng Shi, she was elusive, disappearing without a trace most of the time. However, she would appear before and after each Slaughter Dungeon to reap the lives of the official Xingzhe.

Moreover, she liked to choose handsome men. Her method of reaping wasn't killing, but turning male Xingzhe into her slaves, for her amusement. In addition, she had a strong masochistic tendency, risking her life several times to actively experience Fu Qingyang's near-perfect techniques. The fact that she could escape from Fu Qingyang's clutches several times showed her strength. When Li Xianzong created a terrorist attack in Songhai, Yi Chuanmei attacked Fu Qingyang to buy time for the former.

Zhang Yuanqing still remembered Fu Qingyang's assessment of this woman: a psychopath. Hearing the other party say his name, Yi Chuanmei let out an "oh" sound. "You recognize me? Hmm, you're the Night Watcher from Taiyi Sect. Your level isn't high. How could I be matched with a bug like you? I wonder what your real face looks like? What a pity, you're too weak. Death in a dream means death in reality." She was radiant and charming, with a smile on her lips and a playful look in her eyes, like a cat toying with a mouse. *She didn't recognize me. I'm still using Lin Ci's appearance.* Zhang Yuanqing hung weakly in mid-air, his face pale. He struggled to catch his breath and said, "How did you find me?

Can you tell me? Let me die knowing why." Yi Chuanmei smiled and said, "Guess?" Zhang Yuanqing looked at her with disappointment, the light in his eyes dimming, replaced by lifelessness. He died. Outside, the wind and rain raged. Inside the Yi Zhuang, the fire flickered. The escorts sat cross-legged around the bonfire, their heads drooping in sleep. Near the door, Chen Wei leaned against her lover. Lin Ci was fast asleep. Suddenly, Lin Ci's body turned into a stream of light and disappeared. Chen Wei's body slumped, and she opened her sleepy eyes. At that moment, her dark, bright eyes reflected another figure. He appeared out of thin air, holding a delicate purple-gold gourd hammer in his hand. He brought it down on her head. Peng! Chen Wei's head exploded like a watermelon, brain matter and bone fragments flying everywhere. Her delicate body jolted violently, then fell backward, dead. *I killed Yin Chuanmei.* Looking at the blood-stained, headless female corpse, Zhang Yuanqing was surprised and delighted. Although he was surprised that the enemy was Yin Chuanmei, the situation unfolded as he expected. Chen Xuedao's words had given him inspiration. Since he couldn't escape the dream, he would stay awake. If he was awake, he wouldn't be afraid of the Zhangmeng Shi.

So, he took the initiative to go out and collect firewood, secretly using the Ba Chi (Eight-Foot) Mirror to create an identical clone. The real body used the Night Wanderer's technique to leave and hide outside the Yi Zhuang, using the connection to the clone to closely monitor everything inside the Yi Zhuang. Before, in the dream, Yin Chuanmei didn't show up for a long time, so he didn't dare to attack rashly. When the other party's intention manifested in the dream, he decisively sneaked into the Yi Zhuang and attacked the Zhangmeng Shi, whose physical body was vulnerable. The woman that even Fu Qingyang couldn't kill was killed by him with a single hammer blow to the head. To be safe, he took out the ghost mirror to check his face, only to see that his eyebrows were shrouded in a bloody glow. This… His expression changed. At the same time, someone said coldly, "How did you find me?" As the words were spoken, the scene instantly changed. The crackling bonfire and the Yi Zhuang disappeared. Zhang Yuanqing found himself standing in the courtyard of the Yi Zhuang, standing in the night with wind and rain, the lattice door reflecting the faint light of the fire.

It was less than ten steps away from him. He hadn't entered the Yi Zhuang at all. Everything he had seen just now was an illusion. The lattice door opened with a creak, and Chen Wei walked out from inside with a gloomy expression. She was still beautiful and radiant, but lacked the carelessness and cheerfulness of the Fire Master. She scrutinized Lin Ci in the courtyard and asked again, "How did you find me?" The playful expression in the dream was gone. As expected, it wasn't so easy to kill her. *Eh, she didn't attack me immediately. Just because the clone is low-level doesn't mean the real body is low-level. She's unsure of my strength and is delaying to summon the Junzhu (Princess).*

Zhang Yuanqing curled the corner of his mouth and said, "Guess." Yin Meichuan narrowed her eyes and stared at Zhang Yuanqing for a moment. Suddenly, she giggled, "I said, how could the opponent be so weak? So that was a clone. I didn't even see through it. Who exactly are you? I'm getting more and more curious about your identity. After Lingdu Guiwang (Netherworld Ghost King) was promoted to Ruler, I've dealt with most of the Level 6 Star Officials in the Taiyi Sect. You don't seem like them." While communicating with Yinyao Junzhu (Silver Beauty Princess) and Xue Qiangwei (Blood Rose) outside the Yi Zhuang, Zhang Yuanqing tensed his nerves and concentrated on confronting her, curling the corner of his mouth again. "Guess." Yin Chuanmei reached out her hand under the eaves to catch a string of raindrops and said with a smile, "You actually saw through my disguise. Then you should know how I saw through you, right? Tell me the truth.

If there weren't restrictions, I would have killed you last night." "Restrictions? What restrictions?" Saying this much, Zhang Yuanqing was certain that the other party was being cautious. So he pretended to be strong, trying to get information. "It was the time you were listening to music in the brothel, right? I rejected you, Yin Chuanmei, slightly nodded. You and Lin Ci both knew about Chen Wei.

A young man full of vigor who has tasted women, actually refused his lover's request for pleasure when conditions allowed. Other than you official pseudo-gentlemen with high standards of order and morality, I really can't think of any other possibilities." "It should be. It was just a coincidence that we were paired up. Thinking about sleeping with this woman in the same bed and even kissing her, Zhang Yuanqing felt a chill in his heart. This is a Level 6 peak character.

Who?" He probed, "What restrictions did you just mention?" Yin Chuanmei smiled and said, "You haven't answered my question. How did you find me?" Zhang Yuanqing glanced past her shoulder, towards the lattice door and said with a laugh. "You slept with Zhao Youcai last night, right? The smell was handled well, but you two opened the door too late. That's when I started to suspect that the Evil Night was lurking nearby.

What? Not nearby, but in the team, just because of that?" Yin Chuanmei looked disbelieving. "Of course there's more. Junzhu and... searched for a long time outside, and there wasn't even a shadow of anyone within a few miles of the Yi Zhuang. Then the enemy must be inside, right?" Zhang Yuanqing laughed, "It's your turn to answer." Yin Chuanmei pondered for a moment and said. "A coffin can only eat 11 people a night, and I can't use my professional skills during the day, that's my restriction."

"That's not quite right, why didn't you just let the coffin eat me and Chen Xue…" Zhang Yuanging quickly analyzed. He believed that Yin Chuanmei wasn't telling the truth, or was withholding some of it. Yin Chuanmei repeated the topic just now, "You only determined my identity because we opened the door late?" Zhang Yuanqing said, "No one knows Fire Masters better than me. Fire Masters don't find companions of the same profession, because their fiery tempers simply can't manage relationships. It's impossible for her to have an affair with Zhao Youcai, unless Chen Wei isn't... When Chen Wei left the inn this morning, didn't I leave something in the room? Actually, I went to check Zhao Youcai's bedsheets."

Yin Chuanmei, "You're quite moist, huh?" He deliberately used a teasing tone to show that he had nothing to fear, influencing Yin Chuanmei's judgment. Yin Chuanmei sighed and said, "If you hadn't rejected me that night, I wouldn't have gone to Zhao Youcai. He performed quite well in the brothel, but if I could, I'd still prefer you, because you're a Night Watcher. Although not every Night Watcher is a Demon Lord,

the strong recovery ability is something I still like." *How many women has the Demon Lord slept with?* Zhang Yuanqing no longer knew what expression to make.