Chapter 126 The Real Nightmare

He had arrived just in time.

The important figure in this dream, "Aili," was not dead.

Mu Wanqiu, whose head was being held down by Gu Shen with one hand, had a delicate face covered in a cold, malevolent aura.

In the "Blazing Fire Vision," a cloud of black mist surrounded her back—

The Judge had awakened!

"These transcendent beings… are probably only at the initial level."

Gu Shen scanned the room. "Well, this one named Zuo Wu is slightly stronger, probably at the second level of the Deep Water Zone. These guys are too weak. Once the 'Judge' awakens, it can kill them all."

Transcendent abilities have strengths and weaknesses.

Zuo Wu's "fire" had extremely low attack power.

It was only useful for attacking mortals, scaring ordinary people, or at most committing a few arson cases.

The newly awakened "Judge" could crush him completely. The "fire" thrown by Zuo Wu hit the black aura and couldn't even cause a ripple, only splashing a few scattered sparks before dissipating.

"Bang!"

The silence in the wooden house didn't last long.

A red-silver bullet rang out behind Gu Shen, piercing and shattering the wooden door, leaving a narrow bullet hole.

Gu Shen stood up expressionlessly.

He turned around.

The next moment, the wooden door was kicked open violently, and the "informant member" of the seven-person gang, with a fierce expression, burst into the house. The commotion just now was too loud, and the church could hear it… He knew without thinking that the little brat's transcendent ability had awakened and was trying to resist!

However, when he saw the bloody scene of flames and towering black aura, he was completely stunned by this shocking sight.

Gu Shen reached out his palm, pressed down on the little girl's head without explanation, and turned her head away.

Then, he snapped his fingers.

"Boom—"

The guy who burst into the house had his head explode just like that.

He shielded Mu Wanqiu's view.

But this scene was seen by Aili.

"Don't worry… I'm not a bad person."

Gu Shen said subconsciously, then paused and added, "Maybe not a good person either, but compared to them, I'm much better."

Auntie Aili covered her mouth, trying not to make a sound. She stared in horror at the direction of the black mist.

"It's okay to throw up if you want."

Gu Shen said considerately, "There's still one unsolved guy over there. I'll be right back."

Gu Shen carried Mu Wanqiu and walked towards the outside of the church.

The little guy roared hoarsely, like a lion.

After awakening, the Judge constantly attacked Gu Shen… Black aura fell like a rainstorm, but Gu Shen looked calm and walked steadily. He carried Mu Wanqiu by the back of her collar with one hand, and his other hand was in his pocket. He could even be described as "elegant." In the midst of the rainstorm, he was like a light willow leaf, always perfectly dodging the moment the black aura was about to strike.

Of course, he had to bring Mu Wanqiu to kill people.

After this little guy's talent awakened, her desire to kill was too great… She directly wiped out an entire room of transcendent beings within a minute.

If he didn't bring her, she would probably kill everyone in the church.

"Your 'S-grade' awakening… seems to be more powerful than mine."

Gu Shen examined the surrounding aura of black mist and murmured, "Can you really kill so many people with a first awakening? It's really enviable."

Of course, Mu Wanqiu didn't respond.

Gu Shen smiled. "However, I probably understand why you hate 'light'… This church is indeed disgusting. Now, let's go kill Virgil, shall we?"

The little girl struggled desperately. Hearing this, she suddenly stopped moving, turned her head, and looked at Gu Shen in confusion.

Gu Shen held her up with one hand, making her eyes level with his.

"I'm a person who hates trouble," he said gently. "So, that scumbag can be left to you to deal with."

Rainstorm, accompanied by torrential thunder.

Perhaps because it had been in disrepair for years, or perhaps because Gu Shen's appearance had "modified" the dream's timeline, the main glass of this tall church shattered at this moment. The colorful holy light was torn apart by thunder, and thousands of broken pieces of glass reflected the image of a man carrying a little girl moving forward firmly… Gu Shen stepped on the shattered holy light and walked towards the sacred and solemn main church. Virgil held a holy book, pretending to be calm as he stood before the prayer altar. He saw the blood seeping out and the little girl suspended in the air, surrounded by black mist.

"You… monster! Evil spawn!"

Virgil chanted scriptures of light. He raised his voice to make himself appear calm… But it didn't work at all, because the louder he spoke, the more desolate the echo in the church became, and the fear rising in his heart became more suffocating.

Mu Wanqiu just looked at him calmly.

"Bang!"

A burst of fire erupted from the pages of the book Virgil was holding. He raised his revolver, pulled the trigger, and a red-silver bullet shot out a straight line across the wide church.

Gu Shen moved half a step to the side with a very gentle movement.

The long line grazed the girl's cheek, and the hot air stirred her hair.

He continued to move forward.

"Bang, bang, bang—"

Virgil continued to shoot. Gu Shen was walking in a straight line, and he was shooting in the same straight line. His marksmanship was accurate, but he could never hit the target.

Even if he hit it…

It wouldn't have any effect.

The strength of the red-silver bullet was too weak for Gu Shen… Moreover, this was a spiritual world, and he was the supreme "king" in the dream!

Killing a person isn't torture.

Death is just a moment.

But watching "death" descend, step by step, and ultimately compress you to the extreme… That's the most despairing thing.

When Gu Shen brought Mu Wanqiu and slowly arrived in front of the altar,

Virgil couldn't even hold the gun anymore. He desperately pulled the trigger, but the bullets were all gone. He leaned his elbow on the altar, supporting his body, which was unable to stand and was shaking violently… Snot and tears welled up.

"The light will punish you…"

"Evil spawn…"

"Evil spawn…"

Virgil stared at the black mist, wanting to curse. The words he had in mind were just the sentences that appeared in his mind, but he couldn't say a word at this moment. His last strength was just staring at the black mist…

Gu Shen stood still and stopped moving.

He gave Mu Wanqiu the opportunity to kill "Virgil."

But nothing happened in the church.

"Bang."

Several seconds later, Virgil… fell backward just like that and crashed heavily to the ground.

"…"

Gu Shen silently looked at the man lying on the ground.

Was the Judge so terrifying?

Virgil was scared to death.

"Wait—"

At this moment, Gu Shen realized something was wrong… He didn't know how Virgil died in Mu Wanqiu's real experience. This kind of death was really strange.

But before Virgil died, he was always staring at "himself."

"Logically speaking… this dream should have ended after 'Virgil' died…"

Gu Shen stood quietly. He held up the little girl and slowly turned the "Mu Wanqiu" he was carrying around.

The two looked at each other.

Gu Shen looked at the little girl in front of him. From beginning to end, his mental power had enveloped the entire church to ensure that no tragedy would happen.

Virgil was dead.

Zuo Wu was also dead.

Aili was still alive…

"Mu Wanqiu's 'mind demon' is caused by her awakening being out of control. While killing these villains, she accidentally killed 'Aili'… But now the dream is still continuing… Did I overlook something? Did I guess wrong about Mu Wanqiu's 'mind demon'?"

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes and felt that something was wrong.

"Creak."

The small door of the wooden house was slowly opened.

Auntie Aili came to the hall of the church with a pale expression. She retrieved the jade talisman from Zuo Wu's body, held it in her hand, and came to the altar shrouded in black aura.

"Xiao Qiu…" (Little Qiu)

She looked at the blood splattered on the altar, her voice trembling. Although she was afraid, she still slowly approached.

Gu Shen turned around.

Auntie Aili's gaze was very similar to Virgil's… They were both looking at "himself," but their gazes actually passed through "himself."

They… couldn't see him.

The desperate woman held the jade talisman and said with difficulty, "Wake up… Xiao Qiu… Don't be controlled by the 'evil spirit'…"

The rolling black aura, like octopus tentacles, climbed all over the church's vault and pillars.

The Judge looked down from above, watching this woman.

After seeing Auntie Aili, Gu Shen immediately realized what was "wrong."

It was the jade talisman.

The mascot that Aili usually carried with her to ward off and repel the "Judge's black aura"… This jade talisman did not have any "exorcising and protective" effect at all. It was just a beautiful jade talisman, slightly containing some transcendent source quality, that's all. It didn't have any special effect.

Theoretically speaking,

The jade talisman had no way… to protect its host and resist the [Judge].

So later, when Zuo Wu got the jade talisman, the outcome was the same… Even if he didn't interfere with the dream, he would be directly abused and killed by the [Judge] in the small house just now.

Since the jade talisman was useless,

Then why had Auntie Aili been safe and sound for six years…

Gu Shen could only think of one possibility.

Countless black auras surged towards Auntie Aili. He released the hand that was suppressing Mu Wanqiu. In an instant, the girl flew towards Aili and crashed into the woman's arms… The scene of the [Judge] killing people did not appear. Those black auras almost surged like the sea, but they retreated on their own around Aili. The source quality of the jade talisman emitted a faint fluorescent light.

It looked like the jade talisman had driven away the disaster.

But in reality,

The disaster had never dissipated.

The disaster was just firmly controlled by its owner…

One big and one small, embracing each other.

Auntie Aili hugged her child tightly and cried loudly.

"Rumble…"

The entire dream world began to shake at this moment.

Gu Shen slowly came to the door. He looked out of the church's French windows. The deafening mechanical roar came from the distance. The "aura of light" that he had sensed at the beginning was also gradually descending… Countless crows took off around the church, dancing, roaring, and reveling.

Torrential rain, the sky was turned upside down, and a line of blazing "holy light" fell from the distance.

Saints and adjudicators riding white horses from the church, welcoming the heavenly light, arrived before this dilapidated church surrounded by crows.

The tall man at the head, wearing a red bishop's robe and a magnificent long sword inlaid with purple silver hanging from his waist, circled his white horse and loudly proclaimed the crime.

"In the name of light, arrest and kill the sin—"

"Mu Wanqiu and Aili committed murder in Chaksik Town, north of the New Calendar 616, killing seventy-four people. To escape responsibility, they fled from many places in the northern continent. Their crimes are unforgivable and will be executed today!"

The red-robed archbishop drew his long sword and raised it high.

The church surrounded by crows was completely wrapped in black aura.

Auntie Aili hugged her child tightly.

Mu Wanqiu's expression changed from indifference to bewilderment.

New Calendar 616…

Gu Shen glanced at the calendar hanging on the church wall.

Six years ago.

He felt this "rich" and "suffocating" darkness… and finally understood why Mu Wanqiu killed Zuo Wu and the others so easily and effortlessly.

Because today was not her first awakening at all.

Her real awakening was six years ago.

If what the red-robed bishop outside said was true, then the seventy-four people in Chaksik Town were likely to have died in that awakening.

However, no relevant information appeared in Mu Wanqiu's dream.

Because the memory of the bloody night six years ago had been sealed.

For a mature spiritual transcendent, it was not difficult to do this… That person should be the figure who appeared at the beginning of Mu Wanqiu's dream, opening his arms and resisting artillery fire in the war.

Her father?

In any case, that figure in this dream… was always an unnamed person.

That man gave Mu Wanqiu six years of precious time.

The [Judge]'s transcendent power continued to increase, impacting the "memory seal," and Mu Wanqiu gradually learned how to control this destructive power during these six years of "buffer time." Facts proved that she was indeed worthy of the "S-grade" talent. Over these six years, traveling to many places without a teacher to guide her, she only relied on her own will to complete the initial control of the [Judge].

She did not harm Aili in the slightest.

The reason why this "mind demon" was formed… was very simple.

Six years of wandering, only for the revival of one dynasty.

Just today,

Her "memory seal" was completely broken.

……

……

"So… the real nightmare is Chaksik six years ago."

After realizing this, Gu Shen turned back to look at the two embracing each other.

He murmured, "This crusade in the 'name of light' cannot kill Mu Wanqiu… The red-robed bishop will be stopped by someone at a critical moment, but my arrival has modified part of the timeline."

Outside the glass, the world was full of murderous intent.

At this moment, the gospel church's adjudicators had surrounded the church tightly… and the Lin family's police force was still on its way.

If he guessed correctly, the final outcome would be that a "Lin family" big shot saved this talented child and, after overthrowing the Red Emperor, handed her over to the investigation legion for training.

"It seems that I've arrived… just at the right time."

Gu Shen turned around and asked softly, "The guys you hated, until the end, they were still alive… right?"

Mu Wanqiu was stunned.

Her memory at this moment was still stuck in the ignorant and immature years.

After the Red Emperor War ended,

The Lin family established good relations with Light City. Many adjudicators and archbishops withdrew from the northern continent… Some of them were sincere people, but others, in the name of "light," did "filthy" things.

They praised the pure gods but transformed into demons of hell.

For these people, the northern continent in the era of peace was far less valuable than the war-torn era. Staying in this land, the crimes committed in the past would be exposed sooner or later… The northern people never forgave and never compromised.

So after the war ended, they withdrew from the frontier and returned to the western continent.

Those sins, those filth, those dirty pasts, eventually became the dust buried by history.

The church glass began to tremble.

A hundred meters away,

With the drawing of the red-robed Bishop Qu's sword, the lined-up adjudicators began to load artillery shells. Of course, they would not personally charge forward to kill… The Chaksik archives six years ago recorded that the transcendent power awakened by this little girl was quite strange. The Red Extermination War was about to end, and they would soon be returning home. At this moment, dealing with "heretics" only required bombing with artillery fire.

"Everyone, in the name of light—"

Bishop Qu's angry roar resounded throughout the sky.

"Fire!!!"

He came this time to take the opportunity to erase the "bloody history" of this church… What the adjudicators had done in Deep Scale City must not be known by anyone. The overthrow of the Red Emperor was a foregone conclusion, and the Lin family's new policies were bound to come. The young empress who was about to ascend was said to be an iron-faced person who could not tolerate the slightest "filth."

The strongholds in Deep Scale City that trafficked transcendent beings would be "cleaned up" once.

Now Virgil was dead—perfect! It saved him the trouble of doing it himself!

Now was the best time to launch an artillery strike. With just one volley, the dilapidated church in front of him would be turned to ashes along with the girl in the "Holy Light Wanted Order."

No one would know what had happened here.

With a command, countless shells were loaded.

"Rumble rumble rumble!"

The crows no longer surrounded the church, but scattered under the rolling pressure of the blazing waves.

The artillery shells fired—

The huge French windows reflected the fragmented flames.

Mu Wanqiu, who was being held in Aili's arms, stared blankly at this scene. How similar was this scene to the dreams that had flooded her mind countless times over the past six years?

Subconsciously, countless black auras surged from under her feet.

The [Judge]'s power fully recovered. These black auras could rise from the ground at any time and condense into a perfect and flawless high wall.

But the next moment—

Time seemed to slow down.

The shells "slowly" reached their highest point in the air and "slowly" fell.

"Let's make a deal."

The figure wrapped in countless black mists stood in front of the French windows. After seeing the artillery fire, he turned around.

Gu Shen turned his back to the artillery fire and faced the girl.

He said softly, "I'll help you… get rid of them. Not just 'get rid of' in the dream, but 'get rid of' in the real world. They won't be able to escape no matter where they flee. I'll help you fill this mind demon."

"Deal…"

The girl looked at the black mist blankly.

The ignorant voice echoed in the church.

"That word is not very appropriate. Let me think about it…"

Gu Shen rubbed his eyebrows. Was it the influence of the Pluto Fire Seed? He had actually used a word like "deal."

"You don't need to change the word. I know what 'deal' means."

The young girl suddenly said firmly, "I agree. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you…"

Gu Shen smiled and said, "Become my [Apostle]."

Apostle?

The girl was stunned.

"You don't have to rush to agree."

Gu Shen said calmly, "Let's see my sincerity first."

Gu Shen stood up.

His mental power was fully released in an instant, directly reaching all the edges of Mu Wanqiu's dream!

Gu Shen's "vision" enveloped the entire church, along with the snow forest within a ten-mile radius. He saw the Lin family's police force using "external armor" to hurry on their way outside the snow forest, and he also saw a familiar face, the absolute pillar of the future investigation legion, the first team captain Lu Zhe, who was still a young man with a tender face.

These people were rushing through the snow forest.

Because of him, the timeline had changed slightly…

Their time of appearance was a little later.

"Sorry, the 'highlight screen' of this dream belongs to me."

Gu Shen silently muttered in his heart.

The next moment,

The frozen time resumed as before.

The shells flew, and the church's French windows shattered, but it was shattered by someone taking the initiative. Gu Shen stepped on the ground and burst out in an instant. He stepped on the rock pillars and climbed onto the vault, and jumped into the high sky in 0.1 seconds, unleashing more than a dozen consecutive whip kicks.

"Rumble rumble rumble—"

Flames blazed and exploded above the church.

These shells were all detonated in advance. Countless smoke shook and shattered. The adjudicators watching from afar with their heads raised all looked confused. Logically speaking, the shells had not yet touched the church. How were they detonated?

The next moment,

The white horse neighed and suddenly raised its upper body.

"?!"

Bishop Qu's expression froze, and a strong sense of foreboding arose in his heart. In the next moment after the explosion of the shells, a figure suddenly appeared behind him. Gu Shen appeared like a ghost in the formation of this adjudicator army. He sat calmly behind Bishop Qu, and took the reins for him with one hand, and said calmly, "I remember your face."

Gu Shen gently wiped two fingers, and a line of blood appeared on the red-robed archbishop's neck.

"Bishop!"

"Bishop!!"

This scene happened too strangely. Before the adjudicators could react, the tall horse crashed to the ground. Gu Shen slid backward, dragging this blazing fire line… "Cutting" through the adjudicator army.

This was his gift to Mu Wanqiu.

The gift had to be beautiful.

Mud flew.

But Gu Shen was spotless.

These adjudicators wearing holy light robes and riding white horses were beheaded and overthrown by Gu Shen alone in the roar of artillery fire. Gu Shen killed them one by one, like chopping melons and vegetables. This massacre had no meaning, the most important thing was that he needed to fulfill his promise, so Gu Shen remembered every face in this dream.

The reason why these people's faces were so clear was because Mu Wanqiu had investigated after the matter was over.

Everything in the mind demon,

She remembered it very clearly.

After everything was over,

Gu Shen returned to the church.

Everything from beginning to end seemed to have only passed for a second, because the artillery fire that exploded behind Gu Shen was like fireworks, only a few scattered sparks fell to the ground. The impact of the sputtering waves "slowly" shattered the French windows of the church, like waves rolling and beating on the cliff.

"Who… are you?"

Mu Wanqiu's true memory also began to awaken at this moment.

She had a headache.

At this moment, she tried to look at "Gu Shen," but she couldn't see clearly, but vaguely felt that the "human form" wrapped in black mist was very familiar…

"I am…"

Gu Shen smiled lightly.

"Pluto."

The artillery fire exploded, and countless broken glass splashed into the church.

The shock wave roared.

The crows screamed.

The Holy Cross collapsed.

Gu Shen took a step forward, he opened his arms.

The girl stared blankly at the broad figure in front of her. The flames stirred up by the shells drowned him. This scene almost overlapped with the picture in the dream—

……

……

Chaksik Town no longer existed after the war.

This town had been trampled on many times.

The frontier was ravaged by war, and many refugees were displaced and chose to embark on the long journey away from home…

The people were gone.

The town was naturally gone.

The whistle roared.

The steam train stopped on the border of the northern continent.

The little girl held Auntie Aili's hand and slowly walked towards the homeland in her dream. It was a rare sunny day, cloudless, and the snow reflected the crystal clear warm light.

The two people looked at this strange and familiar soil, stunned, not knowing which way to go.

"What, don't recognize it?"

An old man who was traveling on the same train, seeing the reactions of the two, laughed and said, "As soon as I saw you, I knew you hadn't been back for a long time. The Third Army has been here… and carried out post-war reconstruction here, rebuilt houses, and planned land use. It has been merged into 'Ussuri County.' Now the new policy stipulates that this is 'Southern Ussuri County.'"

"It's just that we are still used to calling this place 'Chaksik'…"

He paused, smiled, and said, "The people from the past are still here, how could the town be gone?"

"We… are here to commemorate."

Auntie Aili said softly.

The old man nodded, the smile on his face faded a lot, he stretched out his withered hand, took the luggage without saying a word, and said in a low voice: "I guessed it… Come, I'll take you."

A wind blew.

Dry grass clippings slapped the girl's face.

She looked in the direction of the wind, and a layer of broken weeds was covered in the snow, stubbornly growing.

Soon,

They came to an empty hill.

There was nothing there.

No tombstones, no mounds, no wooden plaques.

"It's here."

The old man pointed to the distant silent mourners and said softly: "If you want to mourn someone, just mourn here."

Auntie Aili said in surprise: "The cemetery… where's the cemetery?"

"Where's the cemetery, there are too many dead people, can't put them down at all, they were burned in a fire. Many soldiers in the army don't have tombstones, let alone us…"

The old man shook his head and said hoarsely: "But this is good too, it means you left early… This ghostly place has experienced a lot later, anyway, this is what it is now, all the dead souls gather together, when I die, I can join in the fun here too."

"A while ago, I heard the adults of the Third Army say that after fighting for six years, they finally captured Central City, and the Empress will build a large mausoleum there, imitating the 'Qing Tomb' of the Eastern Continent…"

He smiled and said: "I don't have a chance, you have time to go and see it for me."

The snow on the hill was swept very clean.

Wild grass was flying.

Some people came, some people left.

There was a very large oak tree growing here, with wind chimes, letters, and dense wishing papers hanging on it. The war burned Chaksik, but did not burn this old tree… Many children of Chaksik grew up under the shelter of this big tree.

Auntie Aili held the "jade talisman" hanging on her chest.

She muttered a few words softly, and then made up her mind to take it off and hang it among the many wishing papers.

A breeze blew, and the wind chimes swayed.

The whole tree was covered with snow, and countless wishes rang loudly.

Chaksik had no tombstones.

This town had experienced too many deaths.

After that, only new life remained.