In the corner of the side room, an incense stick was slowly burning.
Gu Qianying sniffed the air and asked, "Can any of you smell that? A peculiar fragrance."
Nangong Mo also smelled it and immediately became vigilant, looking around nervously.
But no one beside them answered.
Gu Qianying's internal alarm bells rang.
She quickly turned her head and saw Meng Qinghua and the other two with dazed expressions and unfocused eyes, starting to feel drowsy.
Recalling what Bu Si Gui had said, Gu Qianying shouted, "This is bad!"
She rushed forward and forcefully struck the three of them.
The intense impact caused the three to kneel, but due to the hypnosis in this place, even as they fell to the ground, they remained in a stupor, completely unable to break free.
Gu Qianying inwardly cursed her misfortune.
Nangong Mo followed, striking the three in front of him with even greater force, directly rupturing their blood meridians.
As the power of their blood meridians was stimulated, the three below finally stirred.
They had been immersed in beautiful dreams and were reluctant to leave.
However, Nangong Mo's attack brought a wave of intense pain.
The three gasped, their bodies forced back to consciousness.
Seeing the situation, they all wore confused expressions.
"What happened!"
Gu Qianying wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. "That's great, thankfully you weren't hypnotized. If you had fallen into the dream, I wouldn't have known how to save you."
The three were immediately startled and quickly got up from the ground.
They felt a lingering fear.
The dream they had just experienced was incredibly captivating, and they had been unable to extricate themselves.
If not for Nangong Mo and the others' help.
They would have truly died in their dreams, as Bu Si Gui had warned, their forms dissipating and ceasing to exist in the world.
Du Chun slapped himself and cursed fiercely, "Damn it, I almost died here."
Meng Qinghua rubbed his temples, his eyes slightly opening, and he sighed softly.
"Indeed, there is nothing ordinary in this Nine Layers of Hell."
Yet, with only the three of them saved, the Dream Devourer had still not appeared, remaining hidden within the side room.
Gu Qianying searched but felt no spiritual energy fluctuations.
The place was ordinary, only the faint, lingering fragrance continued to drift, constantly tempting the mind.
Gu Qianying coughed repeatedly, dispelling the scent before her.
At the same time, her gaze was fixed. "Come out, you ghost hiding in the corner. What kind of ghost are you? You should learn from the ghosts above; they are much more powerful than you."
These Dream Devourers could hear Gu Qianying's voice.
Seemingly provoked, they became somewhat enraged.
The fragrance in the room grew even stronger. Even if they held their breath tightly, they couldn't block the scent.
Finally, Meng Qinghua took out several talismans and set up a formation to isolate their surroundings, allowing everyone to search with peace of mind.
However, Gu Qianying was not within the formation.
She followed the scent and finally found a vase where the fragrance was strongest.
Lilies bloomed on the vase.
The floral scent permeated the air, instantly drawing one into a dream of supreme bliss.
Gu Qianying let out a cold laugh and directly pulled off the lilies, decisively breaking them in half.
Gu Qianying simultaneously infused soul power into them, continuously pressuring what was within.
Stimulated, the Dream Devourer finally materialized.
It had no shape, floating directly in mid-air, like a mass of murky cloud, emitting only sharp cries.
"You can see through my disguise. You will not live today."
Gu Qianying chuckled again. Once a Dream Devourer was removed from its hypnotic spell, it was merely an ordinary entity. What right did it have to be so arrogant here?
She simply reached out.
She swiftly pulled the entity towards her, her palm tightening instantly.
In moments, engulfed in roaring flames, the so-called Dream Devourer's soul quickly dissipated, dying before Gu Qianying.
The deed was done flawlessly, leaving everyone in awe.
They were immensely impressed by Gu Qianying's actions.
"I didn't expect your spiritual power to be so high after not seeing you for years!" Nangong Mo exclaimed from the side.
Gu Qianying shook her hand.
The reason for her increased spiritual power was actually the book in the secret chamber earlier.
But she had no time to explain so much now, casually brushing it off.
"It's just that these things are too weak. Falling into my hands, they naturally wouldn't survive."
Everyone understood and didn't inquire further.
As the fifth level had been reached with ease, they did not rest and pushed forward, arriving at the sixth level.
They knew nothing about what awaited them on the sixth level.
However, with the lessons learned from before, everyone was extremely vigilant, not daring to slacken for a moment.
When they landed below, they saw the scene and were utterly bewildered.
It was a very small thing, no larger than a winnowing basket.
Their mouths looked as if made of wood, with gears on top, making a clicking sound.
Upon seeing Gu Qianying and the others arrive, they seemed to be afraid, retreating backward.
The sound of wood on their bodies continued to click and clack.
Everyone was confused, unable to explain the sight before them.
Gu Qianying was about to act but quickly lowered her arm, turning to look at Nangong Mo and asking, "Do we attack now, or do we wait?"
Nangong Mo pondered for a moment but could not find an answer.
This was the Nine Layers of Hell. Would these things not harm them?
The ghosts seemed unable to sense their killing intent.
They no longer showed fear and slowly began to turn round.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, their bodies, originally the size of a winnowing basket, suddenly began to expand, growing to the size of a pot's bottom.
Everyone expected a fight and quickly raised their arms.
Then, they disappointedly lowered them.
Fighting a small ghost the size of a pot's bottom offered no sense of accomplishment.
However, the small ghost then began to change again.
Everyone became vigilant once more, staring coldly ahead.
The small ghost finally grew to the size of a cartwheel, with peculiar eyebrows like a broom, all swept towards the edges of its ears.
Its eyes were wide like copper bells, bulging outwards.
Its cheekbones were exceptionally prominent, like two bones inserted horizontally into its cheeks, appearing extraordinarily strange.
However, since they were ghosts, any appearance was understandable.
The expressions on their faces were inscrutable, not due to profoundness.
It was because their faces were covered in dust, making everything unclear.
It finally spoke, introducing itself immediately, "I am Old Flour Ghost, something that emerged from a pile of flour. My original form was a millstone."
Gu Qianying was slightly stunned and remained silent for a long time.
This was mainly because the previous five levels had delivered too much of a shock.
Gu Qianying couldn't help but wonder if this was a genuine display of goodwill or a mere illusion.