Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 425 Honor Guard
Just as Mu Xiang was about to step onto the first step of the deep sleep, the gatekeeper's voice sounded behind him: "Please be careful of the moon... The darkness from beyond the heavens has tainted the moon, and the ports leading to it have also fallen. Do not look directly at it, and do not go there..."

I definitely have to go check it out...

Mu Xiang waved his hand and stepped onto the first step of Deep Sleep without looking back. Another wave of emotion arose from his mind. Mu Xiang turned around, and the Flame Cave gradually disappeared into chaos, with only the two gatekeepers still bowing to him.

"Seven hundred steps into deep sleep..." Mu Xiang muttered to himself, but he did not move at high speed. As before, he continued to feel the changes in himself and his surroundings with each step.

Aside from the initial strange fluctuations, there seemed to be no other surprises. When Mu Xiang actually finished walking the seven hundred steps, the surrounding chaos trembled again, and a huge door appeared in front of him.

Before Mu Xiang could push it, the door opened by itself, and a faint light, different from the chaos and firelight, shone through the door. Mu Xiang stepped inside, and the surrounding scenery changed once again.

A forest surrounded Mu Xiang, the sky above fragmented into patches of light by the crisscrossing branches and leaves, which then fell beside him. It seemed to be daytime outside, and the faint light that had shone through the door earlier was the light from here.

Mu Xiang looked around and then frowned. This enchanting forest was much larger than he had imagined... In other words, this so-called dreamland was also much larger than he had thought.

"If it's the same as I remember, then Usa is to the southeast... I can only say that it's truly a beginner's village in the Dreamland, too safe for those who enter properly." Mu Xiang muttered to himself, and then he saw two figures appear beside him, Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie.

As soon as Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie appeared, they both noticed each other and Mu Xiang's presence. Zhang Jie smiled, and spiritual energy surged from his body, flowing over Mu Xiang and Zheng Zha's bodies.

"Oh, are you sure we're real?" Zheng Zha paused for a moment, then laughed.

Zhang Jie nodded and then shook his head: "Not entirely. This can also be used to check whether our bodies have been tampered with."

Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses: "How about it? You felt it too, didn't you? Our physical bodies are real."

“But I can use all my abilities…” Zheng Zha said, stretching out his hand. Dark red flames appeared in his palm and then turned into darkness.

Mu Xiang shook his head: "We can't let our guard down. According to the setting, our physical bodies should be left outside... But the current situation is that we still have physical bodies. There are two possibilities: one, our physical bodies have also entered; two, our physical bodies were constructed by the Dream Realm."

"Hmm... if it's the latter, that's indeed a bit scary." Zhang Jie frowned as he pulled out a cigarette. "Not to mention me, you two are both fourth-tier powerhouses, reaching the limit of the God of War's ability to copy you. If you take another step forward, even the God of War won't be able to copy you... Could it be that the Dream Realm is more powerful than the God of War?"

“Even Qi Ping is terrifying.” Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses. “Besides, this isn’t our home turf. It can give us our bodies, but it can also take them away…”

Zheng Zha chuckled dryly, "Didn't you say that the Dreamland is a romantic continent? Why does it sound a bit scary?"

“No matter how romantic it is, don’t forget that this comes from the Cthulhu universe… Even if the Dream Realm is called a Cthulhu fairy tale, it’s still tainted by Cthulhu.” Mu Xiang sighed. “We two can have one explanation, which is that our spirit and body are one, and the Dream Realm cannot be separated; but what about Zhang Jie? His essence is not fourth-order.”

Zhang Jie nodded, then said, "Why don't we compare the details and see if we encounter any differences?" The three of them described their respective experiences of entering the dream world, and then discovered... they were all the same.

"It seems we can't find any evidence for the time being... We can only wait and see," Mu Xiang said.

Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie exchanged a glance. They knew Mu Xiang's temperament all too well... If Mu Xiang said to wait and see, it meant that he also had no clue. Don't be fooled by his expressionless face now; he must be feeling very uncomfortable inside.

"Hey, don't worry, do we three even need to question our fighting strength?" Zhang Jie chuckled and patted Mu Xiang on the shoulder.

Zheng Zha nodded, then said, "But those two gatekeepers... seem to be very strong. If we really fight, I'm not confident of winning."

"So, the characters in this dream world... whether friend or foe, should not be underestimated." Mu Xiang pondered for a while, then heard a voice from the sky, "Let's go and meet the 'master' they speak of."

The branches and leaves above were parted by the wind pressure, and countless humanoid creatures with wings on their backs appeared in the air above them. This wind pressure was not generated by the flapping of a pair of wings, but by the beating of countless membranous wings. The frequency of their beating of membranous wings was surprisingly consistent. What surprised Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie the most was that their membranous wings were completely silent.

Only Mu Xiang heard this sound; his hearing ability and range far exceeded those of the two... but he was still somewhat surprised by this extremely orderly, or rather, disciplined group.

"Is this... the Nightmare the gatekeeper mentioned?" Zheng Zha asked uncertainly.

Mu Xiang nodded: "That's right..."

The Nightmares in the sky all looked almost identical, their skin smooth to the point of being oily. Although somewhat humanoid, their overly slender bodies, along with their distinctive horns, claws, membranous wings, and long tails, distinguished them from humans. And on these countless faces facing the three, there was nothing—no features, no expression, only a blank!
"Damn, this is a bit creepy..." Zheng Zha muttered.

Despite this, Mu Xiang and his companions sensed a distant friendliness and respect emanating from them. The lead Nightmare—identified as the leader by the slender spear or staff it carried, signifying its status as a ceremonial guard—had its blank face turned toward the three below. With a remarkably cautious and polite gesture, this Nightmare pointed its staff southward.

"Nightmare isn't very intelligent, but it can understand various languages... Keep up, and don't say anything strange." Mu Xiang's voice echoed in Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie's minds.

As soon as Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie nodded, three sedan chairs decorated with pearls, jade and seashells were carried down by three groups of Nightmares.

"Damn, what a grand display!" Zheng Zha couldn't help but exclaim.

Mu Xiang shook his head helplessly. This person had a kind of beauty to it, like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden... Then he took the lead and got into a sedan chair.

Once the three were seated, the Nightmare's honor guard carried them into the air, their neat, membranous wings blotting out the sky as they silently flew south.

(End of this chapter)