Lord of Prayer - Chapter 359 - 237: A Blessing in Disguise (2)

It was all just that simple. Because they were friends, wasn’t it only natural that they help each other?

Zhou Chen was stunned for a moment, then a genuine smile spread across his face. “I like the sound of that, too.”

“Now, focus your mind. Let’s begin.”

“What do I need to do?”

Jiang Che stood up and began to swing the Hypnotic Pocket Watch gently in front of Zhou Chen’s eyes.

“Stare at it and relax your mind.”

Zhou Chen’s gaze followed the watch as it moved back and forth. His consciousness quickly went blank, his eyes becoming vacant and dull.

“You cannot be hypnotized by any person or creature other than me.”

“You will remain completely lucid within the ideal dream.”

“If the two commands above cannot be fulfilled, you will more quickly discover, feel, and realize you have been hypnotized or trapped in an illusion, allowing you to awaken swiftly.”

“When you detect an anomaly, you will hear the snap of a finger.”

Jiang Che snapped her fingers with a crisp sound.

“—Upon hearing that snap, you will awaken completely, regain your consciousness and memories, and recall this conversation.”

“To prevent leaks about the Sword Forging Competition’s schedule, the Forging Association developed an Artifact many years ago. It will scan the subconscious of all contestants before the competition. If any information related to the schedule is found, it will trigger an accountability procedure. Getting caught would be a huge hassle.

Therefore, you need to forget everything that just happened. Forget that I was ever here.

Now, go about your day as you normally would.”

“The deep hypnosis will automatically lift in five minutes.”

·

Recalling that sealed memory, Zhou Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

If Jiang Che had given him some time to come to his senses, he could have used his wishing ability to bypass the pre-competition scan and even the illusion of desire. But who would have thought Jiang Che would make him forget the whole thing completely, only for him to remember it now?

Of course, he didn’t mean to blame her. Jiang Che had acted with the best intentions, so how could he possibly blame her? He could only say that nothing in this world is ever perfect.

Seizing the last few moments, Zhou Chen boldly pinched the cheek of the Jiang Che in his arms. Even though he knew she wasn’t real, the warmth and texture from his fingertips felt so authentic that his heart began to pound violently. ’This is so thrilling…’

’I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to pinch her cheek in real life…’

With a shattering sound, the illusion collapsed.

Deep within the mine, Zhou Chen, who had been sealed in fossilized amber, suddenly snapped his eyes open. With a thought, the Life Amber immediately melted away.

He glanced at the Fire Spirit Bracelet on his wrist and silently mouthed a “thank you.” ’I can’t believe this bracelet actually has a Life Amber protection program. I wonder if Jiang Che asked her teacher to make it…’

After steadying himself, Zhou Chen assessed his condition. Thanks to being nourished by the Life Amber, he was now in peak form.

A large number of stars suddenly appeared in his Wish Bottle. It was likely that the audience had been hoping for his escape, and he had now fulfilled their wishes.

What shocked him even more was that he had somehow formed four new Golden Soul Fragments, bringing his total to five when added to the one he had before.

’Is it because I was indulging in the illusion?’

Zhou Chen’s expression was a little strange. After thinking it over, it seemed to be the only possibility.

He had to admit, it was indeed a blissful and ideal dream where all desires could be satisfied. No wonder so many pioneers had become lost in it, unwilling to wake up.

And it had also exposed his own inner desires. However, for an Ascender in the stage of forming their Golden Soul, this was actually a good thing.

Being able to clearly recognize one’s desires allows for a deeper understanding of oneself, which in turn helps in forming the Golden Soul.

’So… it was a blessing in disguise?’

Zhou Chen exhaled, and with a flicker of fire, his figure appeared in the open-pit mine.

Traces of his battle with the Demon still remained here.

Looking at the sky, he saw it was noon.

’I wonder how long I was out. I hope time in the dream wasn’t synchronized with reality…’ Zhou Chen used Flame Jump and rushed back to Akita Town.

Now that his power had advanced, the range of his Flame Jump had taken a qualitative leap, soaring from a maximum distance of sixty meters to one hundred and ten, while the cost had even decreased slightly.

In just one minute, he was back at the temporary base on the outskirts of Akita Town.

He knocked for a long time, but no one answered. Left with no choice, Zhou Chen used Alchemy to unlock the door and pushed it open. The inside was completely empty.

No… it wasn’t completely empty. There was someone else!

Han Danqing was sound asleep on the bed, his breathing long and steady. His presence and aura were so faint that even Zhou Chen hadn’t noticed him at first.

“Old Han, Old Han, wake up…”

Zhou Chen called out twice, but Han Danqing didn’t react. He then shoved him forcefully, but there was still no response, as if he were unconscious.

He carefully checked his vitals. ’His life rhythm is fine. He’s just sleeping, but why won’t he wake up?’

Zhou Chen tickled Han Danqing’s waist and armpits, but when he got no reaction, he used Alchemy to conjure a set of gongs and cymbals, banging them furiously with a CLANG CLANG CLANG, hoping the noise would wake him.

It was no use.

He then conjured a suona and played a rendition of “One Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix” right there. The piercing sound felt like it could penetrate one’s very soul.

After the song was over, Han Danqing still showed no signs of waking. He even rolled over in his sleep.

’Something’s wrong…’ Zhou Chen turned the suona back into Essence and scratched his head, bewildered. ’Could Han Danqing have been trapped in an illusion too?’

’That can’t be right. I beat the Demon back to its primordial state. There’s no way they couldn’t handle it… Or maybe I was asleep for a very long time, and the Demon has already recovered its power? That doesn’t make sense either. The Demon would have definitely taken the opportunity to kill us…’

After thinking for a long time without coming to any conclusion, Zhou Chen could only let Han Danqing continue to sleep and decided to find the others to ask about the situation.

He entered Akita Town and found the streets sparsely populated. The entire town exuded a strange atmosphere, like the calm before a storm or a powder keg about to explode.

Zhou Chen quickly found Old Jack in an alley. Because he was constantly wearing his Tinfoil Hat, Old Jack didn’t run away when he saw him. Instead, he became very excited. “You killed the monster?”

“No, I only killed one of the monster’s Clones and beat its main body back to its initial state. After that, I fell for a dirty trick… When did Joey and the others come looking for you?” Zhou Chen asked. He was sure they were the ones who had told Old Jack what happened.

“Two days ago,” Old Jack replied.

’Two days…’ Zhou Chen cursed inwardly. Two days had passed. Didn’t that mean the Demon had likely recovered already?

He made a wish to learn the location of Joey and the others. He discovered they were at Joey’s House, all four of them safe and sound, which allowed him to breathe a small sigh of relief. It seemed the Demon hadn’t made a move against them yet.

“What’s the situation in Akita Town been like for the past two days?”

“The Illuminati has been active again. There have been a lot of incidents, and many people have died… The Illuminati will definitely go after the children again!” Old Jack said anxiously.

“I’ll protect them.” Zhou Chen patted Old Jack’s shoulder and handed him a Pale Crystal. “If you run into danger, throw this.”

“So pretty. How many hot dogs can I get for this?” Old Jack chuckled as he looked at the White Crystal, even trying to bite it. With a loud CRUNCH, he yelped in pain.

“You can’t trade it for hot dogs,” Zhou Chen said helplessly. After a moment’s thought, he added, “Hold onto it. It could save the children when it counts.”

Old Jack immediately put the Crystal away with a serious expression.

“I have to go. I’ll come find you again later.”

“Oh, goodbye,” Old Jack said, waving.

After saying goodbye to Old Jack, Zhou Chen went to find his teammates. On the off chance he might get lucky, he headed to Lady Daisy’s residence to look for Liu Ling.

As soon as he got close to the villa, he heard loud, indecent noises coming from inside.

’Well, so much for trying my luck. Liu Ling is definitely in there.’

Zhou Chen rang the doorbell and waited for several minutes, but no one came to the door. Meanwhile, the noises never stopped.

He waited a while longer, ringing the doorbell several more times, but the people inside still didn’t respond.

It was as if they had blocked out all disturbances, focused only on orchestrating the grand harmony of life.