Chapter 207: Dusk in the Dream

The Evil Qilin’s pupils quaked.

“So what if that’s true! Do you… actually think you can defeat a Buddha?!”

Li Qinglian’s old face darkened.

“A Buddha? I just finished off two Hell Demons. You think a charlatan monster like you is going to be a problem?!”

Chaosheng’s brow furrowed sharply.

‘What did he say?’

‘He just killed two Hell Demons?’

If an ordinary person heard this, they would only think Li Qinglian was incredible for being able to kill legendary monsters like demons from Hell.

But… for Chaosheng, it was as if a clap of thunder had exploded in his mind!

Hell held many secrets.

Why was Eternal Hell the only one of the Underworld’s four domains left?

Had the war in the Underworld, a continuation of the conflict from the Human Emperor Era, truly ended?

Only Hell could provide the answers to all of this.

In all his time managing Antique Shop Zero, information about Hell had been like a non-existent illusion; he had never encountered any.

The only piece of information he had about Hell came from Lucifer.

Lucifer said that when he fought the Death God, he was ambushed by Satan, and now Satan was the master of Hell.

‘How did this Li Qinglian run into Hell Demons?’

The Evil Qilin raised its massive hand again and said coldly,

“Then… let’s put it to the test!”

Li Qinglian pulled a dull, lightless pearl from his robes.

Item 0-15, the Dragon Pearl!

Chaosheng watched Li Qinglian intently, observing his every move.

The power of the Dragon Pearl was the ability to move freely in water.

On a rainy day, one could even fly through the air.

But right now, the sky was clear for miles.

Unless the Jing River Dragon King inside it was willing to summon a rainstorm.

Li Qinglian hadn’t tamed the Jing River Dragon King within.

‘So how is he going to use the Dragon Pearl’s power?’

Li Qinglian held the Dragon Pearl, brought it to his lips, and began muttering,

“Your son is dead, your son is dead, your son is dead.”

Chaosheng was completely stunned.

He felt a sudden burst of killing intent erupt from within the Dragon Pearl.

The weather began to turn gloomy.

A wild wind rose, and dark clouds gathered.

Chaosheng stared at Li Qinglian in disbelief.

‘This old scholar… he’s actually trying to make it rain by enraging the Jing River Dragon King, making him angry enough to subconsciously summon a storm?’

After a few seconds, the dark clouds dispersed, and the wind died down.

Li Qinglian gave an awkward laugh.

“Brother Long, you’re truly clever. After this happened a few times, did you finally realize I was just using you?”

Li Qinglian put the Dragon Pearl away and looked up at the Evil Qilin’s massive Buddha body, a troubled expression on his face.

‘The Old Dragon King isn’t falling for my tricks anymore. How am I supposed to fly up there and fight?’

Seeing this, the Evil Qilin roared with laughter.

“Manager, you are no match for Dusk!”

Li Qinglian froze for a moment.

“You know I’m a Manager? And who is this Dusk?”

The Evil Qilin didn’t answer, its palm slamming down like a mountain falling from the sky.

Chaosheng snorted coldly.

“Daji!”

“As you command, my husband!”

Su Daji formed a Sealing Technique with one hand.

Wind, come.

Clouds, come.

Rain, fall!

Li Qinglian glanced at Su Daji in disbelief. His eyes narrowed as he finally realized something.

“The Nine-tailed Demon Core?”

Su Daji had already taken a step forward, her nine tails once again floating behind her.

“Junior, I’ll help you.”

Li Qinglian looked away and nodded. He slapped his chest to activate the Dragon Pearl and flew toward the Evil Qilin in the sky, with Su Daji hurrying to follow.

…

Li Qinglian swung his scythe horizontally. Though its blade was rusted, the Evil Qilin still didn’t dare to block it head-on.

Several giant hands of rock materialized behind it to entangle Li Qinglian.

The Nine-tailed Fox wagged all nine of her tails, and a demonic wind swept up a thousand tons of river water, turning it into ice blades that shot toward the Evil Qilin, blanketing the sky.

The Evil Qilin put its palms together, and its true Joyful Buddha Body erupted with a brilliant golden light.

With a single downward press of its palm, the river water reversed its flow, and the entire green meadow was ripped into the sky.

The three forces collided. The clouds split open with web-like black cracks, and a torrential downpour began, obscuring the sun.

Chaosheng glanced at the chaotic sky, a sudden realization dawning on him.

‘That lost era, that war I never took part in… was it also this brilliant, this… brutal?!’

He shook his head, lost in thought.

‘There’s no time to think about that. The Evil Qilin’s Joyful Buddha Body is simply too terrifying within this Dream World.’

The Nine-tailed Fox, Daji, and Li Qinglian were no match for the Evil Qilin.

Chaosheng turned his head to look at Liu Niu, who was holding him, a gentle look in his eyes.

“Mom, I have to go now.”

Liu Niu stared blankly at Chaosheng, also realizing what was happening.

Although everything that had happened today was far beyond her comprehension, she knew that her fated connection with her Chaosheng was only meant to last four years.

Liu Niu smiled brightly.

The dark, oppressive wind blew through her willow-branch-like hair, making her seem so gentle.

So beautiful, truly so beautiful.

But… the tears flowing from her eyes made this beauty all the more desolate.

Chaosheng bit his lip, not daring to look into Liu Niu’s eyes.

But then he thought that he might never be able to see them again, so he forced himself to look up, his eyes filled with a desperate longing.

Chaosheng tilted his head, as playful as he was when he was little, and said,

“Mom, watch me as I go, okay?”

Liu Niu brushed her hair back, smiling.

“Of course. I’m watching.”

This sight… it was a look most people had seen before.

It was the look in a mother’s eyes as she watched her child’s back, leaving home to travel far away.

Full of reluctance to part, but also full of pride.

Chaosheng was wrong. He shouldn’t have been so greedy for that sight. Her smile was too dazzling, so bright it made his tears flow uncontrollably.

He turned around and gave a deep bow to Li Qinglian in the sky.

“Senior, lend me the Scythe of Death!”

This was the first time he had ever bowed to someone as a junior, the first time he had ever spoken to someone with such a respectful tone.

In the sky, Li Qinglian, who had been growing anxious from his inability to defeat the Evil Qilin, heard this and turned his head.

He looked at Chaosheng with suspicion.

“You? You know of the Scythe of Death?”

Li Qinglian’s mind raced.

His intuition told him he should give the scythe to the boy.

Li Qinglian tossed the Scythe of Death toward Chaosheng.

Chaosheng caught the Scythe of Death. The moment he gripped it, a dark light suddenly glowed on the scythe, as if a slumbering beast had opened its eyes.

A sharp glint instantly flared in Chaosheng’s eyes, and the Scythe of Death transformed.

The rust-covered scythe abruptly became a Giant Scythe engraved with Runes of Profound Mysteries!

He didn’t have the Scythe of Death on him, but his understanding of it was carved into his very soul.

And now, someone had delivered the Scythe of Death right to him!

Li Qinglian was utterly shocked.

‘This is the true power of the Scythe of Death!’

‘How could this child…’

Chaosheng’s lips moved.

“The Dragon Pearl, too.”

Li Qinglian flew down, took out the Dragon Pearl, and handed it to Chaosheng.

“Here.”

Chaosheng took the Dragon Pearl, tapped his toes to the ground, and shot toward the sky.

His small figure gradually grew taller in mid-air.

A black suit and a black cape appeared on his body…

Now, the color of Dusk—capable of annihilating all Divine Buddhas, Demons, and Ghosts in the world—was that black silhouette in the sky.

Wielding the giant Scythe of Death, he was like a jet-black king of this world!

The thunder was a war drum beating for this king alone, and the lightning flashed only for him.

Li Qinglian swallowed hard.

“Good heavens, what kind of Immortal is this?!”

Liu Niu stared blankly at the sky, and then the smile on her lips grew wider and wider.

“My son is so handsome when he’s grown up. And his wife is beautiful, too.”

The Evil Qilin stared at Jiang Chaosheng in horror.

“Dusk! How is this possible!!!!”

Dusk had returned to his adult form and could even conjure clothes for himself. This pointed to a terrifying fact!

Dusk was awake, completely and utterly awake, with not a single lingering attachment to this dream.

The power of the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery was that the more the victim was immersed in the dream, the more real the dream became.

But if one had no attachment to the dream, then the dream was as fragile as a sheet of paper.

In that case… the dreamer became a god-like existence within their own dream.

And usually, at that point, the dream was about to end.

The Evil Qilin was destined to be unable to defeat Jiang Chaosheng.

It was only able to maintain its Joyful Buddha Body because it, too, was immersed in the dream.

A Buddha in a dream was no match for a person in reality.

Jiang Chaosheng raised the Giant Scythe, his gaze indifferent.

“No matter where you hide, I will find you. You like dreams, is that it? I’ll let you experience the most realistic nightmare!”

The next second, the Giant Scythe swung down.

The Evil Qilin’s expression froze, and dense cracks spread across its true Joyful Buddha Body.

BOOM!

With a tremendous roar, the world turned into a vast expanse of white.

The Joyful Buddha Body rapidly dissolved in the white world.

The green grass and willow trees disintegrated before their very eyes.

Jiang Chaosheng turned and looked into the distance.

The sound of the river was in his ears.

Before his eyes was Liu Niu.

Liu Niu stood there smiling, poised and graceful in the vast whiteness, standing ever so quietly.

She had so many questions she wanted to ask.

She wanted to ask if her little Chaosheng was doing well with his adoptive parents in the future.

She wanted to ask if, in the future, Chaosheng had married that beautiful girl.

What about children?

Did they have any children?

Hah! In this small village, boys become fathers at eighteen or nineteen!

None of it mattered anymore, because there was no time.

Watching Liu Niu gradually fade into the white light, Jiang Chaosheng swallowed and said hurriedly,

“I’m doing great. I have a lot of friends now. Their names are Su Daji, Yang Xiao, Jin Meiting, Xia…”

Liu Niu listened, nodding with a smile.

It was like she was standing on a train station platform, watching her child leave on a train for a distant place.

But the wind was so strong.

Her son’s voice grew fainter and fainter, until she could no longer hear his last words.

…

“…li.”

Jiang Chaosheng snapped awake. He stared blankly at the terrified face of the Evil Qilin before him and uttered the next name:

“Evil Crow.”

The hall was silent.

The candlelight flickered.

The scent filling his nostrils was that of expensive incense, no longer fresh grass.

“Amitabha Buddha, benefactor, you have won.”

The Evil Qilin put its palms together and sighed.

Jiang Chaosheng pulled the trigger of the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun without hesitation.

BANG!

PUFF!

A cloud of black smoke emerged from the Evil Qilin’s body, transforming into two strands of severed hair.

Jiang Chaosheng caught the swaddling clothes that were about to fall to the ground. He looked at the baby inside, who had cried itself to exhaustion, and his eyes dimmed.

“I’ll take you to find your mother.”