Chapter 209: Ancient Eyes

Jiang Chaosheng had exhausted too much of his Spiritual Power. He truly had no strength left to stop the revival of the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery.

But…

‘I ate it. What’s it going to do now?’

‘I’m immortal, protected by the rules of Antique Shop Zero. A single Taboo Item thinks it can possess my body?’

Suddenly, a tide of pain surged from the depths of his soul.

Jiang Chaosheng clutched his head, a wave of dizziness overwhelming him. He couldn’t open his eyes.

Devouring a Taboo Item was a mad act that no Manager in history had ever dared to attempt.

There was no precedent, so he had no idea what was happening.

‘Could this be a situation even worse than a Curse?’

‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have saved this infant. I should have conserved my strength to deal with the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery.’

“Giggle…”

An innocent giggle sounded by his ear.

Jiang Chaosheng struggled to raise his heavy eyelids, his gaze falling upon the baby girl in her swaddling clothes.

The baby girl’s left eyelid was shut tight, as she had lost the eye beneath it.

But she felt no pain.

Her gaze, fixed on Jiang Chaosheng’s right eye, was filled with dependence.

Her two little hands reached for his face, yearning for closeness.

A faint smile slowly touched the corners of Jiang Chaosheng’s lips.

He had initially saved the baby girl because of the look of fatherly love in Gu Chuan’s eyes, acting on a rare, inexplicable impulse.

Now, he regretted it even less.

At that moment, Gu Chuan was staring at Jiang Chaosheng, his face a mask of horror.

Jiang Chaosheng’s appearance was terrifying.

A black-purple aura shrouded his forehead, the flesh beneath twisting unnaturally as if something were about to sprout from it.

“Here.”

Jiang Chaosheng looked at him.

Gu Chuan shuddered and hurriedly took the swaddled infant from Jiang Chaosheng’s hands.

He couldn’t resist glancing at Jiang Chaosheng’s forehead.

An eye!

The thing trying to emerge was an eye!

The eye was closed, straining to open, but something was suppressing it, preventing it from opening.

A drop of water fell from above, striking Gu Chuan’s weathered face.

Gu Chuan froze. He snapped his head up, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Dark clouds had formed on the high ceiling, though he didn’t know when they had appeared.

That’s right—dark clouds had appeared indoors!

That’s right. Dark clouds indoors.

“DRIP… DRIP… DRIP…”

The downpour intensified.

Within seconds, Gu Chuan’s hair was drenched.

He quickly clutched the infant in his arms, hunching over to shield her from the rain.

‘From now on, I won’t let my daughter suffer even the slightest bit.’

BOOM!

A thunderous crash snapped Gu Chuan’s attention back to the ceiling.

A gaping hole had been torn through it, and the dark clouds were now drifting out into the sky.

Through the haze, he could faintly make out a pitch-black throne within the clouds.

The man sat upon the throne, clutching his forehead.

He also appeared to be holding an envelope.

A figure plummeted from the sky and crashed onto the villa’s roof—it was the butler the Evil Qilin had recruited.

Gu Chuan’s throat constricted. He swallowed hard.

“A… A real… a real god!”

“Waaah! WAAAH!”

The baby girl in his arms burst out crying.

Gu Chuan fumbled to soothe her.

“Don’t cry, little one. Don’t cry.”

The baby girl reached her tiny hands toward the hole in the ceiling, tears streaming down her face.

She didn’t want the man to leave; she wanted to pull him back.

Gu Chuan pursed his lips and looked down at his daughter.

“My daughter formed a divine bond over an eye. Why don’t I… name you Gu Tong?”

The baby quieted slightly, but her tears continued to fall.

Gu Chuan’s heart ached for her. His voice became soft and gentle.

“Daddy will take you for a full check-up tomorrow, then we’ll go back to Meiqi Country, alright? Our family is very wealthy. Daddy will raise you himself, and when you’re older, you’ll take over my corporation. With that much money, what can’t you buy?”

He paused, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“And… maybe you’ll even be able to practice Cultivation and become one of the Supernatural Humans. When that day comes, you’ll be able to find that god. So please stop crying, alright?”

Little Gu Tong gradually grew quiet, closed her eyes, and drifted into a deep sleep.

「Imperial Capital, Beimang Mountain, Anomaly Administration Bureau.」

The conference room was windowless. The air from the vents hung stagnant, the only sound the low hum of the air conditioner.

On either side of the long table, administrators and Senior Investigators sat with ramrod-straight backs, their gazes grave and locked on the image of Dream Island Resort on the large screen.

TAP… TAP… TAP…

At the head of the table, the sound of Cao Ye tapping a lighter against the tabletop was exceptionally jarring.

An invisible pressure weighed down on everyone. No one dared to break the silence.

Cao Ye’s gaze swept across the room.

The last vestiges of the previous director, Zhao Pengcheng, had been purged.

Now, everyone in a leadership position at the Anomaly Administration Bureau, from the administrators to the Senior Investigators, were his trusted subordinates.

Finally, Cao Ye broke the silence.

“Take a look at the reports in front of you. Does anyone have anything to say?”

The administrators and Investigators lowered their heads, staring at the files before them.

It was the report sent back by the Investigator stationed at Dream Island Resort.

Prince Bright Lamp had also offered some insightful commentary on the anomaly at Dream Island.

“Ha! Hahahaha!”

Cao Ye let out a humorless laugh, a cold sneer on his lips. His piercing eyes swept over them.

He brandished the report in his hand. “And you’re all speechless?”

He paused, his voice dropping.

“Do you see what’s written here? Prince Qilin nearly achieved Buddhahood!”

A flicker of residual fear appeared in everyone’s eyes.

Piecing together the Investigator’s records and Prince Bright Lamp’s analysis revealed a terrifying truth.

At Dream Island Resort, Prince Qilin had used a Taboo Item capable of plunging everyone into a dreamscape.

At the same time, he possessed another Taboo Item that allowed him to enter those dreams.

His knowledge of Buddhist Dharma was profound. Combined with that Taboo Item, he became an evil Buddha within the dream world.

Think about it: the entire world trapped in a dream, and he, the only Buddha within it.

What would that have made him?

That man was one step away from becoming the Supreme God of all humanity.

One of the administrators forced himself to speak up.

“But… Dusk took care of him, didn’t he? No matter how powerful the enemy, we… we have Dusk on our side, don’t we?”

Cao Ye’s eyes bulged. He threw the report, smacking the man in the face with it.

“Is Dusk your daddy? Or is he mine? Is he going to babysit us forever? Does he owe us something? Are you the one paying his salary?”

The barrage of four questions made the administrator lower his head, his face flushing crimson.

“There’s one more thing you’ve all overlooked.”

Cao Ye snorted, his voice low and serious.

“Based on Dusk’s established pattern of behavior, he only shows up when a Taboo Item has been revived. But have any of you considered why Dusk arrived early that day?”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over their faces.

“One of the Investigators reported that the butler referred to a mysterious individual as ‘Mr. Huang.’ Furthermore, our highly trained Investigator was unable to recall this Mr. Huang’s appearance. I believe that mysterious person was Dusk. Therefore, Dusk must have accepted Prince Qilin’s invitation and gone to Dream Island ahead of time.”

An Investigator blinked, stunned.

“Are you saying Prince Qilin invited Dusk to Dream Island? Isn’t that just asking to be killed?”

Cao Ye shot him a look.

“You all think Dusk is invincible. Even if Dusk really is the Human Emperor, he is still human first! He can be injured. He can die.”

He lit a cigarette.

Smoke drifted lazily toward the ceiling.

He was the only person to ever smoke in the conference room since the Anomaly Investigation Bureau was founded.

Cao Ye exhaled a cloud of smoke.

“Prince Qilin knew full well that even if he trapped the entire world in a dream, he would still have to get past Dusk to become the one and only Supreme God. So, when he invited Dusk to Dream Island, it wasn’t to curry favor or show hospitality. It was a challenge.”