381: Chapter 380 The Third Delayed Awakening

"Boss Chu... Boss Chu..."

"Boss Chu, what's wrong with you?"

"Boss Chu, why aren't you saying anything? Please don't scare us..."

Amidst a hazy consciousness, chaotic voices kept drifting into his ears.

Chu Xuan suddenly jolted awake.

The first thing that caught his eye was a familiar young face, with a faint, ambiguous smile playing at the corners of its mouth.

Chu Xuan's body shook violently; only then did he realize he was standing by the edge of a pond, staring down at his own reflection in the water.

This was still Panghu's backyard.

"Boss Chu..." The voices beside his ears continued to ring out, sounding somewhat anxious.

Chu Xuan whipped his head around.

He found Tan Ziming, Lin Jie, and the other three all standing far away against the perimeter wall. They were all looking at him with faces full of vigilance, as if they were ready to hop the wall and flee at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Boss Chu, has your Soul returned?" Panghu asked tentatively, his voice trembling slightly.

"What do you mean 'Soul returned'? Why are you standing so far away?" Chu Xuan frowned slightly, feeling that something was off. When he had first entered the dream earlier, these people had clearly passed out from drinking too much life essence.

But now, they were all awake.

It was completely different from the dream.

Could the awakening have been delayed again?

Chu Xuan immediately took his phone out of his pocket to check the time, and his pupils suddenly constricted.

8:20 AM.

As expected, it was delayed again!

And this time, it was delayed by a full 20 minutes!

So...

These people had simply sobered up normally.

Next, Chu Xuan checked his spirituality value. Just as it had been before he woke up in the dream, it was still at 7,426 points.

Then he checked his phone's chat history. The chat window for [Future Tang Zheng] was not there, confirming that he was indeed awake now and not in a dream.

Chu Xuan closed his eyes slightly, recalling the previous instances of awakening delays and searching for a possible pattern amidst the many thoughts surfacing in his mind.

"Perhaps it really is as I guessed before."

"The first awakening delay was 4 minutes because I died 4 times in the dream."

At that time, because I was being hunted by the Debt-Collecting Ghost, I died twice in a row. Then, through [Future Tang Zheng], I discovered the method of spending money to survive, so I headed straight to the nearest bank to withdraw cash.

Ultimately, although I cracked the Debt-Collecting Ghost's certain-death rule, I died a third time in the dream due to a nuclear explosion.

Afterward, when I was resurrected in the dream again, [Future Tang Zheng] couldn't withstand the pressure of the Lightning Tribulation and was about to be struck dead. He told me to wake up as soon as possible. Out of necessity, I had to force myself awake through suicide, so I died a fourth time...

When I woke up, I should have been in Courtyard No. 9 at headquarters, and the time should have been exactly 7:00. Instead, it was already 7:04, and I was already at the bank withdrawing money."

"The second awakening delay was 5 minutes because I delayed the dream once, which added up to 5 minutes."

That time, it was because I discussed too many things with [Future Tang Zheng] in the dream, and since he was being struck by lightning from time to time, his replies were slow, causing time to be wasted.

When I woke up that time, I should have been in the guest room of the residence at 7:30, but the actual time was 7:35, and I had already come to the edge of the pond and was looking at my reflection in the water."

"Now is the third awakening delay. Because I delayed 15 times in the dream, the accumulation resulted in 20 minutes. When I woke up, I was still looking at my reflection in the water..."

Chu Xuan murmured in his heart.

"To determine if this guess is accurate is simple: the next time I enter a dream, I will neither delay nor die, and see how long the awakening is delayed..."

"Additionally, I should ask [Future Tang Zheng] about this. After all, he is three years into the future. Whether it's his understanding of the rules or his experience with supernatural events, he surpasses me. Perhaps I can get an answer from him..."

Chu Xuan's gaze flickered uncertainly.

Three consecutive awakening delays, with each delay being longer than the last, caused a faint sense of unease to rise in his heart.

Especially that strange smile he saw in the water reflection just as his consciousness cleared; it couldn't help but give him a hair-raising sensation.

"Something is definitely wrong!"

While Chu Xuan was lost in thought, Tan Ziming and the others walked over cautiously. Seeing that Chu Xuan really didn't seem to have any issues, they all breathed a sigh of relief as if a weight had been lifted.

Chu Xuan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and immediately asked, "What just happened?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their eyes toward Panghu in unison.

"Boss Chu, you scared the life out of me! You almost killed me just now!" Panghu wailed with a long face.

"I saw you looking at yourself in the pond again, so I went over to call you, but you ignored me. I patted you on the shoulder, and who would have thought..."

At this point, his fat face twitched as if he had fallen into some bad memory.

Chu Xuan frowned and asked, "Who would have thought what?"

"Who would have thought that a wisp of Black Flame would suddenly erupt from your body and spread over? It was impossible to extinguish. It drained my spirituality value instantly, and my health points dropped by more than half in a flash. If Qiaoqiao hadn't saved me in time with her healing, I would have been a goner!"

Panghu shuddered, his expression slightly distorted. "That Black Flame was too painful to burn. It felt like being sliced by a thousand cuts, like my Soul was being cruelly tortured!"

Upon hearing these words, Chu Xuan's body shook violently.

Fire of Nirvana!

Panghu must have been harmed by the Fire of Nirvana just now.

But one thing was wrong: although his Fire of Nirvana dealt true damage, a single wisp should definitely not have been that powerful.

Not only could it not be extinguished, but it had almost killed Panghu directly.

Furthermore, Panghu's spirituality value was emptied, but his own spirituality value hadn't increased; he hadn't received the slightest feedback.

Chu Xuan's brow was locked tight, filled with confusion.

But then his whole body jolted. He immediately remembered that slightly strange smile of his he had seen in the water's reflection!

"During that delayed time, perhaps it wasn't me at all, but another consciousness that took control of my body!"

A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind.

Chu Xuan had always had a doubt.

That was, why did dying or delaying in a dream cause the awakening time in reality to be pushed back?

He had died many times and delayed many times in dreams before, but he had never experienced an awakening delay.

It had always been that whatever time he woke up in the dream, that was the time he woke up in reality.

Without exception!

Chu Xuan had originally been completely baffled.

But at this moment, when he learned that Panghu was almost burned to death by a Fire of Nirvana far more powerful than he could exert...

He suddenly understood.

It seemed these changes had only started happening after he became a Purifier.

And not just that.

The fact that it was becoming difficult for him to fall asleep every time might also be related to this.

Chu Xuan suddenly realized a serious problem.

The Purifier sequence might...

Have a problem!