Chapter 24 Flying Bear Enters the Dream

Chen Mu felt a chill in his heart and pressed, "What did you see? Tell me so I can help you."

"I was in... a Mass Grave, and a... Cat-Faced Old Woman was... eating a child..."

Liu Ziming's voice trembled violently, as if he had suffered a great fright.

Just as expected!

Chen Mu thought deeply and continued to ask, "And then?"

"She... discovered me and... chased me... I couldn't get away."

"She caught me... and said I lost... my soul would be hers... I would become an empty shell... just like those villagers..."

"Unless... unless she dies... otherwise... otherwise..."

Before Liu Ziming could finish his sentence, the fine fur on his face suddenly sprouted longer. A beast-like whimper sounded from his throat again, and his body began to struggle. His one good leg kicked hard against the ground, and it looked like he was about to crawl out again, but he was injured after all, lacking the strength.

Chen Mu pressed him down with one hand, his thoughts racing.

Entering dreams, the Cat-Faced Old Woman, devouring human souls.

Although Liu Ziming's words were intermittent, the meaning was clear enough. What he saw in his dream was exactly the same as what Chen Mu had seen. Looking at this bizarre collective demonization, the source was indeed the dream realm.

It seemed that the Cat-Faced Old Woman was by no means a simple dream illusion, but some kind of evil entity capable of invading consciousness and devouring souls.

First, she cast a spell to enter dreams, then broke the villagers one by one within the dream, devouring their souls to cultivate the "Hundred-Phase Soul Devouring" technique she had just unleashed.

The villagers, left with empty husks devoid of souls, were then taken advantage of by this evil entity, which occupied their bodies, assimilated them into Yao Beasts, and turned them into Puppets that could only wander at night.

Judging by this, perhaps the villagers stayed behind closed doors during the day because the evil entity within them slept during the day?

Then why was Blind Li unaffected? Could it be that blind people cannot dream? Or was there some other special quality...

Chen Mu's gaze returned to Liu Ziming, whose face still bore a distinct look of pain.

He had slain the Cat-Faced Old Woman, and thus successfully escaped the dream realm.

Liu Ziming lacked the ability and had been defeated in the dream; he would likely have his soul devoured and never be able to reincarnate.

This was a huge problem.

Chen Mu's cold gaze looked out of the window toward the small courtyard.

The blood mist was still silently churning outside the courtyard wall. The demonized villagers, like lurking beasts, were waiting quietly in a siege. As long as they dared to go out, hundreds or thousands would pounce on them and tear their bodies apart with sharp claws.

What to do?

Should he return to Yunmeng to bring reinforcements?

Not to mention whether it was possible to break out of the heavy encirclement of these Yao Beasts and the village blocked by the blood mist.

Even if he could, Xu Changze and Head Constable Wang would only applaud and be eager for them to die here.

At the moment, there was no one to help; he could only rely on himself!

Chen Mu pondered secretly.

Just a moment ago, he had narrowly escaped death himself, using his full strength to combine the "Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique" with the "Divine Void Step" to barely slay the Cat-Faced Old Woman's dream-form.

If he wanted to help Liu Ziming, he would have to let him enter that dream realm as well.

That's it!

"Entering dreams..."

Chen Mu murmured in a low voice, his fingers tapping the sword hilt unintentionally, feeling extremely distressed.

This was even more stifling than facing Li Feiyu's Dao or the sharp claws of the White Tiger Demon Beast.

Swords and blades could cut tangible things, but they could not break intangible demons.

Even if he wanted to help Liu Ziming now, he had no way to start!

What could he do?

Just as his thoughts were racing, a sudden, unusual warmth spread from his chest.

Chen Mu was startled, as if he had remembered something. He immediately reached into his bosom and felt for the oilcloth package.

It was the pair of bear paw gloves that Zhao Xiong had stuffed into his hands at the city gate.

Zhao Xiong's words from that time were still vivid in his mind.

"This black bear lived in the deep mountains and old forests and already had spiritual intelligence. It has a restraining effect on some sinister and evil things."

Sinister and evil things... did this dream erosion count as a form of extreme evil?

Chen Mu thought for a moment and immediately opened the oilcloth package quickly. The pair of brown-black gloves, covered in coarse hair with pads on the palms and curved claws at the fingertips, lay quietly in his palm.

They emitted a dim, ghostly light, and the warmth he had just felt had come from them.

Bear paws, what use could they be?

Could he slap the Cat-Faced Old Woman away from outside the dream?

Chen Mu stared blankly at the gloves, and suddenly an extremely absurd, yet at this moment, incredibly reasonable thought entered his mind.

Flying Bear Dream Entry!

He suddenly remembered that in the fragmented memories of his past life, he had heard this term before, though he had long since completely forgotten what it actually meant.

But judging by the name, it was probably a miraculous bear that could enter dreams to exorcise demons and suppress evil.

A cold glint appeared in Chen Mu's eyes. He hesitated no longer and picked up the gloves to slowly put them on.

The gloves fit his hands better than he had imagined. When worn, they felt neither heavy nor clumsy, and his fingers moved with exceptional agility, as if these bear paws had grown directly from his own arms.

Although the pads on the palms dulled his sense of touch, the cold, sharp sensation of the claws at his fingertips was exceptionally clear. Black Qi swirled around his fingertips, as if they could truly tear open intangible barriers with ease.

Even more strangely, the moment he put on the gloves, a gentle, warm current flowed from the palms up his arms and straight to his forehead, as if the bear's spiritual intelligence was slowly reawakening. It instantly swept away the fatigue from his battle in the dream, leaving his mind clear and bright.

"Whether it's useful or not, I'll know once I try."

Chen Mu adjusted the gloves, held his sword in his right hand, and used his left hand to straighten the still-struggling Liu Ziming, making him face him. He took a deep breath and pressed his left hand, wearing the bear paw glove, onto Liu Ziming's forehead.

He held his breath and focused, attempting to channel the gentle, warm current from the bear paw, along with his own mental will, into him.

At first, there was no change, but after a few breaths, a sudden transformation occurred!

Liu Ziming suddenly trembled violently and opened his eyes wide, yet his gaze was hollow and devoid of spirit.

At the same time, the glove Chen Mu had pressed against his forehead suddenly emitted a dark, mysterious light!

The next second.

"Hum——."

It was that familiar sensation of dizziness again, accompanied by a strong sense of vibration and detachment.

Liu Ziming's twitching, distorted face, the dilapidated earthen bed, the silent courtyard—everything before his eyes was like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water, violently vibrating, twisting, and shattering!

The world spun around.

Chen Mu felt as if he had been thrown up to the Nine Heavens in an instant, only to fall back to the mortal world, shuttling back and forth between heaven and earth.

He did not know how much time had passed, perhaps it was only an instant, but all the chaos and discomfort suddenly vanished.

Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes.