178: Chapter 178 The Scent of Dreams, A Silent Invasion

*Buzz—*

In the dim underground secret chamber, an extremely eerie mass of black mist floated quietly in a blind spot of the ceiling.

It had no physical outline and made not a single sound.

This was the Abyss Cult's terrifying ace mental-type assassin. Codename: "Nightmare"!

Looking down at Su Chen, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, Nightmare did not immediately materialize to launch an attack like an ordinary brute.

As a top assassin who had assassinated countless Great Grandmasters, although he was arrogant to his bones, his style of action was cautious to the extreme.

“To be able to shatter that old dog Grand Elder Wang Zhentian's Spiritual Seal with a single punch...”

“This kid's physical reaction speed is absolutely comparable to a high-order exotic beast.”

An extremely faint sneer came from the black mist. “Unfortunately, this old man never competes with others using brute force.”

Along with this sneer, the black mist floating in mid-air surged slightly.

A colorless, odorless, eerie gas was released silently from the black mist.

Like an invisible veil, it slowly spread and sank throughout the sealed underground chamber.

An SS-Grade Abyss Secret Medicine: [dream-inducing incense]!

This was not a conventional poison targeted at the Physical Body or vital energy at all! Even if a Martial Artist of the Great Xia trained their Physical Body to be as hard as refined steel and had the thickest Protective Qi, they could absolutely never block this thing!

Because the dream-inducing incense had only one target: the pineal gland deep within the human brain, and the defenseless Soul!

“Inhale, inhale more of it,” Nightmare muttered as he hovered near the ceiling, locking onto Su Chen below with his Mental Energy.

In this high-martial world where people only knew how to mindlessly temper their vital energy, Soul defense was a completely barren wasteland!

Even a Great Grandmaster, once they inhaled the dream-inducing incense, would completely lose all subconscious resistance without even realizing it!

One second. Ten seconds. A minute passed.

As the concentration of the 'dream-inducing incense' in the chamber grew higher and higher, Su Chen, who had been sitting cross-legged on the futon, finally began to exhibit perfectly logical physiological reactions.

His breathing, which had been slightly rapid due to suppressing his violent vital energy, actually began to slowly stabilize.

Each breath became extremely long and deep.

At this moment, Su Chen's perfect muscle lines, which had been as tense as a bowstring, completely relaxed bit by bit.

*Patter.* His originally straight back slouched slightly. His head naturally drooped downward, his messy black hair covering his eyes, and his arms rested limply on his knees.

His entire being had completely entered an extremely deep state of 'deep sleep'! Even his heart rate had dropped to less than thirty beats per minute!

“It's done,” Nightmare whispered from the black mist, his voice extremely dry yet filled with wild joy.

He very carefully extended his mental tentacles, probing around Su Chen's body.

He met no resistance whatsoever! There was not a trace of vital energy fighting back!

The door to Su Chen's subconscious mind was now completely open to him! His mental defenses had dropped entirely to absolute zero!

“Jie jie jie...” “What an incredibly weak Martial Artist.”

In Nightmare's perception, the current Su Chen was like a newborn baby stripped of all gear, lying naked on a chopping block, completely at his mercy!

Confirming that his prey had completely lost the ability to resist, the mass of black mist hovering in the corner finally began to churn and shrink violently.

*Whoosh!* The black mist landed on the ground.

An extremely thin old man in tattered black robes slowly materialized. He was hunched over, leaning on an eerie scepter polished from the bones of an exotic beast. His eyes were rolled back; he was a natural-born blind man.

Yet, on his dry face, which resembled withered tree bark, a cruel and arrogant grin now spread.

*Tap.* *Tap.*

Leaning on his bone scepter, Nightmare took unhurried steps, walking right up to Su Chen without any hesitation.

He looked down from above, staring at the 'deeply asleep' black-haired youth.

“Slaying three S-class senior Martial Ancestors in a single day...”

“And even shattering a Great Grandmaster's spiritual energy handprint with a single punch in the black market.”

Nightmare split his mouth open, revealing a mouthful of incomplete yellow teeth as he let out a screeching, owl-like laugh.

“What an incredible physical technique Genius! What a pity!”

Nightmare shook his head, his tone full of lofty contempt. “In this old man's Dream Domain, that monstrous strength of yours isn't worth a fart. Without the protection of your Physical Body, your Soul is worse than a fat pig waiting to be slaughtered!”

He greedily sized up Su Chen's defenseless, powerful body.

“The High Priest gave a strict order. As long as your Soul is wiped out, this flawless Physical Body of yours will belong to our Cult!” “Once we refine it into the highest-grade Abyss Puppet, the sky of Kyoto will sooner or later belong to our Cult!”

Nightmare wasted no more words. To avoid any unexpected complications, he had to end this youth immediately!

He slowly raised his skeletal, withered right hand and extended a skin-and-bones index finger.

*Buzz—!*

An extremely eerie, cold, deep green mental wave instantly converged frantically at his fingertip! This wave was mixed with a terrifying power of Soul-tearing!

SS-Grade Talent! [Dream Master]!

“Go to Hell!”

“The great Kyoto Asura!”

Nightmare let out a ferocious roar!

That withered finger, which gathered lethal Soul toxins, carried a resolute intent to kill. With extreme precision, and without any hindrance...

It tapped gently right in the center of Su Chen's brow!

*Boom!* The most lethal Soul intrusion had officially begun!

Nightmare's body in the physical world instantly froze in place like a clay sculpture, while his massive mental consciousness transformed into an unstoppable torrent, following the center of Su Chen's brow...

...and violently, extremely brutally, crashed into Su Chen's Sea of Consciousness!

“Die!” Nightmare roared frantically in his heart.

He could not wait to see this young Asura, who was famous throughout Kyoto, weeping bitterly and begging for mercy on his knees in his Dream Purgatory!

However, the 'sleeping' Su Chen, who had his eyes closed...

...at the very second Nightmare's mental consciousness forcibly broke into his Sea of Consciousness...

...the corner of his mouth, which was shrouded in shadow, imperceptibly turned upward.

It curled into an extremely eerie, highly mocking arc.

“Fool. You've delivered yourself right to my door.”