As soon as the Dragon-Slaying Sword left its sheath, the accumulated Sword Qi poured out in a torrent.

Wanli Fengdao stepped on a tree trunk, his figure skimming the ground as he charged forward, sword in his right hand, while his left index and middle fingers gently slid along the blade.

HUMMM—

The sword blade vibrated ceaselessly. The long swath of Sword Qi suddenly split into over a dozen streams, accompanied by the faint sound of tigers roaring and dragons chanting, slashing obliquely towards the front.

In an instant, Sword Qi crisscrossed and cold light dazzled. Countless narrow wounds appeared on the creature named Water Nightmare. His slack and drooping skin tore open inch by inch, as red and yellow pus flowed out as if it cost nothing.

However, he seemed to feel no pain, standing in place without moving an inch, allowing the sword to slash and stab. His face, covered in sword marks, twisted into a ferocious smile.

His eyes were covered with a cloudy white film. From his cracked lips, blackened and incomplete teeth were visible. His tongue was coated with a dark red rot, and his mouth was filled with innumerable wriggling maggots. When he opened his mouth to speak, a suffocating stench continuously burst forth.

"Found you."

The Water Nightmare's filmy eyes trembled. He muttered to himself, then abruptly raised his emaciated arms. With a "SLAP," he astonishingly caught the Dragon-Slaying Sword's blade between his palms, forcefully interrupting the ongoing assault of Sword Qi.

In the pouring rain, the shocked look on Wanli Fengdao's rain-drenched, bedraggled face was incredibly clear.

The Water Nightmare cracked a smile. In the blink of an eye, the deep, bone-visible wounds crisscrossing his body healed rapidly. They no longer oozed pus, and he looked as if he had returned to his original state.

He was just about to say something, but then Wanli Fengdao's eyes flashed with determination. He suddenly twisted his sword-wielding right hand, rotating the blade. This severed the Water Nightmare's palms, and he silently thrust forward.

The sword's cold tip sliced through the white film and stabbed into the Water Nightmare's left eye, piercing through his skull. Wanli Fengdao then viciously stirred it!

Agonizing pain shot directly into his soul, forcing the Water Nightmare to stagger back half a step. His remaining right eye blazed red, and his rotting jaw hung oddly as he emitted an angry roar.

"AHHHHHHHH!!"

The sound waves turned substantial, easily shattering the dense curtain of rain.

Wanli Fengdao faced the Water Nightmare's angry roar head-on. He felt all his ribs break, blood rushed up, and a sweetness filled his throat. With no time to think, he twisted his sword and pulled it from the Water Nightmare's eye socket. At the same time, he pushed off the ground with his toes and retreated explosively. Moving like a hare darting and a falcon swooping, he rushed towards the end of the chain, grabbed the unconscious Xing Hechou from the ground, and harshly yanked him free from the chains that bound him.

"Don't think you can escape!"

The Water Nightmare roared, his voice low and filled with venomous fury, covering his burst left eye with one hand and reaching for the iron chain around his waist with the other, flinging it forward at an angle.

The iron chain, as thick as a human arm, shot out like a venomous snake with an eerie trajectory.

Wanli Fengdao, carrying Xing Hechou on his shoulder, heard the whistling sound coming from behind. He barely had time to turn around and place his sword horizontally in front of him.

BOOM!

The iron chain struck the Dragon Slaying Long Sword. Its force, unabated, then slammed into Wanli Fengdao's chest.

The mustached man's eyes bulged wide. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered, but ultimately managed to flee deep into the forest, disappearing from sight.

"HAHH, HAHH, HAHH..."

The Water Nightmare stood in place, panting heavily, desperately covering his eye socket with a hand, yet putrid, stinking pus still rushed endlessly through the gaps between his fingers.

To think, only two were left...

Silent, he looked down at the eighteen chains tied around his waist, his face full of resentful and malevolent expressions.

Run, go ahead and run. You won't be able to escape this forest.

***

HUFF, HUFF, HUFF.

Wanli Fengdao ran wildly through the woods with Xing Hechou on his shoulders. The sound of wind howling in his ears was completely unable to mask the sound of his own increasingly heavy breathing echoing in his head.

This is really quite a sorry state to be in.

Wanli Fengdao silently took out a vial of serum and downed it in one gulp. This special healing serum, from the Special Affairs Bureau's research department, rapidly began to heal his superficial injuries. However, his broken bones and ruptured internal organs still needed time for the medicine to take full effect and heal.

In the deep darkness of the night, thunder rumbled incessantly. Flashes of lightning occasionally illuminated the dense forest. Under their intermittent glare, the trees, ancient and solemn by day, now looked sinister, as if harboring countless malevolent spirits hiding in the shadows, waiting to choose a victim and devour them.

What Wanli Fengdao lacked most now was time. Ignoring the acute pain in his chest, he carried Xing Hechou and fled rapidly, running until most of his energy was drained. After fleeing an unknown distance, he finally slowed down. Finding a hollow giant tree, he crawled into the tree hole with Xing Hechou to rest temporarily.

The tree hole was cold and damp but could shield them from the wind and rain.

Leaning against the tree trunk inside the hole, Wanli Fengdao breathed heavily for a while. After steadying his breath, he dared not turn on any light. Using the flashes of lightning from the sky, he leaned over to inspect Xing Hechou's condition.

The man, built like an iron tower, now had his eyes tightly closed. His face was pale, and his breathing, heartbeat, and pulse were extremely faint.

Phew, good thing he's not dead, Wanli Fengdao thought with relief. He took out seven or eight vials of serum from his backpack inventory, glanced at the labels, and poured them all into Xing Hechou's mouth.

They had both been teleported into this dark, rain-lashed forest and had encountered each other not long after.

The Special Affairs Bureau had attached great importance to this Shengnan King's Dream mission, arranging for a group of elite operatives to enter together. For highly trained Special Affairs Bureau agents, teamwork yielded far greater power than fighting alone. Moreover, Xing Hechou and Wanli Fengdao were old acquaintances with excellent rapport.

After a brief discussion, they launched a discreet flare into the air, one used by Special Affairs Bureau agents for communication. After waiting for a while with no one appearing, they began exploring the forest to find a way out.

Along the way, they had worked together to kill three grotesque demons. They had no time to rest before the Water Nightmare ambushed them and captured Xing Hechou.

One could indeed leave the Shengnan King's Dream at any time, but the prerequisite was that the player must remain conscious and be able to think of "leaving the dream."

Xing Hechou was unconscious, and Wanli Fengdao didn't know if the serums produced by the Special Affairs Bureau would be effective. If he himself left the dream and returned to the real world, the unconscious Xing Hechou would almost certainly perish in this dense forest, which teemed with reborn evil spirits.

This really is...

Wanli Fengdao sat cross-legged, his longsword laid across his knees. He looked at Xing Hechou with a persistent wry smile. "Brother Xing," he said, "you're sleeping soundly, but you've really put me in a tough spot."

Suddenly, a glint appeared in his eyes as if he had an idea. "Wait a minute," he muttered, "I've seen in TV dramas that there are many ways to wake comatose patients..."

He rubbed his stubbly chin, slowly lowered his head, gently patted Xing Hechou's face, and whispered in his ear.

"Old Xing, time to get up for mahjong, we're short one player."

No response.

"Old Xing, if you don't get up, your wife is going to run off with someone else."

"Old Xing, come on, it's time to play Plants vs. Zombies."

"Old Xing, what the hell are you lying around for? Get up and party!"

"Old Xing, do you know, if a person in a vegetative state is taken hostage, that's what they call a 'quality' hostage situation."

"Old Xing, if you don't wake up, I'm really gonna kiss you! AWOO!"

Wanli Fengdao rambled on, his muttering growing more animated, when suddenly two rays of light cut through the silent night, illuminating the pitch-dark tree hole.

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