Chapter 321 – Erased Person, Nightmare Reincarnation

Heavy rain mixed with snowflakes fell with a whoosh.

Under the shop’s eaves, some drops drifted in and hit Lu Yuan’s face, bringing a cold touch.

Lu Yuan reached out, restraining his body’s vitality to the extreme, allowing more skin to feel the raindrops.

“Is this reality or a dream?” Lu Yuan muttered to himself.

After two inexplicable cycles, he was somewhat confused about reality.

Lu Yuan closed his eyes, letting the cold raindrops flow over his face.

A moment later, he opened his eyes.

“It’s a Nightmare.”

He had found the answer.

He took a deep breath.

The icy air rushed into his lungs, erasing the weak emotions that had grown like moss.

“It’s the strength of the daughter of the nightmare.”

Lu Yuan’s expression became calm, his thoughts returning to their usual clarity and activity.

“Did she notice that I was investigating the matter concerning Xia Zhiqing, and decided to warn me?”

Lu Yuan used his access level to search for information on those involved in the “daughter of the nightmare” cases.

But the data showed that contact with people pulled into the nightmare’s dream world-be they close family or friends-had no impact.

It seemed that only he had experienced being pulled into the dream cycle.

“Anyway, this meeting probably won’t happen.”

Lu Yuan thought, shaking his head, and opened his contact list to cancel his meeting with Xia Zhiqing.

For now, they would have to continue communicating online.

However…

As Lu Yuan scrolled through his contact list several times, he couldn’t find the chat contact “Quiet Bamboo Treasure.”

“Did she change her name?” he wondered, “or did she temporarily delete me?”

Just a few minutes ago, they were still messaging each other on the chat app.

He checked his address book too, but came up empty.

“What’s going on?”

Lu Yuan frowned, pondering, and decided to use his Flying Bear access level to contact Xia Zhiqing.

However, moments later, he realized this situation might be more serious than he thought.

“When did I ever tell you I had a friend who’ve suffered from insomnia since childhood as if cursed?”

“Who’s Xia Zhiqing? What are you talking about? I don’t have that person in my contacts.”

“The last time I took your mobile phone, I chatted with someone briefly, but it was a girl named Ling Yue. Oh, right.”

Lu Jing poked Lu Yuan’s arm, half-jokingly saying, “That Ling Yue told me she has had a crush on you since junior high school but never dared to confess. Come on, tell me the truth, do you like her? I think she’s quite nice.”

Lu Yuan listened to Lu Jing with a blank expression, his mental power wrapping around her like water, keenly observing every emotional fluctuation as she spoke.

Everything seemed normal.

No signs of deception.

This indicated that everything Lu Jing just said was true-at least to her.

“Alright, I understand.”

Having obtained the answer he wanted, Lu Yuan had no interest in hearing more about Ling Yue, crushes, or confessions.

He turned and walked away.

Lu Jing, visibly annoyed, made angry gestures at his back.

As he stepped out the door, Lu Yuan walked aimlessly while listening to the Yellow Bear intelligence team reporting to him.

“We’ve conducted an investigation. Xia Chong did have a daughter, but her name was Xia Qin, and she died at the age of three.”

“Xia Chong indeed spent ten million to buy a direct disciple assessment slot from the Weishan Crane Style, and it was genuinely intended for the Lord. Our investigation revealed that Xia Chong spent this money due to the persuasion of a man named Lin Zhiqin.”

“There’s no record of any girl named Xia Zhiqing ever enrolling at Jiaoyan No. 1 High School. There are seven females named Xia Zhiqing in the entire Jiaoyan city, but none match the characteristics described by the Lord.”

“We found no signs of tampering or deletion in the data on the Lord’s mobile phone. As for the records you mentioned about the ‘daughter of the nightmare,’ they do exist.”

“…”

“Alright, I understand.”

Lu Yuan ended the call and closed his eyes.

No registered records, no information traces, no interpersonal links-she didn’t exist.

Even the girl that Lu Yuan had once risked his life to save in the rainy alley had morphed into someone else.

Everything about Xia Zhiqing had been silently erased from this world.

If Lu Yuan hadn’t experienced it firsthand and wasn’t utterly convinced that there had truly been a girl named Xia Zhiqing in his life, he might have doubted whether she was a completely fictional character conjured from his imagination.

“All traces have been erased; the daughter of the nightmare has taken her.”

Lu Yuan opened his eyes, murmuring softly.

He had felt this kind of incomprehensible method from the Ancient Evil Deity in the Wailing Ruins before.

When the crow deity Lamashtu seized the faith of the Holy Light sect, she erased all memories related to the Holy Light sect from the minds of everyone in the Ancient Brent Kingdom.

What Xia Zhiqing experienced was even more terrifying.

Every trace of her existence had been modified and erased.

“Daughter of the nightmare… Daughter of the nightmare…”

Lu Yuan kept repeating this ancient name, his mind flashing back to the scene outside the milk tea shop, where Xia Zhiqing had shattered and disappeared like a bubble before his eyes.

Even before being completely erased, she urged him to escape quickly.

For a moment, Lu Yuan felt a deep sense of helplessness and confusion he had never experienced before.

He was powerless to stop it, powerless to change it, unable to retain her, and he had no way to investigate it.

Facing this legendary deity’s method, it seemed there truly was nothing he could do.

“Whoosh-“

Lu Yuan exhaled softly, his gaze inadvertently falling on the noodle restaurant across the street with a sign that read “Rebirth: Selling Sliced Noodles in Jiaoyan.”

Lin Protector was standing at the restaurant’s entrance, looking at him with a fawning and respectful expression.

Observing his face, Lu Yuan suddenly had an idea and walked over.

“Greetings, Emperor!”

As soon as Lu Yuan reached the front of the noodle restaurant, Lin Protector immediately greeted him with utmost respect.

Hawk Protector, who was inside the shop holding a thermos and watching TV, saw Lu Yuan and quickly stood up to welcome him.

Lu Yuan glanced around the restaurant, seeing no customers, and then called to Lin Protector.

“Come inside; I have some questions for you.”

Lin Protector noticed the cold expression on Lu Yuan’s face, and his own expression turned serious immediately.

Hawk Protector, with keen awareness, pulled down the shop’s rolling shutter and stood guard at the entrance, scanning the surroundings like a hawk.

Sitting at a table in the farthest corner of the restaurant, Lu Yuan faced Lin Protector and asked, “Your evil energy originates from the Cavern Sect. Have you ever heard of the daughter of the nightmare?”

Lin Protector was momentarily stunned; he hadn’t expected this question from Lu Yuan. However, he quickly replied, “I’ve heard of it. What does the Emperor wish to know? I will speak without reservation.”

Lu Yuan raised his hand, stopping Lin Protector from his unnecessary rambling, and then detailed the situation concerning Xia Zhiqing.

Lin Protector furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment before carefully responding, “The situation of the person you described sounds very similar to the legendary Sleepless Goddess chosen by the daughter of the nightmare within the Cavern Sect.”

“Sleepless Goddess?!”

Lu Yuan’s expression shifted slightly.

At first, he had just thought to ask Lin Protector casually, given that his abilities originated from the Cavern Sect, making him the closest person in his circle related to the daughter of the nightmare.

He hadn’t expected to uncover something unexpected.

“What is the Sleepless Goddess?”

Lin Protector hesitated and said, “I only read about it in an ancient internal text of the Cavern Sect. It is said that the daughter of the nightmare reincarnates once for every trillion nightmares she sows. The human vessel chosen for her reincarnation is known as the Sleepless Goddess.

The Sleepless Goddess gradually separates from mortal sleep, and the consciousness belonging to the daughter of the nightmare within her will continuously awaken.

During this process, everything related to the Sleepless Goddess in the human world will rapidly disappear.

This is because reincarnation is when the daughter of the nightmare is most vulnerable.

To prevent other deities from tracking her, the daughter of the nightmare will remove all traces of herself from the human world.”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flashed, and after a moment of silence, he asked, “How long does this vulnerable period last?”

Lin Protector hesitated before answering, “It seems… a trillion nightmares as well.”

“Reincarnation?!”

Lu Yuan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I’m not sure either,” Lin Protector admitted.

Lin Protector sighed, “According to the legendary records of the Cavern Sect, the daughter of the nightmare’s divine power is tied to the number of nightmares she sows.

The more nightmares she sows, the stronger she becomes.

Theoretically speaking, she remains in her vulnerable phase before she sows her first trillion nightmares.”

Lu Yuan waved his hand in mild exasperation.

Still, Lin Protector’s words had provided him with significant clues and insights.

“Based on what Lin Protector said, Xia Zhiqing has been chosen as the reincarnation vessel for the daughter of the nightmare, the so-called human form.

The daughter of the nightmare erases all traces of her human form in the world to avoid being tracked down by enemies during her most vulnerable phase.

Since Xia Zhiqing has only just ‘disappeared,’ it means the daughter of the nightmare’s consciousness has only recently awakened within her.

This is currently the daughter of the nightmare’s most vulnerable period.”

A spark of light flickered in Lu Yuan’s eyes. “Everyone’s memories have been altered, but I still remember Xia Zhiqing.

I am the last remaining trace of Xia Zhiqing in this world.

Back at the milk tea shop, the daughter of the nightmare attempted to erase that trace by targeting me.

But she didn’t succeed!”

“Is it because she’s too weak at this stage to erase me, or is there another reason?!”

Lu Yuan wasn’t sure.

However, recalling the two nightmares he had experienced earlier, the one with the red umbrella likely represented the daughter of the nightmare’s original consciousness.

The second one… was probably Xia Zhiqing.

“Xia Zhiqing warned me through the second nightmare.

Does that mean she hasn’t been fully assimilated and consumed by the daughter of the nightmare yet?!”

Understanding this, Lu Yuan felt a renewed sense of energy and determination.

He even speculated that after the second nightmare, the daughter of the nightmare hurriedly erased traces of Xia Zhiqing from the world precisely for this reason.

She was too weak to entirely suppress Xia Zhiqing’s consciousness.

She feared Xia Zhiqing might reveal more clues to him.

So she needed to hide urgently, to first resolve the internal conflict she faced.

“So, there is still time, still a chance. Maybe I can save Xia Zhiqing before the daughter of the nightmare completely devours her consciousness!”

A glimmer of hope ignited in Lu Yuan’s heart, making his eyes burn brightly.

However…

In the next moment, the light in Lu Yuan’s eyes began to waver.

Is it worth it?

He asked himself, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Is it worth provoking an ancient deity, an immensely powerful being even in mythical legends, for the sake of Xia Zhiqing?

Moreover…

Even if he knew all this, what could he do?

The daughter of the nightmare had already disappeared with Xia Zhiqing. He had no way of finding them, let alone a clear method to save Xia Zhiqing.

His current efforts seemed like an ant contemplating how to take down a weakened elephant.

“No, it’s not just for Xia Zhiqing.”

Lu Yuan reflected, “It’s also for myself.

Right now, I am the last remaining trace of the daughter of the nightmare in this world, the only flaw in her reincarnation.

She’s weak now, so she can’t deal with me temporarily.

But once she recovers, the first thing she’ll do is eliminate me, to patch up her final flaw!”

“Hiss-“

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, his gaze becoming firm once again.

And this time, more resolute than ever.

“I must strike before she gets past her weakest stage and eliminate her!”

“Of course, I can’t defeat her with my own strength, but others can!”

“I know quite a few deities.”