Atop the temple ruins, Gu Xiaoshan babbled incoherently in excitement, while Qiu Wu stood in stunned disbelief, lost in a daze for a long time.
"The entire temple! Every single anomaly—squashed to death in one palm strike!!"
Gu Xiaoshan's eyes sparkled. He spun around, grabbed Qiu Wu by the shoulders, and shook him violently. "Old Qiu, Old Qiu! Did you see that?! A miracle! It's an honest-to-God miracle!"
Qiu Wu slapped his hands away and snapped irritably, "I saw it. I'm not blind, of course I saw it."
He stepped forward a few paces, squatted down, and looked at a pitch-black scorch mark on the ground. Reaching out to touch it, he drew a soft breath. "This was that Buddha statue with the monk's staff just now, wasn't it? Nothing really is left—not even ashes. Only a black stain on the ground."
Gu Xiaoshan's eyelids twitched at that. Unable to tell whether he felt joy or regret, he sighed, "Sure enough, after that exalted being killed this nightmare, no dream relic was left behind."
Qiu Wu fell silent.
Earlier, they had read the document circulated by headquarters, which mentioned that the God Zhonghuang Taiyi could eliminate nightmares at their root and destroy dream relics. At the time, they had been half-believing and half-doubting, but now that they had witnessed it with their own eyes, mixed feelings welled up inside them.
There was joy, certainly, because from now on, nightmares were no longer unsolvable. Humanity could finally see the possibility of ending the supernatural era!
Yet beyond joy, there was also a sense of loss.
Before the "God" descended into the world, dream expellers like them—especially frontline official dream expellers like Qiu Wu and Gu Xiaoshan—were the undisputed heroes of humanity. It was their very existence that kept world order from rapidly collapsing.
But now, they seemed to be "useless."
When ordinary people ran into a nightmare, they no longer needed dream expellers to save them. All they had to do was shout God Taiyi's holy name, and they could summon His divine intent to descend and vanquish the evil!
Furthermore, God Taiyi could thoroughly destroy dream relics. That meant from now on, dream relics would become fewer and fewer. The community of dream expellers would not grow; instead, it would gradually shrink.
They were about to exit the stage of history—
Gu Xiaoshan tilted his head up at the bright moon in the sky. Bathed in the faint moonlight, he gave an easygoing smile. "That's fine too. From now on, we won't have to risk our necks fighting those bizarre abominations with our lives on the line!
"Come to think of it, I'm already twenty-nine and haven't even dated once. If I hadn't become a dream expeller back then, I'd probably be married by now, wouldn't I? Now that the sky's got a giant propping it up when it falls, I can finally lay down this burden and peacefully go on blind dates and get married."
Qiu Wu was amused by him. "Why blind dates? What's wrong with falling in love naturally?"
Gu Xiaoshan was speechless. "Where am I supposed to find someone to fall in love with? All my colleagues are big, brawny blokes like you lot. Better to stick to honest blind dates."
"Well, you could apply for a transfer with higher-ups. I'd imagine before long, all of us dream expellers affiliated with the association will be reassigned. In fact, whether the association will even continue to exist is up in the air."
Qiu Wu straightened up and let out a long breath. "If I can transfer to some easy, idle desk job later, I'll put in for a transfer back to my hometown county. I haven't spent time with my parents in years."
With that, the two exchanged a smile.
"The nightmare incident is resolved. Let's head back." With brisk steps, Qiu Wu walked out of the temple.
Beside him, Gu Xiaoshan said, "Once we get back, we have to write a report immediately, detailing everything that happened tonight. I reckon plenty of our colleagues in the association are just like we were before, doubting the mighty power of God Taiyi. We can serve as proof. That way, they won't have to risk their own lives dealing with nightmare incidents in the future either—"
Qiu Wu was not as optimistic. "Those who take risks will still take them, because they need to obtain dream relics."
If they prayed for God's descent to purge the evil, the dream relic would inevitably be destroyed by the deity. Yet for a dream expeller to advance in rank, dream relics were indispensable. Thus, Qiu Wu guessed there would still be people unwilling to invoke God, choosing instead to handle nightmare incidents alone to acquire dream relics.
Gu Xiaoshan sighed. "Everyone has their own thoughts; there's no need to force it. As long as we've given the warnings we ought to give, that's enough..."
The two got into their vehicle and returned to the branch. Then, Qiu Wu began writing down a detailed account of tonight's nightmare incident. Gu Xiaoshan reviewed it after he finished, found no issues, co-signed it, and submitted it to headquarters.
Headquarters responded very quickly, offering high praise for their dedication and on-the-spot adaptability, before posting their co-signed report on the Dream Expeller Association's official forum.
Soon, numerous comments popped up beneath the post.
"That deity really responds whenever His name is called?!"
"No dream relic left at the scene... It seems nightmares really are killed at their root."
"Without dream relics, advancing in rank will become a problem. If we don't become Rank 2 dream expellers, many of us will eventually die from the relic's erosion."
"Listen to yourself. Even if you become a Rank 2 or Rank 3 dream expeller, your life is still on the line every single day."
"Erosion or no erosion, it doesn't matter. Ever since I became a dream expeller, I never expected to die peacefully in my bed. Now that I see hope for ending this supernatural era, I can die content."
"Starting tomorrow, I plan to clear out all stationary nightmares in my city! We couldn't do anything about them before, but now let's see how they die!!"
"Right, I had the same thought. Those stationary nightmares don't seem like much of a threat right now, but they're still thorns in our side. Better to pull them out as soon as possible."
...In the comments section, all sorts of opinions were voiced, but the reception was largely positive. Although some worried about how to advance with the steep decline in dream relics, most did not overthink it. Instead, they decided to first deal with the stationary nightmares within their jurisdictions.
Previously, they hadn't taken action because manpower was scarce, the risks were too great, and such nightmares posed relatively low threats to ordinary people. But now that all it took was invoking the God, it was naturally best to clean them up early.
Thus, starting the following daytime across the State of Dongping, numerous official dream expellers took personnel and headed to various nightmare sites, shouting, "Zhonghuang Taiyi, deliver both the dark and light!"
The instant the words fell, an enormous hand ripped open space above their heads and pressed down lightly toward the nightmare below!
The earth trembled and the mountains shook! In the blink of an eye, the nightmare was slain, leaving behind only a colossal palm print marking what had just transpired.
The dream expellers and emergency squad members stood dumbfounded for a good while before bursting into raucous cheers. Full of fiery zeal, they headed to the next nightmare location and repeated the process.
Over the course of an entire day, countless nightmares were slain, ninety percent of which were stationary. The filth across the State of Dongping was nearly wiped clean!
On the second day, the dream expellers began venturing deep into remote areas—desolate outskirts, deep mountain forests, abandoned reservoirs, dilapidated old villages, and anywhere rumors of supernatural occurrences circulated. They led teams to investigate every single one in person.
As a result, most locations held nothing and were merely ghost stories meant to scare people. Naturally, some nightmares were indeed discovered and resolved.
That was the situation domestically. Outside the State of Dongping, the atmosphere was quite different.
For one, foreign governments were still watching and hesitating, uncertain whether to help propagate the name of "Zhonghuang Taiyi." They feared driving away a wolf only to welcome a tiger—nightmares were indeed terrifying, but this God of yours was just as terrifying!
After all, nightmares could still be countered by dream expellers. Their killing followed strict rules, and they lacked consciousness; as long as one stayed calm and cautious, one still had a chance to survive even if swept into a nightmare incident.
Yet this deity, rumored to hail from the "Zhonghuang Yuanji Heaven," possessed genuine human thoughts and consciousness!
Furthermore, His power was terrifyingly formidable. Even if all the dream expellers in the world joined forces, they might not be able to contend with Him. Such an existence was far too horrifying...
Compared to official governments, the public populace was far more complex.
Some refused to believe nightmares, dream expellers, or gods existed at all, dismissing everything as a conspiracy cooked up by the State of Dongping.
Some believed the so-called God Taiyi was a nightmare surpassing the fierce-rank, trembling in fear that the apocalypse was nigh.
There were also those who regarded God Taiyi as the supreme deity—as God Almighty Himself. They spontaneously adopted faith in Him, going so far as to establish numerous "Taiyi Cults"!
In just a few days, Taiyi societies and cults became among the most widely spread sects in the world.
No one found this particularly strange. Even nonexistent deities preached by other churches had devout followers; God Zhonghuang Taiyi had truly descended into the mortal world, so it was only natural that many embraced the faith.
However, with so many societies and sects springing up, charlatans inevitably tried to fish in troubled waters, using all sorts of tricks to swindle money from believers. And then... and then they were struck dead by heavenly thunderbolts!
Huang Tian cared little about any Taiyi Cults or societies. He had no need for faith—at least not right now—so he was indifferent to them.
Occasionally, however, when he caught sight of swindlers parading under his banner through the voice lines, he casually tossed down a few divine lightning bolts...
After several self-styled "popes" were struck dead by lightning, the myriad Taiyi-related sects abroad immediately became much better behaved.
Heaven was watching everything mortals did!
In Room 301, Huang Tian sat cross-legged with eyes closed, fully absorbed in refining the spiritual qi he had absorbed.
Over the past few days, as he answered the prayers and descended to purge evil, more and more spiritual qi had fed back into his body, to the point where his refining speed could barely keep up with his absorption!
Of course, this was also because he couldn't concentrate on refining spiritual qi earlier; he had to split his mind into thousands of threads to answer calls from around the world at any moment.
Fortunately, over these few days, the nightmares within the State of Dongping were almost entirely eradicated, finally giving him time to refine the spiritual qi.
Whoosh—
Above Qingyang City, heavenly winds surged without warning. Mighty gales swept across the expanse, stirring the clouds. Faint rosy dawn light flowed like running water, growing more and more brilliant until it blanketed the entire sky. A sacred, majestic aura radiated outward, enshrouding the whole city and making all who felt it feel insignificantly small.
Zhou Zhenhong and Wang Guangming looked up at the magnificent canopy, lost in awe for a long time.
"Has that exalted being's strength... risen to another level?" Zhou Zhenhong murmured.
"It must be so," Wang Guangming answered. "Vice President Li said that after killing a nightmare, that person can devour its power to nourish himself. Over these past few days, just how many nightmares has he slain? Setting aside Sui-rank and Xie-rank, there were more than a dozen E-rank and even several fierce-rank nightmares! His power must have grown by leaps and bounds!"
As he spoke, he sighed with emotion. "He is an avatar of an immortal deity descended to this world, after all. Rapid leaps in cultivation are only natural."
Zhou Zhenhong gave a slight nod, his gaze solemn as countless thoughts surged in his mind.
Just a few days ago, that being was already peerless under the heavens. Now that he had grown stronger still, he might well be capable of crushing the entire world single-handedly!
He would no longer have any scruples in anything he did.
So what would he do next?
Would he continue putting down nightmares, or...
Although Zhou Zhenhong had spent time with Huang Tian and believed that even if he wasn't an immortal's avatar, he was by no means an evil villain, worry still inevitably crept in. For from this moment forth, the future of the Ancient Star and the fate of humanity rested entirely upon his will...
While Zhou Zhenhong felt uneasy, Vice President Li Ding of the Dream Expeller Association, who had yet to depart Qingyang City, was equally restless.
He was the one who had officially contacted Huang Tian on behalf of the government, championed spreading the name of Zhonghuang Taiyi with all his might, and emptied out headquarters' dream relics to offer them with both hands. He had placed unreserved faith in Huang Tian. If Huang Tian ultimately stood opposed to humanity, even ten thousand deaths could not redeem his guilt.
No! I, the State of Dongping, and the entire world had no other choice. We could only believe in him. So whatever the outcome, I can face it calmly...
With these thoughts, he slowly sat back down on the sofa, his mood gradually steadying.
Meanwhile, inside Room 301, as blood and vital energy surged through his body like rushing rivers and seas, a lustrous white radiance coated the surface of Huang Tian's skin.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a three-foot-tall miniature figure leapt out of his body, hovering in the air above his head. The figure bore the exact likeness of Huang Tian, with distinct features and jade-like skin.
Taking a single stride, the miniature figure stepped outside the high-rise building into the high sky. With a wave of his hand, the rosy clouds spanning the entire city rippled like water before abruptly contracting. Crimson and purple dawn rays instantly gathered into his palm, weaving into an ever-flowing celestial robe.
With a sweep of his hand, the celestial robe draped over his body as if he were wrapped in ten thousand strands of glowing mist.
Standing in midair, the miniature figure released his divine consciousness, silently sensing the aura of heaven and earth. Only after a long while did he withdraw it, stepping back into the room and vanishing into his physical body.
"I have finally restored my peak state..."
Huang Tian opened his eyes, a divine glint flickering within them. Rising to his full height, he gazed out the window at the vast sky.
"Now that my Soul is fully formed, my resonance with heaven and earth is even clearer. I can faintly sense a frigid, sinister aura blanketing the entire world. Is that the source of the nightmares?"
Thoughtful, he murmured, "And it seems close to awakening..."
This was hardly surprising. In such a short span of time, Huang Tian had swept away countless nightmares across the State of Dongping, which would inevitably disturb the nightmare source. On top of that, it was already on the verge of waking. Perhaps in ten days or a fortnight, or perhaps in half a year to a year, it would awaken completely!
"I need to quicken my pace. The nightmares present across all nations, as well as the dream relics fused into all the dream expellers, must be dealt with as quickly as possible. Otherwise, they will inevitably aid that source. Far better that I destroy them to serve as resources for my cultivation..."
It was time to stretch his hands and clean up the world!
Chapter 175