Chapter 403: 403 It

It's exactly the territory of the Marsh King Snake!

After glancing around the first layer of the Nightmare World and seeing an endless expanse of desolate marshland, Snow Maiden, who had been genuinely envied by several other nightmares, couldn't help but burst into joy.

Compared to the mist-shrouded forests of the Faceless Forest Spirits, the mirror-blue seas of the Green Wave Sea Monsters, or the boundless deserts of the Dune Giant Insects, the wasteland of reeds stretched by the Marsh King Snake may look ordinary, but it is unquestionably the most dangerous of the six dream layers.

The swamps in the Nightmare World differ from reality—they do not obey real-world rules but instead prioritize the imagery of swamps within the dream, and whenever a swamp appears in a nightmare, it almost always signifies an inescapable "sinking."

Thus, within this boundless black swamp, nothing except the white reeds taller than adult human males can stand upon it; any force in any direction is drawn downward.

Exaggeratedly speaking, even a whisper of wind passing through is pulled down into the black mud, with nothing able to escape—and the faster something moves, the faster it sinks, without exception.

No matter which direction he proceeds, he will be slowly swallowed by the black mud, drowned in the desolate, distant wind of the wasteland of reeds, and gradually dragged into the deepest depths of the swamp, entangled by countless aquatic reeds.

Damn human, you're finished!

…

Strange, has her mood suddenly become ecstatic?

Seeing Snow Maiden's clear face glowing with uncontainable delight, as if she had regained her spirit, Li Ang glanced at her in surprise and asked:

"This is the nightmare realm opened by the Marsh King Snake, right? Is Director Scorpio here on this layer?"

"Hmph!"

"…"

Oh right, she doesn't have to answer.

Watching Snow Maiden turn her head away and ignore him, Li Ang reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, then ordered directly:

"Fine, don't talk—just take me to him!"

"Can't find him."

Glancing at Li Ang's shoe already sinking into the swamp, the elated Snow Maiden snorted:

"Outside, as an observer, I could barely sense a few things; now that you've dragged me into the dream, it's no different from being swallowed by the Marsh King Snake—all around me is his scent. How am I supposed to help you find anyone?"

So we can't immediately rendezvous with Director Scorpio?

After hearing Snow Maiden's words, Li Ang, now lost in the towering reeds with severely obstructed vision, immediately pulled out the Ram's Head and touched it.

No one here…

At least within a two-kilometer radius, there are no traces of soul-fire; this black-and-white swamp, perpetually howling with strange winds, seems devoid of any life.

It appears Director Scorpio isn't on this layer—if he is, he's far away, and finding him will likely take considerable time.

As this occurred to him, Li Ang's brow furrowed slightly.

After I provoked such a strong backlash, once the Nightmare King breaks free from the Director's control and enters reality, he'll almost certainly rush straight into the sixth nightmare layer to hunt me down.

As the master of nightmares, entering a nightmare is as easy for him as returning home—he'll find my location with terrifying ease. The 【Immortal in Wine】 might not be enough to handle him.

My greatest advantage here is Director Scorpio, who is trapped within the sixth nightmare. Only by reaching him before the Nightmare King finds me can I truly be safe.

Looks like I'm racing against time now.

Having clarified what he must do next, and unable to see far due to the towering white reeds, Li Ang immediately pulled out his long-neglected 【Witch's Broom】 and mounted it.

This nightmare realm is simply too vast—the Ram's Head's soul vision can't cover it all; to find traces of Director Scorpio's movement, he'd have to rely on his own eyes.

Considering the constant strong winds here, visibility is decent—by sight alone, he might spot something over ten kilometers away… Huh? What's going on?

Li Ang had barely risen less than a meter when an odd suction pulled him uncontrollably downward, and he splashed back into the reeds with a thud.

Confused by this unexpected turn, Li Ang tried again, even activating the 【Witch's Broom】's air shield.

But this time, the outcome was worse—he rose less than half a meter before being yanked down by a vortex-like force and plunged headfirst into the swamp, covered head to toe in mud.

Strange… is there some kind of flight prohibition here too?

"Stop struggling. You can't fly."

Watching Li Ang, who had fallen twice, his knees now sunk into the swamp, Snow Maiden—tear tracks still on her face—smirked with satisfaction:

"You dragged me out of the snow mountain, but you're only a level-three cleaner at best—you couldn't even resist my memory suppression. Once you entered the wasteland of reeds, you're bound by its rules."

"In the Marsh King Snake's wasteland of reeds, nothing except these white reeds can remain on the swamp—and the faster you move, the faster you sink. Just stay still!"

Nothing except reeds can remain on the swamp?

After hearing Snow Maiden's words, Li Ang blinked, then asked:

"So if I weave these reeds into a pair of shoes, can I stand on the swamp?"

"Huh?"

Stunned by Li Ang's question, Snow Maiden instinctively blinked her ice-blue eyes, her smile freezing slightly.

Only reeds can stand on the swamp… so just weave reeds into shoes? This… this…

"Stop staring—get to work."

Not waiting for an answer from Snow Maiden, Li Ang didn't hesitate—he pulled out a knife, cut two bundles of reeds, shoved one into her stunned hands, and asked:

"Can you weave shoes?"

"No…"

"Then follow my steps!"

"…"

Watching Li Ang cross and weave the white reeds, actually beginning to craft sandals, Snow Maiden felt a surge of bitter frustration—she regretted speaking up.

But words spoken are water spilled; it was too late to regret. Bound by the 【Unfair Snake Pact】, she scowled and clumsily imitated Li Ang's motions, weaving the sandals.

Bastard! Making me weave shoes for you… I'll weave the most Cijiao pair possible—make your feet bleed when you step on them!

Filled with malice, Snow Maiden yanked and tore at the reeds with all her strength, wishing they'd turn into cacti and stab his Choujiao into a fountain.

Yet as she gnashed her teeth and struggled with the reeds, she noticed Li Ang suddenly paused, glancing at her in surprise.

"Didn't you say nothing except reeds can stay on the swamp?"

Looking down at Snow Maiden's pale, delicate feet planted firmly on the black mud, Li Ang frowned:

"Why aren't you sinking?"

"Why should I sink?"

Snow Maiden snorted:

"Even without my nightmare core, I'm a nightmare emissary on the same level as the Marsh King Snake—I'm unaffected by the wasteland of reeds… W-why did you throw away the sandals? Why are you staring at me? Don't come closer!"