Chapter 374: Lingxiang Trapped in the Nightmare Recurrence

"No—!"

Just as Guihua's fist was about to smash into Lingxiang's face, a sudden shout in the air forced her to halt her strike.

This voice...

It is Maidong!

Lingxiang seized the opportunity to dodge, calling out Maidong's name to the surroundings.

That's right, that's right; this is not just her own duel. Deep within Maidong's heart, she must also be struggling against Guihua, a battle that has not ceased for three years.

Since that is the case, then she cannot give up on her even more!

Sometimes, the power that language possesses is often the most immeasurable.

Therefore, Lingxiang shouted with all her might, pouring out her guilt toward Maidong, attempting to use these words to add a sliver of strength to Maidong.

The matter of Zhaoming Zhenren's murder had lingered in the depths of Lingxiang's heart for many years. At first, she hated Maidong, but after arriving in the Demon Realm, as time passed, she came to understand many things.

Maidong was heartbroken too! Otherwise, she would not have lost her mind and gone mad in such a way.

Although Zhaoming Zhenren appeared to be the strictest among Lingxiang's several senior brothers, he was also the one who doted on Lingxiang and Maidong the most. Every time the two of them made a mistake, he was the one who scolded them the most fiercely, yet he was also the one who shielded them the most. Compared to Maidong's official master, Fuyin Zhenren, one could say he was even more so.

Admittedly, Maidong was sometimes a bit reckless, but she absolutely could not have done something like harming her master. Even if Maidong did have faults that day, one could not force such an heaven-defying and unreasonable act upon her head.

The person has passed, and the living are gone!

That is why, over these years, Lingxiang has spared no effort in searching for Maidong, wanting to make up for the guilt in her heart.

Lingxiang had always felt that if she had been more rational at the time, perhaps Maidong would not have ended up in the Demon Realm. If she had remained in the Yuanqing Sect, she would certainly have received proper care, and those old fossils would never have let her become what she is now.

But there are no such "ifs" in this world, and nothing can be done over. Therefore, the only thing Lingxiang can do now is to use her greatest ability to find back that kind, innocent, and lively Maidong.

Guihua was truly somewhat startled. She knew Lingxiang had a loud voice, but she did not know it could be this loud. She could hear no other sounds in the surroundings, and the echoes made her feel endlessly annoyed. Although she was surprised for a moment, she immediately attacked again, preparing to finish off Lingxiang.

At this moment, Lingxiang's heart was entirely focused on saving Maidong; how could she care about Guihua on the side? Seeing that Guihua's palm wind was about to strike Lingxiang, this palm would surely cause damage to Lingxiang's consciousness.

Just at this critical moment, the surroundings began to shake violently, the scenery around them began to fall away for no reason, streams of black water poured in, and the Wuji Hall collapsed with a boom amidst this chaos.

"Oh no!" Lingxiang cried out in alarm.

It is the Collapse!

Seeing this, Guihua, fearing she would be implicated, had already escaped. Now, standing behind Lingxiang was a blank-faced Maidong—or to be precise, that memory of Maidong.

Lingxiang knew that if she did not pacify her, the Collapse here would certainly affect the sea of consciousness, but if she did not leave now, she would certainly be caught in the aftermath.

In a dilemma, Lingxiang hesitated for a moment, but after seeing Maidong's vacant eyes, she made up her mind.

Even if she were to be annihilated here today, she could not give up on her; no matter what, she had to try!

Lingxiang stumbled toward Maidong, speaking with difficulty to soothe her: "Maidong, Maidong, everything is a dream, none of it is real. Do not grieve, do not harm yourself within it..."

Amidst the words of comfort, Lingxiang finally reached Maidong's side and raised her hand to support her shoulders.

But just as Lingxiang touched Maidong's body, Maidong responded as if she had suddenly awakened:

"But all of this, it truly happened, didn't it?"

Lingxiang was stunned: "Maidong... you..."

The surroundings suddenly fell silent. The cracked ground, the debris floating in mid-air—everything stood still, as if time had stopped.

Looking around, a sense of foreboding rose in Lingxiang's heart, but before she could recover, those debris, cracks, and the collapsed Wuji Hall were rapidly re-erecting themselves.

It was as if time were flowing backward; Lingxiang truly did not know what had happened, and Maidong, who had been right in front of her, had suddenly vanished.

Could it be that Maidong's consciousness has recovered?

In the blink of an eye, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened just now.

The disciples who had been lying on the ground were now sitting upright, scattered at various positions of the array, forming hand seals and guarding the Wuji Hall. And outside the gate of the Wuji Hall was that familiar figure.

"Senior Brother Zhaoming..."

Lingxiang stared in a daze, her eyes brimming with tears.

Even though she knew this was merely Maidong's memory, seeing Zhaoming Zhenren again still made Lingxiang unable to control herself. How could she have the heart to pursue why things had turned out this way?

How she longed to rush forward and tug on her Fifth Senior Brother's beard, how she longed to see him once again with a stern face, scolding her for being mischievous!

Lingxiang moved forward involuntarily, but just as she took a step, a murderous aura came from behind. Looking back, the person who came was none other than Maidong!

Maidong held a sword, her eyes sharp, her expression gloomy. With every ten steps, a person fell, blood splattered like flowers; she did not show a hint of hesitation.

Lingxiang had no time to investigate the reason and could only run toward Maidong with all her might, attempting to stop her slaughter. But for some reason, whenever she was about to touch her, she would inexplicably brush past her. After several attempts, there was no result at all.

Watching as Maidong's palm pierced through Zhaoming Zhenren's spirit platform and ripped his heart out, Lingxiang was filled with despair, yet she was helpless. Tears streamed down her face as she slumped to the ground.

However, everything did not stop...

Maidong crushed Zhaoming Zhenren's heart, turned her head to look at Lingxiang, her eyes blood-red, her expression manic.

Lingxiang's tears flowed like a river as she watched Maidong walk over step by step, yet she had not a shred of strength left to dodge.

It is unknown how much time passed before the two were finally within reach. Lingxiang looked up at Maidong; that familiar face was covered in blood. The two

stared at each other just like that, not moving at all, as if everything had stopped.

A gust of wind rose, blowing their loose hair, outlining a scene of tragic desolation.

Maidong raised her sword, the sword light blinding, pointing straight at Lingxiang.

Lingxiang closed her eyes slightly, as if avoiding the sword light, or perhaps waiting for the blade to fall.

Yet nothing happened...

Lingxiang opened her eyes again, and everything had turned back to how it was just now. All the disciples were sitting upright, forming hand seals at their respective array positions, and in front of the Wuji Hall was Zhaoming Zhenren, who had just been killed by Maidong...

A murderous aura suddenly struck; it was Maidong again!

Oh no!

Lingxiang was terrified.

It is Nightmare Recurrence.

I had thought this was Maidong's memory being restored, but I did not expect it to be a Nightmare Recurrence.

That is the precursor to the Collapse of the divine sense!

Maidong will continuously cycle through this painful memory until his divine sense completely Collapses, and Lingxiang has also fallen into Maidong's nightmare, unable to ever escape!