Chapter 690: Each One

As Lu Mi heard the heartbeat, a hand emerged from the open door of the black tomb.

That hand showed no signs of decay or yellowed bandages; its surface was coated in gold, shimmering with mysterious hues beneath the dim crimson moonlight.

The moment Lu Mi saw the golden hand, he felt his soul being compressed inward by an invisible force, instantly severed from his body.

Immediately after, he realized his body had become a cold, solid wall, preventing his spirit from spreading outward or responding to his will.

At that moment, Lu Mi's soul was imprisoned like a caged thing, unable to escape, able only to see limited visuals through his eyes and hear louder sounds through his ears.

Everyone present had turned to statues, frozen in place, motionless.

Faced with this situation, Lu Mi suddenly recalled a saying:

The body is the cage of the heart; the world is the cage of the body.

In this frozen scene, the only one still moving was "Siso" Te Wanake.

The golden mask on his face glowed faintly as he swiftly approached the black tomb, drawing near the golden-covered hand extending from its chamber.

Though Lu Mi could not move or use his abilities, his soul was merely "imprisoned," leaving his thoughts unimpeded.

Seeing that "Siso" Te Wanake was nearly unaffected by the golden hand, Lu Mi quickly understood many things:

"The gold Siso stole from the gold-mining city of Devise was almost certainly all used on the cold corpse inside the black tomb."

"The item he obtained from the devil of the Nos family was likely the golden mask he now wears."

"The former was to revive the cold corpse to some degree—equivalent to what Fukan called 'reshaping the golden body'—while the latter ensures Siso can approach the target unharmed after the corpse 'revives,' achieving some goal?"

"Did Siso once intend to control that cold corpse and gain power at the half-god level?"

"When the real-world version of him is killed by me, does the dream version intend to use this to 'revive'?"

"Hmm, Siso's 'vengeful spirit' power shares the same origin as the cold corpse; perhaps he truly has a way to make the corpse believe he is its original soul, thus accepting his dominance…"

"From the information I've gathered and what just happened, humans who have received the black tomb's and the cold corpse's blessings can open the tomb chamber without awakening the corpse. To awaken it, an intruder must be granted 'immortality' by an invisible shadow and ascend into a god, entering the tomb."

"An intruder is only attacked by the invisible shadow if not guided by someone who has received the 'Dream Festival' blessing…"

"The intruder should also remain conscious?"

"How did Siso know an outsider would participate in this year's Dream Festival and reach the black tomb area?"

"He didn't have this contingency plan—he didn't expect to die. If this year's Dream Festival fails, the dream projection will vanish entirely within months, robbing him of his last hope of resurrection…"

"Is the outsiders' involvement a stroke of luck for him?"

"No, this is too coincidental. Reyasa might have come because he discovered I was investigating the Dream Festival and feared missing his chance, but why did Ivelistar arrive precisely during this time to investigate something in this primitive jungle? Why did two other adepts capable of staying conscious in the special dream arrive just before the Dream Festival began?"

"Also, why did the Rose Sect send people to Matanibang in these final months to gather detailed everyday intelligence?"

"Did Siso Te Wanake always plan to complete his scheme during this year's Dream Festival, deliberately leaking some information and clues to draw in interested factions?"

"These factions received incomplete intelligence and were forced to send personnel ahead for investigation, or bribe Matanibang patrol officers…"

"This is likely the truth—the truth not reliant on coincidence. The only thing Siso didn't foresee was his own death before the Dream Festival began."

"Now, the Dream Festival has become his final and only hope of resurrection."

"If he fails to complete his planned scheme, after today, he will die utterly!"

"No wonder he revealed everything in his dreams but hid details about Tizamo Town…"

"Siso truly is a cunning devil skilled at manipulating hearts. Had he not been so determined to kill me—if his identity had granted him better opportunities to stay in Pelos Port—he'd have been far harder to eliminate. Honestly, had I played by the rules without the benevolence of higher beings, I'd likely already be dead in his hands."

"The devil of the Nos family also seeks the cold corpse in the black tomb and intends to exploit the Dream Festival. That's why, the moment Siso mentioned 'Dream Festival' in his dream, he was immediately attacked by the 'Shadow'…"

"Among those present, who is the devil's pawn?"

"Or has the Nos family's agent not yet arrived, waiting until the situation is clear before stepping in to reap the harvest?"

"Without its physical body to support it, Siso's plan must have a major flaw. Where is that flaw?"

Trapped within his own body, Lu Mi could not stop Siso, helplessly watching him reach the open door of the black tomb.

"This…"

"Since the black tomb gives me the same feeling as the 'Woman of Samaria's Spring,' I might try that method…"

Lu Mi acted immediately, focusing his consciousness entirely on the right hand of his spiritual form.

Aristar Tudo's residual aura had not merely corrupted his flesh!

And this "Blood Emperor" had a close connection to the "Woman of Samaria's Spring"!

As Siso, his body half-dissolved and masked in gold, reached to grasp the corpse's hand, he suddenly felt an unimaginably terrifying, insane, and violently brutal aura erupt behind him, exploding skyward and sweeping through the surroundings.

The crimson moonlight dimmed further; Siso Te Wanake's body stiffened instinctively, trembling violently.

Splash!

A phantom sound of flowing water echoed from within the black tomb; the golden-covered hand was violently yanked back into the tomb chamber as if dragged by unseen forces.

The sensation of the soul being imprisoned within the body vanished for everyone present; Lu Mi promptly halted the outward dispersion of the Blood Emperor's aura.

Although Amandina, Giam, De Waho, and others had instinctively felt fear, their spirits were bound to their bodies, their vision fixed, unable to discern the origin of that all-conquering aura.

Ignoring the source of the terrifying aura, Ivelistar, eyes fierce with primal hunger, pulled an object from a hidden pocket in his clothing.

It was a doll the size of a palm, dressed in a black Gothic gown entwined with sinister vines, its long golden hair tied back, its eyes blood-red as fresh slaughter.

The doll was profoundly sinister; merely seeing it made Lu Mi feel his skin's underlying flesh begin to itch.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The heartbeat within the black tomb grew fierce and loud.

Siso Te Wanake, standing beside the tomb door, felt icy dread, as if targeted by an evil entity.

He instinctively recalled an event:

Years ago, tomb keepers had found a half-withered, sinister heart near the black tomb.

Believing it had been shed by the ancient corpse within due to some anomaly—its power signature and rank seemed similar—they returned the heart to the tomb chamber.

Just now, that long-dead heart had begun to beat—and now, it beat with greater strength and urgency!

Not far from Ivelistar, Reyasa moved.

He pulled out a mask.

It, too, was made of gold, nearly identical to the one Siso wore, with white and black paint around the eyes and across the face.

The difference was that Reyasa's mask was darker, as if corroded by death.

Then, Reyasa produced a human skull carved from crystal.

He placed the dark golden mask upon the crystal skull's face.

A chilling wind howled, swirling into a massive vortex that lifted the masked skull, giving it the illusion of a body formed from wind.

Intense cold and dread radiated outward, frosting the ground with a layer of white ice.

The man called De Waho reached behind his head, grasping something within his hair.

He yanked hard, tearing off skin along with his dark gray suit.

De Waho transformed: black hair, brown eyes, cold expression, high cheekbones, aged thirty to forty, wearing a white shirt and black trousers.

He turned the skin inside out, revealing beneath it dense, dizzying embroidery of blood.

De Waho opened his mouth and spat copious amounts of blood into the skin—blood reeking of strong sulfur.

The blood instantly swelled the skin into the shape of a green-eyed man dressed in a dark gray suit.

This "man" smiled with amusement as he walked toward the black tomb.

Lu Mi swiftly scanned the scene, his eyelids twitching three times.

He couldn't help muttering inwardly:

"You all have access to divine-level powers? Even if they're all one-time use…"

"You're just picking on me, aren't you?"

Lu Mi grumbled inwardly, but his lips swiftly recited a sacred name in Ancient Hymnese.

It was the sacred name of the "Magician" lady.

Yet it failed to penetrate this unique, hidden dream.

Lu Mi was not discouraged, for his goal was neither the black tomb nor the cold corpse or its beating heart.

Now that he knew the fate of Siso's gold, his only objective was:

Destroy Siso's dream projection, seize the golden mask, and ensure his utter death!

(End of Chapter)