Chapter 36: Steady as an Old Turtle
The Great Sage abandoning the dream world was both unexpected and reasonable. Without a doubt, the Great Sage had been setting up here for a long time, yet even so, he still chose to play it safe.
Compared to the Great Sage, the whereabouts of the Divine Maiden Shataye were more important. The Great Sage was no longer closely tied to the Ancient God's seal; the Divine Maiden Shataye's soul chains had become the replacement.
Using the Snake Lady's ability, Su Xiao entered the dream once more. As the mist gate dispersed, he had already arrived in the dream world.
"Boss, the Great Sage withdrew from over there and took a lot of Beast Clan members with him."
Baha flew over. He had already scouted ahead. The Great Sage had retreated through a half-collapsed tunnel deep within the dream world. The spatial fluctuations there were chaotic, destroyed by the Great Sage's subordinates before he left.
Given the Great Sage's steady-as-an-old-turtle style of conduct, he must have prepared an escape route before choosing to hole up in the dream world.
Su Xiao led Bubu Wang and Baha forward, passing through the Gloomy Square that had been blasted into ruins before arriving at the area where the central clock tower stood.
The central clock tower was nearly a hundred meters tall. The spot where the Devourer had clawed through earlier had already restored itself. Moreover, centered on this clock tower, the surrounding damaged buildings were gradually recovering. It felt as if the dream world was a massive living creature that slowly healed after injury. Even if there were wounds that couldn't heal, they would reset every day at 5:59.
Past the central clock tower was a street over two hundred meters wide and several kilometers long. The street was paved with square stones, and countless humanoid stone statues knelt on its surface.
They all curled up their bodies, with cylindrical iron cages on their backs. Some of these cages were empty, while others held rocks.
Looking out, this street was quite grand. The kneeling humanoid stone statues were too lifelike—their rib-protruding torsos and the cracks on their fingers were all vividly detailed, making one wonder if they were truly carved. Or perhaps, countless years ago, tens of thousands of people knelt here, and their bodies later turned to stone.
Su Xiao walked among the humanoid stone statues. He faintly sensed soul fluctuations emanating from each one.
In a sense, these people were still "alive." They hadn't merely entered the dream; they had "deep-dived" within it. Only through "deep diving" could one see the true forms of these dream dwellers.
After walking several kilometers, a grand cathedral appeared ahead. On the cathedral's door, a hexagonal mark was particularly conspicuous. Within the mark, a cross was entwined with thorny vines.
Pushing open the cathedral door, thin mist surged from ahead. The distant, heavy chime of the clock tower could be heard.
When the last wisp of mist inside the cathedral dissipated, an old knight in full-body armor, over four meters tall, slowly rose. He gripped a warhammer. Both ends of the hammer were lined with several blades. Being struck by it wouldn't just break bones and tendons—it would first cut open with the hammer's blades, then crush into pulp.
On the old knight's back, a frail figure clung to him, arms wrapped around his neck. This scene didn't evoke any sense of intimacy. Instead, it showed two pitiful souls accompanying each other in the desolate dream world, with nothing else complicated or sordid.
The figure on the old knight's back was the Second Generation Divine Maiden, Shataye.
Armor clanked as the old knight strode forward. His warhammer dragged along the ground, scraping sparks from the stone bricks.
"Why have you come... to our world?"
The Divine Maiden Shataye spoke softly. From the earlier situation, it was clear she wasn't the Great Sage's subordinate. Otherwise, when the Devourer was rampaging, even if she didn't act, the old knight would have left the cathedral to deal with it.
One by one, soul chains appeared behind the Divine Maiden Shataye, their other ends vanishing into the air behind her. Ancient God energy flowed through these chains into her body, then clung to the old knight's armor. Both their auras surged dramatically.
The Divine Maiden Shataye appeared frail and delicate, but if one knew her deeds, they wouldn't think so.
Shataye, the Second Generation Divine Maiden. This title didn't mean she was a substitute for some generation of Divine Maiden. It was the Kodo School's term for a Divine Maiden who had betrayed them.
Back then, on the night before Shataye became the Divine Maiden, the Kodo School headquarters was attacked by the Soul Clock Tower, aiming to take Shataye away. The Soul Clock Tower was also interested in Ancient God energy. As an adaptor to Ancient God energy, it was only natural for the Divine Maiden to be targeted by them.
After the attack that night, Shataye was unharmed. She searched among the wounded for a long time but couldn't find her brother—the one who wasn't blood-related but had been her only family.
When Shataye finally found her brother, it was 3 a.m. In a gutter, she saw his body, tortured and mutilated.
After handling her brother's funeral, Shataye hid in the darkness, silently weeping. But she believed this wouldn't end like this. The Kodo School would make the Soul Clock Tower pay—that was their promise to her.
The expected outcome never came. The Soul Clock Tower used some technology as a bargaining chip to reach a settlement with the Kodo School. Upon hearing this news, Shataye was "furious," but under the persuasion of a bishop, she accepted the compensation from the Kodo School.
After years of silence, on another moonlit night, Shataye sought out that bishop again and asked him a question.
"Are you the strongest in the Kodo School?"
The bishop smiled and said yes. Three seconds later, his head was in Shataye's hand, the blade of the "Penance Scythe" still dripping blood.
Clearly, that bishop wasn't the strongest, but he was a high-ranking member of the Kodo School. Shataye's act was open rebellion. As a result, she fought her way out of the Kodo School headquarters with the "Penance Scythe."
After that, Shataye alone arrived at the Soul Clock Tower's "Sorcerer Academy." This attack didn't go smoothly. Unlike the Kodo School, the Soul Clock Tower's stronghold was within the "Sorcerer Academy."
Shataye retreated, severely wounded, but she was patient. Not only had she adapted to Ancient God energy, but her body had also absorbed it, making her life span far longer than most powerhouses.
Since she couldn't win head-on, she would hunt. Whenever members of the Soul Clock Tower were alone or traveling in small groups, Shataye would strike.
This hunting spree lasted a full 68 years. The mad scholars of the Soul Clock Tower had never bowed to anyone, but during that period, they were indeed beaten into submission by Shataye. Even daily supply runs became a life-or-death gamble. Multiple attempts to encircle and eliminate Shataye yielded little success, costing many lives instead.
To be fair, the Soul Clock Tower had backbone—they never compromised with Shataye.
In the end, Shataye grew tired of killing. Everyone involved in that incident was dead. Decades had passed, and though her appearance hadn't changed, her heart was empty.
Until one day, the Great Sage sought out Shataye and asked if she wanted to revive her brother.
Shataye just glanced at the Great Sage and ignored him, preparing to continue her wandering.
The Great Sage's second sentence changed Shataye's mind. That sentence was: "There's someone as lonely as you. Do you want to meet him?"
...
Inside the cathedral, the Divine Maiden Shataye looked at Su Xiao, her gaze calm. The old knight beneath her strode forward, ready to fight to the death.
"Are you the guardians of the dream?"
Su Xiao didn't draw his blade. He had a better way to handle the situation.
"You've intruded into our world. No one can rule here—not the Great Sage, not you. We only have this cold yet gentle world left. Please don't take it away."
The Divine Maiden Shataye released her arms, stepping barefoot onto the ground. Her gray-black skirt hem fell to the floor.
The scythe blade chimed softly. A simple war scythe spun through the air and was caught by the Divine Maiden Shataye. Her eyes were a dark cyan, and black flames appeared on her dress. Strangely, she never showed strong hostility from start to finish. She was ready to fight but didn't want to.
"Intruder, we don't want to fight you. Please leave."
As the Divine Maiden Shataye spoke, the Penance Scythe in her hand touched the old knight, signaling him not to advance further.
"Are your soul chains bound outside the container?"
Su Xiao took out a cigarette and lit it. He had a plan in mind but didn't know if it could be realized.
"So that person is called the container. Yes, my soul chains are wrapped around the container. In return, the Great Sage no longer controls this world."
Hearing the Divine Maiden Shataye's words, Su Xiao roughly understood the situation in the dream world. The Divine Maiden Shataye and the Great Sage weren't closely connected; their relationship was more like a transaction.
The Divine Maiden Shataye used her own soul chains to replace the Great Sage in binding the container, while the Great Sage gave up control of the dream world. From then on, the Divine Maiden Shataye and the old knight guarded the dream world.
In truth, anyone could come to the dream world and treat it as a home—except that no one could try to take control of it.
The reason the Divine Maiden Shataye was so wary, immediately assuming a combat stance upon meeting, was understandable. She had sensed everything that happened earlier as the guardian of the dream world.
The Great Sage had just been driven off, and then Su Xiao arrived. Anyone would think Su Xiao was there to seize control of the dream world, since there was nothing else worth taking.
So, in the perception of the Divine Maiden Shataye and the old knight, Su Xiao was the ultimate villain boss, having dealt with the Great Sage in a brutal manner and now coming to take everything.
Was Su Xiao here to fight two eighth-rank bosses in the cathedral? No, in the perception of the Divine Maiden Shataye and the old knight, it was the complete opposite.
"Soul chains, time stagnation in the dream world—I can help you solve all of these. But what are you prepared to offer in return?"
Su Xiao's words made the Divine Maiden Shataye and the old knight exchange glances.
"Sorry... we have nothing. We don't deserve help. But still, thank you."
The longing in the Divine Maiden Shataye's eyes gradually cooled. She truly had nothing. The only valuable item she owned was an extremely sinister weapon. Offering that as payment would be repaying kindness with enmity.
"Help me kill some people, and I'll solve your current predicament."
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. His plan was to have these two eighth-rank bosses accompany him to seize the Space-Time Power.