Chapter 110: Nightmare Siphon
“This is the [Gate]?? The second stage characteristic that all Pollution Systems on Du Ling Star commonly default to?”
Perceiving the [Shadow Dream Hole] in the spirit world that was extremely closely linked to itself and under its control. Tiger Demon King’s mind was filled with question marks.
This thing came too easily, too effortlessly, making it suspect if it had been tricked? Just like casually joining a zero-cost street-side free event, only to be notified that it won the grand prize of 1 million.
The brainwashing knowledge that Anti-Fraud Vanguard Zhou Chu had long instilled made Tiger Demon King instinctively doubt the authenticity of [Shadow Dream Hole = Gate]. Could it still be trapped in an illusion it hadn’t woken from?
Little Spicy Stick spoke up to remind: “I think you’re fine! I also detected a new plugin appearing for you, driver already installed.”
Despite its heart still filled with doubt and distrust, Tiger Demon King still, in a flash, flung open the portal of the [Shadow Dream Hole], aimed at the outside world (reality), and likewise targeted the native cultivator who was pulling back frantically yet restrained by countless Qi Threads.
At this moment, the [Shadow Dream Hole] opened.
[Underground World (reality), Shadow Space, Nightmare Layer], the three were pierced through, opening a hollow conduit. The Bubble World and the outside world’s [Nightmare Layer] immediately formed a terrifying internal-external pressure.
The [Shadow Dream Hole] like a water pump running at full power, instantly erupted with terrifying suction, whale-swallowing and siphoning everything in the underground [Cicada City] that Tiger Demon King had locked onto into the ‘Shadow Space’ behind the Shadow Dream Hole.
Bearing the brunt was that cultivator with a grim face, struggling desperately against the suction. At this moment, the opponent had no time to seal and capture the intruder; even the ‘pheromone signal flare’ it had just burst open didn’t have time to spread before it was sucked into the [Shadow Dream Hole] along with the horrifying suction that appeared out of nowhere.
This forceful siphoning had nothing to do with Tiger Demon King or the Shadow Dimension itself. It was entirely the outside [Nightmare Layer]’s plunder of this Bubble World itself.
If imagining the underground world as a universe spaceship full of cracks, the [Nightmare Layer] was the vacuum-state sub-space. Tiger Demon King punching through the [Shadow Dimension] to open the [Shadow Dream Hole] was equivalent to opening the temporarily patched cabin door on the cracks; everything inside the spaceship would be instantly swept into the dangerous and chaotic ‘Nightmare’.
At the same time, Tiger Demon King saw clearly the Shadow Space behind the [Shadow Dream Hole] through the ‘holographic projection’ that appeared in its mind.
Its [Shadow Dream Hole] didn’t directly connect to the [Nightmare Layer], but used this roughly 30m small space as a medium (filter + permeable membrane) to filter and intercept the soil, floor, sand and stones, tree roots, air (spiritual energy)… and other debris sucked in from the underground space once. Only then did it fling them into the [Nightmare Layer] super trash can according to Tiger Demon King’s thoughts and intentions.
Tiger Demon King realized that the [Shadow Dream Hole] could be actively opened and closed. The ‘Shadow Space’ connected by the Dream Hole was like a pre-filter + exclusive private storage room. It could actively intercept and store private property (sucked-in items), while dumping other useless garbage into the [Nightmare Layer].
And was this another form of ‘Ascension’? One claw opening Heaven’s Gate, helping underground world residents ascend to the [Nightmare Dimension]? Starting a brand new adventure journey.
Even, Tiger Demon King had a premonition that it itself could also escape into it (Shadow Space) for temporary hiding? But it didn’t choose to do so, instead yielding the precious opportunity to enter the [Shadow Dream Hole] to the Qi Refining cultivator in front of it.
Despite the opponent maliciously tailing it, suddenly attacking to seal and control it, and issuing an alarm to call people to encircle and suppress it, who made Tiger Demon King so kind? Repaying grudge with virtue, yielding the precious [Ascension] slot to the opponent.
The [Shadow Dream Hole] devoured and absorbed the opponent as easily as Gold Horn King using the Purple-Gold Red Gourd to collect the monkey, without even needing to shout the name; this Qi Refining practitioner along with the ‘Qi Threads Domain’ sealing Tiger Demon King was sucked in without any power to resist.
Bang!
Tiger Demon King moved its thought again, easily closing and sealing the [Shadow Dream Hole] once more. That Qi Refining cultivator was also locked in the [Shadow Space] behind the Dream Hole; it could vaguely perceive through the Shadow Dream Hole that the opponent hadn’t died, nor fallen into the [Nightmare].
Tiger Demon King now had the confidence that once the opponent dared to rebel in the ‘Shadow Space’ and attempt to destroy the space to escape the Dream Hole, it could preemptively modify the opponent’s ‘tag’, treat it as garbage and dump it into the Nightmare Layer first, for dream exile.
…
The ephemeral terrifying suction disappeared; the underground street where it was a mess, with large amounts of soil and bricks from the ground, buildings on both sides of the street, all sucked into the Dream Hole and thrown into the [Nightmare] by Tiger Demon King as garbage.
The entire process was as smooth and fluid as pressing the toilet tank, ‘whoosh’ and it was flushed away.
In a sense, the ‘Shadow Space’ behind the Shadow Dream Hole really was like an intelligent toilet, automatically sorting out valuable things for storage according to the master’s will, and flushing garbage into the Nightmare.
And this brief ten-odd seconds of whale-swallowing mad suction made Tiger Demon King’s mana bar not decrease but rise instead. In the mad suction (Dream Hole) and mad flushing (space toilet), the [Shadow Dream Hole] received a small but extremely pure ‘energy’ feedback from the Nightmare Layer.
This energy surged into Tiger Demon King’s body out of nowhere; it wasn’t Shadow Power, but of extremely high purity, ever-changing, perfectly integrating into Shadow Power as a magic power substitute, and slowly nourishing its spirit and life. It gave the [Boss Template] a new nutrient substance.
The mana bar suddenly spiked back to 50%; this change left Tiger Demon King at a loss, even somewhat uneasy.
Tiger Demon King’s growth method was already bizarre enough, lying in the shadows sleeping could continuously get stronger, practically heaven-sent meals. Now, as long as opening the [Shadow Dream Hole] for continuous garbage extraction and dumping into the Nightmare, the [Nightmare Layer] would feedback unfamiliar pure energy, further growing stronger itself?
This power came too easily, making Tiger Demon King afraid to readily accept this favor. Fearing some trap? At the same time, it thought of the various knowledge and cultivation common sense it had encountered in Running City.
In this world, gaining power and getting stronger superficially never seemed difficult. The process of getting stronger was just actively and controllably accepting pollution, embracing pollution. What was difficult instead was suppressing pollution, controlling the process of being polluted, and mastering the pollution… The slower one got stronger, the more solid the power, and that was the more difficult.
Tiger Demon King’s current Tiger Demon Stance could be said to have experienced the ‘ease’ of extreme pollution growth. As long as it dared to let go, it really could achieve Hundred Day Ascension.
“Boss, the nearby environment is too severely damaged, the [Shadow Dream Hole] devouring effect too exaggerated. Although it instantly dealt with the opponent and successfully sucked back the pheromone without letting the opponent alarm successfully. But because of over-success, it turned into active exposure; we’ve been discovered!”
No need for Little Spicy Stick’s reminder, Tiger Demon King also knew this wave was played a bit big. The commotion from just opening the [Shadow Dream Hole] was in no way smaller than the [Boss Template] going full firepower for a massacre.
The only advantage was that the ‘siphoning’ triggered by the [Nightmare Dimension] was too ferocious, subduing that Qi Refiner in an instant. If it were itself (Tiger Demon King) fighting, it would take at least a few rounds to take down the opponent or successfully escape.
This wave of self-exposure also bought fleeing time.
“Withdraw!”
Not daring to linger any longer, and no longer having the idea of infiltrating the ‘hemispherical incineration factory’ to investigate, Tiger Demon King turned around and escaped back into the Shadow Layer, full firepower retracing the original path, fleeing at full speed.
This round of exploration yielded quite rich gains. Among them, the greatest wealth was undoubtedly the inexplicably obtained [Shadow Dream Hole], allowing the Shadow System to successfully step into the second stage of Du Ling’s Supernatural System ([Gate]). As for the secret intelligence of the underground [Cicada City], it could completely be tortured out from the mouth of the ‘spoils of war’.
Just as Tiger Demon King was speeding ahead, racing toward the entry point at top speed, the spatial fluctuation from it opening the [Shadow Dream Hole] also alarmed the entire underground city.
Figures shot through the air at extreme speed. Leaping down from the Reverse Life Tree forest at the top of the underground city, turning into streaks of black lines, whistling piercingly, shooting out and falling toward the position where the [Dream Hole] had just erupted.
“Intrusion! A [Heaven-rank] powerhouse has invaded Cicada City!”
One alarm voice after another echoed over the city, bringing Yuan Zhu no small psychological pressure, feeling like it had poked a hornet’s nest and was now in a life-or-death race with the hornets about to arrive.
“Stimulation!”
At this time, Tiger Demon King had already frantically dashed several thousand meters, almost back at the tunnel entrance from when it infiltrated.
Suddenly, an energy fluctuation spread; one sealing magic array after another pre-buried underground activated in succession, intercepting and blocking all exits of the underground city one by one.
Then, more pre-buried magic arrays activated one after another, reinforcing the passage mouths, seemingly about to seal the entire underground city, closing the door to beat the tiger.
At the critical moment, the massive hulking Shadow Tiger Demon clad in bone armor detached from the Shadow Layer, leaping out. Pouncing to the passage entrance, [Universe Within The Belly] stacked once more on the [Claw], one claw opening Heaven’s Gate, one claw tearing the magic array.
The violent spatial cutting power smashed heavily onto the energy barrier.
Rip!
Tiger Demon King swiped one claw, bones shattering. The energy light membrane of the original array, along with the ritual implements around the cave used for the array, and the Immortal Tree root tendrils connected and fused with the ritual implements, were all destroyed by Tiger Demon King’s this one claw.
Not only was a huge hole torn in the magic array, even the deeply buried ritual implements and root tendrils were snapped and yanked out of the ground.
Boom!
The huge hulking armored tiger body crashed fiercely into the shattered light screen, shattering countless glowing energy fragments. Then it tiger-roared, Shadow Wind surging greatly, blowing up countless flying sand and stones.
Shadow Tiger Demon crashed headlong through the seal, agilely killing into the tunnel, speed not inferior to a cheetah at all; behind it, countless Yellow Springs Shadow Winds turned into blades cutting the cave soil, triggering sand dust, stirring storms, disrupting pheromone transmission, collapsing tunnel caves.
Tiger Demon King, already killing into the passage, shadow-escaped a second time; its body turned into a pitch-black silhouette, twisting, stretching, changing direction, becoming a black lightning bolt merging into the darkness, vanishing tracelessly, even its own aura disappearing along with it.
