Time, like sand through fingers, slipped away silently.
It was another ordinary night.
In an apartment on Financial Street.
The warm yellow light from the disc player dispelled the night outside the window, and the air was filled with the aroma of food and cheerful laughter.
In the small living room, a family of three sat around the dining table, which was laden with carefully prepared dishes, and a small cake was placed in the center.
"Xiao Ling, congratulations."
Qiao's father, his face beaming, raised his juice glass.
"You successfully passed the assessment and officially became a U-level Martial Artist, advancing to the second year."
"Yes, she's become successful."
Qiao's mother's eyes were slightly red, filled with both relief and excitement.
Qiao Ling'er sat between her parents, her clear and beautiful face appearing particularly soft under the lights, but a trace of undetectable complexity flashed in her eyes.
Facing her parents' pride, she smiled faintly.
Qiao's mother chattered, "Becoming a Martial Artist is a good thing, granting power and status, but it's also much more dangerous than being an ordinary person. You must be very careful."
"I know."
Hesitation flashed in Qiao Ling'er's eyes.
Becoming a U-level Martial Artist, this power was thanks to that Mental World in her dreams...
That Domain belonging to the Corpse Disassembly Immortal.
She knew in her heart that the source of this power was a forbidden existence.
Contacting Outer Gods was extremely dangerous.
79% of contacts resulted in Mental pollution, 12% in permanent mental derangement, 3% gained non-human power, and 6% disappeared without a trace.
The data was shocking!
Qiao Ling'er felt she couldn't go there anymore; she had to leave that place.
But looking at the proud smiles on her parents' faces, Qiao Ling'er's decision to sever ties with the Corpse Disassembly Immortal wavered.
She decided to temporarily put aside this impulsive thought.
Perhaps... go a few more times, more cautiously?
As long as she was clear-headed and alert enough, for the sake of that several-fold Cultivation speed, to quickly increase her strength...
She shouldn't be polluted.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A knock on the door suddenly sounded.
Qiao Ling'er got up and looked through the peephole: "So late, who is it?"
Outside the door stood a tall, young man.
He was wearing a dark trench coat, his face handsome, and his eyes appeared particularly deep under the hallway lights.
"Excuse me, who are you looking for?"
Qiao Ling'er did not open the door.
"Hello." The young man smiled, "Is student Qiao Ling'er at home? My name is Tang Zhan, Special Investigator from Bureau 749."
"We are investigating a major incident related to an Outer God, and we hope student Qiao Ling'er can cooperate with our work."
What was meant to come... still came.
Qiao Ling'er sighed.
The Martial Artist Association had many agencies that dealt with Outer Gods, but Bureau 749 was undoubtedly the highest level.
Qiao Ling'er had long had a premonition that she would be noticed, but she didn't expect it to be so soon.
She turned to her parents, "Mom and Dad, I'll go handle something; I'll be back soon."
Walking into the corridor, Qiao Ling'er said:
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything." Tang Zhan's tone was calm, "Regarding that 'Dream World' you accessed, the core existence within it..."
"That is, the true state of the 'Corpse Disassembly Immortal' as you call it, and all the authorities it has displayed, the more detailed, the better."
Qiao Ling'er's hand at her side subconsciously clutched the corner of her clothes.
Reason told her that she should tell everything to this investigator from Bureau 749; this was the duty of a Martial Artist.
He was an official force; he was safe.
And Outer Gods were a huge threat.
Timely disclosure of information could prevent greater disasters!
But another voice, carrying a fear of unknown great power from the depths of her Soul, more forcefully overwhelmed her reason.
The rolling dense fog, the huge shadow covering the city...
Its 'gaze' seemed to penetrate dreams and reality, now falling coldly on this corridor.
Leaking information about that existence?
What was the difference between that and actively seeking death?
That being might not care about an ant like herself, but what about those fanatical believers?
That organization called the Corpse Immortal Path, those desperadoes who wore masks and abandoned the constraints of reality...
Would they let her go?
Immense fear made Qiao Ling'er's thoughts pause.
Especially in that Dream World, she hadn't worn a mask, and her information had already been exposed.
After a brief silence, Qiao Ling'er's voice sounded:
"I'm sorry, Investigator Tang."
"I think you people from Bureau 749 have also been in there, right? The information I can perceive is no more than what your professional investigators know."
She did not answer directly but used a clever circumvention.
Tang Zhan glanced at her, not dwelling on this question, but switched to a more specific and crucial question:
"I heard that in that 'Dream Space,' as long as one successfully arrives, one can become a Martial Artist? Is that an ability granted by the Outer God?"
"Yes." Qiao Ling'er nodded.
This information was almost public knowledge; there was no need to hide it.
"Granting a leap in the essence of life..."
Tang Zhan mused, "And Mental pollution, plus the authority to draw specific conscious groups into the same Mental Domain, an Outer God of the mental and material dual-pollution type? That's rare..."
"I understand."
Tang Zhan looked at Qiao Ling'er again.
"If further investigation requires it, we may still need student Qiao's cooperation. That's all for today; thank you for your time."
He did not press further and turned to leave.
It wasn't until the young man disappeared around the corner that Qiao Ling'er leaned against the cold wall.
She let out a long breath, her forehead covered in fine sweat.
The young man's gaze was simply terrifying.
Like thorns on her back!
"Xiao Ling, what's wrong? Did something happen?" As soon as she returned to the living room, her parents asked with concern.
"Nothing, it was a classmate."
Qiao Ling'er casually brushed them off.
Returning to her room, she entered a state of meditation.
....
In the Mental Domain, the thick gray fog remained unchanged.
Under a certain street light, a more solidified humanoid light figure appeared in the gray fog.
Tang Zhan's sharp gaze swept across the empty street, then slowly lifted, directed towards the deep sky of dense fog.
There, shadows covered the horizon.
A massive three-headed, six-armed shadow hung above the sky.
"Mental World..."
Tang Zhan murmured to himself, "Simulating scenes from the real world, but forming its own system, reflecting the real world yet being a completely independent Domain..."
Looking at the massive shadow, his lips curved into an almost provocative arc:
"Indeed, it is an Outer God in a 'gestation' state. Although the Mental fluctuations are vast, they are sluggish; it has not yet completed its revival."
"However..."
Tang Zhan was sensible; with a thought, he left.
If it were in the outside world, against an Outer God in gestation like this, he would have the power to fight.
But in this Mental Domain, in a pure Mental Energy confrontation, he was definitely no match for the Outer God.