Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

"Eternal Night City! She was entangled by the 'Snake Woman' and didn't want to bring the 'Snake Woman' back to the earth's lair, so she went to the Eternal Night City of the Undead Empire!" Earth Mother said.

Shen Ye was taken aback.

No way!

I remember I seemed to have instructed Norton to organize a team and personally lead a diplomatic mission to visit Eternal Night City.

Did he go?

...Looks like I need to make a trip back to Nightmare World.

"I will go and investigate."

Shen Ye said.

"Wait a moment!" Earth Mother spoke out, "Miket Tikaxiwa, didn't you tell him about that matter?"

"I wasn't sure if the timing was right, and I needed your approval before I could reveal that secret." Miket Tikaxiwa said.

"Alright, Shen Ye, listen carefully, I am now going to tell you a secret, it's about the truth of Nightmare World—you are ready to know it." Earth Mother said.

"What?" Shen Ye grew inexplicably nervous.

"Nightmare World... is actually an extremely powerful world will, it activated some unknown strength at the time of its death, and that's how it was born."

"That world will's name is 'Ancient Tomb Guardian God'."

"It used some kind of incredibly inconceivable power to extract souls and life from myriad realms, instantly creating a dream world."

"I, Miket Tikaxiwa, as well as other divine spirits, actually all come from different worlds, trapped within the nightmare."

"The Ancient Tomb Guardian God seemed to want to use our strength to do something, I guess it was to counter its enemy—"

"Unfortunately, it died before it could take that step."

"The Nightmare World is completely without a master."

Shen Ye listened breathlessly up to here.

This is amazing.

After being defeated by the king species of Cosmic Giant Insects, it could still build a world in an instant.

—No.

Earth Mother mentioned it borrowed some kind of incredibly inconceivable power...

Is it the Jade Terrace?

"Alright, I already know what happened, now I must hurry, immediately go and rescue Karula."

Shen Ye said.

He opened a door and was about to leave.

"Wait another moment." Earth Mother said.

"Is there still something else?" Shen Ye asked, puzzled.

"I just started telling the story; what follows is a secret that even Miket Tikaxiwa doesn't know." Earth Mother said.

Shen Ye stopped.

"I know this place is already secure enough, but Miket Tikaxiwa, please grant it an even tighter protective barrier, this matter is of great importance, please exert your full strength!" Earth Mother said.

"Okay." Miket Tikaxiwa said.

She stepped out from Shen Ye's Dharma Aspect, waving her arms around the void, releasing layers of fine white sand.

"Master of the Demon Prison from beyond Purgatory, your edge is never revealed to the eyes of the world, just like God's miracles never casually descend upon the earth."

"I call upon your true name with a language of destruction unknown to all creatures, praying for your protection, to suppress all the spying void listeners, let the truth of the secret not be spied upon."

"By the name of Miket Tikaxiwa, I perform this supreme ritual of the altar city,"

In a cadence of rising and falling tones—

Various misty architectures gradually began to appear around.

They emitted a dark green flame.

The flames forged high walls.

All void was thus cut off.

"I have completed the strongest Capipa Method, now you can speak," Miket Tikaxiwa said.

"Your son cannot hear, nor can the rabbit, as for you, Miket Tikaxiwa, you choose whether to listen or not," the Earth Mother said.

"I already have enough worries, I don't need to hear any more," Miket Tikaxiwa said.

She swung her arms, holding a Skull Head in one hand and the rabbit's ears in the other, and walked out of the mists and flames.

Only Shen Ye and the Earth Mother were left.

"Listen carefully, this is a very serious matter, Shen Ye," the Earth Mother said.

"If it's a very troublesome matter, I don't want to hear it either," Shen Ye said.

"Miket Tikaxiwa can choose not to listen because all she needs to do is to be content being the Divine Spirit in your Dharma Aspect, but what about you? What is your reliance? Can you abandon everything around you? Or are you willing to wander alone in the infinite universe, eternally lonely?" the Earth Mother asked.

Shen Ye patted his face with both hands, squared his shoulders, and shouted, "I was wrong just now, let me put it this way—"

"I am ready, please tell me," he said.

Only then did the Earth Mother continue:

"The 'Five Desires' world is an eternal dungeon world,"

"The guardians of the eternal dungeon are four blessed powerhouses,"

"The Destroyer of the great worlds, Master of Weeping Demon Prison, Cursed Spirit King, who commands all spirits to fall, Lilias,"

"The Preacher holding the secrets of vast worlds, bathed in the Light of Heaven, the untouchable Sacred Gemini, Heavenly Rāhu,"

"The Death Prophecy Sage, favored by the Law of Fate, the punisher holding the eternal dungeon's divine effigy, the owner of Mo Ga Ru, the Brilliant God Puppet of the Firmament,"

"In the distant past, these four powerhouses were entrusted by the Myriad Realms to keep watch over a terribly terrifying being,"

"But too much time has passed."

"So much that even the creation and destruction of the realms had passed through a cycle,"

"Finally, a change occurred,"

"—One day, they forgot themselves,"

"It was also extremely difficult for that imprisoned monster to achieve this," Experience tales at empire

"The price it paid was—"

"It too forgot everything, mistaking itself for a companion of the four,"

"A Guardian was squeezed out."

"Lilias!"

Shen Ye's heart began to beat furiously.

Wait.

Wait a minute.

Damn it, it couldn't be—

"The Nine Aspects is that truly terrifying being, it just doesn't know it yet," the Earth Mother said with utmost seriousness.