I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Chapter 126 The First Step into the Deeper Levels: Seclusion (3K)

Safe Zone, Training Room One.

After the auction, Shi An handed the work over to Fa Gui, Yang Linna, and a few others.

He went to the training room to practice his daily routine.

However, daily training and practice must never be neglected.

Although this basic combat strength is not very important to him, he has the protection of the Underworld Cloth in the present world, and in the Nightmare World he can command thousands of troops. When necessary, he can also wield the power of belief and become an invincible shopkeeper.

Even so, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. No matter how the nightmare world changes, the power in your own hands is always the most real.

His current basic combat strength is not important, but what if he is already a transcendent being or even a higher level in the future?

Shi An continued his practice, constantly activating the Mask of Night Shadow to unleash the various powers of this extraordinary cursed artifact.

In an instant, the shadow spread, transforming into an incomparably sharp blade that slashed in all directions;

The avatar of shadow also appeared, its body pitch black but containing surging magical power.

These are the two innate spells that Shi An had mastered earlier, "Shadow Blade" and "Shadow Avatar". Compared to before, his mastery of these two spells has improved considerably, and both have initially entered the proficiency level.

This is because the innate spells derived from superior magical artifacts are very difficult to cultivate.

"I can control the Shadow Blade, making it spin in mid-air."

"The Shadow Avatar can store more magical power, significantly improving its endurance."

Shi An even had a hunch that if this spell continued to improve, the Shadow Avatar might be able to absorb shadows and convert them into spell power to sustain itself.

Furthermore, once he reaches the pinnacle of his abilities or even higher, he can simultaneously condense a second and a third Shadow Avatar.

"The power of an excellent-grade cursed artifact is truly terrifying."

Is that all?

not at all!

Normally, a person who has fallen into a dream can only comprehend one or two spells from their natal cursed object.

However, Shi An has also comprehended several innate spells in the past few days.

"Shadow Cloak! By enveloping myself in shadow, I can also disappear directly into the shadows. However, it's still a bit difficult to use this technique with my main body, but it's much easier to disappear as a shadow avatar."

"Shadow Soldiers! These are upgraded versions of the previous simple Shadow Soldiers. They wear armor and wield sharp weapons and shields. Two Shadow Soldiers can fight against one eerie being to a standstill."

Shi An can summon ten of these shadow soldiers at the same time!

With just this skill, Shi An felt he could even spar with a third-level expert.

"And then there's Shadow Binding! A technique that uses shadows to control enemies—simple, powerful, and practical."

Shi An practiced continuously, unleashing one spell after another.

Sometimes, when he practiced for too long and his magical power was exhausted, he would gulp down several bottles of magical power potion.

He also used it with purifying water to avoid the side effects of the curse potion.

He Shi'an is now using the pay-to-win training method, and he's spending more money than any other wealthy person in the safe zone.

During practice, he could vaguely sense that he had not yet fully developed the power of Night Mask.

There are also spells that can be learned.

But at this moment, Shi Anfu suddenly entered a mysterious state of mind.

It is not about mastering a new spell.

Night Shadow Mask appeared before him, and Shi An grabbed it, his hand surging with magical power.

He instantly refined the cursed object!

"boom!"

The surging power of the spell truly entered his body, constantly surging within him.

Even if the Dreamer is no longer affected by the corruption after refining the cursed artifact, the excessive power of the curse is not a side effect.

Shi An just felt a little full, like she was about to explode.

He originally used the cursed object by relying on the power of containment, which was equivalent to a state of refinement. However, after truly refining it, many insights flooded into his heart.

This is how Shadow Binding should be used.

Shadow Soldiers can be pieced together like this.

"I feel incredibly strong right now!"

Ten minutes later, Shi An was defeated in the battle against Ming Yi.

-

But it's not a big problem.

The current Hades is at his peak, his combat power is even stronger than that of the Black Armor Leader back then.

His narrow defeat to the Hades Cloth demonstrates that his combat strength remains formidable.

With more familiarity with the cursed objects and improved spellcasting skills, one can hold their own against the Hades at a 50/50, 60/40, or 70/30 split.

"But I'm not training anymore now; it's more important to balance work and rest."

Shi An returns to the real world to go to work.

The safe zone is very busy now, so in the real world, as long as there is no unexpected event like the last one, he can actually relax and slack off more.

"But I heard that our new employee orientation center is going to expand?"

"You said we might have a chance to get promoted then?"

Shi An remembered that she had only been working for two or three weeks, so how could she be promoted?

He just wanted to slack off.

Shi An spends his days slacking off, occasionally offering guidance to a few lost, naive dreamers.

They also occasionally observed the changes in the safe zone.

He was in reality, but with a thought, he could survey the entire safe zone, including the area outside the safe zone and near the gate.

In Shi An's eyes, the floor-to-ceiling windows in the safe zone lobby were like a projection screen, with different nightmare scenes rapidly switching between them.

ten.

Twenty.

Thirty.

The safe zone now has forty or fifty members, and naturally, there are many nightmare zones connected to the safe zone at the same time.

In the "Deep Mountain Region" and "Heihe Region," which are relatively close to the safe zone, strong individuals traveling across these regions can frequently spot their own people.

The footprints of the dreamers who fell from the safe zone have also spread to several shallower areas further away.

In addition to that, there is also ————

Switch scenes in a timely manner.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the lobby, a dilapidated street scene was visible. Zooming out slightly, he could also see the crumbling high-rise buildings in the distance and the stairwells covered with gray vines.

In the distance, gray fog churned.

Occasionally, a terrifying giant shadow would flash past from the gray fog.

It makes one feel palpitations and chills.

"This is the Pale Wasteland region."

Shi An murmured.

The last time the dragon and ox fell into a dream, they also fell into this area.

However, the entire Pale Wasteland is incredibly vast, far exceeding the size of a single area in the Shallow Nightmare.

The exact extent of the Pale Wasteland is unknown even to the Countermeasures Bureau.

The safe zone is currently only being explored in its initial stages, with only one or two perspectives opened up, so Shi An has basically no way of making a judgment.

He changed the scene.

This time, outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the dead trees had formed a forest, some of which were as tall as thirty or forty meters, with decaying branches spreading out, a sight both spectacular and terrifying.

"This is the Whispering Forest area!"

Shi An switched scenes once again.

Right now, what appears to be a normal street scene outside the window is a picture of a modern metropolis. Shops line both sides of the road, and tall buildings are faintly visible in the distance. It is a modern city that shows no signs of decay.

However, all the colors in the entire city seemed to have been wiped away, leaving only gray and white.

"This is a desolate urban area!"

By venturing deeper into the nightmare of ruins, one can reach these three deep areas.

However, it seems that these three areas are all very vast, and most of the dream fallers, including those in the transcendent realm, are in these areas.

In my nightmares, terrifying giant shadows would occasionally flash by.

Even extraordinary individuals must tread carefully in such an environment.

Peak of the Third Refinement Realm? Most of the time, they can only find some valuable loot in some less dangerous special areas.

Having just entered the advanced first level of the Refinement Realm?

For them, familiarity with the environment and survival are the top priorities.

If one is not careful, even a powerful cultivator in the mortal realm at the Refinement stage could suddenly die here, dying without knowing why.

"However, the period with the highest disappearance and mortality rates for those who have fallen into dreams is the borrowing and integration period. In the early stages, those who have fallen into dreams do not have the power to resist the supernatural, their cognition and knowledge are limited, and they have little experience, so they are very easy to accidentally fall into traps."

"They were already weak, so if they fell into a trap, they would naturally die instantly."

"We are different. Although we have fallen into the deep layers, our situation is not as bad as it was in the very beginning, and I have already gained a wealth of survival experience."

In the pale wasteland, a seasoned Refining Stage cultivator murmured to himself.

This was his first time visiting the deep layers.

He delayed fusing with his second natal cursed artifact for a long time. Only now, when there was no way to retreat or when he was fully prepared, did he finally descend into the depths.

Fear was naturally in his heart.

But I also have confidence.

He's no longer a newbie.

Although the deeper layers are dangerous, most of the time, what roams within nightmares is still the ordinary eeriness.

He can at least fight regular monsters, unlike when he was a newbie and was powerless to resist any danger.

After observing the surroundings, the cultivator in the Refinement stage quickly hid in a smaller building and began to explore cautiously.

"I've heard there's a camp called the Safe Zone, whose entrances randomly appear throughout Nightmare. We Dreamers are safe as long as we can get there. But—"

He didn't care.

For those who have fallen into a dream, survival depends primarily on themselves.

If you rely on a camp for shelter, can you always get through every situation with that shelter?

Ordinary dreamers might place all their hopes on this so-called safe zone, but he is already a Refinement Stage expert.

Several hours later, the Refinement stage cultivator was panting heavily, with some injuries on his body.

But I have more confidence now.

"Surviving in the depths of nightmares, huh, not that hard~!"

:

At the same time, in the pale wasteland area.

A certain place, only two kilometers away from this Refinement Stage cultivator.

Xi Xue fell into this place.

"Deep within the nightmare, a pale wasteland?"

Her first step was also to carefully observe her surroundings and then hide in a relatively safe building nearby.

The next step was for Xi Xue to take out her membership card and activate it.

The familiar guiding light path appeared.

She smiled.

She's familiar with that now!

Following the guiding light path, Xi Xue proceeded cautiously.

An hour later, she saw the familiar gates of the safe zone.

Wuhu!

It's safe now!

Xi Xue returned to this safe area.

The first thing she did was to unseal the Dream Pearl she carried with her, and then go to the front desk to reserve a training room.

Then we rested, ate, and waited.

She has now ascended into a new map, and is at her weakest point, so of course she needs to go into seclusion for a while to level up quickly!

Then, taking advantage of the terrain, we can slowly explore the surrounding area.

How do you improve yourself through repeated adventures and desperate struggles?

Membership in the new era's safe zone is no longer needed.

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