Chapter 44 - 41: Memory Crystal, The Nightmare’s Peering

Chapter 44: Chapter 41: Memory Crystal, The Nightmare’s Peering

"The destinies of exactly eight Dream Descenders?

"It makes sense. This was a large-scale Nightmare, after all. Given the danger level of the previous Withered Wood Forest Nightmare, even if people like Profound Sword didn’t attempt to conquer it, most of them wouldn’t have survived anyway," Shi An mused.

Shi An rarely triggered the settlement for "Destiny Change."

After all, it seemed that his "Destiny Change" required a direct intervention to take effect. As long as a Dream Descender’s situation in the current Nightmare World wasn’t an inescapable doom, the protection he provided wouldn’t count as altering their destiny.

That middle-aged man in the black suit had been in a situation of certain death.

"Furthermore, the rewards from destiny settlements are completely random," Shi An thought. "I won’t necessarily draw a Dream Curse Object template; it’s just as likely I’ll get useless junk."

But even so, destiny settlements still yielded a sum of Belief Value. Shi An’s very first pot of gold had come from the destiny settlement of that man in the black suit. While these rewards couldn’t compare to those from fully conquering a Nightmare, they weren’t bad either.

[Prompt: You have received feedback from destiny.]

[Prompt: Belief Value +81.33.]

[Prompt: Randomly drawing Destiny Gifts...]

[Prompt: You have obtained ’A Duckbill Hat’, ’Pink Pajamas’, ’A Wig’, ...]

Shi An fell speechless. Was this right? Was it? Why would it dump a pair of pajamas on him?!

Fortunately, he eventually managed to draw a few valuable items.

[Incomplete Curse Object: Extra Certificate.]

[Memory: Operation Sever Nightmare Meeting.]

[Memory: ’Curse Art: Instantaneous Sword’ Cultivation Method.]

Shi An’s eyes widened. Could the feedback from altering destinies actually yield memories?

Perhaps it was because these two memories held significant value and were highly relevant to the Dream Descenders themselves, so they had been added to the reward pool?

This... "Wonderful!"

Compared to Curse Objects, Shi An preferred drawing these types of "memories." He didn’t need that many Curse Objects anyway. Besides, if combat was necessary, rather than activating Curse Objects with their various side effects himself, it was better to just hand them over to Little Blood and his future Employee Number Two.

With employees to do the heavy lifting, why should he suffer?

The value of a memory was far higher. He might be able to glean some hidden information from them.

It was just that...

"This Curse Art: Instantaneous Sword came from Profound Sword, didn’t it? To think he was also one of the people whose predetermined destiny flashed with a star of doom."

As the drawing concluded, one, two, three... a total of eight items materialized before Shi An and slowly drifted downward.

Among them, the fragmented information on the Incomplete Curse Object, the ’Extra Certificate’, reorganized to display its specific details.

"Hmm, a Curse Object that slightly lowers one’s presence? Not bad at all. It’s very suitable for Dream Descenders who need to prioritize survival. Though the term ’extra’ often carries another meaning—it means they frequently get caught in the crossfire and die for inexplicable reasons."

Shi An no longer cared much for Incomplete Curse Objects. He simply fetched a box and stored it away. He had no other choice. The Safe Zone was still undergoing upgrades, so he could only stash it for now.

Fortunately, it was only an Incomplete Level Curse Object.

Among the eight items, there were two prismatic crystals with faint images flashing across their surfaces.

[Memory Crystal]

Shi An first touched the one containing the cultivation method for Curse Art: Instantaneous Sword.

Instantly, just like when the man in the black suit had inexplicably died, a scene rippled out before Shi An’s eyes. Only this time, the image was much clearer and lasted longer.

Moreover... Shi An found himself immersed in a first-person perspective.

"Curse Arts are humanity’s foundation for fighting against the eerie."

...

"Instantaneous Sword is a Universal Curse Art that combines both mobility and lethality. It can be used for attack, and it can be used for escape."

...

"Remember, you must experience the flow of this Curse Art through your posture and your heart."

...

"Watch closely. This is how Instantaneous Sword is used."

The man in the memory was thin with an ordinary face, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s. With a wave of his hand, he simply summoned an ordinary, non-Curse Object longsword.

Yet in the next second, pitch-black Curse Power spread over his entire body. The man vanished, instantly appearing a hundred meters away. Wherever the ordinary sword pointed, a pitch-black fissure tore through the empty Training Ground.

This was the sharp edge of the Curse Art’s sword strike. It lingered for several full breaths before finally dissipating.

BOOM!

The memory shattered. Shi An remained frozen, only gradually coming to his senses after a dozen seconds. Panting, his face was somewhat pale.

Even though it had merely been a memory, the sharpness, the biting cold, and the murderous intent of that black fissure felt as if they had pierced through the memory and transcended time and space, firmly enveloping Shi An. He broke out in a cold sweat.

"Is this... the power of Baijiang City’s top-tier experts? What level are they actually at?"

Until now, Dream Descenders had never seemed particularly powerful in Shi An’s eyes. Even experts like Profound Sword and Xi Xue, who could effortlessly crush ordinary people, were only strong because of the "tricks" of their Curse Objects. At best, their combat power hovered around the "Wall-Breaking Level"—and even that was a stretch.

But the man in the memory just now...

With a casual swing, his sword aura pierced through dozens of meters. And this was clearly far from his full strength.

"Can Dream Descenders of the Curse Cultivation System really be this strong? I suppose it makes sense. It’s likely because of the existence of these experts that humanity can actually contend against the Nightmares."

Otherwise, relying solely on the vast majority of Dream Descenders—who had to risk their lives just to conquer a minor Nightmare—how could humanity possibly resist the Nightmare’s corruption?

"I’ve memorized many of the key points of the Instantaneous Sword," he noted. "Although trying to learn a Universal Curse Art from just a single viewing is highly unrealistic, still..."

His understanding of Curse Arts and his application of Curse Power had just leveled up by at least two full tiers. If he were to truly learn a Curse Art in the future, having this experience would undoubtedly make it much easier. Or rather, if he were to consume another dozen or so related Memory Crystals, he might just directly master Curse Power, making learning any Curse Art a breeze later on.

Shi An took a brief rest, carefully mulling over the eagle-eyed man’s demonstration. Only when he felt he had fully absorbed the memory did he reach out and use the second Memory Crystal.

Instantly—BUZZ!

The scene blurred and expanded. This time, Shi An seemed to be seeing things from Old Cai’s perspective.

A mid-level corporate drone—scratch that—field operative of the Countermeasures Bureau, much like Old Yao.

Old Cai was sitting in the back row of an assembly hall, listening to the meeting alongside many other Countermeasures Bureau operatives.

The memory was incomplete, starting right in the middle of the meeting. However, the first thing the cloaked man on the stage said was, "The Nightmares are watching us!

"With the number of Nightmare Worlds gradually increasing and their invasions becoming more frequent, sooner or later, our entire Baijiang City—all three districts and six counties—will be swallowed by the Nightmares!

"Because of this, we must change our strategy.

"We can no longer just repel invading Nightmares; we must thoroughly conquer them. To achieve this, necessary sacrifices are acceptable.

"Furthermore, the Bureau must heavily invest in training outstanding rookie Dream Descenders, forging them into Elite Dream Descenders capable of conquering Nightmares!

"Remember, from this moment on, the Countermeasures Bureau is no longer just about maintaining stability, but...

"We are going to drive the Nightmares out completely!"