Chapter 133: The Unlocked Room

After finishing my opening remarks, I turned the phone screen aside. If these foul-mouthed livestream viewers saw Sakurako, who knew what kind of embarrassing jokes they would come up with.

"Still the familiar flavor, still the same shamelessly dirty talk. You finally started streaming!"

"Only you could brag in such a fresh and unconventional way."

Teletubbies Died of Murder tipped the Super Thriller Live Broadcast Room 999 Underworld Coins: "Streamer, Streamer! Where are we partying today? Hearse drifting, graveyard raving, corpse roasting at a funeral feast, or burial rock-and-roll? I can't control myself anymore!"

The livestream viewers were in high spirits. It seemed the killing game I had broadcasted last time at the Henshan Psychiatric Hospital had left a deep impression on them.

Busy chatting with the livestream viewers, I didn't notice Sakurako curiously leaning in beside me until her small, delicate face squeezed into the screen. "What are you looking at?"

Although Sakurako wasn't even twelve years old yet, she already bore a faint resemblance to Onitsuka Ayaka. That beauty and charm were innate, requiring no deliberate adornment. Simply by widening her eyes in innocent curiosity, she easily captured the hearts and bodies of the numerous "gentlemen" in the livestream chat.

"Oh my god! What did I just see? Streamer, is that your daughter?!"

"Streamer my ass! Father-in-law above, your humble son-in-law pays his respects!"

"Three years in prison is a bloody profit, a life sentence is no loss! If I get the death penalty, I'll love her in the next life!"

Sister Yowane's Manservant tipped the Super Thriller Live Broadcast Room 99 Underworld Coins: "Streamer, get me a glass of 10-year-old sister juice!"

"Hand over the sister juice! Down with the perverted father!"

"Orcs will never be slaves!"

"Did the guy above walk onto the wrong set?"

...

Sakurako clung to my arm. The girl watched the barrage of comments scrolling by with her face flushed red, though who knew if she actually understood them.

"Brothers, slow down your cars a bit. Be careful not to crash." I pulled Sakurako behind me, ignoring the livestream viewers who were ready to rise up in rebellion, and took that human-skin talisman out of my pocket.

"Fellow livestream viewers, does anyone recognize this talisman? There are swirling nebulas inside it, it's drawn on human skin, and it possesses various profound effects." While I was rambling on, someone in the livestream chat already recognized it.

"Paulownia Mulberry Talisman!"

The person who posted this comment was an acquaintance—Daoist master Wan.

This man spoke with immense arrogance, but during the broadcast at Xinhu High School, if he hadn't pointed me in the right direction, I probably would have died at the hands of the Primal Destiny Divine Fiends back then.

"Daoist master, it's been many days. I've missed you!" With a Celestial Master like Daoist master Wan here, the difficulty of my broadcast this time should drop significantly.

A dozen seconds passed before Daoist master Wan posted his second comment. "I have recently been studying the Nanhua Precious Scripture. I just emerged from seclusion and happened to catch your stream. I suppose this is fate between us."

I exchanged pleasantries with Daoist master Wan for a bit before getting to the main point. "Since you know the name of this human-skin talisman, Daoist master, do you happen to know its specific usage?"

"You asked the right person. The Paulownia Mulberry Talisman is the highest achievement of the Secret Dream-Making Art. In all of Huaxia, aside from the Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple, I am likely the only one who has mastered this path."

"You even understand the Secret Dream-Making Art?" I was overjoyed. Heaven leaves no dead end for man. If I could use the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman, I could officially begin my broadcast task for the Underworld Live Show.

"All methods return to one. I know a little about every Daoist technique in this world, otherwise I wouldn't dare boast and take Wan Yi as my Daoist title!"

Reading the comment Daoist master Wan posted, it was clearly an incredibly pretentious statement, yet coming from him, it carried an inexplicable persuasiveness.

"That Paulownia Mulberry Talisman in your hand is vastly different from a normal talisman. Its Yin energy is far too heavy, and since it is drawn on the skin of someone who died with lingering grievances, it must harbor endless ghostly entities within. If you use this talisman to enter the Dream Realm, I fear you will drag those ghosts into the dream with you."

"There is no yin and yang in a dream. You lose the protection of your physical body there, making you like boundless water—it will be much easier for ghosts to entangle you than in the Yang Realm."

Daoist master Wan made himself very clear. Doing this was extremely dangerous, and he hoped I would think twice.

"Daoist master, to tell you the truth, my hand is forced. I have nowhere left to retreat and can only risk it all. Please, Daoist master, teach me how to use this talisman."

I cupped my hands toward the livestream chat. Daoist master Wan was the last lifeline I could grasp, and I had to cherish this opportunity.

"You must think this through. Once you use a ghost talisman to enter a dream, there is a fifty percent chance you will be killed by ghosts in the dream. And once your consciousness shatters, your physical body will cease to function, and you will be reduced to a vegetative state."

Daoist master Wan wanted me to consider it carefully, but I had no other choice. "It's fine. It's only a fifty percent chance, it's worth the gamble."

"You are thinking too simply. Once you enter the dream, you have a fifty percent probability of being killed by ghosts, and a forty-nine percent probability of never waking up. You would be left to wander endlessly in an infinite nightmare, becoming a plaything for the ghosts. That fate is far more agonizing than death!"

"Could you please finish everything you have to say at once?" I held the Talisman Paper, my face twisting in conflict. According to Daoist master Wan, there was a ninety-nine percent chance I would meet a tragic end if I went, leaving me with only a one percent chance of coming back alive.

If I didn't go, it meant defying the Underworld Live Show, and that mysterious organization was far beyond anything I could resist. Breaking the contract would only result in death. If I went, it would be dangerous, but there was still a one percent chance of survival. I had already made my decision.

"Please, Daoist master, teach me the method to use the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman."

"You are young but possess extraordinary courage. You remind me a bit of my younger self." It was hard to tell if Daoist master Wan was praising me or himself. After a brief pause, he posted the method to use the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman. "The talisman conceals the stars of the heavens, and every person corresponds to a single star. If you wish to enter that person's dream, you must first find her destined star. Only someone who has mastered dream-making can achieve this. Show me the face and sleeping posture of the dreamer, and I will open the Heavenly Gate for you to enter the Paulownia Mulberry."

I did as he instructed, tiptoeing over to Huang Xue's side and bringing her face into the camera's view.

Daoist master Wan seemed to study her for a long time before posting a comment. "This girl is a descendant of a Heavenly Yi Noble, but her destiny is fraught with disasters. Her parents violated the heavenly rule against a dragon and rabbit union. Her destined star is flickering erratically and growing dim; it could fall at any moment. If you use this talisman to enter her dream, it will very likely accelerate her death. I will ask you one more time: are you certain you want to use the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman? It is not too late to stop now."

"Daoist master, I can no longer turn back. Tell me what I need to do!"

"First, place the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman over her spirit platform. Then, calm your mind and drip your blood into the zodiac, right where the seven stars shine."

Under Daoist master Wan's guidance, I finally found the correct spot. As my essence blood dripped down, the nebula on this human-skin talisman began to slowly swirl.

"Daoist master, what do I do next?"

"Focus your mind and gather your intent. Use your willpower to grasp the star corresponding to this girl."

I focused my attention on the continuously rotating stars of the heavens. My head grew dizzy, and it felt as if my consciousness was being sucked into the talisman.

"The Horn constellation has not yet dawned, the radiant spirit rests hidden. I found it! The seventh star of the Big Dipper, the destined Alkaid!"

My will and focus were entirely concentrated on the seventh star of the Big Dipper. At that moment, Daoist master Wan posted his final comment, containing the incantation to enter the dream with the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman.

"The Great Dream Awakens to Ask Where We Are Now, Entering the Mulberry Once Brings Three Thousand Years!"

...

Opening my eyes, I stood in an unfamiliar room. I held the phone in my left hand and carried the heavy Black Leather Suitcase in my right.

"Did I successfully enter the dream?" I lifted my hand, clearly feeling the weight of the suitcase. "The weight hasn't changed. If this is a dream, isn't it a bit too realistic? Could it be a hallucination, a blindfold trick? Am I actually still in reality right now?"

Nothing on my body was missing. The broadcasting equipment, the Suppression Talisman I got from Lu Jin, and that incomplete Heavenly Capital Thunder Talisman were all still on me, not even shifting from their original spots.

"Everything about me remains exactly the same, but Sakurako and the sleeping Huang Xue are gone. I'm the only one inside this unfamiliar building." Quickly calming myself, I lit a cigarette. The curling smoke and the rush of pleasure from the burning tobacco were identical to reality. "This is too real."

I picked up the Underworld Live Show Phone and watched the comments. The screen was still flooded with dirty jokes, leaving me even more confused. "Can this phone enter the dream with me?"

Reading the comments one by one, I finally noticed something slightly off. I didn't recognize a single one of the IDs posting them, and their names were extremely eerie.