Chapter 811: The Key to the Answer

"Xiao A!" She approached from afar like a queen ruling the Dream Realm, completely disrupting all of the man's arrangements.

I didn't dare make a sound, watching quietly from the sidelines. I had actually sensed something on my way here when the thoughts actively avoided me, but I never expected her to show up so directly.

"Stop right there. You shouldn't be here." The Man in the Colorful Robe hadn't stood up, but his expression was incredibly grave.

"I control the day and the night. I drag the past with one hand and hold up tomorrow with the other. There is nowhere in this Dream Realm I cannot go." The woman's voice was remarkably pleasant, yet it left no room for profane thoughts.

"The sky is about to open. I don't understand why a crazy woman like you is provoking me now. If we draw the attention of Destiny, everything will be ruined!" The night wind blew, lifting a corner of the man's hood to reveal his pale skin.

"Step aside." Wearing a Paper Doll Mask, Xiao A opposed the man like a queen. Her two simple words carried overwhelming dominance.

"You are too arrogant. It seems sitting here so long has made you forget a few things." The man's robe slowly began to change. The mottled colors faded into a stark grayish-white. From a distance, he looked like a lifeless graveyard. "I will give you one last chance. I am guarding No-Lights Road, and none of you are allowed to take a single step inside!"

The sky full of thoughts shredded the halos of light like dark clouds, bearing down on us all at once. It felt as if the sky itself were collapsing—an absolutely overwhelming sight!

Xiao A didn't waste her breath. She struck immediately!

"Step aside!"

"You were the one who broke our established rules first. Since that's the case, don't blame me." The man planted his feet on the ground. His grayish-white robe spread wildly in all directions like the roots of an ancient tree. As he slowly stood up, the surrounding earth heaved upward with him. Right beneath his feet, an absurdly large Nightmare was burrowing out of the ground.

The monster was simply far too big. I could feel the ground of the entire block trembling. Sweeping my gaze with the Judging Eye, I saw countless nightmares and all sorts of bizarre dream creatures actively throwing themselves into the Nightmare's body. Its aura grew stronger and stronger!

Just as the two Traitors of the Deep Dream Layer were about to clash, a spider shadow missing two legs darted across the battlefield and stopped between them.

The spider raised its abdomen, revealing a human face hidden underneath. The sight was incredibly eerie.

"The Butcher has been found! I can't hold him down! Send backup immediately!" Because I was too far away, I couldn't see exactly what the face on the spider's abdomen looked like, but the blurry features felt oddly familiar.

'Do I have another old acquaintance in this Deep Dream Layer?' I waited patiently. Sure enough, after the shadow delivered its message, the tension between Xiao A and the gray-robed man eased slightly.

The man stared coldly at Xiao A. "If the Butcher alone still can't open the sky, I will send you to the altar to serve as the second sacrifice!"

With a wave of his hand, the massive Nightmare began to move, carrying him away in pursuit of the shadow spider.

No one stood in Xiao A's way anymore. After so many years, she once again set foot on No-Lights Road. Countless thoughts danced through the dead-silent block; she seemed to be searching for something.

There were simply too many thoughts flying around. It was only a matter of time before I was exposed. After a brief moment of consideration, I steeled my resolve and actively released my aura.

Soon, that lofty, queen-like figure appeared by my side.

Unlike our last meeting, Xiao A carried a breathtaking charm. Her face, hidden beneath the Paper Doll Mask, seemed to be smiling. It felt as though a promise guarded for nearly a thousand years had finally been fulfilled—everything was about to be freed and reborn.

Thoughts shrouded No-Lights Road, sealing it off like a giant curtain so no one could see what was happening inside.

"You left in too much of a hurry last time. There's something I didn't get the chance to give you." Wearing high heels, the woman stood just as tall as I did. She looked me in the eye and took a coin-sized Reincarnation Mirror Fragment from her long dress. "You gave this to me for safekeeping. Now, it's returning to its rightful owner."

The Reincarnation Mirror Fragment in Xiao A's hand wasn't large, but it was a connecting hub from near the center of the mirror.

Verifying whether the fragment was real or fake was simple. I raised the mirror and adjusted the angle. The glass reflected Xiao A, but it didn't reflect me.

"Can you tell me what happened between us in the past? For example, what kind of person was I?" I tucked the mirror away and looked at Xiao A. The memories that surfaced when my Dao Lock opened revealed that a long time ago, I had spared her life. It was probably back then that she became my plant in the Deep Dream Layer, a pawn embedded among the Traitors.

In fact, the plans I laid out long ago were already showing results. Whether it was the Butcher or Xiao A, they were both developing exactly as I had intended. Everything was under control. It was an intuition, a powerful confidence radiating from my very bones.

"You were a bastard, a madman, someone I never wanted to see again in my life! Are you satisfied?" Xiao A raised her hands and took a pitch-black key from around her snow-white neck.

The key had twenty-one jagged teeth, giving it a somewhat sinister look. "Someone is looking for you at 44 Lightless Road. Take this key, and you'll find him."

With that said, Xiao A left without looking back. However, the sky was still filled with thoughts. Clearly, she was standing guard nearby and hadn't gone far.

'Someone is looking for me at 44 Lightless Road? Since when did I have so many acquaintances in the Deep Dream Layer?' I held the pitch-black key. Xiao A's body heat still lingered on the metal; she must have been keeping it close to her skin this entire time.

The path to 44 Lightless Road was already etched in my mind. I could never forget the place that had changed my fate for the rest of my life.

The dilapidated awning, the wooden door that wouldn't close tight, the creaking wooden stairs, that familiar scent of decay, and the countless bizarre bug corpses wedged in the cracks of the floorboards.

I was very resistant to this place, but I had to admit that I was incredibly familiar with it—so familiar I could freely navigate it with my eyes closed.

I searched floor by floor. I had already been here during my last trip into the Deep Dream Layer, but I hadn't found much. Even Room 444 had been completely empty.

'Looks like I need to go deeper underground.' I stood at the corner between the fifth and sixth basement floors, which were separated by an iron door carved with bizarre patterns.

I ran my fingers over the iron door. It contained a special formation that repelled all offensive power. Even the Nether Runes on my palm were bounced back when they touched the metal.

'This door is very special. It feels like a seal, yet also like a protection. Just what kind of world is behind this door? Why would the Traitor in the colorful robe constantly guard the outskirts of No-Lights Road? Is there some kind of connection between all this?' Finding the lock cylinder, I pulled out the key Xiao A had given me. The tumblers clicked. As I turned the key, the iron chains across the entire door began to move!

Slowly, a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through appeared in the iron door.

The interlocking gears on both sides looked like crocodile teeth. I stared into the pitch-black crack; even pushing my Judging Eye to its absolute limit, I still couldn't see the world behind the door.

'44 Lightless Road, the sixth underground floor!' This was the place I had always been curious about. During my first interview at No-Lights Road in Jiangcheng, I'd had the urge to explore deeper underground, but I never expected it would take until today to finally get my wish.

It was completely pitch-black without a single sliver of light. I entered the world behind the iron door and stood on the rotting wooden stairs.

Leaning over the edge of the staircase to look down, I couldn't see just how many floors were left below.

'Could this also be one of my past arrangements?' The underground of the Live Show was far larger than I had imagined. Finding that buried Reincarnation Mirror Fragment in this place was going to be incredibly difficult.

I wandered through the sixth underground floor, pushing open the doors to each room. Behind every door were piles of Paper Doll Masks.

'Where would that mirror fragment be hidden?' The target was too small, so I shifted my line of thought. 'Xiao A said someone was looking for me at 44 Lightless Road, and that the key would lead me to him. Could the Reincarnation Mirror Fragment be on that person?'

I took out the key. The moment I attached my will to it, a faint consciousness emanated from the metal, guiding me in a specific direction.

'Looks like my guess was right.' In the Dream Realm, a key was the symbol of an exit and an answer. Having the key meant all doubts could be resolved.