Light Barrier - Chapter 46: Cage of Ghosts

The Sands of Time Dream was only ten minutes long.

After ten minutes, the world reset.

This was the real reason why Gu Shen would always return to where he started, no matter which direction he set off from. Even when he was swallowed by the quicksand, as long as the time reset was triggered, he would return to the starting point.

If someone entered this dream alone, it was very likely that they would misjudge and mistake this place for an endless desert.

In fact, no matter how far someone went, they would be pulled back to square one by the time reset.

The reset time of the Sands of Time is ten minutes. Is it because the hourglass in reality was made for ten minutes? Gu Shen thought of what Chu Ling had said at the beginning.

In other words, people had to complete the Dream Decipher of the Sands of Time in ten minutes.

So, the key to deciphering the Sands of Time isn’t space, but time. Then, where is the exit of the Sands of Time?

Gu Shen squatted down again.

He picked up some sand and looked deeply at the sand pit beneath his feet.

600… 599… Gu Shen once again began to count down silently.

…

“The Sands of Time and the Blue Cube are two completely different types of sealed objects.”

The chief justice of the Redwood District, Wu Mengbai, asked worriedly, “If you can’t find the ‘pattern’, you can wander for ten thousand years in the Sands of Time and still won’t be able to come out. It’s been almost an hour. Lin Beizhu, how many times has the Sands of Time Dream inverted?”

Lin Beizhu was the member of the assessment team who controlled the Sands of Time sealed object. He was an old man with white hair and a youthful appearance, radiating vigor and energy.

He stared at the hourglass in Gu Shen’s hand, his eyes shimmering with a sharp light, as though he could see through the sealed object and look straight into the dream.

“Old Wu, ever since Gu Shen deciphered the Blue Cube, you seem to care a lot about him.” Lin Beizhu chuckled. “The Sands of Time has a one-to-one ratio with the flow of time in reality. This little guy is indeed talented. He quickly discovered the characteristics of the reset. He’s currently attempting the Dream Decipher. He should be able to complete it soon. At his pace, he’s ahead of the fastest recorded time by about an hour.”

Upon receiving this reply, Wu Mengbai breathed a sigh of relief.

He was indeed concerned about Gu Shen.

The fastest record for the Blue Cube was three hours and one minute.

The record for the Sands of Time was two hours and eighteen minutes.

It wasn’t that there was a significant difference in the difficulty of these two sealed objects. The Sand of Time’s characteristics were somewhat gentler than the Blue Cube’s, and it was more like a kind of slow ‘torture’. The faster someone saw through the pattern, the easier it was to decipher the Sands of Time.

But the Blue Cube was different. Even if someone knew the direction of the rotations, they needed to rouse their mind to complete every necessary rotation!

“This result is excellent. It’s another new record.” Wu Mengbai looked at the grand magistrate with a solemn expression. “I believe that the Dream Decipher of the Blue Cube consumed a lot of Gu Shen’s mental power. Otherwise, this record could have been faster.”

“…” Tang Qingquan smiled with relief. Then he lowered his voice and said, “However, after completing two Dream Deciphers, will Gu Shen still have the strength to complete the third?”

At this moment, this grand magistrate was unaware.

He, who had always been known for being upright and selfless, actually revealed a hint of concern for this young man.

“The third test is the Cage of Ghosts.” Wu Mengbai’s expression turned grim. “Are we sure we want him to come into contact with the Cage of Ghosts? The characteristics of this sealed object are a bit too intense…”

Lin Beizhu, the owner of the Sands of Time, said solemnly, “After deciphering two nightmare sealed objects, Gu Shen should be very tired. Touching the Cage of Ghosts might cause him a lot of stimulation, and he might even be injured.”

“Whether it’s the Blue Cube or the Sands of Time, they’re both extremely difficult nightmare sealed objects. None of us expected Gu Shen not only to complete them successfully but even break the records.”

Another assessor said with anticipation in his voice, “Since Gu Shen has already created two miracles, maybe there will be a third?”

The Redwood chief justice wanted to speak further.

At this moment, Gu Shen woke up from the Sands of Time Dream.

All the arguments in the assessment team disappeared.

“One hour and three minutes.” Lin Beizhu smiled. “Congratulations. Your Dream Decipher’s result is very good. How did you discover the exit?”

The young man returned the hourglass to the old man with both hands and nodded politely with a smile, but his complexion visibly lacked some color. Even with Chu Ling’s help, deciphering the Sands of Time had still consumed a lot of his mental power.

“It was mostly luck.” Gu Shen smiled modestly. “I accidentally fell into the quicksand. I thought I was finished, but I triggered the time reset. Otherwise, it would have taken me longer. As for the exit, since this world wasn’t as big as I imagined, the direction wasn’t important. So I began to search for clues from the sealed object itself. I guessed that the characteristics of the time reset corresponded to the narrow opening where the hourglass resets the sand grains. So I waited until the last second of the time reset and submerged into the deepest part of the sand. As expected, that was the exit of the dream. “

“You’re indeed lucky. You actually found the pattern through drowning in the sand.” The old man nodded in appreciation. “If you had been luckier, completing the Dream Decipher on your first drowning might not have been impossible.”

The key to completing this sealed object was reaching the deepest point of the Sands of Time at the moment of the time reset.

When the hourglass inverted, the deepest end became the initial exit.

Gu Shen scratched his head. “It was a fluke.”

Compared to the Blue Cube, the Dream Decipher of the Sands of Time indeed had an element of luck. Moreover, without Chu Ling helping him relieve the pressure of drowning in the sand, he wouldn’t have dared to rashly try this kind of suicidal act.

Under normal circumstances, the Dream Decipher would have taken longer.

However, it still should have been faster than the previous fastest record.

After two consecutive Dream Deciphers, Gu Shen felt a ‘heart palpitation’ in his chest. It was an emotion beyond his control, a reminder from his body that it was time to rest and not continue.

His current mental power was still weak.

It wasn’t good to touch too many nightmare-level sealed objects in one go.

As for the third sealed object, it looked like the most dangerous one.

Gu Shen’s gaze lingered on the Cage of Ghosts.

His strong premonition reached its peak at this moment.

He might awaken transcendence in this final Dream Decipher!

“Gu Shen,” Chief Justice Wu Mengbai said. When Gu Shen chose to touch the Sands of Time, he had faced condemnation from his conscience.

At this moment, he chose to step forward.

Wu Mengbai said in a deep voice, “Listen to me. Let’s end the assessment here. You don’t need to continue. I will fight for an S-grade rating for you.”

“Huh?” Gu Shen hadn’t expected this turn of events.

He looked around and saw that most of the other big shots in the assessment team had encouraging and appreciative looks in their eyes.

No… I still want to continue.

Why end it here?

Are these ‘unfriendly’ big shots trying to protect me from being injured by the nightmare sealed object? However, Gu Shen’s strong premonition reminded him that this Cage of Ghosts might be of great help to him!

“Sorry…” Gu Shen took a deep breath and said with determination, “Sorry, I want to continue.”

As soon as he said this, everyone was stunned.

“Continue? You still want to continue with the Dream Decipher?” another person said. “Don’t tell me you’re addicted…”

“Yes. I want to continue.” Gu Shen smiled sheepishly. “Can I?”