Chen Lin slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he did was inspect the Fishing Rod.
The nightmare qi on it was still dense, but he seemed to have developed a resistance and could now withstand its invasion.
That put his mind at ease.
Although this scenario was peculiar, the rules for entering it had not changed. Once he left and entered again, he regained control over himself.
Next, he turned his attention to the little shrimp in his hand. Its nightmare qi was so faint that he had to sense it carefully to detect it.
To his surprise, the shrimp was still alive. When he touched it, it gave two feeble hops.
After examining it closely, he found nothing particularly unusual. Its body was bluish-green, and its shape was no different from an ordinary shrimp's. The only exception was its colorful tail fan, with a plum-blossom-shaped tiny hole in each segment.
Chen Lin took out a container, conjured some water with a spell, and put the little shrimp inside.
But the water did not revive it. It remained weak and listless, and soon died altogether.
He shook his head and put it into a Jade Box, affixed a Sealing Talisman, then placed it in his Storage Bag.
After checking everything again and making sure there were no problems, he left the room.
The two women were chatting outside. Both looked surprised to see Chen Lin, having never expected him to emerge so soon.
"Were you exploring the Nightmare Realm, dear?"
Whether he had been practicing a secret art or undertaking secluded cultivation, he could not possibly have finished so quickly. Qin Lingyu immediately asked him.
"Yes. I acquired a new Nightmare Realm item. A while ago, I had someone test it and found no danger, so I went in