Book 7, 59: Physical Dreamrealm
Three days later.
In Wolfheart Valley.
This place was located on the eastern fringes of what used to be Harpy territory. Apparently, a Wolf Demonic King had died here, and its heart had turned into a giant boulder that had sundered the ground, creating a giant crevice.
From atop a nearby mountain, it was possible to see that seven statues of gods had been erected within Wolfheart Valley at some point in time.
These statues were of the Moon Goddess, Mother Goddess, Mad God, River God, God of Six Desires, Wind God, and the Dream God, who was placed at the very center.
There were also around three hundred individuals surrounding them, all of them bowing and worshipping the statues. Despite their numbers, however, their worshipping was done in total silence.
Most of them had learned to be quiet and low-key after evading the Demon Hunters’ pursuit for so long.
Even more shockingly, however, was the fact that none of them were wearing any sort of face coverings. Instead, their faces were fully visible for all to see.
They silently worshipped the seven statues, offering their faith and vitality to the gods. Some of them had even been tightly bound — clearly, they were going to be used as live sacrificial offerings.
“He Tu, Flowing Fragrance, Shadow Demon, Li Yuan, Flying Forehead, and Si Likong...... They are all present,” Chang He quietly harrumphed. These people were all priority targets of the Demon Hunters, and yet here they were, all gathered together in a single location.
Suddenly, Chang He’s gaze fell on one of the worshippers, and he visibly trembled. “Chang Yuesheng? What is he doing here?”
Ye Fenghan shot Chang He a worried glance. “What? You recognize him?”
Chang He gulped before saying with some difficulty, “He’s my junior martial brother.”
Chang He was from the Chang Village, where the Chang surname was incredibly common. It was highly likely that anyone who shared his surname was related to him, and he had quite a few junior and senior martial brothers.
Still, it was quite a surprise to run into him here.
“What was your impression of him?” Ye Fenghan asked.
Chang He glumly replied, “Pretty good, actually.”
“I’ll kill him for you, then,” Wang Xinchao offered.
“There’s no need. I’ll do it myself,” Chang He replied in a low voice.
Even though he played the act of a bumbling fool on a day-to-day basis, Chang He knew what to do when it counted.
Anyone who had the authority to appear in this place was scum who had sacrificed countless lives and turned their back on the human race. Even a junior martial brother would not be shown mercy.
“They’ve already begun. Should we make our move now?” Wang Xinchao asked.
Ye Fenghan, however, remained motionless as he continued to observe the situation. “Don’t you think that these statues are arranged in a strange manner?”
“Yes, their arrangement is indeed somewhat peculiar,” Wang Xinchao replied as he also turned his gaze back to observe the situation. “It’s almost like they’re set up in a formation. But I can’t seem to sense any Origin Energy fluctuations.”
Ye Fenghan replied, “It should be linked to divine power, perhaps to some kind of sacrificial formation. We have to be careful...... Hm?”
Ye Fenghan suddenly let out a small exclamation of surprise, and even Chang He and Wang Xinchao were caught off guard.
Because a group of individuals had suddenly appeared outside of the valley and were charging in towards the circle of worshippers. They were dressed just like imperial soldiers.
But why would imperial soldiers suddenly appear now of all times?
Ye Fenghan and the others glanced at each other in confusion.
Even though the bloodlineless cultivation techniques had spread far and wide, allowing anyone to cultivate, there was still a gap between those who depended on cultivation for their livelihood and those who did not. Imperial soldiers were primarily used to uphold order and security, so their combat power was relatively lacking compared to true fighters.
On the other hand, all of the worshippers that had gathered in Wolfheart Valley were cruel, calculating killers. Each had a decent cultivation base, and that wasn’t even mentioning the unique abilities that they had received from their gods.
Indeed, the worshippers didn’t seem anxious in the slightest. Instead, they all began to slowly stand up, gazing off into the distance with cold expressions.
Just as the soldiers were about to encounter the worshippers, however, large plumes of fog sprang out from out of nowhere, completely shrouding Wolfheart Valley. It was now impossible for Ye Fenghan and the others to see what was going on down below.
“Not good! Those soldiers are in danger!” Chang He cried out. “We need to hurry and save them.”
Ye Fenghan, however, remained motionless. “The situation seems a little strange, and the time that we agreed upon with Master hasn’t come yet.”
Chang He grew agitated at Ye Fenghan’s words. “I know that something seems strange, but if you just sit there and watch, then those people will definitely die. What will we say to the Sect Master then? That we just sat and waited for him to show up, leaving those guards to be butchered?”
Ye Fenghan knew that Chang He wasn’t wrong. After a moment’s thought, he nodded and said, “Chang He, then you take some men with you and go down there.”
“Understood!”
Chang He smartly saluted. A few dozen strong cultivators had appeared around him — all members of the Demon Hunters.
“Follow me! We’re going to save those men!” Chang He cried out heroically as he leapt into the valley.
The fog was so thick that he could not see anything clearly, which was why he had no other choice but to blindly jump in.
As soon as Chang He stepped into the fog, however, he realized that there were no sounds of fighting around him.
What was going on?
Why did everything seem so desolate all of a sudden?
Where had all the people in the fog gone?
Where were the Demon Hunters who had followed him in?
Chang He surveyed his surroundings in shock. It was as if he had jumped into an isolated realm. Emptiness surrounded him, and he could hear nothing.
“Hey!” Chang He cried out.
There was no reply.
A chill crawled up Chang He’s spine, and he unleashed a palm strike at the space in front of him.
There was no response.
His Raging Torrent Palm should have sent sound waves rolling in all directions even if he struck the air, but he couldn’t even feel a mild fluctuation. It was as if all his years of cultivation had been for nothing.
How was this possible?
Chang He was stunned, but no matter how much effort he put in, the suffocating silence of the fog loomed over him.
“Dammit, what have I gotten myself into now?” Chang He nervously muttered to himself.
From above, Ye Fenghan continued gazing into the depths of the fog.
Chang He had disappeared into it like a raindrop hitting the ocean, not even leaving a ripple behind.
The problem was that Chang He’s fighting style typically caused a large commotion.
When he realized this, Ye Fenghan’s expression grew solemn.
Wang Xinchao also felt anxious and could no longer sit still. “There’s definitely something going on down there. Let me go and take a look.”
“Don’t move!” Ye Fenghan barked. “I agree that there is definitely something fishy going on here. However, it might not be something that we can deal with on our own.”
Wang Xinchao countered, “Chang He might die down there.”
Ye Fenghan calmly replied, “That was his decision. I cannot put all of the Demon Hunters in danger just because of him.”
“Are you just going to sit there and watch him die?” Wang Xinchao cried out angrily.
Ye Fenghan laughed in response. “Of course not. Chang He is my friend. I will go and save him, but you all do not need to follow me...... Before Master gets here, I command all of you to sit tight and wait!”
After speaking, he unsheathed his sword and leapt into the valley as well.
He was going to save Chang He on his own.
historical
As soon as he slipped into the fog, however, Ye Fenghan immediately found himself surrounded by an ancient chill.
This chill, which was fully absent of human touch, hung over his heart. He felt as if he had left the land of the living and stepped foot into the Yellow River.
Even so, this ancient chill evoked an unexpected sense of familiarity from deep within Ye Fenghan’s heart.
Ye Fenghan surveyed his surroundings. Strangely enough, he was beginning to get a strong sense of déjà vu.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
Ye Fenghan cried out, “The Dreamrealm! This is the Dreamrealm!”
This was the Dreamrealm that the Dream God had constructed! But due to the Boundless Sect’s suppression, it had collapsed. Most of it had become empty, desolate space, apart from the destroyed remains of the Dreamrealm Castles. Those castles were responsible for conveying that sense of human warmth and touch.
And Ye Fenghan had appeared in an area of the Dreamrealm where there were no Dreamrealm Castles or people anywhere in sight.
But why had he suddenly appeared in the Dreamrealm?
“So is this what Master was talking about when he said that the Dreamrealm could manifest itself in the physical world?”
The Lord of the Dreamrealm had once pulled Su Chen into the Dreamrealm during the Boundless Sect’s war against the Astrals. That was when Ye Fenghan had first learned that the Dreamrealm could influence the physical world.
This time, however, it was the Lord of the Dreamrealm’s subordinates who had accomplished this feat.
There was only one possible explanation: the Lord of the Dreamrealm’s influence on the Primordial Continent was growing.
Ye Fenghan cautiously surveyed his surroundings, his wariness at the maximum level.
At that moment, a shrill hiss came from off in the distance.
Without even turning, Ye Fenghan unsheathed his sword and slashed behind him.
“HIss!” The shrill hiss could be heard once more.
Ye Fenghan turned around to find a Dream Spirit standing behind him. More precisely, this creature was a Dream Demon, the same kind that Ye Fenghan had encountered when he had initially formed his Golden Pill.
As expected, he was in the Dreamrealm.
All of the doubts in Ye Fenghan’s mind disappeared. He paid no heed to the terrifying Dream Demon; after all, he had already slaughtered quite a few of them, and since they were formed from consciousness energy, killing and absorbing them would actually strengthen his Golden Pill.
Ye Fenghan had no qualms about using his immortal energy to deal with the Dream Demon descending on him.
After defeating and absorbing the Dream Demon, Ye Fenghan began to fly in the direction that the Dream Demon had appeared from.
Even though the Dreamrealm was far larger than Wolfheart Valley, it still had its limits.
As long as he wasn’t confused by the fog around him, Ye Fenghan was confident that he would be able to unravel the secrets behind this manifestation of the Dreamrealm.
He flew through the air for quite some time before two more Dream Demons appeared before him that were swiftly exterminated. The suspicion in his heart, however, only grew stronger with the chain of events. “Why are there so few of them?”
The Dream Demons were the foundation upon which the Dreamrealm was built. Without them, the Dreamrealm would be truly empty.
So why had he encountered so few of them?
Unless they were all gathered in a certain location, Ye Fenghan thought to himself.
But if they were all gathered somewhere else, what could they possibly be doing? And where would they be gathering anyways?
Ye Fenghan fell deep into thought.
Wait a second!
Ye Fenghan seemed to realize something as he chuckled coldly. “Ah, so that’s how it is.”
He suddenly turned around and began to fly back towards where he had originally come from.
After flying for some time, he came to a stop and allowed his senses to expand and fill his surroundings. Then, he took a few more steps forward.
He closed his eyes and began to quietly wait.
Eventually, a head poked out, seemingly from thin air.
This was the head of a Dream Demon, but it seemed to be disconnected from its body. The sight was quite strange.
Ye Fenghan immediately reached out, grabbed the Dream Demon by its forehead, and pulled it towards him. The rest of the Dream Demon’s body quickly appeared, and at that same moment, Ye Fenghan ran his sword through its body.
The surface of his sword immediately glowed a faint white color as it slashed through the air in front of him.
Rumble!
The scenery before his eyes suddenly transformed. The framework of a giant, lofty castle had appeared before his very eyes.
Countless Dream Demons were hard at work constructing the castle.
They were building a new Dreamrealm Castle.
And the materials for its construction were humans!