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Chapter 458: Truly a Person of Passion

She had just greeted them when she was knocked out cold with a brick. The two didn't even bother saying a word.

She reached back to touch her head, wincing at the sharp pain even from the lightest touch. "Can you check if it’s swollen?" she asked.

Tang Shi glanced at it and saw a noticeable bump that looked quite alarming. She winced and whispered, "Just a little."

"Really?" Ji Lingyu asked skeptically. She thought, The swelling certainly feels much bigger...

"Sorry, Miss Ji," Chu Liang apologized, rubbing his hands with an awkward smile. "We've run into too many Nightmare Beasts disguised as people, so I tapped the back of your head out of reflex.

"Couldn’t you at least check first?" Ji Lingyu snapped.

"Well, I just did..." Chu Liang nodded. "Now I know you’re real."

After Chu Liang smacked her with the Demon-Revealing Brick, Ji Lingyu passed out instead of emitting black qi. That was when Chu Liang realized he had made a mistake and knew that things were bad. He quickly woke her up, which was what led to the current situation.

"It's fine to be cautious, but you acted way too fast..." Ji Lingyu muttered again.

"The speed is just fine. Practice makes perfect," Chu Liang replied with a humble smile.

"You think I'm complimenting you?!" Ji Lingyu shouted as she stomped her foot in frustration.

Seeing her reaction, Chu Liang quickly changed the subject. "Miss Ji, are you wandering through this level of the realm alone?" he asked.

"No," Ji Lingyu replied. "I joined up with Grandmaster Yan and Thirteenth Aunt. We just ran into a squad of imperial soldiers from the previous dynasty. They've somehow regained their peak strength and are far more powerful now. Grandmaster Yan fought the former chancellor and got injured. Luckily, Thirteenth Aunt stepped in, and we managed to escape. I came up here to get a better view since my eyesight is sharp."

So, those imperial soldiers from the previous dynasty were actually searching for them?

"Then let's hurry and regroup with them," Chu Liang suggested.

The three of them descended the mountain together. Halfway down, they spotted three figures approaching—Yan Qihu, Second Madam Gu, and her attendant, Chabu.

It seemed they had noticed Ji Lingyu was gone for a while and had come searching, worried she might be in danger.

Yan Qihu showed no signs of injury, suggesting he was fine. However, Chabu, the attendant, looked pale and drained of blood.

When they saw Chu Liang and Tang Shi, they were somewhat surprised.

"We searched everywhere for you and couldn't find you. Where did you go?" Yan Qihu asked once everyone settled at the foot of the mountain.

"It's a long story," Chu Liang replied. "This dream world has multiple levels. We fell into the lower level and had to put in quite a bit of effort to reach this one."

"Multiple levels in this dream world?" Yan Qihu was taken aback by this information.

It seemed they hadn't been informed about this yet.

However, Second Madam Gu's eyes sparkled as she spoke. "In the letter Gu Qingyuan sent me, he mentioned cultivating the Great Dao while living off the former emperor's dream. Could that be another level in this dream world?"

"That's right," Chu Liang immediately confirmed. "The ancient Great Noble Dream Immortal's dream lies at the deepest level. The Nightmare Demon King fed on that dream and created its own dream within this dream world. The young emperor of the formery dynasty, in turn, lived off the Nightmare Demon King's dream and probably constructed his own dream inside it."

The first time Chu Liang ventured into the Deep Pool of Dreams, he must have entered the dream on the uppermost level—the young emperor's dream. In that dream, he glimpsed vast mountains, winding rivers, and grand palace halls. It was there that he had encountered Gu Qingyuan.

But this time, something had changed. The Deep Pool of Dreams had been thrown into chaos, and when it engulfed Chu Liang’s group, it scattered everyone across the different levels of the dream world.

This anomaly must have something to do with the woman named Caiyi, right? Chu Liang pondered.

With the limited information he had, Chu Liang couldn't grasp Caiyi's true intentions. However, one thing was certain—they had to ascend another level if they wanted to escape.

"We need to find the true form of the young emperor," Chu Liang said decisively.

Yan Qihu frowned. "It won't be easy. That imperial army from the previous dynasty is troublesome to deal with."

Chu Liang then briefly learned about their situation.

Yan Qihu, Ji Lingyu, Second Madam Gu, and Chabu had all been scattered within the Nightmare Demon King's dream. Fortunately, with his seventh-realm martial arts cultivation, Yan Qihu quickly found the others.

But his boldness had come at a cost. They crossed paths with the imperial soldiers from the previous dynasty. Yan Qihu clashed with the former chancellor, who fought at full strength, and was forced to retreat after suffering minor injuries.

Beneath the blood-red moon of this twisted realm, ordinary people would soon fall into madness.

Luckily, they had Chabu.

His mystical bloodline allowed him to dispel illusions caused by Nightmare Specters by smearing his divine blood between a person's eyes, shielding them from the blood moon's sinister influence. However, while doing this once or twice was manageable, they had relied on Chabu alone for far too long. It was becoming increasingly insufficient.

That explained why Chabu had appeared so pale when Chu Liang first saw him.

"Chabu, you've worked hard," Chu Liang said sincerely.

The brother from the Western Regions, though small in stature, was undeniably tough. He raised his head and replied, "It's fine. Just let me catch my breath, and I'll take care of you two next."

Chu Liang glanced over, noticing that Chabu's hands were covered in cuts.

"No need," Chu Liang said. "The two of us are protected by the sacred jade pendants we obtained earlier, so we can hold out a bit longer. Plus, I have some pills to stabilize our souls. I’m not sure if they’ll work here, but it's worth a try."

With that, he took out a few small blue pills and handed them around.

They each swallowed the pills, and after a moment of adjusting their breaths, they nodded in relief. "These pills are effective; the whispers under the blood moon have become much fainter!"

Chu Liang felt a wave of relief wash over him. At least they worked, he thought.

He then looked at Chabu, who raised his head and said, "I don't need it."

"It's not a pill." Chu Liang quickly handed him a cup. "Drink some brown sugar tea[1] to replenish yourself."

"Heh," Yan Qihu chuckled. "You really came prepared. How do you even have something like that?"

Chu Liang glanced at him and smiled without saying a word.

Instead, Second Madam Gu started laughing. She then asked, "Grandmaster Yan, I take it you haven't married?"

"No, I haven't." Yan Qihu blinked, looking puzzled. "How did you know?"

Everyone exchanged a knowing smile, leaving Yan Qihu even more perplexed.

...

After a brief rest, the group set off once more.

To ascend to the dream on the level above, they had to find the former emperor’s true form, which meant starting with the imperial army of the previous dynasty.

According to Yan Qihu, the former chancellor practiced the Confucian divine skills, making him a challenging opponent. Yet, in terms of sheer combat strength, he wasn’t particularly formidable.

The real threat lay in the thousands of martial artists in the imperial army, capable of forming a battle formation with a murderous aura and terrifying power that could shake the heavens. Under the chancellor's command, they could slay gods and demons alike.

"If we can't defeat them by force, could we outsmart them?" Chu Liang pondered aloud, glancing at everyone around him. "With Miss Ji's Xuan Yuan Eyes, she should be able to see a thousand li away. Madam Gu can hide our tracks. Could we first identify the location of the former emperor's true body and then find a way to sneak in?"

"This plan is feasible," Second Madam Gu said with a nod. "As long as we know where the target is, I can move freely."

"I'll give it a try..." Ji Lingyu nodded in agreement.

With that, Ji Lingyu moved to a higher vantage point, her eyes gleaming as she scanned the distant landscape.

"I see them stopping in front of a palace made of bones," she muttered. "That must be their headquarters. I can’t see any further inside..."

"Then let's go take a look," Yan Qihu said, standing up immediately.

Following Ji Lingyu's guidance, the group quickly made their way to another stone mountain, gazing out into the distance.

On an open plain stood the massive skull of a demonic beast, towering as high as a mountain. The army had transformed this skull into a palace-like fortress.

Thousands of imperial soldiers from the previous dynasty stood in orderly rows around the palace.

It was obvious they were no longer alive. Each one bore the unmistakable marks of death. At the front, the former chancellor even had two large, gaping holes in his chest.

He must have been pierced through the heart by arrows.

Arrows capable of killing an Eminent One could not have been shot by ordinary people.

Yet, these soldiers were unlike the lingering spirits they had faced before. They possessed both intelligence and cultivation, their auras brimming with a distinct and unsettling power.

The former chancellor dismounted from his carriage, rising into the air as he addressed the assembled soldiers in a commanding voice, "Soldiers, the world has changed! Be patient, for the time of our restoration is near!"

"Restore the kingdom! Restore the kingdom!" the soldiers roared in unison.

Chu Liang clicked his tongue in astonishment. Now, this was true conviction.

Even with gaping holes in their chests, they were still clinging to the dream of restoring the kingdom instead of being concerned with fixing the holes in their chests.

It had been over a few hundred years since the fall of the previous dynasty.

Moments later, the former chancellor turned and entered the palace made of bones.

Seeing this, Second Madam Gu stood up carefully and said, "I'll go take a look."

"Be careful," everyone warned.

Second Madam Gu gave a faint smile before her figure turned ethereal and vanished from sight. In an instant, even her aura faded away.

Chu Liang had seen Ji Lingfeng conceal his presence before, but he would always sense remaining traces of his aura. Second Madam Gu, however, was on another level. No wonder she was so confident, moving in and out of places with ease. This wasn't just simple invisibility. She had become part of the void, existing in a different dimension.

It seemed that as one's cultivation advanced, the mystical abilities of the Xuan Yuan Eyes could develop further, revealing an incredibly high potential.

"Such an impressive technique." Yan Qihu couldn't help but marvel.

"Of course," Chabu added. "If our boss hadn't had her state of mind disrupted by that man, she might have already reached the seventh realm by now."

"Truly a pity," Yan Qihu sighed. "Romance is but a fleeting passion, yet it has delayed her for half her life. Truly, a foolish—"

"Watch what you say," came Second Madam Gu's irritated voice from the void. "I'm still here!"

Without missing a beat, Yan Qihu kept a straight face and smoothly changed his tone. "Truly, a person of passion."

1. brown sugar tea is known to be good for girls during their period. ☜