Chapter 2251: Dream World

The Human World

The Human World

Fortunately, the sound had not yet disappeared...

Qin Sang concealed himself in a valley, setting up layers of powerful formations. Without hesitation, he immediately activated his cultivation technique.

At this moment, closest to Qin Sang were several light-dips, followed by three complete layers of different formation flags, encompassing him both inside and out. Each type of flag possessed unique power. Even with these three nested layers, Qin Sang remained uneasy, having also hidden numerous other formation artifacts further out, ready to be activated instantly to handle any circumstance.

With all preparations complete, Qin Sang responded.

"Who are you?"

The moment he asked this question, the summoning sound abruptly paused.

Qin Sang's heart tightened. He immediately became vigilant, as the other party had clearly 'heard' his response.

A deathly silence ensued.

Qin Sang's mind was taut as he silently awaited the other party's reaction.

A moment later, Qin Sang heard a voice filled with shock.

"You can hear me!!!!"

The other party clearly hadn't expected that someone in this world could actually hear his summons. He had been calling for so many years, and this was the first time he had received a response; his shock was mixed with ecstasy.

The voice was still too indistinct, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.

"Who are you?"

Qin Sang did not answer, stubbornly repeating the same question, then adding, "Where are you?"

"I... ah!"

The other party was about to answer when they suddenly let out a piercing scream.

Even though the voice was very indistinct, Qin Sang could still feel the pain contained within the scream, which was even more intense than the previous time.

Qin Sang was unsure what had happened on the other side. Perhaps the other party's sudden emotional excitement from receiving a response led to their exposure, and they were then targeted by a powerful enemy and attacked.

The scream brought pain, assaulting Qin Sang's mind like a tide. Another person might have gone mad under the impact of this consciousness.

While screaming, the other party still struggled to convey something to Qin Sang.

"...Wait... wait for me... be... careful... outer... demons..."

The voice was intermittent and filled with pain, as if squeezed through gritted teeth.

The other party used all their strength to utter these few indistinct words, then stopped abruptly once more.

Qin Sang waited for a long time, confirming that the summoning sound had disappeared again.

"'Wait for me...' Does he want me to wait for him? Does it mean he will recover later?"

Qin Sang speculated on the other party's meaning. "'Be careful of outer demons.' Could 'outer demons' refer to...?"

Qin Sang's eyes flickered. For the beings within the illusion, did "outer demons" refer to the Outer World Demons that cultivators feared like tigers, or to outsiders like themselves who had intruded into the illusion?

If it referred to Outer World Demons, it would invite endless speculation, because this was an illusion, entirely false. How could it attract the attention of Outer World Demons?

If it referred to cultivators like themselves who had entered the illusion, it would also be somewhat illogical.

Qin Sang had always believed that the summoning sound most likely came from a powerful Qingluan elder at the Soul Anchoring Star realm. As for the cultivators who entered the illusion, their cultivation was at most at the peak of the Void Refinement stage, and even at their peak, they would not be its match.

However...

Thinking of this, a thought suddenly flashed through Qin Sang's mind: he seemed to have been deceived by superficial appearances!

In the holy land, he had personally seen Saint Realm mighty figures at the Integration stage, but only Hong Tian and a few others. Yet, there were certainly more powerful figures among the alien races than just these few; there were even Ancestor Realm mighty figures at the Mahayana stage.

When the holy land underwent its anomaly, only Hong Tian and other newly advanced mighty figures stepped forward. The rest of the alien race's mighty figures were nowhere to be seen.

Was it because this anomaly was not important enough to alarm them, or was there another reason?

Thinking one layer deeper, was it that they didn't want to, or couldn't?

What if they were actually fighting against something, but were already trapped somewhere, unable to extricate themselves?

Thinking back to earlier, when Hong Tian and the others dared not casually enter the Heart Lake, cold sweat broke out on Qin Sang's back.

An illusion capable of contending with the entire alien race and trapping its mighty figures, making them unable to extricate themselves, was simply too shocking to hear!

If this was the truth, then it was no wonder he had been unable to break through the illusion.

But if even the mighty figures of the alien race were helpless, what could minor characters like them do by entering? Was it truly just to contend for the so-called 'seed'?

The more Qin Sang thought about it, the more he felt that the purpose of this trip was not so simple, and waves of unease welled up in his heart.

But he was also bound within the illusion, struggling to find a way out. Even if he knew the truth, he couldn't change anything.

Perhaps the truth was not necessarily so.

Qin Sang thought to himself, looking up at the sky, waiting for that mysterious person to recover to see if he could ask anything further.

Next, he would still follow his own plan, focusing primarily on improving his strength and searching for Liuli.

After sitting quietly for a while, Qin Sang put away all his formation artifacts, erased his traces, and left the valley.

Outside the Heart Lake.

The radiant light was like a sea, constantly erupting with turbulent waves.

No matter how fierce the waves were, they would eventually crash against an invisible wall, receding without success.

However, the radiant light was boundless, and the impacts would be ceaselessly. If this continued, one day it would surely break through that strong barrier and destroy everything.

What's more, in addition to the gigantic waves, even more terrifying presences were hidden within the radiant light.

The sea of light undulated. From time to time, strange images flashed across its surface, for an instant revealing a terrifying silhouette, as if an unparalleled fierce beast was concealed within.

Suddenly, a huge wave surged forward, accompanied by an earth-shattering roar.

"Roar!"

The entire sea of light seemed to tremble because of it.

A shadow emerged from the giant wave.

"Whoosh!"

The shadow broke through the giant wave, and what appeared first was a gigantic long trunk and two silvery-white tusks.

The outline gradually became clear. It was a colossal elephant, its body taller than mountains, surrounded by lightning. Its running sounded like thunderous drumming, and a fierce aura assailed one's face. It was an ancient thunder elephant.

The ancient thunder elephant roared skyward, its four hooves stamping heavily. Its massive body leaped into the air, transforming into a thick bolt of lightning. Its two tusks were particularly striking, emitting sharp lightning.

Just then, purple light emerged above the ancient thunder elephant's head, and a mass of purple clouds gathered from an unknown source.

The purple clouds swirled erratically, then the purple light flared brightly, descending a circular beam of purple light that perfectly encircled the ancient thunder elephant.

As this purple light descended, the lightning on the ancient thunder elephant's body suddenly dimmed a notch.

The purple clouds did not stop; then a second, a third...

More and more purple light beams enveloped the ancient thunder elephant, tightening inwards. The ancient thunder elephant's momentum was greatly diminished, but it still stubbornly charged towards the invisible strong barrier.

"Boom!"

The ancient thunder elephant shattered into pieces before the invisible strong barrier, but the powerful impact force could not be offset, causing the invisible strong barrier to tremble violently.

After this ancient thunder elephant died, unlike the previous demonic beasts that vanished into thin air, its remains were torn apart, and countless bloody chunks of flesh fell into the sea of light, staining an area red.

Hong Tian couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

At this moment, he, the Mermaid Queen, and others were dispersed around the Heart Lake, jointly operating a large formation. The invisible strong barrier was precisely the power of this formation.

His eyelids trembled as he slowly opened them, first glancing outwards.

One wave had not yet subsided when another rose. The giant wave just now had barely calmed when new waves followed one after another, ceaselessly. Fortunately, there was no second ancient thunder elephant, allowing them a chance to catch their breath.

Next, he looked into the depths of the Heart Lake and said in a hoarse voice, "Why is there still no movement inside?"

"It seems this nightmare is not so easy to suppress! We just need to fulfill our duties and not let the dream's power dissipate and affect the Mist Sea. Then we can just wait patiently," the Mermaid Queen said, half consoling, half warning.

"I'm just afraid we won't last until then!"

Someone interjected, somewhat worried, "What if our defense fails, and the aftermath spreads, causing chaos in the Mist Sea, or even the annihilation of tribes? I fear we would not be able to bear the responsibility!"

The Mermaid Queen snorted, "Even if we can't bear it, we must! I fear the outside has already been affected. After all, the Mist Sea was originally covered by the dream!"

After breaking through to the Saint Realm, they were qualified to know more of the truth.

It was hard for ordinary people to imagine that the mist covering the entire Mist Sea, spanning countless millions of miles, isolating inside from outside and protecting countless alien race beings, was actually not naturally formed by heaven and earth, but an outward manifestation of a dream power.

It was this power that protected the alien race, preventing strong outsiders from easily entering.

The mist tides appearing at intervals, the mirages in the mist, and even the mist waterfalls that swept away countless people, were actually celestial phenomena caused by dream fluctuations, which the mighty figures of the alien race called "Nightmares."

Of course, none of the previous 'Nightmares' could compare with the current one.

The Great Dream Divine Monarch's process of comprehending the Way of Dreams was not smooth sailing; the nightmare was the biggest obstacle, comparable to a cultivator's inner demons.

Even the Great Dream Divine Monarch had to tread on thin ice. This anomaly occurred because the nightmare caused trouble at a critical moment, prompting the mighty figures of the alien race in the holy land to actively enter the dream to assist the Great Dream Divine Monarch in suppressing it.

Once the nightmare devoured the Great Dream Divine Monarch, the Divine Monarch would at best be severely wounded, and at worst, completely lost within his own dream. With no one left to suppress the dream, it would engulf the entire Mist Sea!

No one knew what terrifying consequences would ultimately arise!

The Mermaid Queen's prediction was not wrong.

At this moment, outside the holy land, within the Mist Sea, it was not yet time for the mist tide to appear, yet suddenly, mist surged upwards, pervading the Mist Sea.

Mist waterfalls and mirages also appeared more frequently than usual, making experts from all tribes nervous.

In the Qingyang Domain.

Su Nü and others who returned from Yuanjiao Sea Market also noticed the anomaly in the celestial phenomena. Fortunately, the Qingyang Domain had an advantage: the entire domain was a massive altar formation. Everyone worked together to activate it, resisting the mist tide's invasion.

The conversation outside the Heart Lake continued.

Someone echoed the Mermaid Queen, "The Queen is right; no matter what, we must hold on! Look at that thunder elephant from before; it was exactly as described in records. Whether in aura or strength, it was already very close to a true ancient thunder elephant. Even its remains were so real. Elsewhere, who among you would have imagined it was conjured by the power of a dream? After today, perhaps the Divine Monarch, by manifesting truth from dreams, will be able to create a real dream realm, or even... a dream world!"

"A dream world..."

A moment of silence.

Everyone couldn't help but fantasize that once a dream world was created, and the alien race received its protection, they would no longer have to cower in the East Sea, enduring the attitudes of outsiders.

Should the Demonic Realm invade one day, they could also retreat into the dream world and seal its gates.

However, everyone knew deep down that these were all their fanciful imaginings. Their cultivation realms were still far too low to imagine how a true 'dream world' would exist, or whether it could detach itself from the myriad great worlds and form a world of its own.

Suddenly, someone scoffed, "This hurdle isn't even over yet. It's too early to think about that now. We should rather think about how to seize more dream seeds. Those old geezers are clearly going to contend for them too!"

Hong Tian's gaze had never left the Heart Lake. He sighed softly, "We thought too simply before. Those juniors probably still don't know who they are."

"There's only one word: wait!"

The Mermaid Queen was remarkably calm. "Wait for the turning point to appear! Wait for them to awaken! Things will naturally fall into place! Our being outside the dream, with our consciousness clear, is our greatest advantage."

Qin Sang, being in the dream, was awake, but could do nothing.

After the summoning sound disappeared again, Qin Sang could only focus his energy on the upcoming great battle.

No matter how the battles had been fought before, strong figures from both sides rarely made a move. Surely they should appear now! He should establish an identity among the demon race, ideally one that allowed him direct contact with high-ranking members of the Phoenix clan, to gather intelligence from both sides; perhaps he could find some clues...

Qin Sang pondered this thought as he roamed the demon race's territory.

Previously, while the situation was not so tense, Qin Sang had laid some groundwork within the demon race.

He had killed real Qingluan birds before, so disguising himself as one was trivial.

However, his last encounter made him realize that pure-blooded Qingluan birds were too conspicuous. It would be best for him to first disguise himself as a mixed-blood branch of the Qingluan.

Recalling the identities he had prepared earlier, they could now be used, but to facilitate operating on both sides, it would be best not to stray too far from his base.

After deliberating, only one identity proved most suitable.

Qin Sang identified the direction and flew for over ten days continuously, stopping above a mountain gorge.

A rumbling sound came from below, but water in the gorge alone shouldn't be able to create such a large commotion.

Qin Sang knew the sound came from an underground river beneath the gorge. This underground river was very peculiar, similar to a Heavenly Secret Realm, possessing strange powers. If cultivators were accidentally swept away by its waters, they would find it difficult to escape. Initially, cultivators from both sides, unaware of this underground river, accidentally fell in and went missing.

Some were found much later in distant places, while others vanished completely.

When survivors recounted their experiences, they couldn't explain much, only feeling dizzy and disoriented before being swept out by the river, unaware of how they had escaped.

From then on, both sides tried to avoid this river. Fortunately, the underground river was very long but not wide, and its power did not affect the surface, so its impact was minimal.

Qin Sang set up arrangements around the underground river, then carefully disguised himself, appearing somewhat dazed and confused, as if he had just escaped from the underground river.

Not long after, Qin Sang encountered a team of demon cultivators head-on.

The leader, an unknown demonic bird, immediately shouted, "Stop!" upon seeing Qin Sang from afar.

All their auras locked onto Qin Sang.

"Fellow Daoists, please don't be alarmed, I am an ally!"

Qin Sang quickly stopped, gesturing that he was harmless, and asked with a bewildered expression, "Where is this? What time is it now?"