Chapter 576: For the Gods to Dance, the Talented to be Admired, and the Unworthy to Perish

Xu Qing’s dizziness remained intense, yet his numerous past experiences allowed him to barely adapt. He surveyed his surroundings, then glanced at the peach in the captain’s hand.

Xu Qing smiled.

“I think I understand a bit,” he said. “This Weiyang Mountain Range is like a play.”

The captain’s eyes showed appreciation, and he burst into laughter.

“Indeed, it’s a play.”

“Little junior brother, this is a play offered to the Crimson Mother of the Red Moon. How fortunate we are to be actors in it.”

Xu Qing nodded, noting the captain’s mention of the play being offered to the Crimson Mother of the Red Moon.

“Within the Grand Domain of Moon Sacrifice, any place where the Yin-Yang Sect of Flowers exists is enveloped by the dream power of the Crimson Mother of the Red Moon. The Yin-Yang Sect of Flowers weaves plots, becoming the dreams of the deities.”

The captain said with a smile.

“This is the sacrificial dance of the Yin-Yang Sect of Flowers.”

Although Xu Qing had guessed many things, he hadn't connected them to the sacrificial dance. Hearing this now, he was somewhat moved.

“Those dancing butterflies…” Xu Qing looked at the captain.

“Dancing butterflies are dream creatures formed through repeated collisions and interactions after sacrificial dancers use the deities’ dream power to influence all beings.”

The captain, eating his peach and carrying the reincarnation body in his hand, walked towards Xu Qing, speaking as he went.

“They are illusory, serving as one of the carriers of dream power and the medium that transmits the story of this place into the deity’s consciousness the moment it awakens.”

Xu Qing took a deep breath. This explanation was unbelievable, yet upon reflection, everything clicked into place.

“However, before the deity awakens, these dancing butterflies cannot return, and thus cannot project this grand play.”

“Can you guess, little junior brother, why I knew all this and still chose to enter?”

The captain, with a smug expression, walked to Xu Qing’s side.

Xu Qing’s gaze fell on the reincarnation body the captain was carrying, and he already had the answer in his heart.

“So your reincarnation body was never lost, and the tomb we visited earlier was actually fake.”

“Just as you, senior brother, said at the beginning, to prevent tomb robbers, you set up several illusions in advance, and the place we went to was actually… one of those illusions.”

“Back then, Ning Yan asked you what the last two of your nine illusions were like.”

“You just smiled and didn’t answer because the tomb we went to was the eighth illusion, and the entire Weiyang Mountain Range is… the ninth illusion!”

Xu Qing looked at the captain and spoke slowly.

“Senior brother, how many people did you offend and what did you do to be so afraid of someone stealing your reincarnation body?”

The captain was slightly surprised by this, then burst into laughter.

“As expected of my little junior brother, haha! You’re absolutely right! That tomb was the eighth illusion, and this Weiyang Mountain Range is the ninth!”

“Senior brother, you’ve learned bad habits from Bai Xiaozhuo; telling the answer in advance isn’t good.” Xu Qing frowned.

The captain chuckled. He had indeed learned this tactic from Bai Xiaozhuo, believing it would make him appear impressive.

“Want to know where my real tomb is?” the captain asked, winking and trying to build suspense.

The familiar expression, the familiar mischievousness, the familiar style—all of it finally allowed Xu Qing to breathe a sigh of relief. He then spoke expressionlessly.

“In a dream.”

Xu Qing didn’t want to play along anymore.

The captain’s eyes widened. He found it a bit uninteresting; little Ah Qing wasn’t as cute as before. Noticing Xu Qing’s annoyance, he laughed, put his arm around Xu Qing’s neck, and whispered.

“Little junior brother, you’re amazing! You guessed that too.”

“My reincarnation body, with the help of a mysterious High God, was hidden within the Crimson Mother of the Red Moon’s dream… and I even crushed the dancing butterflies in that dream.”

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. He paid close attention to the mysterious High God mentioned in the captain’s words.

At the same time, this world began to change. The expressions of all beings around them transformed from numb to grotesque. Everything, from plants to rocks, instantly exuded intense malice.

This malice converged from all directions, erupted from everything in the Weiyang Mountain Range, and, once gathered, transformed into a voice.

“Get out!”

As the voice rang out, the Weiyang Mountain Range roared in unison, the earth trembled, and the city below the mountain also shook.

The captain smiled. He didn't explain the mysterious High God nor did he pay attention to the changes around them. He continued to talk about the location of his reincarnation body.

“As for how to open it, one must enter the dream. That’s why I didn’t tell you in advance, because everything must conform to the requirements of this dream. Only then can I truly play my part.”

“But I did warn you earlier, little junior brother, don’t be mad, don’t be mad.” The captain said with a mischievous grin, lifting the reincarnation body he was carrying.

“See, my goal was always this, because it’s the key for me to unlock my reincarnation body within this dream. You’ll never guess what its true form is.”

As the captain spoke, he waved his right hand. Instantly, his reincarnation body dissolved into black liquid, revealing at its very center… a decaying dancing butterfly!

An ancient aura emanated from within it. Clearly, it wasn't newly born but had existed for a very long time, and it had been hidden by a high-ranking entity, causing the Crimson Mother to overlook it.

This was the key.

The moment it appeared, all directions churned, the sky and earth changed color, winds and clouds reversed, and the entire Weiyang Mountain Range shook intensely. The expressions of countless beings around them revealed struggle and pain.

Mountains collapsed, and plants shattered.

In the instant of these drastic changes, an earth-shattering fluctuation, along with a roar of extreme fury, spread throughout the world from within the Yin-Yang Sect of Flowers.

“Wake up, wake up!”

As the voice emerged, the struggles of all beings intensified. It seemed the sacrificial dancer who had created this play wanted to end the dream and reverse everything, thus disrupting the captain’s plan.

“Too late.”

The captain laughed, raised the key in his hand, and fiercely swung it towards the sky.

“Open!”

In an instant, the sky roared, and a sound resounded through the heavens, as if the world was being created, surpassing heavenly thunder. As the universe continued to explode, a massive crack appeared directly in the sky.

This crack was not large at first, but in the blink of an eye, it continuously expanded amidst deafening roars, finally opening wide like a scar across the sky.

It was a shocking sight.

An aura of decay spread outward from this huge crack, as if something hidden for too long was about to release all its ancient essence at this moment.

The sky’s color shifted, the earth showed signs of collapse, and a blue coffin suddenly emerged from within the crack.

It wasn't made of ironwood, but a block of blue ice!

Inside the ice coffin lay a figure, clad in luxurious blue, gold-embroidered robes. His entire body exuded terrifying pressure, his expression was full of majesty, and his right hand clutched a scepter.

With his appearance, the sky exploded, the earth collapsed, and agonizing wails echoed from within the Yin-Yang Sect of Flowers.

“The original sacrificial dance scepter!”

“You were once a Grand Sacrificial Dancer!”

As the voice reverberated, inside the grotto of the Yin-Yang Sect of Flowers, the old man in the multicolored robe’s expression changed drastically, revealing terror and shock in his eyes. He rapidly severed the threads connecting him to the projections of all beings in the Weiyang Mountain Range.

He knew very well that as a sacrificial dancer, despite appearing powerful, he was also incredibly fragile. His power stemmed from the ability to weave dreams for deities, and this same ability was also his vulnerability.

If the dream weaving ended normally, he would have completed a sacrificial dance. But if it were interrupted during the process, he would suffer a backlash.

The so-called sacrificial dance was, in essence, a unique ritual.

And the difference between actively interrupting and being passively interrupted was vast.

If he actively interrupted, causing beings to awaken, the backlash, though present, would be manageable. That’s why, when he noticed something was wrong earlier, his first thought was to actively awaken all beings to end the dream weaving.

But if it were a passive interruption, the implications would be completely different. He would have to endure the corrosion of all beings, the karma of all things, and even the backlash from the shattered dream power of the deity.

All of this, even for a Guixu cultivator, was unbearable!

However, it wasn't easy for outsiders to achieve this.

But the moment he saw the scepter, representing the Grand Sacrificial Dance, appear, he was utterly terrified.

He no longer had time to actively sever the threads. The instant the coffin appeared, the captain’s eyes gleamed with strange light, and he roared.

“Little junior brother, unleash your power and merge it into my coffin scepter to awaken all beings here whose destinies have been altered!”

The captain didn't explain in detail, but Xu Qing understood that he wanted him to unleash the power of the Purple Moon. With a flicker, Xu Qing endured his dizziness and directly reached the top of the ice coffin.

He raised his right hand and pressed it firmly onto the location where the scepter was sealed.

The Purple Moon power within his body erupted, causing the ice to turn purple. As the captain performed a hand seal, the ice coffin responded, and that purple essence instantly merged into the scepter.

The next instant, Xu Qing’s body trembled. He felt a vast power bless his divine soul; his dizziness vanished, his mind became clear, and the world before him was enveloped in a haze.

From every being within, threads ascended, all connecting to the mountain range of the Yin-Yang Sect of Flowers.

At the same time, illusory dancing butterflies of various sizes, countless in number, perched on each thread, constantly absorbing and growing.

“Awaken!”

Purple light gleamed in Xu Qing’s eyes, and a calm voice emerged from his mouth.

The moment these two simple words were uttered, it was as if millions of thunders exploded simultaneously, tearing apart all the threads and reverberating through the minds of every being in the Weiyang Mountain Range.

Countless cultivators and mortals trembled, instantly regaining consciousness. After a brief moment of confusion, their expressions turned to horror, and they instinctively recoiled.

Couples who were once partners now looked at each other with terror; they didn't recognize each other.

Brothers who were once kin now trembled, having been mortal enemies.

Fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters who were once family now breathed rapidly, lacking any familial connection to one another.

This was only a part of it; many more beings had their destinies restored to their original positions at this moment. They awakened and remembered everything.

It was the same for the sects; even the Yin-Yang Sect of Flowers could not escape this play, and some of its disciples were not originally from the Weiyang Mountain Range.

They had merely passed by once, and unwittingly, they had become disciples.

Meanwhile, Yunxia Zi trembled, her hair disheveled, and she abruptly looked up at the mountain peak.

She was not the Sect Master, nor was she the daughter of this sect's patriarch; on the contrary, the other party was her enemy!

And as all beings in the Weiyang Mountain Range awakened, as their threads shattered, the dream ended.

All karma, all backlash, and all the malevolence resulting from the interruption of the deity's dream converged upon the sacrificial dancer.

Piercing screams and howls filled the heavens.

The old man in the mountain grotto had a desperate expression. He tried to struggle but it was futile. Each broken thread transformed into a dancing butterfly, flying towards him to consume him, causing him a certain amount of damage.

The damage from the combined number of all beings in the Weiyang Mountain Range was even more terrifying. Infinite dancing butterflies flickered between illusion and reality, completely engulfing his body, consuming him furiously.

His body visibly decayed and disappeared, but what caused him the most despair was the backlash from the shattering of the deity's dream—a power he could not possibly resist.

Under this backlash, the curses within him erupted wildly, spreading throughout his body and engulfing his divine soul, driving him into a frenzy of pain.

Even kneeling and pleading with the deity had no effect.

Finally, after a few breaths, consumed by infinite dancing butterflies and under the backlash of the deity's dream, he disintegrated into a pool of blood on the grotto floor.

An imperial dance rewards the excellent, and pleases deities even more.