Chapter 84: Sixth-level Soul Armor and The Great Dream Spring and Autumn

As Zhao Xing entered the automated maze, the two walls behind him closed, cutting off his retreat.

He pointed a finger skyward, and golden light soared, disappearing completely once it reached the height of the four-meter-high walls. "As expected, Cloud Walking can't sustain such an elevation."

Zhao Xing then tried jumping, realizing that no matter how high he leaped, he couldn't clear the walls. This didn't mean he couldn't cast spells, but rather that he could only do so within the maze. Trying to use Cloud Walking to survey the entire situation from above was impossible.

"Let's see if there's anything I can use." Zhao Xing chose a random fork in the path and proceeded.

The automated maze tested strength, intelligence, willpower, and even social skills, making it incredibly comprehensive. It was designed by Da Li to cultivate elites, emphasizing an all-around challenge. Thus, sheer strength alone was insufficient to pass this maze. Only those who hadn't attempted it until reaching the fourth rank might be able to forcefully break through it to claim the reward.

*Buzz!*

Zhao Xing rounded a corner and found himself at a dead end. At the base of the wall, a red-furred mechanical beast resembling a goat stared at him. The goat's eyes were also red, and the moment their gazes met, Zhao Xing shivered, then fell into a strange state.

"Meeeh!" The goat then leaped lightly and vanished at the end of the path.

"Such bad luck, encountering an 'Inversion Goat' right at the start?" Zhao Xing couldn't help but smile wryly.

The Inversion Goat was an illusion-casting mechanical beast. After falling under its illusion, one would enter a "contrarian" state. One might intend to step forward, but their mind would think it while their limbs would move backward. Wanting to cast a wind spell might result in lightning, and aiming an attack to the right would make it strike to the left.

*Bang!* Zhao Xing tried to turn back, but accidentally changed direction and crashed into the wall. The impact was just right—stunning but not harmful.

"Ouch!" Zhao Xing intended to cover his forehead, but his hand went to his lower body instead. This feeling of doing the opposite of what he intended was incredibly frustrating. However, one thing was comforting: the familiar feeling was back! He felt as if he was back to clearing dungeons in his previous life.

"An Inversion Goat, excellent! The Rank 6 treasure is mine!" Zhao Xing began to adjust his state, quickly familiarizing himself with the illusion's effects, and continued moving.

*Click-clack, click-clack!*

After just a few turns, the sound of gears turning echoed. Zhao Xing looked down and realized he had stepped on a trap. The stone slab beneath his foot had sunken, and a lightning needle embedded with blue gems in the wall ahead was already poised, aimed directly at him.

"Hmph, mere tricks."

Zhao Xing crouched down, tapping on several nearby floor tiles. From a loose slab, he pried up a uniquely shaped component. He then wedged it under his foot. He lifted his foot, but the lightning needle remained inactive. Zhao Xing slowly walked past it.

Over the next fifteen minutes, Zhao Xing encountered various other mechanisms: fire-breathing devices, falling stones, hidden arrows, and even more illusionary mechanical beasts. The maze was entirely composed of these mechanisms. All of them followed one principle: to interfere with, block, and mislead the challenger, thereby delaying their progress.

"Legend has it that the automated maze was created by geniuses from Da Li's Heavenly Craftsmanship Academy, constantly adding new bricks and contributing fresh ideas to the maze."

"Anyone whose idea was adopted by the academy would receive a reward."

"This led countless geniuses to rack their brains to add mechanisms here. They’d want to place a hundred rolling landmines on a single brick, if they could."

"They came up with whatever caused the most trouble... truly wicked."

Zhao Xing wiped his palms, finding them red and swollen, and sighed. Although he considered himself 'experienced,' he had still fallen victim to many traps along the way. His vision was now blurry, and his surroundings dimmed. Just moments ago, to avoid six consecutive mechanisms, he accidentally braced his hand on a wall. As it turned out, there was a seventh trap: a layer of blinding powder.

"But the more mechanisms there are, the closer I am to what I want. Once I find the item on this level, the rest will be much easier."

Zhao Xing descended a flight of stairs, and the surrounding walls also seemed to shorten. Although he was now blind, it didn't hinder his movement. He cast a wind spell, and through the feedback of the wind blowing, everything around him became clear in his mind.

"Found it!"

A slight smile appeared on Zhao Xing's lips. He then took two steps back, hiding in the dead corner of the steps. His wind spell swept towards a table ahead, the wind rustling a yellow paper on it.

"Ohohoho!"

The table seemed to come alive, letting out strange cries, as if the ground were burning its legs, which bounced wildly in all directions.

"Table Monster, don't run!" Zhao Xing shouted. The mechanical beast, resembling a table, suddenly charged towards him. As it rushed forward, it even changed shape, with numerous sharp spikes growing from its tabletop and legs.

*Bang!*

The incredibly fast table beast crashed into the wall. Because Zhao Xing was hidden in the corner between the stairs and the wall, the table beast became wedged. Its spikes were just half a finger's width from Zhao Xing.

"Hmph, what a trivial mechanism, utterly laughable."

Zhao Xing reached out and tore off the yellow paper attached to the table.

*Clatter!*

The table immediately fell apart into a pile of components.

"A mixed-type talisman-mechanical beast. To create something like this, you truly are a genius," Zhao Xing muttered to himself, rummaging through the scattered pieces. Soon, from the parts, Zhao Xing found a silvery-white bead.

*Illusion Bead: Special Item**Can conjure one of the ten most recently encountered individuals.**Illusion Limit: Spirit Bridge Completion.*

"You're the one."

Zhao Xing smiled faintly. He then crushed the bead. As the bead shattered, a series of light projections immediately appeared before Zhao Xing.

Xue Wen Zhong, Chen Shi Jie, Zhao Rui De, Zhao Zheng, Madam Cai... Wait, not Madam Cai! Zhao Xing saw the light projection linger on Madam Cai for a moment and was startled. He quickly focused his mind on Chen Shi Jie's appearance. Fortunately, the light projection skipped over, settling on Chen Shi Jie.

*Buzz!*

The light projection solidified, and Chen Shi Jie appeared before him.

"Whew," Zhao Xing exhaled in relief. The figure formed by the special item, the Illusion Bead, would perfectly reflect the relationship and characteristics of the person as imagined by the user. This meant the projected character's strength, personality, and relationship with the user would all be reproduced. If the ten most recently encountered individuals were all enemies, the conjured figure wouldn't be a helper, but an obstacle that would attack the user. Among Zhao Xing's ten most recent contacts, only Old Chen fit his criteria. He needed significant combat power to navigate the heavily mechanized maze. If he had conjured Madam Cai, he could have declared his challenge a failure immediately.

"What's going on with you, kid? Why are you in such a strange place? Hmm? Why are you blind?" Chen Shi Jie asked curiously as soon as he appeared.

"Don't ask, Old Chen, just help out quickly."

This was, of course, not the real Chen Shi Jie, but an illusion created from Zhao Xing's impression of him.

"What did you call me?" Chen Shi Jie frowned.

"Master Chen," Zhao Xing quickly corrected. "Please, Master Chen, lend me a hand."

"Hmph, that's better." Chen Shi Jie turned and led the way for Zhao Xing.

The conjured Chen Shi Jie exhibited the strength of a True Eighth-Rank official, upper grade. With his help, the speed of clearing the maze significantly increased. He also knew various intermediate-level, perfected spells. His reactions, wisdom, and adaptability were all excellent.

As for whether the real Chen Shi Jie was truly this powerful? Zhao Xing didn't know, but he guessed Old Chen was indeed that strong, perhaps even stronger than he imagined. Deep down, he truly believed that Chen Shi Jie had at least the strength of a True Eighth-Rank official, upper grade. The insights Zhao Xing gained just from talking to him were beyond what a True Ninth-Rank official could possess. Although Chen Shi Jie claimed to be an agricultural official from the Geographical Faction, he was knowledgeable about other spells as well. Military agricultural officials were generally well-rounded, and Old Chen was an outstanding example.

"Assuming the real Old Chen is truly this strong, why would he come to Nanyang County to be such a minor official?" Zhao Xing watched Old Chen's back, then deftly ducked down.

Ahead, Chen Shi Jie was bombarded by seven consecutive mechanisms.

"Cough, cough... What kind of godforsaken place is this? Why are there so many mechanisms?" Chen Shi Jie emerged from the smoke, his hair disheveled, coughing incessantly.

Zhao Xing looked up, past him, and patted Chen Shi Jie's shoulder. "Thanks, Old Chen."

"Are you asking for a beating, kid? Calling me that again—"

Chen Shi Jie bristled, but before he could finish, he dissipated into a streak of light. Zhao Xing, meanwhile, walked into a circular room ahead. The surrounding light dimmed, and various doors flashed before him.

"Five-phase elemental, enter through Qian, exit through Kan."

Zhao Xing observed for a moment, entered through the Qian door, and indeed emerged from the Kun door, returning to the room. One of the surrounding doors disappeared, but a new one quickly appeared, bringing with it different changes. Some doors flickered with lightning, the electric tendrils extending into the room. Golden swords slowly protruded from other doors, forcing Zhao Xing to reposition.

Zhao Xing glanced at the fire-spewing door. "Snatching chestnuts from the fire, I might find a sliver of hope." He then rushed into the flame door.

The next moment, he was back in the room. The surrounding light doors spun again, and beast roars emanated from behind them. Zhao Xing carefully distinguished them for a moment.

Smiling, he looked towards one of them: "Qilin's roar, auspicious beast at the gate." He then stepped into the light door.

The next moment, Zhao Xing reappeared in the room. This time, only four light doors remained. They were still rotating, but the aura emanating from them had become much softer.

"Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter: the Four Seasons Doors."

"This is the last challenge."

"Enter through the Spring door, exit through the Autumn door."

"A thought of spring and autumn, like a dream, like an illusion."

Zhao Xing stepped into a green light, then emerged from a golden-yellow light door.

*Buzz!*

The surrounding anomalies vanished, and dense fog rolled. Zhao Xing looked up again and found himself before the Xiezhi.

"Scholar Zhao Xing, you have passed through the automated maze in less than an hour. Your reward is a Rank 6 'Soul Armor' divine weapon."

The mythical beast Xiezhi then spat out a dark armor. The armor gleamed. As it flew towards him, Zhao Xing reached out to catch it, and the armor immediately spread over his skin like flowing water, covering his entire body.

"The Rank 6 Soul Armor is a sub-entity of the peerless divine weapon 'Sunlight Illuminating the Vast Sky.' Although it is only Rank 6, its soul protection effect is no weaker than a Rank 7 weapon, and it cannot be damaged. Attacks from a Fourth-Rank or lower will also be weakened by ninety percent."

"For attacks below Fourth-Rank, it also has a reflection effect against soul-based spells and secret attack techniques," the Xiezhi explained.

"Thank you, Guardian." Zhao Xing also sensed the unique nature of the Soul Armor. He felt a warmth spread through his body, a comfort and security emanating from his soul.

"The Rank 6 Soul Armor comes with the first chapter of the National Cult's secret method. You must not disclose it."

"If anyone discovers the Soul Armor and then reveals its existence..."

"Rest assured, unless you die, no one will know about the Soul Armor," the Xiezhi stated calmly. "If you die, the court will naturally avenge you, reclaim the Soul Armor, and eliminate anyone who knows about it."

Zhao Xing nodded silently. Although this Xiezhi mechanical beast possessed sentience and could communicate, its awareness was limited to the Heavenly Craftsmanship Hall. It did not know that Da Li had already fallen.

"Dawn is approaching, and your soul is too weak. You should leave."

The Xiezhi then lightly blew, and Zhao Xing was instantly expelled from the Heavenly Craftsmanship Hall, right out to the gates of Great Dream Academy.

Opening his eyes, the familiar mosquito net came into view. Zhao Xing felt in his arms: there was a pair of pendants and three pills. Two were Rank 4 pills, namely the Five Organs祛煞丹 (煞-dispelling pill) and the Giant Whale Pill, and one was a Rank 3 Earth Fiend Pill. As for the Rank 6 Soul Armor treasure, it had fused into his body, directly guarding his Sea of Consciousness.

A Rank 6 treasure was still considered a mundane item. Although unique, it wasn't yet a divine weapon, so it shouldn't have this magical effect of fusing with the body. However, as a sub-entity of the peerless treasure 'Sunlight Illuminating the Vast Sky,' it possessed the effects of a Rank 7 'divine weapon' and could be directly stored within the body.

"Sunlight Illuminating the Vast Sky... I wonder if this divine weapon is within the Great Dream Academy," Zhao Xing thought to himself. During the era of the Qi Luck Dynasties, there were several rare treasures that transcended their time. They had been passed down from ancient times, and due to spiritual energy dormancy, they had lost most of their power, only regaining their brilliance during the Resurgence Era. If he had the chance, Zhao Xing would certainly want to acquire the Soul Armor's parent artifact.

"The Xiezhi said the end of the Heavenly Craftsmanship Hall's challenge was a rare treasure, but it probably wasn't the Soul Armor's parent. I wonder where it is."

This challenge's greatest gain was undoubtedly the Rank 6 Soul Armor, along with the Nightmare Sect's ultimate technique, *Great Dream Spring and Autumn*, attached to it. Of course, the Giant Whale Pill, Earth Fiend Pill, and Five Organs Dispelling Evil Pill were also excellent, capable of producing immediate effects upon consumption.

Each visit to the academy brought immense rewards, and Zhao Xing couldn't help but feel emotional: "It truly is a treasure trove. If I make good use of this wealth and survive until the Resurgence Era, it might not be difficult at all."

After the Autumn Mountain Opening Ceremony, the clerks had two days off. Zhao Xing didn't need to go to work, staying home to digest his gains. He didn't immediately need the Earth Fiend Pill, as its efficacy was maximized when used with a fiend-refining method. The Five Organs Dispelling Evil Pill was similar. As for the Giant Whale Pill, it took him a full day to fully digest.

"After taking this pill, I feel as full as if I'd eaten an entire whale," Zhao Xing said, exercising back and forth in the courtyard, his face flushed.

Zhao Zheng looked at his older brother with wonder. Running and jumping all day, and not even needing to eat? His big brother was simply amazing! Zhao Rui De, meanwhile, was somewhat surprised, as he felt Zhao Xing had changed significantly that day, primarily judging by his aura. In the morning, Zhao Xing's breathing, exhalation, and vital energy absorption were normal. But by evening, his breathing had become incredibly long, and the speed of vital energy absorption had noticeably increased.

"I've seen many ranked martial artists with such physiques, but a ranked agricultural official with this physique is a first for me. I wonder what exactly he experienced on the mountain," Zhao Rui De thought, believing his son had an extraordinary encounter on the mountain. Now, saying Zhao Xing was as strong as an ox was inaccurate; he was as strong as an elephant.

"He could probably even become a ranked martial artist if he trained," Zhao Rui De mused. In contrast, Zhao Zheng was almost eight and showed no talent for martial arts, and was quite lazy, which was a headache.

That night, Zhao Xing lay in bed and began cultivating *Great Dream Spring and Autumn*.

"The Nightmare Sect is Da Li's National Cult, and *Great Dream Spring and Autumn* is their classic ultimate technique." Zhao Xing remembered this ultimate technique well because of its superb utilization of "dreams." Although the ultimate techniques from the Sect era didn't possess their full power in the current era, *Great Dream Spring and Autumn* was an exception. Concepts like "killing in dreams" and "a dream spanning heaven and earth" still held considerable power in this era. It was a definite "version transition" divine skill.

"Humans possess three souls: the Heavenly Soul, the Earthly Soul, and the Life Soul."

"The Heavenly and Earthly Souls are often outside, while only the Life Soul resides in the body."

"After the Life Soul settles in the womb, its potential distributes throughout the physical body, forming a person's seven corporeal souls."

"The Heavenly Soul is the soul of past lives, and the Earthly Soul is the soul of karma."

"When the Heavenly and Earthly Souls wander outside and intersect with the Life Soul in some way, this forms a 'dream state.'"

"This is why people dream of places they have never personally visited but feel familiar, or dream of people with whom they have strong karmic ties, and even experience miraculous premonitions."

"For example, a relative far away on the frontier passes away, and one dreams of it before the news even arrives."

"Or, in a dream, one might recall conversations with childhood playmates."

While studying the *Dream Entering Chapter* of *Great Dream Spring and Autumn*, Zhao Xing encountered several interesting concepts.

"*Great Dream Spring and Autumn*'s introductory chapter has two stages: first, interpreting dreams, and second, entering dreams."

"Only by being able to enter dreams at will and control others to enter dreams can one truly be considered to have mastered the introduction."

"After mastering the introduction, one proceeds to the second chapter, *Dream Walking*."

"At that stage, one can walk within others' dreams and utilize the opportune moment of the three souls' intersection to sever a person's three souls."

"Once the three souls are extinguished, the physical body and seven corporeal souls, having lost their guidance, become mere walking corpses, not far from death."

Zhao Xing browsed through the *Dream Entering Chapter* of *Great Dream Spring and Autumn*. Suddenly, a few spells in the *Dream Entering Chapter* caught his attention.