Chapter Eight Dreams

  "What's going on, Avanti?!" I shouted wildly. Haiji and Mouse Gonggong were like four swirling tornadoes that couldn't be stopped at all. We seemed to have transformed into the real Four Spirits. The dragon horns protruded from Gan Leng's forehead, snow-white tiger claws emerged from my fingernails, fiery red feathers covered Haiji's entire body, and Mouse Gonggong's back cracked open into thick shell-like armor plates.

  After transforming into a white tiger, all my previous drowsiness disappeared, and my brain suddenly became excited. Even the pain from all the wounds on my body suddenly stopped hurting.

  Afanti said calmly, "This is the only way to trap Ye Liu Bing. If I hadn't planted the Four Spirits' Seal on you, you would have been Ye Liu Bing's prisoners by now." He explained slowly, "With the help of the Four Spirits, I can see everything that happens to you. So, when Little Princess betrayed us and leaked our plans, I already knew about it."

  Wow, the old fox is so cunning! I knew it all along, he set up the Four Spirit Seal to monitor us. After all, a demon like him won't easily trust others and will always have an ace up his sleeve.

  Afanti continued: "At that time, it was already impossible to escape. Ye Liu Bing used Meng Tan to spread a dream net with no gaps in the surrounding hundred miles, and sealed off the tunnel I dug, and ambushed several thousand monsters in Zhuang Hua Yuan. So I decided to change my plan. When Ye Liu Bing's monster soldiers came to Jing She to capture us, I and Sun Si Miao deliberately resisted for a while, killing hundreds of monster soldiers, and during the chaos, I used Sheng Hua Miao Bi to disguise myself and Tian Gou as monster soldiers, blending into the monster army, letting my real master sister and Sun Si Miao be captured together. Then, I and Tian Gou escorted them, finally getting close to Ye Liu Bing. To make Ye Liu Bing completely let go of her suspicions, I even cut off nine fingers from my master sister's left hand." His left hand tightly hugged the female monster, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes.

  "You're so cruel."

  Avanti said quietly, "My junior sister has long been tortured by Ye Liu Bing to the point of disfigurement. At first, I spent half a day using my magical brush to paint myself into her likeness. Today, time is too pressing. How could I possibly have time to paint another substitute? Since the demon soldiers are convinced that I am my junior sister's likeness, I can only hand over the real one to them. As long as she can escape Ye Liu Bing's demonic clutches, even if she loses all four limbs, it will be worth it."

  Ye Liu Bing listened quietly, then suddenly let out a cold laugh: "If I hadn't used the Dream Pool to chase after that Lin Fei kid and momentarily lost my guard, how would you have been able to replace him?"

  Afanti calmly admitted, "That's right. Although you were in the Joy Hall, you've been using Dream Pond to secretly monitor us. So I didn't act rashly, fighting those monsters while waiting for an opportunity. Until you used Dream Pond to attack Lin Fei, I finally grasped the fleeting chance and executed the switch plan, carrying my hidden sister out of the underground tunnel. In the chaotic battle, your subordinates suddenly discovered that I had vanished, and in a flash, I was lying on the ground, gasping for breath, probably overjoyed. Who would have thought about what reason?"

  "Ah, Afanti, you indeed have a mind full of schemes. Back when we were fellow apprentices, you manipulated our master into giving you the magical brush that brings flowers to life. All these years, you've been hiding in the shadows, secretly plotting against me. Your patience is truly commendable. Unfortunately, the final showdown will be decided by strength, not your cunning tricks. What have you ever accomplished against me all these years?"

  "Master gave me the magical brush of blooming flowers because you are not worthy of using it." Afanti said solemnly.

  "You're not worthy! Even with the help of the divine brush, you still lost to me. The divine brush that symbolizes our sect's legacy should have been inherited by the strongest, and that is I, the king!"

  "What is the mind method of this school?"

  "The night flow ice said disdainfully: 'The witchcraft of our sect is called the Art of Arts. With the beauty as the heart, from the piano, chess, books, paintings, songs and dances, sculptures, flowers, birds, fish, insects, humans, and demons, we pursue the beauty contained in them, capture the beauty of all things in the world, and fully display them.'"

  "Everywhere, the gentle breeze blows, the moonlight flows, and a piece of crystal fills the heavens with beauty, subtly matching the harmony of nature." He raised an eyebrow, proudly saying: "This king's Burial Flower Abyss is indeed the most perfect masterpiece of art."

  "You're wrong. Although this school of thought emphasizes the pursuit of beauty in all things, it also values nature. Your method of intentionally creating beauty through alteration, destruction, and even annihilation is far removed from the true purpose of art."

  "How pedestrian! Flowers are only beautiful when they're in full bloom. When they wither, they can only become mud underfoot. Crystal clear snow can only dance in the air, and once it lands, it melts into filthy water. Capturing the most perfect side of all things in the world is the true essence of art. Change and destruction are just tools for creation."

  "The withering of flowers has its own beauty, the melting of snow has its own beauty, it's just that you can't see it. Master gave me the magical brush of blooming flowers because I have a pair of eyes that can discover more beauty than you do. Our paths are different and we shouldn't be discussing this, our understanding of art was always worlds apart, now it's pointless to say these things. Moreover," Avanti paused, sighed silently, his gaze dim: "I may have obtained the magical brush of blooming flowers, but you have won the heart of my fellow disciple. Remember what Master said years ago, life will always give you things you never expected, and take away the things you least want to lose. Disciples of the Art Gate are even more so, once they start practicing the art, they are born with such a bittersweet fate."

  "As long as I find the Selfless Heaven, I will never lose it! It is a perfect world!" Ye Liu Bing's face showed a fanatical color: "The Demon Master must be able to lead me to the Selfless Heaven!"

  "Please, put aside your grudges and whatever crap art for now! What the hell is going on right now?" I interrupted the two monsters' nagging conversation. Except for our faces and limbs, the four of us had almost transformed into spirits, constantly circling around the Night Flowing Ice. Although my consciousness was clear, my body was out of control.

  Afanti said slowly, "There is only one situation in which the Night Flowing Ice of the Dream Body can be killed, and that is in a dream. When the Night Flowing Ice casts its sleep spell, you will be drawn into his dream. In the Night Flowing Ice's dream, people who are usually drawn in can only be manipulated by him, but now that you four have become the spirits of the Four Souls, transformed from your physical bodies, and are no longer flesh and blood, just like the Night Flowing Ice is not a physical entity, so you have a complete chance to defeat him. Moreover, the Four Soul Seal on the Night Flowing Ice's body is in close resonance with yours, no matter where he hides in his dream, you will be able to find him. His actions will also be restricted by you, making it difficult for him to change at will."

  I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but it made sense. We had been played by Avanti once again. The old fox had planted the Four Spirit Seal on us, and it turned out to be a cleverly hidden trap.

  The color of the night flow ice surface slightly changed, at this time, he was wrapped all over his body by the bubbles spit out by the dream pool. As the bubbles spit out more and more, the dream pool on top of his head kept shrinking, finally condensing into a black bead that flew into his brow.

  Afanti sneered at him a few times: "As expected, you indeed used the Sleep Technique, completely activating the Four Spirit Seal. You're done for, Ye Liu Bing. These people have profound magical powers, and with the addition of transforming into the Four Spirits, they will be tireless and painless, and will fight with you to the death."

  No end to this? Day and night, the old fox wants us to fight with Ye Liu Bing until we both perish? "I quit! I take it back!" I shouted.

  "It's too late, we're already in the dream of the night flowing ice." Afanti had barely finished speaking when the colorful walls on all sides began to collapse continuously, falling down and scattering like flour, the jumping symbols melting one by one, the colorful liquid evaporating quickly, disappearing completely.

  The scenery around us was vastly different, and we entered a strange world - the dream of Night Flowing Ice.

  Book 6 Chapter 8 (Part 2) Dream

  Black and sharp ice mountains, steep cliffs, lined up like arrows, piercing the sky, emitting a cold aura. Ye Liu Bing stood at the top of the highest ice mountain, his clothes fluttering, his mouth slightly tilted, holding a pure black ice flower, looking down at us, his eyes flashing with coldness.

  The iceberg shone with a sharp light, like a black and shiny mirror, clearly reflecting our figures. As the four spirits' souls, we flew around the iceberg and dived into the night ice.

  "The four spirits' possession only lasts for a day. By tonight, if you can't kill Ye Liu Xing, we'll all be trapped in his dreams, just like his wives." Zuo Shi Mei stood with Sun Si Miao and Tian Gou at the foot of the mountain, looking like they were watching a show.

  I let out a wry smile, entering someone else's dream for the first time. It was originally fresh and interesting, I should have taken a good look around. But now it's like herding ducks onto a shelf, we can't help but fight to the death.

  The night flowed with a light breath, and black ice flowers formed. A string of icy petals flew swiftly, and the air around me rapidly condensed into ice. But at this moment, I was no longer a flesh-and-blood body, like an illusory shadow, the icy petals passed directly through my body, without feeling even a hint of coldness.

  The four of us quickly approached the Night Flowing Ice.

  The figure flashed, and Ye Liu Bing disappeared. In a distant ice mountain, a faint rainbow light suddenly appeared. We immediately rushed towards the ice mountain, and Ye Liu Bing was indeed hiding inside. Avanti was right, the Four Spirit Brands and we were remotely sensing each other, no matter where Ye Liu Bing hid, he couldn't escape our pursuit.

  With a loud crash, Gan Ningzi swung the Three Thousand Weak Water Swords, and a dazzling ray of light plunged into the ice mountain. The entire massive ice mountain was instantly covered in cracks, on the verge of exploding. Ye Liu Bing suddenly hummed a low note, and like a magic trick, the cracks covering the ice mountain disappeared one by one. The ice mountain returned to its original state, without any damage. Ye Liu Bing burst out laughing, standing steadily inside the ice mountain.

  We are all at a loss, but since this is Ye Liu Bing's dream, everything is transformed by him and naturally controlled by him. No wonder once you're drawn into his dream, it's mostly bad luck, because the timing and geography are in his hands.

  "Hum, hum, hum", Gan Ning didn't know fatigue, sword after sword striking the ice mountain, the glory of three thousand weak water swords illuminated the sky. The group of ice mountains was reflected to be exceptionally clear and beautiful.

  Damaged glaciers recover one after another.

  "Bang", the mouse suddenly shrunk its head, curled up its limbs and hid in its hard turtle shell. Like a flying meteorite hammer, it violently crashed into the foot of the iceberg. "Crash", the ice blocks shattered, and the foot of the mountain was smashed out of a huge gap. On the verge of collapse. Gan Zhen took advantage of the momentum to slash with his sword, almost toppling over half of the iceberg. Hai Ji lightly blew the golden conch, and the glittering golden meridian net covered the swaying iceberg.

  Like a thunderclap on a clear day, the iceberg suddenly exploded.

  The night flowed like ice, standing still and silent, with a hint of a playful smile on his face.

  Shattered ice blocks suddenly fell back, rapidly piling up. As if time flowed backwards, under our eyelids. Re-aggregated into a majestic and towering iceberg.

  I was stunned, this is really unbelievable, and yet it's still useless. Hai Ji, Mouse Gong Gong, and Gan Ning once again charged towards the ice mountain, I know that doing it this way won't work, if we continue like this, our four spirits will be exhausted, and we might die from exhaustion. Looking at Ye Liu Bing, although his expression was calm, his tightly pursed lips still revealed that he wasn't feeling well either. Using sleep technique to forcibly repair the ice mountain, his demon power was also being depleted.

  Avanti suddenly stared at me, his eyes revealing a hint of doubt. It was only then that I realized I was slightly different from Haixi and the others - although we were all possessed by the Four Spirits, they were completely controlled, recklessly fighting against the Night Flowing Ice without any regard for their lives. But I had the ability to choose my attacks, and wasn't blindly following suit.

  Is it because I am the reincarnation of Long Die that I have a different fate? The soul after reincarnation is different from others, so it is not completely controlled by the four spirits.

  But I couldn't just watch as the three of them ultimately exhausted themselves to death.

  After a moment of contemplation, I joined the battle circle. With one punch, I activated the Chaotic Armor Defense Technique and struck the iceberg with great force. The iceberg collapsed immediately, but almost simultaneously rose up again. I threw out dozens of punches in succession, each one filled with the power of the Chaotic Armor Defense Technique. However, the iceberg shattered and reformed, like an indestructible monster.

  "It should be known that all things in the world, including the gentle flowing water in the Fragrant River, follow the principle of chaos. Water has no fixed shape, but when it is poured into a container, it takes on a shape, which is the transformation from disorder to order." When my mind was restless and floating, the image of Chu Du standing calmly on the Fragrant River suddenly appeared in my mind, speaking slowly and steadily.

  These words have fully expressed the essence of the Hunyuan Jiaoyu Shu, more thoroughly than Master understood.

  "The essence of Chaos Fist isn't to break the physical order, but to transform." The river's waves glistened, a gentle yet powerful punch struck out by Chu Du, flashing repeatedly before his eyes.

  No whistling fist wind, no stunning speed, no explosive power. That one punch was as gentle as a circle without edges.

  My heart skipped a beat, like a long-time traveler on the dark road, occasionally lifting my head and suddenly seeing a line of dawn on the horizon. I was suddenly enlightened, Chu Du combined Xuanji's secret method with the Chaotic Armor Technique, merging the circular ultimate principle into the Chaotic Armor Technique, bringing the Chaotic Armor Technique to a brand new level. One punch, both transformation and a cyclical circle.

  I finally grasped the ultimate subtlety of Chaos Axiom, Chudu is indeed a genius.

  "Blossoms bloom and wither, bearing fruit and seeds, transforming and circulating endlessly." Facing the majestic massive iceberg, I softly chanted, throwing a gentle fist that struck out with soft power, without any sharp edges.

  If it weren't for Chu Du's words and Ye Liu Bing's icy mountain, I'm afraid that even when my hair turns white, I still won't be able to land a punch on the ground.

  The fist made no sound as it lightly touched the iceberg.

  Without any loud noise, after a moment, only the sound of "drip" was heard, and a transparent water droplet rolled down quickly from the top of the mountain. "Drip, drip", the water droplets continued to roll down, gathering into a gentle stream. The iceberg began to melt, and the icy water flowed smoothly, neither fast nor slow. No matter how hard the Night Ice tried to cast its spell, one block of ice after another melted away, and it could no longer be reversed.

  Just as it hit the iceberg

  In an instant, my Chaotic Heavenly Emperor Art suddenly reached the highest realm. Like water flowing into a canal, spring warmth and flowers blooming. My heart was filled with inexplicable joy at times, and at other times, it gave rise to a moving sentiment that brought tears. In the end, all emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure retreated, and my spiritual world became clear and calm. At this moment, I completely forgot about the desperate struggle for survival now.

  I feel like I'm separated from another self.

  The sky suddenly rotated, the ground beneath my feet was like a wave undulating, heavy icebergs flew about, Gan Ning, Ah Fangti, Ye Liu Bing and others were rapidly moving away from me.

  What's going on? I rubbed my eyes in surprise, thinking I was seeing things. Deep within my soul, a dazzling light suddenly burst forth, like a volcanic eruption, instantly engulfing me in an ocean of radiance.

  I slowly sank into the depths of the ocean.

  "Haha, I didn't expect you to ascend to Lingbao Heaven at this time." A voice came from beside her ear, it was Yuexing's.

  As I emerged like a fish, slowly floating out of the shining sea surface, I had already found myself in the mysterious Spirit Treasure Heaven.