Chapter 253: I Still Have to Praise Her

The figure’s arrival wasn’t marked by any earth-shattering display of power. At the very instant the Celestial Cyan Master was about to explode, the figure gently patted his shoulder and spoke in an exceedingly placid tone:

“Do not be alarmed.”

The tranquil voice seemed to hold a Dharma called composure.

The heavens are collapsing.

Then one must simply mend them.

And so, the blade’s light dissipated, and the blue of the Cloud Sea devoured the phantom of the Chang’an Daoist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You used to be pretty incredible.”

Qiu Yuehan watched the Chang’an Daoist in the sky, finding him quite interesting, and rather handsome as well.

At this moment, she was the only one who could save everyone.

As long as she summoned back the Netherworld, she could naturally become a match for the Chang’an Daoist in the sky.

But she had no intention of doing so at all.

There was no need.

The heat from the Demon Pattern on her slowly died down as someone arrived at her side.

“Really? I guess I was alright.” Lu Changyuan appeared beside Qiu Yuehan. “Nothing special, just average.”

The silver-haired maiden holding the fox lifted it up and said with certainty, “This shouldn’t be the Young Master Lu from before. The one in the sky… doesn’t have the aura of the Supreme.”

Even if the Dream Race succeeded in summoning the historical Chang’an Daoist, the one inside was ultimately Meng Xuanyi, not Lu Changyuan.

Naturally, he didn’t have the peak-level Supreme Pure Spirit Forget Immortal Technique.

In other words, this phantom only possessed Lu Changyuan’s Sword Intent, but because it lacked the Heart Method, it still didn’t have the true power of the Chang’an Daoist’s phantom.

Qiu Yuehan glanced at Lu Changyuan.

‘Yu’s mark is right here. No matter how strong you are, you still have to listen to me.’

Lu Changyuan chuckled, not elaborating on how strong he used to be. He just said, “Alright, I should get going, or those juniors are really going to die. Those are all cultivators of my Human Race. Hmm, let me borrow your sea of mist for a bit.”

Qiu Yuehan’s lips curled into a smile. “Trying to hide yourself? So your First Sister can’t find you?”

“Nonsense. It just makes it easier for me to use my powers.”

The Black Skirt Fairy said no more. She simply beamed, then clenched her small hand.

A great fog arose. A road of white bone extended from the distance, and ancient behemoths within the mist shambled forward, respectfully welcoming their Monarch.

Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes and said, “Now that they’re full, I might as well make use of their abilities.”

With the help of the mist, an ink-wash color spread across the Grand Array, then slowly bled outwards, vanishing into the deep blue like ink sinking into a scroll.

At that moment, the Dream Demon Array in the sky completely changed hands.

“Five Desires and Six Dust Heart Transformation Technique”

Although he hadn’t collected the complete version, he could already use a portion of its power.

The power of the Desire for Sleep was fully unleashed by Lu Changyuan. The blue Cloud Sea flipped over and devoured Meng Xuanyi.

In an instant, Lu Changyuan descended from the sky, patted the Celestial Cyan Master’s shoulder, and suppressed the power of his self-destruction.

“Do not be alarmed.”

The chessboard lies broken, the millet dream is over.

One wakes to learn it was all illusion.

A guest in Qiantang, a kingdom in Huai’an.

One pillow, one great dream; how many autumns’ chill?

It is only this:

To be unaware, to be un-void, to never awaken.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How to deal with this Chang’an Daoist was, in fact, a very difficult problem.

Fighting him head-on was out of the question.

‘Who could possibly defeat the Chang’an Daoist?’

The Chang’an Daoist in the sky had actually already reached the realm Xiao Qingfeng once did: Half-Step Yao Guang.

Lu Changyuan definitely couldn’t beat him right now.

‘So that wouldn’t solve the problem.’

‘If you can’t solve the problem, then solve the person who created it.’

The root of the Chang’an Daoist problem was that the Dream Demon had used the magic of the Qingshi Sect and the Great Dream Technique to manifest the historical Chang’an Daoist.

‘That made the problem simple: the phantom was being controlled by Meng Xuanyi.’

‘I’ll just take it over through Possession.’

‘You Dream Demons are allowed to seize other people’s bodies, but I, Lu Changyuan, am not allowed to seize the phantom you summoned?’

‘That makes no sense.’

Besides, as the original, Lu Changyuan was clearly a better fit for the phantom.

The Great Dream unfurled.

Lu Changyuan was determined to fight Meng Xuanyi within the dream for ownership of the phantom.

The surrounding scenery bloomed like color spreading across a scroll, then, little by little, it solidified into reality.

A lush, green landscape appeared bit by bit before Lu Changyuan’s eyes.

‘This is… Celestial Mountain?’

Lu Changyuan was a little bewildered.

This wasn’t some random dream. It was the place Lu Changyuan needed to find—the point of connection between Meng Xuanyi and the Chang’an Daoist’s phantom.

But why would the final point of connection between the Chang’an Daoist’s phantom and Meng Xuanyi be on Celestial Mountain?!

Lu Changyuan observed his surroundings carefully.

This seemed to be a spot on the back of Celestial Mountain, still some distance from both the Cold Pool and Jiang Jiayi’s residence.

A few steps further, beyond a bamboo forest and built into the mountainside, someone had carved out a cave abode.

Before Lu Changyuan could go see what was inside the cave, two phantoms silently materialized beside the entrance.

The aura and pressure of the Great Dao washed over him.

“We’re here.”

A detached voice drifted over.

Lu Changyuan was very familiar with this voice. He had heard it call him “Master” with countless different emotions.

Full of respect, cold, full of hatred, and finally, the one he had wanted to hear: a tone devoid of sorrow or joy.

‘That was all so long ago.’

Lu Changyuan turned around and saw a Platinum Mask. The eyes beneath it showed no trace of emotion, just as his own once had.

‘A pity about that beautiful face…’ Lu Changyuan still remembered Leng Moyuan’s face. It was a face that seemed born to be high and mighty, the very picture of noble grace.

“The Dream Demons have harmed people. As their Clan Leader, you will also bear the responsibility.”

Leng Moyuan raised her hand. The restriction on the cave abode opened, and Meng Xuanyi, bound by the Profound Dao, was brought inside.

The furnishings inside the cave abode were very simple.

A simple, ancient-looking scroll, an incense burner with three lit sticks of incense, and below it, a meditation cushion made of dried grass.

Lu Changyuan recognized the scroll. Leng Moyuan had given it to him on New Year’s Eve that year, before they ate noodles. It was the first and last gift his Evil Disciple ever gave him.

Leng Moyuan looked at the scroll and said, “Three sticks of incense in the morning, three in the afternoon, and three before you sleep at night.”

These were her demands for Meng Xuanyi.

“Master of the Dharma, but… there is no incense here.”

Apart from the three sticks currently burning, there was no other incense to be found.

Leng Moyuan said, “Use your Cultivation, your Dao, or even your flesh and blood to create the incense. Nine sticks a day. When you have sincerely repented, I will let you out.”

‘?’

Lu Changyuan stared at Leng Moyuan in astonishment.

‘What in the world is she saying?’

“Miss a single stick, and I will kill one of your Dream Race.”

As her words fell, a ripple of profound mystery spread through the space, and Leng Moyuan was gone.

Listening to this made a chill run down Lu Changyuan’s spine.

‘At this rate, Meng Xuanyi is going to be driven insane. No wonder that by the time he was finally released, all he could do was shout, “Long live the Chang’an Daoist!”‘

‘Whatever. It’s not one of the Human Race being tortured, just a member of a Foreign Race. I’ll just consider it repayment for the debt owed to the Ancient Human Race.’

Seeing that Leng Moyuan was gone, Lu Changyuan finally walked closer and took a careful look at the scroll.

‘Hm?’

‘This painting isn’t ordinary. Leng Moyuan had fused some of my relics into an intent, which she then integrated into this painting. That’s why the painting could reveal a hint of the meaning of my Dao.’

Lu Changyuan frowned and looked back at Meng Xuanyi.

‘To offer incense to another’s Dao every day using one’s own Dao and flesh… She’s trying to obstruct Meng Xuanyi from achieving his own Dao! If this goes on for a few years, once Meng Xuanyi gets used to the pressure of my, Lu Changyuan’s, Dao, he’ll never be able to ascend to the heavens and light his own Dao Star.’

‘If a cultivator about to enter the Yao Guang Realm loses faith in their own Dao, how could they ever hope to ascend?’

‘What a vicious method.’

‘It doesn’t kill the man, but it executes the mind.’

However, it was precisely because Meng Xuanyi offered incense here day and night that this Clan Leader of the Dream Race became a being capable of bearing the phantom of the Chang’an Daoist.

Everything was connected.

“You know the Great Dream Technique. Who are you?” Meng Xuanyi, who was sitting cross-legged on the cushion, suddenly spoke.

The Dream Demon Clan Leader had already woken up and understood what had happened.

“Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”

Meng Xuanyi looked at Lu Changyuan and said coldly, “Don’t you think she’s cruel?”

Lu Changyuan shrugged. “Is she? I don’t think so.”

“I was here for several years, forming incense day and night from my own vital blood. By the time I was released, it was no longer possible for me to Ascend to Yao Guang. She stole my Dao and destroyed the foundation of my Dream Race! This is the way of your Human Race. Is that… not cruel?”

“Nope.” Lu Changyuan smiled. “Have you forgotten your own Dream Race’s schemes? Even setting that aside, the debt you owe the Human Race is not small. It was my mercy back then that I didn’t kill all of you. My disciple is just carrying on my ideas. I should be praising her, in fact.”

Broken Thought flashed out.

“As for Mo Yuan, she was still a bit too lenient. If it were up to me, I would have added one more rule: you should have been kowtowing to that portrait day and night.”