Chapter 1254: Power of the Heavenly Dao

The Dream Method was guiding him toward the step of merging with the Dao.

This was a sudden turn of events that Chen Changsheng had never anticipated.

This place was too real—so real that it could genuinely manifest into a world.

Yet this was far beyond what Chen Changsheng could endure. He needed a state suspended between illusion and reality—neither completely false, nor entirely real.

At this point, Chen Changsheng did not know what to blame. Was it the completion of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, or his own obsession with truth and falsehood?

Regardless, he would never allow all of this to become real. Otherwise, how would he enter Reincarnation? How could he trap that demon?

Amid his anxiety, Chen Changsheng looked upon the myriad spirits, and a sudden thought stirred within him.

"I am the Heavenly Sovereign! The heavens are collapsing, and all is in imminent peril. I beseech the myriad spirits of heaven and earth to lend a hand and stabilize the heavens!"

"Myriad spirits of heaven and earth, heed my command!"

Chen Changsheng's voice grew heavy, but in the next instant, the oppressive might of the world turning real crashed down upon him.

"Urgh..."

He violently coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The blood fell, spilling into the world and transforming into a vast sea of blood.

By the time he recovered his senses, he could hear the myriad spirits resonating throughout the world.

"We are willing to aid the Heavenly Sovereign!!"

In that moment, the myriad spirits answered.

Caught between illusion and reality, Chen Changsheng seized control of the Dream Method once more.

Closing his eyes, he chanted a Daoist scripture.

"Get! Down!"

Spreading his fingers slightly, he tugged at the Great Dao of the world. In that instant, the three thousand Great Daos were caught within Chen Changsheng's palm, dissolving back into illusion.

Stripped of its foundation, the world that had been transitioning from illusion to reality abruptly collapsed back into emptiness.

Seeing this, Chen Changsheng let out a long breath of relief.

The myriad spirits of this world had been saved. Everything settled into that space between illusion and reality, making it impossible to distinguish true from false.

But now, a problem had arisen.

He could no longer release the Great Dao held within his palm.

"..."

Chen Changsheng could feel it: if he let go, everything would turn into reality just as it had before.

Right now, within this Dream Method, the Great Dao was real, grasped firmly in his hand. All creation was an illusion, suspended in the world. It was still a dream.

Even Chen Changsheng himself was not entirely sure what had just happened.

He was trapped in a dilemma, completely unable to wake from the Dream Method. Waking meant letting go—and if he let go, this Dream Method would surge up once more and manifest into reality.

...

On the outside, Manyue vaguely sensed the disturbance.

The birth of a small world was something Manyue could not be more familiar with. The moment she noticed the commotion, she understood what was happening.

"The Dream Method turned real?"

She stood up, staring in disbelief at Chen Changsheng, whose eyes were closed as he immersed himself in the Dream Method.

Manyue knew it was possible for the Dream Method to eventually evolve into a small world.

Back then, the spirit cage had relied on the laws of the world and the Rebirth Scripture, along with a great dream from Yu Xuan. Only after experiencing blue seas turned to mulberry fields did it manage to evolve its own laws.

But that had relied on external forces. Right now, Chen Changsheng had achieved this using nothing but a great dream.

Manyue was thoroughly astonished, but soon after, she furrowed her brow.

"It was cut off?"

She was confused at first, but quickly realized the truth.

Zhao Yuqing had mentioned it to her before. What Chen Changsheng wanted was a Dream Method that was both real and fake—something that, at its core, never escaped the essence of a dream.

Manyue began to speculate.

"Could it be..." she murmured, "because it was too real?"

She felt this was the most likely possibility.

But what was the current state of things inside the Dream Method?

As Manyue pondered, her expression suddenly turned grave.

Could Chen Changsheng be trapped within the Dream Method?

...

In Mengpo Hall.

Meng Po was brewing her soup when she suddenly sensed the changes deep within the Underworld.

She froze. This change felt extremely familiar, and in a mere instant, she remembered exactly what this disturbance was.

She rose and left the hall. It did not take long for her to arrive before the Gate of Reincarnation, deep in the Underworld.

Manyue had already been waiting there for quite some time. "I knew you would come," she said.

Yu Xuan's gaze fell on her as she asked, "What happened?"

Manyue stood up and closed her book. "It nearly turned real. Just like what you did back then."

Yu Xuan opened her mouth to speak, but then turned her head to look at Zhao Yuqing, who was shrouded in an aura of tribulation.

She furrowed her brow, not understanding how things had escalated to this point.

Manyue promptly explained the recent events to her.

Only after hearing this did Yu Xuan understand.

She thought for a moment before saying, "I'll go into his dream and take a look."

Manyue was taken aback. "Are you sure? Aren't you afraid of being recognized?"

"That's why I have you."

Yu Xuan turned to look at her and said, "I might not be able to fool him out here, but once inside the Dream Method, things will be different."

Manyue considered it for a moment and felt Yu Xuan made a good point.

"You need to be clear about this," Manyue said. "He is Chen Changsheng, not Chen Fan. Projecting your lingering affections onto him isn't appropriate."

Yu Xuan pursed her lips, merely shaking her head without answering.

Perhaps in her eyes, the person before her might not be a little mortal anymore, but he resembled Xiao Fanzi the most.

The person from back then had already changed.

Yu Xuan borrowed a wisp of Manyue's aura, letting it settle over her to conceal her true self. She took a step forward, and with a single thought, she descended into Chen Changsheng's Dream Method.

When Yu Xuan opened her eyes, she saw the world spreading out beneath her feet.

Up ahead, Chen Changsheng was firmly gripping the three thousand Great Daos, preventing them from collapsing out of control.

Chen Changsheng froze for a moment. He turned his head and, seeing the familiar figure, asked, "Miss Manyue? How did you get in here?"

"I sensed a change from the outside, so I came in to take a look," Yu Xuan said calmly. "What are you doing right now...?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head with a sigh. "I'm trapped by this Great Dao turning real. If I let go, the world will manifest into reality, and the living beings of this realm will dissipate as a result."

Yu Xuan was well aware of this.

The world within the Dream Method was real, but the living beings born from imagination were false. If this place became reality, all these myriad spirits would eventually turn into a part of the Great Dao and fade away entirely.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Yu Xuan asked.

Chen Changsheng sighed. "I don't have a clue yet."

Yu Xuan stepped forward and said, "This method of transforming a dream into a world has always had its flaws. The dream originates from you; if it turns real and you still wish to control this place, your only option is to become the Great Dao of this world yourself. Right now, you're stuck in limbo, so you can only suppress the Great Dao temporarily. However, there is another way."

"What way?" Chen Changsheng asked.

Yu Xuan said, "Back when Yu Xuan turned her dream into a world, she used me to control the Great Dao. You need a wisp of the Power of the Heavenly Dao to help you rein in this realm."

But Chen Changsheng replied, "Wouldn't it turn into reality then?"

Yu Xuan clarified, "What I mean is, you need to find a wisp of the Power of the Heavenly Dao to suppress the Great Dao in your hands!"

"That works?"

"It does."

Yu Xuan took another step forward. "The premise is that this wisp of the Power of the Heavenly Dao must be controlled by you."