Chapter 260 168: The Old Hasn't Gone, The New Has Come

Wang Ya's expression was grim. He crouched down, his right hand touching the ground.

Unlike in reality, it felt as soft and yielding as cotton candy to the touch. Yet, when he stepped on it, it felt no different from solid ground.

Perhaps it was just as the Illusory Dream Wizard had said. Wang Ya's own Potential was so high that he encountered no mishaps and easily rooted his Dream Core in the ground.

The process took only about half an hour.

It was simply incredible.

The Dream World was unpredictable. He had no idea how far the location he had chosen to root his core was from the Illusory Dream Wizard's Dream Territory.

'My teacher said that once the Dream Core takes root, I've only passed the first test. Next, I have to watch out for attacks from Dream Creatures. They'll try to dig up the Dream Core and eat it, as it's an absolute delicacy to them.'

'Also, the Dream Core needs to grow. Once it sprouts, it can spontaneously absorb the Dream Power of the Dream World to sustain itself, no longer needing a Dream Wizard's Dream Power for Cultivation. Until then, it requires the Dream Wizard's constant care and protection from danger.'

A glint in his eye, Wang Ya thought he could compare the Dream Creatures to macrophages. He himself was like an invading bacterium or virus, absorbing the body's nutrients to strengthen himself, then replicating to absorb even more.

This theory might be wrong, of course. No one had ever been able to fully understand the true structure of the Dream World.

Some speculated that its source was the real world—that the conscious activities and spiritual dreams of the lifeforms in the endless worlds within the Endless Void Sea constructed and sustained the Dream World.

Wang Ya spent twenty-four hours successfully getting the Dream Core to sprout. Suddenly, a new sense emerged in his mind.

He now had a much clearer understanding and concept of the Dream World.

It was the difference between swimming underwater with an oxygen tank and having gills, able to breathe freely in the water.

Wang Ya deactivated his Dream Sense, but standing near his Dream Core, he could still see everything in the Dream World.

A white sprout emerged from the ground, its influence radiating out to an area of twenty meters around it.

Wang Ya could move freely within this area. When he tried to step outside its boundary, an indescribable sense of panic welled up in his heart.

He slowly lowered his raised right foot.

This was why one needed Potential to become a Dream Wizard and enter the Dream World. Without Potential, one couldn't open their Dream Sense. Trying to enter the Dream World would only lead to one fate: being devoured by it directly.

Dream Power was the means of self-protection.

The smoke from the burning Black Curtain Licorice gradually spread out to a radius of a hundred meters. The Illusory Dream Wizard had prepared a large supply for Wang Ya, enough to last at least five months.

During this time, Wang Ya needed to hide his Dream Core as best as he could, or give it the Ability to repel Dream Creatures.

A Dream Wizard couldn't stay in the Dream World forever; they eventually had to return to reality.

Wang Ya had also made preparations for this. Using Dream Witchcraft, he continuously created special Dream Realms around the Dream Core, weaving one false scene after another.

When Dream Creatures tried to attack, they would instead enter those false Dream Worlds.

Three months later, the white smoke from the Black Curtain Licorice had shrunk by half, and its concentration had also diminished considerably.

In other words, the foul odor that disgusted the Dream Creatures was now barely tolerable. Some of the less-finicky Dream Creatures even approached curiously to observe.

They had clearly sensed something, driven by instinct.

Wang Ya silently used his own Dream Power to control the Dream Power of the Dream World, forming one natural Dream Realm after another.

His specialty was Dream-Entering and observing dreams; he was also capable of initially influencing a Dream Realm. This was different from the Illusory Dream Wizard's Dream Territory, which had enough Power to make a Dream Realm real and manifest matter.

At the end of two more months, the white smoke from the Black Curtain Licorice had completely vanished, but Wang Ya's Dream Core was now successfully hidden within the Dream World.

He had woven numerous dreamscapes and Dream Worlds, which now surrounded the Dream Core to confuse the Dream Creatures and weaken the subtle fluctuations it emitted.

After observing a dozen or so attempted invasions by Dream Creatures, all of which were thwarted by his illusory dreamscapes, Wang Ya was finally able to relax a little.

The most crucial step in establishing a Dream Territory was now complete.

As the core of a Dream Wizard, the Dream Territory was exceptionally important.

A powerful Dream Wizard could rely on their Dream Territory to alter reality at any time, freely switching between the illusory and the real.

During the process of expanding a Dream Territory, it would be attacked by various Dream Creatures. If one could withstand these attacks, absorbing the corpses of the Dream Creatures would accelerate the growth and expansion process.

The consequence of failure, naturally, was having one's Dream Core eaten.

...

The 'Night Night Night' Wizard Tavern stood as it always did, amidst a flurry of falling maple leaves. Wang Ya could now perceive what was special about these leaves.

The Illusory Dream Wizard's Dream Power was entwined around them. Although only faint wisps of it remained, it could produce an Extraordinary effect at critical moments.

For example, basic observation and perception.

The white luster on Wang Ya's body was shining more and more brightly, as if he were veiled in a layer of white light. Strangely, despite how conspicuous he was, the passing Wizard figures around him had no reaction at all.