Chapter 9: The Farce

Darkness receded, and the morning light broke.

Before Xie Yuzhu could respond, a dense, ancient forest suddenly materialized around them. Towering century-old trees stretched toward the clouds, blotting out the sky. A thick mist permeated the damp air, and the harrowing scenes of fire and blades were nowhere to be found.

Xie Yuzhu landed on the leaf-strewn ground. She looked up as the giant roc in mid-air disintegrated into ash, appearing to merge with the swirling fog.

Yun Chuan was shrouded in the mist and ash of the forest; the sunlight scattered through the haze in a hazy, golden glow. Immersed in this brilliant radiance, she seemed like a soul detached from the mortal world.

Xie Yuzhu remained silent, facing Yun Chuan for a long moment. Suddenly, she raised her hands between them and said solemnly, "Wait! Wait! I need to sort this out."

After a pause, she scrambled to her feet, clutching her head as she thought aloud. "You killed those kidnappers because they coerced you first—that's understandable. But what about the four men from the Fu family estate? Why did you kill them?"

"They wanted to snatch my bag and bracelet."

"Oh, oh! They were bandits, then! That’s even more justifiable! Aside from that, have you used this bracelet to kill anyone else?"

Since the "killing" was limited to the bracelet's power, the rumored "intimate friend" didn't qualify. There was no one else.

Yun Chuan answered, "No."

Xie Yuzhu let out a long sigh of relief, clutching her chest. "My heart has been leaping up and down all night; I’m going to get sick from the fright! Why are you so quick to jump to conclusions? You were fighting back in self-defense; that doesn't make you a bad person. 'Ruthless and vicious'—what a ridiculous choice of words!"

Yun Chuan pointed at her: "But you said..."

"I said you are not a bad person. Yun—Chuan—is—not—a—bad—person! Did you hear me clearly?"

Xie Yuzhu spoke each word with heavy emphasis. Her voice was loud but trembled slightly. Her face was smeared with mud and dust, and her eyes held a hidden, deep-seated anxiety, as if she were trying to plant this assertion firmly in the ground—not just to convince Yun Chuan, but to convince herself.

Yun Chuan looked puzzled. She fell silent for a moment before lowering her hand. "Alright."

Xie Yuzhu took a deep breath, patted Yun Chuan on the shoulder, and said with lingering fear, "Sister Yun Chuan, please don't say such things recklessly. Once some reputations are attached to you, they can never be removed."

They found a quiet spot in the dense forest to sit and dress the wounds they had sustained in the sea of blades and fire. After a thorough exchange with Yun Chuan, Xie Yuzhu felt she had grasped the truth of the situation, though she felt frustrated by Yun Chuan’s total ignorance.

"You really don't know anything, do you? Didn't you see the notices posted in the city? You can't just use things like this, embedded with glowing blue stones! If you use them, you're a 'Spirit Bandit,' and every sect in the immortal world will hunt you down!"

Yun Chuan tilted her head. "What is a Spirit Bandit?"

Xie Yuzhu held her forehead, leaning against a fallen giant tree and fuming. "It’s a long story, and it all comes down to Ye Minwei. All this mess is her fault!"

Yun Chuan opened her mouth, wanting to speak but holding back.

"Back when Ye Minwei was revered as the Ancestor of Myriad Phenomena, she and the Master of Dream Ruins pioneered a cultivation method called 'Nightmare Cultivation.' It has nothing to do with nightmare sorcery; it’s a method for cultivators to break through realms and improve their cultivation. If successful, one’s power grows exponentially. Even those who had already reached the peak could extend that summit by another seven feet."

"But this method requires refining one's own essence and soul with nightmares. If the refinement fails, not only is there no gain in cultivation, but sentient entities will grow within the soul. These entities steal all the cultivator's spiritual power and memories, breaking free to wander the world—these are called Nightmare Beasts."

"Returning to Ye Minwei: twenty years ago, her Nightmare Cultivation failed, and her Nightmare Beasts escaped Kunwu Mountain. When everyone saw her beasts, they realized that she had secretly turned all sorts of sect techniques into spiritual artifacts. People like us, who have no foundation or cultivation, who don't know internal arts, mental manuals, movement techniques, chants, or seals, can simply pick up these artifacts and wield sorcery just like immortal cultivators."

"Ye Minwei's Nightmare Beasts ran around with these artifacts, tossing them to whoever caught their fancy. Ordinary people who gained divine powers without effort often used these artifacts to commit evil; hence, they are called Spirit Bandits. From that day to this, the world has been in chaos."

Xie Yuzhu pointed at Yun Chuan: "And now, you are a Spirit Bandit."

Yun Chuan nodded thoughtfully.

Thinking of this, Xie Yuzhu felt a wave of worry. If Yun Chuan could repair the bracelet, she could use the power of the artifact to bypass obstacles and reach the center of the dream, asking the Dream Master there to release them. But the center of the dream would be projected onto the bronze mirrors, and with so many immortal sects watching, Yun Chuan’s identity as a Spirit Bandit would surely be exposed.

"Using sorcery through a spiritual artifact is a grave crime, not to mention that you've killed people. If those sect members find out, there’s only death waiting for you. We cannot go to the Dream Master."

With her wounds bandaged by Yun Chuan, Xie Yuzhu tore off strips of cloth to bandage Yun Chuan in return. "We’ll hide quietly. Once the competition ends and all the dreams break, we’ll naturally be released."

Yun Chuan winced in pain, gasping softly. She pondered Xie Yuzhu’s words for a moment and asked, "Are you looking out for me?"

"Of course... isn't that a given? How many times have you saved me? The most important thing in life is loyalty; I understand that much!" Xie Yuzhu waved a hand near her mouth. "I will absolutely keep your secret."

Yun Chuan looked at her, shattering her sense of loyalty without a change in expression: "I saved you for the five hundred taels of silver."

Xie Yuzhu stared, choked for a long moment, before managing to say, "A gentleman judges by deeds, not intentions... no, wait, Sister Yun Chuan, can you not be so honest?"

A rustling sound came from the woods, as if something had come to life and was searching the area.

"They have awakened. We must go." Yun Chuan stood up, the bracelet on her wrist rotating slowly. "The bracelet wasn't fully repaired; it’s barely functional and will break again soon, and worse than before. Based on the duration of the dream, it won't last until the end."

Xie Yuzhu was dumbfounded. "Then what do we do?"

"We go to the center of the dream to find the Dream Master now."

"And then?"

"I'm not good at what comes next. You'll have to find a way," Yun Chuan said with complete candor.

Xie Yuzhu froze for a moment, rubbing her temples. "I understand. This situation is just bad luck and a tortuous fate; I’m going to lose years off my life."

Meanwhile, in the Zhaizhai Pavilion, the crowd was maintaining a delicate order amidst the chaos. The Dream Masters were trapped on the high platform by white paper, unable to escape. They frantically summoned nightmares to counter the paper. For a time, the platform was filled with swords, seas of fire, floods, and beasts, but each manifestation was shredded or buried by the white paper.

The cage of white paper was indestructible, and the Dream Master behind it was stronger than anyone had expected. The Dream Masters who had already "woken up" could only try in vain, while those not yet defeated continued to battle within their own dreams, sitting motionless in their seats.

On the other side, the immortal disciples and the pavilion servants remained calm. The immortal sect members were invited to witness the alliance meeting, not to manage it; seeing that the one disrupting the meeting was also a Dream Master, they assumed it was an internal struggle and found it inconvenient to intervene. After failing to break the white paper, they saw it had no intent to attack them and remained still, watching the nightmare battles on the bronze mirrors.

The Zhaizhai Pavilion servants were even more detached, figuring that if the furniture were damaged, the Dream Masters could afford to pay for it—as long as the pavilion itself wasn't torn down.

Suddenly, someone at the Xiaoyao Sect's table shouted, "Look at the Xun-Zi-Er position!"

The immortal disciples turned the dream projections on the bronze mirrors to the Xun-Zi-Er position. It was a three-way melee: a short, swarthy middle-aged man beat a massive drum, causing the world to tremble with every strike and shattering everything near him; a pale-faced scholar in his thirties manipulated countless giant trees, their branches tangling like living things and dripping caustic poison when severed; and a tall, thin man with a pointed head waved his hand to summon a sky-filling swarm of locusts that devoured everything in their path down to the bone.

The battle was fierce and indecisive, the three dreams converging into a chaotic, bizarre mess. Hiding behind the branches of a giant tree, one of two disheveled women shouted, "I told you I am the Sixth Miss of the Xie family! Let us out!"

The servants of the Zhaizhai Pavilion outside the mirrors were shocked, their cries of alarm rising one after another.

"The Sixth Miss! How did the Miss get into the dream?"

"Why is Yun Chuan there too?"

"What is going on!?"

The immortal disciples glanced at each other, inevitably looking toward the Fuguang Sect. Everyone knew that the eldest daughter and second son of the Xie family practiced at the Fuguang Sect. Though they hadn't come, the Fuguang Sect was close to the Xie family. Uncle Zhuang ignored the flying white paper and rushed to the Fuguang Sect’s seating area, begging the disciples to help rescue Xie Yuzhu.

The Dream Master in the dream added fuel to the fire. The drum-playing man said, "I only know of the Xie family’s eldest son, eldest daughter, and second son. Who has ever seen a 'Sixth Miss'? You say you're the Sixth Miss, so you are?"

The pale scholar urged, "Whoever they are, they are two weak women who stumbled into the dream—we can't just ignore them!"

The drummer shook his head. "How? We didn't summon them into the dream, and I don't think that old man Zhao did either. If we didn't summon them, how can we release them? Who knows how they got in? A Xie daughter and a white-haired girl—given these messy rules, maybe they’re the ones who caused this!"

"I think the rules were flawed from the start; everyone should stop!" the scholar shouted.

The pointed-headed man controlling the locusts finally spoke, laughing loudly: "Forget the rules; whoever wins in the end becomes the Alliance Master. If you, Xu Shu, want to play the good guy, just admit defeat. If all the dreams break, won't they be out?"

The drummer looked as if he expected this, saying, "See? Even if you stop, that lunatic Zhao won't! If you divide your attention to protect them, you'll be defeated soon!"

Xu Shu said angrily, "Qian Qianfu, all you can do is spout cynical remarks!"

They didn't stop their hands while talking; the dream battle raged on. Xu Shu was indeed struggling to protect Yun Chuan and Xie Yuzhu. As the giant tree shielding them turned to dust under the drumbeats, the locusts swarmed toward them like a black cloud, devouring everything in their path, leaving nothing but skeletons.

Xie Yuzhu screamed and retreated, feeling certain that she would have nightmares about this for the rest of her life.

Just as the black swarm was about to reach them, at the final, critical moment, Yun Chuan raised her hand. The ash hidden in her sleeves surged, coiling around her arms. As she blew, it shot into the sky, erecting a towering wall from the ground up, which then collapsed thunderously toward the locusts.