Chapter 153

Wei Yuan knew what Lei was talking about.

The Heavenly Maiden had removed the imprint of Bo Qi from his body, but that didn't mean that Bo Qi and the Mountain Spirit would no longer be watching him.

As one of those who had once gone up the mountain to kill the Mountain Spirit's physical body, both the Brocade Feather Bird and the Painted Skin Maid were, to some extent, killed by him. The Mountain Spirit would never let go of such a deep hatred. For this period of time, this threat had been a constant thorn in his side, preventing Wei Yuan from relaxing.

It was rare to have the opportunity to be proactive.

As long as he could find where the Mountain Spirit was hiding, he would have a chance to eliminate him before he fully recovered.

Wei Yuan reached out and picked up the feather, placing it in the inside pocket of his clothes. Then, he lay down on the bed fully clothed, focusing his mind inward. Soon, he fell into a dream, but this time, the feather emitted a faint fluctuation. When Wei Yuan opened his eyes, he could clearly feel that he was in a dream.

A lucid dream.

This feeling was wonderful.

The dreamscape was originally a dim color, but a feather floated in the air, emitting a white light that illuminated the surrounding environment. Wei Yuan's shoulder dipped slightly, and the black cat Lei also appeared in his dream, landing on his shoulder, licking its paw, and saying, "Go out and take a look."

Wei Yuan nodded, picked up the feather, and stepped out.

He pushed open the door of the Qingqiu Country guesthouse.

Immediately, he was surprised to find that the outside was still a Qingqiu Country, but different from the Qingqiu he had seen during the day. This place gave an overall feeling of being mottled, like different colored blocks pieced together. Some places were real, some places were ancient.

There was even a house that was half the newly renovated appearance seen during the day, and the other half was an old, simple wooden house.

"In the mortal world, the soul controls the body, interacts with the world, and creates the human realm."

"Dreams are an extension and overflow of the soul. Therefore, these interactions of the soul produce dreams corresponding to the human world. It is said that in ancient times, there were cultivators who abandoned their physical bodies in pursuit of immortality, constantly wandering in one dream after another, which could also be considered a form of longevity."

The black cat Lei floated in the air.

Wei Yuan felt that when it bit off that feather, it had definitely pulled out a handful as well.

Lei was unaware of Wei Yuan's thoughts, slowly drifting forward, and said, "Those extreme ancient cultivators are rarely seen now. However, there are many monsters and ghouls, similar to them, that feed on the overflowing souls in dreams. These demons lurk in the cracks of human nature. Once a dream unfolds, they will come out to move around."

"Among them, Bo Qi is the strongest of their kind."

"And although dreams are similar to the mortal world, they are also very different. You must remember this."

"The human realm is created based on the earth and the sky, so it must be solid; dreams, however, are transformed by the mutual dependence and influence of the dreams of living beings. They are very unstable. If you are not careful, cracks will appear. Sometimes you walk on a road, and in the blink of an eye, you will find yourself on a mountain. All of this is normal."

"And another precept: do not pry into other people's dreams."

The black cat stretched out its white paw and waved it in front of Wei Yuan:

"Do you know why?"

Wei Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Because of the origin of dreams themselves? You reap what you sow."

The black cat said, "That's just an individual's dream, which will not affect the dream realm. It's another origin of dreams: past experiences that you can't let go of, so they are always kept in your heart. You must remember that, basically, in the dream realm, the more ancient a dream is, the less you should look at it."

"Disturbing the master of the dream is still good. If you encounter people who have survived from ancient times, you may fall into the memories of dream realms that are no longer seen in modern times, such as the dangerous places they once experienced, which they will never forget. Among them, there may even be regions that only exist in legends, such as..."

"Such as Kunlun."

Wei Yuan said.

The black cat Lei was stunned. Following his gaze, it saw that in the distance, in the dream realm, a mountain could be vaguely seen existing in the territory of Qingqiu. The peak of the mountain was as white as bright jade, desolate and cold. It was possible to see a girl sitting on the mountain rocks, hugging her knees, watching the human world from afar.

The black cat's paw slapped the top of Wei Yuan's head and said, "Don't go over there."

The fearless cat was rarely afraid:

"The dream realm of the Kunlun Heavenly Maiden may very well have the Western Queen Mother present."

"Even if there isn't, Xuan Nv, Ba, may be there. They will continue to exist in the dream based on the behavior patterns in the Heavenly Maiden's memories. Although it's just a dream, our soul bodies may be shattered, and we'll have a terrible headache when we wake up tomorrow."

Wei Yuan thought it must have done something similar before and suffered a great deal.

He didn't expose it, but just glanced at the Heavenly Maiden's dream, and curiously walked in this dream version of Qingqiu. According to what Lei said, he searched for those demons and monsters hiding in the gaps between dreams. Finally, in front of a very shallow dream, he saw these beings that were almost impossible to see in the mortal world.

Wei Yuan looked at the dream in which they were lurking.

It was about a meeting, a very ordinary and clichéd romance.

It was a story of a young man and a young woman. The only difference was that the young man was just an ordinary human, and the young woman was a Qingqiu fox spirit. Wei Yuan could roughly guess that this should be the fox woman that Su Yu'er mentioned, who was born in the fox clan but secretly ran out to have an affair with a human, and the man she liked.

He looked very ordinary and could be seen everywhere.

This was not a crucial issue.

It was just that this dream was very shallow, and some weak dream demons were lurking around, absorbing the overflowing emotions.

Lei shook its body and floated over to greet these dream demons.

After getting acquainted, it seemed to casually say, "There are no good dreams here anymore. We plan to go further to find large enough dream realms to live in. Do you know any recent rumors?"

"Rumors? What rumors are you talking about?"

"Why do you look like a cat? Did you run into a cat's dream?"

"What's it to you what dream I went to?"

"I'm just very curious. This place is full of foxes, and it's rare to see cats. Can I touch you?"

"Let go of your paws."

The dream demons muttered and talked to Lei there.

Wei Yuan stood in the air aimlessly. Although he didn't want to look, the afterglow of his vision would sweep across the surrounding dreams. Very deep dreams were always shrouded in a layer of mist, which was almost impossible to see through with the naked eye, while the dreams of the weak floated on the surface of the dream realm world and could be easily seen.

Just as the black cat Lei was inquiring about news, Wei Yuan saw a Taoist priest appear in a dream. The Taoist priest seemed to be telling her that as long as she used her inner core for a human to consume, and used a left-handed magic technique, she could share her lifespan with the human race.

The Taoist priest in the dream reached out and took out a piece of paper.

He accidentally revealed something in his arms, a bright yellow talisman.

He quickly put away the talisman.

Wei Yuan's expression suddenly changed. He recognized this thing as the keepsake that was found on the body of the Taoist who was spreading evil arts in Quanzhou after he was killed. Judging from this dream, this thing was indeed a symbol of some kind of identity. It was likely that someone was teaching disciples with evil magic techniques, and then relying on them to further spread the evil arts.

Wei Yuan couldn't help but step forward and take a look at the paper in the dream.

Although everything was blurred in the dream, it could still be seen that the method written on the paper was a left-handed method of剥夺(bōduó) taking away the inner core cultivated by the monsters and transforming it into an outer core for human cultivation. Not to mention sharing lifespan, if a fox demon lost its inner core, it would be reduced to a beast. Humans would not be able to accommodate this inner core, and could only be transformed into a flesh and blood furnace, refining the inner core to be used as a wedding dress for others.

As expected, it was that evil Taoist's style again.

Wei Yuan was about to delve into the identity of the Taoist priest in the dream when this originally extremely shallow dream suddenly shattered.

The dreaming fox woman woke up.

Wei Yuan had the long feather of the strange bird, coupled with his lack of confusion. He vaguely saw the fox woman open her eyes and quietly climb over the wall of the residence in reality. She was first stunned, and then thought of some possibility, her expression changed slightly. Just as the black cat Lei seemed to have obtained some information and came over triumphantly, Wei Yuan reached out and grabbed Lei, and then went straight to his room.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?"

"No, is there something urgent?!"

"I'll tell you later."

Wei Yuan took the black cat directly back to his dream, and then forcefully grasped the long feather in his hand. The dream suddenly shattered, and then he turned over and got up, picked up his long sword, and pushed the door open. The black cat Lei jumped up and landed on Wei Yuan's shoulder. Wei Yuan chased forward, while explaining what he had just seen in the most concise way.

The evil Taoist crowd spreading evil magic.

A special yellow identity talisman.

And this fox woman who fled at night had been in contact with the demon Taoist.

The black cat Lei's expression became serious. It thought for a while and said, "This is Qingqiu Country, where there are truly great demons. The evil Taoists would never dare to enter, so they can only lure the fox woman to escape. I don't know what his real purpose is."

"But you don't have to worry, the Qingqiu foxes are not without preparation."

Immediately, Wei Yuan also noticed that behind the fox woman who was fleeing in a hurry at night, there were several figures following silently, not transformed into human faces, all with fox heads and human bodies, wearing gray robes, fluttering in the wind, without making a sound. When they saw Wei Yuan and Lei, they were just surprised, and then nodded slightly, without saying much.

Wei Yuan saw a familiar face among them.

Wearing white clothes, with a handsome face, and fluttering sleeves when stepping through the air, it was Su Yu'er.

Wei Yuan drove the breeze under his feet and caught up with this person who could barely be considered an acquaintance.

Su Yu'er nodded slightly, as a greeting. Her eyes were only fixed on the fox woman who was about to escape from Qingqiu Country, her expression a little complicated. Wei Yuan didn't ask, and she sighed softly, "Before she was caught back then, she secretly made an appointment to meet the human man at the time they first met."

"I just didn't expect her to be so obsessed."

"Obsessed?"

"Yes, in this era, people's hearts are floating outside, and most men in the world are ungrateful. Besides, don't humans all say that those who are not of my race must have different hearts? A moment of joy in the heart, if not considered, will inevitably bring trouble. She was so obsessed back then that she wanted to use her inner core to change the bones and fate of that man. If the elders hadn't seen that this path was not right, I don't know what consequences would have been caused."

The still young Su Yu'er whispered indignantly:

"It must be that man's sweet talk that deceived her."

"Last time the elders brought her back, it was already a lenient punishment. This time she escaped at night, I am afraid she will have to go through a lot of hardship."

Wei Yuan really didn't know what to say.

The fox woman who escaped at night fled from the Qingqiu Country, and then relaxed a little. Her appearance could only be considered ordinary among the Qingqiu fox clan, and her talent was also very ordinary, but now because of the escape, her face was flushed, and she looked much more beautiful.

She thought she had escaped.

Then she went to the back of this small city.

There was a small river there, and an imitation ancient bridge was built on it. They had met here before. A smile appeared on the fox woman's face. Under the curtain of the night, the fox immortals with calm temperaments were coldly watching the fox woman who violated the ancestral teachings. The atmosphere was as heavy as an iron curtain.

Time passed slowly.

It was dawn when they came out, and three hours had passed quickly.

Still no one came.

Su Yu'er hugged her book and said, "She can't wait."

Wei Yuan said, "Why are you so sure."

Su Yu'er was surprised and said, "I should have mentioned it to Young Master Wei before. The man she liked was from a poor family, and they last met half a year ago. Young Master Wei is from this era, so he should know that if they can't meet or contact each other for half a year, even the deepest feelings will disappear. Only we fox women are infatuated."

"Throughout the ages, how many ungrateful people have we encountered."

"And he is suffering from a serious illness, at this moment he is already..."

Before her voice fell, a group of fox immortals had approached the bridge, intending to take the fox woman away.

At this moment,

The fox clan girl's eyes lit up slightly, and she ran onto the bridge, walking towards the front. Under the moonlight, there was a young man on the opposite side wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt, spreading his arms, smiling and welcoming her, and hugging the fox clan girl.

Su Yu'er suddenly couldn't speak anymore.

And those fox immortals who were originally cold and intended to implement the clan law also showed surprised expressions.

The excited fox woman did not notice the abnormality, but just tightly hugged the person she loved in front of her.

This scene left everyone else speechless.

After a long time, Su Yu'er murmured:

"He passed away three days ago..."

After a pause, Su Yu'er's eyes widened, and she whispered in disbelief.

"Even after death, his soul remembers to keep his appointment?"

PS: A slightly easing buffer chapter~