No wonder his opponent was Yi Chuanmei. He had known something was amiss. Turns out there was another Mountain God in their group. There were neither too few nor too many Level 6 Mountain Gods in the official faction. Who could this be?
Zhang Yuanqing felt both delighted and disappointed. He was delighted because Level 6 Mountain Gods were notoriously tough, practically unbeatable in sheer endurance. His disappointment stemmed from the fact that while Mountain Gods could take an immense beating, their damage output and agility ranked on the weaker side among the five mainstream orthodox classes.
Even so, it now looked as though Yi Chuanmei was the unlucky one stuck playing on hard mode. Five escort convoys and six orthodox walkers, yet the Yellow Banner Escort Agency was the only one harboring two orthodox members.
It made sense. After all, Lord Tianzun had not yet reached full growth; at a mere Level 4, he could not conquer a Level 6 temptress single-handedly.
It took two barrels to pull that off.
"Who am I? I'll tell you before you die."
Chen Xuedao reversed his grip on his saber and drove it tip-first into the ground.
*Clang!*
The blade struck the blue stone steps. An ochre halo rippled outward, washing over the entire courtyard.
In an instant, an overwhelming pressure crashed down from above, and the force of gravity multiplied countless times over.
Her body physically frail, Yi Chuanmei slumped straight to the ground. The gash across her chest tore open, spewing thick gouts of blood.
*Thump-thump, thump-thump...*
Zhang Yuanqing heard his own heart pounding violently to combat the sudden lack of blood supply caused by the crushing pressure.
The calves of his legs cramped, his shoulders trembled fiercely, and an invisible mountain seemed to bear down on his back. To his eyes, Chen Xuedao standing beneath the eaves resembled a Dominator—unbeatable and utterly irresistible.
Part of this was the difference in level, but the other part was that within a Mountain God's domain, Chen Xuedao was invincible.
Just as Zhang Yuanqing was about to pull out the Houtu Boots to counter the Mountain God's pressure, his body suddenly felt light. The crushing gravity vanished.
Chen Xuedao said in a deep voice, "She can't leave my domain. Let's work together and grind her to death."
*Grind them to death.* This was a catchphrase constantly on the lips of Earth Monsters and their standard tactic. As the class ranking first in stamina and first in defense, Earth Monsters had the staying power to wear down any opponent.
With that, he aimed his palm at Yi Chuanmei.
Wisps of earth spirit energy rose from the ground, congealing into rapidly spinning stone spikes that surrounded Yi Chuanmei on all sides.
Chen Xuedao clenched his fist abruptly. The whirling stone spikes shot forward in a tempestuous barrage.
Zhang Yuanqing summoned the Gale Walker Gloves and unleashed two wind blades without hesitation.
Yi Chuanmei's hair exploded outward with a soft pop, turning into black vines that coiled above her head to form a wooden shield.
This was a Beast King item she had collected, named Dryad's Hair.
*Thud, thud, thud!*
The stone spikes embedded themselves in the surface of the wooden shield, and the wind blades gouged deep furrows into it, but neither managed to pierce through.
The shield woven of vines promptly unwound, slithering across the ground like ten thousand silk ribbons and spreading across the entire courtyard.
"Your domain may be formidable, but with elemental counters, overcoming strength with weakness is easy. Suppressing your earth spiritual power isn't hard," Yi Chuanmei gasped, prostrated on the ground.
The vines blanketed the earth and sent down roots, pinning down the earth spirits with firm force.
Chen Xuedao could no longer casually forge earth into weapons.
At the same time, the vines slithered up Chen Xuedao's ankles, coiling around him tightly.
Just as Yi Chuanmei focused all her efforts on restraining Chen Xuedao, a dreamlike glow of starlight rose behind her.
Zhang Yuanqing gripped a thirty-centimeter-long, large-caliber hand cannon, leveled its muzzle at Yi Chuanmei's head, and pulled the trigger.
*Crack-crackle!*
Electric arcs danced at the muzzle as a pale purple orb of lightning condensed wildly.
"Ahhh!!"
Yi Chuanmei threw back her fair, slender neck and let out a piercing shriek.
Mental Strike!
At that exact moment, a deep blue glow lit up between Zhang Yuanqing's brows, forming the mask of an unyielding, wild face that negated the mental attack.
The ball lightning finished forming and blasted out of the barrel.
The brilliant purple sphere of lightning struck at an angle beside Yi Chuanmei. With a deafening boom, a deep crater was blasted into the ground, sending charred clods of earth flying as the vines covering that area were reduced to ash.
The violent shockwave tossed Yi Chuanmei through the air. Her left leg was sheared off at the knee, and half of her body was charred black with patches of raw red flesh showing through.
The shockwave of the ball lightning alone had cost her half her life.
*I aimed for her head, but it went wide...* Zhang Yuanqing could not find it in himself to celebrate. Some unseen power had interfered with his aim, throwing the ball lightning off course.
"It's Blessing..." Chen Xuedao, still bound by the vines, had also been affected by the Mental Strike. Warm blood dripped from his nostrils. His body dissolved into quicksand, flowing through the gaps between the vines.
Coalescing back into human form, Chen Xuedao hefted his long saber and strode heavily toward the half-charred Yi Chuanmei.
The vines had merely impeded him slightly; they were far from suppressing him. To suppress a Mountain God within his own domain required a Mountain God of an even higher level.
Yi Chuanmei drew ragged breaths, glaring warily at the purple lightning cannon in Yuanshi Tianzun's hand. Her eyes held lingering terror alongside relief from surviving the brush with death, mixed with a faint, perverse thrill.
Just as she had anticipated, Yuanshi Tianzun possessed extraordinary treasures. The destructive power of that item was monstrous.
Watching Chen Xuedao stride toward her, Yi Chuanmei tilted her head back once more and unleashed a shrill shriek.
His three negations exhausted, Zhang Yuanqing grunted in pain. It felt as though a wooden club had struck his forehead with immense force. His head snapped back, and two streams of blood spurted from his nose.
Chen Xuedao swayed, warm blood trickling from his nose as well, but he did not react as severely as Zhang Yuanqing. He continued marching toward Yi Chuanmei.
Earth Monsters possessed terrifying endurance, which translated directly into a high tolerance for pain.
*Thump, thump, thump...* Chen Xuedao advanced with heavy strides toward Yi Chuanmei.
Yi Chuanmei screamed continuously, delivering barrage after barrage of Mental Strikes while controlling the vines to whip upward. Some coiled around Chen Xuedao's ankles while others wove into wooden shields.
This proved effective in slowing the already clumsy Mountain God.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing did not hesitate to produce the Mountain God Scepter. He tapped it lightly against the ground, and the emerald jewel at its tip flared with radiant light.
Everything in the courtyard was dyed in a verdant glow. Bathed in the light, the vines underwent rapid mutations. They stopped attacking Chen Xuedao and ceased weaving shields, writhing aimlessly in the air like tentacles instead.
They had run amok.
*Another high-grade Saint-stage item...* Yi Chuanmei felt a heavy weight settle on her chest.
Blood leaked from Chen Xuedao's seven facial orifices, yet his stride did not falter in the least. Free of the vines' hindrance, a layer of yellow light erupted over his saber, rendering it extraordinarily heavy as he slashed downward with all his might.
Yi Chuanmei struggled to raise a hand, producing a small earthen shield and thrusting it forward.
The earthen shield shattered with a roar. That Saint-grade defensive item could not withstand even a single strike from Chen Xuedao.
However, using the brief respite bought by the item, Yi Chuanmei rolled desperately to the side.
*Boom!*
The yellow-clad saber smashed a monstrous crater into the ground.
On the other side, Zhang Yuanqing stowed the Mountain God Scepter. Enduring the agonizing pain of a soul on the verge of splintering, starlight welled in his pupils.
He activated the Blue Face, gaining an endurance boost to counteract his fraying soul under the repeated mental assaults.
Next, he caused the Gale Walker Gloves to stir up a howling gust of wind.
Then, toward a spot three meters to his front-left, he swung a wind blade.
*Slash!*
The wind blade struck something solid. Yi Chuanmei's figure materialized there, while her previous body vanished like a popped bubble.
Yi Chuanmei stared down in shock. A gash had been cleaved across her chest and abdomen, deep enough to expose her internal organs.
Using the deduction aspect of Astromancy, Zhang Yuanqing had devised a plan to track the true enemy through the wind's tactile feedback, neatly bypassing the illusion to wound her.
Suffering wound upon wound, Yi Chuanmei was teetering on the brink of death.
She quickly pulled an emerald thumb ring from her inventory, slipped it onto her finger, and whirlpools formed within her pupils.
*Slash!*
At that exact moment, Chen Xuedao arrived, his sharp blade cleaving her clean in two.
Yet no blood spilled from the corpse. Instead, it split into two Yi Chuanmeis.
Both Yi Chuanmeis swelled rapidly, turning into five-meter-tall giants that looked down coldly upon Yuanshi Tianzun and Chen Xuedao.
"Fuck, another dreamscape!" Zhang Yuanqing cursed.
"Both of you must die!"
Towering above them, the two Yi Chuanmeis delivered a furious pronouncement of death.
Masochist though she was, being pushed to this brink still stoked her rage.
"You can't kill me."
Chen Xuedao's expression did not change. A thick layer of yellow light rose over his body, shielding his soul.
The Mountain God's domain was his core skill at this stage; its combat enhancements extended to the spiritual plane as well.
Though defeating a Dream Master within a dream was impossible, remaining undefeated was well within his power.
Chen Xuedao walked over to Zhang Yuanqing and opened his hand. A pitch-black vortex hovered above his palm.
He tossed the vortex forward gently.
*Whoosh!*
The vortex suddenly expanded, forming a massive black hole three meters wide, churning with dark currents.
This was his path of retreat from the dream.
"Leaving? It won't be that easy." Both Yi Chuanmeis sneered in unison. "Chen Xuedao, you managed to escape earlier because I wasn't inside your dream."
She pressed her hand down, and the vortex collapsed immediately.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing frowned. "Adoptive Father, is there any way to counter her dream abilities?"
"Dreams are the core skill of a Dream Master. If they were that easy to counter, Dream Masters would have been wiped out long ago. Of course, they have flaws too: the more people there are and the higher their level, the harder it is to drag them into a dream." Chen Xuedao's tone remained calm. Even trapped in a dream, he showed no panic, exuding a steady composure. "Remember, the core skills of every class are extremely troublesome. Although she's at a disadvantage, she still has a chance to turn the tables. We cannot let our guard down. And stop calling me Adoptive Father."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "Understood, Adoptive Father."
Chen Xuedao gave him a sidelong glance. "I suddenly understand why Fu Qingyang likes you."
Dropping the topic, he looked up at the giant Yi Chuanmeis. "You are the ruler of this dream, invincible here, yet you cannot kill me either. Are you certain you want to wage a war of attrition?"
He had suppressed Yi Chuanmei in reality, while Yi Chuanmei had trapped him within the dream.
The two sides were locked in a stalemate.
"If I'm not mistaken, the waking time of the monster in the coffin is limited. Come dawn, it will return to its slumber," Chen Xuedao stated. "And once daylight breaks, your Dream Master skills will be sealed. You will have no way out."
"I may not be able to kill you, but I can get rid of Yuanshi Tianzun." Both Yi Chuanmeis summoned rocket launchers and aimed them at Zhang Yuanqing.
Chen Xuedao replied calmly, "You should have done that long ago. If you had prioritized eliminating Yuanshi Tianzun before attempting the side quest, you might have won. Do you know when I figured out your identity?"
Yi Chuanmei shifted her gaze from Yuanshi Tianzun to fixate on him. "When?"
Chen Xuedao subtly shifted to shield Yuanshi Tianzun behind him. "When Yang Shuo and Wang Pingle died."
Hiding behind his adoptive father, Zhang Yuanqing could not help glancing at the back of the man's head upon hearing this.
Was there a hidden truth behind the deaths of Yang Shuo and Wang Pingle?
Chen Xuedao said slowly, "They, like Zhang Hu and Zhao Ma, were both Scouts. If my guess is right, the monster in the coffin only needs the flesh and blood of Scouts. That's why the ones in danger last night were never Yuanshi Tianzun or me, but Yang Shuo and Wang Pingle."
Yi Chuanmei fell silent for a moment before letting out a scoff. "A sharp analysis."
Chen Xuedao continued, "There's something even sharper. I tested Lin Ci's identity long ago. When I kept him and Zhuo Peiran back to talk this morning, Zhuo Peiran realized that all four victims were Scouts, yet Lin Ci made no such connection. That told me he didn't know the escorts' classes—something only I, the head of the agency, would know. So I asked myself: if an escort like Lin Ci didn't have that information, how did an enemy outside the party come by it?"
*He tested my identity long ago...* Zhang Yuanqing suddenly remembered that night when Chen Xuedao had given him that heartfelt advice to elope with Chen Wei.
Given Lin Ci's reverence for Chen Xuedao, his reaction last night had indeed been somewhat out of character.
He should have dropped to his knees in repentance, begging his adoptive father's forgiveness for sleeping with his daughter.
As for why Chen Xuedao knew about Lin Ci and Chen Wei's affair, Zhang Yuanqing suspected it was background information provided by the Spirit Realm.
Judging from Chen Xuedao's words, the information the Spirit Realm gave each of the three of them was different. As Lin Ci, he had likely received the least.
Yi Chuanmei scoffed, "Could I not have discovered it by probing their dreams?"
Chen Xuedao shook his head. "You couldn't be certain who the Spirit Realm walkers were at that point..."
Zhang Yuanqing interrupted, "No, she already suspected me by then."
Chen Xuedao frowned slightly and stepped aside in silence.
Zhang Yuanqing said hurriedly, "Adoptive Father, please continue."
Chen Xuedao stepped back in front of him. "Even though you suspected Lin Ci, you didn't know he was Yuanshi Tianzun. A Level 6 Starlord is no easy target. To be safe, focusing on the side quest first was the sounder choice."
Having her thoughts laid bare, Yi Chuanmei remained silent.
Chen Xuedao said, "Since you couldn't enter everyone's dreams to test them, and asking around openly was even less feasible, how could you covertly test the escorts' classes?"
"By drilling them!" Zhang Yuanqing had a flash of insight. That day after returning from the pleasure quarter, Chen Wei had drilled the escorts relentlessly under the pretense of throwing a tantrum. That was when she had sussed out their classes.
Chen Xuedao gave an acknowledging grunt.
Yi Chuanmei said coldly, "Since you knew my identity, why didn't you make a move right away?"
Chen Xuedao provided his reasoning: "Wasn't it better to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, waiting for the right moment to strike?"
Both Zhang Yuanqing and Yi Chuanmei fell silent for a moment.
The latter let out a soft huff. "Shrewd and calculating. I think I know who you are... Huang Taiji!"
Huang Taiji! It really was him! An image of a solemn, taciturn young man flashed into Zhang Yuanqing's mind.
Huang Taiji was one of the Official Four Young Masters, the great-grandson of the Master of the Central Court, and the grandson of Dihong, the First Elder of the official faction.
He was neither aggressive and overbearing like the Fire Prince, nor one to "win people over through virtue" like the Money Prince, nor flirtatious and romantic like the other prince.
He kept an extremely low profile, which made him the least famous of the four.
Yet being low-profile did not equate to weakness. Zhang Yuanqing had seen this Young Master Huang fight in tournament matches. His philosophy was strictly to "meet the enemy with orthodox methods and conquer them through sheer orthodoxy." There were no flashy gimmicks—just a steady, solid march that crushed the opponent flat.
"It is me," Huang Taiji acknowledged with a nod. "Do I need to say 'long time no see'?"
As fellow figures at the peak of Level 6 hailing from opposing factions, Huang Taiji and Yi Chuanmei naturally knew each other.
"I dislike you, because fighting you offers zero amusement," Yi Chuanmei remarked coldly. She raised her single-soldier rocket launcher. "I truly can't afford a war of attrition, so I'll just kill Yuanshi Tianzun and eliminate one enemy. Huang Taiji, we shall meet again at Divine Sword Manor."
One of the Yi Chuanmeis vanished, reappearing behind Zhang Yuanqing and Huang Taiji.
"Inside a dream, you cannot protect him." Both Yi Chuanmeis pulled the triggers simultaneously.
The rockets hurtled toward them. Before the firelight engulfed him, Zhang Yuanqing looked up and smiled.
"He doesn't need to protect me. He only needs to stall for time on my behalf."
*Boom!*
Expanding flames swallowed them both.
***
Inside the mortuary courtyard.
Commandery Princess Yinyao stood before the junior favored by her master. Her slender, pale finger pressed against the center of his brow, imprinting a talisman brimming with Daoist charm onto his forehead.
She flicked the talisman lightly.
*Snap!*
The talisman sank into the depths of his sea of consciousness.
Zhang Yuanqing's eyelashes fluttered, and he snapped his eyes open.
The night was deep, the wind had ceased, and the rain had paused. The bonfire inside the mortuary had burned out, leaving only a mound of red embers coated in white ash.
At the critical juncture, the princess had pulled him out of the dream.
"Thanks! Princess, step outside the mortuary first so you don't get trapped in a dream too."
A Dream Master's ability was far too troublesome; Commandery Princess Yinyao needed to serve as their wake-up caller.
With that, Zhang Yuanqing quickly looked toward Yi Chuanmei nearby. Like Night Walkers, an Illusionist's soul could persist for a long time after death. Commandery Princess Yinyao's decision to rescue him first rather than attempt to kill Yi Chuanmei had been the right call.
Instead of leaving, Commandery Princess Yinyao looked into the mortuary, transmitting a wave of intense mental fluctuations:
*Something... seems to have gone wrong...*
Just as he was about to attack, Zhang Yuanqing snapped his head around. His gaze pierced through the darkness and past the open lattice doors, landing on Zhao Youcai. Clutching an escort by the collar, Zhao Youcai stood before the black coffin with a savage expression.
*Clatter!*
Zhao Youcai kicked the coffin lid aside and roared with a twisted grimace, "Adoptive Father, Third Sister is my woman! She has always loved me! You'd rather kill her than allow us to be together!
"If that's how it is, Youcai has no choice but to drag you down to the grave with me!"
—Just as Zhang Yuanqing and Huang Taiji had deduced, the coffin lid could be opened at night.
With that, he hurled the Scout escort into the coffin.
At that moment, Huang Taiji and Yi Chuanmei exited the dream simultaneously and opened their eyes.
Hearing Zhao Youcai's words, the former's expression darkened, while the heavily wounded Yi Chuanmei burst into a delighted, delicate laugh.
"Yuanshi Tianzun, did you really think I slept with Zhao Youcai just to satisfy my lust?
"The dungeon provided such complex relationships as a hint for me to exploit them. The escort team belongs to you, but it can belong to me as well.
"I planted seeds of rage, despair, and mutual destruction in his sea of consciousness long ago.
"I was just waiting for the right moment to play this chess piece."
*Shameless bastard, tactical players are the dirtiest!* Zhang Yuanqing's face grew grim.
"Ahhh!!"
A shrill scream from the Scout tore through the mortuary.
Immediately after, the sound of gruesome, wet chewing reached the ears of the three humans and one corpse.
A majestic, terrifying surge of Yin energy poured out from within the mortuary, bearing a freezing, clammy mist.
Heavy rain began to fall from the night sky once more.
Chapter 474