Chapter 2827

The god-bone necklace remained unresponsive as always, but He Lingchuan believed it had heard him, as it always did.

He then said to Immortal Mingke and the little stone figure: "We'll be right back—hold on!"

Although he had temporarily reinforced the Coiled Dragon Secret Realm with the Great Evolution Heavenly Pearl, no one could say just how strong the power of the Great Heavenly Demon truly was. During his and Baochai Hai's wandering through the dreamscape, this place could only be entrusted to Immortal Mingke and the others.

Immortal Mingke solemnly replied "Yes," while the little stone figure, though silent, made a vivid gesture:

He spread his five fingers, bringing thumb and index finger together to form a circle.

This gesture meant "no problem" or "got it handled."

Naturally, the Earth Mother originally didn't understand this gesture, since He Lingchuan often used it, and immortals and high officials of the Cangyan realm on the plains would imitate it. When the Earth Mother dispatched avatars to transport goods across the plains, she frequently saw this gesture and naturally learned it.

It does not speak falsely; when it says something, it will do its utmost to fulfill it.

Moreover, He Lingchuan had no other option—right now, the most important thing was to seize the time and retrieve the Earth Mother's true form. Thus he entered the pagoda, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and entered meditation.

Immortal Mingke stood guard beside him.

Mortals must fall asleep for their souls to enter dreams; cultivators with some Dao attainment need not go through such trouble, especially under these conditions of dense heavenly and earthly spiritual energy—just by regulating breath, entering stillness, and emptying the mind, the soul can naturally leave the body with ease.

He Lingchuan gave a slight strain, and his soul departed his body, floating upward lightly several zhang.

From this perspective, he could still see Immortal Mingke and his attendants, as well as the architecture of the Coiled Dragon Ancient City—no different from what he saw with eyes open.

Baochai Hai stood beside him, staring in alarm: "Your Majesty, you're wounded?"

In reality, He Lingchuan still appeared perfectly fine—only one eye was bloodshot and swollen, showing no other abnormality; but when his soul left its orifice and entered the dreamworld, Baochai Hai instantly saw the terrifying wound on his body!

Such a wound, even if inflicted upon the strongest nightmare, would be unbearable—and yet the Emperor could still move freely?

Baochai Hai felt a surge of worry in his heart.

"It's nothing." He Lingchuan lowered his head to look at the wound on his waist and abdomen. Once he left the Coiled Dragon World, the annihilating power of the Hundred Battles Heaven also vanished, but the destruction it caused could not be healed in a short time.

Soul wounds have always been the hardest to heal; what he needs most now is to retreat into seclusion and rest for several months—not to recklessly barge into the dreamworld, always ready to fight a few battles head-on.

But there's nothing to be done—this is fate's trickery, fate's test, utterly devoid of warmth.

A thought stirred in his mind, and the Bell Dragon Battle Armor automatically donned itself, instantly covering the wound.

"Lead the way."

Baochai Hai obeyed: "Your Majesty, please follow me."

The Earth Mother had just arrived at the Trapped Dragon Abyss and buried half her body in the water, so the Earth Mother Plains bordered the lake. Baochai Hai then brought He Lingchuan's soul flying out of the plains and plunged headfirst into this dark red great lake.

After receiving the commission from the Nine Nether Great Emperor, this was his first time leaving the plains, allowing him freer passage through the Trapped Dragon Abyss.

The sensation of the soul entering water differs from that of the physical body entering water—it is not bone-chillingly cold, only a slight coolness, as if passing through a thin membrane; diving beneath the surface causes no feeling of suffocation whatsoever.

Baochai Hai explained: "Water is the best medium and pathway for communicating yin and yang, the real and the illusory. By traveling the water route, you can enter the dream world more quickly and directly."

Indeed, after entering the water, He Lingchuan felt no sense of heaviness from swimming at all—his soul felt doubly light, as if floating in midair.

The void where he and Baochai Hai were located resembled the real night sky: pitch black with a hint of hazy gray light, not so dark that one cannot see five fingers before one's face.

"Look!" Baochai Hai stretched out his hand and pointed downward.

He Lingchuan followed his gaze downward and discovered he was indeed suspended in midair, with the Trapped Dragon Abyss and Coiled Dragon Ancient City beneath his feet—only they seemed far away, at least several hundred zhang distant, making them appear like miniature models, or like a sand table.

Baochai Hai produced a handful of black sand from somewhere: "May I...?"

"Go ahead."

Thus Baochai Hai scattered the black sand toward He Lingchuan's eyes: "This is dream sand."

The sand entering his eyes caused no stinging sensation; instead, he felt his eyes grow cool, and the entire dream world suddenly became clear in his vision—no longer as hazy as before.

Then he saw something unusual—

The Earth Mother Plains below were pitch black, almost entirely submerged in vast darkness, with only a few points of light visible.

"You are now viewing this world from the perspective of a nightmare." The dream sand can grant He Lingchuan a temporary nightmare's perspective.

"Are those light points the dreams on the plains?"

"Yes. Due to the heavenly demon invasion, the warriors on the Earth Mother Plains are all on guard and fighting, sleepless tonight, so the dreams you see are few." Baochai Hai replied, "These light points are the dreams of the plains' children and commoners, hence their faint glow."

There are mortals on the Earth Mother Plains, living in towns and villages, working in the spirit fields and workshops by day, sleeping at night. Battles inside and outside the Secret Realm do not affect other parts of the plains; the villages still have many children, who pay no heed to what happens on the plains and simply bury their heads and sleep soundly at night.

The combined light of all these dreams below still cannot match He Lingchuan's own brightness.

Yes, after activating his nightmare vision, he discovered he was the brightest star in the night sky—no, not a star, but a bright moon.

Even Baochai Hai, a seasoned nightmare of many years, appears beside him as merely the light of a firefly.

Indeed, in this dream world, the most numerous dreams and the strongest individuals stand out especially prominently.

He Lingchuan was very pleased with his own radiance.

He had made himself shine so brightly that, unless the Goddess of Phantom Music were blind, she could not fail to see him.

At this very moment, a sudden throbbing came from his neck.

The god-bone necklace finally showed some movement.

Though it cannot speak, it is miraculous that He Lingchuan naturally understood why it moved:

It had begun its countdown.

When He Lingchuan's soul leaves his body, the Great Vessel pays no heed—cultivators and immortals occasionally have their souls exit their bodies, which is also part of cultivation.

But his soul immediately proceeded to traverse the water and enter the dream world—and this is precisely the domain the Great Vessel should monitor.

Normally, as soon as his soul enters the dream, it gets intercepted by the Great Vessel.

But this time he had spoken in advance to the vessel, requesting to first sneak into the Goddess of Phantom Music's dream realm to cause mischief, so the Great Vessel reluctantly made allowances.

It set a clear time limit for He Lingchuan: one quarter of an hour.

After that quarter hour passes, whether He Lingchuan is or is not in the Goddess of Phantom Music's dream, whether he has or has not found the Earth Mother's whereabouts, he will be dragged into the Great Vessel!

From now on, the god-bone necklace will time him.

He Lingchuan lightly exhaled: having such a clear time limit is actually a good thing—it makes planning easier for him.