Chapter 428: Snack on Some Sweet Fear-Dead Treats

This ancient book flowed out from the cave prison that sealed the Dragon of Mars; it is an extension of its consciousness, a diary written within its cage, linked to the Dragon of Mars's dreams—essentially, a part of it?

How did this thing escape from the Dragon of Mars's prison?

Was it an accident, some chaotic conspiracy, or an attempt by the Dragon of Mars to break free?

Zhou Yun frowned, staring at the ancient book in his hands,

The book's material appeared at first glance to be nothing more than thick leather, its surface riddled with cracks from centuries of decay; these cracks intertwined with the hide's natural patterns, forming a series of geometric shapes that induced dizziness and vertigo upon sight,

The angles of these geometries defied all logic, violating the most fundamental mathematical laws of the universe, yet they undeniably existed upon the book's cover, like the scales of a higher-dimensional lifeform projected into the narrow confines of a three-dimensional universe.

Wuwula had precisely noticed this detail, and that was how he realized the book's peculiar nature,

Yet to this day, no one could read it—anyone who so much as glanced at its pages would foam at the mouth and descend into madness.

But Zhou Yun could. The instant he touched the book, he heard whispers and roars filled with malice, insanity, and fragmentation,

They were the murmurs of the Dragon of Mars in its sleep, radiating a primal malevolence,

Those with weak wills could not comprehend the meaning of the murmurs, only sense the presence of the immense will behind them,

An ancient being that existed long before humanity was born, billions of years ago, who drank the blood of stars and devoured the souls of all living things, revered as a god across a million galaxies,

It existed before the High Heavens' gods uttered their first cry,

It existed before the rise of the Servitor race known as the Spirit Folk,

It was born in the very first instant, the first moment of the material universe's creation, within those searing energies that defined the universe's physical laws,

The twisted, grotesque entities of the Sea of Souls were merely usurpers of the material universe and the name of the gods—He was the true god and master of the material universe,

Fear and reverence for Him permeated every atom of this galaxy; any being, even non-living entities, upon becoming aware of His existence, would have all reason shattered,

This was why all previous readers of this book had collapsed into unconsciousness,

They could not understand the meaning of the murmurs, but the mere existence of the dragon uttering them was enough to drive them mad.

But Zhou Yun understood the meaning of those murmurs.

"So hungry, so hungry, so hungry, really want to snack on some sweet Fear-Dead delicacies."

"Savage monkeys, stupid primitives, thinking a spear is enough."

"Oh fuck, medieval knight with your damn sword."

These murmurs didn't sound particularly wise after all.

They contained only a craving for sweet Fear-Dead snacks, hatred toward some medieval knight with psychic powers, and confusion over his own inexplicable failure,

Poor dragon, imprisoned for tens of thousands of years, still hasn't recovered.

Zhou Yun paused in thought. This book connected to the dragon's dream, and he could think of countless artifacts capable of entering dreams.

If he wanted to learn the Dragon of Mars's current condition, the best way was naturally to use an artifact to enter its dream.

Zhou Yun glanced at Daxiong beside him, but no Emperor's will resided within him,

Pure trash, fails at the critical moment,

Should I give him a movie special to get some spotlight?

After mentally grumbling for a moment, Zhou Yun turned his gaze to the fourth-dimensional pocket, viewing the interface of the Future Department Store,

And, under Wuwula's curious gaze, Zhou Yun pulled out a ladder from the fourth-dimensional pocket,

The ladder itself was about one meter and fifty centimeters long, curved in shape.

【Item Name: Dream Cloud Ladder】

【Origin: 22nd Century Earth—Future Department Store】

【Manufactured: 231. 2】

【Function: A ladder that allows free entry and exit from others' dreams, rapid movement between different dreams, and the ability to lure others into one's own dream.】

"Ta-da, Dream Cloud Ladder," Zhou Yun said, holding up the ladder.

He then noticed Wuwula's curious expression and added, "This is the Dream Cloud Ladder—it lets you enter others' dreams."

Wuwula's curiosity surged, then both of his dwarf-terminal faces twisted with concern.

"My lord, isn't this too risky? Perhaps I should—"

Zhou Yun shook his head,

This was the Dragon of Mars's dream. Both Zhou Yun and the Emperor believed the Dragon of Mars was the Star God Void Dragon.

Wuwula's biomass was even lower than Kao'er's—he was nothing but a disposable power outlet against the Void Dragon. One thought from the Void Dragon could spark arcing electricity from Wuwula's power port.

Sending him into the dragon's dream was no different from sending a virgin orc into a Dark Eldar den.

Of course, Zhou Yun had no intention of entering alone—he would take precautions.

Zhou Yun shifted his awareness into Daxiong's body,

He would dream using Daxiong's body, then enter the Dragon of Mars's dream,

That way, if anything went wrong, the worst Zhou Yun would lose was the portion of his will he'd projected out,

And Daxiong's strength approached that of a Primarch; combined with the Old Woman's Sword, which channeled Zhou Yun and the Emperor's power, unless the Dragon of Mars had fully restored itself as a complete Star God, it couldn't easily overcome him.

Zhou Yun handed the Dream Cloud Ladder to Daxiong. 0. seconds later, Daxiong fell asleep,

Zhou Yun's will within Daxiong's body awoke in the dream, the Dream Cloud Ladder clamped under his arm,

The sensation was peculiar—he felt as if trapped within a hazy bubble, everything around him ethereal and insubstantial, seemingly shifting at his mere thought,

This was one use of the Dream Cloud Ladder: to deceive and trick others into entering a dream entirely controlled by oneself.

Zhou Yun glanced around. He saw a massive cloud rising from the diary, insubstantial, like mist or foam, within which reflected a colossal silver figure—but it was indistinct,

That was the Dragon of Mars's dream—a dream lasting tens of thousands of years,

So vast and immense was this dream that the dream-cloud before Zhou Yun stretched nearly across the entire surface of Mars, shrouding everything on the planet beneath it,

No wonder Wuwula had dreamed of the Dragon of Mars on Mars—the dragon's dream had grown so immense it covered the entire planet; any dream on Mars now interwove with the dragon's, easily influenced by its subconscious.

Zhou Yun pulled the Dream Cloud Ladder from under his arm and leaned it toward the dragon's dream, forming a bridge connecting their two dreams,

In a few steps, he stepped into the Dragon of Mars's dream.

Broken, broken, broken. He is shattered.

Betrayal. Their servants betrayed them.

The colossal dragon, flowing like mercury, let out a furious growl,

Born with the universe, its body formed from the energies that defined the material universe's laws,

At that time, nothing in the material universe had cooled; all things existed as energy, infinite dimensions yet unfurled into microscopic layers,

In that great age, the boundary between individual and universe was unclear—the energies forming the universe's structure were no different from Him; He could twist, reshape, and fold the entire universe at will,

His infinite divinity was established from time's inception,

Even as all things cooled and dimensions folded, He retained His golden-age grandeur, enduring on stars still hot with ancient heat, drawing energy from them, preserving His former authority,

Yet He, so noble and exalted, suffered such humiliation,

Not by enemies from the Sea, but by His own servants, His slaves, who struck while He was vulnerable, shattering Him and His brothers,

He remembered how the Nightbearer's body exploded into hundreds of fragments, how the Burner was torn apart and stuffed into engines, how the Deceiver ceased his mocking laughter and screamed in agony.

They were all utterly shattered—will, memory, body, and authority all fragmented, then imprisoned in cages.

But He was different. He too was shattered, but He escaped a portion.

He was the wisest among His kin. While His brothers drowned in slaughter, rampage, and soul-devouring, He studied.

He studied the material universe, His own origins, various technologies, and also the Sea.

He forged a substance called Black Stone and fused it into His body. This substance was a dam, capable of blocking the Sea on the other side.

But a dam is both barrier and reservoir.

Black Stone has duality: it can block the Sea, and it can amplify the Sea.

With this, He achieved what His brothers could not.

He could block the Sea, and He could harness the Sea.

Through this art, He escaped—by reversing the polarity of Black Stone, summoning the Sea's tide, riding its waves through time and space to flee His traitors' encirclement.

Though His body was shattered, He used His accumulated ancient techniques to concentrate most of His will into this broken form.

He could still recover. He could still become whole.

Not only that—he could go further.

With Black Stone and soulcraft, He would master both the material and the Sea dimensions simultaneously.

He could do it—if given enough time and enough souls.

He had already found a suitable testing ground.

A remote, primitive planet, lying in a future tens of millions of years after the War of Heaven.

This planet teemed with intelligent life resonating with the Sea; their souls were especially delicious, ideal test subjects.

He lay dormant on this planet, waiting until He became whole, until He mastered the power of the Sea.

He had confirmed: the people here were still in the medieval era.

He was perfectly safe.

(End of Chapter)