Chapter 125: A Dream of Thousands of Autumns—What Year Is This Night

Si Snake, White Jade Capital!?

Deep earth jars suppress the primordial spirit, a mysterious spiritual serpent, White Jade Capital.

Within the chaotic void, when the black python spirit appeared before Zhang Fan, the pressure and shock surged like a tidal wave, halting even his thoughts.

Inside the jar, it seemed like a stagnant pool; with the emergence of that spirit, ripples spread, shimmering lights danced, jolting him awake from a great dream.

“Si Snake, White Jade Capital? The Si Snake among the Twelve Zodiacs?” Zhang Fan stared blankly.

Everyone had told him the spirit sealed within this jar was Ren Xiao’s.

Ten years ago, beneath Longhu Mountain, Ren Xiao Li Linglong perished, and Lou Hechuan, chairman of the Jiangnan Dao Alliance, stole heaven’s method to extract this fragment of her spirit from her corpse.

But now…

“You’re the Si Snake… then where is Yun Jianyue!?” Zhang Fan asked, puzzled.

Spirit possession!?

No, the Si Snake’s spirit is sealed here—how could it possess Yun Jianyue?

Unless it, like Zhang Fan, had cultivated the [Divide Spirit Great Art], splitting its spirit, could such a thing be possible.

Yet the Divide Spirit Great Art derives from the [Three Corpses Mirroring Fate]—could it really be so easily mastered!?

“A hundred years of flourishing and decay, all vanish like a dream.”

“She was merely within my dream.”

A faint whisper echoed through the sealed chaotic void, falling upon Zhang Fan’s ears like a dreamer’s murmuring.

At this moment, gazing at the black python spirit before him, he felt it utterly illusory; countless bubbles rose and burst, dazzling lights flickered and vanished in an instant, accompanied by countless shadows.

“Sleeping Immortal, sleeping Immortal…” Zhang Fan murmured softly.

He vaguely knew the method cultivated by Si Snake, White Jade Capital, was unique: hibernating like a coiled dragon, feigning death to attain immortality.

Timeless and boundless, feigning death to achieve longevity, dreaming for thousands of autumns—what year is this night!?

This sleeping method gathers vitality to refine the Golden Core; one dream enters the heart, conjuring false beings.

“Yun Jianyue… is she in reality, yet also within a dream!?” Zhang Fan murmured, suddenly enlightened.

To others, Yun Jianyue was indeed real—but to Yun Jianyue herself, she was within a dream; in this great dream, she was Si Snake, White Jade Capital.

At this moment, Zhang Fan’s gaze upon the Si Snake spirit changed; he had to admit, none of the Twelve Zodiacs were useless—their methods were bizarre, strange, and terrifying beyond measure.

Especially this Si Snake, White Jade Capital—her method of hibernating dragon to immortality seemed even more terrifying than the You Chicken Jin Mangri and Wu Ma Wu Qilu he had encountered, or even Hai Zhu Wang Tao.

“The dragon returns to the primordial sea, yang hides within yin. Men call it the hibernating dragon—I hibernate my heart. Silent, concealing its use, breath deep and still, white clouds I rest upon, none in the world know me…”

At this moment, a faint voice rang out, pulling Zhang Fan’s thoughts back.

The chant, like a spell, revealed the mystery of the sleeping method, the strangeness of the great dream.

In an instant, Zhang Fan felt the dreamlike spirit grow more real—as if awakening from sleep, all false illusions vanished, his cultivation vast and undeniably true.

“Ten years as a dream, yet it felt like an instant.”

The massive serpent slowly writhed, then transformed into a human figure—graceful, breathtakingly beautiful, her cold gaze stirring utter fascination.

“Why are you here?” Zhang Fan remained deeply wary.

“Why don’t you finish asking?” Bai Yujing smiled: “Aren’t you also wondering—shouldn’t the spirit sealed in this jar be your mother’s?”

“…”

“Let me tell you now… ten years ago, your mother never appeared beneath Longhu Mountain.” Bai Yujing spoke softly.

“What?”

Zhang Fan’s expression shifted slightly—ten years ago, he and his father had been cornered…

Zhang Lingzong had opened Longhu Mountain, drawing a host of experts to kill them; Zhang Fan himself had entered the Great Night of Darkness.

That night, Li Linglong had not been at Longhu Mountain!?

“No… she must have been at Longhu Mountain…” Zhang Fan’s brow twitched.

In the fragments of demonic memory he had retrieved, there was still the corpse Lou Hechuan had seen…

“She knew how to disguise herself—I taught her.”

At that moment, Bai Yujing suddenly changed the subject.

“What?”

“Your mother, though Ren Xiao, never relied on the power of the Twelve Zodiacs…” Bai Yujing’s lips curled slightly.

The Twelve Zodiacs, though nominally led by Ren Xiao, each possessed their own will—utterly independent, only relatively obedient.

Thus, even Ren Xiao was merely a nominal leader.

But Li Linglong possessed her own complete power and loyal followers.

They were…

The Five Demon Great Demons!!!

“Are you one of them?” Zhang Fan said grimly.

“I am both Si Snake and one of the Five Demon Great Demons… this identity was known only to your mother…” Bai Yujing said calmly.

“The makeup your mother wore for her first date with your father—I applied it for her.” Bai Yujing smiled lightly.

The Five Demon Great Demons each had specialties—Si Snake excelled in makeup.

Snakes have no bones, can transform into any form, combined with illusions so lifelike they deceived reality.

That night, she was Li Linglong; Li Linglong was her.

“Deceiving Heaven and Earth!?”

Zhang Fan’s expression turned bizarre—his mother, whom he barely remembered, had deceived everyone!?

He didn’t even know if Zhang Lingzong had been fooled.

“Why did she do this?” Zhang Fan asked, confused.

“Her identity was too sensitive—she was Ren Xiao, yet she became your father’s partner…”

“Grand Master Wang of Lingzong—he was the only one since the Daoist Great Calamity seventy years ago to enter Longhu Mountain and walk out alive,” Bai Yujing said gravely.

The outside world whispered that this man had glimpsed the secret of the Daoist Great Calamity, just as Chu Chaoran had done.

Recall: eighty years ago, Chu Chaoran was the sole survivor of the Daoist Great Calamity; within twenty years, he attained the Pure Yang Ultimate Realm.

That calamity concealed the secret to immortality—no cultivator could remain unmoved.

Thus, that man became the target of all.

“As Ren Xiao, her situation was beyond your imagining—the entire Daoist world saw her as the chief thief, while even within Wuwei Gate, voices of discontent arose,” Bai Yujing said gravely.

Long ago, the [Three Corpses Daoist] had said: for Wuwei Gate to flourish, it must uncover the secret of the Daoist Great Calamity.

As Ren Xiao, yet partnering with Grand Master Wang, discord arose within the Twelve Zodiacs—some even plotted to kill her.

“Ten years ago, beneath Longhu Mountain, those who attacked included Daoists and members of the Twelve Zodiacs…” Bai Yujing revealed the truth.

“Unfortunately, they slew only my physical vessel.” Bai Yujing smiled faintly.

After that night, her spirit was sealed within the Jiangnan Dao Alliance, hibernating in stillness, as if feigning death.

Thus, even experts like Lou Hechuan could not fathom its mystery, daring not to act rashly.

“When Lou Hechuan delivered this jar to Xuankiao Temple, I knew my chance had come,” Bai Yujing murmured.

“So you guided me step by step through Yun Jianyue,” Zhang Fan said grimly.

“You’re her son—shouldn’t you help me escape?” Bai Yujing said calmly: “Don’t forget, I gave you two little demons…”

“They were quite useful.”

Zhang Fan’s mind conjured the images of Shi Shougong and Su Shiyu.

“Ten years of dreaming, every step meticulously planned… Si Snake, White Jade Capital, you truly are formidable.”

Looking back, Zhang Fan realized every step had been calculated to perfection—profoundly, chillingly so; most terrifying of all, that night ten years ago, she had deceived so many experts!

“Life itself is a great dream—illusion and reality—who can truly distinguish them?”

Bai Yujing, as if seeing through Zhang Fan’s unease, smiled sardonically: “How can you be certain you’re not dreaming now?”

“Perhaps when you wake, you’re still touring Zhenwu Mountain.”

“How do you even know that?” Zhang Fan’s face darkened.

Si Snake’s spirit had been sealed in this jar for ten years, yet she knew everything outside as if it were in her palm.

“I said… Yun Jianyue is within my dream, and I am within hers…”

“For ten years, she was Si Snake,” Bai Yujing said calmly.

Though she had slept for ten years, she knew everything happening outside.

“Let me tell you this: the Twelve Zodiacs now know your father and you faked your deaths…” Bai Yujing said gravely.

“Also, a new Ren Xiao has been born.”

“New Ren Xiao? Who is it?” Zhang Fan couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t know,” Bai Yujing shook her head.

Since ancient times, Ren Xiao’s identity was a great secret—even the other eleven Zodiacs didn’t know.

Back then, if Li Linglong hadn’t married Zhang Lingzong and given birth to you, this anomaly, triggering the [Dragon Tiger Crimson Moon], the You Chicken and others could never have caught those traces. “You should be grateful—only the Twelve Zodiacs know your identity now. If all Daoist sects learned your origins, who knows what chaos would erupt.”

Bai Yujing’s gaze grew distant, as if seeing again the Dragon Tiger Crimson Moon.

The identities of Zhang Fan and his father were simply too sensitive.

Zhang Lingzong was the only one alive after the Daoist Great Calamity; Zhang Fan himself had fused the True Wu Jade Tablet brought out from that calamity by Chu Chaoran.

If that calamity concealed the secret to immortality,

then this great secret was now entirely tied to these two men—should it explode, the world would tremble.

“A target for all,” Zhang Fan said grimly.

If their father-son identities are exposed, all kinds of trouble will come knocking.

The urgent task before him was to recover the Fierce God, reunite the Three Primordials, completely break free from Great Night Unlit, awaken the Divine Demon Sacred Embryo, and reach the [High Skill] rank as soon as possible—ideally, to peel away the True Martial Jade Tablet and return it to True Martial Mountain.

“Time waits for no one,” Zhang Fan muttered inwardly.

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Boom boom boom…

At that moment, a violent tremor surged forth, as if ready to shatter this chaotic space.

“Ten years of sleep—time to wake up.”

Bai Yujing looked up, gazing at the endless sky above.

“There’s one more problem.”

At that moment, Zhang Fan spoke up and called out to him.

“Ask your mother—I know nothing.”

Bai Yujing spread his hands, revealing a gentle smile.

“Zhang Fan, one day we will meet again.”

Bai Yujing let out a soft laugh; his soul-spirit surged upward like a white ribbon streaking into the heavens, illuminating the chaotic space and shattering the narrow confinement.

Bang bang bang…

Simultaneously, cracks appeared across the enclosed space.

Zhang Fan’s soul-spirit trembled, and in the next instant, he broke free from the earthen jar and returned to his body’s dantian.

Inside the Jingbao Hall, figures lay sprawled haphazardly on the floor; only Zhong Changming, Gu Jingqiu, Sui Chunsheng, and a handful of others remained conscious.

Even so, their faces were pale, their bodies weakened to the extreme.

After all, the power unleashed by the Divine Spirit Suppressing Demon Golden Seal had inflicted unimaginable pressure and impact upon their soul-spirits.

Boom boom boom…

Inside the hall, a furious wind erupted, like the sea reversing its tide, snuffing out every candle and incense flame.

The earthen jar atop the altar shattered violently; a white light shot skyward, then plunged beyond the hall’s entrance.

“Bad.”

Seeing this, Zhong Changming’s face darkened; he straightened his body, but blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

The ritual jar imprisoning the Great Demon had broken—how could this be?

Whoosh…

At that moment, Zhang Fan darted out like a rabbit.

This reaction turned everyone’s faces pale.

“He… he’s unaffected at all? How is his speed still so astonishing?”

Gu Jingqiu’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He was a direct disciple of Laoshan’s orthodox line, cultivating the elite inner alchemy method [Golden Toad Gazing at the Moon]; even so, he had just been unable to withstand the power of the Divine Spirit Suppressing Demon Golden Seal—his soul-spirit was feeble, his body barely able to move.

Yet Zhang Fan’s reaction was swift, his form agile, his power explosive—as if utterly unharmed.

“Could it be… Chu Zhenren’s disciple truly differs from ordinary mortals!?” Gu Jingqiu gritted his teeth, forcing himself upright, staring beyond the hall, eyes gleaming with boundless curiosity.

“Hahaha, Xuanjizi, today we part ways—you’re a dragon returning to the sea, a tiger entering the deep mountains.”

Suddenly, a clear, ringing laugh echoed before the hall.

Zhang Fan had just stepped out the door when he saw Yun Jianyue’s long black hair flowing loose, a white light pouring into her crown—suddenly, her aura became terrifyingly immense; the bright moonlight shattered, the fierce Gang wind reversed, her eyes glowed with piercing light, turning all beings into madness.

“Soul possession…” Zhang Fan’s expression hardened slightly.

He knew—this moment was true soul possession.

Yun Jianyue awoke from her dream; she was no longer herself—yet she had become her completely.

At this very moment, standing before them, rooted in this world… was the true…

Si Snake Bai Yujing!

Hum…

A mist of white vapor drifted, like a radiant halo, ethereal and mesmerizing.

The next instant, Bai Yujing vanished before everyone’s eyes.

Xuanjizi staggered, spewed a mouthful of old blood, and finally collapsed to the ground.

“Senior…”

Zhang Fan instinctively stepped forward to support him.

“The Zhang family…”

Xuanjizi looked at Zhang Fan; his pale, aged face twisted with complex emotion, then he waved his hand silently, turned, and shuffled toward the hall.

This night was destined to be sleepless.

The earthen jar’s seal shattered, Si Snake emerged, Miao Temple stood useless—something never before seen since its founding.

“Let’s go—we can’t stay at Miao Temple tonight.”

In the late night, after tidying up the aftermath, Sui Chunsheng led Zhang Fan and the others to a hotel.

After such a major incident—especially with Si Snake appearing—Miao Temple would likely close for a while; besides, experts from the Earthly Alliance had already arrived.

“I heard Hua Yixun from Laoshan returned empty-handed too.”

“Those two demons clearly used a diversion—what a clever scheme.”

“With something this big happening, Chairman Lou will surely take personal interest.”

Sui Chunsheng and Zhan Xinyue were deeply troubled; they didn’t know exactly what had occurred, but the earthen jar had broken—meaning the Great Demon inside had escaped.

This was no good thing.

“The way Xuanjizi looked at me…”

On the way to the hotel, Zhang Fan was lost in thought; through the window, he watched Miao Temple recede into the distance, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

This night was destined to be sleepless.

In the late night, Xuanjizi finally regained some strength; he slowly awoke from meditation, exhaled a long breath thick with the stench of blood.

“Master, Chairman Lou has called several times already.”

At that moment, a knock came at the door, followed by Zhong Changming’s voice.

“I know… I’ll call him back. Go rest,” Xuanjizi said, gazing at his withered, blackened legs.

“Master, get some rest early.”

Outside, footsteps faded into the distance.

“Si Snake… the Longhu Zhang family… perhaps this is Miao Temple’s doom,” Xuanjizi rose slowly, looked at the phone on the table, and walked over.

Knock knock knock…

At that moment, a soft knock came at the door.

“I already know, Chairman Lou…”

Xuanjizi frowned, walked to the door, opened it—and froze mid-sentence.

Outside stood a figure in a long robe and hat, behind whom followed Yun Jianyue—who had long since fled… no, Bai Yujing.

“Xuanjizi, you’ve lived long enough—ten years is enough.”

A soft voice drifted, gentle as flowing water.

The figure slowly removed his hat, revealing his true face.

Instantly, Xuanjizi’s eyes bulged, his trembling face filled with horror.

“Ren… Ren Xiao!?”

(End of Chapter)