Chapter 90: The Great Dream Approaches Awakening, Which Feels Longest

"Where are you injured? Who could have hurt you this badly?"

Wei Wei Lingjiang frowned slightly, stepped forward to examine him from head to toe, and after hesitating for a few breaths, suddenly yanked up his sleeve and spun him around several times as if coaxing a small child.

Seeing Chen Heng's right arm hanging limply, her pupils constricted once more.

"It seems many of the matrilocal husband's bones are broken? So miserable?!"

Seeing Qingzhi, her cheeks puffed out roundly, had just struggled to swallow the cake in her mouth, took another huge bite, and spoke indistinctly:

"Luckily Young Lady didn't follow to that so-called Master Huaiwu Cave; if you had gotten injured too, no one would be left to take me to eat, and Seeing Qingzhi would starve to death!"

"... Young Lady, matrilocal husband?"

Yuan Yuan Yangsheng was still in a Xiao Daze when this scene truly stunned him into bewilderment, his hands raised neither here nor there, unsure whether to lift or lower them.

"I was saying that with a face like yours, it was a pity not to properly enjoy living off a woman's wealth; it was quite a waste of heavenly endowment, yet I didn't expect you had already started enjoying it!"

At this moment, Yuan Yuan Yangsheng's chest was filled with myriad frustrations, and he silently howled in his heart:

He cast a deep glance toward the vermilion gate of the Hejiang Sect Master, flicked his sleeve, and departed, saying as he led the way:

The middle-aged Daoist nun had inadvertently caused a celestial phenomenon; although the two of them vaguely perceived it, they did not guess the true circumstances.

"You refined it back then, so how could you possibly find it now?!"

"You cannot find him."

Those words finally brought joy to Chen Heng within the vermilion gate; she fired off questions like a string of firecrackers for a long while, and only after hearing the confirmation did she burst into unrestrained laughter, sounding like a screech owl.

"Xie Tan, I am useless now; I fear it will be difficult to conceal the heavenly machinations for him any longer, do not blame me..."

Beneath a spiritual peak.

Sect Master Yuan Yuan Yangsheng several times attempted to part the gate and step inside, yet repeatedly refrained; whenever his hand touched the gate, it felt as though severely burned by fire, causing him to tremble and withdraw his hand back into his sleeve.

In the end, a bystander could not resist stopping to watch, but being glared at simultaneously by Seeing Qingzhi and Wei Wei Lingjiang, he felt his behavior improper, awkwardly laughed once, and hurriedly walked away...

"At shen hour the day after tomorrow, I will bring this Hejiang over under the pretext of attending a lecture; you should prepare something in advance."

While Sect Master Yuan Yuan Yangsheng remained silent, a shrill male voice suddenly rang out from within the gate, followed immediately by bitter wailing:

Yet that indescribable sense of great terror flashed and vanished in an instant; upon looking up for clues, all that remained was a splendid sight of rosy clouds flying like a sky ablaze, peaceful and uneventful.

The middle-aged Daoist nun tried for a long while longer, but finally retracted her gaze, shook her head, lowered her eyes, and calmed her breathing.

After Chen Heng indulged in a bout of wild laughter, she suddenly seemed to recall Sect Master Hejiang Zhen's Shou Gong.

"I have found a promising seedling named Ai Yuan; her talent is extraordinary, so much so that even the alchemists of the Flower God Celestial Palace speak highly of her as a genius! With her present, you will surely be able to cultivate that page of the Golden Chapter of Earthly Deficiency..."

Yet along this path of wind and rain and hardship, even Xie Tan, recalling the past, could not help but feel sorrowful.

Although twilight was gradually falling, many people were still crossing beneath the floating bridge.

"Deng Lang, Deng Lang! This is truly heaven aiding you! If you can cultivate that Heavenly Demon Art, you will no longer need to fear the Xie clan! Across these Sizhou and Seven Seas, you will never again be a rat chased through the streets!"

Her tone became coquettish and soft as she earnestly invited him inside the gate, wishing to overturn the phoenix and couple with the dragon, enjoying freely the joy of fish and water.

"Cannot find him today? What about tomorrow? The day after? There will surely come a day when I kill my way to your door!"

Sect Master Yuan Yuan Yangsheng said.

Upon hearing those words, Sect Master Yuan Yuan Yangsheng finally changed his expression to urgency.

But after sustaining it for no long duration, it gradually showed signs of collapsing again.

Hejiang Zhen was still lost in thought, pondering deeply, when her wrist was suddenly gripped tightly; without the barrier of fabric, the scalding warmth of a man's palm transmitted through their touching skin in an instant, making her tremble and jolting her abruptly awake.

"It seems... perhaps a celestial anomaly? I am not entirely clear; I only felt the void's fetal membrane seem to tremble slightly; perhaps it is because I have not consumed blood food for many days and became somewhat distracted?"

"By the way, why did you suddenly become restless just now? Did we not agree that before the great matter, you must endure a little?"

Apart from Xie Tan.

"Truly a celestial anomaly?"

"Let go."

The two Wusheng Wusheng Tongzi guarding beside the gate both tightened their expressions, formed a seal with their fingers, simultaneously raised the fly-whisks in their hands, and swept them heavily toward the gate.

"Chen Heng, I have told you before; if you wish to escape Xu Capital Heaven now, you must first pass through the layer of strong qi... as you know, your own Heavenly Demon body cannot deceive the array spirit of the strong qi layer; It will kill you..."

Before the two Wusheng Wusheng Tongzi guarding the gate could speak first, Sect Master Yuan Yuan Yangsheng waved his hand; the two Wusheng Wusheng Tongzi, accustomed to this, bowed in salute and then withdrew with bent backs.

Cold light surged within his long, phoenix-shaped eyes, causing the entire heaven and earth to resonate; in an instant, Lei Ting thunderbolts and golden fiery flames threatened to descend, sweeping away all formless sights!

He then took out a bright silver compass and several bamboo tally sticks, immediately casting a divination; yet no matter how much mental effort he expended to calculate, he could not grasp the slightest inspiration, instead wasting his spirit in vain.

"It was as if a master of great divine powers became enraged, throwing the great trend of heavenly machinations into chaos and striking me out of that state of illumination."

Just before departing, Sect Master Hejiang Zhen finally asked the purpose of his visit.

"The Xie clan has been searching for you for so many years, yet they have not found the slightest trace."

"Deng Lang, we have hidden and fled for so many years, yet still could not evade that wretched woman... I do not want to die; I do not want to become fodder for the Xie clan; let us flee together, flee out of Xu Capital Heaven, flee out of these Sizhou and Seven Seas; even though the Xie clan originates from the Seventeen Great Clans, they cannot possibly come beyond the heavens to capture us!"

But seeing the crystal-clear pair of eyes beneath the veiled hat at Master Huaiwu Cave, her expression was extremely serious.

The sun wheel urgently sank, while fiery sunset light across the sky shimmered and transformed endlessly, myriad and bewildering: now rivers and mountains, now golden drums, now sheep and oxen, now towers and pavilions, now warships; forms changed in a hundred ways in an instant, teeming with life, obscure and manifold.

"You have also injured the lung metal region; it is that the age-fire within your body is too rampant; you should apply the Hundred-Zhang Pill first—"

Seeing Sect Master Yuan Yuan Yangsheng respond, the man he called Chen Heng screamed again.

After helplessly flicking his sleeve, he simply gathered all those items away and re-entered meditative sitting.

Xie Tan, sitting in meditation on the cushion, suddenly retracted the seven-colored Flower God qi circulating hazily around his body; he paced doubtfully for a few steps, then pulled a three-foot-large golden tortoise from his sleeve.

Yet within that vast Daojun Fu Yu Lake, only two people perceived the celestial anomaly.

"So you want us to wait for death? You want us to wait for death? Must you watch me be captured and slain by Hejiang before you are satisfied?"

The male voice vented his resentment with a barrage of curses; after a long while, seeing no response from inside the gate, he finally stopped sobbing and gradually fell silent.

Even those who wished to stop and examine carefully were glared away by Wei Wei Lingjiang and Seeing Qingzhi; unable to thick-skinnedly linger, they left, yet quite a few still secretly kept their distance, hearts filled with awe and envy, unable to resist stealing glances.

"You can; you have no minor impediment. Before returning, just regulate your breath a few times and it will be fine."

Just as the two Wusheng Wusheng Tongzi were breaking out in a light sweat, a clear breeze suddenly arose from nowhere beside them; turning to look, they saw He Jiang, the Sect Master, with a solemn face, exhale a burst of faint radiance, within which was indistinctly the form of an eighth-grade lotus flower.

In that brief span of a few breaths, the sky instantly turned as if light yet profoundly dark, like a bottomless abyss about to swallow and crush all phenomena into fragments!

As their robes fluttered and danced with the wind, they seemed draped in mist and rosy hues; to behold them was to see beings among immortals, making one dare not lift one's gaze.

By the floating bridge of that Fangpu Islet, people had unconsciously gathered in large numbers, stirring up quite a commotion.

And beneath the floating bridge.

At this moment.

……

Nor did anyone see what action he took.

"The bones in both your arms are broken; can you still raise your hands?"

After a good half-incense stick had passed, the Golden Tortoise finally spoke human words, character by character; its voice was extremely robust and powerful, yet its breaths were disjointed, like an old man on the verge of death, who after panting a few times, would collapse to the ground.

Master Huaiwu Cave saw only within arm's reach those cold, deep-as-a-pool eyes, which carried no warmth whatsoever.

"Spirit Division; that is still good; it means there should be no problem."

He could not help but feel astonished and surprised, smiling oddly as he glanced once, then again.

"The joy between man and woman is also a natural human emotion; I am not one to obstruct it and play the villain. But how do you know whether this is genuine affection or an inner demon arising from an obstacle after forming the Jin Dan, deliberately sent to block your path?"

He sighed heavily, carefully stored the Golden Tortoise in his wide sleeve, and sent it into his Purple Palace to be nurtured.

Thunderous crashes followed one after another without cease!

They saw a young man holding a woman's sleeve, probing up and down as if manipulating a cloth doll; his willow-leaf dark eyebrows were tightly knitted, deep worry filled his eyes, and he was so utterly focused it was as if no one else existed.

If he were truly a main-branch disciple of the Changzuo Liu family, then before leaving home to cultivate the Dao, the protective treasure he received would be worth several times, even ten times, the value of this Golden Tortoise, which would not be rare!

"He married into a family yet still risks his life? Little Chen is really going all out! I wonder which wealthy household still lacks a son-in-law; I don't want to strive anymore either."

"Just now, the void fetal membrane stirred abnormally; it seems something provoked a change in the celestial phenomena."

Yuan Yang, the Saint Master, paid no heed to her habitual suspiciousness; his expression suddenly turned solemn, and he asked in a deep voice.

As for the other cultivators, they remained completely unaware, knowing nothing at all...

This Golden Tortoise was a secret treasure bestowed upon him by the head of the Changzuo Liu family after he left Changzuo Liu and came to the Southern Region's Flower God Ce Shen Fu to cultivate.

"I dare not open the door, Chen Heng; I fear he will kill me..."

……

Originally, the tadpole-shaped Jin Fu secret talismans beneath the door were about to dissipate and fade into darkness, but aided by the two fly-whisks, they regained their crystalline brightness and maintained their form.

"Elder Jin, what words are these? Without your protection, Xie would have been plotted against and killed during his Foundation Establishment; how could there be today's Dongxuan, let alone the Jin Dan?"

She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Inside the vermilion gate, Chen Heng sneered coldly: "It must be the Xie clan coming; you have brought that old thing from the Ai clan along to kill me!"

After a moment of silence, he suddenly flipped his hand and grasped hers in reverse.

And that sudden stir in the celestial phenomena, within the vast Fu Yu Lake, was subtly perceived by only a handful of people, leaving them puzzled in their hearts.

"Did Elder Jin perceive something just now? Did the celestial phenomena change abnormally?"

The Golden Tortoise paused for a long while before speaking:

This was only because Xie Tan came from a branch line and was not favored.

"Senior Sister, you are very good."

"Husband Deng, Husband Deng, has he come to see you again?"

It was as if a lion or tiger was hidden inside, unable to restrain the hunger and thirst in its belly, about to smash through the door and rush out to devour people!

"The Xie clan, no, He Jiang! That vile woman of the Ai clan has come for you again! I knew it, I just knew it; she would never let you go! Only after I subdue this evil, wrathful, yin-surpassing demon can I pass the Trial of Methods and successfully enter the Huzhao Sect!

For a few strands of essential qi and the Fire of Longevity Sha, Yuan Mou is fighting to the death; who knows how arduous the various methods of gathering Celestial Gang ahead will be..."

Inside a colossal Giant Que Flying Palace, the residence of Yuan Yang, the Saint Master.

In the end, as expected, just like every other day, it concluded with a venomous curse from He Jiang.

Seeing the scrutinizing gazes grow more and more, Master Huaiwu Cave remained deeply worried and anxious; Ai Yuan frowned slightly, helplessly calling out several times without receiving a response.

Only after the cursing stopped did Yuan Yang, the Saint Master, tremble his lips slightly and speak softly.

This Golden Tortoise could align with heavenly mechanisms and calculations above, and divine the principles of yin and Yang below; unaffected by the erosion of calamity qi and spiritual yuan, it was an extremely precious object.

Yuan Yang, the Saint Master, sighed, repeating words he had spoken countless times before.

……

The men and women on the floating bridge were all like elegant trees; the men were sparse, lofty, and high-spirited, while the women had faces like hibiscus flowers, glowing like lotuses.

Although, if this Golden Tortoise had not injured his fundamental root-fruit, shortening his lifespan, the Changzuo Liu family would not have generously gifted it to him.

"Moreover, this child is a blood descendant of the Chen Yuanshu Chen Yuanshu Zhenjun, bearing immense karmic troubles; whether he can survive another twenty years is unknown, and sooner or later he will be but a mound of yellow earth... By that time, how could you not be heartbroken?"

The scene fell silent for a long while.

The vermilion gate on the lowest level suddenly shook violently twice, causing the countless tadpole-shaped Jin Fu secret talismans above the door to ripple like water, flickering bright and dim, dense as woven shuttles.

While he was there painstakingly pondering his future Bai Bai Qiancheng, Chen Heng was forcibly dragged around by Wei Wei Lingjiang several more times.

He hesitated for a while longer before, as if finally making up his mind, clenched both fists tight.

Panicking, he steadied himself and raised his head.

It had no distinct head or tail, with golden-red pupils; the patterns on its back shell were naturally inscribed into the design of the Four Trigrams and Four Palaces, appearing exceedingly mysterious and unfathomable.

Yuan Yang, the Saint Master, had intended to say more, but seeing this scene, his lips moved a few times before he swallowed his words back and made no sound.

"However... this old one is approaching the limit of his lifespan; unlike in my youth, I can no longer constantly merge my body with the records of above and below, with the latitude and longitude of heaven and earth; perhaps I perceived incorrectly; it is not strange."

He frowned at the Golden Tortoise and said.

Ai Yuan paused, then opened her mouth:

My tone, rarely so authoritative even to myself, stunned Chen Heng.

By the roadside, a middle-aged Daoist nun witnessing the scene clenched and unclenched her fingers repeatedly; finally, a trace of heavy solemnity appeared on her face as she let out a sigh.

Before that sigh escaped, a faint hint of killing intent had already stirred in the middle-aged Daoist nun's heart.

Just before this brilliant light erupted, although the tremendous noises continued for several dozen breaths, growing louder with each successive boom, they finally culminated in a fierce climax, and the vermilion gate ceased its trembling.

"Go back. You may speak a few words with the Lady yourself."

The two fly-whisks were clearly talismanic treasures carefully refined; serving no other purpose, once activated, they immediately shot forth two streams of surging brilliance resembling starry fireflies, all pouring down upon the vermilion gate.