Chapter 748

"How dare he?"

"A human dares to challenge Lady Wanxi?"

"Lady Wanxi gave him the Golden Token out of kindness, yet he threw it back—this fellow has no sense of gratitude!"

"Hmph… what a waste! That thing would've been perfect for me!"

"Does He Pingsheng have a mental illness?"

"Humans have no real strength—probably just their pride left!"

"Pride? The only human Domain Lord became a slave to the Phoenix Clan—still talking about pride?"

"Hahahaha… pride? The human spine snapped the moment Zhao Xiangdu knelt!"

"Wait—you're all focused on this, but didn't you hear what He Pingsheng just said: 'I'll slaughter every last Phoenix'?"

"Pfft… arrogance!"

"He's the most arrogant person I've ever seen!"

All the prodigies around them were whispering among themselves.

Lady Feng Wanxi's face flushed alternately pale and dark.

Her body trembled slightly.

The line "A wise man adapts to the times" was deliberately spoken by her—to label He Pingsheng as someone who feared the Phoenix Clan and thus surrendered. But she never expected him to refuse the label so stubbornly.

Her calculations had failed.

Yet this fool dares to claim he'll slaughter the entire Phoenix Clan?

Utterly arrogant.

This left Lady Feng Wanxi utterly humiliated.

Far away, in a corner of the crowd, Tian Yao's lips curled into a smug smile.

Everything was her doing.

She was the one who told Lady Feng Wanxi that He Pingsheng had a Divine Phoenix with him.

Of course, that wasn't Tian Yao's real goal—her goal was to incite conflict between He Pingsheng and the Phoenix Clan, so the Phoenixes would kill him for her.

The Phoenix Clan hasn't moved yet.

But it doesn't matter—even without action, the thunder has already been planted between He Pingsheng and the Phoenix Clan.

Wait.

And what will He Pingsheng think later?

He'll surely assume it was Kongkong Crown Prince who betrayed him… hehehe…

This will be good entertainment.

…

On the way back, Zhou Qingmei said: "Young Master, something's off."

"Everyone came here to observe the stone tablet inscriptions—why did the Phoenix Clan's holy maiden suddenly seek us out?"

"She couldn't have just happened to spot Tingtong, could she?"

Zhou Qingmei frowned.

He Pingsheng stopped walking and nodded: "Yes—someone must have informed her in advance."

Today, many came to observe the inscriptions, and the Phoenix Clan had over a hundred disciples.

Though Tingtong carried Phoenix energy, among a hundred Phoenix disciples, Lady Feng Wanxi could not possibly have pinpointed her.

Yet strangely, after viewing the inscriptions, she walked straight toward He Pingsheng.

What does that indicate?

It means someone tipped her off.

Who?

"It must be Kongkong Crown Prince!" Zhou Qingmei said. "Only a few know about this—and Kongkong Crown Prince is one of them."

He Pingsheng took a deep breath: "Perhaps… but it doesn't matter—we're just guessing anyway."

"Let's return and prepare for tomorrow's Three Dreams of Red Dust."

…

Shitai City!

In a vast square!

Along the edges of the square stood hundreds of curved stone benches.

In the center of the square stood a massive array.

Today, the array's light membrane erupted into a pink glow, shimmering dreamily under the sunlight.

On one side of the pink array membrane stood nine hundred and sixty prodigies from ninety-six Domains.

Today, they would enter the Three Dreams of Red Dust trial, which lasted three days.

The pink array before them was the Dream-Building Array, used to forge illusions.

This was the arena of the Three Dreams of Red Dust.

Jin Gang, the Great Lun Ming Wang, and a Buddhist Emperor stood together before them.

"Amitabha!" The Buddhist Emperor bowed to the crowd. "All you prodigies, this is the arena of the Three Dreams of Red Dust. What you see now is the Dream-Building Array."

"Normally, this array requires only two Mahayana Emperor-level demonic emperors to sustain."

"But your generation of prodigies is extraordinary—so I, the Great Lun Ming Wang, and Jin Gang shall jointly sustain this array for you."

"Rest assured."

"Amitabha!" The Buddhist Emperor raised one hand in greeting and continued: "Once cultivators reach a certain level, their cultivation may stagnate even without hitting a bottleneck—due to insufficient worldly experience."

"Worldly experience means inner state."

"The inner state of detachment and engagement."

"Detachment and engagement both attract countless threads of Red Dust energy—the more Red Dust energy one accumulates, the more stable their detachment and engagement become."

"This trial first tests your inner state and Red Dust energy."

"Second, it tests your fortune."

As he spoke, the Buddhist Emperor waved his hand and produced a small golden pouch: "Remember—in the deeper layers of the Three Dreams of Red Dust, everything is illusion. Only two things are real."

"The first is this clump of Red Dust energy in my hand!"

Hummm…

A pink mist emerged from the golden pouch, swirling around the monk's palm.

No larger than a fist.

It emitted a peculiar aura—just one glance felt profoundly mysterious.

"The second is this stone—watch closely!"

The old monk pulled out another stone.

Also no larger than a fist, it was entirely gray, speckled with glints of mineral impurities.

A very ordinary rock.

"When the Three Dreams of Red Dust array activates and draws you into the third layer of the dream, I shall also slip this Red Dust energy into the dream."

"Red Dust energy is a special force."

"Over time, it slowly drifts toward certain cultivators and clings to their primordial spirits."

"The stronger one's detachment and engagement, the greater their Red Dust energy—and the more Red Dust energy they will gather."

"The amount of Red Dust energy gathered is the primary criterion for scoring this trial."

"Second," the old monk turned to the stone in his hand, "I shall also place this stubborn rock into the third layer of the dream."

"Once you enter the dream, you will lose all sense of self—you will forget who you are, forget your cultivation, forget your origins."

"You will remember only your name."

"So even if I drop this stone right before you, you may not notice it."

"Only when you awaken from the dream and return to detachment will you be able to seek it."

"At that moment, you may search for the stone."

"But the timing of awakening varies—some awaken early, some late."

"Awakening early does not guarantee finding the stone—it depends entirely on fortune."

"Thus, this trial tests not only Red Dust energy and inner state, but also your fortune."

"It depends on whether you can encounter this stone at the right moment."