Chapter 385: Break

All the Buddha statues' gazes converged toward the center below, where there stood a huge six-petal lotus Buddha pedestal.

The four directions of the Buddha pedestal each had a Direction Buddha standing.

But what puzzled me was that the area above the Buddha pedestal was covered by a whole piece of bright yellow silk.

I estimated that the main hall's ceiling was thirty meters high, the Buddha pedestal at most three meters, so the main Buddha statue enshrined on it must be about twenty meters tall.

What kind of Buddha statue needs to be that tall?

Or perhaps what stands on the Buddha pedestal is not just a main Buddha statue, but something else as well?

And why would it be covered up?

In front of the Buddha pedestal, Xuan Feng knelt devoutly.

Before it, the humanoid figure kept changing, eventually solidifying into a monk wearing a kasaya and barefoot.

That person was truly handsome, with a face like a full moon, kind eyebrows and eyes, skin white and pure to translucence, large thick earlobes, and Buddha statues all over his body.

He raised his right hand holding the prayer beads and slowly placed it on Xuan Feng's head.

Xuan Feng's whole body relaxed at once, brows lowered, eyes downcast… My heart gave a violent jolt—could this be the supreme deity Xuan Feng reveres?

This is… Di Luan?!

Just as the monk's lips moved, about to enlighten Xuan Feng, I raised my right index finger to my lips and softly uttered one word: "Break!"

This is a dream.

It is the desire‑thought space of Xuan Feng that I lured forth using ancient witchcraft.

Xuan Feng's greatest desire in this life lay right before it.

Having achieved my goal, I will now shatter this dream and bring Xuan Feng back to the real world.

Dream arises, dream breaks.

I personally built a dream for Xuan Feng, then with the other hand destroyed the dream, shattering its long‑cherished wish, thereby achieving the result I wanted.

I am not the first time using this method; each time it has worked very well.

The dream space began to twist and churn the instant I uttered the word "Break".

This is my first time breaking a dream.

According to the Great Witch's witchcraft notes, when the dream‑breaking ends, my soul will be pulled out of the dream immediately, and the people in the dream will not notice my presence at all.

But for some unknown reason, Xuan Feng and Di Luan both looked at me at the same time.

The moment Xuan Feng saw me, its gaze shifted from pure devotion to astonishment, then to sorrow and despair… It realized this was a dream, the lifelong aspiration it had sacrificed its wings for, yet could never fulfill.

Its dream, broken.

It too ought to wake up completely.

Two lines of clear tears slid from its eyes, it slumped to the ground, staring blankly at the floor.

It no longer held any faith in its heart.

Di Luan's hand remained suspended in midair; when he turned his head to look at me, his gaze was still kind and gentle, yet I felt a chill run down my spine and instinctively stepped back.

This is Xuan Feng's dream, meaning that the Di Luan appearing in it ought to be a figment of Xuan Feng's imagination, as unreal as the dream itself.

The entire dream space twisted, everything around constantly collapsing; amidst this chaos, Di Luan's gaze pierced through layer after layer of obstacles and locked precisely onto me.

He had found me!

That thought arose in my mind, and I instinctively chanted witchcraft, trying to break out of the dream.

The witchcraft notes detail how to retreat from the dream‑breaking phantom mirror, and I know them by heart.

But no matter how I chanted or formed seals, my body felt frozen, unable to break free!

After several attempts, I understood.

It wasn't that my dream‑breaking method was wrong; rather, this dream was being controlled.

Even Feng Xianqiu understands witchcraft, so how could Di Luan not?

I even have reason to suspect that his mastery of ancient witchcraft surpasses that of the Great Witch.

He had seized control of Xuan Feng's dream and trapped me.

But he merely gave me a calm glance, then turned his gaze back to Xuan Feng, and a voice full of endless anger rang out: "Trash!"

As the words fell, Xuan Feng's whole body shuddered.

The next moment, it leapt up in fright, flapping the golden wings that only appear in the dream, and lunged toward me.

But just as it took flight, its body suddenly froze mid‑air.

Golden wing feathers drifted down one by one, followed by…

The feathers on its head disappeared, and the feather mark on its brow vanished as well…

In the blink of an eye, it reverted to the black‑bird state, its wings having been cut off.

Its sharp beak uttered human speech for the first time, hoarsely shouting at me a single word: "Run!"

Run?

Where should I run?

As Xuan Feng's body slowly descended, I heard the clink of black‑iron chains striking together.

That sound did not come from its feet, but from behind it.

I had seen that blood‑stained black‑iron chain before; its other end was attached to the Heaven‑Earth Mandarin Duck Hook.

Not long ago, that Heaven‑Earth Mandarin Duck Hook had pierced the chest of a blood corpse right behind my back—I recognized it even reduced to ash.

And now, the same Heaven‑Earth Mandarin Duck Hook pierced Xuan Feng's chest, while the other end of the black‑iron chain was firmly gripped in Di Luan's hand.

The Heaven‑Earth Mandarin Duck Hook was actually Di Luan's weapon.

Xuan Feng stared at me, eyes full of pain; in fact, it knew better than anyone that its fate had been sealed from the start.

It was merely a puppet, never capable of receiving enlightenment; how could a true Buddha casually create such slaughter?

That is not Buddha, that is a demon.

The Black Phoenix lowered its head, watching intently as the claws of the Heaven-Earth Mandarin Duck Hook turned inside its chest, fresh blood mixed with shredded flesh fell down, and within the wound flames flickered——that was the Nirvana fire carried by the spirit bone itself.

Di Luan not only wanted to kill it, but also to tear the spirit bone from its body, turning it into a truly useless discard.

I watched nervously as all this unfolded; the moment I saw the Heaven-Earth Mandarin Duck Hook turning, I understood—Di Luan wanted to take the spirit bone!

Once the spirit bone fell into Di Luan's hands, I would have no chance to retrieve it.

How could I let such a thing happen?

So I immediately summoned the Dark Green Paulownia Nether Seal, forming hand signs and chanting; endless roots densely wrapped around the claws of the Heaven-Earth Mandarin Duck Hook.

But the next moment, a clump of Nirvana fire flared up along the roots.

The roots grew and vanished at the same time, while the surface of the Heaven-Earth Mandarin Duck Hook merely hissed with cold air, yet continued to turn slowly.

This is not the Nether Realm, nor the Feng Clan; this is a temple, the whole main hall filled with thick Buddhist incense—such an environment is not the comfort zone of the Dark Green Paulownia Nether Seal.

My mana was far inferior to Di Luan's.

Just as I was anxious, wondering how to turn the situation around, the Black Phoenix spoke again.

It strained to utter a single word: 'Dream…… dream……'

Dream?

Dream!

I instantly understood its intention.

It had no wings, could not unleash the abilities it once possessed, but I could weave a dream for it once again.

And in this dream, it could grow new wings, undergo Nirvana, and as long as its courage was great enough and its desire sufficiently wanton, it could be invincible……