Chapter 7: Return to the Dream World
\nWas this meant to kill? Zuo Meng narrowed his eyes. With over twenty years of inner power coursing through him, his body became as light as drifting cotton. As the second wave of arrows neared, he dipped slightly, then kicked off the saddle like a loosed arrow. The masked men in black released their bows in unison, arrows arcing inward toward his position.
\nZuo Meng’s sword flashed, deflecting unavoidable projectiles. He stepped lightly on the shafts themselves, landing where the archers stood.
\nWhat did two decades of cultivation mean?
\nIt placed him on par with Tian Boguang, the Lone Wanderer.
\nWhile Tian mastered the swift blade, Zuo Meng lacked refined swordsmanship. Yet his inner power made the blade fast regardless.
\nBefore the masked men could blink, darkness flickered past. Crimson lines bloomed across the front line’s throats.
\n“Too… fast…”
\nThud!
\nA body tumbled from the roof. The speaker had vanished, leaving the ambush as abrupt as it ended. Though puzzling, Zuo Meng pieced it together – this tied to Ma Wutong, who’d “coincidentally” informed him of his target’s whereabouts at Medicinal Peak’s base. Too many convenient meetings for mere chance.
\n“For the clue you gave,” Zuo Meng muttered toward a corner pavilion, “we’re square now.”
\nHe sheathed his Long Sword, ignoring the corpses, and rode his trembling horse back.
\nEven without hidden advantages, escape routes existed. A Liuhe City expert owed Zuo Han Sheng favors – contacted earlier, though unneeded now. Caution came naturally, but newfound power simplified things. Twenty years’ cultivation meant survival through strength, not schemes.
\nIn shadows:
\n“Senior Brother! Why hold back?” The surviving woman glared where Zuo Meng had vanished, addressing her black-clad companion.
\n“He sensed me.”
\nThe masked man removed his face covering – Ma Wutong himself.
\n“Impossible!” She scoffed. “No amateur detects us at that range!”
\n“Underestimate him at your peril.” Ma Wutong shut the pavilion window, ignoring bodies below. “Zuo Meng’s no talentless fool. He and Junior Sister Zuo Qiu – both Zuo Han Sheng’s hidden blades.”
\n“Whatever he gained likely connects to Gu Fei. Sparing me repaid my ‘help.’ Next meeting decides life and death.”
\n“Can you win?”
\n“Uncertain.”
\nMa Wutong descended, voice fading…
\n“Unharmed?”
\nAt the mountain gate, Zuo Meng found Junior Sister Zuo Qiu in travel garb.
\n“Why wouldn’t I be?”
\nStudying her familiar face, he noted newfound depth. Before, he’d thought them both martial novices. Now, twenty years’ power let him sense her own formidable energy – nearly a decade’s cultivation.
\nA teen girl with ten years’ training? Extraordinary.
\nWhy had she pretended weakness? He dismissed the question. Her care felt genuine – that sufficed. Family needed no explanations.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s good you\u2019re fine. Don\u2019t wander around lately\u2014Master might return.\u201d After confirming Zuo Meng was unharmed, Zuo Qiu resumed her cold demeanor.
\n\u201cUnderstood.\u201d
\nZuo Meng stretched lazily. Having stayed up all night, he planned to catch up on sleep.
\nWith no dreams that night, he wondered how the Dream World had progressed. Last time, he\u2019d grasped basic uses of the law chains. Maybe this time he\u2019d learn something new. Would those new skills manifest in reality like the chains did?
\nThe dream realm grew more intriguing by the day.
\n…
\nDream World
\nZuo Meng stood in the void, becoming the supreme Tai Chu Daoist ancestor and Chaos Creator once more.
\nCountless years had passed here without his interference. The Three Chaotic Beings had developed their own powers through his teachings, creating the ancient bone scripture cultivation method. Each possessed strength capable of moving mountains and overturning the seas. Besides them, beings like Peng Zu and Turtle Ancestor had formed clans, turning the Entire World into chaos as hundreds of tribes fought.
\n\u201cThey\u2019ve touched the root of rules? By my design, their next step should\u2019ve been transcending to become true immortals.\u201d
\nZuo Meng\u2019s imagined cultivation system had been woven into the world\u2019s laws. He\u2019d envisioned true immortals surpassing the Three Realms and Five Elements. Yet these chaotic beings hadn\u2019t met his standards, so he\u2019d stopped guiding them. Surprisingly, they\u2019d forged their own path.
\nCelestial Realm Mountain
\nThe beings mimicked Zuo Meng\u2019s habits. Huang, Kun, and Ling had remodeled their dwellings to resemble Tai Chu Island. This mountain became Huang\u2019s domain.
\n\u201cToo long… A billion years.\u201d
\nLong enough for memories to fade.
\nHuang stared at the sky where Tai Chu Island once floated, eyes glinting. \u201cAfter all this time… does he still exist?\u201d
\nKun emerged, molten body radiating heat that warped the air. \u201cMaybe he\u2019s dead.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ve waited long enough.\u201d Ling rose from the earth, causing spiked plants to erupt around him. His thorny power clashed with Kun\u2019s lava, creating Distortion. Only Huang remained unaffected. \u201cI\u2019ve been trapped at this level for eight hundred million years. I feel age creeping in.\u201d
\n\u201cAre you certain? Challenging the Taichu Immortal Ancestor might bring unimaginable consequences.\u201d
\nHuang looked away. Of the three, only he retained a human-like form resembling their creator. Kun and Ling were monstrous.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to die.\u201d
\nAfter a heavy pause, Kun and Ling spoke as one.
\n\u201cNor do I.\u201d
\nHuang nodded. The three strongest chaotic beings reached agreement.
\nNone wished to perish.
\nWithout transcending immortality, even beings of their stature would meet oblivion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 7: Return to the Dream World Was this meant to kill? Zuo Meng narrowed his eyes. With over twenty years of inner power coursing through him, his body became as light as drifting cotton. As the second wave of arrows neared, he dipped slightly, then kicked off the saddle like a loosed arrow. The masked men in black released their bows in unison,\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[3],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-1385","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-dreaming-to-become-a-creator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1385\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1385"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=1385"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=1385"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=1385"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=1385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}