Chapter 239 - 201: Dreamscape

Chapter 239: Chapter 201: Dreamscape

The cooperation with the Arcane Federation was proceeding relatively smoothly. With Dugu Yunfeng acting as the muscle and the local Balder pulling the strings, many of the finer details were handled very well.

Giles was pestering to travel to the Otherworld. Zhang Ji, a bit annoyed, just dumped him on Dugu Yunfeng during the Starship’s return journey.

-----------------

The Starship traversed the void and arrived at a small border town in the Logan Kingdom.

Of course, this was no longer that backward town.

In just half a month, a city had sprung up from the ground. With the full industrial and technological might of Origin Star and the Celestial Essence Realm, a massive transfer hub had been constructed.

The spatial rift there was placed under heavy protection and turned into a domain gate.

This place had now been renamed [Two Realms City].

Aboard the Starship, Giles surveyed the scenery outside, his face filled with excitement.

"So this is the Otherworld? Those people don’t look any different from the ones on Origin Star. Could it be that humans exist in every world? No, wait, that one with the pointy ears is... an elf? Didn’t that Balder guy or whatever say they all live in the Divine Forest Sea?"

As news from the Arcane Federation spread, various factions had come to investigate. Now, it wasn’t just elves; all sorts of intelligent races had gathered. Merfolk, Werewolves, dwarves, and even some rare intelligent creatures would appear nearby from time to time.

News of another plane was, after all, very enticing.

Dugu Yunfeng was also getting a bit fed up with the overly talkative Giles.

From the moment he boarded the Starship, Giles hadn’t stopped talking. At first, Dugu Yunfeng had offered a few perfunctory replies, but eventually, he just clammed up.

He was now starting to regret letting Giles stay in the same cabin as him, just for Zhang Ji’s sake.

’So annoying.’

"I heard that when people from your world cultivate, they form a stone in their chest. Isn’t that uncomfortable?" Giles suddenly asked, turning to Dugu Yunfeng.

"That’s called Core Formation, not a kidney stone!" Dugu Yunfeng, for once, couldn’t hold back his retort. He then said, "We’ve reached the port. For a while, the Starship will be heading to the Sea of Taboos to gather resources. You have clearance in Two Realms City, so just don’t cause any trouble."

After docking, Dugu Yunfeng hastily disembarked.

He really didn’t want to spend any more time with Giles.

He had originally planned to take Giles along to the Sea of Taboos to harvest from the World Tree, but now he’d changed his mind.

’Otherwise, the journey would be unbearably annoying.’

Giles didn’t mind. He got off the Starship by himself and made a beeline for a local restaurant.

The restaurant was built by Origin Star, a product of modular construction. The food served was similar to what you’d find on Origin Star, but they also offered plenty of local specialties.

With the mindset of a tourist, Giles ordered one of everything and began to feast.

What he didn’t notice, however, was that in a distant inn, three figures were watching him.

The group consisted of two men and one woman. The woman looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a long black dress and a blue Dream Flower headpiece.

Of the two men, one looked to be in his thirties or forties, dressed in a formal suit with a handlebar mustache.

The other was a scrawny man who appeared to be in his twenties, constantly muttering to himself under his breath.

These three were the trio of Legendaries dispatched from the Crown of Sin and Thorns.

The Fourth Seat, [Dream Weaver with Empty Eyes] Saya Aurora; the Eighth Seat, [The Eternal Proofreader] Vincent Mispage; and the Eleventh Seat, [Delirium Lighthouse], Lucian Dazzle.

Saya suddenly spoke. "That vessel capable of interplanar travel has appeared again. Besides the Saint King named Dugu Yunfeng, another person disembarked. He seems to have a good relationship with Dugu Yunfeng, with no obvious difference in status."

"What’s his power level?" Vincent asked.

"Not a Legendary. He’s at the level of a Master Level adventurer. Much less dangerous than that Dugu Yunfeng," Saya replied after closing her eyes for a moment.

"In that case, let’s take a look inside his dreams. We should be able to get more information," said Lucian. "That way, we can go back sooner. There are so many people here. It makes me uncomfortable."

Lucian, who was once a lighthouse navigator at sea, was shrouded in solitude.

He wouldn’t see another person for six months to a year at a time. He could only see ships, but the ships would only accept the lighthouse’s guidance before disappearing without a trace.

He studied ancient history all by himself, and by the time he came to his senses, he had already become a Legendary.

But he was also an oddball, a bit autistic and schizophrenic.

He didn’t like being around people.

"Then let’s make our move tonight," Saya said.

She didn’t particularly enjoy Lucian’s company either. If it weren’t for needing this madman to help point the way and make the right choices, she would much prefer to act alone.

Giles was still unaware that he had been targeted.

He was still immersed in the flavorful cuisine of the Otherworld.

The orangutan-faced man was eating with great relish.

He was eating high-end food. After all, even though Two Realms City was newly established, it was built to a very high standard, and the quality of service was not low.

If Zhang Ji hadn’t explicitly forbidden certain things, Giles might have even indulged in the charms of the exotic beauties here.

It wasn’t that Zhang Ji had a problem with the flesh trade, he just found it to be a bit of an eyesore.

Therefore, within his sphere of influence, he shut it down whenever he could.

After finishing his meal, Giles went to a magic item shop and browsed for a while, buying a bunch of random trinkets.

It wasn’t like he was short on money.

Before leaving, Dugu Yunfeng had given him a Spatial Ring filled with a pile of red Demon Crystal Stones and Gold Coins.

Demon Crystal Stones were the common currency of this world.

Their color varied depending on the amount of Magic Power stored inside.

The lowest grade was the white Demon Crystal Stone, which contained little Magic Power, followed by green, blue, purple, red, and orange.

Orange Demon Crystal Stones were the highest grade, generally only used for massive pieces of machinery.

The Magic Power inside one was enough for a Legendary Mage to cast a city-destroying forbidden spell more than ten times.

Below that were the red Demon Crystal Stones.

A single thumb-sized stone was enough to power a large steel ship for ten days and ten nights.

Giles was now exceedingly wealthy, though he wasn’t really aware of it himself.

He had never had much of a concept of money.

Back when he lived in the mountains, he ate whatever the mountains provided.

Later, when he became a Saint King, he just had to point at whatever he wanted.

Now, with the Saint King Council and the Arcane Federation cooperating, even the tiniest fraction of their trade revenue would be a fortune for him. Buying up the merchandise from a few shops was just a drop in the bucket.

If he were to spend all the money Dugu Yunfeng had given him, he could buy out half the shops in Two Realms City.

After a day of playing around, the monkey inexplicably began to feel drowsy.

His bestial instincts put him on alert, but he couldn’t withstand his opponents’ unique methods and superior strength. Thus, Giles fell into a deep slumber.

....

In his dream, Giles found himself back on the day of the Battle of the Saint Kings.

But the ones fighting him weren’t Zhang Ji, but three strange figures.

"His dreamscape is so strange. Is this the other plane? A world of ice and snow?" Vincent said, looking around.

"This is only a part of it. There’s more information inside his dreamscape," Saya said.

"I like this place. There’s no one around."

Lucian wore a comfortable expression, as if he had returned home.

None of them took Giles seriously.

A Master Level being versus three Legendaries? They could play him like a fiddle.

Well, at least that’s what they thought.

"What have you all been muttering about over there?" Giles said. "Weren’t we supposed to fight? It’s just the three of you, right?"

"Hm? He’s still conscious? What impressive spiritual will!" Saya said, slightly surprised.

"I... I’ll do it!" Lucian said. "Just knock him out, and it’ll be fine."

The scrawny young man volunteered, a glint of excitement visible in the depths of his eyes.

He guided the people of the world, but he always led them to forbidden lands of death.

That region was known as the Death Sea Region.

Countless wrecked ships were piled up there, and innumerable vengeful souls were buried within.

He activated his ability and gazed into the distant future. A beam of light from a lighthouse pointed toward a sliver of hope.

In that instant, he was blasted to pieces, turning to dust. A large part of this dream world region was destroyed along with him.

"Imposs—"

BOOM!

The word "impossible" was left unsaid.

Giles flew into a rage. As his fist descended, Lucian’s spiritual body was hit, and the immense power tore the very earth apart, sending endless cracks through the glacier.

Lucian’s dissipating spiritual body re-formed at a distance, disbelief in his eyes.

A revolver made of cupronickel appeared in his hand.

It was old, but covered in countless Demon Patterns. He injected Magic Power into it, and a bullet shot out, landing on the red-furred orangutan’s body.

Unexpectedly, it had no effect.

A massive ape-like arm shot out, grabbed his body, and slammed him violently into the ground.

THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD! CRASH!

On the final slam, Lucian was thrown, plowing a trench several miles long through the ice and snow.

"My turn!"

A throwing axe appeared in Vincent’s hand, and he hurled it directly at the ape.

The spinning axe was shattered by a punch midway through its flight.

"AWOOOO!"

Giles pounded his chest with both hands, his eyes completely bloodshot.

His sanity was almost completely consumed as his form swelled and grew larger.

Saya’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She had constructed this dreamscape using Giles’s own cognition. She could control parts of it, but most of it was still controlled by Giles himself.

But generally speaking, it wasn’t easy for even a Legendary to break free.

She was certain that she had completely clouded Giles’s mind. Right now, he was running purely on instinct.

’This brainless beast is so annoying!’

Saya stretched out her hand, and a jet-black umbrella appeared before her. She threw it toward Giles. The umbrella grew larger and larger, intending to cover him, but halfway there, it was caught by the Divine Ape’s two arms.

RIIIIP!

The umbrella was torn apart.

"AWOOOO!"

The Divine Ape pounded its chest, and scorching waves of heat radiated from its body, melting the ice and snow.

A berserk power awakened from the depths of its bloodline.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

With three consecutive strikes, the earth cracked, and the dream world was destroyed along with it.

The three Legendaries were stunned for a moment before they too were ejected from the dream.

Almost instantly, Giles’s eyes flew open, followed by a furious, deafening roar.

"RAWRGH!"

The sound spread throughout Two Realms City, shattering the glass in numerous buildings. The structures nearest to him cracked and nearly collapsed. Dugu Yunfeng was drawn by the commotion, arriving in an instant as a flash of sword light.

"What happened?" Dugu Yunfeng asked.

"I was ambushed. I don’t know what kind of trick it was, but they can’t have gotten far. Quick, after them..." Giles said, sounding somewhat weak.

The outburst in the dream had taken a heavy toll on his spirit. But the greater cost was that his bloodline power, triggered prematurely by the danger, had forcibly drawn on his own essence to unleash an even greater strength, leaving him severely drained.

Still, it was a blessing in disguise. After this outburst, having experienced a higher state of power, he would only need to recuperate a bit to quickly mature into the complete form of an S-rank bloodline.

Dugu Yunfeng didn’t hesitate. He closed his eyes for a moment, sensed the three auras, and his body transformed into a streak of sword light, shooting away in pursuit.