Meng Qiuzhen was restrained by Gu Insects, forced to keep his eyes shut, and then led to a hidden location.
"Alright, Number Three, you may open your eyes." A sharp, piercing voice suddenly rang out.
The Gu Insects pinning Meng Qiuzhen down had clearly been withdrawn. He opened his eyes and found himself inside a dark cavern.
Meng Qiuzhen was kneeling on the ground, and only one person stood before him — an old man.
The old man's voice was sharp and grating, his face smeared with paint, giving off an eerily sinister and chilling impression.
"So this is the leader of the Painted Face People — Elder Ghost Heart," Meng Qiuzhen thought to himself. "I never imagined I'd get to see a legendary figure from a hundred thousand years ago through this dream."
Indeed, Meng Qiuzhen was exploring a dream realm.
This dream realm naturally originated from Demon Venerable You Hun.
The Elder Ghost Heart within the dream was a dual cultivator of both the Wisdom Path and the Transformation Path — a legendary figure who had lived a hundred thousand years ago, between the eras of You Hun and Le Tu. He had founded a
This organization, much like the Zombie Alliance and the
Every member painted their face with various colors of oil paint to signify their rank and identity.
The Painted Face People were an assassination organization. Killing powerful Gu Masters was routine business for them. During their heyday, they even had Gu Immortals among their ranks — and for a sufficient price, they would kill Immortals on a client's behalf!
Meng Qiuzhen had been exploring this dream for quite some time already, gradually climbing from his initial rank of one hundred and eight up to rank three.
"If my instincts are right, then once I advance to rank one, I'll be able to clear this dream realm," Meng Qiuzhen was quite certain — the intuition of a Dream Path Grandmaster had already given him the answer.
Elder Ghost Heart produced three Gu Insects. "Number Three, advancing to rank two won't be so easy. Here are three Gu Insects. Choose one. Each represents a different trial."
Meng Qiuzhen secretly activated his Dream Butterfly Immortal Gu.
Nearly all Gu Insects from other paths could not be freely used within a dream realm, but Dream Path Gu Insects were, of course, the exception.
After being infused with Immortal Essence, the Dream Butterfly Immortal Gu vanished in an instant within Meng Qiuzhen's Immortal aperture.
Meng Qiuzhen first directed his attention toward the Gu Insect on the left.
In the next moment, he saw himself choosing that Gu Insect — his whole body convulsing, white foam spilling from his mouth, dying horribly on the spot.
Elder Ghost Heart gazed down at the corpse and remarked with cold indifference, "What a pity, Number Three. You excel in the Transformation Path, but your Wisdom Path ability is far too lacking. Choosing this was simply terrible luck on your part."
Meng Qiuzhen withdrew his gaze, and the scene before him vanished. He then turned his attention to the Gu Insect in the center.
The next moment, he witnessed yet another scene.
The instant he picked up the center Gu Insect, Elder Ghost Heart suddenly launched a violent attack.
With a thunderous boom, his palm struck Meng Qiuzhen square in the chest.
Caught completely off guard, Meng Qiuzhen's sternum was shattered to pieces and his heart obliterated. His eyes bulged wide as he died instantly on the spot.
Elder Ghost Heart sneered, "So you're the traitor. You came here hunting for this Gu Insect, but little did you know — it was a trap I set specifically. I leaked word in advance to ensnare those
Meng Qiuzhen withdrew his gaze once more.
Clearly, the first two Gu Insects were not viable options, but the third wasn't necessarily the correct answer either.
Just as Meng Qiuzhen was about to continue investigating, Elder Ghost Heart urged impatiently, "Choose quickly — what are you still dithering for?"
Meng Qiuzhen was already well acquainted with the Painted Face People's cruel and ruthless nature, their tyrannical disregard for human life. He knew full well that even a moment's hesitation would prompt Elder Ghost Heart to activate the Gu Insects inside his body — inflicting immediate and severe punishment, heavy injuries at best, and quite possibly instant death.
Without further thought of using the Dream Butterfly Immortal Gu, Meng Qiuzhen quickly spoke, choosing the third and final Gu Insect.
For just a moment, a complex expression seemed to cross Elder Ghost Heart's face.
After a few breaths of silence, Elder Ghost Heart nodded. "You chose the Gu most suited to you. It seems your fortune is decent. Perhaps you'll gain some benefit there — and perhaps you might even return alive."
With that, Elder Ghost Heart stepped aside, moving away from the door behind him. "Open this door, and you will enter a Passage. Walk through quickly — do not linger, or the Passage will digest you. Once you cross it, you will arrive at a place. There, fight with everything you have and survive. If you find a way back and successfully return to me, you will become the organization's rank one."
"Yes, my lord." Meng Qiuzhen rose immediately, pushed open the door, and entered the Passage.
This Passage was quite peculiar. Its interior was cylindrical, the walls made of flesh and blood that trembled ceaselessly, continuously seeping corrosive acid and putrid fluid.
Meng Qiuzhen activated the defensive measures on his person and immediately felt the crushing pressure. Just as Elder Ghost Heart had warned — lingering here too long would indeed result in being "digested" by the Passage.
He swiftly traversed the long, damp, and eerie flesh-walled Passage, emerging into a vast and boundless world.
Within the primordial jungle, savage beasts roared and monstrous birds shrieked.
In the distance, two beastman tribes were locked in savage battle.
Meng Qiuzhen looked back — the Passage that had brought him here had already vanished, leaving behind nothing but an unremarkable cliff face.
Meng Qiuzhen's heart trembled with shock. His main body,
Several days later, the dream realm dissipated.
Meng Qiuzhen, his face etched with exhaustion, began to examine the gains from this venture.
"My attainment in both the Transformation Path and the Wisdom Path has risen to some degree. Not bad at all." Meng Qiuzhen was fairly satisfied.
The Transformation Path improvement was one thing, but the real key was the Wisdom Path — that was what truly needed to be elevated.
Especially given that
The true Myriad Beast Mixed Color Heaven was naturally a vast and boundless place, but where Meng Qiuzhen currently stood, in essence, remained nothing more than a dream realm.