"Help me, help me, Benefactor!"
The voices clung to Tai Bai Yun Sheng's ears. He abruptly opened his eyes and sat bolt upright in bed.
Hu, hu...
He panted heavily, his whole body covered in sticky sweat, extremely uncomfortable.
Another nightmare!
Under the dim lamplight, this peak Rank Five master displayed a haggard appearance befitting his age.
In the silent room, Tai Bai Yun Sheng's panting gradually subsided, and his tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he sank into a deathly silence, staring blankly into space, his eyes revealing an immense weariness.
Ever since he failed the trial, and abandoned Zhu Zai and Gao Yang out of selfishness, leading to their deaths, Tai Bai Yun Sheng had been trapped in deep self-blame and guilt.
Almost every night, he had a similar nightmare.
In the nightmare, blood splattered everywhere, a stench filled the air, all kinds of ugly blood beasts bared their fangs and claws, and he was trapped deep within an encirclement, once again facing the pleas of Zhu Zai and Gao Yang.
They called him Benefactor and begged him to save them.
But each time, even though his empty aperture was brimming with true essence, he remained utterly paralyzed, watching helplessly as Zhu Zai and Gao Yang were surrounded by layers of blood beasts, devoured flesh and blood, and finally gnawed down to pale white skeletons.
Throughout the process, Zhu Zai and Gao Yang never stopped pleading, sometimes begging, sometimes switching to rebukes, sometimes cursing, sometimes taunting.
In the end, when they became snow-white skeletons lying in a pool of scarlet blood, only their skulls remained. Yet they still said—
"I believe in Lord Tai Bai, he is so benevolent and compassionate, he would never abandon us!"
"Mm. I believe in him too! Even if I die, I still believe..."
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was in agony, pained, helpless, and full of regret!
Especially at the final moment, he would always collapse weakly to his knees in the dream, letting blood splash onto his white beard and hair, crying bitterly.
He felt he was no longer Tai Bai Yun Sheng.
This kind of experience forced him to re-examine himself.
But every re-examination was a severe denial.
Sometimes, when he looked in the mirror, he even felt he was looking at a stranger!
There was more than one person unable to sleep tonight.
The night had grown deep.
In the Imperial Court blessed land, the night was brilliantly bright. Silver light poured down upon this world.
Hei Lou Lan leaned by the window, gazing into the distance. At the top of the Holy Palace, the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building was still condensing new floors, resplendent with brilliant clouds of smoke, dazzlingly beautiful.
"Damn it! I lost the Tower Lord Token. What the hell is going on?" Recalling the scene from the trial earlier, Hei Lou Lan ground her teeth and clenched her fists, a fierce light flashing in her eyes, as if she wanted to devour someone.
In all previous generations, no new Tower Lord had ever lost the Tower Lord Token, yet it had happened to Hei Lou Lan.
"Forget it! Even without the Tower Lord Token, I can't use the killer move Grey Melt, so what? No difficulty can stop me from getting the Strength Immortal Gu! Mother, watch from the underworld as I exact revenge for you!"
Fang Yuan strolled through the courtyard of the Holy Palace.
His expression was poor, a look of deep gravity on his face.
In the Flower Courtyard, jade springs, stone bridges, and blossoming flowers were as vibrant as spring. Such beautiful scenery, yet he had no mind to appreciate it.
Having just withdrawn from the White Jade Main Hall, Fang Yuan was troubled by the matter of subjugating the Imperial Court land spirit.
In his mind, Mo Yao's will chuckled softly: "Hehehe, who would have thought the condition for acknowledging a master in the Imperial Court blessed land was actually this. Boy, given your gloomy, scheming nature, it won't be easy for you to find a woman you truly love, who also truly loves you."
Not long ago, Fang Yuan had faced the Imperial Court land spirit, Frost Jade Peacock, and was immediately informed of the condition to become the master of the Imperial Court—True Love!
To make the Frost Jade Peacock willingly acknowledge a master and be obedient, what was needed wasn't one person, but a pair of Gu Master lovers who truly loved each other.
It was very easy for Giant Sun Immortal Venerable to meet this condition.
But for Fang Yuan, it was fraught with difficulty.
Not to mention anything else, just making Fang Yuan truly love a woman was almost impossible.
"In my past life, I could have achieved this. But this life..." Fang Yuan paced, stopped on a stone bridge, his hand resting on the railing as he gazed at the emerald lake beneath the bridge, sneering coldly.
The surface of the lake was like a mirror, shimmering brilliantly like silver under the night's glow.
The attempt to storm the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building at night had been thrilling, yet it had come to an abrupt halt.