When Feng Jinhuang first started speaking, her tone was excited and animated, but when she mentioned Kong Jue, her voice grew subdued, as though she still shuddered at the memory.
Bai Qing Xianzi stared fixedly at her daughter after hearing this.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
When her concern finally prompted Feng Jinhuang to ask, Bai Qing Xianzi took a deep breath, and a look of surprise and delight shone through her beautiful eyes: "Huang'er, your opportunity has arrived! It seems you truly did enter the dream realm! That Kong Jue you spoke of — he is most likely the Immortal Kong Jue. In history, together with the Heavenly Tribulation Old Monster and the Long Hair Ancestor, they were known as the Three Elders. The Three Elders are the only three supreme grandmasters of Refinement Dao throughout all of time!"
"No wonder the name Kong Jue sounded so familiar to me," Feng Jinhuang said with sudden realization. But then a look of confusion appeared on her exquisite face. "But why would I encounter the Immortal Kong Jue? And why did he try to capture me? Also, why is it that after waking up, I feel as though I've gained a wealth of knowledge about refinement techniques? My understanding of various Gu insects has grown so much deeper — the moment I see a certain Gu, I can immediately recall its refinement recipe, the materials needed, the costs involved, and so on?"
"A blessing! What a blessing..." Bai Qing Xianzi looked up and sighed, so overjoyed that tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Mother, what exactly is this dream realm? Why is it so miraculous?" Feng Jinhuang asked.
Bai Qing Xianzi exhaled a long breath, composing herself, and spoke gently: "Regarding the dream realm, even I know very little. But the earliest recorded mention of it appears in the *Record of the Human Ancestor*."
The Record of the Human Ancestor, Chapter Three, Section Sixteen, records how Human Ancestor's third son, Beiming Bingpo, ventured deep into the Black Sky and obtained the Fire Gu.
In the Black Sky, he was pursued by countless creatures. With no other choice, he hurled the Fire Gu behind him to fend off the enemy.
The Fire Gu ignited the numerous Walking Flesh Trees, and the flames spread quickly, engulfing the bodies of many beasts.
In an instant, creatures wailed and screamed in agony as fire blazed high into the sky.
"So much food, so much food!" the Fire Gu shouted gleefully. Its voice, once frail, had become resonant and booming, tinged even with a hint of savagery and madness.
Beiming Bingpo was stunned: "Fire, Fire, how have you suddenly grown so enormous?"
"I told you — I'm the least picky eater there is. Almost everything is my food! Fire begets fire. Even a single spark can start a prairie fire!" the Fire Gu answered proudly.
Suddenly, the flames surged upward like a wall and lunged toward Beiming Bingpo.
Beiming Bingpo hastily stepped back.
The Fire Gu burst into laughter: "Human, don't be afraid! You saved me — you are my benefactor, my friend. Those creatures fear me and need me to deal with the Dream Realm, so they imprisoned me and starved me. Only you helped me. You are my true friend. From now on, whenever you face difficulty, leave it to me!"
Beiming Bingpo relaxed and said happily: "That's wonderful, friend."
"Friend!" The Fire Gu laughed, then suddenly assumed human form, spreading its arms wide to embrace Beiming Bingpo.
Beiming Bingpo recoiled in fright, taking a big step back: "Fire, excessive enthusiasm is a self-destructive flame. It's best we keep our distance."
The Fire Gu reluctantly halted and circled around Beiming Bingpo, burning a ring: "Human, you really are feeble. No fun at all."
Flames surrounded him on all sides, so Beiming Bingpo waved his hands: "Don't come any closer, don't come any closer. It's too hot, far too hot. Please make a path and let me through."
The flames parted reluctantly. Beiming Bingpo kept backing away, and only after running several hundred steps did he gaze back at the billowing sea of fire and finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But at that very moment, a beast suddenly emerged from the shadow behind him and swallowed Beiming Bingpo whole in a single gulp.
"It's the Dream Realm! So many of them — they've caught up!" many creatures shrieked, scattering in panicked retreat.
"Release my friend at once!" the Fire Gu roared in fury, charging at the horde of Dream Realm beasts.
Under the blaze of the fire, the Dream Realm beasts shrank continuously, like candles burning away at great speed. They let out low growls and fled in every direction.
The Fire Gu devoured everything along the way as it desperately spread toward the beast that had swallowed Beiming Bingpo.
The Dream Realm beast fled, and the Fire Gu pursued relentlessly behind it.
The fleeing beast grew ever larger, ever sturdier, and its speed increased until gradually it pulled away from the Fire Gu on its heels.
The Dream Realm, it turned out, strengthened itself by draining its prey's emotions and desires.
Beiming Bingpo, swallowed whole, possessed an enormous will to survive, and at every moment he longed to save his father, the Human Ancestor.
Moreover, his heart was filled with anxiety — he feared he wouldn't make it in time. And it brimmed with guilt and remorse, because Gu Yue Yinhuang had died because of the meaning of life he had given her.
Beiming Bingpo was, in short, the Dream Realm's ideal prey.
The beast that devoured him swelled with frightening speed. The Fire Gu howled in rage again and again, but the distance between them only grew.
Beiming Bingpo sank deep into the Dream Realm. He fell into a slumber, and in that slumber he saw Gu Yue Yinhuang come back to life. She smiled and said to him: Good brother, I forgive you. I know it wasn't intentional.
Then he saw himself entering the Gate of Life and Death and reviving his father, the Human Ancestor. The Human Ancestor praised him: You are truly my worthy son. Were it not for you, your father would never have come back to life.