"What's happening?"
Just as drowsiness was creeping over him, Jiang Chen's entire body suddenly shuddered. The formidable mental force within him erupted at that very instant, forming a bolt of lightning in his divine consciousness that split apart the demon of sleep closing in on his mind.
Boom!
Jiang Chen's head was filled with a roaring buzz.
The next moment, his entire being snapped back to full wakefulness, but cold sweat was already pouring down his forehead. He had come so close—just a fraction of an instant more, and he would have truly fallen asleep.
What was going on?
Heart still pounding with lingering fear, Jiang Chen leaped away like a rabbit.
In that moment, he had been only one step away from drifting into slumber. Just a single step more, and he would have entered a state of deep sleep.
But how could a martial artist at the Earth Spirit Realm—someone with such formidable mental force—suddenly feel the urge to sleep without any warning, and nearly actually succeed?
Without a doubt, this was not a problem with himself.
If it wasn't internal, then it had to be something in the surrounding environment. This seemingly tranquil and serene forest apparently harbored a terrifying power capable of lulling people to sleep.
Jiang Chen sniffed the air, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "The Wood of the Dream God?"
Fragments of memory from his previous life surfaced directly in his consciousness. Looking again at the enormous trees surrounding him and cross-referencing with what he knew of the Wood of the Dream God, the match was nearly perfect—almost without a single discrepancy.
"The Wood of the Dream God grows to a height of a hundred zhang. Its trunk continuously secretes a silvery-white resin that is colorless and odorless, capable of numbing the mind and inducing sleep... The rhythmic swaying of its branches produces a peculiar wave pattern that further accelerates the onset of drowsiness..."
Every detail from his knowledge of the Dream God's Wood confirmed what he now saw before him—these towering giants matched the descriptions perfectly.
"The Valley of Peril—three steps brings calamity, five steps brings disaster. It seems the old saying really isn't just scare talk. But as the ancients say, misfortune is where fortune leans. Where there is danger, good fortune lies hidden behind it. And likewise, where there is fortune, disaster may lurk just behind. The resin of this Dream God's Wood is colorless and odorless, yet possesses powerful hypnotic properties. If I could collect a large quantity of it, it would surely prove invaluable."
Jiang Chen pondered for only a moment before his mind filled with numerous potential uses. His heart lifted: "As expected—behind every calamity, there is always fortune to be found. This resin is absolutely a treasure. What a shame these trees are far too large, or transplanting a few would be the wisest move imaginable."
He sighed inwardly but felt no real regret.
Holding his breath, he deliberately forced himself not to watch the rhythmic swaying of the branches. Taking out his tools, he began to harvest the resin.
The substance was sticky, oozing continuously from every trunk, but collecting it wasn't particularly difficult.
Before long, Jiang Chen had amassed a sizable pile.
"That's about enough. If I stay any longer, even though I can hold my breath, if this colorless, odorless resin invades my divine consciousness, I'll be in real trouble."
Knowing when to quit, Jiang Chen stored all the collected resin of the Dream God's Wood into his Storage Ring and swiftly departed. The patch of Dream God's Wood stretched for roughly three to five li.
It wasn't long before Jiang Chen had exited the area entirely.
He drew a long, deep breath, feeling the overwhelming relief of someone who had narrowly escaped disaster. Just a moment longer, and he would have been completely hypnotized.
"I wonder if the other martial artists also encountered this Dream God's Wood. If everyone ran into it, then those who could make it out of the Valley of Peril alive would be few and far between."
Jiang Chen, with his formidable mental force, had nearly fallen victim. For anyone with even slightly weaker willpower, they would have dropped asleep on the spot.
The most terrifying thing about the Dream God's Wood was that once a person was hypnotized and entered deep sleep without timely intervention, they would be lost to an eternal slumber, nearly impossible to wake.
However, in his previous life, Jiang Chen had never specifically studied the Dream God's Wood in depth. According to the records, this tree was said to grow stronger the stronger the resistance it faced.
When confronted with powerful mental resistance, it would secrete even more resin, and the hypnotic effect of its swaying branches would intensify accordingly.
In other words, the higher one's mental cultivation, the more potent the Dream God's Wood's soporific energy became.
Such was the nature of growing stronger against the strong.
Regardless, Jiang Chen felt immensely grateful. With this sobering lesson as a warning, he would be far more cautious going forward.
Deep within the valley, the terrain was treacherous and complex. Though Jiang Chen's Heavenly Eye Divine Pulpil granted him many advantages, his field of vision here was nothing like the open expanse he enjoyed outside.
From time to time, earsplitting howls echoed from all directions—sounds clearly not made by humans, but by the fierce beasts and creatures that inhabited the Valley of Peril.
Eight thousand people flooding into the valley was bound to shatter its ancient peace.
And if powerful creatures called this valley home, they would surely attack these uninvited intruders. After all, no one appreciated having their territory disturbed.
Jiang Chen, however, was not overly concerned. With his powerful divine consciousness, he could at least anticipate where dangerous creatures lurked. If they proved too powerful to fight head-on, he could simply detour around them. If he couldn't afford to provoke them, he could afford to avoid them.
"Ten days. If I hole up in one spot and play it safe, surviving for ten days would be no problem at all. But this trial of fortune is built on five words—seek riches in the midst of peril. If I don't dare to take risks, what was even the point of entering this Valley of Peril?"
Jiang Chen had no intention of playing the coward.
"Now I have the Ice Fire Demon Lotus, my own strength at the Earth Spirit Realm, plus the Yuan Magnetic Gold Mountain and an array of life-saving methods. Even if I encounter a high Spirit Grade demon beast, I can hold my own in a fight. And on top of that, I still have the Gold-Munching Mouse as my hidden trump card."
With great skill comes great boldness. Emboldened by his abilities, Jiang Chen set off to explore the Valley of Peril.