A massive spatial storm and turbulent flows raged unchecked, instantly wiping this entire force from existence.
Such a terrifying spectacle left the crowd watching from below completely speechless.
"Big brother... he's actually that strong?" Guo'er stared at
From within the spatial rift, streams of silver light poured out, even manifesting glittering points that resembled a galaxy.
"First the key, then the backlash — and now I have to open the passage myself!"
Leylin murmured as a dazzling bright moon rose behind him. The clear radiance of the crescent moon spread outward, stabilizing the void and revealing a silver passage.
"Come here!" In the instant before his departure, Leylin beckoned with a wave of his hand, and Guo'er flew up from the ground directly to him.
"Big brother..." the little girl called out timidly, then could say no more, clearly having sensed the difference in Leylin.
"The power of fate brought us together in this world. Though I'm not certain whether this place is real or illusory, consider this my parting gift!"
Leylin chuckled softly. A mote of light sank into Guo'er's forehead, and then he stepped into the silver passage and vanished without a trace.
......
The Dark Extreme Domain, upon an altar.
The black altar's surface was covered in runes and energy circuits, with Carol seated at the very center. Before her lay the crystal ball that had been used to collect traces of Leylin's aura.
Wisps of dark energy circled it ceaselessly. Eugene and another wizard watched from the sidelines.
Suddenly, the entire crystal ball shattered, and massive plumes of black energy surged outward. Carol let out a piercing scream, her eyes rolling white as she collapsed unconscious.
"What happened? Curse backlash?"
The wizard leader frowned. A flash of green light from a magical artifact appeared, instantly sinking into her body and bringing Carol back to consciousness.
"What went wrong? Didn't you say your spirit magic had reached the point where it could commune with the dream realm, and would absolutely work on any Morning Star wizard?" Eugene shouted.
"We've been deceived! The target has most likely advanced to the Brilliant Moon! A Brilliant Moon-level true spirit isn't something a shallow dream manipulator like me can hope to confuse..."
Carol's eyes were somewhat vacant. "And although I can't perceive everything within the dream, I can be absolutely certain that the target is hiding an enormous secret!"
"That's for sure — no one without some great secret could possibly break through the threshold of the Fifth Rank!"
The wizard leader's voice turned cold. "Prepare for battle! The target has definitely discovered us!"
Raylin felt his body grow light, and then he was drifting through a void.
After escaping from that dream realm, he had entered this state. All he could see before him was a boundless expanse of hazy grey fog, stretching on without end.
"I can't keep drifting — I need to return as quickly as possible!"
Raylin pressed forward with all his might. A cold, luminous soul radiance bloomed from his entire body, and beneath its glow the mist gradually dispersed, revealing a small island.
Raylin's eyes lit up as he arrived on the island. The sensation of solid ground beneath his feet gave him a measure of reassurance.
The island was not large — its longest diameter was no more than a thousand meters — and at its very center stood a small fountain. Several strange wisps of light drifted uncertainly about the water.
"Gurgle! Gurgle! Hi there! Hello!"
Perched atop a black palm tree, a one-eyed owl greeted Raylin cheerfully.
"Hello, friend! Could you tell me where this is?" Raylin raised a hand in greeting.
*[Ding! Scan complete. No vital energy fluctuations detected ahead. Thermal and radiation readings: both zero!]* The Chip also reported back in secret.
"This is the crevice between the dream world and the real world. Let me think… when was the last visitor here? Mm! She arrived five hundred and seventy-two years after you did — a very pretty young girl!"
The owl spoke words that Raylin found somewhat difficult to understand.
"Wait… isn't this the Cursed Dream? And how could a future visitor possibly arrive before me?" Raylin voiced his doubts.
"The dream world is an otherworld composed of the dreams of all sentient beings. It is everywhere, and utterly absurd — time and space are both illusions to the dream…"
The one-eyed owl fixed its gaze on Raylin. "Your dream is, of course, also a part of the dream world!"
"Is that so?" A flicker of hesitation appeared on Raylin's face.
He had heard of the Dream World before. Even in the ancient era, it was a place that made countless Wizards turn pale at the mere mention of it. There had even been an invasion from the Dream World that dealt a devastating blow to the entire
Many of the Evil
Of course, this world was rife with instability. Even the lowliest insect might grow into an Evil God by the next day, while the most formidable Evil God could vanish without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Because of this nature, the Dream World's invasion dissipated quickly, but for the ancient Wizards it remained an indescribable taboo!
"In the ancient era, many Wizards explored the Dream. I never expected I'd get this chance too…"
Raylin stroked his chin. "Setting everything else aside, if I could find the dreams of those Rule Wizards — or even the dreams of the Wise Ancient Tree or the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents — wouldn't that mean I'd hit the jackpot?"
"Then, sir! How do I get back to the real world? And if I want to visit the Dream World again, is there a way?"
Raylin gave a slight bow toward the owl perched on the tree branch.
"I like a polite young man!" The owl let out a hooting, rumbling sound. It shook its wings, and a single gray feather drifted down.
Raylin looked at the gray feather in his hand. It was very soft, yet the tip at the end had a hard, rigid feel to it.
"Leaving the Dream is quite simple — all you have to do is wake up. As for the path to the Dream, perhaps this can help you!" The owl flapped its wings.
"Now, I should go back to the past and have dinner with my former self! Sweet dreams, sir!"
Watching the gray owl vanish from his sight, Raylin's grip on the gray feather tightened involuntarily.
"Wake up? That's all it takes?" he murmured under his breath, his eyes seemingly lost in a haze of confusion.
……
Bang! As though plunging from a great height, every muscle in Raylin's body tensed, and he sat bolt upright.
"Darling, what's wrong?"
The light clicked on, and Xiling leaned over with a worried expression.
"Is this… the Nature Alliance Academy?!" Staring at a ceiling that was both familiar and foreign, along with the surrounding furnishings, Raylin's pupils dilated at first, then quickly returned to focus.
"Are you alright?" Xiling looked quite anxious. After all, for an advanced Wizard to suffer nightmares was an exceedingly rare occurrence.
"It's nothing!" Raylin raised his right hand, and on his palm, a gray feather materialized before his eyes.
"The Dream World! The most enigmatic of all otherworlds — a collective of countless wills that blur time and space! One day, all your mysteries will be fully revealed before me!"
Raylin spoke in a low voice, carefully storing the feather away as he issued a silent command: "Chip! Pull up my previous status!"
[Ding! Subject has suffered unknown interference! True Spirit is in a state of submersion!]
……A dense stream of information scrolled across his vision, confirming that Raylin's previous experience had not been an illusion.
[Ding! Reverse tracking successful! Target coordinates confirmed!]In the final analysis and result, Raylin found an address.
This was data the Chip had obtained by reverse-tracking through the opponent's curse.
"Not far — it seems this Dream Curse also has certain distance requirements for the caster!" Raylin's expression turned dark, and a sharp killing intent surged to the surface.
"How dare you spy on me! You're dead!" Boom! His entire body dissolved into an afterimage and vanished from the room in an instant. Xiling stared after the direction Raylin had disappeared, her expression flickering uncertainly…
"Move! If the curse backlash hits, they'll definitely discover this place!"
After the leader's warning, Carol finally snapped to attention.
"So what? It's just a newly promoted Bright Moon. The three of us together — what is there to be afraid of?" Eugene looked rather dismissive.
"Eugene has a point. Prepare for battle!" The leader let out a heavy sigh.
"Captain, what's wrong?" Carol's face tensed with alarm, then her expression changed again as she looked toward the sky not far away.
There, a black energy storm was already hurtling toward them at terrifying speed.
"It's not that we don't want to leave — it's that they've already caught up!" The captain said with a bitter smile.
"Hsss!"
The figure hurtling toward them from the distance had clearly been enraged by this provocation. A horrifying phantom of the Comorin Snake Emperor materialized behind their back.
Dense black energy surged outward in an instant, sweeping toward their position.
Crack! Everything in its path — rock, soil, all of it — was reduced to nothing in the blink of an eye.
Eugene's pupils contracted sharply as he locked onto the figure hurtling toward them. "Is that a Comorin Giant Serpent? Why is the oppressive aura so much stronger than anything in the records? The phantom described in the documents was nothing like this, and besides…"
Eugene's hands began to tremble slightly. "Why does even a newly ascended Brilliant Moon radiate such overwhelming presence?"
"You! All of you deserve to die!" A savage voice erupted from the figure's mouth. Behind them, the colossal serpent phantom suddenly opened its gaping maw and lunged forward to swallow everything whole.
"No good — get out of here!" Streaks of black light flickered, and almost the instant they evacuated, a massive black serpent phantom bit down viciously where they had been standing. A tremendous crunching sound rang out as it tore away a huge chunk of empty void itself.
"That's not a Comorin Giant Serpent — it's the emperor among them! The Comorin Snake Emperor!!!"
The leader seemed to recall something, crying out involuntarily in shock: "That legend — it's actually real!"