Chapter 3345: Entering The Dream

Every place that meant something to Lord Lu was extraordinary for that alone, and thus, Astral-10 had become a goal. Many of the young people in the Tianyuan Megaverse wished to be admitted.

Shao Chen was calmly sitting in the Rain Observatory after leaving the battle at the boundary.

His solitary palm strike that had forced Bao Qi to enter Dukkha had already become a legend, but Shao Chen was not strong enough to stay at the boundary, as doing so would simply make him a target for the Spirit Nidus.

Shao Chen was well aware of this and did not resist returning to Astral-10.

At the moment, Astral-10 was flourishing. There were many talented students and abundant resources. The school’s graduates were all elites, and more were constantly being produced. From Lu Yin’s class, both Big Pao and Little Pao had stayed at Astral-10 and become mentors. Over the decades, they had both succeeded in becoming Enlighters, which, while incomparable to Lu Yin, was still respectable progress for most talented cultivators.

As Enlighters, they were qualified to serve as teaching assistants at Astral-10.

In addition to the two brothers, Zora, Coco, and Hui Daynight also frequently returned to Astral-10.

Rain was constantly falling onto the stone platform. The Rainmaster approached and bowed. “Headmaster, new students have arrived.”

Shao Chen opened his eyes and then suddenly vanished.

Soon, a group of new students arrived at the Rain Observatory, led by Big Pao.

“Mentor Big Pao, is that really your name? Big Pao sounds like a nickname.”

“Since there’s a Big Pao, is there also a Little Pao?”

“Don’t be rude! Mentor, please forgive my sister’s rudeness...”

Big Pao had nothing to say. He had heard the same questions too many times. Ever since he had become a teaching assistant at Astral-10, he had been tasked with guiding the new students and answering their questions.

After Lu Yin’s class, the students who were admitted to Astral-10 had increasingly impressive talent. The newest class was particularly outstanding. There were even a few students whose auras Big Pao could not sense. All of them had refined bearing and profound cultivations. It was clear that all of them were extraordinary.

The talent of the new students reminded Big Pao of the Ten Arbiters.

At the moment, nearly all of the most talented human youths from across the Tianyuan Megaverse were gathered in Astral-10. Many of the students displayed the same level of talent and ability that had previously appeared in the Ten Arbiters, and the few whose auras Big Pao could not even sense were destined to surpass the Ten Arbiters. Their talent and potential was absolutely unbelievable.

All of these students had Progenitors or peak powerhouses backing them, and they were only attending Astral-10 due to its unique status.

For these students, cultivating at Astral-10 meant little. They were attending only for the prestige. In a few decades, when they joined the Heavens Sect, they would be able to claim that they were Lord Lu’s junior classmates.

There was an incredible amount of prestige to be had in such a title.

“Alright, students, this is the Rain Observatory...” Big Pao began explaining the history of the Rain Observatory, and naturally, the students were most interested in Lu Yin’s story.

Soon, students started writing their names in the rain.

In the distance, Shao Chen watched the energetic young students with a smile from where he stood on a tree. These children represented the future of the Tianyuan Megaverse. The war raging at the boundary was fought for these people, so that they would have the time they needed to grow, regardless of the cost.

Come to think of it, Lord Lu was not much older than they are; he was just a few decades old back then. Time passes in the blink of an eye.

Thinking back, there had been a time when the fire burning at Astral-10 had destroyed the library with all of their battle techniques and cultivation manuals. Madness had lurked within the school, and powerful forces had threatened them from outside. They had been extremely fortunate that Lord Lu’s class had arrived when they had.

“Headmaster, what do you think of the students’ talent?” the Rainmaster asked.

Shao Chen looked over. “They’re not bad. What is that student’s name?”

“He is called Lu Yin.”

“Hmm... and that one?”

“Oh, he’s Xia Luo. He’s part of that Xia family.”

“And the one with the smiling eyes?”

“His name is Silver. I can’t help but feel that there’s something strange about him, though I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“All of them are quite impressive. There’s even a student from the Daynight clan and one from the Mavis family. With them, my Astral-10 will surely surpass the other nine academies and become the best.”

“As long as our headmaster doesn’t go insane.”

“Haha.”

With a gentle laugh, Shao Chen collapsed atop the tree.

In the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin received the devastating news: Astral-10 had been destroyed.

Furious, Lu Yin rushed to the academy. Silence reigned, and there was no one left alive anywhere. Teachers and students’ bodies were scattered across the ground. They looked as though they were sleeping, as though killed in their dreams, but he knew that they were all dead.

Meng Sang

.[1] Lu Yin instantly thought of that Seraph.

He continued to move through Astral-10, and he saw many familiar faces among the fallen: the Trialmaster, the Sandmaster, Old Cai, Little Pao, Big Pao, the Rainmaster, and many of the students. Finally, at a tree in the Rain Observatory, Lu Yin found Shao Chen’s lifeless corpse.

Lightstream appeared and swirled around Lu Yin. A wave of his hand summoned the River of Aeons, and he stepped onto his small boat to sail over the river.

Lu Yin could not change what had already happened. All he could do by sailing over the River of Aeons was alter his own location in the past. He could not save anyone from Astral-10, but he would find Meng Sang and destroy him.

Images flickered across Lu Yin’s vision. He saw Shao Chen falling, the energetic new students collapsing in the Rain Observatory, and Big Pao crumpling. One by one, every person in Astral-10 fell. Lu Yin could do nothing but watch.

He saw a pair of eyes above Astral-10. They belonged to Meng Sang.

Lu Yin jumped down to stand in front of the eyes as the scenes rapidly flickered around him as time flowed past.

Meng Sang stood on a stone in a corner of the Rain Observatory. He was completely unnoticed, and no one could say how long he had been standing there for. Lu Yin had sailed across the River of Aeons to reach the Seraph, and they faced each other, both simply staring at the other.

Lu Yin could see the smile in Meng Sang’s eyes. As the scenes continued to pass by, Meng Sang’s body started to shatter, piece by piece. Finally, it broke like a mirror, dissolving into points of light that then disappeared.

When the scenes stopped appearing, Lu Yin lashed out with a hand, only to find that the space before him was empty. Meng Sang was long gone.

Had he only seen an illusion, or had that been the real Meng Sang?

Sailing across the River of Aeons did not allow the past to change at all. There was no way to alter the deaths that had occurred at Astral-10, or Meng Sang’s escape. Lu Yin did not even know how Meng Sang had left. If he did, he might have given chase in the same manner that he had once pursued Whiteless God.

Lu Yin turned and looked at a tree behind him. All that he had changed was his own location.

This was the place from which Meng Sang had slaughtered everyone in Astral-10. He had disappeared just moments before Lu Yin arrived.

Nothing had changed.

Silently, Lu Yin walked over to the tree. He stood next to Shao Chen’s corpse, staring at it without saying a word.

The round-faced old man had promised Lu Yin that the Spirit Nidus would not slaughter ordinary humans in the Tianyuan Megaverse, but there had been no such people in Astral-10, only cultivators.

In the Rain Observatory, Lu Buzheng sighed. Almost all of the peak powerhouses were stationed at the megaverse’s boundary, and with Arch-Elder Zen dead, the Semi-Progenitor had become the one to oversee all of the Heavens Sect’s affairs.

He was the one who had delivered the devastating news to Lu Yin, informing him of the massacre at Astral-10.

This was not a blow to Lu Yin alone, but a tragedy for the entire Tianyuan Megaverse. The academy had just accepted a new class of students, which included talented youths from many parallel universes. All of them were dead. It was an outrage.

“Announce this order: all cultivators are forbidden from sleeping for the time being,” Lu Yin commanded in a calm voice.

Lu Buzheng immediately spread the word. The calmer Lu Yin sounded, the greater his fury.

All of the people in Astral-10 had been directly killed by Meng Sang. Only one of the Spirit Nidus’s top experts, such as Meng Sang, could have killed Shao Chen so quietly.

The president of the Spirit Nidus’s Chamber of Commerce had promised Lu Yin that the Tianyuan Megaverse’s ordinary humans would not be targeted, but it was clear to all that the people in Astral-10 had been extraordinary.

This was war, and it was a war where one side or the other had to be utterly exterminated. There could be no mercy or holding back. There would only be slaughter.

This was also only the beginning. Until Meng Sang was dealt with, humanity would remain trapped in a nightmare.

Avoiding sleep would also not protect anyone. As long as Meng Sang wanted to kill someone, not even a peak powerhouse would be able to survive.

However, the Cosmic Art meant that Lu Yin could monitor the entire Origin Universe. As long as all the cultivators refrained from sleeping, Meng Sang would have to take direct action to make his target fall asleep. The moment the Seraph made any move, Lu Yin would be able to sense it.

Of course, Meng Sang had ways to kill his target beyond simply killing them in their sleep. He might have methods that Lu Yin did not know about, but it was only possible to guard against what was known.

“Meng Sang deserves to die. He didn’t choose to attack any earlier or any laterer, and instead struck right when Astral-10’s new students arrived. He specifically went after the new students. He had to have been hiding in Astral-10 for some time,” Wang Wen concluded grimly.

Even if Meng Sang had killed one or two peak powerhouses, he would not have created such a stir. The massacre of Astral-10 shook the entire megaverse and incited widespread panic.

“Dao Monarch, Meng Sang won’t act lightly, so when he does, he’s bound to leave an impact,” Wang Wen warned.

Lu Yin already knew this as well, but it would not be easy to deal with Meng Sang.

He had already discussed the matter with Mister Mu, but not even Lu Yin’s master had had a solution.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The only option at the moment was to restart the war.

“There will soon be a major battle at the boundary, but the Spirit Nidus will only defend. They won’t attack us. If we rush in, we’ll suffer heavy losses,” Lu Yin stated as he stared out at the stars. Their positional advantage had formed a gap, as just Meng Sang alone could bring disaster to the Tianyuan Megaverse.

The Tianyuan Megaverse simply did not have the means to hunt for the Seraph wherever he might be. Even if he was found, could anyone actually kill him? The Spirit Nidus would not just stand aside and watch as Meng Sang was surrounded, and there was also still True God lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.

Finding Meng Sang was the most urgent task. As long as he was not found, nothing could be done.

Enter the dream, enter the dream.

Lu Yin moved out. He was headed towards the Sixth Mainland. He knew who he needed to see.

For countless years, the Tianyuan Megaverse had grown and developed without a unified cultivation method. This prevented them from mass-producing experts, but the benefit of such diverse development meant that they had something of everything.

Lu Yin arrived at Dream Manor. It had originally been in the Sixth Mainland’s Sage Martial Realm. After Aeternus had conquered the Sixth Mainland, Dream Manor had relocated to the Outerverse’s Sacred Weave in the Fifth Mainland. But with Aeternus’s defeat, people had started to return to the Sixth Mainland.

Lu Yin’s arrival at Dream Manor startled everyone who was there.

“Meng Fuzi and the people of Dream Manor greet Lord Lu.”

“Greetings, Lord Lu.”

“There’s no need for such formalities,” Lu Yin said. “Meng Fuzi, you’ve heard about the incident at Astral-10, no?”

Meng Fuzi’s expression fell. “Yes, I’ve heard. This will have an immense impact everywhere. Is there anything that my Dream Manor can do for you, Lord Lu?”

Lu Yin stepped forward, and the moment he was within five meters of Meng Fuzi, the man was Possessed.

Lu Yin had Possessed Meng Fuzi once before, and he had discovered the man’s hatred for the Green and White Sages, who had humiliated and defiled Dream Manor’s women. Lu Yin had also caught a glimpse of the Dream Sutra, but at the time, he had not wanted to waste time delving into the cultivation method. However, Lu Yin currently intended to cultivate the Dream Sutra.

Since Meng Sang was able to enter people’s dreams, Lu Yin intended to use the Dream Sutra to find the Seraph in the dream realm.

There were two known inheritances of the Dream Sutra. One belonged to Dream Manor, while the other belonged to Sleeping Prince, who had once ranked 100 on the Top 100 Rankings. He had held that position not because he had lacked the strength to rise higher, but rather because he had wanted to hold that position.

1. Meng Sang means dream + seraph. Also, a way of saying sleep in Chinese is to say "enter dreams," so there are various references in the original text. ☜