Chapter 3346: Lu Yin VS. Meng Sang

Lu Yin quickly tapped into Meng Fuzi’s memories about the Dream Sutra, and in doing so, he learned that, decades ago, just after Dream Manor entered the Fifth Mainland, they had sought out Sleeping Prince. Sleeping Prince was quite well-known in the Fifth Mainland, and he also cultivated the Dream Sutra, which made him a natural target for Dream Manor.

Dream Manor had pursued Sleeping Prince, but they had soon been discovered. Since Sleeping Prince was from the Fifth Mainland, Dream Manor had not dared to make any further attempts, fearing that there would be severe consequences if Lu Yin found out about it. Ultimately, the matter went nowhere.

However, Sleeping Prince’s Dream Sutra had originally come from Dream Manor. During the war between the Sixth and Fifth Mainlands, the Dream Sutra had ended up in the Fifth Mainland.

However, Dream Manor had never taken the risk of targeting Sleeping Prince again, and they had instead maintained a very low profile.

Lu Yin passed by Meng Fuzi and then stood still, contemplating what he had learned. The Dream Sutra was not some overwhelmingly powerful cultivation method, but it was unique in that it allowed one to kill through dreams.

That ability to enter others’ dreams was precisely what Lu Yin needed. However, dreams blurred the lines between reality and illusion. The more completely he could enter a dream, the closer he would be to finding Meng Sang. There was no doubt that a Seraph would have a very profound means to enter dreams.

At the moment, the Dream Sutra would not be nearly enough on its own. Lu Yin needed to examine the cultivation method and refine it further.

Meng Fuzi felt quite uneasy, as he could not understand why Lu Yin had come to Dream Manor. Could his visit be related to their past targeting of Sleeping Prince? No, even if he knew about that, Lord Lu would not go out of his way to pay a visit to Dream Manor over such a thing. There was the current war at the boundary, as well as the recent Astral-10 massacre; were those matters not far more important?

People like Meng Fuzi had no idea how the people at Astral-10 had been slaughtered, as the Heavens Sect had sealed off all information regarding Meng Sang in order to prevent widespread panic.

A Dukkhan was killing people through their dreams and was targeting the people of the Tianyuan Megaverse; who would not be terrified of such a thing?

Without saying another word, Lu Yin vanished.

Meng Fuzi stood in place, completely stunned.

Where did he go?

Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and brought out his die to roll. He needed to roll Timestop to get the time to master and improve the Dream Sutra.

He rolled four times, but he failed to get Timestop even once. He had no choice but to wait ten days.

He closed his eyes and began analyzing the Dream Sutra.

Several days later, Lu Buzheng received an alarming report; all of the mecha pilots at the boundary had been killed in their sleep. Their deaths sent shockwaves across the boundary, but the information was quickly sealed.

The mechas were piloted by ordinary humans. How could any ordinary human go days without any sleep?

Meng Sang had not taken action in the physical world. He was extremely cautious, unlike Bao Qi as an Ortuser or the president of the Spirit Nidus’s Chamber of Commerce. Meng Sang focused solely on killing within dreams.

Cultivators could avoid sleep, but ordinary humans could not.

Lu Buzheng went to the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, and there, he saw Lu Yin intensely focused with his eyes closed. Not wanting to disturb the Dao Monarch, Lu Buzheng instead sent a message to the Infinity Empire, ordering all of their pilots to refrain from sleeping or to not enter any mecha in order to prevent Meng Sang from identifying the pilots.

This was the only option. If Meng Sang decided to massacre everyone in the Infinity Empire, nothing could be done to stop him.

War was not a rational endeavor, and promises were nothing more than token agreements. If treaties were not upheld, there was nothing to be done about it. All that mattered was strength.

Fortunately, Lu Yin’s agreement with the round-faced old man still held. After several days passed and the Infinity Empire remained unharmed, Lu Buzheng heaved a sigh of relief.

It was possible that the empire had not been targeted because there were no more pilots who were qualified to operate the most powerful mechas.

On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin opened his eyes. He brought up his hand and brought out his die. With a tap, he rolled four pips: Timestop. His eyes flickered briefly before he was pulled into his Timestop Space.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

One second later, Lu Yin reappeared on the mountain. He stared out at the starry sky. While it had only been one second on the mountain, he had spent nearly a year analyzing the Dream Sutra.

It was time to fight Meng Sang within dreams.

Lu Yin slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

He entered a strange world where everything was shrouded with mist. This was the Dream Realm.

Just as the real universe was a physical realm, there was also a realm for dreams.

Lu Yin saw the dreams of countless ordinary humans, though not a single cultivator’s dream.

He wandered about the Dream Realm. Dreams were, in fact, an alternate form of the mind’s activity that took place in a different space. In this realm, nothing could truly hide. Even if it could not be seen, it was still there.

This was true of spiritual force, and it was also true of dreams.

The fantastical Dream Realm looked like clusters of bubbles. Lu Yin waved a hand to move the bubbles aside. He remained standing within the Dream Realm and silently waited.

Before long, a figure approached. They wore black robes as they appeared in front of Lu Yin.

Lu Yin stared at the figure. “Meng Sang?”

“We meet again,” a deep voice replied.

“Astral-10. You’re the one who slaughtered the people there.”

“That was our first meeting. They were destined to die sooner or later. Allowing them to die in their dreams was better than leaving them to eventually be destroyed by the universe.”

“You’re not surprised that I came here.”

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Well, here I am.”

“Astral-10 was where you started, and it will also be where you end. I’ll send you to join the rest of them.”

The Dream Realm warped, and Lu Yin’s vision spun. The next instance, he found himself in the Heavens Sect, but then he saw the Dream Realm again. Was he in reality, or was he in a dream? He could not be sure.

The Dream Sutra simply allowed Lu Yin to enter the Dream Realm, where he could confront Meng Sang. However, that cultivation method was essentially laughable before Meng Sang’s abilities. Even with the Dream Sutra, Lu Yin could not be sure whether he was in a dream or reality.

Fortunately, Lu Yin had never intended to rely on the Dream Sutra alone for his fight with Meng Sang.

"When the Dao of Heavens is bestowed, devour the hundreds of rivers, and the reflection of the ancient lands is the way of the sage. When the Dao of Heavens is not present, gather the energy inwards... Leap into the cosmos and crouch..."

The inverted Dream Realm started to tremble beneath the power of the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra as it reinforced Lu Yin’s spiritual force.

Dreams were manifestations of spiritual force, and Lu Yin’s spiritual force was already as steadfast as a stone. With the Origin Sutra, he was able to subdue the entire Dream Realm.

Meng Sang was stunned. What kind of technique was this?

In front of him, Lu Yin moved forward with the Inverse Step, charging at the Seraph. It did not matter if Lu Yin was in a dream or in the real world, there was still only one enemy: Meng Sang.

When moving at the speed of time, even the Dream Realm froze. Lu Yin slammed a hand downwards, and Meng Sang raised his own up to block the attack. There was a loud crash, and the ground beneath them shattered like glass as Lu Yin forced Meng Sang down. They broke through multiple layers of the Dream Realm. It was as though they were shattering through the Dream Realm itself.

If they were in the real world, Lu Yin would have just destroyed the Heavens Sect.

Even so, Lu Yin’s heart remained as steadfast as a stone. He knew that he was in the Dream Realm and that his actions had absolutely no bearing on reality. He trusted the Origin Sutra, and because of that, he trusted everything he saw. As long as Lu Yin believed in something, it was real in this place.

Meng Sang’s arm broke, much to his horror. What was going on with this man? How could he be so certain that he was in a dream? Meng Sang’s innate gift from his Spirit Transformation was called Dreamshade, and it allowed him to invert dreams and reality. This was not through Meng Sang’s will, but rather through manipulating his opponent’s mind and spiritual force.

He had easily drawn Shao Chen into a dream and then killed the man there.

On the other hand, Meng Sang had been completely powerless before the Origin Progenitor. Even when that man was pulled into a dream, he had recognized it as such, and he had known that a dream could be shattered.

Shao Chen had failed to do the same, but Lu Yin had succeeded.

Under the effect of Dreamshade, if Lu Yin held even the tiniest sliver of doubt, dream and reality would have inverted. Meng Sang’s forte lay in unsettling his opponent’s mind.

However, Lu Yin felt no doubt at all. He was in a dream, and dreams were only that. They could not become reality.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The ground below continued to shatter as they plunged into an endless abyss.

Meng Sang’s black robe tore to reveal his true form. He was a gray creature with a bestial head, a humanoid body, and a long tail. His large eyes glimmered with a disturbing intelligence. Those eyes did not see Lu Yin, but rather the shattered Heavens Sect and the countless cultivators within it who had fallen.

Lu Yin’s eyes flared. They were in a dream, so where had the Heavens Sect come from? The Origin Progenitor’s Sutra shook the Dream Realm, and countless illusions were broken.

Numerous people awakened from their own dreams, and they looked at the Heavens Sect in confusion. They felt that they had somehow seen Lord Lu fighting an enemy.

Meng Sang spun around, his tail lashing at Lu Yin.

A hand rose and captured Meng Sang's tail. The Seraph’s entire body was swung down to the ground. “Nothing but a beast!”

Again, the ground shattered with a sharp sound. Meng Sang coughed up blood, his eyes changing. The cleverness vanished, replaced with fury.

How dare this person treat me like this! I am a Seraph! I stand at the top of the Spirit Nidus! He flails me about by my tail? How outrageous!

With one hand, Lu Yin continued to hold Meng Sang's tail tight. A foot shot out, and there was a tearing sound. Blood sprayed. Meng Sang's tail had been ripped off.

Intense pain assaulted the Seraph as he went flying. “You’re seeking death!”

Lu Yin chased after the creature. “What other tricks do you have?”

Meng Sang was a Seraph, just like Bao Qi and the round-faced old man. All of the Seven Seraphs possessed immense strength, but because of Lu Yin’s unshakeable confidence that he was in the Dream Realm, he could not be affected by Dreamshade. Meng Sang could do nothing to him.

The Seraph felt the same dread that had previously afflicted the president of the Spirit Nidus’s Chamber of Commerce. Lu Yin’s physical strength was absolutely terrifying. Being caught once meant that Lu Yin could easily tear his opponent apart. If Meng Sang were not a Seraph and was instead an Ortuser or even just a mere sequence powerhouse, he would have already been easily ripped apart by Lu Yin.

The Seraph turned, only to find that Lu Yin was already upon him. Stars shot out from Lu Yin’s chest as he released his inner universe. As that happened, Meng Sang instinctively used his sequence particles, only to find that they were being repelled.

The Seraph ended up taking Lu Yin’s punch head-on. Meng Sang could feel the impact push his back out, and he coughed up more blood.

Lu Yin reached out, this time grabbing Meng Sang’s head and squeezing as hard as he could.

A chill shot through Meng Sang, and his sharp claws extended as he slashed at Lu Yin with both hands. White streaks were left behind as the claws sliced at Lu Yin.

Right as the claws made contact, Lu Yin’s body withered up. The claws stabbed into his neck and chest, but at the same time, Lu Yin slammed both of hands down onto Meng Sang’s head. The impact flung the two men backwards.

Meng Sang was barely able to see, and his vision was blurred. Lu Yin had nearly crushed the Seraph’s skull.

Lu Yin’s body quickly recovered, and he realized that he had underestimated Meng Sang. The beast’s claws were sharper than anything he had encountered before, though Meng Sang’s attack had not surpassed the limits of Extremes Must Be Reversed, which was why Lu Yin had been able to recover so quickly.

Lu Yin stepped forward, his hand ready to throw a palm strike at Meng Sang.

The Seraph crossed his arms in front of his body. White lines hung in the air after his claws sliced through them. He had just unleashed a battle technique that he had not used in ages, slicing through the void in an attempt to block Lu Yin's attack, even while quickly retreating.

Meng Sang had not used this battle technique ever since he had broken through and become an Ortuser. Since then, he had entered Dukkha and even become a Seraph. Such things had long since become useless to him.

Dreamshade alone made Meng Sang invincible. In the Spirit Nidus, even people like Palace Master Yao and Tian Ci were wary and unwilling to enter their own dreams, and yet Lu Yin had shattered Dreamshade, which had forced Meng Sang into a physical battle.

The head of a beast and the body of a human. This was the form that Meng Sang had chosen during his Spirit Rebirth, because this granted him the greatest amount of physical strength.

Lu Yin had just unleashed a series of attacks that might have even defeated the round-faced old man, had they been fighting. Strength that touched upon the limits of the megaverse was enough to crush any opponent who took Lu Yin’s attacks head-on, unless they possessed similar levels of physical might.