"You can film Dream Mirage, I thought only Fan Chong of Penglai Island could do that!" Xiao Xinghai heard the conversation between Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye and was very interested in the topic.

Lu Yang introduced with considerable pride, "What’s Fan Chong? Just a nobody. This is my Junior Sister, Tao Yaoye, not only is she beautiful but also incredibly smart. The Dream Mirage was her invention!"

Tao Yaoye’s cheeks blushed slightly when she heard this, but she pretended not to hear Man Gu’s response.

"As for Fan Chong of Penglai Island, he’s just a copycat. If he were in our Great Xia, he would have been jailed long ago. Junior Sister Tao is the original creator."

"That’s amazing." Xiao Xinghai’s eyes lit up as he listened.

"Can you arrange a role for me? I don’t mind playing a hero or a villain." Xiao Xinghai had long wanted to become a character in the Dream Mirage; not to mention, this thing was famous.

Tao Yaoye thought the Kunpeng Clan was quite warm and hospitable; the Black Feather Ancestor didn’t vent his anger on them, the Clan Leader Xiao told them stories of Great Powers, and Xiao Xinghai, who kept transforming into pengs and kuns, pulled them in for a tour; that was quite generous.

"Sure." It’s just a role.

Lu Yang pondered, "What do you think of the script just now? How about we replace the Long Clan in it with the Kunpeng Clan, and you play the Kunpeng who drags Junior Sister Tao into trouble?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Xiao Xinghai immediately agreed when he heard he had so much screen time.

"What about me, can I get a role too?" Meng Jingzhou edged over to join the fun.

Lu Yang, with a look of disdain, pushed Meng Jingzhou aside, "There are enough roles, no place for you."

Meng Jingzhou said enthusiastically, "How can there not be? Aren’t you on the mission to scrape bones and restore flesh to your parents? I can play your dad."

Li Haoran also came over, "Yi Ren and I are actually fiancées, how about we play the parents?"

To play Lu Yang’s father, Li Haoran was willing to sacrifice his image and play the pretty boy.

"Get lost, kid. You two cause trouble, and I’ll play your dad."

"Fine, fine, fine, I’ll change roles... But no, there aren’t many important roles in your script." Meng Jingzhou felt his status was too high to play an insignificant character in the Dream Mirage.

"Think of a way to modify the script."

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Brother Lu, give me a role too?" Man Gu joined in too; he wanted to be part of the Dream Mirage as well.

Lu Yang felt a headache coming on; where were all these important roles in the Nezha Conquers the Sea story supposed to come from?

Tricky.

Suddenly, Lu Yang had a flash of inspiration and found a solution, "We can change everyone’s background, say that a vine gave birth to four gourds, and when the gourds split open, they turned into four people."

"Hey, that’s a good background, really fits the fact that the East Sea is rich in natural treasures."

"When the time comes, I’ll pop out of a gourd first and challenge Xiao Xinghai. If I can’t beat him, Old Meng, you go on next, followed by Junior Brother Man, and Junior Brother Li, just like that, we’ll fight..."

After all, Su Yiren was a hermit and not suited to appear in the Dream Mirage.

Xiao Xinghai, hearing the intense discussion by Lu Yang, also joined the exchange; the five of them grew more and more excited, almost wishing they could practice a round right then and there.

"I’ll start with this move when the time comes..."

"Then I’ll strike back like this, an injury for an injury..."

Tao Yaoye didn’t quite understand why Lu Yang and the others were so excited.

"What’s Junior Sister Tao’s identity?" Meng Jingzhou asked the key question.

Lu Yang, stroking his chin in thought, said, "A butterfly spirit... no, that doesn’t make sense, where would a butterfly spirit in the East Sea come from? How about we set her as a disciple of the genius of Penglai Island?"

"What do you think, Junior Sister Tao?"

"I’m fine with anything."

Tao Yaoye looked utterly disinterested; however she heard it, her role in the script wasn’t significant, so whatever went, let it be.

"Xiao Tao, do you have feelings for Lu Yang?" Su Yiren transmitted her voice to Tao Yaoye.

Su Yiren, after all, had been through it all. Unlike Lu Yang and his group of numb-headed blockheads, she noticed the budding affection Tao Yaoye harbored for Lu Yang.

Tao Yaoye’s cheeks flushed redder than before as she transmitted her voice back, her tone shy, "Senior Su, you noticed?"

"Mhm, I noticed a bit."

"Do you have any ideas, Senior Su?"

Su Yiren thought for a moment and then seriously suggested, "Cultivation."

"Cultivation?"

With conviction, Su Yiren said, "That’s right. As long as you work hard at cultivating and surpass Lu Yang in cultivation level, when the time comes, you can drag him into the bridal chamber by force. Even if he resists, it’ll be no use!"

"For instance, I can do that with Haoran."

Tao Yaoye thought about it, and it seemed to indeed be the case, perfectly in line with the Cultivation World’s principle of respecting the powerful.

Su Yiren recalled something else and said, "Additionally, after you return to Great Xia, you could go to the black market in Chunjiang City of Youzhou. I bought this drop of blood there, and everyone who has used it says it’s excellent..."

While Su Yiren and Tao Yaoye whispered, on the other side, Lu Yang had already finalized the details of the script.

"Penglai Island grows our four gourds. Brother Xinghai, if you want to eat Junior Sister Tao, just let her drown, then I will make my entrance, bursting out from a gourd... Sorted, let’s do it this way! Shall we find a place to practice?"

Tao Yaoye needed a real place as a template to construct the Dream Mirage scene and then make alterations based on it.

Without having seen Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, Man Gu, Li Haoran, and the Kun Peng in battle, Tao Yaoye couldn’t construct the Dream Mirage.

"Are there any islands nearby?"

"There are." Xiao Xinghai said. For such a fun matter, even if there weren’t any, he’d get the elders of the clan to build an island.

"Junior Sister Tao, why don’t you also walk through the rehearsal?"

"Alright." Tao Yaoye, having just received Su Yiren’s true transmission, shook off her earlier dispirited state.

Xiao Xinghai carried everyone to an island filled with the chirping of birds and fragrant flowers.

This place was beyond the territory of the Kunpeng Clan, but because it was right next to the clan’s domain, no one dared to live here; it was a deserted island, perfect for putting on a play.

...

Tao Yaoye changed into a new outfit, dressing in the Penglai Island uniform, looking cheeky and adorable.

With her hands behind her back, holding a pair of shoes, her ankles disappeared into the soft sand and water as she hummed a cheerful folk song, walking along the shore, her hair adorned with a freshly plucked wildflower.

Suddenly, a demon wind blew by, and the Kun Fish, transformed by Xiao Xinghai, surfaced, its emerald eyes fixated on Tao Yaoye, emanating extreme danger.

"Such pure cultivation, truly a favorite child of heaven and earth. Penglai cultivator, today you ought to fall into my belly!"

Xiao Xinghai exercised his divine ability, and Tao Yaoye’s figure wobbled, falling forward into the sea unconsciously, blowing bubbles and struggling while crying for help.

In that critical moment, deep on Penglai Island stood a gourd vine. The gourd vine was an ancient primordial Spirit Root, which after enduring countless trials and tribulations, finally matured.

A cracking sound was heard as the first gourd to ripen was the red one.

The red gourd split open, and Lu Yang, dressed in red gourd-leaf-made shorts, sprang out, quickly growing to the size of an ordinary man with the breeze.

"Evil creature, how dare you harm people!" shouted Lu Yang as he dived into the East Sea, lifting the thoroughly drenched Tao Yaoye in his arms.

Tao Yaoye hadn’t expected Lu Yang to make such an intimate gesture. Now being held by him, she was so nervous she stuttered, "Elder Brother Lu Yang, thi-thi-this..."

"Junior Sister Tao, act more convincingly when we’re rehearsing," Lu Yang whispered.

As quiet as a mosquito, Tao Yaoye murmured her agreement.