Chapter 155: The Unsolvable Dream
Zhi suddenly felt an unbelievable sensation. It seemed that there was a human presence within the Vermilion Bird Pearl. How could a human presence have entered the Vermilion Bird Pearl? This was truly an absurd mystery. Zhi thought he must be mistaken, so he focused again and confirmed that, indeed, there was a human presence.
Zhi gathered his thoughts and carefully examined the Vermilion Bird Pearl once more. Its exterior was simple and unremarkable, but now Zhi felt differently; it seemed that the human presence was not inside the Vermilion Bird Pearl but rather that someone was using their consciousness to observe it just like he was.
Looking around, Zhi saw only the familiar Vermilion Birds; there was not a single shadow of a person here. Where could this human presence be coming from? This left Zhi greatly puzzled.
He couldn't help but think, "Could it be that a human has infiltrated here?" The moment this thought crossed his mind, he was taken aback. If a human really had entered, it would be a serious matter. Drawing on his heightened senses from rigorous training, Zhi began to search for this person.
In an instant, Ji Zichen felt as if he had been struck by lightning, jolting his non-physical consciousness. The sensation felt as if it would tear his awareness into shreds. Kiko wanted to scream but found himself unable to make a sound. He glanced at Lin Chuyu, but unfortunately, she seemed oblivious to his suffering.
At that moment, Kiko couldn't cry out, but Li Tang had already begun to shriek in pain on his behalf.
Zhi and the other Vermilion Birds noticed Li Tang's distress. Although they recognized something was wrong with her, they did not understand why she was screaming. One of the Vermilion Birds shot her a glance and asked, "What are you screaming about?"
Li Tang replied in confusion, "I feel like I've been hit by an electric current!"
Zhi stared in disbelief. "You were hit by an electric current?"
The electric current was indeed released by Zhi; however, his intention was not to harm Li Tang but to locate the human presence. Now, without finding the person and instead causing Li Tang to scream in pain, he felt frustrated.
"Then! There is only one possibility," Zhi thought urgently. "Someone is possessing Li Tang!"
The human presence Zhi sensed was faint; it seemed there was only one—attached to Li Tang. Since only one human had arrived, this person could potentially be a spy or someone trying to steal the Vermilion Bird Pearl!
A terrifying and invisible force pressed down on Ji Zichen's consciousness from all directions. At first, he felt his awareness being distorted under this pressure. His face paled with fear as he struggled to breathe under its weight. Kiko forced himself to endure and reminded himself that this was merely a dream; no matter how intense the pain felt, it was just an illusion.
Just an illusion; he wasn't really here. No matter how much pain he felt right now, he wouldn't die—right? "It should be like that," Kiko thought uncertainly. But if this truly was a dream, then how could Zhi manifest in it?
Ji Zichen felt as if his consciousness was being stretched into a thin line, as if something was pulling him in, and he suddenly shivered, guessing, "This feeling seems to indicate that this force wants to pull me into something and trap me!"
His guess was correct; the force indeed intended to do just that. However, no matter where it wanted to confine him, Ji Zichen had no intention of going in.
Thinking of this, Ji Zichen struggled fiercely against it, and his elongated consciousness gradually began to retract.
"Useless! You, a mere mortal, can't escape!" the force exclaimed triumphantly!
The statement was vague and left others confused. Lin Chuyu and Ji Zichen were unable to see each other but could vaguely make out a shadowy figure. It was as if they were sitting side by side on Li Tang's back. Lin Chuyu noticed that Ji Zichen's shadow appeared slightly stretched and exclaimed, "Brother Ji, your shadow...!"
At that moment, Ji Zichen had no time to respond to Lin Chuyu's question. In a critical moment, he managed to retract his consciousness. He couldn't believe what was happening; he didn't understand how this force manifested itself. The face of the force appeared terrifying.
To be precise, it was the face within the force's consciousness that had become distorted, uneven, exuding an aura of malevolence.
The force had already seen the shadow of Ji Zichen's consciousness. "I see you!"
Ji Zichen gasped for breath as he noticed green flames surrounding him. These green flames encircled the state of his conscious shadow, indicating that the force intended to burn away Ji Zichen's consciousness that had already detached from his physical body.
Suddenly, flames shot toward him, and Ji Zichen shouted, "Run!"
He and Lin Chuyu jumped off Li Tang's back, but Ji Zichen felt as if he hadn't exerted any effort in that leap. He didn't want to dwell on why that was; when the green flames missed their target, they dissipated into the air. Having narrowly escaped one attack, Ji Zichen thought he might not be so lucky again. Not knowing the way around here, he could only run along a dirt path that was barely visible.
As he ran, both Ji Zichen and Lin Chuyu suddenly found themselves lifted into the air as if something was pulling them forward. The mountains beneath them receded rapidly; the force's hideous face grew more distant. Ji Zichen felt himself getting closer to his physical body.
"You can't escape!" the terrifying voice of the force echoed. "I will catch you!"
Just as Ji Zichen felt himself re-entering his body, something struck him hard. Dazed and confused, he muttered and opened his eyes to find that his head had hit the floor, while the furious roar of the force faded away.
"Brother Ji!" Lin Chuyu exclaimed, waking up with a start. Half sitting up in bed, she joyfully said, "Brother Ji, we made it out!"
Her attention shifted to Ji Zichen, who was slumped on the floor. Lin Chuyu hurriedly got out of bed to help him up. "Brother Ji, what happened to you?"
Ji Zichen replied, "I'm fine, I just bumped my head." Lin Chuyu supported Ji Zichen as they made their way to the tea table, her mind still lingering on the haunting image that had been etched in his memory.
"That was really close!" Ji Zichen said with relief.
Lin Chuyu kindly poured him a glass of water. Ji Zichen drank it all in one go before starting to inquire about what had just happened. "What was that all about? How did you end up having such a dream?"
Lin Chuyu looked puzzled as well. "I... I don't know. I just fell asleep and then it happened."
Ji Zichen pondered for a moment. "Just like that? I don't think it's that simple. Could it be your Vermilion Bird Form causing this? Does the Vermilion Bird Form resonate with your emotions and those of the Zhuque?"
Lin Chuyu shook her head. "I don't know."
In fact, this was also Ji Zichen's speculation. He continued, "This dream seems to be from the past. You see, the Vermilion Bird Pearl is destroyed now, but in that dream, it still existed."
Lin Chuyu didn't have much recollection of the Vermilion Bird Pearl and pressed further, "What does this dream want to tell us?"
Ji Zichen couldn't guess either. "It seems like this dream is trying to convey something to you; perhaps I interrupted it by stumbling in."
Lin Chuyu said anxiously, "What should we do then? Will I have this dream again?"
Ji Zichen hesitated for a moment before answering, "You might, or you might not." He had no real answers; such matters were beyond his understanding.
That kind of dream was truly terrifying. Lin Chuyu shuddered and said, "Brother Ji, I don't want to have dreams like that again. Can you think of a way to help?"
Ji Zichen gazed at her. "I have no choice, but I know there’s a reason for all of this. We can only take it one step at a time."
That was all Ji Zichen could do, but he could see that Lin Chuyu had completely understood his meaning. Despite the worry etched on her face, this was beyond Ji Zichen's capabilities. He wanted to help, but he was powerless because he was not a Vermilion Bird.
They looked into each other's eyes, silently communicating many things that words could not express. If there were other Vermilion Birds in this world, perhaps they could seek out companions who might know something. However, Ji Zichen did not know any other Vermilion Birds, and asking around would surely yield no answers.
"Let's leave this place, Brother Ji," Lin Chuyu suddenly suggested. "This has never happened before. Is there something in Qingyang City that is causing me to have such dreams?"
Ji Zichen couldn't guess the reason either, but the possibility that something in Qingyang City was causing her dreams seemed unlikely. He pondered, "Could it be because they came to the Desolate Central Plain? Divine Dawn is located in the Desolate Central Plain."
"Could it be that she resonated with Divine Dawn?" Ji Zichen considered again. But now they couldn't go to Divine Dawn to investigate, as that place was not far from Fierce Death Valley. If they went there, there was a high chance they would encounter people from Desolate Evil Hall.
Now was not the right time to reveal the location of Divine Dawn. Ji Zichen said, "We can't leave just yet. Last time I contacted Prince Huixin about a joint effort, he hadn't replied then. How about this: you stay here for now while I go meet Prince Huixin and then we can make plans."
Though Lin Chuyu was reluctant, she nodded in agreement. Ji Zichen left the room. The dream had left Lin Chuyu feeling extremely fatigued, but she dared not sleep again at that moment.
---
The ruthless Hall of Malevolence Cult encountered the Zhang City soldiers once more at the outskirts of Zhang City in Mountain Valley. The soldiers from Zhang City and Qingyang City formed a united front and halted their advance once again; both sides entered a stalemate where neither could overpower the other.
This time, the Hall of Malevolence Cult fought with cold ruthlessness. However, one advantage for the Zhang City soldiers was their familiarity with Mountain Valley compared to the Hall of Malevolence Cult. The area surrounding Zhang City was characterized by rolling mountains and several rivers. After experiencing battle, much of the forest had been burned down and was no longer lush.
Many stumps of dead trees and destroyed camps dotted the ground; they could serve as landmarks as well as cover for use in combat.
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