The valley had no name.
Before the blessed land appeared, it had only been an ordinary place in Central Continent. Sparse trees grew between grey stones, wild grass covered the slopes, and a thin stream wound through the valley bottom. No mortal village had settled nearby. No small sect had occupied it. No famous inheritance had ever been recorded here.
But now, the valley was sealed for a thousand li.
Clouds floated above the mountains in unnatural layers.
Formation light hid beneath the earth.
Every few hundred li, mortal Gu Masters guarded roads and passes. Deeper inside, hidden Gu Immortal wills swept the surroundings again and again.
No outsider could enter.
No stray immortal could approach.
Even birds flying too close were struck down by invisible blades of wind.
Fang Ming walked with the disciples of Wing of Freedom Sect, his face calm and ordinary.
Right now, he was Wu Meng.
A quiet rank five disciple.
Not the leader.
Not the strongest.
Not the weakest.
Exactly the kind of person people remembered only when counting heads.
The group from Wing of Freedom Sect had nine disciples in total. Their leader was a rank five peak Gu Master named Luo Fei. He was in his thirties, with sharp eyebrows and a serious expression. Beside him were two rank five elders among mortals, both chosen for their stable temperaments. The rest were younger disciples, mostly rank four and rank five.
They had been attacked by eagles on the way here.
Their clothes had been changed, their wounds treated, and their expressions adjusted, but faint traces remained. A few disciples still had pale faces. One had lost a defensive Gu. Another kept glancing at the sky.
Luo Fei had considered reporting the attack, but finally chose not to.
Returning to the sect would mean losing the quota.
No one wanted that.
The dream path blessed land was too rare.
Even if it was collapsing, even if it was dangerous, even if the benefits were uncertain, the sect had paid a price to obtain these places.
They had to continue.
When they reached the outer valley, two Gu Immortals looked over from above.
One was an old man in grey robes, his eyes like cold stones.
The other was a woman wearing feather-patterned robes, most likely from a wind path force.
Neither descended.
A mortal representative checked Wing of Freedom Sect's token, then allowed them to pass through three formations.
The deeper they went, the stranger the valley became.
The stream no longer flowed downward.
It floated in segments through the air like broken glass.
A tree on the left side had green leaves on one half and withered branches on the other. A stone nearby reflected moonlight, even though the sun still hung overhead.
Dream fog seeped from cracks in space.
It was pale purple, faint and slow, like breath from a sleeping beast.
Fang Ming lowered his gaze.
The blessed land's entrance was close.
A large stone platform had been built in the center of the valley. Around it stood Gu Immortals from different Central Continent forces. Some were from the great ancient sects, while others were from subsidiary sects. Their auras were restrained, but the pressure was still heavy.
Mortal disciples from several forces waited nearby.
Some wore blue robes embroidered with rivers.
Some wore black belts and carried soul path Gu.
Some wore white robes and stood proudly without speaking.
The subsidiary sect disciples naturally stayed at the outer edge.
The disciples from the stronger forces stood closer to the entrance.
This was Central Continent's righteous path.
Everything had order.
Everything had rules.
And every rule protected the interests of those above.
A middle-aged Gu Immortal stepped forward. His voice spread through the valley.
"All disciples entering this blessed land will obey the prior agreement. Fighting near the entrance is forbidden. Those who intentionally destroy the blessed land's structure will be punished. Those who discover dream path Gu worms, dream path resource points, dream beast traces, or land spirit information must record them."
His gaze swept across the mortals.
"This blessed land is already collapsing. Gu Immortals cannot enter without accelerating its destruction. You mortals are the most suitable explorers."
Some disciples straightened their backs.
To be told by a Gu Immortal that they were useful made them proud.
Fang Ming felt nothing.
The Gu Immortal continued, "Each sect has its own arrangements. Each group has its own mission. What you gain inside depends on your ability. But remember this: dream path is strange. Do not trust what you see. Do not sleep casually. Do not touch unknown fog. If you hear someone calling your name from behind when no one is there, do not answer."
Several younger disciples turned pale.
Another Gu Immortal spoke next.
"Main sect disciples have priority in some marked regions. Subsidiary sects may explore the outer dream zones and unmarked areas. If conflict occurs, resolve it after leaving. If you kill each other inside, do not think your sect can protect you from investigation."
The words were fair on the surface.
But the meaning was obvious.
The best known regions already belonged to stronger sects.
Subsidiary sects could only search what remained.
Luo Fei clenched his fists but lowered his head.
Wing of Freedom Sect had no right to argue.
A white-robed young woman in the distance glanced toward the entrance. Her expression was calm, but the disciples around her naturally left some space.
Fang Ming recognized her.
Feng Jin Huang.
He did not stare.
His gaze passed over her like he was only looking around.
Dream path opportunity.
Feng Jin Huang present.
This was not surprising.
In the current era, if Central Continent had a dream path opportunity and Spirit Affinity House did not send Feng Jin Huang, that would be strange.
Luo Fei noticed the direction of Wu Meng's gaze and spoke softly, "Do not provoke her."
Fang Ming lowered his head. "I understand."
Luo Fei's expression was solemn. "She is Feng Jin Huang of Spirit Affinity House. Her parents are both Gu Immortals, and not ordinary ones. If our path conflicts with hers, we retreat."
Another Wing of Freedom Sect disciple muttered, "We are not even allowed to compete?"
Luo Fei looked at him coldly.
The disciple immediately shut up.
Luo Fei continued, "Also avoid disciples from Ancient Soul Sect, Combat Immortal Sect, and Heaven's Envy Manor. Some of them may carry immortal-level methods given by their elders. We have one defensive method as well, but it is not for fighting over resources. It is for survival."
The disciples' eyes lit slightly.
They had guessed the sect would not send them in empty-handed, but hearing Luo Fei confirm it still gave them confidence.
Fang Ming remained silent.
So they carried immortal methods.
That was important.
Even if Gu Immortals could not enter, their hands still reached into the blessed land through mortal bodies.
The entrance opened.
It did not look like a doorway.
It looked like a wound in the air.
The space in front of the stone platform cracked open, revealing pieces of another world. A field of flowers overlapped with a dark lake. A broken tower hung upside down in the sky. A pale sun rose and set repeatedly in the same breath.
Dream fog flowed out.
The Gu Immortals stabilized the entrance with formations.
"Enter."
The first group moved.
Then the second.
Then the third.
When Wing of Freedom Sect's turn came, Luo Fei took a deep breath.
"Stay together. Do not touch anything without permission."
The group stepped through.
Fang Ming followed among them.
The moment he crossed the entrance, the world trembled.
It was faint.
Almost undetectable.
But Fang Ming felt it.
The blessed land had noticed weight that should not be there.
Familiar Face could deceive people.
Attitude Gu could deceive perception.
But it could not erase the dao marks on his immortal body.
The collapsing blessed land groaned silently, like an old house accepting one more hidden giant.
Fang Ming's expression did not change.
He only reached one conclusion.
He had to move quickly.
The disciples landed in a forest.
At least, it was mostly a forest.
The ground beneath their feet was covered in black soil, but a few steps ahead, the soil turned into shallow water. Beyond the water was grassland. Beyond the grassland stood a row of houses with no doors. Above the houses floated a broken moon, even though the sky behind them was bright blue.
A bird flew across the sky, then became a fish, then vanished.
One disciple swallowed. "This is dream path?"
Luo Fei said, "Record first."
A rank four disciple took out an information path Gu and began storing the scene.
Fang Ming looked behind him.
The entrance was still visible. Beyond it, faint mirror-like light showed the outside valley. Gu Immortals could likely observe the entry area.
Not everything.
Not deeply.
But enough.
He could not act yet.
Luo Fei pointed ahead. "Our first target is dream dew grass. According to the map, there should be a small patch near a half-real lake. If we collect even a few stalks, the sect will reward us."
Another disciple asked, "What about dream Gu?"
"Record if found. Capture only if safe."
"What about the land spirit?"
Luo Fei shook his head. "Do not approach unless we receive clear signs. The land spirit is dying, but that does not mean it is harmless."
The group moved.
The dream blessed land was difficult to walk through.
Some paths repeated.
Some trees turned into walls when approached.
Once, a disciple stepped on a stone and suddenly began crying, claiming he had seen his dead mother. Luo Fei slapped him awake with a Gu worm activation.
The disciple's face was covered in sweat.
Fang Ming observed quietly.
Dream path was strange indeed.
Even with his future knowledge, he did not underestimate it.
Knowledge of the future was not the same as resistance to dream path methods.
After traveling for half an hour, they heard shouting.
A group of disciples from another subsidiary sect stood near a silver pond. Mist rose from the water, forming human faces that appeared and disappeared.
Beside the pond grew thin grass with translucent leaves.
Dream dew grass.
But between the two groups stood a beast.
It looked like a deer, but its body was made of pale fog. Its antlers spread like tree branches, and small sleeping faces hung from them like fruit.
A dream beast.
Not a desolate beast.
Only Gu Master level.
But dream path made it troublesome.
A disciple from the other sect held a paper talisman in his hand. The talisman burned with faint immortal aura.
The dream beast was clearly agitated by it.
It stomped the ground, and rings of dream fog spread outward.
The disciples from that sect had already retreated far away, but the beast now blocked the pond.
Luo Fei's face darkened.
"Ancient Soul Sect's subsidiary."
The other group's leader sneered. "This dream beast was unstable when we arrived. Do not blame us."
"You used an immortal method to disturb it."
"Do you have evidence?"
The Wing of Freedom Sect disciples were furious.
The dream dew grass was right there.
But the beast blocked the path.
If they fought it directly, they might suffer losses. If they waited, other groups would move ahead.
One disciple whispered, "Senior Brother Luo, should we use our method?"
Luo Fei's face sank. "Our immortal method is defensive. It can block one fatal attack or dream erosion, but it cannot help us collect grass."
"Then what do we do?"
"Wait for it to calm."
"But then—"
Luo Fei cut him off. "Would you rather die?"
The disciples were silent.
Fang Ming looked at the talisman ashes in the other sect disciple's hand.
So this was how it was.
The disciples were mortals, but they carried tools from immortals.
Some defensive.
Some disruptive.
Some maybe used for collection, escape, or sealing.
Central Continent had not sent children into a treasure land empty-handed.
Fang Ming's original plan had been to follow quietly for longer.
Now he changed it.
If the other groups were already using immortal-level arrangements to sabotage and seize resources, honest waiting would only waste time.
He needed chaos.
Not random chaos.
Controlled chaos.
The dream beast raised its head and released a soft cry.
Several disciples became dazed.
Fang Ming lowered his head and pretended to be affected.
In truth, he was already thinking through the terrain.
The entrance was behind them.
Observation from outside was weakening as dream fog thickened.
There were too many groups nearby.
Too many eyes.
He needed to separate.
A few minutes later, Luo Fei finally decided to move around the pond and search elsewhere first.
The Wing of Freedom Sect disciples were unwilling, but they followed.
As they walked, Fang Ming slowed slightly.
A disciple beside him asked, "Wu Meng?"
Fang Ming frowned and looked toward the left. "I saw movement in the fog."
The disciple immediately became tense. "Dream beast?"
"Maybe. I will check nearby."
"Alone?"
"I will not go far."
The disciple hesitated, but Wu Meng had always been quiet and independent. This behavior was not too strange.
Luo Fei glanced back. "Do not leave the marked range."
"Yes."
Fang Ming stepped into the fog.
His figure became blurry.
Then he vanished.
After confirming no one followed, Fang Ming's eyes became cold.
A small opening appeared in his immortal aperture.
Eagle cries erupted soundlessly at first, then pierced through the dream fog.
One eagle flew out.
Then ten.
Then dozens.
Rank five eagles spread their wings, each one large enough to cast a shadow over several houses. Rank four eagles followed in groups. Lower-ranked eagles poured outward like a dark cloud.
Fang Ming did not release them all in one place.
He split them.
Some flew high.
Some skimmed the ground.
Some circled dream fog zones.
Some rushed toward disciple groups.
Some directly attacked dream beasts, then retreated.
This was not a beast rampage.
This was an enslavement path formation spread across the sky.
Fang Ming closed his eyes for a breath.
Through control, command, and instinct, the eagle swarm became his hands.
A rank five eagle dived toward the dream deer near the silver pond.
The dream beast raised its antlers and released dream fog.
The eagle was struck and froze briefly in the air, but another eagle struck from the side, forcing the dream beast to move.
The disciples near the pond shouted in shock.
"Eagles!"
"Where did so many eagles come from?"
"Defend!"
At another location, a group from a river path sect had just found dream fog crystals growing inside a cave. Fang Ming sent eagles to block the cave entrance, forcing them to retreat.
Farther away, three eagles attacked a nest of dream moth Gu, sending the glowing moths scattering into the sky.
The blessed land became noisy.
Dream beasts woke.
Disciples panicked.
Groups that had been competing over resources suddenly had to defend themselves.
A few disciples activated sect-given methods.
A golden barrier appeared around one group.
A soul path chain shot out from another disciple and trapped a dream fox.
A white jade token shattered, releasing a burst of immortal wind that cut apart several eagles.
Fang Ming watched through the eagle formation.
Good.
Use your methods.
Waste them early.
The chaos spread quickly.
But Fang Ming controlled its shape.
He did not order the eagles to slaughter disciples. He avoided fatal attacks unless someone attacked too fiercely.
His aim was not death.
It was isolation.
A flock of eagles drove one disciple group east.
Another flock pushed dream beasts west.
A third flock circled above a lake, stirring the fog until outside vision became useless.
The dream blessed land's already broken scenery became even more confused.
Dream fog thickened.
Roads shifted.
Shouts echoed from the wrong directions.
Fang Ming moved.
He entered the first blind zone.
It was a cave half-filled with violet crystals. The crystals grew from the ceiling like frozen smoke, each one containing a faint dream path aura.
Dream fog crystals.
A group of disciples had discovered them first, but Fang Ming's eagles had forced them away.
Now only two dream moth swarms remained, circling the crystals.
Fang Ming raised his hand.
Immortal killer move — Tyrannical Suction.
The force was restrained into a narrow area.
The crystals trembled.
Then they broke free from the cave walls and flew toward Fang Ming. Dream moth Gu were swept up along with them, struggling in the air.
Fang Ming waved his sleeve.
Everything entered his immortal aperture.
The cave became almost empty.
He did not bother cleaning every fragment.
Leaving scraps made the scene look less suspicious.
He moved again.
The second blind zone was near the silver pond.
The dream deer was still fighting the eagles. Its antlers released rings of dream fog, causing several lower-ranked eagles to fall asleep and crash into the ground.
Fang Ming appeared behind it.
Immortal killer move — Tyrannical Grab.
An invisible giant hand closed around the dream beast.
The dream deer struggled.
Its body blurred, trying to turn into mist.
Fang Ming narrowed his eyes.
Tyrannical Crush began to form, then stopped.
No.
Killing it would waste value.
He changed the force.
Tyrannical Lift.
The dream deer was pulled upward, its limbs thrashing helplessly. Several rank five eagles formed a circle, blocking sight from the pond's far side.
The dream beast vanished into Fang Ming's aperture.
Inside, prepared formations suppressed it.
Fang Ming then turned toward the dream dew grass.
Tyrannical Lift activated again.
The entire patch of soil rose from the ground.
Not just the grass.
The roots, surrounding water, and the thin layer of dream path soil beneath them were all taken.
He left behind a torn muddy pit.
When the rival subsidiary sect disciples finally returned, they would probably think the dream beast's rampage had destroyed the resource.
That was their problem.
Fang Ming moved to the third zone.
This one was not dream path.
It was a lake.
Half the lake was real water.
The other half reflected a night sky that did not exist.
Dragonfish swam beneath the surface in large groups.
Fang Ming paused.
Dragonfish.
A smile appeared in his eyes.
Even outside dream path, valuable resources were still valuable.
At the center of the lake, a large desolate beast dragonfish moved slowly. Its scales had faint purple markings, likely affected by dream fog over many years.
Several disciples from another sect stood helplessly near the shore.
The dragonfish had been disturbed by the eagles and dream fog. Waves struck the banks, blocking their advance.
One disciple shouted, "This lake was calm earlier!"
Another shouted, "The eagles drove the beast mad!"
Fang Ming stood behind a curtain of fog.
He stretched out his hand.
Tyrannical Grab.
The lake trembled.
Water rose in a huge arc.
The desolate beast dragonfish sensed danger and turned violently, but Fang Ming had no intention of fighting it fairly.
Rank five eagles dived down from above, distracting it.
Tyrannical Suction pulled the surrounding water aside.
The dragonfish was exposed for a breath.
That was enough.
Tyrannical Lift seized its body.
The massive fish struggled, its tail whipping up waves, but invisible strength bound it tightly.
Fang Ming pulled it into his immortal aperture.
Then he swept his hand across the lake.
Large masses of water rose, filled with ordinary dragonfish.
He did not take the entire lake.
That would be too obvious and too slow.
He took the densest schools, some dream-touched water, and several patches of aquatic plants.
The lake level dropped visibly.
From the shore, the disciples stared at the sudden waves in confusion and fear.
"What happened?"
"The dragonfish disappeared?"
"Did it dive deeper?"
No one saw Fang Ming.
No one knew a Gu Immortal had just harvested the lake in a few breaths.
The fourth blind zone contained a field of illusion flowers.
The petals showed different scenes to different observers. One disciple saw home. Another saw treasure. Another saw a dead enemy begging for mercy.
Fang Ming did not look directly at them.
Unfathomable will guarded his mind.
Tyrannical Lift uprooted the field in sections.
He collected the flowers, the soil, and several hidden dream path Gu worms nesting beneath the roots.
The fifth blind zone was more dangerous.
A desolate dream beast slept beneath a broken tower.
It looked like a tiger made of grey smoke and black glass. Each breath caused nearby stones to dream. The stones shifted shapes, becoming skulls, then bowls, then sleeping children.
Fang Ming watched it for a moment.
Capturing this beast would be useful.
But it was desolate level.
And dream path.
If he fought too loudly, the blessed land would tremble further.
A group of eagles circled above the broken tower.
Fang Ming raised his hand slowly.
Tyrannical Grab.
The invisible hand descended.
The dream tiger's eyes opened.
Its gaze fell on Fang Ming.
For an instant, Fang Ming saw a different scene.
He stood in a dark room.
His original world appeared beyond a window.
A phone rang on a wooden table.
A familiar voice called his name.
Fang Ming's expression remained cold.
"Dream path illusion."
Unfathomable will moved.
The room shattered.
The dream tiger had already leapt.
Its body passed through the first layer of strength force like mist, but Fang Ming changed the killer move immediately.
Tyrannical Suction pulled from every direction, compressing the surrounding fog.
The dream tiger slowed.
Rank five eagles swooped down, not to attack its body, but to disturb the dream fog around it.
Fang Ming took one step forward.
Tyrannical Crush.
Not killing force.
Suppressing force.
The dream tiger was smashed into the ground. The broken tower trembled. Cracks spread across the stones.
The blessed land groaned.
Fang Ming frowned.
Too much.
He could feel the world becoming less stable.
The entrance direction flickered faintly.
Outside Gu Immortals might notice something.
He acted immediately.
Tyrannical Grab seized the dream tiger.
His aperture opened.
The beast vanished.
Inside, multiple suppression formations activated at once. Eagle groups retreated from nearby areas, reducing pressure.
Fang Ming did not stay.
He withdrew from the blind zone and returned to the outer chaos.
By now, the dream blessed land had become disorderly.
Disciples shouted everywhere.
Some accused rival sects of releasing beasts.
Some believed the blessed land's collapse had accelerated naturally.
Some thought the dream beasts were reacting to the immortal methods used by the first few groups.