with important names, skills, and items highlighted for clarity and continuity:
Take, for example, the golden apples found in fairy tales.
In those tales, golden apples weren't just one kind—they came in many varieties, each with different effects.Some were trivial, but others—truly heaven-defying.
That's what fairy tales are:
dreams come true,where the impossible becomes possible.
Many treasures in the Nightmare World are like this—rule-defying, astonishing.
"I'm very interested in the Nightmare World,"said Nannan with a smile.
"Who knows what kind of new legends that strange, unpredictable world may give birth to?"
She was genuinely intrigued.
It might even hold her opportunity to attain the Dao.
This was both the greatest and most chaotic era under the heavens.
To attain the Dao was to manifest one's personal Dao into the fabric of time and space,to imprint it across past and future.
"There are many people here,but they're clearly not living well.
Their rations are limited—barely enough to fill their stomachs."
Nannan looked down at the underground world,where villages and settlements were scattered throughout.
There were many people,but from their clothing and pale complexions,life here was clearly not idyllic.
"They're eating Dark Bamboo Rice,which grows well in dim underground environments and has decent yield,"said Yi Tianxie, shaking his head.
"But there are just too many people.Even with full fields, it's not enough."
The underground space looked like a dense bamboo forest,but the pressure from the sheer number of mouths to feedmeant the best they could manage was bare survival.
Life was hard—no question.
"City of Generals and Ministers…"Nannan murmured, gazing at the large underground capital.
"Are kings and ministers born noble?"That saying could only come from Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.
"They were never destined for emperorship,"Yi Tianxie said with a half-smile,"but they've always had the hearts of kings and lords."
"They stir up trouble time and again, yet always escape unscathed.Their fates are far from ordinary."
Indeed, had they been born to rule,they might have named this city City of Kings, not City of Generals.
"Let's go see how this underground city really holds up."
Yi Tianxie and Nannan moved forward without hesitation.
They wandered the streets, listening to the people's conversations—and what they heard shocked them.
Though conditions were harsh,these citizens held no deep resentment.
In fact, they were genuinely grateful to Chen Sheng and Wu Guang,from the bottom of their hearts.
It wasn't forced.
Even more telling—they expressed sorrow and pity for those human compatriots still trapped on the surface of Sakura Province,under the rule of the Great Serpent Dynasty.
Their hatred for the dynasty was absolute.They had once been its victims—treated not as humans, but as beasts, as slaves,killed at whim.
The atrocities they recounted were shocking—beyond imagination.
In the Great Serpent Dynasty,unless one became a demon,one had no status, no dignity.
Better to suffer underground as a human,than live above as livestock.
Even if it meant death,it would be a death with dignity.
At that moment, in the Lord's Manor of the City of Generals,Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were meeting face-to-face.
Before them was a mirror, showing various scenes from Sakura Province—countless humans being whipped, enslaved, and slaughtered.
The images were heart-wrenching.
Beside them stood two other figures:
one was a middle-aged man in a Confucian robe,calm and scholarly, with a spark of wisdom in his eyes.
The other was refined and handsome, like a noble gentleman from ancient times.
They were stunning in appearance—easily rivals to legends like Pan An.
These two were clearly Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's most trusted aides.
"Wenyǎn, can we still take in more people?"
Chen Sheng looked pained."Every day, more of our people are dying to those monsters.
It's unbearable just standing by."
The man named Wenyǎn was none other than Jiang Wan.
"Lord," Jiang Wan said bitterly,"we're already at capacity.
Adding more people would mean mass starvation.
Unless we find more resources, we can't risk it."
It was a cruel reality, but he had to face it.
Breaking the balance could doom them all.
"Brother… in the end, our abilities are limited."Wu Guang sighed."We can only save those within our reach."
"Indeed. A true man knows when to act, and when to hold back,"said the handsome youth.
"This is their territory.Unless we strike at the Great Serpent Dynasty's core,we can't change things."
This youth was Ji Kang—字 Shuye (Shūyè)—an unparalleled Feng Shui master and legendary thinker-musician of the Three Kingdoms period.
"Shuye is right," Chen Sheng clenched his fist."But we must find a way to start an uprising.
Our people deserve to die fighting, not wither as slaves.
That is a disgrace."
But suddenly, a cold voice broke in—sarcastic and sharp.
"An uprising may let them die with honor—but it's still death.
Ordinary people can't beat demons.
Only the strong can change their fate.
The noble man exerts himself ceaselessly."
The words echoed like thunder in their minds. All four men jolted—their hearts nearly leaping from their chests.
Someone had crept this close—
and if they had wanted to kill them,they might already be dead.
This was true fear—life and death outside their control.
Then—
a black and a white silhouette stepped from the shadows.
Who else could it be but Yi Tianxie and Nannan?
After walking the city, they had learned much.
It was clear: without intervention,this fragile balance would collapse sooner or later.
"Wenyǎn—you're Jiang Wan, and you—Shuye, you're Ji Kang."
"You must have designed the Feng Shui array protecting this place.
Truly brilliant."
Yi Tianxie ignored Chen Sheng and Wu Guang completely—he had met those two before.
What interested him were these two great talents.
Jiang Wan, style name Gongyan,was a famous historical figure from Shu-Han of the Three Kingdoms.One of the "Four Great Chancellors of Shu" alongside Zhuge Liang, Dong Yun, and Fei Yi.
He was promoted from obscurity under Liu Bei, mentored by Zhuge Liang,and eventually held the reins of Shu's government after Zhuge's death.
An unmatched talent in civil governance.
The orderly existence of the underground city—that was all thanks to Jiang Wan.
As for Chen Sheng and Wu Guang,bravery they had, but governing ability? Not really.
Then there was Ji Kang, style name Shuye,a philosopher, musician, and literary giant from Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms.Leader of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove".Dashing and tall, a master of many arts, a follower of Daoist thought.
And—most importantly here—he was a top-tier Feng Shui master.
Yi Tianxie had already suspected the outside entrance was a Feng Shui formation,and seeing Ji Kang now confirmed it beyond doubt.
"Who are you?" Ji Kang tried to peer into Yi Tianxie's nature—but at once, pain shot through his eyes,blood tears fell.
"Don't look at me,"Yi Tianxie said dryly."You'll go blind."
In Ji Kang's vision, it was as if he had stared into a bottomless abyss—so deep and unknowable,he could not glimpse the truth.
"Relax. I didn't come here with ill intent," Yi Tianxie added.
"I was just curious—how many humans are still alive in Sakura Province?
And along the way, I ran into these two infamous turd-stirrers."
He looked meaningfully at Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.
The two "troublemakers" could only twitch their mouths in response.