Am I invincible in dreams?

Dreams are a peculiar thing. As the saying goes, "You dream of what you think about during the day," but people can't truly control what they dream about at night.

Moreover, dreamers are often unaware they are dreaming, and everything experienced within the dream feels real.

It's like a world that briefly comes into existence.

Legend has it that if a person dies in a dream, a type of ghost called an "Nightmare" can be born.

It possesses the ability to enter and exit others' dreams, and can absorb Yang Energy within dreams to cultivate. Once its cultivation deepens, it can forcibly pull people into dreams.

These ghosts rarely appear, but once they do, they are difficult to deal with. This is because they can harm people easily; while in a dream, no one can oppose a Nightmare.

To eliminate such a ghost, one must find its True Form and suppress it.

That night.

Li Chu and Li Xinyi guarded the outer room of Miss Ge's bedroom, meditating with their eyes closed.

Two streams of energy, like dragons, faintly moved around Li Xinyi's nose. The tails of the energy dragons coiled and undulated rhythmically with the circulation of the Heavenly Cycle within her body.

Li Chu, however, did not need to circulate his energy to enhance his strength. He was using the Mind's Eye Art to observe his surroundings.

Although Nightmares come and go from dreams without a physical form, just because they can't be seen with the naked eye doesn't mean they aren't there. He wanted to use the Aura Observation Method to sense if he could find any clues.

As his proficiency with the Mind's Eye Art grew, he gradually gained some insights. The range of perception of the Mind's Eye Art was related to the degree to which he injected his Divine Soul.

If he only perceived ten feet in front of him, he could move freely without being affected.

But if he expanded his perception to encompass all of Yuhang Town, he would have to dedicate his entire mind and body to it, and his other senses would become much duller.

This was actually a rather dangerous state.

After a long while, Li Xinyi completed two major Heavenly Cycles and slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the moon, which had already passed its zenith, with some confusion.

"Why is it so peaceful tonight?" she whispered.

On previous nights, Miss Ge would have already started sleep-talking with Fervent Passion.

Immediately after, a faint voice came from the inner room: "I haven't fallen asleep yet..."

Li Xinyi smacked her forehead. No wonder.

Nightmares could pull sleeping people into dreams, but they could do nothing to those who were awake.

So, theoretically, one could avoid being harmed by a Nightmare by simply not sleeping.

But that was just talk...

If Miss Ge wanted to completely sever ties with this Nightmare, she couldn't just hide.

As they had discussed beforehand, Miss Ge was supposed to try and probe the Nightmare's origins tonight, specifically where its True Form was located.

She hadn't expected to get insomnia.

Li Chu heard their voices and was about to open his eyes when he suddenly saw a nearly transparent wisp of smoke hovering over the Ge family's rooftop.

It's here!

Is this the power the Nightmare uses to enter dreams?

Unfortunately, the smoke was too ethereal, and Li Chu didn't see the path it took to arrive.

Since Miss Ge wasn't asleep, the smoke couldn't find a way in and continued to circle above the roof.

Then, Miss Ge said meaningfully from inside the room, "When I couldn't sleep as a child, Father would gently pat me to coax me to sleep. If someone could come in and pat me now, I think I'd be able to sleep..."

Li Chu didn't reply. He was fully focused on observing the wisp of smoke.

Li Xinyi suddenly stood up. "I'll do it."

Miss Ge quickly said, "No, don't trouble yourself, I feel... Ah!"

While she was politely refusing, Li Xinyi had already pushed open the door, strode to the bedside, and expertly brought a hand-chop down on Miss Ge's lower neck.

The force of the hand-chop was precisely controlled, enough to make her lose consciousness without causing any additional harm to her body.

And it was quite satisfying.

Li Xinyi clapped her hands with glee. I've disliked you for a long time!

Hmph.

As Miss Ge's eyes closed, the circling smoke began to slowly descend and merge entirely into her body.

Green Hills and Clear Waters, birds singing and flowers fragrant.

In a picturesque landscape, two figures suddenly appeared.

Miss Ge had shed her previous weak demeanor. She was now wearing a goose-yellow Silk Skirt adorned with Pearl Tassels, her hair styled in an Ascendant Immortal Hair Bun and decorated with a string of pearls. With Bright Eyes and White Teeth and Red Lips, her slender figure carried a hint of fragility, making her look exceptionally endearing.

Before her stood a man in an Emerald Green Robe.

The man wore a Round Hat inlaid with Jade, his long robes fluttering, exuding an elegant demeanor. His face was like jade, his eyes bright and brows like swords—truly a rare beauty in the world.

No wonder Miss Ge was so infatuated with him before meeting Li Chu.

But now, Ge Cuihua looked at her Lover before her, her eyes no longer holding that infatuation, but a complex expression instead.

She hesitated, then asked softly, "Zhang Lang, you told me before that your name was Zhang Yuyan, from Chaoge. But you never told me why you came to Yu Hang County?"

Zhang Yuyan looked at the woman before him strangely. "Cuihua, why do you ask?"

"Because... I want to see you, not like this in a dream. I want to see the real you..." Miss Ge said hesitantly.

Zhang Yuyan stared at her, a flash of light in his eyes, and then his expression changed drastically.

His tone suddenly turned fierce: "You betrayed me!"

Miss Ge's face stiffened, and she said flusteredly, "Zhang Lang, what are you talking about? I... I was just asking casually."

Zhang Yuyan sneered, "Do you think you can hide it from me? In the Dream World, I know everything and can do anything. Your thoughts are completely transparent to me."

Miss Ge retreated several steps. She finally understood why she had previously felt Zhang Lang was so understanding and considerate. It wasn't empathy at all, but rather that all her thoughts were laid bare before him.

This was too terrifying.

"Let me see who it is, who could make you change your mind? Isn't being with me good enough? Here, I have the most handsome appearance and the most powerful abilities. There can be no one more perfect than me in this world! You actually changed your mind..."

Zhang Yuyan's gaze was sinister, his words low, and the Jadeite Jade Cap on his head shone brightly.

As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head to look into the distance and roared, "Is it him? He's actually by your side!"

With a grab of his hand, a hazy mist appeared out of thin air. When the mist dissipated, Li Chu's figure appeared.

Li Chu was quite surprised.

He was not asleep at this time but was in the state of Mind's Eye Art perception. His Divine Soul was rather immersed, which could be considered "Deep Meditation."

And Nightmare could actually pull people in Deep Meditation into the dream. The profoundness of this method was clearly not something that could be simply explained by entering a dream.

There was likely much to research about the key aspects involved.

This was his first time entering someone else's Dream World. Although he was forcibly pulled in, after a brief observation, it seemed no different from the outside.

As he silently observed his surroundings, Zhang Yuyan also fell silent.

It was Nightmare, a Ghost. Everything around was a dream woven by it, including its own body.

This appearance was created by it based on the most handsome features in its memory, a perfect face that existed only in imagination.

But today, it realized that some people's existence surpassed imagination.

In short, it never dreamed that a person could look like this...

After a moment of silence, its face, which could be called perfect but less handsome than Li Chu's, gradually distorted.

Zhang Yuyan suddenly roared, "I will kill you!"

Boom--

As it gave the order, heaven and earth changed color!

Within this dreamscape, it was the master! It could wield any power it could imagine.

Not quite an Earthly Immortal, but at least Words Manifest!

With a boom, a thick, brilliant pillar of light descended from the sky, like a heavenly punishment! It instantly engulfed Li Chu's tall, slender figure.

"Hahaha, die!" Zhang Yuyan sneered.

Killing someone in a dream wouldn't cause their immediate death, but it would inflict damage on their Divine Soul. If it kept its focus on Li Chu, killing him once every time Li Chu slept, just like stealing Miss Ge's Yang Energy, it could eventually cause him to die from Divine Soul Decay.

That was its plan.

To think there was a beauty beyond its wildest dreams, this was simply unbearable for a ghost!

But soon, something even more unbearable happened...

When the sky-piercing pillar of light dispersed, the mountain range beneath its feet was almost leveled.

Yet, a figure slowly stood up from the spot.

Li Chu's brows furrowed tightly. The Nightmare in the dreamscape was indeed powerful; the power of that last strike was suffocating.

He had actually been knocked down!

And he was lightly injured.

A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away, then drew his sword.

Zhang Yuyan was stunned.

This... Why?

I am the Nightmare, this is the dreamscape, this is my home turf.

I am invincible in dreams.

But... what is this intense sense of mortal danger?

When Li Chu swung his sword, Zhang Yuyan finally remembered.

The so-called invincibility in dreams actually had its limits.

The limit was its imagination.

Everything in the dreamscape could be materialized according to the Nightmare's imagination; this was the so-called Words Manifest.

But imagination isn't conjured from nothing; it must be based on something seen, heard, or at least a concept, before it can be materialized.

Just like how all the most handsome features it had ever seen combined couldn't compare to Li Chu's face.

The peak strength it had witnessed seemed to fall short of this sword strike from Li Chu...

No way?

As the sword light descended, a sliver of absurdity flashed through Zhang Yuyan's mind.

Could such a person truly exist in this world?

I must be dreaming.

Ah.

It hurts...

Thanks to "Niu Niu Niu 8888" for the thousand-reward, thanks to "Unlucky Star of Calamity" for the thousand-reward, thanks to "Book Friend 20191204014431195" for the two-hundred-reward, thanks to "Book Friend 20170829185914366" for the hundred-reward.