The Change at Kong Yuan

The long days and short nights of the Northern Ao Continent also have an advantage: you can see clearly even at night.

You Su opened her eyes, but what was right in front of her was no longer that flawless fairy face, but a blurry cat face.

Although Little Bai Ze is quite cute, the difference between his appearance and his current appearance is no less than falling from heaven to hell.

The Little Bai Ze had been suffocated by You Su, and it stared wide-eyed at You Su in disbelief, as if it were furious.

It struggled with difficulty, finally breaking free from You Su's embrace, and darted to the pillow, saying fiercely:

"Hey, what are you dreaming about?! Why are you hugging me so tightly? I thought you were going to strangle me!"

You Su was suddenly jolted awake from his sweet dream, feeling an emptiness in his heart. The warmth and attachment seemed to still linger, making him savor and linger.

He frowned, feeling both annoyed and anxious. He was too lazy to explain anything to Little Bai Ze and only wanted to continue his relationship with his Mistress.

"Stay away from me."

You Su left behind these words, then closed his eyes again, trying to return to the Sea of Consciousness that haunted his dreams.

But his indifference stunned the furious Bai Ze.

Bai Ze never expected that, even though it was the one who was injured, it would be driven away by the boy, as if it was being strangled and was being blamed for getting close to You Su.

This made it feel extremely wronged. It was simple-minded and, although it enjoyed bickering with You Su, it had long regarded You Su as the most trustworthy person. It had thought that You Su must feel the same way about it, but just now it realized that this was not the case.

The kitten grew increasingly saddened, looking around but unable to discern how far away it could actually be from him. Thinking of this, Bai Ze huddled helplessly in the corner of the bed, his eyes glistening with tears, and choked out:

"I... I shouldn't have come out with you guys... Waaah... This way I'll be far away from you!"

You Su Sujian, who was just getting sleepy, raised an eyebrow, feeling helpless.

The next moment, the little white kitten, still teary-eyed, was pulled back into the warm blankets.

"If you're not afraid of pain, then stay here."

In order to fall asleep as soon as possible, You Su spoke in a rather domineering tone, while the kitten he was holding stared blankly at the boy's clear jawline, but felt that there was a different kind of tenderness in his domineering words.

It turns out he was afraid of hurting me again, so he pretended to tell me to move away...

Thinking of this, Little Bai Ze's grievances vanished instantly, and he obediently nestled against You Su's side, only stubbornly explaining:

"I'm just cold, I don't want to get into your bed..."

Although it's not a cat, being forced to meow so much seems to have awakened its feline instincts, making it like to burrow into small, warm places. And You Su's lap is the perfect place to fit that description.

"Are you going to sleep or not?" You Su asked, frowning.

No sooner had he finished asking the question than Bai Ze began snoring loudly, like a muffled thunderclap, and quickly fell asleep.

You Su twitched her lips in exasperation, only to sigh that this guy's purring sounded more like a cat's than a cat's.

But he couldn't very well drive Bai Ze away again, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and try to recapture the feeling of the black sea-like space of Sea of Consciousness he had been trapped in before.

Fortunately, he was already the master of that space and discovered that the black sea was in his own Sea of Consciousness, a pitch-black well.

He jumped down without hesitation. However, when he found the bubble that had released his Mistress's mental block again, he discovered that the familiar Mandarin Sword Sect was empty of familiar faces.

The figure of the Mistress's wife is no longer here; only the 'self' that should have lived within the Mistress's mental barrier is now sleeping soundly on Mistress bed.

You Su's heart tightened, and a strange sense of loss welled up inside her.

Has Mistress left too...?

After a moment's thought, he understood the reason.

He is different from his Mistress; Mistress doesn't exist in this memory, which is why she can come and go freely. But if he were to enter this memory, he would inevitably erase his Mistress's version of himself from her memories.

The sleeping 'self' was already an empty shell after he possessed him. He was just awakened by Bai Ze, and his consciousness had to return to reality. Therefore, the 'self' in the mental barrier fell into a coma, so his Mistress must have thought that he had fainted due to his injuries.

If he falls into a coma, then his Mistress's goal of altering his memories will have to be temporarily put on hold, as she naturally cannot stay in the Sea of Consciousness space indefinitely.

You Su felt that the embrace was full of meaning. Although it was an illusion, it felt real, making him feel as if he were really embracing his Mistress. It was just a pity that beautiful things are always short-lived.

But it's okay, this dream... isn't over yet.

Just as he was pondering this, the Archimedes Venerable suddenly knocked on the door, accompanied by his slightly exaggerated voice:

"Hey, get up! The sun's already high in the sky!"

Little Bai Ze was startled and rolled over three times in anger. He had been woken up by You Su, and he had finally managed to go back to sleep. He hadn't been asleep for long before he had to get up again. Anyone would be angry in his situation.

Unfortunately, its anger was futile given its small size.

You Su was pulled back to reality from the edge of her hazy dream by the sudden knocking on the door and the slightly teasing call from the Archimedes Venerable.

He slightly opened his eyes, and a ray of morning light shone through the window lattice, dappling his face with a warm yet dazzling light.

He understood that the sun high in the sky meant the weather was clearing up, which meant the road from Snow City to the sacred mountain was probably clear.

He quickly sat up and abruptly pulled Bai Ze, who was still trying to stay in bed a little longer, out of bed.

Bai Ze felt that this long journey had been a terrible ordeal, and he would have been better off staying at home as a lazy mountain god, eating and waiting to die. He was so angry that he bared his teeth and brandished his claws, ready to You Su to the death.

After a quick wash and packing, the two of them and their cat set off again on their journey to the sacred mountain.

You Su put on the sunglasses given to him by Qianhua Venerable. Now that he had a reputation, he could wear this Law Treasure with a legitimate reason and was not afraid of being questioned.

Getting into Snow City is difficult, but getting out isn't that complicated.

The moment You Su stepped into the empty plain, she was deeply shocked by the scene before her.

It was a vast, boundless snowfield, the snowflakes shimmering in the sunlight like a dazzling silver sea. You Su felt that the snow here was even different from that on the North Pole Snowfield, possessing an added sacred luster.

On that flat snowfield, the highest peak in the Northern Ao Continent stands majestically— Kong Yuan Divine Mountain.

The Kong Yuan Divine Mountain is imposing, its peaks piercing the clouds, as if connecting heaven and earth. The mountaintop is shrouded in mist, giving it a mysterious and unpredictable feel. You Su looked at it and thought to himself that it looked completely different from Kong Yuan Divine Mountain, but both inspired awe.

"The sacred mountain seems to be not far away, but in reality, it's quite a distance. Unless it's urgent, you must not fly across the Sky Plain, or you will be punished by the Immortal Ancestor Temple."

The Archimedes Venerable explained the situation to the person and the cat.

However, such a shocking scene did not elicit any amazement from Bai Ze, who had not seen much of the world.

Seeing this, Archimedes Venerable was quite puzzled and asked Bai Ze why he was not as shocked by the scene before him as You Su was.

Bai Ze replied irritably, "I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm not in the mood to appreciate any of this. It's all because someone had a strange dream and kept holding me so tightly that they even squeezed me too hard in the end."

It turned out that it was still in a bad mood from waking up, which was why it was indifferent to the novel sights around it.

Upon hearing this, the Archimedes Venerable immediately understood the reason for the matter. He smiled meaningfully and his gaze lingered on You Su.

As if struck by a thought, Bai Ze's round eyes sparkled with curiosity. It turned its head to look at the Archimedes Venerable and asked in a childish voice:

"Flower Daoist, since you can tell fortunes, could you tell me what he dreamed about last night? I asked him, but he wouldn't tell me."

Upon hearing this, the Archimedes Venerable's lips curled into a playful smile. He gently shook his head and teased:

"There's no need to calculate this; it's undoubtedly a wet dream."

"A wet dream?" Bai Ze tilted his head, looking confused. "What does 'wet dream' mean? A dream you have in spring?"

"Indeed! Indeed!" The Archimedes Venerable grinned mischievously, like a rascal.

Upon hearing this, You Su's face instantly darkened. He quickly coughed and signaled to the Archimedes Venerable not to mislead the children.

Seeing this, the Archimedes Venerable had no choice but to suppress his smile and try to explain in a different way, "But that's just the literal meaning. I guess it's because Da Bang was thinking of someone he misses, or someone very important to him, which is why he was so reluctant to part in his dream."

Bai Ze nodded as if it understood, then blinked and suddenly asked:

"Can't the cat work?"

Upon hearing this, the Archimedes Venerable burst into laughter. He patted Bai Ze's little head and said with a smile, "Of course, maybe he dreamed about you last night, which is why he wanted to hold you tightly."

Bai Ze looked to You Su for confirmation, but You Su was too lazy to argue and remained silent.

Seeing this, Bai Ze lowered his head and gently stroked the white fur on his forehead with his paw, actually to cover his back as he secretly observed You Su, as if he were shy.

It turns out that not only did I dream about him last night, but he dreamed about me too. So this is what you call a wet dream...

Thinking of this, Bai Ze secretly glanced up at You Su again, only to see that You Su was staring straight ahead without looking to the side.

It muttered a curse under its breath, but inside it felt warm and fuzzy, and its morning grumpiness vanished completely.

So, during the rest of the journey, Bai Ze became unusually well-behaved. It reverted to its lively nature, finding everything new and exciting, asking questions incessantly. Although it was a bit noisy, it brought a lot of energy to the group.

"With so many people coming and going from the sacred mountain, why isn't there a fixed path?"

You Su was very perceptive and noticed that every step she took was on snow; there was no place that could be called a path.

But this snowfield is different from the unmanaged North Pole Snowfield, so why not shovel snow to create a permanent path?

"This is called pilgrimage. The four directions of wind, frost, rain, and snow are all a kind of baptism. Only when the body and soul are cleansed can one enter the sacred mountain," Archimedes Venerable explained softly.

You Su was slightly surprised. Mount Henggao, as the center of the Five Continents, didn't have such elaborate arrangements, but Kong Yuan Divine Mountain certainly had one set after another.

Are all sacred mountains like this?

"No." Archimedes Venerable did not hide anything. "Even though the sacred mountains are the pinnacles of the five continents, their importance in the eyes of the people in their respective territories varies. Northern Ao Continent has always been the continent with the fewest cults. Cults cannot recruit believers in the Northern Ao Continent at all, precisely because the people of the Northern Ao Continent all firmly believe in the Kong Yuan Divine Mountain."

Upon hearing this, You Su sighed softly, "They are indeed devout."

"I'm so stubborn," the Archimedes Venerable joked to himself.

"What are your plans after you go up the mountain?" the Archimedes Venerable asked again.

Only when they reached the foot of the sacred mountain did he inquire about You Su's destination. His purpose, however, was not to uncover You Su's secrets, but simply to offer any assistance he could.

"You return to the Immortal Ancestor Temple to report back. I 'Dragon Seeing Palace to find someone. If you've accomplished your task, come to the Dragon Seeing Palace to find us. If I've accomplished my task, I'll also be Dragon Seeing Palace."

You Su no longer concealed anything, because the Archimedes Venerable had already led them here, and there was no need to drive them away anymore.

"Who are you looking for?" the Archimedes Venerable asked in surprise.

"My friend!" Little Bai Ze answered with considerable pride, "Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace!"

The Archimedes Venerable stared in astonishment, "You know that esteemed person?"

"Of course!" Bai Ze waved his cat paw.

The Archimedes Venerable nodded in realization. "That's fine then. I'll take you to the Dragon Seeing Palace first, then report back, so you won't get lost."

You Su was slightly moved. He knew very well that the Archimedes Venerable was worried that his identity made it difficult for him to enter the Dragon Seeing Palace, let alone find the Palace Master.

"Thank you very much," You Su said sincerely.

The Archimedes Venerable waved and smiled, but at that very moment, the sky and earth instantly darkened, the sunlight was blocked behind the clouds, and the wind and snow intensified suddenly, as if a crack had opened in the sky, pouring down endless cold and swirling snowflakes.

You Su felt a bone-chilling cold penetrate to his very marrow. The world before him was instantly swallowed by a vast expanse of white, and his vision was limited to only a few feet. He subconsciously tightened his clothes, and a solemn expression gathered between his brows.

"Didn't the weather clear up?! How come it's snowing again?!" Bai Ze exclaimed in surprise, having never seen the weather change so rapidly.

You Su also found it strange, but only the Archimedes Venerable had a solemn expression, which was unusual for him.

"Follow behind me."

The Archimedes Venerable stepped forward, his body trembling slightly. A gentle yet resilient force field emanated from his body, blocking the raging wind and snow and creating a relatively peaceful space for You Su and Bai Ze.

But the two people and the cat hadn't gone far when the Archimedes Venerable suddenly stopped. You Su vaguely sensed that something was blocking their path.

Amidst the wind and snow, a figure slowly emerged, like a ghost stepping out of the snowstorm, carrying an aura of undeniable power. It was an old man dressed in black robes, his face withered, but his eyes as sharp as a hawk's. He stood with his hands behind his back in the wind and snow, like an unyielding stone statue, surrounded by a chilling aura.

"Venerable Chengliang, are you here to welcome me?"

The Archimedes Venerable rubbed his hands together and chuckled.

You Su knew, however, that this smile was the most fake the Flower Daoist had ever shown.

The old man was completely unsmiling, gently shaking his head, his voice broken and extremely shrill, like the sound of ice scraping against ice.

"You have committed a grave error. Come with me to the Heavenly Prison to be punished."