Harvesting a Treasure: Dream-Making Mirror

Makes sense.

The protagonist's setup was neither wholly righteous nor wholly evil; the plot needed contradictions nested layer upon layer to keep moving forward.

To highlight the protagonist's perfection and prop up his lofty image, he needed villains like this, as well as chances to show off before nameless passersby.

Just imagine.

The cold, stunning Master was gravely wounded, and a perfect youth, monstrous in talent, searched for spiritual medicine to heal her wounds. A flowing cliché, an ironclad hero saving a beauty—yet the masses loved this very thing.

"The only satisfying part is the protagonist keeping Master firmly in his grasp."

Lin Heng mimicked the protagonist's showy pose with convincing flair.

He clasped his hands behind his back and let out a faint sigh.

This female disciple of Clear Moon Long Song was formidable. With a lift of her hand, she formed several profound seals, and the flying sword she controlled from afar dazzled the eye.

But unfortunately, she had encountered Ye Tian. Ye Tian's ability to crush peers of the same realm was no joke.

Mu Liuxi stood where she was, with no intention of helping whatsoever.

Ye Tian could defeat Late Golden Core cultivators while only at Middle Golden Core. Now that he had entered the Late Golden Core stage and was in the same realm as her, she naturally stood no chance.

"Miss, stop here. Take another step forward, and don't blame me for showing no mercy."

The woman's hand holding the sword trembled slightly. Her gaze was sharp, and she appeared deeply unwilling to accept this.

"Junior Sister, do not fear. Let me test him."

At that moment, a man dressed similarly stepped in front of the woman.

"I know who you are—the Green Pavilion Sect's Core Disciple, Ye Tian. I am Li Chaochun of Clear Moon Long Song, here to experience your skills."

"Is that him? Li Chaochun, ranked thirty-third on the Heavenly Ladder Ranking?"

Mu Liuxi said in surprise.

"Hm? The Heavenly Ladder Ranking?"

"It is a combat power ranking. Anyone who makes the list is undoubtedly a peerless genius. The Heavenly Ladder Ranking is revised every five years for the final ranking. During that time, anyone who wishes to enter the ranking must kill someone already on it."

"Then what rank are you, Senior Sister?"

"I never participated in the ranking. Though the Heavenly Ladder Ranking represents immense honor, it also attracts endless challengers."

Lin Heng came to a realization.

That made sense. It was only a ranking list, mostly empty fame.

After making the list, not only would one expose one's strength, one would also attract an endless stream of challengers. Either you killed them, or they killed you, or they voluntarily knelt and admitted defeat.

Mu Liuxi preferred quiet cultivation and disliked trouble, so she had not involved herself in these disputes.

Good lord, this was directly handing Ye Tian an achievement to farm!

There was no need to think about what came next. Ye Tian would definitely defeat the other man and successfully enter the rankings, while the passersby would be stunned all over again.

"Li Chaochun...? Never heard of him..."

Ye Tian smiled dismissively.

I bet Li Chaochun won't last five exchanges before getting his death box.

In the first exchange, Ye Tian stood still and let the other party attack, only to casually evade the long-range assault.

In the second exchange, Ye Tian still stood in place. Thinking it had been luck, the other party unleashed three divine abilities, only for them to be shattered by a single sword strike.

In the third exchange, Ye Tian sneered contemptuously and began mocking him. Li Chaochun flew into a rage and unleashed his strongest killing move, but it was still easily neutralized.

In the fourth exchange, Ye Tian took the initiative and directly finished him off beneath his shocked gaze.

What followed was indeed much as Lin Heng had predicted, except that in the second exchange, Li Chaochun used only two divine abilities and launched a sneak attack with a Flying Blade.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You..."

As the fourth exchange began, Li Chaochun's face paled in horror. Before he could finish speaking, a flash of sword light sliced his head clean off.

Ye Tian stood with his hands behind his back, looking down upon everyone.

The remaining Clear Moon Long Song disciples did not even dare breathe, retreating one after another.

Li Chaochun had been Qiu's most prized disciple, yet Ye Tian had actually killed him outright.

Mu Liuxi opened her mouth slightly, disbelief deepening in her eyes.

It was not because of Ye Tian's fierce combat strength, but because of Lin Heng's predictions about the battle.

Ye Tian and Li Chaochun were like actors he had hired, following his script step by step.

Was he giving live commentary just now!?

Exaggerated!

It was simply unbelievable.

Ye Tian slowly walked toward them. Upon seeing Mu Liuxi's stunned expression, he could not help revealing a smug smile.

"Senior Sister was indeed shocked by my current strength!"

"This is still only the tip of the iceberg. Li Chaochun was too weak; I did not even have the interest to fight him."

He secretly reveled in his pride.

"Senior Sister, Junior Brother Lin, what a coincidence. I ran into a little trouble just now and made a spectacle of myself before you."

"Ye Tian, you should not have killed Li Chaochun. He was one of Clear Moon Long Song's key disciples, even the closed-door disciple of that white-robed Elder..."

Mu Liuxi said after coming back to her senses.

"Haha. Is Senior Sister worried about me?" Ye Tian smiled. "It was those Clear Moon Long Song disciples who stirred up trouble first and attempted to strike me down... If anyone is to blame, it can only be him for lacking skill."

"Besides, Master told me that if I ran into trouble, I should strike back. She would bear the responsibility."

A troublemaker was a troublemaker. You killed a disciple Clear Moon Long Song had painstakingly nurtured—did you think they would swallow this insult?

To put it bluntly, you were selfish. You wanted to use Li Chaochun to farm battle achievements and enter the Heavenly Ladder Ranking, yet shifted the trouble onto others.

Meng Yutong was already struggling to protect herself, and he still kept causing trouble for her... All one could say was that this was her beloved disciple!

Lin Heng shifted his disdainful gaze elsewhere.

He knew exactly how powerful Clear Moon Long Song was. It was absolutely not something the current Green Pavilion Sect could compare to.

Originally, the two sects minded their own business, their well waters not offending each other's river waters. It was only after this secret realm expedition that Clear Moon Long Song began actively causing trouble for the Green Pavilion Sect.

The chief culprit was none other than Ye Tian.

Meng Yutong and the other Elders would even blindly shield him.

Ye Tian did not linger. He stepped forward and darted toward the western side of the ancient ruins.

Because Mu Liuxi was traveling with Lin Heng, they moved rather slowly, but they still gained something.

Inside a Secret Chamber, they discovered a small bottle of pills and an ancient mirror.

Mu Liuxi took out one pill for inspection. Its body was pale yellow, round and full, with only a faint medicinal fragrance wafting from it.

"It is actually a Fourth Grade pill. Lin Heng, use your Heavenly Chart to see exactly what kind of pill this is."

Lin Heng set down the ancient mirror in his hand, glanced at the pill in her palm, then leaned closer and sniffed it. Information about it swiftly surfaced in his mind.

"It should be a Rage God Pill. Taking it grants a certain increase in combat strength, but the side effect is that it leaves cultivators weakened."

"So that is how it is."

Mu Liuxi nodded, then put the pills away.

"Senior Sister, what about this mirror?"

Mu Liuxi had lifted the Secret Chamber's restriction, so Lin Heng naturally could not simply ask for the items inside. Even if it was only a shard of mirror, he had to ask first.

"Take it. If you return empty-handed, Senior Sister Yao will certainly laugh at you."

"Alright!"

Lin Heng was overjoyed and immediately stored the mirror in the System Space.

In that instant, the system interface popped up.

Item: Dream-Making Mirror (Incomplete)

Description: A mirror polished from hundreds of millions of light crystal fragments, a bridge connecting dreams and reality. In a world where illusion and reality merge, there is no distinction between true and false. It can be used for consciousness evolution to increase cultivation speed. At the Return to Void stage, one can tear apart illusion and reality to enter the Dream-Making World.

Holy shit?

Just as Lin Heng had thought, this mirror was also a treasure.

Since the Secret Chamber contained a bottle of precious pills, how could it casually leave behind a shard of mirror?

Dream-Making World? Dreams? Or the real world?

He did not understand this concept yet. He would study it further after returning.

The two left the Secret Chamber. The moment they stepped outside, they felt the ground suddenly shake violently.