Old Dreams

Zhang Yanzhi nestled her head in the warm fur of the Qiongqi and fell asleep, breathing softly like a kitten. Li Fan looked up at the False Moon and used his wings to shield her from the deep purple moonlight.

He wanted to find a village to drop off Sarilang, but after flying all day and seeing seven or eight tribal camps, he didn't see a single living person.

Some were eaten by monsters, some were slaughtered by bandits, and some entire villages and clans froze or starved to death. According to Zhang Yanzhi, this was a common sight in the Northern Lands.

The northern part of Kan Country was already impoverished; the grasslands couldn't support so many people. Even without the vassal armies raiding its pastures or banding together to plunder southwards, they would never survive the winter. And this year's winter was particularly harsh.

Before the New Year, in order to deal with the various garrison armies in Hebei, the Chanyu mobilized an army of nine banners and seventy-two tribes, exhausting his winter reserves. However, due to some well-known reasons, he suffered a major defeat in Shuofang, the Chanyu perished, and the Xianbei Royal Court's hegemony came to naught.

With the death of the Chanyu, the grasslands once again lost their sovereign, and no one could unite this chaotic and barbaric world.

Those demon gods and monster kings, now free from restraint, began to wreak havoc, wantonly plundering the herders of various tribes, seizing their cattle and horses for food, and wreaking havoc across the entire ice plains. The seventy-two tribes of the Northern Lands bore the brunt of this demonic chaos and suffered a devastating blow, as we have already witnessed.

At least half of the Khans and chieftains of the Nine Banners and Seventy-Two Tribes died, and the survivors fell into internal strife over titles, pastures, tribes, slaves, and chicken-eating, transforming into beings more brutal and terrifying than demons. After all, demons usually kill only to fill their stomachs or practice their skills, while the Khans may have killed simply because they were drunk and wanted to have fun.

Even more critically, the Divine Cult that ruled Northern Court from behind the scenes was also falling into division.

Among the Three Great Sects, the divine religion, once a decision is made at the highest level, rarely suffers from internal strife and division. However, once a disagreement arises among the decision-makers regarding their respective lines of thought, the splits often become more extreme.

When the Chanyu was alive, he was not only the Khan of all the kings, but also the former Dharma King, and a powerful figure who had attained enlightenment. North of Yinshan, he was the strongest, had the highest realm, and the most outstanding achievements. Naturally, the followers of the Divine Cult were completely convinced of his worth and would serve him to the death.

However, with the death of the Chanyu, the newly elected Dharma King and the Northern Enforcement Venerable had serious strategic differences regarding the corresponding strategies for controlling the Nine Banners and Seventy-Two Tribes.

After all, having suffered a defeat, resources are very limited. Which tribe to support as the new leader will determine which tribe survives. Without absolute power to subdue others, even a religious sect cannot easily reach a consensus.

As a result, the Northern Court Divine Sect has now split in two. The Eastern Dharma King, managing the remnants of the Xianbei tribes, migrated southeast towards Gen Province to serve under the Heavenly Army Military Jiedushi Gao Xing. Meanwhile, the various barbarian tribes, unwilling to Hu Barbarians to the vassal army, under the protection of the Enforcement Venerable, evaded attacks from various demons and migrated westward along the foothills of Yinshan Mountain, bypassing Duizhou, to seek refuge with the Light Dharma King in Tianshan.

Zhang Yanzhi followed the Enforcement Venerable on their westward migration. Along the way, tribes either joined them or were wiped out, their cattle and sheep plundered and they enslaved; in short, the living had long since fled. Now that Zhang Yanzhi has been 'sacrificed' by the Enforcement Venerable, she can no longer return to being her humble Saintess. Nor can she travel the long distance across the Yin Mountains to beg from the Heavenly Soldiers Army. If she wants to survive, she will likely have to continue south until she reaches the territory of the Dui Country, where she will finally find human habitation.

Yes, if we go further south, we'll reach the Dui Country, Twelve Countries.

Dui Country, known as the capital of the Five Liang Kingdoms, the metropolis of Hexi, a strategic location, and a national bulwark.

In a broader sense, the vast area west of Western Imperial Guards, now occupied by the Divine Sect and known as Kunlun and Tianshan, used to be under the jurisdiction of Duizhou.

Compared to the northern Hu Barbarians, the Spirit Race the East Sea, Mountain Ghosts Demon Race mountain spirits of the Western Regions, the alien Human Race in the western regions are not only relatively weak and easy to defeat, but also have a large population and wealth to plunder. Furthermore, they do not have natural obstacles such as the ocean, ice plains, dense forests, or poisonous miasma, making them easier to conquer. Therefore, the Conquering West General and the General of Anxi the Western Pacification of the Ancient Immortal Palace are often the easiest to accumulate military merits.

Therefore, the warlords of the Imperial Guards in those years liked to lead the western expeditions, often massacring cities and destroying countries, and expanding their territories and colonizing. The Duhu Manor and garrisons that opened up the Western Regions often had generals with the widest authority and the most troops. They were always the leaders of the immortal army faction, the first choice to enter the court to succeed the Three Dukes, and it was not uncommon for them to be awarded the title of Grand General for their merits and become the leaders of the immortal army in the world.

However, as a result, the Western Army, being the strongest force among the Eight Feudal Armies, was entrusted with important responsibilities by the Immortal Palace. First, it was recalled from the Western Regions to suppress the Profound Maiden (Mysterious Sect), only to suffer a devastating blow in the battle to suppress the Xuan Nu (Black Lotus Sect). Later, it was tasked with suppressing the rising Divine Sect, only to be annihilated twice by the Divine Lord. Its hard-won resources were later exhausted when the Grand General led it to fight the Grand Commandant's Fourth Department Northern Expedition, and further depleted in the subsequent suppression of uprisings by the Luo Sect, Black Lotus Sect, and Luo Feng Army. Thus, the Imperial Guards faction was bled dry and gradually suppressed by the Celestial Clan in political struggles.

It can be said that the lineage of the Ancient Western Army has been extinguished, or rather, it has been integrated into the Divine Cult's Protectorate Army in the form of the "Body Domination Technique". In the present Duizhou, there are only the four Duhu Manor of Hexi. Although they are places where the Immortal Palace hoards heavy troops to defend against the Divine Cult, they pitifully accept the leadership of the Xuanmen and barely survive under the tyranny of the Divine Cult's lords, guarding the vital route from the Western Regions to the Central Plains and becoming the front line for blocking and defending against the Divine Cult.

The former Western Imperial Guards, the Eight Feudatories Army, the Old Western Army, and various other units such as Wind, Fire, Thunder, Lightning, Fighting Plague, and the remnants of the Northern Expedition, as well as the remnants of various special forces from past dynasties—anyone who lost power would be exaggerated by the Immortal Palace and thrown into this region, like being exiled, to block the main road for the Divine Cult to penetrate the heart of the Central Plains.

In the last great battle, the Divine Sect also invaded from the border of Duizhou, breaking through Duizhou in one go and setting up a Ten Ultimate Formation, almost reaching the Wang Jing the Three Realms. Unfortunately, the Divine Sect's Dharma King Cangyun, but still failed and was chased and forced to flee for thousands of miles. Although it now seems that there was an element of luring the Xuanmen to pursue them, the Divine Sect still lost face.

Of course, the most miserable ones are probably the Western Army. The immortals of the Xuanmen sect can pass by easily, but the ragtag soldiers under the Ten Ultimate Formation probably won't survive many. They might not even be able to find a single one when they reach the Dui Country...

As Zhang Yanzhi was basking in the False Moon and lost in thought, he suddenly stood up, closed his eyes, and walked into the woods.

What's wrong? Did you wake up because you needed to pee?

Li Fan didn't react at first, but after waiting a while, he noticed that she was walking further and further away, and he realized that something was wrong.

This girl seems to be sleepwalking?

It was sleepwalking, but not entirely. Zhang Yanzhi was still asleep when he seemed to hear some kind of summons, and was pulled by some strange force or demonic wind, drifting and floating like a puppet on a string into the forest.

Hmm? Could it be that she's been affected by a spirit-binding spell? Is it the Divine Cult coming to rescue the Saintess? Or does the sergeant have some additional instructions?

Li Fan didn't bother to alert the other party with his Divine Sense. He remained lying down, feigning sleep, and instead summoned the Blood Infant to secretly sneak into Zhang Yanzhi's Divine Court to follow them, wanting to see what kind of trouble the Divine Sect was up to.

After following for several miles, Zhang Yanzhi drifted into a chaotic graveyard. However, within her mind, a dreamlike illusion unfolded, revealing a colorful sea of peach blossoms.

Zhang Yanzhi was still trapped in her dream and naturally couldn't resist the illusion. The Blood Infant didn't disturb her and just watched from the side with its big, bright yellow lantern-like eyes.

Zhang Yanzhi discovered a winery deep in the peach orchard.

Zhang Yanzhi crossed the mass grave and entered a solitary grave that resembled a towering hill.

The village is surrounded by two rows of eight peach trees, creating a scene of birdsong, fragrant flowers, blue sky, and white clouds, resembling a paradise.

The tomb contained eight dragon-binding ropes, encircled by iron chains, with barbs hanging from them, revealing disemboweled corpses—a scene reminiscent of hell on earth.

Zhang Yanzhi walked through the peach grove and saw six honey wine vats in front of the village, covered with petals, surrounded by bees and butterflies, their sweet aroma intoxicating.

Deep within the tomb were six bronze blood cauldrons, each containing a pale, bluish-white human head, with flies and insects swarming over the bloody, putrid stench.

Inside the winery lived a handsome and elegant owner, beside whom sat a beautiful fairy in ethereal robes, enjoying wine and conversation.

The tomb's occupant was a gigantic creature resembling a demonic corpse, its hands and feet chained together. Judging from the sealing talismans surrounding it, the place originally sealed within the tomb had likely fallen into disrepair over the years, causing the tomb's roof to collapse and be exposed to the False Moon. Now, its body had grown to forty-five feet long, sitting with its legs spread apart in the tomb, with a blue face, fangs, and a gaping maw, neither human nor inhuman. It was holding a cultivator whose body had been half-eaten in its arms, and some bones on the ground that hadn't been properly sucked clean. It casually plucked off a head and coiled it in its palm to perform a ritual.

The fairy smiled, gently extending her delicate arms, and offered a cup of celestial wine.

The giant demon corpse extended its blood-stained claws and reached for Zhang Yanzhi's head.

However, Zhang Yanzhi did not accept the immortal wine; instead, he walked away with his hands behind his back.

The giant demon corpse reached for nothing, and was momentarily puzzled. It watched as Zhang Yanzhi walked around the leg bone and went behind it.

"Is it you calling me again?" Zhang Yanzhi walked to the winery house and looked up at the painting on the wall.

Behind the giant demon corpse were the burial objects in the tomb, as well as the remains left over from its consumption over the years, and many magical treasures were scattered around, among which a scroll could be seen unfolded.

The painting depicts a swordsman in red robes, holding a jar of wine in his left hand and a sword in his right, turning his head to gaze at the wild geese in the sky, but his true appearance cannot be seen.

Zhang Yanzhi reached out and touched the painting, "Who exactly are you...?"

The giant demon corpse stared at the girl beside it, drool and blood dripping from its mouth. The half-cultivator in its arms no longer tasted good; it wanted something fresh. It turned over, sat up, and grabbed at the girl's head.

Just as the manor owner's outstretched hand was about to touch Zhang Yanzhi, a blood-red infant emerged from behind the girl and swallowed his hand whole.

The giant ghoul suddenly became alert and turned to stare at its own claws.

It's gone. Its hands are gone, as if they've been torn apart by something.

Suddenly, the corpse realized something, turned its head, and saw a tiger with wings on its back lying on top of it, breaking its kneecap, biting open its thigh bone, and sucking the marrow from the large bone.

Is it a dream?

The manor owner shook his head, then looked down and saw the blood-red infant taking out its own heart, liver, and lungs and stuffing them into its mouth.

Ha, ha, it's a dream, it must be a dream...

The giant demon corpse opened its eyes and saw only a gaping maw lunging at it.

Zhang Yanzhi rubbed his eyes, sat up, and realized that it was already dawn.

Li Fan squatted by the campfire, roasting sparrows, and handed her a skewer.

"Sarilang, you're not sleeping well. Were you dreaming?"

"Thank you..." Zhang Yanzhi took the skewer of sparrows, frowning. "It seems I had a good dream, but I can't remember the details..."

Li Fan chewed on a cartilage, one after another, and asked indistinctly, "By the way, aren't you the Saintess of the Divine Cult? I heard that Saintess can attain enlightenment upon awakening. When will you awaken?"

"Awakening? I can't do it. If I could awaken, would they still feed me to you?" Zhang Yanzhi turned the sparrow around, looking dejected.

"Don't be discouraged. The bolder you are, the more you'll achieve. Keep it up, give it your all, and maybe you'll suddenly have an epiphany and be able to get revenge on that sergeant!" Li Fan egged him on from the side.

Zhang Yanzhi played mahjong with little appetite. "You don't understand. Although there are many candidates for Saintess, only the first person in each generation to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, pass the test, and obtain the Saintess Maiden's inheritance from the main altar can be called the True Saintess of the Divine Sect."

Once the True Saintess is born, the cult will no longer waste resources cultivating other candidates. They will usually carry out a large-scale extermination of other potential Saintess, especially those of us at the Golden Core stage who have obtained key memory fragments, in order to assist the True Saintess in awakening quickly.

"I was the first Northern Saintess to awaken to the Golden Core realm! I was practically the number one seed! I never imagined they'd kill even me! Alas, it seems the True Saintess of this generation has already been born, so my death is inevitable, it's just a matter of time..."

Li Fan stared at Zhang Yanzhi, swallowed hard, and asked, "How powerful is the awakened Saintess?"

Zhang Yanzhi handed the sparrow in his hand to Li Fan, "That must be very powerful. I heard that back then, the number one expert of the Demonic Sect, Xuan Tian Sword Ghost, infiltrated the headquarters of the Divine Sect to steal. When he was discovered, he became enraged and killed people indiscriminately. He was defeated by the Saintess, who was only at the Transformation Stage at the time."

Li Fan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Hey, hey, hey! Even if you're Saintess, please don't boast so ridiculously! I've read books like the Sword Sect Master's Secret Records, okay? The Sword Ancestor Xuantian at least had some enlightenment back then, right? How could he be no match for someone at the Transformation Stage??"

Zhang Yanzhi shrugged, "I haven't awakened yet, how would I know? It was my godfather who told me."

It is said to be the Saintess's cultivation Cultivation Method, which is quite different from the cultivation methods of the Three Great Sects. Upon reaching the Transformation Stage, her Dao power is already inexhaustible. She can preside over the main altar formation by herself, which is unbelievably strong!

Later, the sword demon realized he couldn't defeat her alone, so he fled back and gathered a large group of demonic sect experts to attack her together. In the end, they fought for a hundred years in the Ten Ultimate Formation before finally exhausting the Saintess's spirit and defeating her.

Therefore, with such divine skills, practicing other Cultivation Method would only be a detour for a candidate Saintess. That's why we are told to try to recall the cultivation methods from our previous lives."

Li Fan felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but ask softly, "Yanzhi, have you... have you ever heard of the Cultivation Method practiced by the True... no, the True Saintess? What's it called? Could it be... the Saintess's Technique?"

"I don't know. We, the candidates for Saintess, all use the secret method of reshaping the Saintess's primordial spirit. The more memories we have, the more perfect our soul becomes, and the higher our realm will naturally be. But what memories we can awaken depends on luck. I have never dreamed of any cultivation method."

Hmph! I only ever dream of a faceless man, and I have no idea who he is. What a waste of my first Northern Saintess to awaken to the Golden Core! I keep dreaming about that guy! He let someone else become a True Saintess first! Ugh! This guy has ruined me! Hmph!"

Zhang Yanzhi pouted and sulked, grabbing handfuls of sand and throwing them into the campfire, as if he wanted to throw them at the head of the red-clad man in the painting.

Alright, let's forget about these two sworn enemies for now, this is serious! It's possible the Saintess is also practicing True Yang Technique...

Li Fan squinted, devoured the sparrow in one bite, calmed himself down, and thought for a moment.

"Regardless of the technique, the Saintess needs to gather all the memories to awaken, right? So if we hide you Golden Core level candidates for Saintess, the True Saintess can't awaken, right? If we kill the True Saintess before she awakens, we'll have to start all over again, won't we?"

Zhang Yanzhi glanced at Li Fan and said, "That makes sense. The Demonic Sect and the Demonic Palace have always done the same thing. But I've heard that the Central Plains are in chaos now, with demonic calamities raging everywhere. They can barely protect themselves, so probably nobody cares about the Saintess's awakening anymore."

Damn it! I care! But then again, the Yuntai Peak allied forces' westward expedition was supposed to go, but now that Emei has caused this mess, it might all fall through!

Then he'll have to go there himself...