Five Gods Meet
Dreams have no boundaries.
When Yun Jingheng opened his eyes, he was no longer in the Far North.
He stood on a vast, empty, and frigid gray-white wasteland.
The sky was so low, it felt like it was pressing down on our eyelashes.
The ground wasn't soil, but a layer of extremely fine dust.
The wind didn't blow, the clouds didn't drift, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.
He looked down at his hands; they were still there, as were his sleeves.
This was no ordinary dream.
Dreams involving subjective consciousness are relatively rare.
To be able to enter his spiritual sea and not be repelled by the Yin Force is already beyond the power of this plane.
He looked up, and in the distance, at the edge of the gray wasteland, stood a person.
He was extremely broad-shouldered, and his black clothes were as hard as iron.
The man had his back to him and didn't turn around, but Yun Jingheng already knew who he was.
Clear Sky Douluo – Tang Hao.
He stood there, just standing, and the world seemed to shrink in comparison.
"Come on over since you're here, let's have a chat," Tang Hao said.
Yun Jingheng did not hesitate.
He lifted his foot and walked forward.
He stopped five steps behind Tang Hao.
Tang Hao didn't turn around, only saying, "Aren't you afraid?"
"You didn't summon me just to scare me," Yun Jingheng said.
Tang Hao let out a sound like laughter from his throat.
He turned around.
When Yun Jingheng saw his face clearly for the first time, it was colder than the rumors had said.
His features were hardened, worn down by war and time. His gaze towards Yun Jingheng was extremely intense, so intense it seemed he wanted to press down on the young man's bones to see what lay beneath.
Lately, have you been feeling like you can hold onto a lot of things?
Tang Hao asked, his tone neither warm nor cold, "The Far North, Shrek, Sea God Pavilion, and now you even want to go and see the Abyss."
Yun Jingheng did not deny it.
He raised his head, his gaze unwavering. "It's not that I think I can handle it, it's that no one can go in for me."
Tang Hao snorted, "You're just like Yun Ming."
After he finished speaking, he stepped aside and made way for him.
Yun Jingheng looked in the direction he had moved aside.
At the edge of the wasteland, a tree has appeared out of nowhere.
The tree was enormous, entirely silvery-white, leafless, yet covered with a very faint, thin layer of green light.
A woman was standing under the tree.
She was dressed in plain clothes, her features gentle and kind, as if she had captured all the warmth that was absent from the entire wasteland in her eyes.
Blue Silver Emperor -- Ah Yin.
She didn't speak, but simply waved gently at Yun Jingheng.
The movement was extremely natural, like calling out to a younger member of one's own family.
Yun Jingheng's heart softened for no apparent reason.
He instinctively took two steps forward, then stopped.
Tang Hao slowly walked towards the tree; it turned out they had been together all along.
One station, one waiting.
Yun Jingheng followed and stood in front of them.
Ah Yin looked at him with extremely gentle eyes, and said softly, "You left too quickly, child."
Yun Jingheng remained silent.
A sudden wind swept across the wasteland.
It seemed to be blowing from the very, very far horizon.
The wind carries the sea.
When Yun Jingheng looked up again, Tang Hao and Ah Yin were already standing side by side on one side, and the wind was getting stronger.
It didn't sound like a roar, but rather like the tide.
At the gray-white horizon, something tore open a very thin and long slit.
Then, light seeped out from the crack.
A person appeared in the light—no, two people.
One in front of the other.
The man in front, dressed in blue, was neither very tall nor very strong, but when he appeared, the entire wasteland fell silent.
Even the wind subsided.
Sea God - Tang San.
Behind him, there was another person, half a body length behind.
The man was younger, with a faint hint of weariness in his expression, but his eyes and brows were exceptionally bright.
Huo Yuhao, the God of Emotion.
Yun Jingheng's breathing unconsciously became lighter.
What does this mean?
Tang Hao and Ah Yin are one thing.
The Plane Master and the Life Core are still connected to the Douluo Continent, so entering his dream is still quite easy.
But Tang San and Huo Yuhao are different; they are from the Divine Realm.
Nobody knows where the Divine Realm has gone; at least it's not somewhere within the Douluo Continent right now.
Their mere presence here indicates one thing: something has already exceeded his judgment.
Is this going to kill me in my dream?
To emulate Wei Zheng's dream of slaying a dragon?
Tang San looked at him quietly. "Your name is Yun Jingheng? The successor to the Yue Shen Goddess's Godhood?"
"Yes." Yun Jingheng nodded.
"Wulin mentioned you to me."
Tang San said, his eyes softening slightly, "He said, 'Back in Shrek Academy, you always hid away to make things, and you always brought them out at the most critical moments.'"
"He trusts you a lot. He said that under threat, you even went to great lengths to save him."
He paused, then suddenly smiled, "That kid has a pretty good eye for people."
Yun Jingheng was stunned for a very brief moment.
He thought that if someone came from the Divine Realm, they would ask the Yue Shen about the Trial, they would ask the Abyss Chosen One, and they would say things like that.
He never expected that Tang San's first words would be about Tang Wulin.
He lowered his eyes and whispered, "Wulin... he's in the Star Luo Empire now, he's alright."
"I know."
Tang San nodded. "You and Wulin are different, but the paths you walk will be very similar. I'm not here entirely for him. There are some things I need to tell you while you're still awake."
"What do you mean?" Yun Jingheng, puzzled.
Tang Hao explained, "The fact that you were able to absorb the Abyssal Energy without any problems means that, in essence, you are extremely compatible with the Abyss."
"You yourself are the kind of vessel the Abyss desires. Moonlight did not reject you. If it were anyone else, even your father, who absorbed the Holy Monarch's energy, he would have been devoured into something else long ago."
Ah Yin nodded gently, then continued, "The Abyss doesn't want to kill you. If they wanted to, a large number of Emperor would appear in a short time."
"You've noticed it too; the residual Abyssal Energy is constantly approaching you, trying to get you to absorb it. They want you to pass through; the stronger you are, the happier they are."
"Because what they want isn't your life, but your roots. Every bit you absorb in the Far North, they can hold onto more of you, like a seed buried in the soil. Before you even feel the pain, the roots have already taken hold."
Yun Jingheng hummed in agreement.
He knew it; he knew it better than anyone else.
When those energies from the Far North approached him, he didn't actually feel cold; instead, he felt a faint, indescribable sense of peace.
That's the most powerful part of the Abyss; it doesn't force you, it makes you feel that you were meant to be there.
Tang San looked at him and said, "So from now on, you can't afford to waste any more time with the Abyss. The longer you drag it out, the harder it will be for you to get out."
"We must act before they even try to recruit you or decide to push you into the Abyss."
Yun Jingheng raised his eyes. "How do we make a move?"
"Severely damage the Abyss Plane."
Tang San said, "If we can damage the Abyss Plane itself, and blast through two of the tenth layers of the Abyss, the Abyss will be too busy to deal with the Douluo Continent for a short time."
"Only then will you have time to complete the remaining God Trial."
"Time." Yun Jingheng pondered.
He desperately needs time.
The Sea God Pavilion had just emerged from the ground, Shrek's reconstruction had only just begun, the Federation and Star Luo Empire were still fighting, and the Holy Spirit Cult was not yet dead.
He also knew that the rest of his God Trial couldn't be waited for by simply sitting in the Far North.
If the Abyss isn't dealt a severe blow, it will surely bite in when the continent is at its most chaotic.
"My God-Slaying Level might not be able to achieve that," he said.
"There's another direction," Tang Hao said.
"Heaven Saint Rift Abyss Halberd"
He raised his hand and gently touched that dreamscape.
A crack appeared in the center of the gray-white wasteland, and light shone from within it. From the light, an extremely ancient halberd slowly emerged.
The halberd is unusually long, entirely blue-purple, and covered with countless fine lines.
It floated there, motionless, yet it made the whole dream seem as if a layer had been cut away.
"The Abyssal Sage King's Super Divine Artifact."