After an unknown length of time, Li Ling slowly came to. Only then did he realize that he seemed to have fallen asleep, losing consciousness within the dream.
The scenery around him remained unchanged. A ring of purplish-red Dream Butterflies rested on the broad meadow at the foot of the mountain, spread across the grass like colorful brocade. Quite a few had even landed on him, like scattered flower petals.
Yet this dreamy, beautiful scene concealed a crisis that had nearly severed his connection and even cost him his Dao Marker and mental awareness. As far as Li Ling knew, these dream creatures called Dream Butterflies could devour the mind and digest dream spirit bodies. Being gnawed on by them would lead to unpleasant changes.
According to one account, people who died this way in a dream would suffer corresponding injuries in reality, eventually dying in both worlds after repeated incidents.
This had to do with both the Dream Butterflies' own characteristics and the nature of this realm.
"The powder on their wings seems to contain something that intoxicates the mind. I nearly fell victim to it."
Li Ling shook himself and discovered several holes in his clothes, along with wounds on his body, hands, and shoulders that looked as though insects had eaten into them.
"There seems to be something seriously wrong with the laws of this place. It's a dream, yet unlike a dream. My dream spirit is so heavily suppressed that even butterflies managed to knock me out!"
His expression shifted slightly as his gaze settled on the Dream Butterflies. They appeared intoxicated, lying motionless where they had landed.
"Fortunately, before I passed out, I used the Myriad Wonders Incense Transformation Art to catalyze the Spirit-Bewildering Incense with my mind, infecting their minds with the seven emotions