The old woman had no doubts whatsoever.
After all, Lin Rouniang possessed extraordinary strength within dreams and could even wield divine authority.
But when she heard Lin Rouniang's next words, her expression turned solemn.
"That person truly possessed vast divine abilities. Only someone with a corresponding cultivation level in reality could accomplish such a thing."
Lin Rouniang said, "You can invent divine abilities and spells however you please within a dream, but their actual power, and the details of how soul power and Dharma Forms are used, leave no room for trickery. Right now, I only want to know who he is. The information the sect gave us never mentioned anyone like him."
The old woman speculated, "Perhaps some rogue cultivator came to skim off the cream while we're fighting the Skycloud Sect. There have been precedents."
Lin Rouniang shook her head slightly. "Nanny, it isn't that simple. You should know what a child appearance represents."
The old woman paused, then quickly caught on. "Youth?"
Lin Rouniang said, "Exactly. At least, youth by Nascent Soul standards."
The old woman said, "The Nascent Soul lifespan limit is ten thousand years. If his Dharma Form has a child appearance, no more than a thousand years can have passed since its birth!"
Realization struck her, and she could not help drawing in a sharp breath. "That potential is terrifying!"
Lin Rouniang said, "Even in the great, prestigious sects, starting with a child appearance would qualify as supreme aptitude. After that come the adolescent appearance, young adult appearance, middle-aged appearance, and elderly appearance. It amounts to gaining several extra chances to transform out of thin air!"
The old woman sighed deeply. "Indeed. When someone like that evolves his Dharma Form to its final stage, who knows what sort of being he might become!"
A Nascent Soul Dharma Form changed with the state of the soul, so the younger its starting age, the greater its potential.
Child appearance was a collective term covering infants, toddlers, and children. If one insisted on distinguishing an infant appearance, there were historical precedents, but cultivators generally possessed adult minds by the time they reached higher levels, which altered their Dharma Forms.
Babies born at Core Formation who reached Nascent Soul shortly after beginning cultivation were figures from ancient mythology.
Besides, a child appearance itself included infant characteristics such as skin and aura, so they could all be grouped together.
This could almost be called the supreme potential every cultivator dreamed of. If a cultivator attained Nascent Soul normally and developed a Dharma Form starting with a middle-aged appearance, only one change awaited him: old age. In other words, he could receive one advancement blessed by the Great Dao of heaven and earth when passing from middle age into old age.
A young adult appearance offered two such opportunities: from young adulthood to middle age, and from middle age to old age.
An adolescent appearance was even more impressive, offering three.
A child appearance, however, offered a full four opportunities!
"Most Nascent Soul cultivators start with a middle-aged appearance, because Core Formation elders are usually already several thousand years old when they advance to Nascent Soul. Nascent Soul cultivators are generally called Patriarch So-and-so..."
"Even a young adult appearance is outstanding at the Nascent Soul level. It represents the potential to advance to Spirit Transformation."
"Only the exceptional talents of an era, supreme experts who could stand at its very pinnacle, have ever possessed adolescent appearances."
"And a child appearance means the potential to transcend an entire era!"
The old woman's emotion was not without cause. She had already been decrepit by the time she reached Foundation Establishment.
Not only had her bodily functions aged, but her soul had grown old as well.
Even if heaven granted her the extraordinary fortune of advancing repeatedly, she could only start with an elderly appearance.
In fact, those who started with elderly appearances were almost as rare as those who started with child appearances. Old age meant having one foot in the grave. Staying alive alone was already a struggle-what could they possibly use to advance?
Of course, potential was only potential. Great potential did not guarantee advancement, nor did limited potential necessarily make advancement impossible.
This potential was also intimately tied to one's lifespan limit, and almost no one ever thought of cashing it in.
Everyone wished they could remain where they were forever. Not growing older was best.
Thus, at the same stage, their divine abilities and magical power differed little.
But when making a serious comparison, things could not be viewed that way. Even great sects gave many additional privileges to the young and vigorous.
Divine abilities, spells, magical treasures, spirit beasts, pills, talismans... there were far too many factors affecting strength!
Someone like this was rare even in a top-tier sect. How could he possibly be a rogue cultivator?
Even if he truly came from a rogue cultivator background, a great sect would surely recruit him as an attendant elder or the like.
But that raised the question: which sect did he belong to?
The Skycloud Sect was the likeliest possibility, but as far as she knew, it had no such person.
Besides, would a Nascent Soul patriarch of the Skycloud Sect need to act so cautiously and secretly? This was their home ground!
After puzzling over it endlessly without finding an answer, the old woman could only say, "Whatever the case, we must report this to our superiors as soon as possible. Also, I'm afraid we'll have to set our plan in motion ahead of schedule."
Lin Rouniang nodded. "You're right, Nanny."
Soon afterward, the old woman left under orders to contact the sect.
Watching her leave, Lin Rouniang's expression shifted.
Her minor injuries would heal sooner or later. Having her dream spirit taken was the real headache.
He knows dream-entering techniques. He must know how to use my dream spirit to subject me to nightmare suppression!
I have to prepare defenses in advance!
Li Ling withdrew from the beautiful concubine's dream, casually condensed Sword Qi, and killed her.
This minion of the Demonic Path had no cultivation whatsoever. She lost her life in her sleep without even waking.
He had come tonight precisely to deal with this potential threat. Now, it seemed she truly could not be left alive.
This may alert the cultivators guarding the royal palace and let them uncover traces of her contact with the Demonic Path...
Still, this is a private matter of the inner palace. It shouldn't occupy too much of the Unusual Events Bureau's attention.
Never mind all that for now. Let's see how I can use this dream spirit.
Li Ling's spirit body opened his hand, and the drop of blood appeared above it.
The next moment, he used his divine sense to merge it into himself.
This was a little trick he had learned from the Ghost Soul Secret Manual: lodging it within his own spirit body.
After returning to his residence, Li Ling's soul returned to his body. He lay there and used a dream-transmission method to create a dream for himself.
Unsurprisingly, it was a lucid dream.
Then he sat cross-legged in an open space within the dream, using his mind to communicate with the blood drop lodged inside him and sense Lin Rouniang's physical self.
Invisible ripples seemed to spread through the void, breaking through the limitations of space in a way ordinary people could scarcely comprehend.
One quarter-hour, two quarter-hours, three quarter-hours...
He waited a long time, but there was no response at all.
Apparently, Lin Rouniang was extremely cautious. Knowing her dream spirit had been taken, she was stubbornly staying awake.
With her abilities, she should have no trouble going ten days, half a month, or even longer without sleep.
However, that did not mean she could completely guard against the Nightmare-Suppression Arts. The Demonic Path had plenty of other sinister methods for tormenting people!
If her concentration slipped, he could force her into a dream even if she was not asleep.
Li Ling pondered as he continued his patient attempts.
Lin Rouniang comes from an extraordinary background. She may well have trump cards up her sleeve. If she tells her sect elders or family what happened, she can get support.
But she doesn't even know who I really am or where I'm hiding. There shouldn't be any problem in the short term.
I should be able to hold the initiative for a while.
However, as time passes, the connection between her and the dream spirit separated from her will weaken until it becomes completely useless.
Besides, Lin Rouniang's own attainments in the Dao of dreams are considerable. Completely subduing her with this alone won't be easy. If she learns my secrets, it could even provoke frenzied retaliation.
If I want to subject her to nightmare suppression, I'll have to rely on my own dream and make full use of the home-ground advantage...
Before long, Li Ling suddenly jolted as he continued refining it.
He sensed that the dream spirit seemed to have established a mysterious connection with something in the void, like opposite poles of a magnet attracting each other.
So this is an anchor!
One technique for using dream spirits described in the Ghost Soul Secret Manual involved leaving one's own mental mark inside another person, then drawing them into one's own dream while they slept or let their guard down.
Earlier, when Li Ling fought her in that beautiful concubine's dream, both had been visitors, competing with their own strength.
But if he pulled her onto his home ground, the situation would be entirely different.
He might have the chance to keep tearing off pieces of her mind and obtain even more anchors.
It seems I was mistaken earlier. She wasn't really stubbornly staying awake. She was preparing something.
This dream must have been created deliberately. Is she planning to face me head-on?
The little wench has some nerve. But if you dare do this even at a disadvantage, why should I be afraid of you?
As Li Ling weighed his options, he suddenly set his mental power in motion and felt it draw taut, like a fishing line with a fish on the hook.
Soul-Possession Dream Transmission, Dream-Entering Grand Art!
Unlike the ordinary Dream-Entering Grand Art, this application worked in reverse.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Rouniang appeared before him, dressed in divine ceremonial robes and a crown.
She stood there quietly, seemingly unsurprised to find herself in his dream with nothing visible before her. She began, "I am a ninth-generation descendant of the Blood Sea Demon Venerable, a Spirit Transformation cultivator of the Netherworld Sect's Yellow Springs path, and belong to the Ghost Soul Sect's Blood Spirit Hall..."
Hearing this, Li Ling chuckled inwardly. "I know. You needn't introduce yourself."
Lin Rouniang's face was hidden behind red gauze, leaving her expression unreadable. "May I ask just who you are?"
Li Ling said, "There's no need for that question. You seem intelligent enough. You should understand your current situation."
Lin Rouniang said, "Very well, I won't waste words. Would you be willing to return my dream spirit? I can offer something that interests you in exchange."
Li Ling said, "You want to make a deal with me? That's certainly possible. But can you afford what I want?"
Lin Rouniang replied evenly, "Why not tell me? We won't know whether I can afford it until you do."
Li Ling was even more nonchalant. "You first."
Lin Rouniang frowned slightly, but answered decisively, "I can tell you about our sect's plan. If you handle things well, you'll have a good chance of obtaining dragon soul fruit."
Dragon soul fruit? Li Ling did not speak, merely murmuring to himself.
He had never seen that term in the Unusual Events Bureau's files, nor did he know what plan she meant, but he soon recalled a crucial piece of information.
The Great Lin River God had originally been a natural deity, chosen by the ten-thousand-mile Shimmering River to become the god of this region.
Although his body had been divided and suppressed in various locations, the dragon vein nurtured by the union of his remnant soul and the authority of heaven and earth still remained.
It was the essence of the land's mountains and rivers. Perhaps it was the Great Lin River God's true self!
It was closely bound to the ten-thousand-mile Shimmering River and could hardly be wiped off the map. The cultivators of the Mystic Continent had simply treated it as a hen that laid eggs, using it to nurture all sorts of spiritual materials and treasures.
The dragon soul fruit Lin Rouniang mentioned should be an egg laid by this hen.
Only then did Li Ling understand. No wonder the Unusual Events Bureau's files mentioned that, over the past ten thousand years, Demonic Path cultivators had come here almost every few decades to secretly develop their influence and temper their disciples.
This truly was... reaping many benefits with a single move!
Mighty experts possessed lives long enough to carry out such plans. To ordinary low-ranking disciples, it might merely be a tradition of venturing out for training and selecting the best for admission!
For the moment, however, Li Ling did not know how to answer.
He did not even know whether dragon soul fruit actually existed.
Lin Rouniang's words might also conceal a trap, using fabricated information to probe his identity and knowledge.
He definitely knew less of the inside story than she did. His concern was that a slip of the tongue would let her notice something amiss.
"Heh heh heh..."
Li Ling gave a seemingly meaningful laugh, appearing noncommittal and inscrutable.
Only after a long while did he slowly say, "Stop wandering off into useless subjects. If you want your dream spirit back, show me some sincerity first."
Lin Rouniang said, "What sincerity?"
Li Ling said, "For example, your Ghost Soul Sect's cultivation methods..."
Lin Rouniang interrupted bluntly, "Please conduct yourself with some dignity. You merely took my dream spirit; you don't hold my life in your hands. Do you really think you can do whatever you please?"
Li Ling said, "Don't worry. Just a few commonly taught methods, nothing involving secret arts you've sworn Dao oaths over or other inherited techniques."
"If you show enough sincerity, I'll consider making an exchange with you."
Lin Rouniang fell silent for a while before finally saying, "Fine!"
She felt she had already figured out this mysterious person's tactics.
Just as I expected. First, a few small demands that are easy to satisfy, then he'll take a mile after gaining an inch, slowly push toward my limits, and swallow me alive the moment he gets the chance!
I'm not someone who lets others carve her up at will. As long as I keep him placated and buy a little time, I can sever my connection to the dream spirit.
The effects of the Nightmare-Suppression Arts went both ways. With sufficient strength, turning the tables on the host was not necessarily impossible.
But Lin Rouniang could only entertain that thought. Having fought Li Ling, she knew she was no match for him. Severing the connection remained her priority.
To keep him placated, she had no choice but to offer a small sweetener first.
Lin Rouniang had no idea that Li Ling was no senior master at all. This supposedly small demand was already a huge one. The "inch" he gained before taking a mile was already an enormous windfall beyond an ordinary person's imagination!
He could not help rejoicing. It worked! I've already come out ahead this time!
Lin Rouniang is a prized disciple of the Ghost Soul Sect. She can certainly obtain some cultivation methods. They'll be an enormous help to my future cultivation!