A land of legend

"Please, have some tea."

Han Suxin set the tea on the coffee table in front of them, then sat on the sofa opposite and smiled. "Mr. Lin, what brings you here today? Is there anything you need my help with? If so, I will spare no effort."

Lin Zhishui felt a little dismayed.

What was with this woman?

She had been speaking perfectly normally before. Why had she suddenly switched to this old-fashioned style too?

One of the few customers at his shop who actually spoke like a normal person, and now even she was getting in on this cringe-inducing act...

He felt rather helpless, but he could only do his best to accommodate his customer. After all, they were both enthusiasts of traditional culture, and he had a favor to ask. He could hardly embarrass her.

"It is not for me, but for her."

Lin Zhishui put an arm around She Xilu's shoulders. Racking his brains for the right words, he slowly said, "This is my wife, She Xilu. Of late, her mind has been troubled, and nightmares plague her daily, granting her no peace. Such strange dreams often signify something and seldom arise without cause. Alas, this is not my area of expertise, nor am I in a position to ease her distress. Since you are well versed in this field, I hoped to ask for your assistance."

"I see." Han Suxin nodded lightly.

Inwardly, however, she was puzzled.

The last time she had met this calligraphy and painting shop owner, his phrasing had sounded entirely modern. At the time, she had suspected he might be a senior master who adapted as readily as she did, so she had gone along with him and used plain modern speech.

Now, however, she somewhat suspected that this supposed senior might merely be a lucky mortal. That was why she had deliberately returned to her usual manner of speech, as a preliminary test.

Yet, to her surprise, he had changed his style too, and she could find nothing wrong with his choice of words.

Either he really was a senior master, or he had deliberately practiced for a long time beforehand.

Though she thought it rather odd for a modern person to deliberately learn this archaic manner of speaking, it was still quite possible.

Besides, it sounds as though this mortal woman is merely having nightmares. If he really were a senior master, even if this wasn't his specialty, interpreting dreams and calming the mind would be trivial. If he can't handle even that and has to come specifically to ask for my help, he really might be a mortal...

As Han Suxin gradually reached a conclusion, she could not help feeling exasperated with herself. To think she had mistaken this mortal for a senior master that day. What a blunder.

Although cultivators had to avoid attracting external demons and could not allow mortals to discover them, a senior master could perform a mind-soothing technique without a mortal noticing anything.

There were still many unanswered questions, but she was already seventy percent certain that Lin Zhishui was a mortal.

"In that case, leave this matter to me."

Still smiling, Han Suxin said, "Mr. Lin, you can wait here. I'll take your wife into the inner room for a chat. We should know the cause shortly."

Perhaps because she had realized that this supposed senior was a fraud, she had unconsciously grown reluctant to address him with the same deference.

In any case...

All she needed to do next was confirm this mortal woman's symptoms. If she really was merely troubled by nightmares, that would settle it.

"Go on. I'll wait right here." Lin Zhishui stroked the top of She Xilu's head, reassuring her.

She Xilu was reluctant to be alone with a stranger, but when she remembered that she was doing this for Lin Zhishui, and that the woman was such a warm, approachable older sister figure, she felt less resistant.

Though... she did find the way these two spoke rather embarrassing.

"This way, please."

With a faint smile, Han Suxin gestured for her to follow, then led She Xilu into the counseling room next door.

Inside the counseling room.

"Just lie down here."

Han Suxin walked over to the recliner in the room and gave She Xilu a small smile.

There was no need to probe She Xilu with questions, much less hypnotize her through a gradually deepening conversation like an ordinary psychologist.

That would be far too much trouble.

The Dharma body she had inherited was that of the Great Emperor of the North Pole Ziwei. With her supernatural powers and spells, she could put a mortal to sleep instantly without them noticing a thing. Then she only needed to enter their dream and communicate with their true inner self to learn what was really happening.

She Xilu hesitated, then timidly sat on the recliner and slowly lay back.

"Close your eyes and relax. Just leave it to me."

Han Suxin spoke softly. Her voice, carrying a trace of a strange Dao resonance, reached She Xilu's ears and instantly plunged her into a deep sleep, leaving her no power to resist.

It worked so easily. A mortal, just as I thought...

Looking at She Xilu's peaceful sleeping face, Han Suxin shook her head slightly and sighed inwardly. She was now almost ninety percent certain that Lin Zhishui was merely a mortal who had happened upon those works of calligraphy and painting.

What she still could not understand was why her spiritual perception had failed to detect Lin Zhishui before she entered the shop that day.

And... after Lin Zhishui sold her the calligraphy that day, why had the piece become hers alone as soon as he added the inscription?

Perhaps... that was simply an inherent quality of those works?

Yes, that's the only explanation. The other things-the inkstone, brushes, desk, and so on-were all ordinary mortal objects. Only those works of calligraphy and painting were exceptionally mysterious. Perhaps they were passed down from the heavenly realm. Once this is over, I'll buy them from Lin Zhishui. All he wants is money anyway.

At that thought, Han Suxin gathered her focus and gazed at She Xilu, preparing to take the final step toward confirmation-

She would enter this mortal girl's dream to verify her suspicions and, while she was there, resolve the nightmares troubling her.

"Manifest."

Han Suxin pressed one hand against her chest over her heart. A strange radiance invisible to mortals slowly emerged from her body, swirling and shifting around her until it gradually formed a translucent humanoid apparition sixteen feet tall.

On closer inspection, the apparition's indistinct face exuded an indescribable majesty. He wore an opulent brocade robe and flawless white jade at his waist. Purple vapor rose above his head in the shape of dragons, while points of starlight surrounded him, like a sovereign exalted by all the stars.

This was the Dharma body of the Great Emperor of the North Pole Ziwei, a lineage of Infinite Heaven.

According to legend, the source of this Dharma body path was one of the Four Sovereigns of the ancient heavenly court. Even among the many Dharma body lineages, it ranked among the very highest.

Two hundred years had passed since Infinite Heaven bestowed this Dharma body inheritance upon her. She had awakened her Dharma body to a considerable depth, and among all the cultivators in the world cultivating the Dharma body of the Great Emperor of the North Pole Ziwei, few could surpass her.

With the Constellations Enter Dreams ability of such a Dharma body, entering a mortal's dream was child's play.

"The constellations reside in me; the Dipper turns, and I enter the dream."

Han Suxin gently touched a finger to the spot between She Xilu's eyebrows. The Dharma body apparition enveloping her likewise extended a finger toward She Xilu.

In an instant, her divine sense separated from her body. Amid countless overlapping, intermingled murmurs, she slipped into the ethereal dream in a haze, then slowly opened her eyes.

"Hm?"

Han Suxin frowned at her surroundings. "This... is her dream?"

Darkness lay all around her. Boundless darkness swallowed everything, seemingly without an edge. The entire dream world was steeped in absolute darkness.

Suddenly, she looked down and saw a dim glow pulsing slowly upon the endless dark ground.

It was a well.

Like the only opening in that boundless land, the well was octagonal and only three feet high, built entirely of gray-black stone. It emitted specks of mysterious gray radiance, the sole source of light in the darkness.

"This is..."

Floating high above the dreamscape, Han Suxin knitted her delicate brows and stared fixedly at the mysterious well. She had a vague feeling that she had seen it somewhere before.

Suddenly, her heart trembled. She remembered where she had seen this well!

More than two hundred years ago, she had read a Book of the Myriad Worlds passed down by Infinite Heaven. That book had recorded the well's appearance and included an illustration!

According to legend, the origins of nearly all the Dharma body lineages lay in the abodes of immortals and gods from before the ancient upheaval of heaven and earth.

For instance, Infinite Heaven had once been the Primordial Heavenly Court, the Lunar Abyss had once been the ancient Moon Palace on the Lunar Star, and the Defiled Earth Jianmu had once been the World Tree... and so on.

The well before her stood amid boundless darkness, was octagonal, and measured three feet high. It matched the recorded description of the Demonic Well of Origin, transformed from the Well of Primordial Beginning, in every detail!

This mortal... no, how can the legendary Demonic Well of Origin appear in her dream?

By now, Han Suxin was filled with shock and horror. Such places of origin existed only in legend. Unless someone ascended to heaven, or an immortal or god descended to the mortal world, no one in the mortal realm had ever seen such a legendary place with their own eyes.

Yet the legendary Demonic Well of Origin actually existed within this girl's dream?

That meant this girl might well have seen the Demonic Well of Origin herself. Only then could she reproduce it in her dream without the slightest discrepancy!

Even those who ascend only have a chance to see it after reaching heaven... In other words, she might come from the upper realm... Is she a reincarnated immortal or god?

The thought flashed through Han Suxin's mind.

Just then, she suddenly heard an eerie rustling that made her skin crawl. A snake's head covered in black scales slowly emerged from the Demonic Well of Origin, its eerie green eyes fixed on her.