Breaking the Cocoon

What a comfortable space, what a quiet atmosphere-such an ideal place to sleep.

No one came to disturb him. All suffering vanished here.

Just soak quietly in it, feel sleepiness slowly spread to every nerve. Don't argue with it, don't resist it. Accept it, embrace it, and you'll enjoy endless relaxation and pleasure.

Soak quietly in it. Your body slowly sinks, and the pleasant sensation seems to send your soul soaring into the sky.

You'll lose your hands, your feet, your body, your past, your consciousness, your freedom.

But you'll gain endless happiness. There'll be no escape, no imprisonment. Accept it, and you'll have endless happiness. No one will disturb you there, no one will force you. You only have to give up what you possess now, and you can have all this. Accept it. What are you still hesitating for?

What was there to cherish about the pain of reality? Being chased from your homeland, wandering aimlessly into the unknown, then being captured and imprisoned. What were you still holding on for?

That's right. What was I still holding on for?

But why didn't I want to fall asleep?

He thought again of that emerald-green figure in the Far North, walking across the ice fields through the bitter wind and snow; of the fish swimming in the Ocean; of the black dragon that had imprisoned him, spreading its wings and flying through the sky; and... and of the words that white-haired girl had said to him with a smile. She had been the first person to praise him, the first person willing to help him.

I don't want to lose myself in this beautiful dream. I don't want to fall asleep and leave this world. I want to walk freely across the land, roam the Ocean, and fly through the sky. I want to become the person she said I could be.

Those drowsy eyes opened again. He looked at the sealed surroundings and saw himself immersed in the liquid. Even though everything but Tian Meng's head had dissolved into it, Tian Meng wasn't afraid and didn't retreat. He summoned his immense spiritual power, and the liquid instantly surged like a stormy sea.

Why be greedy for this painful world? Why not accept this endless happiness? Why refuse to close your eyes and fall asleep? The voice appeared in Tian Meng's mind again, growing stronger each time, shifting from persuasion to interrogation. Along with the voice came Tian Meng's weakening control over his spiritual power.

The liquid began to grow calm. Tian Meng slowly sank as it gradually engulfed him, until his head was completely submerged. Then he began to dissolve: first his skin, then his flesh and blood, and finally his bones. But Tian Meng didn't give up. His soul still existed. Even as it slowly began to dissipate, even as his memories grew blurry, Tian Meng still remembered the words that white-haired figure had spoken to him.

"I haven't cultivated for a million years yet. I haven't become the person she said I could be!" His soul's cry poured out in silence. Though it made no sound, the liquid began to boil, as spectacular as an erupting volcano. Like a fledgling trying to break out of its shell, an indescribable force surged toward the walls of this sealed space.

One crack, then another... Countless fissures appeared on the "walls" of the sealed space, spreading without end. The sound of cracking began, growing louder and more frequent, until at last the "walls" collapsed. The starry night sky appeared before Tian Meng's eyes once more.

Refining the Left Arm Bone had left Huo Yuhao mentally exhausted. After Ice Empress set him down, he fell into a deep sleep.

Huo Yuhao dreamed again of the Wood Shed where he and his mother had depended on each other. Everything here was just as it had been in his memories: the dilapidated walls, the old table and stools, the pitifully small stove, and the little bed where his mother had soothed him to sleep. This tiny wooden bed was the only place he and his mother could sleep. He had spent his childhood here, working here alongside his mother day after day without complaint, bowing and scraping to everyone, and enduring their beatings and scoldings. In the past, he had never understood why they had to live this way. Whenever he asked why, his mother would always look guilty, and after seeing that, he never asked again. Whenever Huo Yuhao saw these things in his dreams, he would stare silently.

"You bastard, how dare you bump into the Second Young Master?" The servant had barely finished yelling when another familiar voice rang out.

"Beat him up." The voice wasn't loud, but whenever Huo Yuhao heard it, he instinctively ran outside, wanting to stop it all.

But when Huo Yuhao ran out, the courtyard was empty, and everything was as usual.

That voice still hadn't disappeared. Huo Yuhao searched like a madman. After he had searched the whole courtyard and still found nothing, he opened the gate leading outside.

There were no trees or roads beyond the gate. Instead, he saw a familiar scene: on a snowy mountain, Winter'er had been pierced through by the Golden Dragon Spear. Her beautiful eyes stared blankly at him from the doorway. Then the scene changed. Amid a field of ruins, Qiu'er pressed her head against "Huo Yuhao's"-the scene of Qiu'er sacrificing herself for him. Then Qiu'er turned her head toward him in the doorway, her beautiful eyes still staring blankly at him.

Then the people from Shrek in the past appeared before him. There were Ma Xiaotao, Bei Bei, Xiao Xiao... They silently watched him from the doorway. Slowly, their faces grew blurry and then vanished from his sight.

After that, a mother and son appeared in the distance. A mother held her son's hand. It was Ju Zi and Yun Han. They, too, only stood far away and silently watched him. Ju Zi still looked just as she did in his memories. But as he watched Yun Han looking at him from afar, Huo Yuhao seemed to see his childhood self in Yun Han's eyes. Then, as if a gust of wind had swept past, they were scattered by the wind and vanished without a trace.

It wasn't over. The scene continued to change. The starry night sky was so beautiful, and the city blazed with lights. People walked through the streets at night. Some had just finished a day's work and were preparing to go home; others had set up their stalls and were preparing to start work for the day. Some Soul Masters were diligently cultivating, some Soul Engineers were carefully engraving Soul Guidance Arrays, and someone was cooking in a kitchen. Children played in the streets after school. There were men, women, old people, and children. Then came a tremendous explosion. The earth shook, and towering flames turned the night red. Buildings collapsed, and the fire spread. The people's cries of anguish reached Huo Yuhao's ears. The old and the young, the busy and the leisurely-all vanished. The city became a ruin, with flames stretching across it. People wailed and wept. The flames were like the gaping maw of hell, ceaselessly chewing up the city. The people lost their lives in its jaws, and that maw seemed to grin at him.

The grin of that maw slowly vanished from Huo Yuhao's eyes. The towering flames disappeared, and the city disappeared, leaving only a stretch of ruins. Countless people emerged from among them and slowly walked toward him, asking whether he had seen their family members and friends. Their noisy voices gradually gathered in Huo Yuhao's ears, asking him, "Do you know who did all this?"

Huo Yuhao instinctively backed away, but behind him was no longer the courtyard. It was an abyss, and at its bottom that maw still grinned at him. Huo Yuhao watched that grin draw closer and closer, until it swallowed him whole.

Huo Yuhao opened his eyes. The sun was still just as dazzling. This was nothing more than one of the countless dreams he had had.

"Yuhao, you're awake." Huo Yuhao looked toward the voice. A little girl with pale yellow hair, slightly shorter than him, stood beside his bed, gazing at him with a bright smile.