Chapter 23: Re-entering the Dream
Chapter 23: Re-entering the Dream
The puppet’s body twisted unnaturally like a marionette, jerking into motion. Its movements accelerated until cracking sounds erupted as it began growing. When reaching normal human size, the puppet ceased dancing and approached a nearby painting. It seized a portrait of a figure’s back and yanked hard.
A mass of black ink spilled out, gaining sentience as it left the canvas. The swirling ink enveloped the puppet’s form.
Whoosh!
After a demonic gust, the ink abruptly constricted and shifted colors. When stillness returned, the puppet had transformed into a refined gentleman resembling polished jade.
Dao Zuo – first disciple of Human Respect Black Wind!
“Old man, why haven’t you kicked the bucket after all these years?” Dao Zuo’s opening words shattered his elegant facade.
The jade-like gentleman spoke with venomous malice, revealing his true nature.
“Your Black Wind Skin Art improves with use. Worthy of being my chief disciple.” Black Wind Lord replied impassively, long accustomed to his disciple’s manner.
“Without these meager skills, wouldn’t I have become pigment for your longevity paintings ages ago?”
Dao Zuo’s tone held no trace of respect for his master.
“Your days dwindle. When you perish, the divine mirror becomes mine. Wasting such treasure with your mediocre talent – had I possessed it from the start, the Three Great Lords would never have existed! I’d reign supreme!”
“You’ll get no chances. My three new disciples will help complete next month’s portrait, granting me another decade. Then I’ll unlock the mirror’s secrets and achieve invincibility!”
Black Wind Lord remained unshaken. Through countless clashes over years, neither master nor disciple could best the other. Both awaited their breakthrough moment to eliminate their rival and claim the mirror’s absolute power.
Zuo Meng knew nothing of these machinations.
After failing to infiltrate Heifeng Fort, he’d abandoned the mountain peak. To him, Black Wind Lord was merely a convenient master – useful when needed, irrelevant otherwise. Since arriving, his sole purpose had been theft, trusting no one.
“Why still mid-mountain?”
Zuo Meng scowled at the omnipresent fog. Despite prolonged descent, the terrain looped endlessly.
“Enough walking to descend ten times over.”
After futile attempts, Zuo Meng halted.
“Trapped then.”
He decided to conserve energy. “Sleep might reveal how to counter that mirror through the Dream World.”
Confident in his two centuries of internal energy to awaken if threatened – even against Black Wind Lord’s approach – Zuo Meng carved a cave into cliffside stone, sealed the entrance, and slept.
Dream World!
Control flooded Zuo Meng’s senses as he awoke – soul-deep power transcending physical cultivation. True strength came not from martial arts or lordly powers, but through comprehending universal laws as the Creator. This insight made him surpass all real-world practitioners obsessed with cultivation methods.
“How much time passed?”
Masking his aura, Zuo Meng descended to a human town. Astonishment struck him – without his guidance, humanoids had dominated this era.
“Ancient town?”
His laws had apparently suppressed transcendent elements too severely. Probing deeper, he found:
During the second epoch, he’d shaped a Liuhe Sect-style martial world permitting only totemic magic. But Dragon Clan exploited loopholes to forge their immortality path before Chaotic Beings’ awakening caused civilization’s collapse.
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Post-cataclysm, transcendent inheritance broke. With Old Turtle and other ancients gone, humanoids thrived through mundane ingenuity.
A hunter in animal hide passed by carrying strange fowl – evidence of agricultural society.
After surveying the continent, inspiration struck. The Three Great Lords’ existence prompted Zuo Meng to abandon observation. He’d participate directly this time, steering development as an ordinary person.
“Here begins the game.”
Stopping before a humble dwelling, his Eye of Fortune activated. Dwindling fortune within meant a recent death.
“A fresh corpse serves well.”
Dissolving into mist, Zuo Meng seeped through the walls…