Chapter 45: The Dreamscape
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At midnight, the moonlight poured like molten mercury, enveloping the peaceful and serene Greenleaf Tribe. The stone statue standing proud in the center of the spring shimmered under the hazy moonlight, resembling a goddess who guarded this small Greenleaf Tribe.
“Wake up, wake up, wake up...” The sound, clear like copper bells, echoed in Li Xuan’s mind, like the urgent call of kin.
Li Xuan woke up drenched in sweat, startled from his dream. Lao Hei and Chief Yuewu immediately approached, handing him a cup of hot water.
Lao Hei was overjoyed, exclaiming, “Brother Li Xuan, you’re finally awake! You scared me to death!”
Chief Yuewu’s excitement was hard to conceal. “Hard work pays off. It seems the tribe’s prayers moved the goddess, allowing you to wake safely.”
Li Xuan was puzzled. “Goddess? What goddess?”
To save Lao Hei and Yue Zhi, Li Xuan had nearly exhausted his cultivation. Chief Yuewu had then initiated a sacrificial ceremony, praying for the goddess’s protection. Now that Li Xuan was awake, it was clear the goddess had manifested.
“Ah! Young Master Li is the tribe’s benefactor; of course, the goddess will protect you!” Chief Yuewu repeated “goddess,” sparking Li Xuan’s curiosity.
“Which goddess has descended?” he asked.
Chief Yuewu began slowly, “This is an ancient legend of our Greenleaf Tribe. It is said that in the Age of Myth...”
During the Age of Myth, a cataclysmic disaster befell the world. With the fall of the last great human emperor, myriad races invaded humanity, vying for the source ore resources.
The human deities fought fiercely but were ultimately defeated. The mighty were slain, their souls stripped and cast into endless hells, enduring unspeakable torment until their spirits were utterly extinguished.
Humanity dwindled, lives mercilessly harvested, yet none realized all was but a game within a game.
While the myriad races attacked humanity, alien clans stealthily infiltrated. As many champions vanished, these aliens launched large-scale invasions. They wielded dark cultivation methods, devouring source ore and feeding on the souls of myriad races to achieve immortality.
The alien invasion caught all off guard. Former alliances shattered, and the Age of Myth became a blood-soaked era, rivers running red with corpses.
Gods were slaughtered, their people enslaved; the entire Age of Myth was shrouded in blood and brutality.
It was truly an era of crimson despair.
Until the Greenleaf Goddess appeared, turning the tide. She fought fiercely against the aliens, though vastly outnumbered, she unleashed a forbidden technique, severing the void and transporting the remaining survivors safely to the Yao Guang Star Domain.
The goddess exhausted all her cultivation and perished, descending into oblivion at the end of the Age of Myth.
Despite her death, she left behind a protective source rune formation for the Greenleaf Tribe.
Her people erected a statue in her honor, hoping one day she might return.
Li Xuan speculated, “So, the Greenleaf Goddess must be from the Source Celestial Master lineage?”
Chief Yuewu nodded. “Indeed, the Greenleaf Goddess was not only a Source Celestial Master but also a deity of unparalleled cultivation. She possessed the Golden Thunder Body.”
Li Xuan’s pupils contracted as he voiced his doubt, “If so, why has the Greenleaf Tribe lost their cultivation talent today despite descending from the Age of Myth?”
Lao Hei’s nostrils twitched, his features twisted. “That’s because of a curse—a curse upon the Source Celestial Master lineage!”
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Chief Yuewu’s anger surfaced as he tapped his staff on the ground. “The aliens are despicable and bloodthirsty. To suppress the Greenleaf Goddess, they resorted to any means necessary.”
After her demise, her body was divided and restrained. Her head was sealed beneath a stone tablet with a mysterious eye, fully suppressing the Golden Thunder Body.
The survivors of the Age of Myth had their spiritual roots removed, enduring life’s suffering until they gradually faded away.
Li Xuan listened, burning with indignation, his cheeks puffed. “What does that have to do with the curse on the Source Celestial Master?”
Chief Yuewu sighed deeply. “That is a more complex matter. I cannot fully explain, but the Source Celestial Master lineage explores mountains and lakes, even glimpsing heavenly secrets. Perhaps the Dao does not recognize their path.”
He continued, “Young Master Li, have you heard of the Mukei?”
Li Xuan nodded, acknowledging he had.
Chief Yuewu sighed, “Perhaps those ancient dormant champions do not wish to be disturbed. Thus, they cast a curse upon the descendants of the Source Celestial Master. Even the mighty Greenleaf Goddess could not escape it, let alone later successors.”
Lao Hei clicked his lips and warned, “Brother Li, you must not overly rely on the source rune formation, or else...”
Li Xuan pondered silently: so the curse on the Source Celestial Master lineage is even older than the Age of Myth. It seems the rune formation can no longer be used carelessly.
Yet Chief Yuewu shook his head. “No, Young Master Li, fortune favors the righteous. Didn’t you lift the curse for the Greenleaf Tribe? To revive the once supreme bloodline is a great destiny. I believe the Golden Thunder Body will shine brilliantly once more.”
He added, “Heaven’s secrets are unfathomable, and the Way is ever changing. No one truly knows the origin of the Source Celestial Master lineage. It may be a cycle of cause and effect. With a righteous heart, one creates blessings; with a wicked heart, one brings calamity.”
“So, as long as you remain true and wish to benefit the world, there’s no need to fear so much.”
After speaking, Chief Yuewu exhaled deeply. “Tomorrow, I will take you to see the Greenleaf Goddess’s relics. Rest well tonight.”
Lao Hei was shocked. “Chief...”
Chief Yuewu, leaning on his staff, left step by step.
That night, Li Xuan gazed up at the cold, dark starry sky, filled with endless secrets. From ancient to modern times, the cosmos spans the four dimensions of space and time. How vast the universe truly is—no one knows. Not even the last great human emperor had traversed the entire celestial sphere.
“If so, then I, Li Xuan, will ascend to the summit and explore the countless universes!”
As he drifted into a haze of sleep, a holy figure quietly appeared in his dream.
“Who are you?”
Li Xuan stood respectfully. The radiant light enveloped the figure’s face; judging by the form, it was undoubtedly a woman.
“Heh, who am I? Perhaps even I do not know anymore, but you must remember who you are.”
Li Xuan was puzzled. “I certainly know who I am. How did you enter my dream?”
The woman replied, “Perhaps it is fate. My appearance is no accident, because I know there is a pair of eyes watching you.”
Li Xuan’s nerves tightened. “Who are you? How do you know there are eyes watching me?”
She covered her mouth and laughed softly. “Such a weak young man, yet he’s been targeted. That’s not good.”
The Source Celestial Master lineage has twelve ranks. Except for the founder, no one has ever reached the twelfth rank.
Only when a Source Celestial Master reaches the sixth rank do those mysterious eyes appear.
Li Xuan was only a novice, not even a first-rank Source Celestial Master, yet his wisdom in forming the source rune formation had drawn the gaze of the mysterious eyes.
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Honestly, Li Xuan felt rather unlucky.
“Weak?” he retorted. He had opened ancient source stones with the rune formation and slain a king-level beast like the Golden Feather Eagle King. How could he be weak?
The woman nodded slightly but did not answer directly.
“Are you strong, then?” Li Xuan pressed. “How strong?”
She rested her hands on her knees, meditating for a moment before saying, “Though my memories are sealed, I know I am strong.”
She strained to recall, “At least, I was once a ninth-rank Source Celestial Master, able to command the power of heaven and earth with but a gesture.”
Li Xuan’s pupils constricted in shock. “A ninth-rank Source Celestial Master can harness such cosmic power? Then what kind of existence is the twelfth-rank Source Celestial Master?”
He had many questions, eager to learn the history of the Source Celestial Masters.
The woman shook her head slowly. “That is forbidden knowledge. All who have seen the twelfth-rank Source Celestial Master are dead. Only legends remain.”
Li Xuan furrowed his brow, deep in thought. Before he could ponder further, the woman vanished silently, and he awoke abruptly.
He tried to recall the dream, but whenever he grasped a thread of memory, it slipped away, leaving him empty.
Frustrated, he grasped his hair as a hoarse voice sounded.
“After washing and eating, Young Master Li, I will take you to the resting place of the Greenleaf Goddess’s relics.”
The golden dawn was soft and intoxicating, warm and comforting.
Yet the tribe’s people stood solemnly in plain clothes, forming two lines, their faces serious as they gazed upon the towering statue of the goddess that pierced the clouds.
Chief Yuewu led Li Xuan, Lao Hei, and Yue Zhi forward slowly. The tribe raised their sleeves high, their prayers continuous, while droplets of water sprinkled upon the group.
This was the Greenleaf Tribe’s unique prayer ritual; the raindrops were drawn from the sacred spring beside the goddess’s tomb.
The prayers rose in fervor, stirring blood and spirit like an ancient war chant.
At the same moment, a force of faith echoed across the heavens. Thunder rumbled as a golden radiance descended from the sky.
The spring boiled fiercely, roaring like the tide and parting to either side.
In the time it took to drink tea, a moss-covered stone staircase appeared, emanating an ancient and weathered aura.
“Young Master Li, Lao Hei, Yue Zhi, below lies the Greenleaf Goddess’s tomb. Though it is not her true body’s resting place, it contains her laws. You must not move anything inside. Remember! Remember!”
Chief Yuewu closed his eyes and joined the tribe in prayer.
Li Xuan glanced at Yue Zhi and Lao Hei; they nodded silently and swiftly approached the Greenleaf Goddess’s tomb.