The wind rustled through the branches, and the dense leaves rubbed against each other, creating a light, rustling sound.
Interspersed were the sharp, wind-cutting sounds of birds flapping their wings.
The roars of wild beasts echoed from the depths of the forest, one after another, like some invisible threat lurking in the darkness.
It was like playing an FPS game with maxed-out hearing, where faint sounds reverberated from all directions.
They had not lit a fire—a privilege of powerful Soul Masters.
The surroundings were pitch black; nothing could be seen in the thick darkness.
With only scattered moonlight filtering through the gaps in the branches, Zhao Liuyun couldn't help but feel a little unnerved.
Living in brightly lit cities in his previous life, he had never imagined that a completely lightless world, accompanied by the sound of wind and beast roars, could be so terrifying.
Zhao Liuyun subconsciously moved closer to the full-bearded man.
Tian Wenlong was a Soul Elder, and although his Soul Ring configuration was only White, Yellow, Yellow, his strength was unquestionable. Following him was undoubtedly the safest choice.
"Scared?" Tian Wenlong chuckled.
He had always enjoyed making friends from all walks of life; while he might not succeed in major affairs, he could always handle minor matters appropriately and thoughtfully.
He was even more inclined to befriend an exceptionally talented young person like Zhao Liuyun.
This was the survival philosophy of a small-time operator.
Leave some leeway for future powerhouses; it might come in handy someday.
The same applied to Auxiliary System Soul Masters; once they became powerful, they would always have partners.
"A little." With the aid of [Calm Mind] to settle his mind, Zhao Liuyun immediately overcame this fear.
It was merely a drawback caused by insufficient power.
Experience and remember this feeling, then transform it into motivation for cultivation!
"Let's eat something first. You get a good rest tonight; we'll handle the night watch."
The bearded man handed over the water, hardtack, and several pieces of dried meat he had been carrying for him.
"Mhm." Zhao Liuyun accepted them without pretense.
Lacking protection in a Soul Beast Forest like this, having food to eat was already a blessing.
The others also quietly munched on the hardtack and dried meat they had brought, leaving only the sound of subtle chewing in the forest for a while.
After eating, Zhao Liuyun sat cross-legged and gently entered meditation.
The bearded man assigned people to the night watch and also entered a meditative state.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but his consciousness, which felt like it had sunk into an abyssal depth, was suddenly yanked up by an unfamiliar voice.
"Wake up."
The voice was one he had never heard before, cold and abrupt.
"Who?" Zhao Liuyun asked groggily.
But the surroundings were silent, and no one answered.
His blank thoughts fluttered momentarily like a kite with a broken string, then were once again engulfed by a thick wave of sleepiness.
His mind slumped, and he fell once more into an unknowable chaos.
"Wake up!" The voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable penetrating force.
Zhao Liuyun's lucidity was dragged back a few degrees.
In a trance, a dazzling beam of white light seemed to fall from the sky, precisely enveloping him.
Even with his eyes tightly shut, the strong light stubbornly penetrated his thin eyelids, scorching his retina.
It was extremely similar to the frustration and discomfort he felt in his childhood mornings when he overslept and his parents ruthlessly pulled off his blanket and turned on the lights.
"Who!"
Zhao Liuyun desperately tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were sewn shut with invisible threads, too heavy to lift.
"WAKE UP!!"
"Who is calling me!" he roared, his mind a complete blank.
Only his heart was beating faster and faster, each contraction powerfully pumping scalding blood towards his ice-cold limbs.
His stiff fingertips gradually warmed, gathering a faint trace of strength.
But, it's so heavy...
Something was pressing down on him, preventing him from getting up.
Survival instinct spurred his final reserves of strength. Zhao Liuyun gritted his teeth, almost exhausting his energy, just to manage to pull one arm out from under the heavy pressure.
Unable to open his eyes, he simply used the hand that had just regained sensation to roughly rub and wipe his eyelids.
It was like they were glued together, or perhaps his eyelids had no seam from birth.
"Rip!"
Zhao Liuyun had no patience. He tore violently, and with a slight tearing sensation, long-lost light, mixed with blurry images, instantly flooded his eyes.
Blood!
Everything in his sight was crimson!
Corpses!
Dense, countless corpses stretched to the edge of his vision!
Corpses covered the mountains and plains, clad in full iron armor, now shattered and broken.
Tattered battle flags lay cut down on the ground; the bodies of dead men and horses were mingled together, and a putrid stench, intense enough to be sickening, assaulted him.
Sometime, Zhao Liuyun had regained his sense of smell.
He stood frozen in place, the tragic sight before him like a heavy hammer, fiercely smashing against his soul.
Wait... who was calling me?
Who... am I?
What am I doing?
How come... I'm not dead yet?
Innumerable thoughts flashed through his mind, yet the shock, for reasons unknown, strangely calmed down.
A cold wind swept across the wilderness, bringing an icy chill.
Zhao Liuyun suddenly sensed a strong feeling of incongruity, as if everything before him was separated from himself by an invisible membrane.
"[Hypnosis], detonate!"
He didn't even understand why he uttered these words; it was just that a thought burst forth in the darkness, driving his body to act instinctively.
The moment the words fell, a slightly warm current surged up from deep within his body.
Panic, confusion, numbness—all emotions simultaneously slipped out of control.
Like a bomb that had been ignited, it exploded with a boom.
And then—
[Calm Mind]!
The tide of panic receded, and Zhao Liuyun regained his composure, his reason and memory forcibly rebooted.
A trace of lingering fear flashed through Zhao Liuyun's heart.
It was originally just a contingency plan to guard against Spiritual System Soul Masters like Shi Nian, but he hadn't expected it to actually come into play someday...
The principle was simple: a [Hypnosis] planted in his consciousness beforehand would burst forth with intense emotion at a critical moment.
The brain and soul were inseparable, so intense emotion naturally affected the soul, causing the spiritual power to be disturbed.
And [Calm Mind] could forcibly soothe this ripple, making the spiritual power return to stability.
The process would expel any external influence!
With a clear mind, Zhao Liuyun knew he couldn't rely on the mercenary group, so he turned to examine his surroundings.
The sky hung low, as if soaked in thick ink; the dark clouds roiled, heavy as lead.
The scorched and fragmented ground looked as if it had been thoroughly ploughed.
Broken spears,殘swords, shattered shields...
Everywhere he looked, there were broken weapons, desperately pointing towards the sky like ancient, withered trees in a desert.
He picked up a shattered banner, stained with dark red and black, beneath which was the symbol of a swan.
A localized war between Heaven Dou and Star Luo?
Zhao Liuyun wanted to see more clearly and tried to snap the flagpole.
But despite using all his strength, the flagpole remained completely intact.
This isn't right.
Zhao Liuyun remembered he was meditating earlier.
And then... he fell asleep?
Then this is a dreamscape.
When did I fall asleep?
And whose dream is this?
"Haaah~" Yawning, Zhao Liuyun suddenly felt like he was about to fall asleep within the dream.
The mastermind had made a move!
[Brainstorm] instantly activated.
The numerous books he had read in the library surged into his mind. With his thoughts rapidly churning, Zhao Liuyun quickly analyzed the situation.
Having cultivated until today, he believed he hadn't offended any powerful Spiritual System Soul Masters.
Trouble immediately upon entering the Soul Beast Forest must be due to the Soul Skill of a certain Soul Beast.
Such clear memory of a battlefield, and even a first-person perspective—could it be the memory of a dead person becoming a spirit?
But judging from the repetitive actions, it lacked deep understanding of things and was quite rigid, unable to comprehend what changes would occur after breaking the flagpole.
Yet, it didn't directly use a spiritual attack...
Did it not want to?
No, it couldn't!
"[Hypnosis], detonate!"
Zhao Liuyun once again activated the contingency plan for rational rebooting.
The dreamscape shifted and gradually became ethereal.
His newly stabilized spiritual power shook out a faint purple phantom that had been quietly hiding in his Spiritual Sea!
It was a mass of mist, or a beam of light, or perhaps a ball of spiritual energy?
At this moment, due to the repeated disruption of the dreamscape, it had almost turned into nothingness.
The Snow Empress was a miracle of the world, born from the pure, ultimate Ice Element nurturing a spirit.
This was also a miracle, perhaps a being formed from the near-death dream of a human.
Spiritual power might be its sustenance.
It inherited the dream of the deceased but failed to inherit their wisdom.
Born within a dream, its movements are as bizarre as a demon, so let us call it the "Dream Spectre."
It has no physical form, purely constructed from spiritual power and soul power—
This is undoubtedly the most ideal Soul Ring for a Spiritual System Soul Master!