White petals unfurled, yellow stamens gently trembled, and thin mist lingered...
"Moonlit Lotus?"
Zhao Liuyun's eyelids twitched. Isn't that his Martial Soul?
He hadn't expected that frequent exposure over the past year would lead Xiao Wu to incorporate it into her dream.
Even in this dreamscape, the Moonlit Lotus was allocated substantial resources. Not only were the petal textures rendered in minute detail, but a semblance of its unique, ethereal fragrance was also recreated.
It was almost indistinguishable from reality.
A floral scent wafted over, but Zhao Liuyun felt no inner peace. He figured Xiao Wu must be completely captivated by it.
Following the flowers, the path ended at a large field cultivated entirely with Moonlit Lotuss.
In the center of the flower cluster, a gigantic rabbit, entirely snow-white with blood-red pupils, quietly squatted.
It was over ten meters long, with fur as fluffy as clouds cascading down its body.
Xiao Wu was usually gentle and never revealed any trace of her transformed Soul Beast identity.
But the moment Zhao Liuyun saw her true form, he gained a preliminary impression of what a hundred-thousand-year-old Soul Beast was like.
If she were to jump and sit down with that enormous rear end, I'd probably be crushed to death.
I wonder what the consequences of dying in a dream are...
Affected by the dream, Zhao Liuyun's thoughts became inevitably more whimsical and erratic.
However, he didn't actually try to find out.
He always upheld the principle of "maintaining reverence and staying far away from courting death."
Entering the dream this time as a pixelated bird, Zhao Liuyun only wished to be a quiet observer, peacefully perched on a tree.
Beside Xiao Wu, a small black and blue snake was winding and moving.
It had the head of an ox and the body of a snake, about two to three meters long, spouting fine water mist from its mouth, and carefully grooming her fur with its short horns.
That should be the hundred-thousand-year-old Azure Sky Bull Python.
Similarly, beside Xiao Wu, there was also a small ape with crystalline yellow eyes and bulging muscles.
The little ape was diligently massaging her back.
The hundred-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Ape?
Uh...
Zhao Liuyun vaguely remembered they should be quite large.
In the dreamscape, physical size couldn't be trusted.
Interesting~
He continued watching.
The little ape seemed to have hit too hard.
"Hmm?" With Xiao Wu's soft exclamation, the surroundings suddenly changed color!
Black clouds churned like ink, and lightning flashed, as if the world was about to collapse at any moment.
"Er Ming~!"
The voice was ethereal, like a sound transmitted from the edge of the sky, wrapped in the rumble of thunder and accompanied by the divine light of fleeting flashes of lightning, sounding like a deity from the heavens.
"Sister Xiao Wu, I'm sorry, I'll be gentler, I'll be gentler."
Because her subconscious seeks power, she, the Skittish Soft-Bone Rabbit who only knows how to run away, has become the largest and strongest existence?
The little ape adjusted its strength and fawned, asking, "Sister Xiao Wu, how is it now?"
Xiao Wu was concise and uncharacteristically aloof as she said, "Tolerable."
She didn't neglect the Azure Sky Bull Python either, calling out, "Da Ming~"
The instant it heard the command, Da Ming prepared itself.
It unexpectedly extended two hands from nowhere.
The hands steadily held a porcelain plate, and on the plate was actually a person made of Blue Silver Grass.
No, just a humanoid Blue Silver Grass.
But the closer he looked, the more familiar the outline seemed.
"Sister Xiao Wu, please partake." Da Ming considerately offered the food.
"..." Zhao Liuyun scrutinized it and finally couldn't help but chuckle, "Yo, isn't that Tang San?"
The attraction of the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline to the rabbit was indeed extraordinary, as she was even hugging and gnawing on him in her dream.
He watched as Xiao Wu's tri-lobed lips rapidly moved, swallowing half of the Blue Silver Grass Tang San in a single bite.
And it wasn't just one; even more bizarrely, Blue Silver Grass Tang Sans were queuing up, leaping out of the empty plate.
As if summoned, they actively jumped into her mouth.
From this moment on, the dreamscape quietly warped, becoming increasingly bizarre.
Bright colors rippled restlessly, and the entire dreamscape violently shook, as if it could fall apart at any moment.
Is she about to wake up?
That makes sense; a midday nap doesn't last long.
Zhao Liuyun decisively withdrew from the dream.
Perhaps when he was strong enough in the future, he would try to experience what happens when one lingers in a dream on the verge of shattering.
But for now...
He should deal with the person who was waking up.
"Ha~" Xiao Wu rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawned lazily, and pushed herself up.
Suddenly realizing something, she tilted her head strangely, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes: "Liuyun?"
"It's me, Sister Xiao Wu."
Zhao Liuyun smiled cheerily and waved at her.
"Little San took six or seven days to hunt for his Soul Ring, how did you... finish so fast?"
Zhao Liuyun's Soul Ring hunt barely took any time this trip.
A day and a half to go, and a day and a half to return, totaling only three days—it was remarkably fast.
But her curiosity about the new Soul Skill quickly made Xiao Wu forget her earlier doubt.
"Never mind, what Soul Ring is it? What Soul Beast is it from? Show it to me."
She waved her hand, her tone full of expectation.
A Soul Ring and Soul Skill are normally among a Soul Master's most important secrets, especially for Zhao Liuyun, who intended to acquire the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
However—
Firstly, Xiao Wu and Tang San had always been honest with him. To be secretive now would appear distant and artificial.
The relationship he had carefully maintained since enrollment, once cracked, would be difficult to truly mend.
This would be extremely detrimental to his subsequent plans.
Secondly, he actually intended to reveal the Soul Skill to Tang San!
Of course, it would be a carefully fabricated version.
He would use it to mislead and prompt Tang San to invite him.
Only this way could releasing the Soul Skill in the dormitory be justified.
It would prevent him from alerting the potentially secretly observing Tang Hao, thereby avoiding being seen as a threat and eliminated.
"The Soul Skill is called 'Stopping Hostilities.' It can make people drowsy, reduce their fighting spirit, and weaken their resolve. It comes from a three-hundred-year-old Human-Faced Purple-Striped Scorpion."
"Hmm~ The Purple-Striped Scorpion isn't..." Xiao Wu shook her head. She remembered those annoying little scorpions.
Zhao Liuyun explained, "Ordinary Purple-Striped Scorpions are indeed highly venomous, but the one I encountered had a human face on its back, so it should be a rare mutated species. It has no venom, but its spirit is unusually strong."
"Perhaps... Tang San would know?"
Whether he knew or not wasn't the point; the main thing was to bring him into the conversation.
Tang San wasn't here right now. When he returned tonight, if he asked about it, Zhao Liuyun would explain directly.
If he didn't ask, he could have Xiao Wu mention it to him to deepen the impression.
He won't really not ask, will he?
I'll pique your curiosity, let's see if you ask!
...
Time quickly moved to the evening. Zhao Liuyun didn't go to the medical clinic this afternoon.
While waiting for Tang San to return to the dormitory, he tested the increase in his cultivation speed.
The moment he learned the result, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion in his heart: "Thank you, Dream Devil!"
This gratitude was heartfelt—
He was grateful to the Dream Devil for causing a massive change in his innate talent.
Originally, when completely focused, Zhao Liuyun gained 2 points of [Soul Master] profession experience per hour of meditation. With the 50% increase from [Focus], it rose to 3 points.
Now, the maximum experience gained per hour has directly increased from 2 points to 4 points. After the [Focus] bonus, it has soared to 6 points!
The [Soul Master] profession experience gained from a night's meditation has directly increased to as much as 30 points.
And the additional 20% general experience gained from [Ingenious Idea] has reached 6 points.
Zhao Liuyun was still unsure about the experience required for level 12 and beyond, but he assumed it wouldn't be too far from the 3200 needed for level 11.
In that case, relying solely on meditation, he could likely gain 3 levels a year, and at least a stable 2 levels.
This was already very close to Tang San's cultivation speed.
If he were to also obtain the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record and acquire the Mysterious Heaven Skill, a systematic cultivation method...
"Heh heh~"
Zhao Liuyun chuckled internally.
The road ahead was long, but the brilliant dawn was already visible.