Fang Yuan swerved, there was no ground or sky within this void and as such left, right, up, down - all of it merged into one blurry picture with only the Embodiment of Humanity's Collective Will being his reference to anything.
Fang Yuan felt like vomiting given much how he had to move. If he had still been a mortal, his tendons and bones would have been ruptured from the friction that he was being exposed to by having to dodge the meteors.
However, his body was becoming closer to an Immortal now and was able to tolerate this.
Dark storm clouds formed in the sky as lightning began raining down upon Fang Yuan.
In response to this, several mouths within the Embodiment of Humanity's Collective Will opened up, drawing in the lightning into their mouths before exploding. Like a lightning rod, they drew the calamity away from Fang Yuan, saving him from it.
However, because of this, the Embodiment of Humanity's Collective Will began to shrink.
'So, this is one difference between Heaven's Will and Humanity's Will,' Fang Yuan thought to himself. Heaven's Will was said to be replenished endlessly whenever it was depleted. However, Humanity's Will depended on the contribution of members of the human race to sustain itself. It was fixed and limited in quantity, and this was likely why it could not intervene at various points in history, only doing so at strategic points.
"I can't imagine it's getting worse. Surely it must be over," Fang Yuan said to himself, just as a massive blob of purple smoke began to form around him.
"This is a Dream Realm Calamity!" he realized, trying to get away from it as fast as possible. However, it caught up to him, ensnaring Fang Yuan within itself.
Heavenly Tribulation - Dream Mist Envelopment!
Fang Yuan found himself trapped by the dream realm.
He found himself in someone else's body. He looked down at himself and his aperture.
For a moment, he was startled.
This was not a stranger's body like he had initially assumed.
He knew exactly what body he was in. He even recognized every single gu worm within his Rank 3 aperture. This was his own body, not from this current era, but from the alternative future from whence he had regressed.
"Judging by the gu worms in my aperture, this is from before the time I embarked upon the Demonic Path," Fang Yuan realized.
He was sitting in a restaurant with a gentle sea breeze blowing near him. He searched his mind for memories of what this place might be.
If he was not wrong, this was some small restaurant in the Eastern Sea he had once visited called The Misty Marionette. He could vaguely recall it, but it had been so insignificant to him that he had forgotten all about it until now.
He glanced around the place.
It had the same strange quality of a dream realm he was somewhat used to by now.
'So this is part of my tribulation,' Fang Yuan thought to himself.
Naturally, he needed to find a way out of it. So what exactly he was supposed to do in the dream realm?
From his experience, the longer that he stayed within it without solving it, the worse it would be. The longer he stayed the more his emotions would become heightened, and the greater the injury to his soul. He had not managed to advance his soul by much up until this point, so he would at most have three or four tries before it would end up killing him.
'Unless they can send Guts Gu in here,' Fang Yuan thought to himself.
However, that was the problem.
Even if Paradise Earth and Genesis Lotus were helping him, neither of them were currently alive. From what he understood, their aspects within Humanity's Collective Will were just Wills and could not equal the methods of a living Venerable.
The Dream Path was an entirely new concept to them; they would have never encountered it within their lives. It had barely begun development by the time that Fang Yuan had regressed.
'That's probably why Heaven's Will chose to make this one of my tribulations,' Fang Yuan mused to himself.
First, it had tried to hurt him directly. When that failed, it had tried seizing his gu worms.
Since both of those attempts had failed as well, it had then chosen the mode of attack which it thought was the most effective.
With that said, all he had to do was clear the dream, wasn't it? So long as he could do so, he would've passed this tribulation.
Fang Yuan took a walk around the restaurant. However, no one turned around to look at him. No one interacted with him unless he directly spoke to them, and that, too, they would only respond with a few sentences.
Perplexed, Fang Yuan stepped outside, the sea breeze washing against his skin. The sea lay in front of him, its salty taste tangible.
And from its depth, a gu worm emerged. Before Fang Yuan could react in time to dodge it, it approached him: Flying Fish Messenger Gu!
Flying fish were a thing back on Earth too - fish which had learned to emerge from the water as a way of potentially escaping their prey, though naturally birds took advantage of this to catch them while in mid-air.
Flying Fish Messenger Gu were based on this concept, as the gu worm could travel through both water and also onto land to a small extent. They could only really be used within the Eastern Sea, however, where such amphibious means of sending messages were needed among mortals.
As it turned out the message had been meant for him.
Dear Fang Yuan,
I hope that you are well. I do not know why you took off like you had, however, I'm sure that you must have had your reasons. The thing is, Fang Yuan, I really wish to express my feelings towards you. I do not know if you would reciprocate them, however, there's something special about you. I knew that the moment that I laid eyes upon you, even while you were drowning after having been contaminated by the Black Oil. And it didn't stop there. The moment when the two of us sang together for the Saintess Contest was one of the happiest moments of my life.
I do not now where you are going or if we would ever meet again. If Fate is kind enough, our paths will cross once more. And if they do not, I just want you to know one thing:
I love you.
You had said you would repay me for saving your life. And yet instead, you stole from me. You took my heart, Fang Yuan, but I cannot ask for it back from you. Keep my love with you safe, Fang Yuan, and may you accomplish all that you set out too.
Fang Yuan, you truly are a kind person.
Yours Eternally,
Xie Han Mo.
The letter, however, did not end there. There was another part attached to it:
This is the Frost Tribe Tide Leader. I told you that you would regret not supporting me for the talent contest. I happen to have your precious Xie Han Mo captive. I found this letter that she had intended to send to you, and I just couldn't help but add on my own words. I could simply kill her and be done with it, but I still have a score to settle with you. If you ever want to see her once again, come visit me at Shark Peak two days after you've gotten this gu worm. Refine it, I will know that you will have received it. If you don't, however...
That was all that was written in the letter.