Fang Yuan had no resources or close allies to rely upon, so as time began to run out he could only go forward. He chose to climb to the peak of Shark Peak before the allotted time; he had nothing useful enough to scout out the area, so he had chosen this position specifically to make it difficult for someone to sneak up on him.
Unfortunately, this had been the wrong decision. Before he could react, he heard a high-pitched sound, as if something was moving through the air at a rapid speed, before it collided with the side of his head. His body erupted in pain.
Fang Yuan could not even activate his defensive gu worm in time.
He felt his soul take a significant injury as he was back in The Misty Marionette.
Fang Yuan was slightly frustrated.
He had been expecting to fail the Dream Realm on his first attempt, but he had expected to at least gather some information that could be useful when trying again.
All he had figured out was that it was suicide to stand at the top of Shark Peak. He had not seen his assailant or what kind of attack was used to kill him.
'Is there something else that might work?' he thought to himself.
He glanced at his aperture. He had a handful of primeval stones, and some Black Oil that he could sell later down the line.
'No wait... maybe it could be possible...'
Fang Yuan wandered to a clear spot in front of the restaurant and announced, "A friend of mine has been kidnapped, and I need help rescuing her. I'm willing to offer payment to get her back. I do not have many primeval stones but I can give Black Oil which is quite valuable Is anyone willing to assist me?"
Fang Yuan would normally not rely upon others, but this was a Dream Realm, and it didn't matter if he ended up losing the small amount of wealth he had within this aperture as it was not 'real' in the first place.
He didn't know whether this attempt to find allies would work. As some people came around to look at what he was offering, most were only Rank 1 or Rank 2 Gu Masters, not the kind Fang Yuan would want to take with him even as bait.
They all turned away when they heard further details of what was going on.
Fang Yuan could not coerce them - not in this Dream Realm.
Fang Yuan ended up recruiting zero allies, and with no other better options, he made his way towards Shark Peak but missed the deadline, failing the Dream Realm once more.
He tried staying in The Misty Marionette and simply not going outside, but if he did so, the bartender would come in and announce loudly that the restaurant was closed and everyone needed to get out. The bartender, a Rank 4 Gu Master, was not someone Fang Yuan could provoke. He didn't think trying to cheat the Dream Realm in this way would have worked anyway.
He once again received the Flying Fish Messenger Gu, as well as the same letter, and made his way towards Shark Peak. This time, he did not make the mistake of being at its top. However, it would be extraordinarily dangerous for him to swim around near the bottom of the craggy rocks, as he could be ambushed from the water. Where, then, was the best place to wait for them?
As he scanned the rock, the idea came to him: the shark's 'mouth.' Shark Peak looked like a massive shark leaping out of the water, meaning to get to the 'mouth' he had to climb up the rocky underside.
It was a steep and rough climb, but he had gone up worse peaks during his lifetime. Fang Yuan then found himself in the gap that had been formed through erosion. It was a very small cave, barely enough room for him to stand, but he would be shielded from most attacks by the 'teeth' of the shark. He glanced out at the water below.
It was smooth and unbroken. The enemy had the advantage here. He was fighting mermaids, after all, and their gu were superior in the water. They were also naturally endowed with Water Path dao marks. It would be foolish to try and deal with them in the water, like trying to wrestle with a crocodile in a pond.
The water, however, continued to be tranquil and unbroken. Until, that is, Fang Yuan heard the same whistling sound he had heard during his first failed run of this Dream Realm. Instinctively, he activated his defensive gu, which was able to withstand two blows before shattering. The gu died within his aperture and Fang Yuan spat out a mouthful of blood at the backlash.
He ducked behind the rows of rock teeth.
The water rippled below and a merman emerged.
They were holding a mermaid in their hands who had been bound up and whose face was covered with a black bag.
The merman spoke, "Fang Yuan! Come out or watch your beloved Mo'er get it!"
Gently poking his head out of the crevice, Fang Yuan asked, "What do you want?" He took a look at the man in question. Any information he could get would be useful in the future. Obviously, the Frost Tide tribe leader himself had not come.
However, Fang Yuan did not recognize this man. Or perhaps he had seen him during the Saintess contest but forgotten about it.
Fang Yuan had no clues as to how to deal with him other than the fact that he had a Rank 3 cultivation level. If he had been sent to deal with Fang Yuan, it was likely that he was more than a mere subordinate.
"Come on out right now, or I'll slit her throat!" the man yelled.
How was it possible that this person knew Fang Yuan was still alive? Could it be that he had some kind of investigative gu that allowed him to see life force? If that was the case, how did he not know where Fang Yuan was? Or perhaps his Gu had a drawback of some sort. There was not omniscient investigative gu worm, after all.
Fang Yuan cursed in his heart as he poked his head out. "Stop! Don't do anything to her!"
"Heh - finally, you came out, you dead rat," the merman in question said. "Our tribe leader said that you were quite a nuisance towards him. Time for you to face the consequences of your actions!"
"Let her go," Fang Yuan said. "What kind of man hides behind a woman?"
"Hiding behind a woman is part of my strength," he answered. "If you had the power and resources, you could hide behind one of my woman too. But you can't, can you Fang Yuan?"
The two of them fought, but Fang Yuan was quickly defeated as he didn't want to harm the hostage. Even with his experience, it could not make up for the unfavorable situation as well as his lack of proper gu worms.
Fang Yuan failed the dream realm for a third time!