And yet, Yi Tianxing remained unshaken.
With a flash beneath his feet, a black-and-white divine bridge appeared out of thin air—It was the Bridge of Yin and Yang.
He stepped onto it with Nannan, standing firm.
No matter what came at them—whether the heavenly river, magma from below, seas of fire, or shattered space—All were blocked and frozen before the bridge.Even the primal elements of earth, fire, water, and wind could not touch them.
He stood tall amidst the end of the world—like a Heaven-stabilizing divine pillar.
No matter what tricks you try, I will not waver.
"Well, well, Emperor Yi—you really are a treasure-hoarding emperor.How do you have so many Innate Spirit Treasures? Aren't you afraid they'll drain you dry? This is absurd!"
From the shadows, the Faceless Holy Son was seething.
He had witnessed the entire nightmare unfold, yet none of it could even scratch Yi Tianxing's skin. And every time a new threat emerged, he just pulled out another treasure.
First the Thunder Pool, then the Starshatter Hammer, then the Zhurong Heavenly Fire Flag, and now the Bridge of Yin and Yang?
The Faceless Holy Son, a proud genius of the Eternal Night, was green with envy.
"Innate Spirit Treasures aren't cabbages," he cursed."Even a True Spirit cultivator might only own one after a lifetime. This guy has them like disposable toys. Absolutely outrageous."
He was furious.
This man must die.
As long as Yi Tianxing lived, his mere existence was a mockery to others.
Of course, the events within the nightmare world did not escape their attention.The Faceless Holy Son had always remained hidden—controlling the Nightmare Gate from behind the scenes.
He didn't need to fight personally—using the dream to trap and kill was far more effective.
After all, in the dream, he had the home field advantage.
With nightmare power backing him, he could unleash strength beyond the True Spirit Realm.Even the suppression of the divine-demonic battlefield couldn't stop him.
If wielded well, it could even trap or kill powerful enemies with overwhelming odds.
But none of it worked.
No matter what method was tried, Yi Tianxing remained unscathed.
Not even the collapse of the dream world itself could break through the Bridge of Yin and Yang, which neutralized the very elements of destruction.
Even as the heavens fell, he stood like a mountain.
"Forget him for now," said the Faceless Holy Son coldly."Capture Chen Xuerou first. With her, we'll have leverage."
Indeed, the Nightmare Gate wasn't limited to a single dream realm.
It housed countless nightmare worlds, constantly emerging and dissipating.
Chen Xuerou and the others were trapped elsewhere, in a different nightmare space.
They hadn't yet been corrupted by nightmare energy—but they had been locked inside with evolving dreams that could potentially suppress or destroy them.
One of those dream realms—
Was a world dyed in blood.
The air itself shimmered with scarlet mist, reeking of killing intent.
A Blood Sea World.
Amidst the crimson waves was a lone island, and hovering above it was a sword formation diagram.
It bore the image of the Big Dipper Seven Stars, each star representing a sword ray that encased the island in a protective net.
Seven starlight-infused battle swords swirled through the air—Brilliant, deadly, constantly slashing down upon the invading nightmare.
Inside the formation, a dozen cultivators stood united, maintaining the array with all their strength.
Their blades hummed—Releasing wave after wave of peerless sword light.
Surrounding the island—Were blood sea asuras, ferocious abominations that crawled from the scarlet tide.
Each was tall, monstrous, and utterly ruthless, exuding power on par with the True Spirit Realm.
They came in endless waves, relentlessly charging the island.
"Junior Sister Xuerou," said Li Qingping, a familiar female cultivator who resembled a version seen by Yi Tianxing in the past."I fear we've fallen into the Eternal Night's trap. We barely survived the last attack, and now we're trapped in this Blood Sea World.This isn't just illusion—what happens here is real."
Chen Xuerou nodded solemnly.
"This isn't a typical trap. I've heard of illusions so powerful they can turn falsehood into reality.When illusion arts reach their peak, even truth and falsehood can no longer be distinguished.But this feels even deeper—it must be dreamcraft."
"Dream techniques can lure people into dream realms unknowingly. If one's mind is ensnared, it becomes no different than the real world.Pain, fear, death—it's all real.And everything we face here... feels exactly like that."
This was the true horror of dream realms.
Once inside, if you couldn't escape—You might be trapped forever.
Time and space became meaningless.
"Senior Brother Jiang," Li Qingping turned to a confident, handsome cultivator named Jiang Ming."You're the most experienced here. Do you have any solution? These asuras are as strong as True Spirits—we can hold for now, but the sword formation won't last forever. Once it breaks... we're finished."
Jiang Ming's face was grim.
"I'm afraid I must disappoint you. This is likely a Nightmare World. My master once told me about them.Beyond the secret realms of the Eternal World lies a far more ancient layer—the Dreamworld."
He continued:
"The Nightmare World is birthed from the collective dreams of sentient beings, coexisting with reality.There are no fixed coordinates—only dreamers can enter.It is the most terrifying forbidden zone for any cultivator."
Because—
There was no logic in dreams.
No patterns.
No rules.
Everything changed at random.
One moment safe—The next, annihilated.
And worst of all—you couldn't just 'wake up'.
They were fully aware, and yet—Still trapped in a dream.
This wasn't a dream.This was a world made of dreams.
"I've heard," Chen Xuerou hesitated,"That sometimes, in dreams, dying can jolt you awake. Maybe that could free us?"
It was the most intuitive escape.
But…
"There are records," Jiang Ming nodded."Some cultivators used a spiritual incense known as Dreamreturn Fragrance—also called Immortal Journey Incense."
"When entering the Nightmare World, you burn the incense beforehand. When it burns out, the scent forcibly pulls you back into reality."
"But… it must be lit before entering the dream.We don't have it, and even if we did—it's useless now."
He gave a bitter laugh.
"This method is far too rare. Alchemists capable of refining dream incense are practically extinct. And to die just to test escape… that's a massive gamble. If we're wrong, we die for real."
They were faced with a one-in-a-million gamble.
"Interesting…"
"Death is not the end, nor is it necessarily the beginning.So—do you really want to die? This Holy Son… can grant your wish."
Suddenly—
A figure emerged from the Blood Sea, identical in appearance to Li Qingping.
Down to the last detail.
Perfectly indistinguishable.