Xu Qi’an opened his mouth, but his throat felt constricted, unable to produce any sound.

He silently gazed at Wei Yuan until the latter spoke his second sentence:

“Nalan Tianlu, since the war began, the Shaman Cult has slaughtered countless soldiers of Great Feng. Today, I will first behead you and destroy your undead army. Then, I shall annihilate the combined forces of Yan, Kang, and Jing to honor the spirits of Great Feng’s fallen soldiers.”

Xu Qi’an abruptly turned his head to see an elderly man with white hair, dressed in a wizard’s robe, sitting cross-legged on barren ground. His body was covered in blood stains, and his aura was weak.

Behind this old wizard stood three high-ranking Buddhist monks. Xu Qi’an recognized one of them as the Arhat Du’e, who had led the Buddhist delegation to the capital.

“This is a fragment of the Battle of Shanhai Pass from twenty years ago…”

He suddenly realized, recalling what Li Lingsu had said. Nalan Tianlu, Eastern Wan Rong’s master and the former lord of Jingshan City, had died during the Battle of Shanhai Pass, falling victim to Wei Yuan’s strategy.

Is the second level imprisoning Nalan Tianlu? But why am I seeing scenes from the Battle of Shanhai Pass… As he pondered this, he heard Nalan Tianlu laugh coldly:

“Wei Yuan, the Rain Master’s divine spirit is indestructible. Only a Tier 1 Daoist cultivator or a Great Shaman can kill me.”

Xu Qi’an immediately looked towards Wei Yuan, only to find that he had vanished. When he reappeared, he was behind Nalan Tianlu, his right hand gripping a sword, his left hand holding a severed head…

Nalan Tianlu’s headless body remained seated motionless, with blood gushing from his neck, reaching a height of four to five meters, resembling a fountain of blood.

Tier 3, no, Peak Tier 3, even stronger than the Northern Marquis in Chu Province… Xu Qi’an sighed inwardly. Although he already knew the truth, witnessing Wei Yuan’s cultivation level firsthand still left him in awe.

Arhat Du’e took out a golden bowl from his wide sleeve, pointing its mouth at Nalan Tianlu’s corpse while chanting a sutra for the deceased. Dazzling Buddhist light transformed into beams, illuminating Nalan Tianlu’s body and extracting a somewhat ethereal divine spirit, which was then collected into the golden bowl.

Arhat Du’e put away the golden bowl and said with relief:

“General Wei, we’ll leave Nalan Tianlu’s divine spirit to the Buddhist sect. The Floating Pagoda in Lei Province is Bodhisattva Faji’s treasure, specifically used to suppress evil spirits. Within sixty years, Nalan Tianlu’s soul will surely be scattered.”

Wei Yuan nodded, “Very well.”

With that, he slowly walked away, his sleeves fluttering in the wind.

“Lord Wei, Lord Wei…”

Xu Qi’an took a few steps forward, raising his hand in an attempt to stop him, but Wei Yuan couldn’t hear him.

He lowered his hand, feeling lost.

“Amitabha!”

At this moment, he heard the chanting of Buddha’s name behind him. Turning around, he saw that it wasn’t Arhat Du’e, but rather the monks from San Hua Temple – Jingxin, Jingyuan, Hengyin, and others.

They had finally reached the second level.

The monks from San Hua Temple looked around in confusion, seemingly puzzled about why they were there.

Monk Jingxin looked at Xu Qi’an and asked, “Benefactor, what did you see just now? Where is this place?”

Xu Qi’an carefully replied, “This should be the battlefield of the Battle of Shanhai Pass from twenty years ago. We are either in an illusion or Nalan Tianlu’s dream. Considering that Tier 4 shamans are also called ‘Dream Shamans,’ I believe it’s the latter.”

Nalan Tianlu’s dream… Monk Jingxin suddenly realized and said, “It must be so. Master Du Nan mentioned that the second level of the Floating Pagoda had been permeated by Nalan Tianlu’s power.”

The entire second level has been permeated by Nalan Tianlu’s power? Xu Qi’an frowned.

The abbot of San Hua Temple, Monk Hengyin, stared at Xu Qi’an and asked, “Benefactor, what exactly did you see earlier?”

“The scene of Nalan Tianlu’s death. He died surrounded by Wei Yuan and high-ranking Buddhist monks.”

He didn’t mention that Nalan Tianlu died at the hands of Arhat Du’e, as it would reveal that he knew Arhat Du’e.

The monks from San Hua Temple nodded slowly. The warrior monk Jingyuan said in a deep voice, “Senior Brother, how should we escape from this dream?”

Monk Jingxin glanced at Xu Qi’an and shook his head without speaking.

He seems to know but is unwilling to say it in front of me. Well, the Buddhist sect and the Shaman Cult are in collusion, planning to break Nalan Tianlu’s seal… Xu Qi’an scrutinized the monks, his gaze lingering on Monk Jingxin’s empty hands.

“Master Jingxin, where is that pearl you were holding?”

If he remembered correctly, when they brushed past each other earlier, Xu Qi’an had seen the scenes of the first level of the Floating Pagoda reflected in the pearl.

Unless he was mistaken, the pearl’s function was to relay the scenes inside the Floating Pagoda to the outside world, allowing Spiritual Wisdom Master Yierbu and Vajra Du Nan to see what was happening inside the tower.

Although both parties had reached an agreement, they were also mutually suspicious. The pearl was an important bridge in maintaining their cooperation…

“Since this is a dream, naturally, the pearl couldn’t be brought in,” Monk Jingxin explained.

So, our physical bodies aren’t here; our consciousness has entered Nalan Tianlu’s dream… Xu Qi’an stroked his chin.

After a while, more and more people arrived at the second level.

First were Yuan Yi, Li Shaoyun, Tang Yuanwu, and the Eastern sisters – all Tier 4 experts. With their talents, they would be pillars in any faction. For the Buddhist sect, martial artists who could reach Tier 4 were certainly considered to have “Buddha nature.”

Following them were the local heroes from Lei Province, though their numbers had been reduced by two-thirds.

When entering the first level, there were about five to six hundred people, but now only less than two hundred remained.

“Where is this?”

“As expected of a Buddhist treasure, it’s a world of its own?”

“The soil here is real, and so are the stones…”

The crowd discussed animatedly. Those with strong curiosity even grabbed a handful of soil to taste, then quickly spat it out.

Liu Yun swiftly reunited with her fellow disciples and sect leader Tang Yuanwu, then searched through the crowd until she finally spotted that figure in cyan robes.

She paid close attention to this man, not out of any feminine sentiment, but purely out of respect for a mysterious expert.

Abbot Hengyin spoke loudly, “Fellow benefactors, this is Nalan Tianlu’s dream. We are in the Battle of Shanhai Pass from twenty years ago. The scene before us is where the high-ranking Buddhist monks surrounded and killed Nalan Tianlu.”

Using my information to gain favor right in front of me… Xu Qi’an glanced at Hengyin.

“So that’s it!”

“Thank you for the explanation, Master.”

“Who is Nalan Tianlu?”

The local jianghu members from Lei Province suddenly understood and began asking questions incessantly.

Hengyin then explained Nalan Tianlu’s identity to everyone.

“He was a Tier 2 Rain Master?”

“Tier 2…”

“The Buddhist sect is indeed powerful.”

The expressions of the jianghu members were complex, some sighing, some shocked, some wary. To them, a Tier 2 Rain Master was an unattainable existence, a godlike figure.

And such a figure had been suppressed here by the Buddhist sect.

Eastern Wan Rong closed her eyes for a long while before opening them and transmitting a message:

“I can’t sense where Master is. This means he has no self-awareness. This is indeed a dream, his dream.”

Eastern Wan Qing nodded, “How do we break out of this situation?”

Eastern Wan Rong shook her head, “Let’s wait and see…”

As they spoke, the scene suddenly changed. Everyone found themselves inside a large tent. A white-haired and white-bearded wizard in a cloak sat at the head of the table, while armored generals and cloaked wizards sat along the sides.

Among these people, Xu Qi’an saw a familiar face:

Nurhaci!

“The Southern Demons have allied with the Northern Barbarian Demons, attempting to restore the Myriad Demon Kingdom. The Southern Gu Clan wants to take this opportunity to shake the national fortune of Great Feng. The Western Buddhist Sect has a deep-seated hatred for the demon race and won’t stand idly by. Great Feng and the Buddhist Sect will inevitably join forces.”

Nalan Tianlu looked around at the wizards in the tent and said, “For our Shaman Cult, this is a once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity. If we join the battlefield and thoroughly defeat Great Feng and the Buddhist sect, we can share the Nine Provinces with the demon race, Gu Clan, and barbarian tribes.”

The ruler of the Jing Kingdom, Xia Hou Yushu, asked, “Why not harass Great Feng from the southern border?”

Nurhaci slowly shook his head:

“Great Feng’s army is divided into two routes. One is gathered in the Shanhai Pass area, and the other is stationed at the border of the three northeastern provinces. They’re guarding against us. The battle at Shanhai Pass is raging, with the demon barbarians and Gu Clan at a disadvantage. Unless we can break through half of Great Feng and reach the capital in a short time, once the Shanhai Pass battle subsides, Great Feng and the Buddhist sect will have time to withdraw troops to deal with us.”

Nalan Tianlu nodded, “Therefore, we must decide the winner in one battle against Great Feng and the Buddhist sect at Shanhai Pass. It’s time for Great Feng to repay the debt they owe us.”

A wizard cackled, “The commander-in-chief of Great Feng’s army is that eunuch called Wei Yuan. Heh, are there no men left in the Central Plains?”

The wizards and generals burst into laughter.

At that time, although Wei Yuan had already achieved the feat of repelling the demon barbarians, that war was insignificant compared to the large-scale campaign that engulfed the major powers of the Nine Provinces.

The jianghu members from Lei Province listened to this meeting with wide eyes: “So this is the Battle of Shanhai Pass.”

Their faces showed strange expressions. The Battle of Shanhai Pass happened twenty years ago, and to them, it was a massive yet distant war.

Now, witnessing the Shaman Cult’s high-level discussion firsthand gave them a surreal sense of history coming to life, while also being quite shocking.

Additionally, they learned some of the inside story of the Battle of Shanhai Pass.

This war, one of the largest and most brutal in human history, was essentially a manifestation of the conflicts between the major powers of the Nine Provinces reaching their peak.

The Southern Demons, who were destroyed in the Demon Purge sixty years ago, attempted to restore their kingdom. The Gu Clan tried to shake the national fortune of Great Feng, while the Shaman Cult sought to collect a debt from Great Feng.

“This Nalan Tianlu says Great Feng owes the Shaman Cult a debt. What debt?”

General Li Shaoyun frowned.

He voiced the confusion of others as well.

Eastern Wan Rong calmly said:

“When the founding emperor of Great Feng was establishing his rule, he suffered several military defeats. At one point, when he was at the end of his rope, he borrowed 200,000 troops from the Shaman Cult, promising to make the Shaman Cult the state religion after overthrowing the Great Zhou. However, after Great Feng was established, the founding emperor went back on his word.”

This piece of history was very secretive. In Great Feng, even scholars might not all know about it.

“Bullshit!”

Li Shaoyun said coldly.

“That’s right, how could the Shaman Cult be worthy of being our Great Feng’s state religion?”

“Great Feng doesn’t need a state religion. Even the Human Sect was just a game for incompetent emperors.”

“Damn it, this bastard is talking nonsense.”

The people from Lei Province cursed loudly.

Yuan Yi raised his hand to calm them down. The prestige of the Commander-in-Chief quieted the jianghu members. He looked at the monks from San Hua Temple and said:

“Further discussion is pointless. How do we escape this dream?”

Monk Jingxin looked at Eastern Wan Rong. Among those present, only she was a peak Tier 4 Dream Shaman, and only a shaman could deal with another shaman.

Eastern Wan Rong pondered for a moment and repeated, “Let’s wait a bit longer.”

Soon after, everyone understood her meaning as the scene changed again. Scenes from the Battle of Shanhai Pass flashed before their eyes like a lantern show.

Southern Demons, Northern Barbarian Demons, Gu Clan, Shaman Cult, Great Feng’s army, Western Buddhist Kingdom… multiple factions in a chaotic battle. Everyone witnessed this battle from Nalan Tianlu’s perspective.

Until Nalan Tianlu was trapped and killed by Wei Yuan’s strategy, his body separated from his head, and the dream ended and entered a new cycle.

Through this dream, the most profound feeling for those present was the sense of “powerlessness.”

Nalan Tianlu’s powerlessness.

The Buddhist experts were too formidable, and Wei Yuan’s military leadership was too extraordinary.

After the war began, battle after battle was lost, wearing down their forces like a blunt knife cutting flesh. There were victories in local battles, but it was still difficult to reverse the overall declining situation.

Li Shaoyun sneered, “Such thick skin. In the Battle of Shanhai Pass, it turns out the Buddhist sect was merely a hired hand. Wasn’t it Great Feng’s war god Wei Yuan who devised the strategy to kill Nalan Tianlu?”

He was mocking Abbot Hengyin’s earlier claim that credited the Buddhist sect for killing Nalan Tianlu.

The monks from San Hua Temple put their palms together, speechless.

The Lei Province jianghu members looked disdainful.

At this moment, the scene changed again, but it was not the Battle of Shanhai Pass. Instead, it was an unfamiliar environment.

An unfamiliar dream.

The protagonist of the dream was a young man carrying two swords on his back. At this moment, he had a serious expression, staring at a middle-aged man in front of him, who also carried two swords on his back.

The middle-aged man said coldly, “In this battle, I won’t hold back. If you can last a hundred moves, you’ll graduate. If not, you’ll die.”

The young man carrying two swords said calmly, “Enough talk, Master. Let’s begin.”

This battle was extremely brutal. The young man suffered thirty-six sword wounds and was on the brink of death.

…

The scene changed again. The protagonist of the dream was still the swordsman carrying two swords, but he had grown from a youth into a young man.

His enemy had changed from his master to a gloomy and arrogant old man.

The old man shouted angrily, “Tang Yuanwu, how dare you try to kill me? Your master has grown old, and I might fear him a bit, but you? A mere Tier 5 Qi Condensation cultivator thinks he can kill me?”

Tang Yuanwu said calmly, “Snake Mountain Demon, you’ve committed all sorts of evil deeds, raping and pillaging. Today, I’ll end you.”

…

Everyone turned to look at Tang Yuanwu. Someone suddenly realized:

“This is Sect Leader Tang’s famous battle where he killed the Snake Mountain Demon and entered Tier 4 in one fight.”

“Yes, I remember now. Back then, the Snake Mountain Demon was causing havoc in Lei Province, committing several family annihilation cases in a row. The court issued a warrant for his arrest, and it was Sect Leader Tang who stepped forward to kill him. It shocked the entire Lei Province at the time.”

“But why are Sect Leader Tang’s past events appearing here?”

Seeing this, Eastern Wan Rong let out a breath, as if confirming a guess in her mind. She said solemnly:

“Because our divine spirits have been drawn into Mas… Nalan Tianlu’s dream. Influenced by the Dream Shaman, everyone’s dreams are slowly intertwining.”

“So you’re saying we’re dreaming right now?” Yuan Yi asked in a deep voice.

Tang Yuanwu had a look of sudden realization: “The graduation battle and the fight to kill the Snake Mountain Demon were indeed the most dangerous battles of my life. Even after many years, I still often dream about them.”

“To be able to witness the past of the Battle of Shanhai Pass and see Sect Leader Tang’s battle with the Snake Mountain Demon, this trip wasn’t in vain after all.”

“Indeed, this experience is so unbelievable that no one would believe it if we told them.”

Following this, every one successively experienced several dreams. There were battlefield campaigns of General Li Shaoyun and Commander-in-Chief Yuan Yi and bloody battles of Lei Province’s jianghu members.

There were also grand scenes of Western Buddhist high monks chanting sutras and preaching dharma from the perspective of Buddhist disciples.

Xu Qi’an mingled in the crowd, unusually silent, but his gaze remained fixed on the Eastern sisters and the monks from San Hua Temple.

The Buddhist sect and the Shaman Cult came prepared. They must know how to escape the dream, how to release Nalan Tianlu, how to obtain the dragon qi… We can’t let them release Nalan Tianlu… As he was thinking, he suddenly heard exclamations of surprise.

Turning his head to look, he was also startled.

He saw a peaceful Buddhist mountain, with golden light swirling in the clouds and mist. A young man in the uniform of a night watchman was clutching his head in pain within a large formation, his face contorted.

This scene was too familiar, so familiar that it made his face change dramatically.

A Buddhist magical battle!

The Eight Sufferings Formation!

Damn it, my dream?!