Indeed, she had intercepted him here tonight.

The King of Yan smiled, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth. “By my calculations, it was about time you arrived.”

His eyes reflected the light from the wall torches, yet burned ten times hotter, as if they could scorch holes through a person.

Feng Miaojun frowned. “You lured over ten thousand people here to open this dream world for you, all for this?” As she spoke, she pointed to the stone platform in front of the deity statue.

During her last visit to Yingshui City, this stone platform had been the focus of her and Yu Haizhen’s research. She had even opened it to examine its contents, discovering strange inscriptions inside.

But she remembered that when everyone left, this platform had been open. Now it was tightly sealed, without the slightest gap.

“The dream world isn’t a place ordinary people can freely enter or exit, yet you managed to track me here.” The King of Yan chuckled. “You needn’t pretend anymore.”

“Is entering dreams to search souls such a remarkable divine ability?” Feng Miaojun said coolly. “The Water Moon Mirror was originally your treasure. Using it to locate you is no difficult task.”

Indeed, the reason Yingshui City appeared so eerie tonight was because it didn’t exist in the real world—this was Yingshui City within people’s dreams.

When mortals fall asleep, everything around them, including their consciousness, is projected into this dreamscape parallel to reality. Everything here basically corresponds one-to-one with reality, yet isn’t bound by the laws of the real world. Thus, humans can experience many bizarre and fantastic things here, such as the tragedy of the family of three that Feng Miaojun first observed from the rooftop—a scene of the earthquake replayed in the dreams of a woman who had survived the disaster in Yangshan City.

Many people cannot forget their tragic experiences and revisit them again and again in their dreams.

And the many misshapen monsters wandering the streets and houses were nightmares.

Feng Miaojun had always been certain the King of Yan had arrived in Yingshui City, but with his abilities, if he wanted to hide, few in the world would have the power to find him.

But she was an exception.

Like Yun Ya, she possessed the ability to seek people in dreams. As long as the King of Yan was in Yingshui City, and as long as she held an item that belonged to him to use as a locator, she could quietly infiltrate his dream.

Fortuitously, she did have an item that originally belonged to the King of Yan—the Water Moon Mirror.

She knew the King of Yan had originally used this object to remotely control Zhao Yun’s activities in New Xia. Such precious treasures were rare in the world, so they should count as one of the King of Yan’s personal belongings.

Sure enough, when she used the Water Moon Mirror to seek him in dreams, she found herself still in Yingshui City, not having moved a single step. This meant the King of Yan was indeed here. With this, his purpose became clear—his earlier deal with Feng Miaojun was merely to lure more people to Yingshui City.

The dream world does not exist in the physical realm. As the name suggests, without humans dreaming, what basis would this world have for existence? To summon the dream version of Yingshui City requires human presence—at least a settlement of over ten thousand people to create such an effect. The thousands of civilians affected by the Yangshan earthquake who relocated here weren’t enough.

But that was no problem. The King of Yan was confident that Feng Miaojun would never come to Yingshui City alone. When the Queen of New Xia traveled to meet a master of his caliber, she would bring at least a few thousand guards.

In this era, numbers brought a sense of security.

With this, the conditions to form the dream Yingshui City were met.

Since the disaster victims had only moved in today in large numbers, the dream city should have appeared only tonight. Both the King of Yan and she had timed it perfectly.

Considering the King of Yan’s motives, Feng Miaojun could easily deduce that his target was in the temple.

The King of Yan’s methods were also masterful. The abandoned capital was in her territory. In reality, Feng Miaojun would be surrounded by her entourage of skilled fighters. If the King of Yan wanted to meet her for an exchange, he would be delivering himself into her hands. No matter how capable he was, one person could not oppose a thousand, especially with New Xia’s State Preceptor Yu Haizhen present, likely waiting to settle old scores regarding the destruction of the Xi Kingdom.

But the dream city was different. People in dreams lack self-control and often don’t realize they’re dreaming. In the dream world, both Feng Miaojun and the King of Yan were lone figures. Even powerful beings like the King of Yan or Yun Ya could at most bring one additional person into a dream, but never an army of thousands.

Only in this dream world would the King of Yan not be at a numerical disadvantage. This explained why, despite Yan cultivators being numerous, the King of Yan appeared alone.

The King of Yan smiled and said, “Have you seen others who can use it?”

Feng Miaojun remained silent. Yun Ya could too, but she saw no need to reveal this.

She changed the subject. “Is this the Dragon Phoenix Staff?”

Beside the King of Yan stood a scepter with exquisitely detailed carvings. It should have been inlaid with gems, as she could see many indentations. Of course, the gems had long been removed, leaving only the egg-thick staff. The top of the staff had a peculiar shape, like a forked halberd, but the two prongs were cast in the shapes of a coiled dragon and a flying phoenix.

Without the King of Yan’s explanation, she could guess what it was. During their last negotiation, he had proudly mentioned finding the Dragon Phoenix Staff; this must be it.

With her keen vision, she could see that the staff was inserted vertically into the ground, not by the King of Yan’s brute force. The ground here was so hard that even her magical tools couldn’t penetrate it, so she doubted the King of Yan had such ability.

The bottom of the staff was embedded in the ground. If she remembered correctly, there had originally been a small indentation there. She had discussed it with Yu Haizhen during their last visit. It seemed the King of Yan had discovered its actual purpose.

“This staff originally stood in the temple?”

It was the only reasonable explanation; otherwise, how could there be a hole in the ground so perfectly fitted for the Dragon Phoenix Staff? Moreover, the ornate staff seemed more suitable for display and ceremony rather than battlefield use.

The King of Yan tapped his foot on the ground. “In those days, commoners of Yingshui City couldn’t approach this place. Who do you think could use it?” At this point, he showed some impatience. “Since you’ve come, my previous proposal still stands. I’ll release your clansman if you extend my lifespan, or…”

He paused. “Alternatively, you could transform me into a celestial demon.”

So he was still obsessed with immortality. This fixation had likely penetrated his sinews, blood, and marrow, becoming his inner demon.

Not just the King of Yan; over the past thousand years, how many brilliant talents had the opportunity to advance further, yet were constrained by the laws of heaven and earth? No matter how unwilling, they could only be buried at the age of two hundred. Feng Miaojun felt some sympathy, but spoke coolly, “I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. The lifespan of all living beings is predetermined. Even celestial demons cannot break heaven’s laws, or they wouldn’t remain sealed away until today. Taking a thousand steps back, even if I were a celestial demon, I would have no way to extend your life or transform you into one of my kind.”