“What kind of person is Luye Laozu?”

Walking on the street where pedestrians were sparse, the evening twilight seeped through from all directions. The golden slanted sun at the horizon illuminated the sky edge with a faint red, and the pale shadows of mountains were far, far away outside the city. Jian Chou’s steps were calm and leisurely, and even her voice carried a relaxed tone.

Walking beside her was actually Fudao Shanren.

He held nine-section bamboo in his hand, bound all over with old cloth ropes, completely treated as a beggar’s walking stick. As he walked on the road, the bamboo staff tapped on the ground.

His dao robe was tattered, and a wine gourd hung at his waist.

Fudao Shanren’s hair had somehow regained its former “splendor” of being wild and messy like overgrown weeds. Hearing Jian Chou’s question, he only took a bite of the chicken leg in his left hand, tore off a piece of crispy, oily skin, and squinted his eyes contentedly, humming: “That old witch…”

He drew out his voice, as if thinking.

Jian Chou couldn’t help but turn her head to look at him.

Fudao Shanren’s eyes rolled around, then he said: “Good eater, domineering, unreasonable, and incredibly wicked.”

“…”

That’s not what she wanted to hear.

Although she had already ascended to the Upper Ruins and even made a name for herself as “Immortal Jian Chou” through terrifying slaughter in the first ten years, Jian Chou discovered that as long as she was in front of Fudao Shanren, even the most serious questions could be led astray.

“Master, what I’m asking is—”

“I know, I know, cultivation and character and all that.” Fudao Shanren waved his hand, not even waiting for her to finish her words. “But what this mountain man said is all truth. This old witch was already a tough character in the lower realm. Before those from Kunwu could even speak, she had already taken the Origin Realm under her governance. Even though those few arrived early, they were still beaten into complete submission. This mountain man guesses it was mostly because of the River Map. You’ve seen this thing, so you should know best what level she’s comprehended it to. Anyway, except for eating, drinking, and having a bad temper, this old witch hasn’t caused any killings – she’s always had a carefree nature.”

Someone who could be called a “tough character” by Fudao Shanren…

Jian Chou’s eyelids twitched as she listened.

But then she fell into contemplation, not asking any more questions, just walking with Fudao Shanren until they left the city.

Strictly speaking, this was Zizai Heaven’s territory.

Looking around, most of those walking in the city were small cultivators below the Earth Immortal realm, or even mortals without cultivation.

The Upper Ruins immortal realm wasn’t entirely populated by immortals.

When immortals coupled with immortals, their children didn’t automatically ascend to heaven – at most they just had somewhat better cultivation talent. Of course, there were also some whose cultivation talent wasn’t great. This portion of people still needed to survive, so Zizai Heaven, where disputes were minimal, became the best choice.

Jian Chou had come here by chance.

When she first arrived in the Upper Ruins immortal realm, the Ten Death Orders incident had triggered various pursuits. Almost every two or three months she had to kill people – she couldn’t stop those seeking death even when she tried to dissuade them.

After killing for a while, those people became honest.

When they knew they had no chance of victory, no one would be foolish enough to come seek death.

Therefore, Jian Chou finally had leisure.

That was already ten years after she came to the Upper Ruins. After traveling for a while and finally being able to use teleportation arrays, she quickly reached the Great Luo Heaven. But she didn’t enter; instead, while passing through the Kongwu Star Domain, she discovered Kuhui Star where common people gathered. When her divine consciousness swept over, she unexpectedly found her own master who had been occupying a street-side tavern eating roasted chicken for three days…

The rest needn’t be elaborated.

Over these years, she occasionally went out to walk around and understand the outside situation, but most of the time she stayed here, accompanying Fudao Shanren in eating roasted chicken, braised chicken, stewed chicken, grilled chicken, salt-crispy chicken…

Well, at least it sounded very enjoyable.

Thinking this, her steps had already reached the mountain path outside the city.

Coming toward them was actually a cultivator of modest cultivation carrying a book box toward the old city. He was dressed as a scholar in a literati’s long robe, but carried a snow-white bell in his hand.

For every three steps he took, the bell would ring once.

At the same time, he sang: “Selling dreams, selling dreams! Huang Liang Nan Ke, a thousand years in a snap of fingers. What you want, dreams have it all. Selling dreams, selling dreams, Elder Mengtianlao’s newly made three thousand great dreams…”

Jian Chou couldn’t help but stop to watch him.

This scholar-dressed cultivator couldn’t discern the depth of these two people before him, but figured there was no real danger on Kuhui Star, so he cupped his hands toward them and asked with a smile: “Great dreams newly made by Mengtianlao – would you two like to buy some?”

“Thank you, but no need.”

Jian Chou smiled faintly and shook her head.

Perhaps because Pangu’s Desolate Domain was gradually approaching, Elder Tianmo Meng, who had once entered the Desolate Domain and come out alive, reappeared in various rumors. Strange merchants selling dreams under his banner were everywhere, and the fantastic and magnificent dream worlds naturally attracted large numbers of cultivators to flock to them.

Only dream-eating was addictive.

The dream world was comfortable enough, pleasant enough – who would want to leave the dream realm? All regrets could be remedied in dreams, all unresolved heart knots could be relieved in dreams, all unreleased loss and pain could be healed in dreams…

Even cultivators found it difficult to resist its magic.

In the past few years, when Jian Chou went out to gather information, she would always encounter various dream-selling strange merchants. But she hadn’t expected that even a place like Kuhui Star would now have such merchants.

This situation was somewhat unusual.

Behind these people and these dreams, was there really the Mengtianlao who had entered the Desolate Domain and come out alive?

Some said Tianlao was a woman of stunning beauty.

Some said Tianlao had once been a fox spirit in Feixie Heaven.

Others said Tianlao was an old woman who had achieved enlightenment very early…

But no one had seen the real Tianlao.

First, this person had appeared too early, and many recorded ancient texts had been lost. Second, the Saint Immortals who understood her had all died in the Desolate Domain. Third, according to the few existing records, all descriptions of her from those who had contact with her were different, even contradictory…

Thus, Mengtianlao became increasingly mysterious.

Like everyone else in the outside world, Jian Chou was also curious – at the moment when the Desolate Domain descended again, would the real Mengtianlao once again enter the Desolate Domain with everyone?

“Has Master ever heard of this Mengtianlao?”

Passing by the dream-selling cultivator, Jian Chou caught up with Fudao Shanren’s steps while asking.

The two of them followed the mountain path over half a mountain, and could see vegetable gardens planted with fruits and vegetables at the foot of the mountain behind, with several thatched cottages built at the far end of the garden.

There was a gray-robed old monk in the field.

He had just carried water from the mountain valley pond, walked past half a ridge of chives in the vegetable garden, then set down the old wooden water bucket to water the dendrobium planted at the garden’s edge.

When Fudao Shanren reached this place, his entire person completely relaxed, as if he could collapse anywhere at random. He yawned and said: “Never heard of her. But those dreams being sold everywhere, this mountain man has tried them. The dream-making technique might be crude, not like something made by a Saint Immortal, but the realism and ingenuity of the dream realm is definitely the work of a master. Even if it’s not this so-called Mengtianlao behind it, it must be someone with ulterior motives. You should be extremely careful going to the Desolate Domain.”

“What about Master?”

Beside the vegetable garden, Jian Chou stopped.

The old monk continued scooping water from the bucket to water flowers and vegetables, not glancing in their direction even once.

Jian Chou found it wonderful.

If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes and heard this old monk’s plain Chan wisdom, she probably wouldn’t dare believe that the true Buddha of Zizai Heaven was actually a rustic mountain villager living among mortal fires.

Fudao Shanren untied the wine gourd hanging at his waist, freely took a large gulp, and laughed without a care: “When I was in the Origin Realm, I was always scheming against others, tired like a dog – no meaning. That Hengxu, clever all his life, was nothing more than a doomed chess piece in someone else’s game – pitiful and lamentable! When I ascended, I had already figured it out – everything is empty. Though I came from Yashan, after all these experiences, I have some connection with the Buddhist gate. Now in this mortal place, when wind and rain don’t come I’m peaceful, when wind and rain come I’m also steady – how pleasantly free. Little Jian Chou, go to the Desolate Domain yourself. If you see those old immortals from Yashan, tell them I’m doing well.”

From the moment he achieved sudden enlightenment and ascended in broad daylight, Jian Chou had a vague premonition. Later, arriving in the Upper Ruins, she indeed heard that Fudao Shanren had stayed in Yashan for a few years before wandering away.

She thought he and Hengxu had real friendship.

But going round and round, it became a self-imposed trap on Kunwu’s sea of clouds, ultimately quite lamentable.

Regarding the Zhou Tian Star Array in the Celestial Palace that hadn’t been activated but had calculated Kunwu’s hundred-year calamity, it remained a complete mystery.

But Jian Chou thought the answer should be revealed soon.

After hearing Fudao Shanren’s words, she remained silent for a long time. Under the twilight’s illumination, in the mountain wind’s caress, she felt as if she had returned to when she lived in the mountain village, watching mountain mist, wind through bamboo, and the morning and evening cooking smoke…

Above her head in the sky dome, the magnificent shadow of Pangu’s Desolate Domain had become clear.

Just like the mirages people had seen.

Only more enormous, more startling. One could vaguely see mountains and peaks crisscrossing, rivers flowing, strange trees vast and green, roughly taking human form but lying down, like a huge piece of land floating in the starry sky.

“From my Yashan gate, there is no fear. When young eagles leave the nest and harden their wings in wind and rain, they should fly toward the vast sky.”

Fudao Shanren seemed to sense her complexity.

This reminded him of when he had passed through that wilderness years ago, brushed away the fresh grave after rain, and rescued her.

Finally, he just laughed: “Go then.”

Jian Chou’s heart suddenly surged with myriad emotions. Although she had accompanied Fudao Shanren here for over thirty years, when it came time to truly leave, she still felt somewhat reluctant.

After all, she was ultimately a mortal.

She bowed deeply and said: “Disciple takes leave.”

Mist suddenly thickened in the mountain wilderness. The last ray of light disappeared in the mist’s scattering. Fudao Shanren turned to look, and the old monk watering in the vegetable garden also looked up.

At the mountain’s foot, Jian Chou’s figure had disappeared like a ripple on water.

And in the three heavens of Great Luo, Feixie, and Zizai, all cultivators who ranked among the notable also disappeared from their original places, like brilliant streams of stars, rushing toward that vast and ancient Desolate Domain!