Chapter 322: The Village
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Shing!"
Blood spewed everywhere.
Upon the death of Ouyang Shu, the normal-looking forest started to undergo a transformation.
The ground started to ripple and the roots of the trees started to stretch and climb all over Ouyang Shu's corpse, consuming him.
Fang Yuan could detect the arrival of a force from the hollow. This force sealed the space around the corpse and did not even let his soul free.
"This is how the hollow would consume corpse. Indeed a sacrifice!"
Witnessing this, Fang Yuan was stunned.
"Lord Fang Yuan... I have no bad blood with you!"
As soon as she saw him take notice of her, she forced a smile. "Furthermore... I can help you turn the tables regarding the grudge you have with my sect!"
"Keke... although you are the reserved Divine Lady, I don't think you have any strong backing considering the fact that you are sent here! How dare you be so full of yourself!"
Fang Yuan snickered and struck another sword.
"Rumble!"
Thunder rumbled as the sword landed. However, a Divine Lotus Print appeared on her body, shielding her from the blow.
However, the print started to fade as soon as the sword struck down on it.
"Die!"
A cold look flashed across Fang Yuan's eyes as he took another step forward. Streaks of electricity were buzzing around the sword.
"You..."
Qing Meng appeared desolate. An unactivated talisman in her hands was destroyed by the streaks of electricity from the sword. Slowly, she fell to the ground and blood oozed out of her eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Without hesitation, she was consumed by the space around her.
"Although she had a magical equipment with her, she is still very weak compared to Meng Lian. She doesn't even have the protection of a powerful dream master's magical clone..."
Fang Yuan kept his sword and shook his head. "Are all of these people really sacrificial goats?"
Scanning his surroundings, he chuckled.
A few spiritual wills started to scramble and retreat. "We have been discovered! This person is powerful, let's retreat!"
"At the 3rd Tier of Illusionary Divine, he is indeed powerful! Not someone I would want to deal with!"
"Oh sh*t, he's a killer! We should not anger him!"
...
A few silhouettes in hiding disappeared in an instant. Only a few who feared him and respected him remained.
Seeing this, Fang Yuan could not help it but laugh.
When he just entered the hollow, he was only at the 2nd Tier and had yet to form his Sundering Thunder Sword. If he were to encounter this pair then, he would have to use all that he had. Even if he could defeat the both of them, he would not be able to survive the surrounding dream masters who were watching the fight.
However, now, the Sundering Thunder Sword struck fear in all that witnessed him using it.
"I have unintentionally killed. However, the few of you, don't anger me. Otherwise, you will meet your doom! Hmph!"
Fang Yuan flicked his sword and snickered as his voice travelled far and wide.
If he were to do this before he would just be considered crazy. However, now that he had killed two dream masters, his words struck fear.
Seeing the surrounding dream masters take their leave, he paid no attention to them as he rushed towards a building at the end of the forest. "The centre of the hollow would be scrutinised by the 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters. I should not forcefully go there, and should instead explore the boundaries and make this journey worth it!"
After unintentionally killing the dream masters, he was pumped with adrenaline.
However, he knew that he was still no match for Elder Smelter. Therefore, he could only let off steam through other means.
"Hehe….. This is really awe-inspiring! Phew!"
In the dense forest, a female dream master had an expression of shock. As she fell to the ground, a man in green appeared behind her. He seemed extremely young and his fingertips were stained with blood. However, he had an intoxicated look on his face. "After finishing this mission, I must pit myself against you!"
...
"Fang Yuan from the Realm Alliance?"
In another location, a pair of twin sisters were combining forces and executing their techniques. Streaks of colourful butterflies were fluttering around them as they barely kept up with their defense. As soon as they heard Fang Yuan's voice, they were elated. "It's a fellow alliance member!"
"Sister!"
The butterflies were colourful and were extremely powerful in defence. They could shield against physical and spiritual attacks.
As soon as the sisters got themselves out of the fight, the younger looking sister asked. "What should we do next? Should we look for that powerful alliance member for help?"
"Let me think about it!"
The older sister was a little more matured, but she could not come to a decision.
The sisters' backing was long gone and they were already ill-treated in the alliance. They were forced to enter this death trial and since then, they were wary of even dream masters from their own alliance and were hesitant to ask alliance members for help.
"It is too low a chance, considering that only 11 can survive among the 31 dream masters..."
The older sister gritted her teeth and hugged her younger sister as her eyes glistened. "Regardless, I must protect you, even if it... costs my life!"
...
At another location, Fang Yuan sped off like the wind with a shocking speed. After a few leaps, he had already left the area which he was previously in, leaving all the other dream masters behind.
"They would be fools to kill others just to complete the mission!"
His eyes glistened. "This massacre is the most dangerous. In the end, the weak would be killed and the strong would eventually fight each other. It is indeed a good plan for me to show off my skills first and avoid the chaos... Should I look for a fellow alliance member in the future? Otherwise, I would still be easily outnumbered and it would be extremely troublesome for me..."
Now that he had left the forest, an empty plain appeared before him.
There were endless rows of plantations; it was a sea of gold, which seemed to be a bountiful harvest.
At the edge of the plantation, there was a glittering building which was golden; it was different from anywhere else in the vicinity.
"Is this... Yellow Grain Rice?!"
Fang Yuan arrived at the plantation and was shocked and surprised.
The grain that was growing in the plantation was a yellow and translucent spiritual rice. The stem of the plant was sturdy and there was an alluring aura coming from the grain. It was the Yellow Grain Rice which he had painstakingly attempted to find!
"This rice had a concentrated spiritual energy. More importantly, it aids in a dream master's cultivation and is extremely rare! I'm afraid that only the 5 Grand Organisations in Da Qian and the Da Qian royal family will be able to plant them in huge batches! Who would've thought that there is an abundance of it in the Changli Mountain Hollow!"
Food was everything!
Even for Prominent Divine stage dream masters who created their own world into a hollow, they could not leave out food as a staple!
Looking at the abundance of rice here, he gained a further understanding of the cultivation of a dream master.
"If there are farms here, there must be people living here as well. They might have relocated from the outside world to here, or they could be a race of wisdom created by this almighty dream master!"
A dream master at the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would be able to create a race of beasts, while dream masters in the realm of the Prominent Divine stage would be able to create a race of wisdom; a race that would be able to start a civilisation and reproduce for generations to come!
Furthermore, they were not restricted to creating a human race. These race of wisdom might be living things with a single horn, or wings... they could adopt any form and anything was possible.
What else was there to say?
Fang Yuan widened his eyes. As he released his elemental force to form a huge hand, he started to harvest the Yellow Grain Rice and stored it in his Mountain River Pearl.
"With these seeds, I can plant them for myself and consume them in the future. Who knows, they might even evolve special traits!"
Others might worry if they would be able to germinate these seeds. However, with his special ability, Fang Yuan had nothing to worry. "The only thing is... I need to look for a piece of spiritual land."
After a short while, he rushed towards the building but soon, he could sense that something was not right.
It was a continuous stretch of a palace with strong defences, covered with shimmering spiritual prints. However, there were sectors demarcated in it and there were simple carvings on the walls. With an ancient vibe, it was as though the place was full of life.
"This should not be the house of someone wealthy, but... an entire village?!"
Fang Yuan seemed to have understood something. "The continuous spiritual glow around the palace is a huge spiritual array... no! A huge magical equipment! As soon as it is activated, it will become a huge war beast!"
"Whoosh!"
As he was examining the surroundings, spiritual glow started to shimmer at the top of the palace. An icy arrow appeared and shot 100 feet away from him. It was a warning shot.
"There are indeed inhabitants! Did they get the warning and therefore are all hiding in the building?"
Seeing the arrow, Fang Yuan could not help it but laugh.
He would not strike without first knowing his enemies' ability. After giving it some thought, he decided to stay put and stood where he was and waited patiently.
After a few moments, a few streaks of light finally caught up to him. As soon as they saw the Yellow Grain Rice, they were all envious and quickly started to harvest the rice as well. Their actions had enraged many of the onlookers who were staring at them from the palace.
"Have they stopped fighting? It seems like these few dream masters are not entirely stupid..."
Fang Yuan smiled.
The weak dream masters would die at the beginning. Those that were able to survive until now were rather capable.
Furthermore, they would want to satisfy their own greed.
No one would dare to entirely betray their sects and go against the 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters.
However, after a prolonged period, before the powerful dream masters would enter to reap the most out of the hollows, it was only natural and human nature for everyone to reap as much as they can to benefit themselves.
"Greetings Brother Fang, I am Ye Shuhua!"
Everyone in the hollow knew of Fang Yuan's prowess; no one would stupidly challenge him.
Two identical dream masters who were twins approached Fang Yuan. The older sister paid her greetings first. "My sister, Shumin, and I are both from the Realm Alliance..."
"Oh!"
Fang Yuan casually replied them and started to examine the pair of twins.
In terms of the vibes they gave off, these two ladies were only average and could not even compare to Qing Meng. However, they were elegant and their features were on point.
Upon closer look, the older sister was taller and had a determined look on her face. On the other hand, the younger sister seemed gentler and submissive.
'Sigh... the Realm Alliance is really wasteful. How can they send such beauties here as sacrifice... However, to dream masters, they can get any beauty that they can dream of!'
Of course, Fang Yuan would not be simply left at the sight of these two beauties and returned the greeting. "Greetings, the both of you... may I know what you are seeking me for?"
Ye Shuhua started to clench her teeth.
Fang Yuan's polite and calm expression gave her the chills. She realised that their beautiful appearance did not waver Fang Yuan a single bit.
Now that they were surrounded by other dream masters staring at them, her hair started to stand on its ends. "Please save the both of us!"
"Save the both of you? What do I get out of this?"
Fang Yuan examined the palace in front and calmly replied.
"During this death trial, we sisters will listen to all your commands! Although your magical swords are powerful, you might face troubles, right? Although we sisters are weak and are only at the 1st and 2nd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, we can combine forces and execute the Dream Butterfly Defence to stall time for you!"
"All of these are not enough!"
Fang Yuan shook his head and started to pressure them. "Agree with my condition!"
'Could he...'
Shuhua felt a chill down her spine. However, she stood firm but blushed a little. "Alright! If you can save us, I shall... let you do anything you want to me! However, leave my sister alone!"
"What are you thinking about?"
Fang Yuan started to laugh. "Am I such a person?"
He was unaware that her sister, Shumin, had heard the conversation and started to blush as well. She was utterly embarrassed and did not dare to let out her breath.
Although the dream masters who were silently watching from the shadows were unaware of their exchange, they could vaguely deduce the content of their conversation. Fang Yuan was speechless.