Chapter 214 The Last Dream:

"We can't wait any longer."

Rong Xie looked at Shen Bingsi, who was fast asleep on the bed, and said resolutely.

As night fell, Jiang Caijie led the group to transfer Shen Bingsi, Sect Master Feng, and the five elders to the Wuqing Dao Palace. Many people in the Dao Palace had gone down the mountain or were at the bottom of Wenxin Gorge, so there were plenty of empty rooms, more than enough to accommodate seven people.

Shen Bingsi was arranged to stay in the courtyard where Lu Yingqi used to live, the same room he and Rong Xie used to share. Rong Xie took care of him by the bedside.

In the courtyard, the judge, the recorder, and the surviving elders of each peak gathered together to discuss what to do next.

The crowd was still arguing. Some said they should wait and do nothing, since the flower demon's true form had been destroyed and its resentment would eventually disappear. Once the resentment was gone, these people would naturally wake up.

Some people suggested that the dream should be intervened immediately to save the flower demon. This group was mainly represented by Judge Jiang. They believed that since the flower demon used nightmare magic to control people when it was alive, the dream it created would still have room for maneuver. Now that the flower demon is dead, it only leaves behind a deep resentment. Who knows what kind of terrible nightmare it might create in Shen Bingsi's dream? They should intervene in the dream as soon as possible.

However, the question then becomes who should enter the dream.

According to Tianjing, if Shen Bingsi doesn't wake up, those who have been hypnotized by the flower demon will also fall into a deep sleep. Jiang Caijieguan was also hypnotized by the flower demon. Fortunately, he was awake when the flower demon left its resentment, so he was not affected. If he had rashly entered the dream to save Shen Bingsi, he might have ended up like Sect Master Feng and the others, never to wake up again.

By the same token, anyone hypnotized by the flower fairy cannot enter Shen Bingsi's dream to save her, thus greatly reducing the pool of options. Some suggested seeking help from the Spirit Mirror Sect, since Shen Bingsi is a member of the sect, but negotiations between two major sects are extremely complicated, and by the time the Spirit Mirror Sect sends someone, time will have already been wasted.

While the argument was still ongoing, Qingfeng, a disciple of the Dao Palace, came forward and offered new selection criteria. He said that when Elder Bai was lucid, he had said that to combat the nightmare of the flower demon, they needed to find a "person of extreme yang" who was upright, virtuous, and did not regret his actions. This person would not be affected by the nightmare of the flower demon.

Upon hearing Qingfeng's words, everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Who could be this extremely yang person? Could anyone truly meet such a high standard? If it were a sect electing a representative of its young disciples, naturally a group of people would believe they had reached this standard. But now, this standard was truly being used to deal with demons. The slightest mistake could mean certain death. Suddenly, everyone felt that this standard was unattainable.

The whispers in the courtyard reached Rong Xie's ears without missing a single word.

The discussion turned out to be about things that Rong Xie already knew.

There was no progress, and no one came forward to guarantee that they could rescue Shen Bingsi.

However, thinking about it, it makes sense. When Elder Bai told them to find a "person of extreme yang", the two of them couldn't come to a conclusion.

“I’ll come,” Rong Xie said to the person outside as he approached the door. “I’ll enter the dream.”

"What?"

Everyone turned their heads at once and looked this way.

Naturally, it took some effort to persuade Judge Jiang, but in the end he agreed to Rong Xie's request.

Jiang Cai dismissed everyone, leaving only the registrar and two high-ranking incense practitioners, and instructed them to prepare to start the incense offering.

Jiang Caijie called Rong Xie aside and carefully explained to him the key points of entering a dream, what to pay attention to, and what to avoid. He gave him earnest guidance, and Rong Xie could imagine how Jiang Caijie had guided him when Shen Bingsi first took office as the demon-slaying official.

"What's wrong?" Judge Jiang noticed that at this critical moment, Rong Xie was not only not nervous, but also had a smile on his lips.

"It's nothing." Rong Xie shook his head, feeling a warm glow in his heart.

"Don't take this lightly. Do you know what the biggest difference is between dreams and reality?" Judge Jiang said seriously. "Dreams are irrational. Whatever is presupposed is what it is. You will believe it all. Even if you wake up and think back, many experiences in the dream cannot stand up to scrutiny, but in the dream, that is the truth."

“I know,” Rong Xie said. “So, I will forget all the things I remember now in my dreams. In my dreams, I will act entirely on instinct. Whether I can get through that test depends entirely on my character. Elder Bai proposed the concept of ‘the most yang person’ because of this.”

Judge Jiang looked at Rong Xie. Rong Xie was indeed very clever, smarter than he had imagined. He sighed and said, "It's good that you know."

A pale red mist rose.

Rong Xie came to the bedside.

Back then, Shen Bingsi also lifted the nightmare spell for him in the same place. I wonder if this strange exchange of positions can be considered a kind of fate.

Rong Xie's mind was racing. Anyone would be nervous facing the unknown. He didn't know what he would face in Shen Bing Si's dream, or whether they could get out safely. But as long as Shen Bing Si was on that side, Rong Xie wasn't so afraid.

“Brother Jiang, I want to see Xiaozhi one more time.” Rong Xie turned his head and looked at Judge Jiang standing to the side.

"Don't worry." Judge Jiang took out a silver glass ball from his sleeve. A fluffy point of light was floating inside. After Judge Jiang took it out, it floated to the side of the ball facing Rong Xie, as if it was lying there watching Rong Xie.

While cleaning up the mess, Judge Jiang took out this magical artifact. Its effect was the same as the Spirit Locking Array, except that it could be shrunk into a glass ball the size of a palm, making it easy to carry.

Xiaozhi's spirit is still too weak to be inhabited by any body, so we can only nurture it like this for now.

Rong Xie gazed at her for a moment, then looked away: "Let's begin."

A dark passageway, its destination unknown.

Rong Xie stood in the middle of the passageway and sensed light coming in from the end. He took a step and walked towards it.

He remembered everything, remembered that he was dreaming, remembered that he had come to bail Shen Bingsi out, which was a good omen.

In Judge Jiang's "dream-entering" experience, the worst-case scenario was losing his own memory and not even knowing why he was there. In that case, he could only rely on his instincts.

The ideal state is one where one can remain rational and clear-headed, with no threats around. This, to some extent, indicates that the dreamer has a strong will and is able to control the situation.

At this point, the problem can be solved by quickly finding the dreamer and bringing him out.

Rong Xie felt a sense of relief and immediately began searching for Shen Bingsi. He called out Shen Bingsi's name as he walked towards the end of the passageway.

As they approached the end of the passageway, Rong Xie noticed a figure standing in the light.

Perhaps because the light was too bright and the passageway was too dark, he only realized there was a person standing there when he got closer.

Rong Xie was overjoyed and called out, "Bing Si, you're here!"

The man glanced back, but didn't answer him, and turned his head away again.

"...Bing Si?" Rong Xie approached Shen Bing Si with a puzzled look.

Shen Bingsi clearly heard him call her, so why didn't she respond?

Rong Xie came up behind Shen Bingsi and reached out to hug him, but was repelled by the protective spiritual energy.

Rong Xie took a step back, opened his palm, and saw that his palm was red from the shock. His heart sank, because Shen Bing Si never activated her protective spiritual energy when the two of them were alone.

"Bing Si, I've come to get you. Whatever you saw, it wasn't real; it was a flower demon controlling you." Rong Xie said in one breath, "The situation in the dream was complicated, and I don't know how much longer I can stay awake. Wake up now, and we'll go out together—"

Before Rong Xie could finish speaking, Shen Bingsi suddenly took a step forward and disappeared into the light.

"Ice Crystal!" Rong Xie chased after it, but his footing gave way and he plummeted downwards.

Rong Xie's heart nearly jumped out of his throat. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, took out the Cloud Dream Boat, and floated steadily in mid-air. Only then did he begin to look around.

The world outside the passageway looked very familiar; it was a training ground of the inner sect of the Spirit Mirror Sect. Many disciples were performing uniform movements on the training ground. Rong Xie recognized that it was a basic physical technique that was required for junior disciples of the inner sect.

He descended the Cloud Dream Boat and searched everywhere for Shen Bingsi's figure, but could not find her. Shen Bingsi's strange reaction just now made him very uneasy. He only wanted to find her as soon as possible and did not care about the other people in the dream.

In the dream, no one else paid attention to Rong Xie. He descended from the sky and landed next to them, but they didn't even glance at him.

Rong Xie circled around them and discovered two facts:

Firstly, they genuinely couldn't see him. The world outside the passageway was self-contained; the people in this world couldn't see Rong Xie, and Rong Xie couldn't affect them. Perhaps this was why Shen Bingsi ignored Rong Xie.

Secondly, these novice disciples practicing basic physical techniques were all familiar faces. Rong Xie had practiced with them before; they were the same batch of novice disciples who entered the inner sect of the Spirit Mirror Sect with Rong Xie... If he wasn't mistaken, Rong Xie and Shen Bing Si should also be practicing in the queue at this time, but Rong Xie didn't see them at all.

This is strange.

While he was still lucid, Rong Xie quickly racked his brains, pondering the strangeness of the situation.

If this were merely a dream of memories, then Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi should not have been absent from this group, at least Rong Xie should have been. Shen Bingsi was sometimes summoned by the Grand Elder to receive individual instruction in cultivation techniques, but Rong Xie was different; he was extremely diligent and never missed a single class.

Therefore, it can be concluded that this dream of memories is definitely fabricated, created by the flower fairy, and contains a very vicious scheme. We must proceed with caution and carefully discern the truth.

After finishing his deductions, Rong Xie cautiously reviewed the incantations of various attack spells in his mind while gripping the Light-Electric White Orchid tightly. He turned his head left and right and walked towards the path leading from the training ground to the disciples' quarters.

Since the activity range of junior disciples is limited to these areas, he will search them first, and if he can't find them, he will think of other ways.

Thinking this, Rong Xie walked onto the familiar forest path, every muscle in his body tense and taut, maximizing the range of his spiritual awareness, ready to leap up at any moment to deal with the flower demon's vicious ambush.

When they reached the densest part of the forest, a soft panting came from his right. Rong Xie was startled and realized what it was. He felt his cheeks flush slightly and silently apologized. He hadn't meant to use his spiritual sense to eavesdrop on the battle in the grove.

But wait, what is there for him to apologize for? Not to mention that these people are not real people, but only memories whose backgrounds have been maliciously altered by the flower demon, even if they were real disciples of the Spirit Mirror Sect, at this time, they should be practicing on the training ground, not hiding in the grove doing this. Bai Rixuanyin is truly hopeless.

Rong Xie shook his head dismissively and was about to continue walking forward when suddenly, another voice came from the woods, a very familiar voice.

"How is it? Are you feeling better?" Shen Bingsi asked in a low voice, her voice filled with tenderness beneath her restraint. "Good girl... Shall I move?"

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Rong Xie: ...You do this in your dreams?