Chapter 61 Falling into a Dream: The Body of a Child

Humans are submerged in this vast world of mortals, experiencing birth, old age, sickness, and death; separation from loved ones, unfulfilled desires, encounters with those we hate, and the burning of the five aggregates—these are the eight sufferings of life. As ordinary people, we must experience them all from birth to death.

And the tragic situations that arise from these eight sufferings are countless, causing immense pain, making them unbearable to face and difficult to let go of.

Bitao was no exception; she was a fairy, but she was also a person, and as a person, she had seven emotions and six desires.

For Bitao, the thing that terrified her the most, caused her the most pain, that she couldn't face, and that she couldn't change even after exhausting all her immortal energy, was just one thing—there was no roasted pig's trotters in the Heavenly Realm!

Food that is considered "lowest class" in the mortal realm and even the internal organs of livestock cannot be brought back to the celestial realm under any circumstances.

Even if it is taken to the Heavenly Realm, it must be ensured that when the person returns to Heaven and passes through the Five Thunder Formation, they will not be regarded as a foreign object containing turbid energy and be chopped into charcoal.

In other words, when passing through the Five Thunder Formation, one must specifically allocate spiritual energy to protect oneself.

Even if one successfully passes through the Five Thunder Formation, the celestial official who guides them and the Thunder King must examine them separately.

Make sure that bringing back such "mortal objects" will not affect the normal operation of the mortal realm or cause any harm to the celestial realm.

After passing through numerous checkpoints, the celestial official who guides them will send someone to deliver the person they have painstakingly brought back.

And after all this trouble... all for a bite to eat, not to mention the embarrassment.

Humans are born with both pure and impure energies, and food in the mortal world will more or less be contaminated with some impure energy.

Bitao liked that breath of turbid air.

Just like some people like the smell of pig intestines so they don't need to be washed too clean.

The celestial realm is filled with pure energy, and even if food contaminated with impure energy is preserved using celestial magic to prevent spoilage, it will lose its original flavor once the impure energy is cleansed.

Before the peach blossoms condensed their spirit, they had been imbued with wisdom for a thousand years on a large peach tree. After condensing their spirit, they became immortals for over two hundred years, and could find solutions to any problem they encountered.

She is incredibly perceptive and always manages to find a glimmer of hope in dire situations, even launching a counterattack from the brink of defeat.

Even when faced with Mingguang, who was the future Immortal Emperor recognized by the Heavenly Realm and destined to marry into the ancient Immortal Clan to consolidate his power, Bitao was determined to get him.

Now, through a combination of coaxing and deception, they've managed to get their hands on people and have their way with them.

This was the only thing that Bitao could not accomplish, no matter how many times she secretly considered it.

If we were to delve into the details, this incident could be considered Bitao's "love of separation and unfulfilled desires."

Therefore, the first dream that others experience when affected by the evil spirit is either a scene of starvation and death, or the passage of evil spirits. At worst, it is the most tragic experience they have ever had, a nightmare that haunts them every night.

Meanwhile, Bitao was inside the Five Thunder Formation, holding several pig trotters, watching helplessly as the pig trotters turned into charcoal under the lightning tribulation.

Fortunately, although this person's dreams and obsessions were affected by the ghostly energy, his soul remained still while his mind was active, and he could not be observed by others.

Her body and soul are still within the Five Elements Exorcising Array.

Even the Milky Way above the nine heavens can only record what the immortals experience in the mortal realm, but cannot penetrate the immortals' spiritual altars to peer into their unique thoughts.

Otherwise, Bitao would definitely lose face like never before.

She was both amused and exasperated, shaking the charred pig's trotters off her body, and could even vaguely smell the aroma of burning meat.

However, they did not immediately fall into the dreamlike illusion woven by the evil spirits to trap the many people.

The peach tree was stuck above the clouds, looking around in bewilderment.

Even the evil spirits that influence dreams would probably be at a loss for words at this scene.

After a while, the pig's trotters were turned into charcoal, just like before.

Bitao: "..."

She sighed regretfully, thinking that she must eat seven or eight of them when she got back.

The next instant, the clouds beneath her feet began to boil like scalding oil, radiating intense heat that threatened to fry her to pieces.

Bitao focused her mind and silently recited: "Supreme Lord of the Stars, ever-changing, expelling evil and binding demons..."

Then the clouds beneath their feet split open, and the peach blossoms plummeted to the ground.

She is currently in a dream state as a soul, and the spiritual energy existing within her body cannot be mobilized by her soul.

Within the illusion woven by the evil spirits, she became a true "mortal being".

This is somewhat similar to certain secret realms in the Xuanxing Realm, where the realm master sets certain entry conditions at the entrance.

These conditions are incredibly varied; some only allow cultivators with the same five elemental attributes to enter and train to obtain treasures.

Some, to prevent their "treasures" from being robbed, will set up restrictions at the entrance of the secret realm to suppress their cultivation level.

Those cultivators whose cultivation level exceeds the set limit are not allowed to enter and plunder at will.

Although this evil spirit did not reach the level of a realm master, it was still considered a "fierce and evil spirit" in this star realm that required the mobilization of elders and leaders of various sects to kill.

The souls he can pull into his dreams are to some extent under his control, which is precisely what makes him so powerful in trapping everyone in the city.

Falling rapidly in a dream is the most common nightmare for mortals.

The peach blossoms kept falling, as if there was no end in sight.

This feeling of having nowhere to turn, being surrounded by emptiness, and being unable to save oneself is indeed disorienting.

However, Bitao remained relaxed, never shouting or yelling, and even yawned and closed her eyes at an inappropriate time.

After all, she was a celestial being, so riding the clouds was commonplace for her; she lived in the heavens.

Even when struck by five thunderbolts, she remained unfazed; such a laughable tactic could not possibly arouse any fear in her.

I wonder if sleeping in your dreams can help you relax?

The evil spirit quickly realized that this method was also useless, so it began to change its tactics.

Bitao felt the ghostly aura around her thicken. Her falling speed did not decrease, but when she opened her eyes, the endless fall disappeared, and what lay below turned into... a mountain of knives.

All sorts of incredibly sharp swords, gleaming with a cold light, were thrust into the ground with their tips pointing upwards, densely packed and varying in length.

If someone were to fall on it, they would be torn to pieces on the spot.

Moreover, the fall was even closer, and Bitao could see that the mountain of knives was covered with severed limbs, rotting internal organs, and mutilated heads, forming a river of blood and flesh.

As if to set the mood, a flock of carrion-eating vultures and crows flapped their wings and flew into the sky, bringing with them a foul, pungent stench that made people's throats tighten and almost made them vomit.

With nothing to rely on, Bitao could only watch helplessly as she drew ever closer to the mountain of knives.

Finally, with a "bang," her bones shattered and her flesh separated. Her entire body was wracked with excruciating pain as she was engulfed in a mass of rotting flesh.

A feeling of suffocation washed over her, and the stench was overwhelming. Bitao even remarked that this evil ghost was indeed quite capable, as the illusion was rather realistic.

No wonder so many ordinary people who were drawn into it were unable to break free.

But Bitao still didn't react at all, not even bothering to scratch or struggle.

It felt as if I had been torn into eight pieces by a thousand cuts, but it was just a passing breeze.

Pain was as easy for her as breathing.

Soon the evil spirit changed its tactics again.

The peach blossoms are falling again, this time beneath them lies blazing lava.

"Bang"

"Sizzle..."

Bitao smelled a burnt roasted pig's trotter on herself and thought to herself that this time it wouldn't work. How could a roasted person and a roasted pig's trotter smell the same?

And why do these methods seem so familiar? Isn't this the same method used in the eighteen levels of hell in the underworld?

Could this evil spirit be a demon that crawled out of the eighteenth level of hell?

This explanation makes sense; with the astral bridge of reincarnation collapsing, it's not uncommon for one or two evil spirits suppressed in hell to escape.

Based on her knowledge of the underworld, Bitao could even recall what kind of hell one would experience for committing certain evil deeds.

"Bang!"

Iceberg Hell: Those who murder their husbands, commit adultery, or cause others to freeze to death will, after death, endure the agony of freezing to death naked in this hell. ①

"Bang!"

Deep-frying hell: Those who embezzle, accept bribes, oppress the people, and use improper means to gain profit will be thrown into a deep-frying pan and repeatedly fried until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, golden brown on both sides. ②

"Bang!"

Steamed Cage Hell: Those who spread rumors and slander, harming others with their words, will be placed in a steamer and steamed into a thin-skinned, generously filled pastry. ③

"Bang!"

The Cattle Pit Hell: Those who abuse and cruelly kill animals will be thrown into a cattle pit after death, where they will be gored and trampled into a pulp by wild bulls. ④

"Bang!"

Iron Tree Hell: Those who sow discord among family members and incite family discord will be hung on iron trees after death to suffer torture, their skin torn and their flesh ripped open. ⑤

"Bang!"

The Mortar and Pestle Hell: Those who waste food, squander grains, or steal others' property will be placed in a mortar and pestle and pounded into minced meat. ⑥

"Bang!"

Scissors Hell: Those who instigate others to remarry or deliberately conceal the truth and act as evil matchmakers will have all ten fingers cut off. ⑦

"Bang!"

The Hell of Tongue-Pulling: Those who sow discord, slander, and harm others will have their tongues pulled out after death. ⑧

...

Bitao has preliminarily determined that this evil spirit probably escaped from the Netherworld Purgatory.

Moreover, they must have committed numerous evils and been utterly wicked, otherwise how could they have experienced so many hells?

Even the most vengeful spirits suppressed in the underworld could not replicate such vivid and realistic tortures of purgatory without firsthand experience.

As these eighteen levels of hell pass through one after another, let alone a mortal pulled into a dream, even a cultivator, without a strong will and the ability to break through illusions, will surely be lost in the purgatory, suffering unbearable pain, and may even destroy their self.

However, it took Bitao only a short time to pass through the eighteen layers of the Netherworld Purgatory that suppresses and punishes evil spirits.

Some hells, once entered, can fall into the second level in the blink of an eye.

After all, this kind of pain is nothing compared to Bitao, who didn't know that the Five Thunder Formation required opening her divine sense and had to endure it every time, and even tried to get herself into the lightning tribulations everywhere in order to advance to the immortal level.

The Five Thunders are the source of pure energy, and they like to teach her, a celestial being whose "evil energy is hard to dispel." Because of her stubborn and unruly personality, Bitao loves to ride on cliffs and squeeze through the cracks of heavenly rules.

The pain she suffered under the Five Thunderbolts was dozens or even hundreds of times greater than that of an ordinary immortal.

Even so, she was still able to rise from the position of Supreme Immortal to the position of Spirit Immortal.

This bit of hellish suffering was like a light drizzle falling on Bitao's body.

Therefore, she brazenly closed her eyes and began to let her thoughts wander in the illusion woven by the evil spirit.

Thinking about the incident of being struck by five thunderbolts, Bitao felt a bit conflicted.

If it weren't for her weak immortal essence and damaged celestial soul in the first competition, resulting in the loss of all her memories, she would have unexpectedly become a blessing in disguise, submitting to the Five Thunders and opening her spiritual platform.

To this day, she still feels, like all the immortals, that the Five Thunders are the Heavenly Rules' punishment and deterrence for immortals.

Huh?

Has it reached the bottom?

Having completed the eighteen levels of purgatory, surely this evil spirit hasn't run out of ideas and is at his wit's end?

Bitao landed with a "thud" on the muddy ground, her body once again suffering the jarring pain of losing all her strength.

The hellish scene of howling ghosts and howling wolves, with its eerie winds blowing all around, quietly faded away.

As the light gradually brightened, she could even smell the earth and the fishy smell of water this time.

She opened her eyes, and the fine rain pattered into her pupils. Bitao's eyelashes trembled for a moment as she took in everything around her.

This is... a village?

It still looks very backward, an ancient village with a long history.

The surrounding area consisted mostly of mud houses made of straw and soil, the earth was cracked everywhere, and the weeds had all dried up and died.

A few lonely trees not far away had their bark stripped to the top, revealing mottled and dark trunks, like an old man who had weathered many storms, covered in wounds and on the verge of death.

As Bitao lay beneath a high earthen wall, she felt the raindrops enter her eyes, and in that instant when the world became clear, a cacophony of hoarse voices assaulted her ears.

"Where did they go?!"

"Where did that little brat run off to! He's pretty fast!"

"Don't worry, she can't have gone far. She's been starving for so many days, she's so thin she's just skin and bones and she can barely walk. She hasn't even had a sip of water in the last three days, so she must be somewhere nearby!"

"Keep quiet. Although she's so thin she's practically skin and bones, the little girl has tender skin and flesh that melts in your mouth. If you break her bones, there will be plenty of marrow, which will make a delicious soup!"

The last person spoke very close to where Bitao was lying; so close that after he finished speaking, Bitao even heard him swallow hard.

He was clearly salivating at the thought of the "fresh soup and tender meat" he was about to eat.

Bitao tried to move her limbs, but the fall was so hard that she had no feeling in her body and could only move a finger with difficulty.

Before the raised finger could be lowered, a grown man with a dark, bluish face and sunken eyes suddenly peeked out from beside the earthen wall.

Upon seeing the peach blossoms, his eyes lit up so brightly they practically glowed green, and he swallowed hard.

Then he turned around and shouted hoarsely, "She's here!"

"Quick! Grab her! Don't let her escape!"

"I haven't eaten for so many days, I must have a big meal today, I'm so hungry..."

Bitao saw many people with long legs leap over the earthen wall and quickly surround her.

Two emaciated men stretched out their withered arms and easily lifted Bitao up by her arms and legs, just like picking up a chicken.

It was only then that Bitao realized that the reason she thought the earthen wall was very high was because she was very small.

She now looked at the adults who had gathered around her and they seemed incredibly tall.

Bitao was too weak to struggle. She was lifted up, feet high and head low, and it was then discovered that her limbs were more than half the size of an adult's limbs—she looked like a six or seven-year-old child with a thin body like a withered tree branch.

When she passed through the eighteen levels of purgatory, Bitao's figure did not change at all.

Although the level of pain reconstruction was very realistic, it was ultimately just a simple attempt to use extreme pain and fear to disrupt her mind.

Now that she has become a child, it means that she has truly fallen into the dream woven by the evil spirit to trap the people.

Bitao was being carried around like a kite, knowing that this time she couldn't just "sit and wait to die".

Because she had fallen into this dream, what was suppressed was her true soul, not the consciousness that had just sunk into the eighteen levels of hell.

The villagers that Bitao saw all had greenish-blue faces, were ferocious and terrifying, and exuded a ghostly aura.

In reality, they were so weak that they could barely open their eyes and had to squint as they walked, even in such gloomy and rainy weather.

Moreover, each of them walked unsteadily, their feet not touching the ground, and there were no shadows cast by the light, clearly not ghosts conjured by evil spirits—but the people's souls, which had been trapped in this illusion for a long time, had been completely corrupted and confused, and were even on the verge of their souls dissipating.

Bitao did not struggle rashly. Instead, she used the hands of the living souls who took turns holding her to move her limbs, gradually gain control of her body, and accumulate strength in the process.

Before long, Bitao was led by a group of impatient people to a ridiculously large iron pot that was bubbling with hot soup.

"Throw it in! Throw it in! Just throw it in!"

"At least wash it, otherwise it's too dirty..."

"I want to taste what a living person tastes like. Can I have a bite first? I'm starving!"

"Put her down first. This is the daughter of Old Chen and his wife. They have to be the first to have her. Otherwise, who will be willing to offer up their child next time she's transferred to another family?"

"Yes, yes, go quickly and call Old Chen and tell them the girl has been found!"

"Is there really no meat left in the pot? Give me a bone, and a bowl of soup, quick!"

"Sizzle... Delicious, so fragrant, so fragrant..."

"Pour me a bowl first..."

...

Bitao was thrown to the ground not far from the iron pot. Presumably to prevent her from running away again, her hands and feet were quickly tied with hemp rope.

The man who was tying her up was drawn by the aroma wafting from the large iron pot. While fastening his hands, he shouted in that direction, "Save me a bowl! I did the most work! I was the one who found this girl!"

As the man tightened the knot, Bitao spread her arms and legs apart to leave some space.

Perhaps because these living souls were all adults, while Bitao was just a very weak little child, the people were not very wary of her.

He threw her aside and ran to the pot to share the soup.

Everyone was holding a bowl, constantly exclaiming, "It smells so good! It smells so good... I'm so hungry, why can't I get enough to drink!"

Someone fished a leg bone out of the pot with their bare hands, gnawing on it with a crunching sound, while their eyes were fixed on Bitao.

His eyes bulged from his extreme thinness, revealing the madness and bloodlust of a predator seeing its prey: "No meat, no meat! Hurry up and throw her in, I want to eat meat..."

An old man, who was standing by the iron pot and serving soup to everyone with a spoon, seemed quite knowledgeable and said, "No, the Chen couple hasn't arrived yet."

"Caught! Caught again!"

"Chief! We've caught another fledgling!"

"Quickly! Bring it over here!"

The one called the clan leader was the one who was serving soup next to the iron pot.

Upon hearing this, the spoon banged loudly against the side of the pot, sounding like a death knell.

A woman drinking soup from a bowl next to the iron pot, upon hearing this, revealed a terrifyingly joyful expression: "There are so many fledglings these past two days, please send more, God bless..."

She placed the soup bowls on the stove next to her, clasped her hands together, and bowed to the sky, saying, "This way, we can hold out until the heavy rains come, the crops will grow, and we can survive this famine!"

"Ugh ugh ugh—" Soon the little brat, who was supposedly a refugee, was brought over.

"Ugh...uh...uh...uh..."

He struggled and screamed frantically, but his body, like Bitao, was too small to break free from the grasp of these living souls.

"Since he's a refugee, there's no need to wait. Everyone's starving. Quickly strip him naked and throw him in!"

As soon as the clan chief finished speaking, everyone rushed over and tore off all the cloth from the little brat's clothes.

After tearing off the rag that gagged her, Bitao quietly untied the ropes binding her while everyone's attention was elsewhere.

Hearing the "little brat" who was about to be boiled in soup shout, "You've all lost your minds, bewitched by evil spirits! Wake up! I am a cultivator from the Taixu Tower, I've come to save you—"

"I'm here to save you all!"

"Aaaaaaahh ...

"Aa ...

A heart-wrenching scream rang out, and the cultivator from Taixu Tower was thrown into a boiling pot alive.

Someone quickly pulled the bellows to ignite the fire, and soon the firewood under the large iron pot was burning brightly, and the hot soup inside the pot was boiling wildly.

The "little brat" that was formed from the soul of a cultivator from Taixu Tower struggled in the boiling soup, and soon its skin and flesh were detached from its body, turning bright red.

It frantically tried to climb out of the cauldron, but the clan chief smashed it on the head with an iron ladle, sending it tumbling into the pot. After two bubbling sounds, it went silent.

Seeing this, the group of living souls couldn't wait for the person in the pot to be cooked. Apart from the clan leader, none of them even had spoons. As if they didn't know the heat or the pain, they directly reached into the pot to tear off the bright red flesh of the Taixu Tower cultivator.

Then he wolfed it down, stuffing all the meat into his mouth, and said with relish, "So delicious...so delicious..."

At this moment, Bitao completely untied the ropes. While everyone was frantically grabbing for human flesh, she crawled a few steps on the ground, got out of the area surrounded by these people, and turned to run away.

Originally, no one noticed, but unfortunately, at this moment, the "Old Chen couple" who came to eat their daughter arrived.

They were in a hurry to grab the meat when they discovered that their little cub had run away again.

He squeezed to the edge of the pot but couldn't get in, so he immediately shouted, "My little girl ran away! Quick, chase after her!"

Everyone was scrambling for the food in the pot, and in the blink of an eye, all the meat in the pot was gone.

Their hands were scalded so badly that the skin and flesh were torn open, and they even sucked the scalded hands into their mouths. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they had clearly lost all sense of reason.

All I could think about was food. Only by eating could I survive, only by eating could I alleviate that excruciating hunger and soothe the burning pain in my stomach.

Hearing the shouts of the Chen couple, they all looked in the direction where Bitao had fled.

Because of her small stature and short strides, Bitao couldn't run very far. Now that everyone had devoured the Taixu Tower cultivator, they all swarmed around her to grab her.

Bitao had just run to where the earthen wall had been. This should be the entrance to the village, and all she could see were stretches of barren mountains.

There is a path up the mountain, but with Bitao's current strength and physique, it's impossible for her to run into the mountains without being caught.

Those living souls will catch up in the blink of an eye. If they catch you and throw you into the iron pot, you will not only suffer the pain of being boiled alive, but your soul will also be devoured.

The evil spirits did not create any insurmountable walls of fire and water to trap these souls, preventing them from waking up, causing them to suffer and die.

Instead, they directly used the eighteen layers of purgatory to wear down the self-awareness of the souls, and then placed them into this real dream world, making them believe that they were the villagers here.

They suffered from famine, and after they had eaten all the tree bark, they began to exchange children for food.

These "children" may have originally been living souls just like them.

They devour each other, which is evil in itself. When a living soul devours another living soul, it does receive "benefits" and can delay the time of its dissipation.

In this way, the evil spirits will have a continuous source of malice to draw upon.

The cultivators who entered this dream, whose souls were affected by the evil spirits, were what these living souls called "little brats who fled famine."

The reason why those cultivators who were trapped here earlier are still asleep is probably not because they were bewitched by the evil spirits' dreams, but because their souls were devoured by the "people" they rescued.

She will never wake up again.

This time, the cultivators from various sects formed an array to enter the dream world. They went through eighteen levels of purgatory with great difficulty, barely managing to keep their minds intact. However, they saw that the "living souls" had become evil spirits, and they would be devoured as soon as they showed themselves. It is unknown whether they will still want to save them.

How can one wait for fellow disciples to gather and form an array in a dream?

They came to suppress the evil spirit, but the evil spirit itself is not even the evil spirit's true form.

Bitao heard the footsteps behind her getting closer and closer. Having just devoured a cultivator from the Taixu Tower and received a "great nourishment," Bitao didn't even need to turn around to imagine how frenzied and terrifying these living souls must be now.

His ferocity was aroused; if he caught her, he probably wouldn't even cook her, he'd eat her alive.

Bitao frantically moved her short legs, her breath already exhausted. Her body was starving and freezing, and she was at her last gasp.

But Bitao, clinging to life, swallowed the metallic taste in her throat. At the fork in the road, she didn't gamble everything and run into the mountains. Instead, she found a nearby old, mottled, dead tree and started climbing up it!

"Grab her! Grab her!"

"She smells so good, she smells wonderful!"

"I want to eat it alive! This time, I'm not cooking it, I want to eat it alive!"

The group of living souls finally caught up to the tree, but Bitao had only climbed to about the height of a person.

Someone grabbed Bitao's foot, and it looked like they were about to pull her down from the tree to the ground.

If you fall, you've fallen into the jaws of a tiger or a wolf.

Bitao gripped the tree tightly with both arms, her arms clenching the mottled "scars" left by the bark being peeled off and the trunk being dug out. She gritted her teeth and stomped hard on the arm that was holding her with her other foot.

"Ah!" The soul cried out in pain. Because it had been scalding its hands to the bone while retrieving human flesh from the boiling pot, and had two fingers broken by Bitao's kick, it had no choice but to let go.

Bitao gritted her teeth and climbed up quickly, finally reaching a place where even if everyone jumped up, they couldn't reach her.

But it was just a big tree; she had the body of a child, and beneath the tree was a group of adults driven mad by hunger.

She is only temporarily out of danger.

Peach, panting heavily, clung to a tree trunk, looking down at a group of menacing "living souls" below.

These living souls have already devoured too many other people's souls. Even if they are rescued and awaken in their own bodies, their consciousness will likely be confused, making it difficult for them to recognize who they are.

Having committed evil for too long, having tasted the flesh and blood of others, malice becomes deeply rooted in one's soul, making it difficult to remain a mortal.

"Climb up and pull her down!"

"I'll climb it!"

Bitao clung to the tree trunk, using her thin arms to break off a withered branch, and stabbed and whipped it wildly at the living soul that had climbed up.

They stabbed him until his head bled and his face was covered in blood before he finally fell down.

"ah!"

"Bang!"

"Old Chen's family, call your girl down here!"

The clan chief, who came running up later, was panting heavily, still waving the large iron ladle around in his hand.

"My dear daughter, come down quickly, Daddy promises not to let anyone hurt you!"

The gaunt, middle-aged man wore a fake smile and opened his arms to Bitao, but his eyes betrayed a viciousness and resentment.

Beside the man stood a woman dressed in linen clothes. Despite being terribly thin, she still possessed a certain beauty, setting her apart from the disheveled women around her. A hairpin adorned her hair. She also opened her arms to Bitao.

Feigning gentleness: "Be good...be good, my dear daughter, how about your aunt takes you to have some meat soup? You must be starving!"

Aunt?

How could he have taken a concubine during such a famine?

The evil spirit was probably furious with Bitao's previous performance in the Eighteen Hells, so it even gave her a new identity.

Biological father and stepmother?

"Get down now! Be good! Otherwise I'll beat you to death!" That "father" had completely revealed his vicious nature after just a few words of coaxing.

This aunt, however, still wore a fake smile, and couldn't help but swallow hard when she looked at Bitao, but still spoke softly, "Do you remember the pancakes your aunt made for you? Come down here and your aunt will make you some more, okay?"

"It's no use, that little brat is too cunning! He ran away secretly the last time!"

"Go get a saw and an axe, and chop this tree down! Let's see where she can run now!"

"Get down here right now!" The concubine was clearly enraged when she saw that Bitao was unmoved and even looked down at her coldly.

“If you don’t come down... I’ll burn all your mother’s things, I’ll burn your mother’s ashes…”

The woman laughed maliciously and said, "Aren't you most concerned about your dead mother's ashes? I saw you buried them under that elm tree in front of the yard. I'll dig them up right now and feed them to the dogs!"

Bitao felt an indescribable, bone-chilling grief suddenly surge through her body, tearing her heart apart.

This extreme emotion, as if propelled by an invisible force, quickly urged Bitao to jump off the tree.

How can you feed your mother's ashes to a dog?

Bitao was almost unable to control her thoughts; she knew she was being influenced by the evil spirit Xi.

This evil spirit is trying to trap her.

Even if Bitao doesn't jump down now, those living souls have already brought the axe and saw.

Once this tree is cut down, she is now just a powerless "child," and then she will truly have nowhere to turn.

She inhaled the soul-guiding incense and entered a dream, but the incense did not extinguish, making it difficult for her to wake up on her own.

Unless her soul experiences pain such as being devoured alive, which is transmitted to her body, the junior brothers and sisters guarding the formation will not forcibly awaken her.

The peach blossoms, having passed through eighteen layers of purgatory, seem to float freely on clouds.

Accustomed to enduring pain, even being eaten in groups is unlikely to cause the body to show signs of collapse.

Human consciousness can traverse mountains and seas in an instant, reaching thousands of miles away, and even witnessing the vicissitudes of life and the evolution of all things.

Bitao once scattered into the Five Thunderbolts, personally verifying this.

The dream world constructed by the evil spirit is his "heaven and earth and all things," and it is built upon the consciousness and dreams of these living souls.

The flow of time in this dream must be different from that in the outside world.

A stick of incense can refer to a single stick of incense, or it can refer to an hour or a day.

If the evil spirits that the living souls trapped in the dream provide enough evil thoughts, as their power grows stronger—perhaps a single stick of soul-guiding incense could evolve into a year, a lifetime, or even tens of millions of years.

If Bitao is not mistaken, this dream realm is not even the lair of the evil spirit.

The number of these villagers does not match the number of Kangquan City residents trapped in the dream.

There are countless layers of dreams like this, and cultivators who enter the Five Elements Exorcising Array have no idea which layer of dream they will be thrown into.

They underestimated the power and intelligence of the demon.

These cultivators who attempted to suppress the evil spirits, if they failed to be awakened by their fellow disciples guarding the formation after passing through the eighteen levels of purgatory, would likely face dire consequences, with a slim chance of survival.

And now, Bitao is also facing a desperate situation.

She was a celestial being; if she died outside, it would at most be considered a failure in the competition, and upon returning to heaven, her celestial spirit would be stripped away, forcing her to start cultivating again from scratch.

But if one's soul is devoured by mortals here, then one is truly dead.

For a moment, Bitao even harbored a malicious suspicion that this evil spirit might be a pet of some ancient immortal in the celestial realm who had grown tired of living.

Just like in the previous round of competition, they raised evil spirits and then colluded with the star deities in the competition's star realm to hunt down these immortals.

After all, there is no more convenient way to kill immortals than this method.

But Bitao quickly dismissed this idea. In this round of the Star Realm competition, the Star Master's Godhood was Xuanjia.

If there were any conspiracy, Xuanjia would never have ignored Bitao.

Moreover, those immortals who supervised the competition were not mere figureheads; the Heavenly Dao of all realms and the Immortal Emperor were above them, and the Heavenly Dao of all realms was just and impartial.

Even though the Celestial Emperor doesn't concern himself with worldly affairs, he still possesses the fundamental consciousness of the cosmic rotation and the yin-yang sundial, and nothing in the myriad realms can escape his notice.

Unless the couple conspired to destroy the Heavenly Realm, all the candidates for the second round of the competition were future public officials in the Heavenly Realm. If they all died, who would be left to do the millstone work?

The immortals would watch indifferently as these immortals perished in the arena due to their incompetence, but they would not stand idly by while these immortals were deliberately harmed.

They ignored the astral conspiracy in the first round of the competition, probably because they were deliberately trying to purge these "evil" juniors from the Celestial Realm.

This serves as a warning to all the immortals.

Moreover, would a celestial being at the Taixian realm need to go to such great lengths to kill them? A single lash of the whip would be enough to kill a whole bunch of them.

Bitao's myriad thoughts froze in an instant.

As the saw below began to cut the old tree, and the old tree let out a hoarse, mournful cry—she put her hands behind her back, stood up from the branch she was sitting on, and said to her "father," who had already begun to help everyone cut down the tree.

"I'm a good girl, I'll come down right now, I'm afraid of heights..."

"Father, come and get me."

As soon as she spoke, everyone stopped moving in unison.

Bitao continued, "But I'm afraid of these uncles and elders. They wanted to eat me and throw me into the big iron pot."

"Father, tell them to stay away, and catch me under the tree."

The way everyone looked at Bitao was as if they were looking at a ripe "fruit" that was about to fall off the branch on its own.

His eyes could no longer conceal the madness and desire.

"Okay, okay..."

The evil spirit who had arranged for Bitao to be her "father" threw down the axe in his hand and opened his arms wide: "Father will catch you and promises not to let anyone eat you. Jump down now."

“I’m scared to tell them to all back away…” Bitao said.

The "biological father" had a ferocious look on his face, clearly very impatient.

But in order to coax the sweet and tempting "little fruit" to fall on its own, the group looked at each other and then slowly moved away.

Once everyone had stepped back a certain distance, Bitao said again, "Auntie, Auntie, come here too."

"Auntie, I love your pancakes the most! I'm so hungry! Will you really make me some pancakes?"

The wicked stepmother immediately put on a chilling smile again.

"Yes...yes..."

"Come down, and your aunt will make you some pancakes and meat soup." She swallowed instinctively as she mentioned "meat soup."

Bitao pretended not to see the pair of "wolf" parents, whose eyes seemed to want to devour her alive.

Seeing them all standing under the tree, I put down what I was holding and opened my arms.

Bitao then slightly bent her knees and jumped down from the tree.

She ran into her "biological father's" arms.

However, in mid-air, Bitao brought her hand from behind her back to the front, her palm clutching the withered branch she had used to viciously poke at the tree that had climbed up to capture her soul.

Bitao is currently the size of a six or seven-year-old child, and is still very thin.

Under normal circumstances, she would have absolutely no chance of fighting any of the living souls under this tree with her own physical strength.

However, even the weight of an infant falling from a height should not be underestimated.

With the aid of a "sharp weapon", killing a person is not difficult.

The moment Bitao fell into the arms of that "biological father," the withered branch in his hand had already accurately pierced his eye socket, which was easily targeted as he looked up.

With the cushioning effect of her "father's flesh" upon landing, Bitao didn't fall and rolled on the ground safely.

They also pulled out the branch that was deeply embedded in the man's eye socket.

It brought out an eyeball, along with some red and white substances.

The man lay on the ground without even screaming or struggling violently; he twitched a few times and then fell silent.

This all happened so fast that the "concubine" standing not far from the man didn't even realize he was dead.

As soon as he saw Bitao get up, he rushed over, bent down and grabbed Bitao's shoulders with both hands, using a lot of force to control Bitao and prevent this slippery "fruit" from running away again.

Bitao had already thrown away the branch with the eyeball stuck in it, and opened her arms, saying sweetly, "Auntie, I'm scared!"

Then she hugged the woman's neck and deftly pulled the rusty iron hairpin off the top of her head.

At this moment, the concubine had already reached over Bitao's shoulder and saw that the man lying on the ground had not gotten up and was already dead. One of his eye sockets was a bloody mess, and blood was still flowing down his face.

She opened her mouth and shouted, "Ah—"

At that moment, before Bitao could straighten up, she thrust the entire iron hairpin into Bitao's soft mouth.