The Middle Dream Realm

The group crossed the edge of the lush green grassland, as if stepping over an invisible watershed.

The scenery before them suddenly changed.

The leisurely and empty pastures disappeared, replaced by a range of rolling dark green low hills covered with low shrubs and jagged rocks.

The air was filled with the damp smell of decaying plants mixed with mud, and occasionally the rude grunts of wild boars rooting for tree roots could be heard from the forest.

“We’ve reached the Mid-Dream Domain. Everyone, be careful.”

Yong Huai spoke.

The others remained silent, but the atmosphere of the originally somewhat noisy squad suddenly tightened, and the sound of talking and laughing came to an abrupt halt.

The four soldiers who had accepted the spirit stones instantly wiped the smiles from their faces. Their gazes became as sharp as falcons, and their spiritual energy surged silently around them.

The five of them tacitly contracted their formation, protecting Lu Qiancha even more tightly in the center.

In the deathly silence.

“Rustle—”

A very slight sound of leaves rubbing against each other came from a clump of dark green tree shadows not far away.

“Who is there?!”

The captain’s stern shout was like a thunderclap on dry land, exploding instantly.

“Clang—!” A metallic hiss.

Under the twist of spiritual energy, the profound black spear in his hand had already transformed into an ink wolf carrying frost, the spear tip pointing straight at the source of the sound.

The immense pressure belonging to the Integration realm crashed down like a mountain, locking onto that square inch of land. Under the traction of spiritual energy, even the air seemed to freeze and solidify instantly.

“Don’t shoot! I’m on your side!” A slightly panicked female voice hurriedly rang out.

The bushes were pushed aside with a “crash”…

Revealing an exquisite face stained with a few bits of grass and dirt. It was the eldest princess, Ling Muxue. Her signature gray-blue long hair was slightly messy.

“Eldest Princess?”

The pupils under the captain’s helmet contracted violently. He forcibly reversed the momentum of his spear, the heavy spear shaft creating a sharp whistle in the air.

He immediately knelt on one knee, his voice filled with respect: “General Ping Feng pays his respects to Her Royal Highness.”

“Rise.”

Ling Muxue waved her hand casually, her gaze quickly sweeping over the five members of the squad.

Finally, it landed precisely on Lu Qiancha’s face in the center of the formation.

‘It’s him.’

In Ling Muxue’s blue eyes, which were like cold ice lakes, an undisguised, intense disgust, like seeing filth, immediately appeared.

However, this disgust only lasted for an extremely brief moment.

Ling Muxue very naturally moved her gaze away, as if even one more look would be dirtying.

“I wonder why Your Highness has appeared alone in this dangerous place?”

Ping Feng stood up, his voice still steady, but carrying an incomprehensible doubt.

“Father Emperor sent me to fetch something. Coincidentally, I ran into you.”

Ling Muxue crossed her arms over her chest, the fluffy large tail behind her swaying gently.

Ping Feng’s brows furrowed even tighter, and the strange feeling in his heart grew stronger.

‘How could His Majesty let the eldest princess venture deep into the Mid-Dream Domain alone?’

He asked in a deep voice: “What does Your Highness wish to retrieve? This place is unpredictably dangerous. Why don’t I escort Your Highness there first…”

“No need, I already have a guard.”

Ling Muxue shook her head, then asked, “Where are you going?”

“Myriad Phantoms Hinterland.”

Ping Feng replied.

“Oh? That’s on the way. Let’s go together.”

Ling Muxue nodded slightly, then lifted her foot to leave.

“Your Highness, please wait.”

Ping Feng hurriedly spoke, “Please, Your Highness, come behind me so that we may perform our duty of protection.”

“I said no need!” Ling Muxue’s brows instantly knitted in impatience, her voice rising, carrying obvious annoyance: “So wordy. I told you I have a guard. Speak more nonsense and be careful I don’t tell Father Emperor!”

Ping Feng: “…”

A heavy sigh came from under his helmet, and he said no more.

He silently retreated to his original arrowhead position, his spear lowered, the tip still vigilantly pointing forward.

In the center of the team, Lu Qiancha’s eyes narrowed slightly when she heard the words “I have a guard.”

Lu Qiancha quietly spread her spiritual sense like quicksilver, covering the low hill forest for dozens of zhang around.

However, apart from the rustling of the wind through the leaves and the scurrying of insects under the soil, there were no spiritual energy fluctuations belonging to any living creature.

‘This guard is hiding very deep.’

Lu Qiancha quietly popped a Spirit-Recovering Pill into her mouth, pressed it against the root of her tongue, and let the medicinal power slowly dissolve. Then she remained vigilant and continued to follow.

Just as the squad was about to step out of this low hill area and the terrain ahead was gradually opening up—

“Hiss—!!”

A sharp, short, cold hiss tore through the brief tranquility without warning.

A giant python head, as thick as a century-old tree and covered in shiny dark green scales, suddenly crashed through a dense bush. Carrying a pungent, foul wind, it lunged straight at the defenseless Ling Muxue at the very front of the team.

Its fangs were ferocious, dripping with venom.

The distance was close, the speed incredibly fast.

Seeing that the venomous fangs, glowing with a serene blue light, were about to kiss the back of Ling Muxue’s fair neck.

“Your Highness, be careful!”

Ping Feng shouted violently. The spear in his hand “buzzed,” erupting with a cold light enough to tear the air, and his body shot out like a cannonball, trying to intercept before the snake’s fangs fell.

However, faster than his spear was a thin white light, condensed to the extreme, appearing out of thin air without any warning, so fast that not even a sound trail had time to form.

“Whoosh—”

The cold light flickered.

The next instant!

The ferocious, roaring giant snake head slid silently to the ground along a cut as smooth as a mirror surface. With a dull “thud!”, it smashed heavily onto the cold, exposed rocky ground at Ling Muxue’s feet.

The headless snake body, still maintaining the inertia of its lunge, crashed into the nearby bushes with a “boom!”, like a collapsing giant tree, kicking up a sky full of dead leaves and broken branches.

“…”

Ping Feng’s charging figure was forcefully fixed on the spot. He suppressed the stormy waves in his heart. ‘If it were me, I definitely couldn’t have done it so cleanly.’

Ping Feng circulated his spiritual energy slightly, and the profound black spear shot back into his palm with a “buzz,” like a cold crow returning to its nest.

Ping Feng took a deep breath, trying his best to maintain the steadiness of his voice, and looked at the composed Ling Muxue with a complex gaze: “The one who acted just now to protect Your Highness must be the senior guard Your Highness mentioned?”

“Yes.”

Ling Muxue nodded slightly, her tone as flat as if discussing the weather, showing not a trace of surprise or gratitude for the shocking cold light that had slain the giant python.

Ping Feng was silent for a moment. Then he bowed solemnly towards the deep forest where the sword light had just flashed, performing a standard military salute.

After the salute, he waved his hand, “Continue forward!”

Ping Feng’s voice returned to its hard, cold tone.

The entire squad, like a wound-up clockwork, advanced rapidly towards the Myriad Phantoms Hinterland with even greater vigilance.

Passing through the rugged forest path, the terrain suddenly opened up.

A huge valley surrounded by ring-shaped steep mountain walls was revealed. The valley backed against a solitary peak, which was as black as iron and emitted a grim coldness.

And everyone’s gaze was immediately captured by the terrifying giant shadow coiled at the foot of the solitary peak.

It was a rhinoceros beetle, its body size comparable to a small house.