Dreaming for 10,000 years

Chapter 408 Dream Again
"carp?"

Yu Tian lifted the vines from the tree hole and raised an eyebrow when he heard the strange name.

He put the food he had brought aside and checked the man's wrist injury, which had improved considerably after three days.

“That’s right.” The carp sat up straight, its gaunt face filled with piety: “I am willing to believe in the Cat God and become one of his fish.”

"...Whatever!" Yu Tian rubbed his temples. "Cat God doesn't care."

“I know the Cat God doesn’t care, but I do. I also know the Cat God doesn’t care about my concern, but I still do care,” the carp said, its vertical pupils glowing in the shadows.

"..."

This awkward confession left Yu Tian speechless. Were all priests a little crazy?

Yu Tian felt helpless.

The carp suddenly lowered its body, its forehead almost touching the ground: "Divine Envoy Yu, may you teach me the martial arts of the Cat God?"

"A divine messenger?" Yu Tian listened to this title with a strange expression. He really didn't expect that one day he would become a divine messenger.

"God is not here, and you are the only messenger who communicates with God." The carp's voice carried a strange tone: "You have the sole right to interpret the Cat God. What the Cat God is like is not important; what matters is what the Cat God is like in your words."

The carp spoke of the profound relationship between sacrifices and deities. When divine pronouncements were delivered through the mouths of priests, were they the will of the gods or the will of humans?
When the gods are powerful, it is naturally the will of the gods; but when the gods are weak, Yu Tian thought of those witches in the countryside who pretended to be gods and ghosts, who dared to call themselves gods by simply erecting a clay statue, and did everything they could to cheat people out of money and sex.

Such things happen very often.

The carp was a veiled hint to Yu Tian: whether Cat God was a title or not, whether Cat God cared or not, as long as Yu Tian cared, he would care.

"Are you teaching me how to create a god?" Yu Tian squinted his eyes.

Since there is a God, it is natural that we can create a God!

In this world, some temples do not even have a real god, yet they can still grow and attract believers and amass wealth!

The carp smiled but didn't answer, only gently stroking its newly formed scars. Those hideous scars were its best bargaining chip!

A rogue priest who is well-versed in the workings of the gods is of immeasurable value to Yu Tian, ​​who is about to confront the River God.

Will Yu Tian teach him martial arts?
of course!
Because Yu Tian also needs to deal with the River God!

"Remember, there are no shortcuts in martial arts!"

Yu Tian suddenly struck, pressing his palm against the carp's back. The inner energy within his palm, like a gentle spring breeze and nourishing rain, silently seeped into the carp's meridians. The last trace of divine power bestowed upon the carp by the River God shattered like thin ice before this gentle yet resilient inner energy.

"Ugh—!"

The carp suddenly arched its body, spitting a mouthful of black blood onto the tree roots. Mixed in with the blood foam were a few pearl-like crystals—remnants of divine power shattered by the shock.

"Good! Very good!" The carp wiped the blood from the corner of its mouth, but its eyes flashed with a terrifying light: "The power of the Cat God is indeed extraordinary!"

Afterwards, Yu Tian selected a book from his memory, "The Ten Thousand Sets of Martial Arts: The Myriad Forms of Water". He pointed his fingers like a sword and touched the carp's forehead, transmitting the key points of the technique into its sea of ​​consciousness.

The carp trembled violently, sensing a faint wisp of internal energy flowing through its meridians.

Unlike divine power, this power requires no prayer or offerings; it is entirely under one's own control. He trembled as he raised his hands, feeling the true energy slowly flowing within them, his voice hoarse: "This is martial arts?"

“That’s right.” Yu Tian withdrew his finger: “As long as we persevere, one day…” He looked in the direction of the River God Temple, “we will be able to surpass those so-called gods.”

"This mountain is the territory of Lord Mi, so do not harm the bears in the mountains. I will bring you food in a few days." With that, Yu Tian left.

He slowly bowed down, watching Yu Tian's departing figure. This time, the object of his worship was no longer an ethereal deity, but a tangible power. The stream babbled, and Yu Tian sat down beside Xiao Lingdang. The girl was filtering wild fruits in a newly woven bamboo basket; seeing him arrive, she casually slipped him the reddest one.

She hesitated, as if she wanted to say "that person."

Yu Tian bit into the wild fruit, and the sweet and sour juice burst in his mouth: "It's a good knife."

He is a knife in someone else's hand, and someone else can be a knife in his hand. In this world, it's not the use of others that's scary, but the lack of any value to them.

“The other side of the river has been under strict surveillance lately, so I don’t need to bother them anymore. I’ll continue my cultivation today,” Yu Tian said to Xiao Lingdang.

“Okay! I’ll guard the cave for you,” Little Bell said.

Yu Tian sat cross-legged in the cave, gradually sinking into a dream during his cultivation.

He imitated Shi Fei, and inevitably, the image of him appeared frequently in his dreams. He hoped that one day he would dream of that desert again, and dream of Shi Fei again.

This time...

The scorching sand had somehow cooled, and he opened his eyes to find himself standing before a sea buckthorn forest. Golden sand dunes embraced this oasis, and when the wind blew, the slender branches of the saxaul trees rustled like the whispers of an old friend.

—This is the place.

His heart suddenly began to pound. Yu Tian pushed aside the drooping branches, his pace quickening unconsciously. Scattered across the sandy ground were drought-resistant saxaul trees, their verdant branches swaying in the wind.

He remembered this patch of saxaul trees, and that he would see it thirty steps further ahead.
A low adobe wall came into view.

The courtyard gate was half-open, and a simple fish was painted in ochre on the door panel. When Yu Tian's fingertips touched the already faded pattern, he suddenly choked up.

He drew this here when he was taking a break from being bored.

The moment I pushed open the door, a familiar scent wafted towards me.

The tables and chairs were made of sand, the sea buckthorn bushes were in the yard, and there was a sandy area. The kitchen, the bedroom—everything was exactly as he remembered it!
It was as if he had truly returned to Shi Fei's courtyard.

"came back?"

Yu Tian's back suddenly tensed up.

Shi Fei, dressed in white, came out of the house and, upon seeing him, said, "Why are you standing there like a dazed goose? Come and eat!"

Yu Tian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

He could only walk over mechanically, only to find that his footprints had become smaller; this was him a year ago, not him now.

He watched as Shi Fei pulled out strange delicacies from his black bag; every dish was made of fish. Each bite was an explosion of happiness in his mouth.

Every detail was terrifyingly realistic. Yu Tian clenched his fist tightly, but the pain did not wake him up.

Shi Fei suddenly rubbed his head: "How's your martial arts training going?"

These words were like a key, suddenly unlocking a gate. Yu Tian looked up abruptly, only to find Shi Fei's figure becoming transparent in the sunlight.

"and many more--"

He reached out to grab it, but missed.

(End of this chapter)