The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 293 An Unparalleled Hero of Our Time

"It's all a hazy, dreamlike state."

"Looking back on the past forty years, it is nothing but a dream of the past. We, the physicians, are truly great in our medical skills and integrity..."

For those who are tempted by the soul-searching dreamscape, the fall is inevitable. However, for Taoist practitioners, this place that directly points to the deepest desires and fears of the heart is also an opportunity.

Once you see through the attachment to desire, you can go even further.

Xuan Zhuzi felt a dazed clarity, as if he was about to wake up, but suddenly he heard his 'old friend' Zhou Yan calling out. He turned his head and saw the mist dissipate, and two feet directly stepped on his face.

Lord Zhou descended from the sky with a savage grin: "Imperial punishment on behalf of Heaven!"

"Eat my thunderous kicks from the heavens!"

"Die, you bastard!!!"

With a kick, Xuan Zhuzi was sent spinning three and a half times in his dream before landing heavily on the ground, cracking the earth. Xuan Zhuzi suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily, and looked around, only to find himself in an antique shop with an antique charm.

A woman with an extremely aloof and beautiful appearance, yet possessing a profound and mysterious aura, quietly watched him.

All his friends around him were asleep, including Zhou Yan.

Xuan Zhuzi quickly calmed down.

This seventeen-year-old Taoist physician, about to reach the sixth rank and considered a high-ranking Taoist master, wore a purple robe and had a solemn expression on his face.

"In the end what happened?"

........................

Ordinary people cannot be forcibly and roughly awakened from their dreams, but Xuan Zhuzi is different—this guy has already seen through the dream, his Dao heart is clear and stable, and in fact, there is not much difference between his dream and that of an ordinary person.

Zhou Yan woke him up, but he didn't actually have any petty 'revenge' intentions.

After all, he was not Fuxi.

Zhou Yan brushed off his sleeves and continued to other dreams, waking everyone up. Li Zhenyue was actually doing better, remaining in a battlefield battle. Zhou Yan subtly manipulated the dream, making the scene of the Shuofang army's great defeat appear.

Li Zhenyue took the initiative to cover the rear, never wavering in his resolve like a mountain. Even after dying in battle, he remained standing tall, which is why he was revived.

"This body is my shield, protecting my Great Tang Dynasty."

Pei Xuan Niao lost his status as a scion of a noble family in his dream.

However, even after losing his noble family status in this dream world, Pei Xuan Niao's nature remained unruly, and he never changed his character. The origin of his noble family was the achievements of his ancestors, but the achievements of his ancestors brought not only glory, but also responsibility.

How can we dishonor the sacrifices of our ancestors!
"Bearing the blessings of our ancestors also means bearing their responsibilities. How can we allow others to say that the descendants of our ancestors are only of this standard? With our ancestors above us, this unworthy descendant Pei Xuan Niao will never back down."

In his dream, a nobleman mocked him, saying, "Your ancestors were nothing special."

"Nothing special?"

In the dream, Pei Xuan Niao laughed loudly: "They gave me birth and raised me, that is their greatest achievement. If you say there is no worldly achievement, then so be it."

"If our ancestors have accomplished great things, we should not fail to live up to their virtues."

"If our ancestors lived peacefully, then let this body pave the way for future generations, an achievement they can be proud of."

"Let the legend of the Pei family begin with me!"

Their dreams shattered one after another. Even though they didn't achieve a breakthrough like Xuan Zhuzi, they still felt a sense of mental clarity. Ba followed Zhou Yan all the way, and the girl's eyes were wide open.

Even with Zhou Yan's influence and help in the dream, ultimately, those who can break free from this ancient dream through their own will and state of mind are truly rare.

According to ancient legends, these people all possessed the qualities to become heroes.

Being able to confront one's inner demons and obsessions.

Some, like Xuan Zhuzi, made choices with a Daoist flinching; others, like Li Zhenyue, faced death without hesitation; still others, like Pei Xuanniao, remained proud and unyielding, each forging their own path.

These are already outrageous. In Ao Xuantao's dream, Zhou Yan and Ba also saw the monk Kongkong. Ao Xuantao transformed into a small dragon, coiled up there, surrounded by endless nightmares and dragon corpses, but Ao Xuantao was just sleeping.

There was a monk who held up an oil lamp, illuminating a small area and guarding a moment of peace.

When the monk Kongkong saw Zhou Yan and Ba, he simply nodded gently.

Then it slowly dissipated.

The next dream was about a lion cat.

The lion-cat stood upright, made a wish to the sky, called out to its ball to the earth, and then planned to summon seventeen or eighteen feline animals in front of Manjushri's sacred site for a thorough mating.

Zhou Yan: "…………"

He raised his hand and covered his forehead, then covered Ba's eyes with his left hand. Ba, however, was quite interested. He stretched out his palm and pried open Zhou Yan's fingers covering his eyes, then stared wide-eyed at him.

Zhou Yan re-entered Ao Xuantao's dream, pulling out a wisp of the divine consciousness of the monk Kongkong, who was based on dragon blood, and then infused it into the lion cat's dream. As a result, the lion cat's maniacal laughter in the dream turned into a scream of agony.

"Why are you here again?!"

"Last time, you stopped me before I even got started!"

"Could you let me finish this?"

"Hmph, Manjushri, don't think you can stop me—"

"Meow haha, this is my dream!"

"In my dreams, you're still going to bully me?!"

Hmm? It really is Manjushri's mount, a fourth-rank great demon.

This dream can pull him into a fantasy world, but can he still be aware that he is in a dream?
Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow. The lion cat was breathing on the monk Kongkong, who had appeared in the dream, then it shook and sat on a cloud, transforming into a blue lion. It roared and shouted, "For my ball, I will become the supreme defender!"

"Empty-headed monk, take my ultimate attack!"

"Mahayana Buddhism, except for you..."

The white jade lion cat unleashed its ultimate technique on the incarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva.

The white jade lion cat was interrupted.

Even the Bodhisattva that evolved from the drop of blood devoured by Ao Xuantao is still a Bodhisattva.

As the egg cracked, tears streamed down my face.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Zhou Yan felt that in this dream, the monk Kongkong's smile had changed from gentle and peaceful to dangerous.

The Nineteen Levels of Buddhist Purgatory—The Hell of Broken Eggs in an Infinite Cycle of Reincarnation!

In his dream, Zhou Yan manifested as an eight-armed figure, covering Ba's ears with two hands and Ba's eyes with two other hands, saying, "This scene is not suitable for someone your age to see."

Pakistan protested: "I'm older than you!"

"That's not OK."

In short, Zhou Yan was not worried about the lion cat. Judging from its initial reaction, this white jade lion cat might not have fallen into this dream at all. Zhou Yan wanted to go and wake up Li Zhiwei and Shen Cangming.

The next dream began, and a surging, blood-red aura rushed towards them. Zhou Yan was momentarily dazed and saw an endless battlefield. Even Ba was a little nervous, and his hand trembled as he gripped Zhou Yan's. "...Such a heavy aura of killing intent."

"This is……"

Zhou Yan said softly, "It's Uncle Shen."

His gaze fell upon Shen Cangming amidst the turbulent battlefield. Zhou Yan grasped Ba's hand and asked, "Ba, can you find a way to change Uncle Shen's dream?"

Ba tried hard, but his expression faltered slightly.

A slight ripple spread across the dream world, then quickly subsided. It was still the vast sky and the deep earth, only the endless arrows changed direction and shot towards them.

Zhou Yan grabbed Ba, raised his hand to grab the weapon beside him, and swung the horizontal sword in his hand, slashing and hacking. The sharp blade seemed to stir up layers of cold light storms as he moved through the battlefield.

Ba said, "It can't be changed."

"His will is too strong. When someone like that enters a dream, he will be more stubborn and harder to wake up than others! It's almost impossible to wake him up without damaging his own mental strength!"

A hint of surprise crossed the girl's face.

This was the first time she had encountered such a situation—the formation beneath Langzhong City was a replica created by Shi over five hundred years, a formation used by King Yu to seal the Lord of the Bashe, Qingyuan Jun.

But according to her understanding, how could someone's obsession be so strong as to be difficult to enter a dream, yet so unwavering that once it enters a dream, it cannot be controlled by any external force?

Zhou Yan shouted, "Then what do we do?!"

Ba turned his head and, using his dream powers, secretly looked at the "strategy guide provided by his uncle."

Then, while pretending to be scared, she snuggled into the young Taoist's arms, her face flushed as she explained, "We can only go along with it for now... Even the most tempered will will have weaknesses, and those weaknesses are the key."

"For him, this weak point will lead him to further decline."

"This is also our opportunity."

"it is good!"

In Shen Cangming's dream, Zhou Yan accompanied him through battle after battle, which seemed to be a manifestation of Shen Cangming's life of fighting and killing. After each great battle, there was a victory celebration banquet.

With fine wine bestowed by the emperor, the soldiers were able to drink to their hearts' content. At the victory banquet, a burly man played the iron pipa and sang Gao Shi's frontier poems loudly, the songs being simple and rugged.

Zhou Yan looked at his generals, his expression finally becoming somewhat serious.

He saw Su Hexuan and Shen Cangming's comrades from Anren Army. Surrounded by these comrades, Shen Cangming lost his cold and hard demeanor and became much more cheerful, raising his wine and laughing loudly.

He was no longer the Shen Cangming that Zhou Yan knew, hard as iron and cold as ice. Instead, he was bold and confident. Zhou Yan and Ba were still trying to awaken Shen Cangming, but Shen Cangming's mind was hardened, and it was almost impossible to awaken him without damaging his spirit.

Just as Zhou Yan and Ba were getting anxious, the soldiers who had been laughing and joking suddenly fell silent. Zhou Yan followed their gaze and immediately noticed something was wrong—the soldiers of Anren Army were all bowing respectfully with their hands clasped in salute.

He is Wang Zhongsi, the military governor of the four garrisons of the Tang Dynasty!

Shen Cangming's dream is of guarding the borders of the Tang Dynasty with his comrades-in-arms. His old friends are still there, and the battlefield is bustling with activity. Shen Cangming is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and he is extremely sentimental. It is because of this that his feelings for his old friends and comrades-in-arms, as well as his feelings for his country and hometown, become his greatest obstacles.

Ba whispered, "This is bad, Yan, this uncle has gone too far."

"He values ​​these things too much; he's practically trapped inside."

Shen Cangming said to Wang Zhongsi, "General..."

Wang Zhongsi reached out and patted Shen Cangming on the shoulder: "Well done, Yuanting, hahaha, you deserve the greatest credit for today's victory!"

Shen Cangming, courtesy name Yuanting, was chosen by Wang Zhongsi.

Only these comrades and elders would address him like that. Wang Zhongsi laughed heartily. The crowd surrounded them as they returned together. At the victory banquet, Shen Cangming stood on one side of the table, while Wang Zhongsi poured a large bowl of wine for him.

Wang Zhongsi held the wine bowl with both hands and smiled:

"In this place, the battlefield never ends. Let us stand together with our comrades and protect the might of our Great Tang, the land of all nations, the celestial empire. May our Great Tang remain glorious, may His Majesty be wise, and may the people of all directions live in peace and prosperity."

"Come, drink this bowl of wine, stay here, and fight alongside us!"

Zhou Yan and Ba wanted to get closer, but the countless warriors and generals around them seemed to have turned into human-shaped barriers, blocking them out. Zhou Yan could only watch as Shen Cangming picked up his wine bowl, drank the wine, and sank deeper into depravity.

Shen Cangming held his wine bowl, gazing at the liquid. A smile spread across the face of this magnanimous general. He raised the bowl and said, "General, Hexuan, brothers, I want to stay here, but—"

"This is not true."

In reality, Shen Cangming kept his eyes tightly closed, but in this dream, he looked at the people he cherished most in front of him, at the glorious Tang Dynasty, and said, "We cannot just cling to the past, General. Do you still remember the first battle you taught me?"

Wang Zhongsi had a slight smile on his face.

"forward."

"When on the battlefield, one must not be cowardly. Even when facing a desperate situation, one must still have the will to move forward in order to find a way out and a chance to win. Cowardice, retreat, and panic are all causes of defeat and death."

"Yes!"

Shen Cangming, holding the wine cup, said softly, "This humble general must continue forward."

"Keep going, charge!"

He smiled, raised his wine bowl with the others, clinked them together, then tilted his head back and swallowed the cool wine.

"After you finish this drink, you will remain in yesterday and bid farewell."

The strong liquor went down his throat, its fiery energy spreading outwards. The old friends ahead, the endless battlefield, and the dragon flag held high all seemed to freeze in place. Shen Cangming held the wine bowl, looking at the empty space ahead, his eyes red-rimmed.

The wine bowl shattered on the ground with a crisp cracking sound, and the scene crumbled into chaos.

It turned into a grain of sand in front of Anren's army.

A resolute killing intent surged from Shen Cangming's body. He suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Zhou Yan and Ba over there, and spoke concisely, his voice as firm as ever.

"What are you doing?"

"Uncle Shen!"

Shen Cangming, lost in the ancient dream array.

No help is needed at all.

Autonomy, awakening!
And at the same time.

A detached voice rang out from the Langzhong Prefectural Governor's residence:
"Huh? Several more variables have appeared in the dream."

“Outsiders have arrived. You all, send troops to surround the area.”

"Just kill all those outsiders."

'promise!'

"As the Prince commands!"

A chilling response followed, and the army was formed in a thunderous roar.

And within this response, the roars of demons could be faintly heard!
(End of this chapter)