“Who are you? Dream Water?” After the water splashed him, Meng Tai felt significantly better.
“Elite Hall’s newly appointed Water Division Master greets the Earth Division Master!” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Water Division Master?” Meng Tai suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“Haha! Hahahaha! You all are trying to trick me into spilling the beans. You all are completely unscrupulous!” the Meng Tai in the first-layer dreamscape said coldly.
Gu Hai said seriously, “I understand your concerns. However, I am speaking the truth. It does not matter whether you believe it or not.”
Meng Tai’s pupils constricted as he looked straight at Gu Hai in surprise.
“Speak. I believe you!” Meng Tai suddenly changed his tune.
Gu Hai felt stunned at first. However, he soon understood. Meng Tai still did not really believe him, but Meng Tai was left with no choice. Even if Meng Tai did not believe him, he had no other option. Meng Tai had to believe him. Even if Meng Tai knew that this was a trick, he had to believe him because only by believing would he have a chance to continue living. If he did not believe him, everything would be over.
Gu Hai nodded. “I’m the new Water Division Master, just appointed not long ago. I do not know much about Elite Hall, you, or that Division Master Ding. I only stealthily followed them due to a coincidence and am not friends with them. I am also not enemies with you. You can see me as a person with no cultivation, unable to do anything extraordinary, limited in capabilities. Just tell me what I can help you with, and I will do my best.”
Meng Tai stared at Gu Hai from the fire, feeling surprised. His eyelids twitched.
“What do you want?” Meng Tai asked as he stared at Gu Hai.
“I only have one request,” Gu Hai replied seriously.
“Oh?” Meng Tai narrowed his eyes.
“I saw some of your memories earlier and came to know that you and Li Wei are fellow disciples. I need the method to remove the bronze masks,” Gu Hai said gravely.
“Bronze mask? You are wearing a bronze mask?” Meng Tai suddenly raised his eyebrows, as he instantly guessed the truth.
Gu Hai frowned slightly. This Meng Tai was very smart. After some silence, he eventually nodded.
Meng Tai stared at Gu Hai for a while. “If what you say is true, you are very bold. The most dangerous place is the safest place?”
“Division Master Meng, will you give me that information?” Gu Hai asked again.
“Are you sure that you don’t want information on the dragon vein?” Meng Tai asked, continuing to stare at Gu Hai.
“I do not know what a dragon vein is. However, I know that the dragon vein equals danger. I do not need risks now. Right now, I only need to know how to remove the bronze mask!” Gu Hai nodded with certainty.
Meng Tai continued staring at Gu Hai. Then, Gu Hai lobbed over a water ball again.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Meng Tai immediately felt better.
“Not bad. This bronze mask is an extraordinary item. It is a kind of torture instrument that I learned about. There is a ritual array in the mask. However, it has been decades since I taught it to Li Wei. Li Wei would have already altered some minor parts of the ritual array,” Meng Tai said.
“Altered the ritual array?” Gu Hai asked.
“Naturally, he cannot alter the main ritual array. What he altered is the internal secondary ritual array. The secondary ritual array is like a lock. Since the lock is different, the method required to release it is different,” Meng Tai said.
“A combination lock?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
“You can understand it as such,” Meng Tai said.
“In that case, how can I remove the mask?” Gu Hai continued asking.
“There are three ways!”
“Oh?”
“The first way is to find a powerful expert to help you to remove it. That person needs to be beyond the Nascent Soul Realm!” Meng Tai said.
“A cultivator beyond the Nascent Soul Realm?” Gu Hai appeared unsightly. Clearly, he could not find such a person immediately.
“The second method is to wait. Wait for fifty years, and the ritual array’s energy will run out. Then, it can be removed,” Meng Tai explained.
Fifty years? Gu Hai shook his head.
“The last method is to obtain the password from Li Wei. Let me out, and I can help you find it,” Meng Tai said.
“Division Master Meng, there’s no need to keep testing me. I already said that I am not together with them. I will definitely do all I can to help you. Right now, I do not have my cultivation. How can I help you?” Gu Hai said.
“You don’t need to do much. Don’t you have the Water Division Master’s authority token? Just use another ten vats worth of the earlier Dream Water on me. Of the five elemental authority tokens, water counters fire. Your Dream Water happens to counter the Dream Fire of that old crone Ding Rui!” Meng Tai explained seriously.
“This is easy!” Gu Hai nodded.
Splash! Splash!
Gu Hai waved his hand, and large amounts of Dream Water appeared in the surroundings.
Whoosh!
Meng Tai sucked, and the surging Dream Water immediately entered his mouth. It seemed like his stomach was a bottomless pit. Even the surging water could not fill it.
This continued for a while before stopping.
“Is that enough?” Gu Hai asked.
“Many thanks, Water Division Master. That is enough. I have Dream Water in me and Dream Fire outside. Water counters fire. At least the fire will not completely burn my mind up; I won’t become an idiot,” Meng Tai replied gravely.
“That is good. Is there anything else you need?” Gu Hai asked.
“Spirit stones. Do you have spirit stones?”
“I do.” Gu Hai nodded.
“Before you go out, carefully bury some under the vines in the cave. I will be able to get them. Bury as many as you can,” Meng Tai said gravely.
“Alright!” Gu Hai nodded.
“Many thanks!” Gratitude shone in Meng Tai’s eyes as he looked at Gu Hai.
“The bronze mask…?” Gu Hai frowned.
“I’ll help you fight Li Wei when I get out!” Meng Tai said.
“How should we do that?” Gu Hai asked.
“Does Li Wei have anyone that he cares about? Did he remarry? Or does he have any children?” Meng Tai asked.
Gu Hai shook his head and said, “He should not have. However, I saw the Yue Yao that I just saw in the second layer of your dreamscape earlier. She is still alive.”
“What? Impossible!” Meng Tai exclaimed, wide-eyed.
Gu Hai shook his head and said, “It’s true. I’m not in a state where I can’t even recognize the appearance of a woman. Her name was Yue Yao. I saw her for myself. However, that Yue Yao seemed extremely wooden and in a daze, appearing more like a puppet for Li Wei to do as he pleased!”
“Back then, I chopped off Yue Yao’s head and buried her. She is still alive? Unless…unless…” Meng Tai said with an unsightly expression.
“Unless what?”
“Yue Yao’s heavenly soul and earthly soul are already gone, leaving only her mortal soul. One spiritual soul and seven physical souls? Li Wei turned Yue Yao’s corpse into a zombie? After losing two spiritual souls, she would just be a walking corpse. He is not letting Yue Yao rest in peace?” Meng Tai frowned.
“I’m not sure.” Gu Hai shook his head at the situation.
“Then…then…then did you see Feng Ling? Do you know about Feng Ling?” Meng Tai looked at Gu Hai with anticipation.
“I saw her in the second layer of your dreamscape. However, I have not spent much time in the Great Feng Mafia Family and have not heard of Feng Ling.” Gu Hai shook his head again.
“Back then, Li Wei held Feng Ling hostage against me, causing me to be trapped here. He knows that Feng Ling is my weakness and uses her to threaten me, so Feng Ling must be trapped somewhere in the Great Feng Mafia Family,” Meng Tai said sullenly.
Gu Hai shook his head. “I don’t know anything about that.”
The expression in Meng Tai’s eyes turned uncertain.
“I want to save Feng Ling. Don’t worry. I will help you remove the bronze mask. It will happen at the beast arena. Just help me with one thing, and we will part owing nothing to each other,” Meng Tai said while looking at Gu Hai.
“Speak!”
Meng Tai gave Gu Hai some instructions.
“Oh, by the way, can you tell me about the principle of the bronze mask?” Gu Hai asked.
“Sure!”
Gu Hai did not dare to remain in the first layer of Meng Tai’s dreamscape for too long. His figure flashed, and he returned to the second layer.
In the second layer of the dreamscape, the scene changed again.
A huge floating island appeared in this scene. There were mountains, rivers, and forests below, filled with countless pavilion buildings and cupolas.
Meng Tai, along with Feng Ling, respectfully stood behind a woman.
“Hall Master, this is the place. The dragon vein is below!” Meng Tai said excitedly.
“I finally found it. Meng Tai, you did well. Come back with me to retrieve the dragon jade. Then, we will extract the dragon vein.” The woman appeared extremely happy at this moment.
“Yes!”
The three quickly flew away from the huge floating island.
At the side, Ding Rui’s expression changed. “The Dragon Pinning Sect? The Dragon Pinning Sect’s huge floating island?”
“That should be right. Division Master Ding, it should be that floating island. The Dragon Pinning Sect is one of the five major sects of my Nine-Five Island. Isn’t that the sect that one of your distant relatives manages?” The First Song Sect Master’s expression changed.
[TL Note: The Dragon Pinning Sect in pinyin would be the Dinglong Sect. The character for Ding in Dragon Pinning Sect is the same as the one in Ding Rui’s name. Ding means pinning in this case, but it might also mean that the Ding Clan controls it.]
“I finally found it! Hahaha!” Excitement flashed in Ding Rui’s eyes.
The scene changed again.
The current scene showed Meng Tai receiving a letter from Li Wei along with Feng Ling’s clothes. Following that, Li Wei used the missing Feng Ling to threaten Meng Tai, working with the First Song Sect Master and Ding Rui to restrain Meng Tai.
Meng Tai fell under Li Wei’s control because of Feng Ling. After that, the scene changed to Li Wei bringing him to this cave and restraining him.
The remaining scenes all showed cruel and inhumane torture.
Rumble…!
The second layer of the dreamscape trembled.
Bang!
A loud sound rang out, and the second layer exploded.
The group of people immediately reappeared in the first layer of Meng Tai’s dreamscape.
At this moment, Meng Tai had already collapsed in the first layer. His entire body was charred; he looked dead.
“Serves you right for not speaking! Humph!” Ding Rui snorted coldly and waved her hand.
Bang!
The first layer of the dreamscape scattered, and everyone’s consciousness returned to their bodies in the earlier cave.
At this moment, the ashen Meng Tai dangled on the vines. He seemed like he was no longer breathing.
“Meng Tai, are you dead? Humph! Don’t die yet. I still haven’t tortured you enough!” Li Wei walked over and slapped Meng Tai.
Slap! Meng Tai’s body shook but continued dangling on the vines.
“He is still breathing, not dead yet. However, he seems to be crippled already,” the First Song Song Master sneered.
“It’s good that he is crippled. It does not matter even if he turned into an idiot. We already know where it is. Hahaha! Let’s go!” Ding Rui cackled.
“Humph!” Li Wei snorted coldly at Meng Tai.
Then, the group headed slowly to the cave entrance.
Like before, Gu Hao walked at the very back. When he saw a hole in the vines, he carefully extended his hand into the hole.
Whoosh!
Gu Hai immediately poured most of the spirit stones in his authority token’s compressed space into the hole in the vines.
Then, the group walked out of the cave.
Boom!
The Dragon Breaking Stone door sealed the cave once more.
“Guard it well!” Li Wei shouted at the surrounding guards.
“Yes!” the guards answered.
Ding Rui walked in a rush, her heart pounding with excitement. She finally found it. Now, she did not want to remain a moment longer in the Great Feng Mafia Family.
The group of people quickly headed for the distant palace hall.
As the group traveled, Gu Hai vanished from its ranks.
At this moment in the heavily guarded cave, Meng Tai, who had appeared to be on his last breath, suddenly opened his eyes, and his expression perked up.
He looked at the spirit stones that Gu Hai left behind in the cave. Then, he opened his mouth and sucked.
One spirit stone flew across the distance and instantly arrived in his mouth.
