Xu Qing's dizziness was still intense. However, after many experiences, he could barely adapt to it. At that moment, he looked at everything in his surroundings and then at the peach in the captain's hand.
Xu Qing smiled.
"I understand a little. This Unending Mountain Range is like a show."
When the captain heard this, admiration appeared in his eyes and he laughed.
"It's indeed a show."
"Junior Brother, this is a show dedicated to Red Moon and Crimson Goddess. You and I are lucky enough to participate in it. How good is that?"
Xu Qing nodded. He noticed what the captain said about the show being dedicated to the Red Moon and Crimson Goddess.
"In the Moon Worship Region, any place where the Yin Yang Flower Sect exists is covered by the dream power of the Red Moon and Crimson Goddess. The Yin Yang Flower Sect will weave a show which will become the god's dream."
The captain smiled and spoke.
"This is the sacrificial dance of the Yin Yang Flower Sect."
Although Xu Qing had guessed a lot, he didn't associate it with the sacrificial dance. When he heard this, he was a little moved.
"Those dancing butterflies…" Xu Qing looked at the captain.
"The dancing butterfly is a dream creature formed by the ritual dancer after borrowing the god's dream power to influence all living beings."
The captain ate the peach and carried his previous life body in his hand as he walked toward Xu Qing. As he walked, he spoke.
"It is illusory, one of the vessels of the power of dreams, as well as a medium to transmit the stories here into the consciousness of the god when it awakens."
Xu Qing took a deep breath. While this explanation seemed unbelievable at first, upon reflecting on his memories, everything seemed to align.
"However, before the god awakens, these dancing butterflies won't be able to return, so they won't be able to send this grand show to it."
"Can you guess why I knew all of this and chose to take the initiative to enter, Junior Brother?"
The captain had a smug expression as he walked to Xu Qing's side.
Xu Qing's gaze landed on the previous life body in the captain's hand and he already had an answer.
"Your previous life body wasn't lost at all. The tomb we went to previously was actually fake as well."
"Just as Eldest Senior Brother said at the start, in order to prevent tomb raiders, you set up some illusions in advance. The place we went to is actually… one of the illusions."
"At that time, Ning Yan asked you what the layout of the last two of the nine illusions you mentioned was."
"At that time, you smiled and didn't say anything. This was because the tomb we went to was the eighth illusion, and the entire Unending Mountain Range was… the ninth illusion!"
Xu Qing looked at the captain and slowly spoke.
"Eldest Senior Brother, how many people did you offend back then? What did you do to make you so afraid that someone would steal your previous life body?"
The captain was a little surprised when he heard this. After that, he laughed loudly.
"As expected of my junior brother, haha. You're right. That tomb is the eighth illusion and this Unending Mountain Range is the ninth illusion!"
"Eldest Senior Brother, you have picked up bad habits from Bai Xiaozhuo, revealing the answer in advance, that's not good." Xu Qing frowned.
The captain grinned. He had indeed learned this from Bai Xiaozhuo and thought it would make him look very impressive.
"Do you want to know where my true tomb is?" The captain winked, looking like he wanted to keep him in suspense.
The familiar expression, the familiar cheekiness, and the familiar style finally made Xu Qing feel relieved, and he then spoke with a neutral expression.
"In the dream."
Xu Qing didn't want to cooperate anymore.
The captain widened his eyes, feeling that it was no fun anymore. Little Qing wasn't as cute as before. However, he could also see that Xu Qing was angry. So, he chuckled, put his arm around Xu Qing's neck, and spoke in a low voice.
"Junior Brother, you're so impressive to be able to guess this."
"In my previous life, with the help of a mysterious high god, I hid my body in the dream of Crimson Goddess… and even crushed the dancing butterflies in that dream."
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, and the mention of the mysterious high god in the captain's words caught his attention.
At the same time, the world changed. The expressions of all the living beings in the surroundings changed from numb to sinister. Regardless of whether it was vegetation or rocks, everything emitted intense malice at this moment.
This malice gathered from all directions and erupted from all things in the Unending Mountain Range. After it gathered, it transformed into a voice.
"Get out!"
As the voice rang out, the Unending Mountain Range rumbled in unison. The ground also trembled and the city at the foot of the mountain also swayed.
The captain smiled but didn't explain this mysterious high god or care about the changes in the surroundings. He continued to talk about the location of his previous life body.
"As for the way to get to it, it can only be done by entering the dream. I couldn't reveal it to you earlier because everything had to align with the requirements of this dream. Only by doing so could I truly immerse myself in the role."
"However, I reminded you before, so don't be too angry." The captain smiled cheekily and raised the previous life body in his hand.
"Look, my goal is actually still this thing because it's the key to getting to my previous life body in this dream. You definitely won't be able to guess what the main body of this thing is."
As the captain spoke, he waved his right hand and instantly, his previous life body turned into black water that splashed down, revealing… a rotting dancing butterfly in the center!
It emitted an ancient aura. Clearly, it wasn't just born but had existed for a very, very long time. Its level of concealment was also extremely high, as it was able to escape the Crimson Goddess' senses.
This was the key.
The moment it appeared, the surroundings trembled. The color of the sky changed and the wind and clouds rolled back. The shaking of the entire Unending Mountain Range was incomparably intense. Countless living beings in the surroundings revealed struggle and pain.
Rocks collapsed and plants broke.
The instant everything changed, a shocking fluctuation spread out from the Yin Yang Flower Sect. There was also an extremely angry roar that spread through the world.
"Wake up, wake up!"
As the voice appeared, the struggle of all living beings became even more intense. It was as though the ritual dancer who created this scene wanted to end the dream and reverse everything, interrupting the captain's plan.
"Too late."
The captain laughed and lifted the key in his finger, waving it fiercely at the sky.
"Open!"
In an instant, the sky rumbled and the sound resounded through the clouds. It was as though the world had been split open, surpassing heavenly thunder. As the world continued to explode, a huge gap directly appeared in the sky.
This crack wasn't big at first but it continued to expand amidst waves of deafening sounds. Finally, it opened like a scar in the sky.
The aura of decay spread out from this huge crack. It was as though it had been hidden for too long and the vicissitudes of time inside were about to be released at this moment.
The sky and ground showed signs of collapse. A blue coffin suddenly appeared from the crack.
This wasn't formed from iron or wood but from blue ice!
There was a figure lying inside the ice coffin, dressed in a luxurious blue robe with golden embroidery. He exuded a terrifying aura, his expression full of dignity, and his right hand firmly gripping a scepter!
His appearance caused the sky to explode and the ground to collapse. A mournful wail rang out from the Yin Yang Flower Sect.
"Primordial Sacrificial Dance Scepter!"
"You were the Grand Ritual Dancer!!"
As his voice echoed, in the cave of the Yin Yang Flower Sect, the expression of the old man in the colorful robe changed drastically. His eyes revealed horror as he quickly cut off the thread between himself and the projection of all living beings in the Unending Mountain Range.
He was very clear that as a ritual dancer, although he looked strong, he was also incomparably fragile. He was strong because of this ability to create dreams for gods, and fragility was also because of this.
If the dream weaving ended normally, he would have completed a sacrificial dance. However, if he was interrupted during this process, he would suffer a backlash.
The so-called sacrificial dance was actually a special ritual.
The difference between cutting it off himself and forcefully being cut off was the difference between heaven and earth.
He took the initiative to break the dream and wake everyone. Although there was a backlash, he could withstand it. Hence, when he discovered that something was wrong previously, his first thought was to take the initiative to awaken all living beings and end the dream weaving.
However, if the dream weaving was interrupted forcefully by someone else, the meaning would be completely different. He had to withstand the corrosion of all living beings, the karma of all things, and the backlash from the shattering of the god's dream power.
Even if he was Nihility, he wouldn't be able to withstand all of this!
This wasn't something that could be done easily by outsiders.
The moment he saw the scepter that represented the Grand Ritual Dancer appear, he was completely terrified.
However, he no longer had the time to take the initiative to cut off the dream weaving. The instant the coffin appeared, the captain's eyes revealed a strange glint as he shouted.
"Junior Brother, unleash your strength and fuse it into my coffin scepter, awakening all living beings whose fate has been changed!"
The captain didn't elaborate but Xu Qing understood that what he wanted him to display was the power of the Purple Moon. With a sway of his body, Xu Qing endured the dizziness and directly arrived above the ice coffin.
He lifted his right hand and pressed down on the location of the scepter.
The Purple Moon power in his body erupted furiously, causing the ice cube to turn purple. As the captain performed a series of hand seals, the ice coffin cooperated and the purple intent instantly fused into the scepter.
At the next instant, Xu Qing's body trembled. He felt a vast power augmenting his soul. His dizziness disappeared and his mind was clear. The world in front of him was enveloped by a haze.
Threads rose from the bodies of all living beings inside, and all the threads were connected to the Yin Yang Flower Sect's mountain range.
At the same time, there were also illusory dancing butterflies resting on each thread. There were countless of them of various sizes and they were constantly absorbing and strengthening.
"Wake up!"
A purple glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes as he calmly spoke.
The instant these two simple words were spoken, it was as though millions of lightning bolts had exploded at the same time, tearing through all the threads and echoing in the hearts of all living beings in the Unending Mountain Range.
Countless cultivators and mortals trembled and instantly woke up. After a short period of confusion, their expressions turned into horror and they instinctively retreated.
Those who were Dao companions now had terrified expressions on their faces. They didn't know each other at all!
Those who were brothers were now trembling. They had once been mortal enemies.
Those who had been family were all panting. There was no kinship between them.
This was only a portion. There were even more living beings whose fates had been restored. They awakened and remembered everything.
It was the same for the sect. Even the Yin Yang Flower Sect couldn't escape this scene. A portion of the disciples weren't even from the Unending Mountain Range.
They had only passed by before and unknowingly became disciples.
As for Yunxia, she was trembling at this moment. Her hair was disheveled and she suddenly lifted her head to look at the mountain peak.
She wasn't the sect master, let alone the daughter of this sect's ancestor. On the contrary, this sect was her enemy!
As all living beings in the Unending Mountain Range woke up and their threads shattered, the dream ended.
All the karma, all the backlash, the interruption of the god's dream, and all the evil formed gathered on the ritual dancer.
A heart-rending cry filled the sky.
The old man in the cave had a look of despair. He wanted to struggle but it was useless. Every broken thread transformed into a dancing butterfly that devoured him, causing him certain damage.
The convergence of the damage caused by the number of living beings in the Unending Mountain Range was even more terrifying. Endless dancing butterflies flickered between illusion and reality, completely enveloping his body and devouring it crazily.
His body rotted and disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye. What made him feel the most despair was the backlash from the shattering of the god's dream. That wasn't a power he could resist.
Under this backlash, the curse in his body erupted crazily and spread throughout his body, enveloping his soul. The pain it brought caused him to fall into madness.
Even if he knelt on the ground and prayed to the god, it was useless.
Finally, a few breaths later, under the devouring of the endless dancing butterflies and the backlash of the god's dream, his entire person turned into blood and splashed on the ground of the cave.
Dancing for the Emperor, the talented are rewarded, the untalented perish.
It was even more so when the dance was for the gods.
