Chapter 499 – Pernicious Dream Ghosts

　　Edited by: Molly

　　“No.” The Beast Empress mercilessly refuted as she calmly explained, “We beast clans never decide based on familial ties or social relationships. The strongest gets to be the boss, while the weaker ones get lost. We rarely think up these kinds of crooked schemes.”

　　Yan Tianhen gave a thumbs-up. “Admirable.”

　　After thinking about it, Yan Tianhen then continued, “However, if the Yue family is willing to support Fu Yu, his influence will truly increase; this is undeniable.”

　　“That’s inevitable.” The Beast Empress curled her lips. “The fact that he can obtain the Yue family’s support also counts as a type of strength. This is a rule that people tacitly acknowledge. However, we won’t give him extra points just because of this.”

　　The Beast Empress looked at Yan Tianhen. “I was muddled before, to actually use sparrow spirits to exchange for a Nine Ranks Return Soul Pill. Fortunately, you came in time, otherwise I would’ve been defrauded.”

　　Yan Tianhen asked, “How many sparrow spirits were you guys planning to trade?”

　　The Beast Empress said, “Three jade green pieces, nine crow purple pieces, twenty-seven dark green pieces, and eighty-one yellowish-orange pieces.”

　　Yan Tianhen gasped, and the air plunged straight into his lungs, causing him to cough violently.

　　This is the very definition of a foolish spendthrift!

　　“This Reincarnation Palace is shameless. How dare they demand a lion’s share? And they’re even defrauding people! Who told you that the Nine Ranks Return Soul Pill can wake the Beast Emperor?” Yan Tianhen asked.

　　The Beast Empress coughed softly as she answered, “Our witch doctor.”

　　Yan Tianhen, “…”

　　Fine, if you defraud yourself, then I don’t have much more to say. In the end, Yan Tianhen couldn’t give a good solution, and the Beast Empress could only think of other ways to solve the matter by herself.

　　Once they left the palace, they went to the inn.

　　Hai Kuanglang asked whether the Beast Empress had said anything important, but only heard Yan Tianhen say two words both vaguely and clearly.

　　Dream Ghosts.

　　Hai Kuanglang was silent for a moment. Then he asked with disbelief, “It’s the Beast Emperor?”

　　Yan Tianhen nodded, and his thoughts were not as relaxed as they were in the secret room. He asked, “Say, Shixiong, this matter is involving more and more people, and now even the Beast Emperor has fallen victim. What does that Dream Ghost want to do?”

　　Hai Kuanglang answered, “He wants to force Huarong Sword Immortal to appear.”

　　Yan Tianhen also became silent, then said, “So, let’s pretend we don’t know about the tiger clan’s matter.”

　　“If the Beast Empress finds out the cause of the disease, she will look for the Huarong Sword Immortal sooner or later. Moreover, if the number of the Dream Ghost’s victims continue to grow, then Huarong Sword Immortal will eventually have to make an appearance.”

　　Yan Tianhen spoke with a dark expression, “Huarong Sword Immortal is a person who wholeheartedly cultivates the Dao. He lives in secluded cultivation in the Myriad Dao Academy all year round. Why should he come forward to solve something on the outside as soon as a problem occurs and people shout his name?”

　　Hai Kuanglang rubbed Yan Tianhen’s head. “I know that you admire him and worship him. You don’t want him to become entangled in the karma of the material world. In fact, Martial Uncle also thinks so, which is why he has always kept it a secret, even now. He merely treated the deceased victims of the Dream Ghost’s attacks as encountering a sudden and accidental death. But you should always prepare for the worst.”

　　Yan Tianhen was a little unhappy, but he also didn’t know what he could do for the Huarong Sword Immortal, so he went back to his room discontentedly.

　　In the early years, several strange cases happened in quick succession inside the Purple Emperor’s Heavenly Capital. The Qi heir at that time — the current Marquis Qi — was ordered to investigate the case, and You Ming found it interesting, so he also followed. The case seemed to be very simple. The victims all started sleeping for longer and longer periods of time ever since they first dreamed of their favorite scenery, until eventually, they suddenly fell into a slumber and never woke up.

　　Although it was normal for cultivators to sleep for a long time, and some people could even sleep for a thousand or so years, the problem was that You Ming and Qi Ruwang’s investigation revealed that the victims were all missing one soul and one spirit. This was a big deal.

　　With one less soul and spirit, if they couldn’t be woken up in time, then some people might never wake up again. You Ming brought over magic treasures used to summon souls in an attempt to bring the soul over, but he didn’t expect to actually attract the culprit himself, who took victims into their dreamland and made them fall into a deep sleep.

　　The culprit seemed to be floating and didn’t look human. The culprit’s face was also blurred. It first burped, then spoke, “If you want them to wake up, let Lin Huarong come to see me.”

　　At that time, Lin Huarong had long since entered Myriad Dao Academy without an entrance exam due to Esteemed Lan Yue’s recommendation. Furthermore, he broke through Myriad Dao Academy’s most difficult array in a single move, which made him famous all over the world. The outside world began to call him “Huarong Sword Immortal”.

　　You Ming was genuinely confused. “Do you have a problem with that boy?”

　　The ball of shadow cried sharply, “I want to eat him, I want to devour him! Let him come and see me within ten days, or else I’ll devour this poor thing’s entire soul!”

　　After saying that, the ball of shadow suddenly entered the dreamer’s body again.

　　After You Ming left the scene, he told Qi Ruwang, “I can’t see through this thing’s origins, but also do not let Huarong Sword Immortal hear wind of this.”

　　Qi Ruwang nodded. “A matter pertaining to the imperial city will be settled by the imperial city.”

　　However, a few days later, someone reported to You Ming that the previous sleep-bound victim had died. You Ming rushed to the scene and took out a magic treasure to summon souls, trying to see if he could ask whether a person could still remember past events after becoming a ghost, but unexpectedly, that person’s entire soul had already been eaten. At night, that thing entered You Ming’s dream, trying to seduce You Ming with bustling and beautiful scenery, but You Ming saw through the ploy at first glance.

　　That thing became so embarrassed that it got angry and changed its face. It once again told You Ming to get the Huarong Sword Immortal to come see him, or else he would devour the souls of those victims one after another.

　　Only when You Ming had awakened from his dream did he find out that he had been sleeping for three days and three nights. His expression was both disappointed and frustrated. When Yan Zhonghua asked him what he saw in his dream, he said that he saw his heart’s desire, a blissful paradise.

　　After this, Yan Zhonghua intervened in this matter. He first checked whether there was any connection between the victims, then personally went to Myriad Dao Academy to check the records from the classics in order to find out the cause of this matter. In passing, Yan Zhonghua also inquired about some matters regarding Huarong Sword Immortal.

　　Coincidentally, Huarong Sword Immortal happened to be in closed-door cultivation on Penglai Island during those years, so Yan Zhonghua gave up on the idea of asking him to step outside for the time being.

　　However, he also didn’t intend to truly have Lin Huarong make an appearance. After all, matters involving Divine Clans were resolved by the Divine Clans themselves. Over the years, many forces had tried to attract Huarong Sword Immortal to their sides, but he always tactfully declined on the grounds that he was temporarily unwilling to exit seclusion. It was precisely because of his neutral attitude that the various forces had never sent people to secretly assassinate him. If Yan Zhonghua rashly pulled him to the Royal Heavenly Capital, then from the outside world’s point of view, Yu Huarong would have become involved with the materialistic world. If that happened, Yan Zhonghua was afraid that the other families would also become restless.

　　In order not to look for each other’s troubles, Yan Zhonghua easily made a choice. Yan Zhonghua learned from the ancient texts that this thing was called a “Dream Ghost”, which was a kind of non-physical entity similar to ghosts. It could enter the dreams of all living beings and grant them everything they desire within the dream. When those people could no longer tell whether they were dreaming or awake, they were destined to be entangled in their dreams by the Dream Ghost and have their souls devoured bit by bit. When all of a person’s three souls and seven spirits were eaten by the Dream Ghost, it would then leave and look for the next target. The Dream Ghost would also grow stronger and stronger during this process.

　　Seven people had already died in the Royal Heavenly Capital, one death every year. This year was the seventh year. However, You Ming still hadn’t been able to find a way to kill the Dream Ghost. Similarly, he also hadn’t looked for the Huarong Sword Immortal.

　　But if news that the Beast Emperor had fallen victim to the Dream Ghost reaches the Royal Heavenly Capital, who knows what the people in positions of power will choose.

　　After pondering for a long time, Yan Tianhen finally decided to give a detailed report to You Ming, reporting the story from from beginning to end.

　　The sky was high and the road was far away. There was a naturally-formed barrier between the various lands, so it was very difficult to transmit a message. Yan Tianhen went to the post relay station in White Tiger City, rented a bird that could fly out of the South Lands, and hid a Voice Transmission Talisman under its feet. When the bird flies past the South Land’s boundary, the Voice Transmission Talisman will automatically ignite and transfer his secret message to You Ming.

　　This was the best he could do.

　　After Yan Tianhen returned, he sat in a chair and took out a little rabbit jade that was hidden close to his chest. This was a little rabbit that Huarong Sword Immortal personally carved for him after he saved Yan Tianhen from a demonic beast and wanted to coax him into feeling better.

　　Since then, he had never seen Huarong Sword Immortal again, but no matter how much time passed, it was still impossible for him to forget the man who cut the demonic beast in half at the waist with a single strike yet still remained untainted by specks of dust. It would sound ridiculous if spoken aloud. He had seen Huarong Sword Immortal only once, yet Yan Tianhen became obsessed with him for so many years. But he never told anyone these feelings of his; he could only keep them suppressed in his heart. After all, Huarong Sword Immortal was the successor to the Sword Venerable’s legacy, a reincarnation of a great powerhouse and someone acknowledged by the powerful masters. Rumors had it that he only came to the Nine Lands to pass a tribulation. When the time became ripe, he would ascend from the Nine Lands and return to Heaven. Therefore, even if he didn’t touch worldly matters and didn’t join any forces, no Divine Clan would take the initiative to attack him first. This was the so-called “darling of Heaven”.

　　Time and time again, Yan Tianhen wanted to go to Myriad Dao Academy’s Penglai Island to find Huarong Sword Immortal, but ultimately, he silently dismissed these thoughts every time.

　　If Huarong Sword Immortal truly came to the Nine Lands to train and gain experience, then naturally, the less he was involved with the affairs of the mortal world, the better.

　　Certain things were nothing more than his own wishful thinking. It was just a dream and couldn’t become reality. Not surprisingly, Yan Tianhen had insomnia at night.

　　During this period of time, besides going to Fu Yu’s residence to inquire about Baishi Shuying, Yan Tianhen and the others also wandered around White Tiger City.

　　Fu Yu probably didn’t expect anyone to rescue Baishi Shuying, so he casually locked her in a place that could easily be found. Yan Tianhen found her without much effort. There was a person outside guarding the door, and there were hidden mechanisms inside the door. Yan Tianhen released a bee that he had personally raised to fly in through the window seam to let Baishi Shuying know that they had already arrived and would be rescuing her in a few days. When Baishi Shuying saw the cute little bee that bobbed round and round before her eyes, her dim gaze suddenly brightened.