Chapter 1 A Fleeting Dream

Wei Yuan looked at the gentle and beautiful woman before him, feeling almost dazed, as if in a dream. But quickly, the woman who possessed a face identical to that of Hou Tu smiled and asked, "Esteemed guest, are you from the outside?"

"I don't seem to have seen you before."

"Are you lost?"

The Vodka Maiden behind him muttered quietly, "Of course not lost."

"We're here to take you away!"

Of course, she was only muttering quietly. Wei Yuan still felt a slight numbness in his shoulder. Without a doubt, the strength of the pat on his shoulder just now could not have belonged to the Vodka Maiden. He looked at Hou Tu in front of him, with a smile that even a scumbag snake would admire, and said:

"Yes, the two of us have come here from the Eastern Lands to look for a friend."

"Looking for a friend?"

Hou Tu did not suspect anything and asked carefully, "I have lived here for quite some time. What does the friend you are looking for look like? If they are really here, I might know."

Wei Yuan looked at her and smiled, "She is a beautiful and gentle woman with big eyes, usually likes to wear light-colored clothes, and has a very good temper. She is never stingy to lend a helping hand to anyone who finds her. Her voice is gentle, about as tall as you, with an oval face and waist-length hair."

The woman who resembled Hou Tu pondered for a long time and shook her head regretfully, saying apologetically:

"I'm sorry."

"I really have no impression of the person you described."

Even the Vodka Maiden behind Wei Yuan couldn't help but mutter in her heart, the person this Daoist described is clearly you! Girl, are you not aware of your own appearance at all?

【Hou Tu】then invited, "However, we are usually isolated from the outside world, and very few guests come to visit. It's rare that you have come here. Please sit here for a while, have a cup of tea and chat. I also want to know about the scenery outside. I will also ask my other friends. Perhaps someone has seen the person you are looking for."

Wei Yuan nodded and was invited to sit here by the woman in front of him.

His gaze fell behind the house, on the object of worship that the woman had chanted to earlier. It was just a simple rock, seemingly stained with traces of mud, not emitting any spiritual energy, and not seeming to be any kind of heavenly treasure. No matter how you looked at it, it was just an ordinary stone.

It was like a large bluestone used to press pickles in a rural home.

Wei Yuan asked, "What is this?"

Hou Tu, with a gentle smile, replied, "This bluestone is the ancestral spirit treasure of this town. According to legend, this bluestone has protected the entire town, allowing it to survive in ancient times and avoid the conquests of external gods and the tides of ferocious beasts. No matter how big the chaos, it could not impact the peaceful life here."

"Therefore, the people and residents here worship and offer sacrifices to this giant stone."

"In fact, the giant stone itself does not have any mysterious powers, but it can be considered a commemoration and sacrifice to that wild era and the ancestors."

While answering, she had already started making tea. The tea fragrance was light and plain, but it was nostalgic.

Wei Yuan saw that the tea here was actually the rare species that he had planted in the small courtyard where he, Hou Tu, and Huntian had discussed the Dao in ancient times. Because it was actually a product of chance, it was somewhat imbued with the immersion of the three top cultivators' discussions, and it could be considered a special product that existed nowhere else but Yu Xu Palace.

The tea fragrance was not the most top-notch, but it was quite distinctive.

Wei Yuan was already used to this kind of tea fragrance, so Jia Yi was still planting it in Yu Xu Palace to this day.

The tea at the museum on weekdays was also this kind.

But Wei Yuan never expected that he would see this kind of tea here. Waves arose in his heart, and he said, "This is..."

Hou Tu smiled and said, "This is tea planted by my friend."

"We all like it very much."

"It's just that my friend has left here for several years, and I don't know where he is now, or if he is doing well. I don't know when he will come back."

A trace of loneliness appeared on the woman's soft face.

Wei Yuan picked up the tea. The tea fragrance was bitter when it entered his mouth, but it was incredibly authentic. It was the tea tree he had planted back then. Back then, he was trapped in a small world and could not escape, so he reluctantly used it as a substitute meal when he had little appetite. Now, it was a rare nostalgia.

After listening to what Hou Tu said, Wei Yuan said, "What is his name?"

Hou Tu smiled and said, "His name is Yuan."

Layers of ripples appeared in the teacup in the Daoist's hand.

He glanced at the Vodka Maiden over there.

The delicate-looking painter girl had shed the coldness and aloofness of the Kunlun God King. At this moment, she was supporting her chin with both hands, looking at the gentle and beautiful Hou Tu with a face full of infatuation, as if she was having a crush.

This guy is unreliable.

The corner of Wei Yuan's eye twitched.

He picked up the teacup and took a sip to calm himself down.

However, he could basically confirm one thing, that the woman in front of him was Hou Tu, or at least had an extremely close connection with Hou Tu. Otherwise, it would be impossible for her to know the name he used in ancient times.

Nor would she have this kind of tea.

But where exactly is this?!

Wei Yuan reached out and pressed his brow, and one picture after another flashed in his mind - the demons of the Turbid World, the rich and intense Earth power that was almost everywhere, a woman with a face exactly like Hou Tu but no memory of Wei Yuan, at least not recognizing Wei Yuan, and a strange small town.

After finishing a cup of tea, Wei Yuan temporarily got up to say goodbye, wanting to leave here and inquire about information in the small town outside.

He couldn't just take this woman away now and rely on the Nine Heavens Gate to return forcefully.

That wasn't impossible to do.

But Wei Yuan had not yet figured out the situation of this strange small town, nor what was going on with the Hou Tu in front of him. Assuming that the current woman was in a state where she absolutely could not leave this small town, and he, Wei Yuan, forcibly took her out, wouldn't he be harming her?

Inquire about information.

However, the people here all lived here. Where could he inquire about news?

I am a dreamer, how can I know things outside the dream?

Destiny is in this mountain, but the clouds are so deep that I don't know where.

It's just like that.

Wei Yuan sighed and was walking out when he noticed a tall figure walking slowly. He naturally made way and brushed past this man. Then, a gentle and familiar voice came from his ear, smiling and saying, "Hou, I heard that the Xu family's boy from the north of the town wants to propose marriage to you today?"

"Heh, this kid, he really has a lot of courage, hahaha..."

Wei Yuan's footsteps stopped.

He slowly turned around and saw the figure who had brushed past him and entered the ancient temple behind him.

It was a tall, broad-shouldered man who looked to be in his thirties, wearing a loose, deep gray robe, his black hair tied back with a cloth rope of the same color, his expression gentle, as if he could accommodate everything with composure.

Wei Yuan's voice was a little hesitant:

"Huntian..."

The person in front of him was the strongest person in the past, and also the one who stepped through the final barrier and achieved transcendence, Huntian. He was Chaos, but strictly speaking, he had already died, and only a few remaining thoughts remained in the world, appearing at the special node that Huntian 'observed' before his death, shifting fate and changing the predicament.

"Oh? These little brothers and sisters seem to be a bit unfamiliar."

"Haha, are they new guests?"

Hou Tu smiled and introduced, "This is Mr. Yuan. According to him, he is a learned scholar, potter, and rare gourmet who travels outside."

"This is his companion, a painter girl with amazing brushwork."

"Oh? So he's a rare good cook, ahahaha. I remember, Yuan's cooking skills seem to be quite good too."

Huntian laughed loudly.

It was a hearty posture that Wei Yuan had never seen before.

After all, in his memory, Huntian was always the kind of person who had everything under his control. His powerful strength and unmatched state of mind allowed him to remain unmoved by any situation, so he naturally wouldn't have too many emotional fluctuations.

But since he called Wei Yuan Yuan, he didn't seem to be the real Huntian.

Wei Yuan and the Vodka Maiden still greeted him politely, and then, after exchanging a few words, walked out, trying to explore this place. However, the entire small town seemed to be just an ordinary place, without anything special. If he had to say something, it was that the architectural style of the entire small town was very mixed and not uniform.

Among the residents, in addition to the human race, there were also other races.

Wei Yuan even saw a weasel and a chicken walking shoulder to shoulder, about to go drinking.

He wondered what the appetizers would be.

A golden light suddenly flashed across the sky, instantly traversing the entire small town, causing many people to exclaim. Finally, it landed on the brow of the painter girl beside Wei Yuan. The Vodka Maiden was still chattering endlessly, saying that she had imprinted the gentle big sister in her heart.

She would draw a few doujinshi when she got back and collect them forever.

She was just getting excited when she was directly submerged in the golden light. Her voice stopped abruptly, and then her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes, she had already returned to the coldness and detachment of the Kunlun Queen Mother. Wei Yuan rubbed his brow, thinking that she really had a brief spiritual departure just now?

Could she give him a heads up in advance?

Otherwise, if something really happened later, he would call on the Queen Mother of the West to fight together.

But who came out was the Vodka Maiden.

Give the old iron a solo six!

Wei Yuan said helplessly, "Where did the Western Emperor go just now?"

The Western Emperor said faintly, "I roamed this place just now and gained something."

"But it doesn't matter."

"I'll take a look at your experiences just now first."

The Western Emperor closed her eyes and recalled the Vodka Maiden's memories when she was not present.

Then she saw the yuri doujinshi of 【Gentle Big Sister】 and 【Kunlun West xx】.

Various yuri doujinshi.

The Western Emperor's expression froze.

Then, without changing her expression, she sealed up her memories.

She originally wanted to throw them away, but after thinking about it, she didn't throw them out.

Without changing her expression, she said, "I see... so that's how it is."

"Is it Hou Tu and Huntian?"

The Western Emperor said, "However, it should be considered lucky. At least the 【Yuan】 that corresponds to you is not here."

"Perhaps Hou Tu's own memory subconsciously believes that Yuan will come back to save her, so you are not here. Otherwise, it might be even more troublesome and difficult."

Wei Yuan frowned.

The Western Emperor's voice was cold. She reached out and twirled a strand of black hair at her temple, saying faintly, "Yes, as you guessed."

"When I came here before, I had some perception. After exploring back and forth, I finally confirmed the guess in my heart. This is not a real world." You came here and sensed an extremely rich Earth power, and there are also Huntian and Yuan."

"This small town, this cause and effect, does not communicate with the outside world. The secrets of heaven cannot be invaded, and even starlight cannot shine in."

"Not because of other reasons."

"It's because this place is in Hou Tu's dream!"

The Western Emperor's voice was calm, adding, "Moreover, everything here seems to be trying to make Hou Tu sleep even more deeply. She should have encountered something with an extremely high position, so I said that it is lucky that the 【Yuan】 representing you is not here. Otherwise, in Hou Tu's dream, that 【Yuan】 might be quite powerful."

"After all, the power in the dream only depends on Hou Tu's perception of you."

Wei Yuan nodded slightly. Then, he suddenly felt a headache. In that case, the power of Huntian, who was both a teacher and a friend to Hou Tu, might not be much weaker than the real Huntian --

At this time, a burst of applause suddenly came from behind, followed by a gentle male voice.

"Not bad."

Wei Yuan sighed.

The Zhu Xian Sword Formation was looming behind him. He was too familiar with this voice, so familiar that he could react just by hearing a sentence. The Western Emperor also had an extra long spear in her hand, which was purely condensed from the metal element, its edge sharp.

Behind them, the 【Huntian】 in the dream silently approached and stood there.

All the beings in the dream, in the Western Emperor's judgment, would tend to make Hou Tu sleep more deeply, which meant they would stop them. And now, the ancient Central Emperor smiled and watched them. Facing the looming edge, the gray-robed man did not appear nervous or show hostility. He smiled and waved his hand, his voice gentle:

"It's okay."

"I'm here to find you just for one thing."

The Western Emperor's tone was cold: "What is it?"

The gray-robed man smiled and said gently:

"I hope you can wake her up from this long dream."

"Return to the real world."

ps: First update today...