After the 8 princes were made kings, there was peace in the gra.s.s plains.
The Yuan Wu Conference came to an end; or perhaps, it should be changed to the Xia Secluded Conference. Every country led their soldiers back to their countries.
Although the process was a perilous one, with the appearance of someone more superior than him, Wu Qiankun was lucky to have witnessed the splitting up of Yuan Country"s power. Without the threat from them invading the South, he left the conference with mixed feelings.
His loss was the greatest. Not only had he lost both Wu Wudao and General Fei Long, even some parts of his territory had to be given up. It would be interesting to see how he could maintain his rule over his people.
But of course, all these were none of Fang Yuan"s business.
After the conference, he bade farewell to the king of Xia Country and Xie Lingyun, and left for the plains on a red horse.
"Whoooo!"
A strong gust of wind blew across the plains. The gra.s.s was all lying on the ground, dried up and hardened. There was a feeling as though the world had come to an end in the coldness of the plains.
"Winter is here!"
Fang Yuan took in a deep breath. "The people of Yuan Country living in the plains are going to suffer this winter!"
As the 8 kings fought against each other, and without the chance to invade South, this winter would lead to many freezing to their deaths. The only way out was for them to recklessly plunder from the people in the North, but this would lead to dire consequences.
But again, all these did not matter to him.
"There is a big lake another 20 miles ahead, and the Sunset Division used to be here. However, they are now wiped out under the command of Ba Tu..."
As he moved forward, he could smell a strong rotting stench, coupled with the smell of blood.
Many vultures and crows were already circling the sky, ready to enjoy a feast.
"I"ve heard that the Sunset Division is one of the more well-known divisions in the North of Yuan Country, with over a thousand well-built men. If they really want to wipe them out, they"ll have to prepare a hole large enough to bury 10,000 people!"
Fang Yuan galloped forward on his horse and arrived at a battlefield. Although it had already been cleaned up, remnants of the battle including broken bones were scattered around, attracting the company of wild wolves and dogs.
After the war, what was left of the original yurt was a skeleton in its place, and the ground was charred. It was as though the place was being burnt down.
h.e.l.l! h.e.l.l! h.e.l.l!
This place which resembled h.e.l.l made Fang Yuan sigh.
After remaining silent for a while, he closed his eyes and started his cultivation. A purple fog appeared in front of him once again.
"Whooo! Whooo!"
The purple fog took on the shape of a snake and slithered around. Finally, it became an arrowhead and seemed to be pointing in a certain direction.
Without hesitation, Fang Yuan followed the purple fog.
After the lake, the terrain was undulating and Fang Yuan arrived at a rift valley.
Fang Yuan dismounted his horse and followed the purple fog in, as he ventured into the depths of the rift valley.
After a day"s journey, the sky slowly darkened. The sun set in the west as the moon slowly rose from the east, illuminating the entire place with moonlight.
There was a small lake within the rift valley, and in it was a perfect reflection of the full moon, and it appeared illusionary like it was a dream.
Beside the lake, there was a green rock, and on the green rock laid a beautiful woman which seemed to have come from a dreamscape - it was Purple Dream.
"You"re here?"
She looked up and gazed innocently at Fang Yuan, as though she had already predicted that he would come.
"You"re not human!"
Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and replied in a deep voice.
"How am I not human?"
Purple Dream smiled and raised her palm. Under the moonlight, her palm was like an exquisite piece of white jade. "I have flesh and blood, I have emotions, and I have everything a woman has. How am I not human? Dream Master Fang?"
"You knew..."
Fang Yuan sighed once more.
From the first time he interacted with this woman, he could sense a familiar spiritual aura from her, and his findings had confirmed his suspicions.
This lady, Purple Dream, was not an original human of the Da Qian world, but the creation of a dream master!
A dream master could be skilled to the extent of creating an entire world! Of course, they could create animals with life!
However, from an object to a spiritual object, to a living thing, to animals with wisdom and finally, to humans, every one of these stages possesses a huge amount of difficulty.
If the dream master who created Purple Dream was still alive, his cultivation might be even higher than that of Master Wenxin!
"I have only heard of the existence of "dream people" in the Da Qian Empire. I never thought that I would meet one here!"
Fang Yuan sighed. "Where"s your owner?"
"Owner?"
Purple Dream smiled innocently. "I would rather use the term "Almighty Father"!"
Fang Yuan silently agreed. A dream master who had the ability to create worlds and humans was worthy of this t.i.tle.
"What a pity... He doesn"t know!"
There was a pitiful look on her mesmerizing face. "Almighty Father is no longer here... Besides, I have no idea why I"m here. I only remembered that there was a crack in the heavens and on the earth before I came to this world. I was abandoned here and wandered off into the plains. It was only after a while before the Sunset Division found me, and they wors.h.i.+pped me..."
"Previously, Ba Tu came here and mindlessly killed everyone from the Sunset Division. I wanted to take revenge for them. The old king is dead, and Ba Tu is next!"
She remained expressionless, even as she was describing the act of killing. She appeared calm. "Are you here to stop me?"
"Although they might already have plans and killing him might work out in the short term, but his son would simply ascend to the throne... There"s not much difference!"
Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders. "As a form of trade, since you"ve owed me a favour, I will need you to return the favour!"
"Return the favour?"
Purple Dream smiled. "Dream master, do you know that to us, the dream people, you dream masters are our owners? Don"t you... want to place your imprint on me and make me your slave?"
Fang Yuan let out a long sigh.
He had to admit that this woman in front of him was an exquisite being.
However, he could only see sorrow in her beautiful eyes.
The wisdom of humans came from the ability of humans to think. However, this might not be a good thing entirely. For example, humans might occasionally doubt themselves.
This was especially true of the dream people.
If dream masters had absolute control over them, would their existence in the world be a reality or just an illusion?
If they don"t even have a conscious "self", how pitiful would that be?
Without reason, Fang Yuan"s soul had a sudden realization. "To survive and have descendants are the two main desires of living things. However, these two desires can be summarised as "existence!" Prove to the world and yourself that you are in existence!"
The concept of eternity and everlasting were just a continuation of "existence".
"To this world, as long as you exist, there is nothing more to it! Since you are living and breathing now, you are proof of existence. Why bother about what others think of you?"
Purple Dream shuddered in shock as she heard Fang Yuan.
After a long while, she smiled and replied. "You"re so contradicting. In the beginning, you lectured me on how I was not human, but now you"re consoling me... I have to admit that what you said make sense. It seems that I should not stay in the plains, but should travel South and read your books and immerse myself in your culture. There are so many new concepts and ideas to be learnt..."
"You are on Ba Tu"s side, and since I"ve killed him, I"ve indeed owed you a favour. What do you want?"
After much consideration, she asked.
Fang Yuan began to realise that this dream person, Purple Dream, had a mind purer than most humans.
"Is this the design of the dream master who created her, or is this just a natural flaw?"
Fang Yuan stumbled for a while. "I don"t need much. It"s enough I can get information on how to pa.s.s through the plains and head towards Da Qian Empire!"
"Are you intending to go to Da Qian Empire?"
Purple Dream looked at Fang Yuan with curiosity. She began nodding her head but quickly shook her head. "The plains is a perilous place, and it"s nothing like how you imagine it to be. I almost died there, but fortunately, the Sunset Division saved me. As for you, you might be able to make the journey..."
"Oh? What are the dangers of the plains?"
Fang Yuan became more and more interested.
"I only know a little..."
Purple Dream"s voice became a little m.u.f.fled. "At the extreme North of the Yuan boundary, there are strong and intense cold winds blowing at almost every moment. It is a living h.e.l.l, and I was abandoned there the moment I arrived in this world. Although it was only at the boundary, it was enough to injure me severely. Furthermore... you won"t be alone there. Ferocious animals lurk in that area..."
"Rumour has it... the path towards Da Qian Empire pa.s.ses through that place. If you want to make your way there, you will first have to pa.s.s through the Northern-most boundary of Yuan Country. Other than the natural threats, the people and divisions there are extremely unwelcoming. Together with the existence of shamans and warriors, even the Yuan Country could not deal with them."
After hearing the information, Fang Yuan tried to remember it and nodded his head continuously. "Don"t you worry! Before losing all hope of going there, I wouldn"t recklessly make my way there."
He knew that it was no simple task to journey from the mainland to Da Qian Empire.
This was also why the evil dream master Yang Fan and his own master, Master Wenxin, had decided to hide in the mainland.
"That you for your advice, lady. We owe each other nothing now!"
After obtaining what he wanted, Fang Yuan cupped his fists and thanked her before taking his leave without hesitation. This made Purple Dream very curious.
"The living things actualised from dream worlds are weird, and behind her existence is an extremely skilled dream master. Even though it seems that he might have met with an accident, I"m not sure if he"s really dead. It isn"t a good idea for me to get involved in this."
Outside the rift valley, Fang Yuan flipped on his horse, his eyes glittering with excitement.
He had his takeaways from this journey to the plains. From breaking through to the Meridian Opening Stage, to successfully defeating both Yuan and Wu Country, and finally the information and tips from Purple Dream, it was all a delight for him.
"Next up would be to return to Green Peak spiritual land to continue my cultivation..."
After letting out a long breath, his eyes were filled with determination.
Master Wenxin"s regret and whatever he was pursuing could not be satisfied if he stayed in the mainland.
Da Qian Empire was his stage to perform!
Of course, he would not attempt the journey blindly without preparation. Firstly, he had to accustom himself to every corner of the mainland and take advantage of all the resources it could provide to him. Only when he had achieved the peak in his cultivation would he try out the journey to Da Qian!