Book 8: Chapter 93: Pangu vs. Gu Hai?
Under Gu Hai’s lead, Ba, Hou Yi, Vairocana, and the Divine Farmer Hoe headed straight for the location where Mao Tianyun had been attacked earlier.
Lifespan Xiahou had drawn a map of the East Spiritual Fire Sea, and Mao Tianyun had pinpointed the place on the map. With Gu Hai’s clear understanding of the map, they soon reached the area.
It was a forest surrounded by roaring flames, creating a swirling ring of fire. This place was a super-sized eight-trigram ritual array, one even more formidable than the Eight Directions Sea they had encountered before.
“What is this place?” Ba’s face sank.
Gu Hai explained, “This is a location slightly south in the East Spiritual Fire Sea, believed to be where Vermilion Bird Prime performed the ritual in the past! There is a Dreamscape Field here. It’s relatively—”
“Ah!”
Halfway through Gu Hai’s explanation, a shriek came from within the ma.s.sive eight-trigram fire forest.
A woman’s voice, hoa.r.s.e and desperate, pierced through the ritual array.
“Waner!” Gu Hai exclaimed in shock.
“Jingwei!” Ba suddenly shouted.
“You scoundrel, if you dare to harm Jingwei, I’ll take your life!” Ba’s eyes widened as she pounced forward.
“Wait!” Gu Hai shouted.
However, Ba had already rushed in.
It was not just Ba, the Divine Farmer Hoe followed close behind, instantly charging in.
Hou Yi also wanted to join the chase, but he hesitated, not wanting to add to the chaos.
Gu Hai could not afford to wait at this moment, but he had heard from Long Wanyu about the horror within.
“Vairocana, Hou Yi, we need to go in, too. Remember, this is Sa’s Dreamscape Field, and it’s extremely dangerous!” Gu Hai instructed Vairocana.
“Dreamscape Field?” Hou Yi looked puzzled.
“Wait a moment, Mister Gu!” Vairocana suddenly called out.
“Yes?” Gu Hai looked at Vairocana.
“The Siddhārtha Buddha once entered Sa’s Dreamscape Field!” Vairocana said.
“Really?” Gu Hai’s eyes lit up.
Even Long Wanyu had limited knowledge of the Dreamscape Field. She only knew it was dangerous, so Gu Hai had no choice but to enter and see for himself. He had not expected that the Siddhārtha Buddha had encountered it in Sa’s Immortal Firmament.
On the other hand, Hou Yi was shocked.
All Hou Yi knew about Vairocana was that Vairocana was a consummate Upper Heavenly Palace Realm expert. Who are Gu Hai and Vairocana talking about?
The Siddhārtha Buddha? Who is that? Why haven’t I heard of him? Moreover, Vairocana’s tone when mentioning the Siddhārtha Buddha bore immense respect. Is the Han Heavenly Dynasty hiding someone even more powerful than Vairocana?
Furthermore, they mentioned someone named Sa!
Who is Sa? Is he powerful? Why did Gu Hai’s and Vairocana’s tone imply that he was incredibly formidable?
“The Dreamscape Field can dig into the deepest recesses of your memories, even some memories you yourself are unaware of. It will make you imagine a version of yourself; that self will attack you. That self will be capable of anything in your memories and will be however strong your memories of yourself are. You must wake up quickly; otherwise, once you are immersed in the dream, it will be extremely dangerous!” Vairocana explained.
“So, it creates a hallucination where you fight against yourself?” Gu Hai frowned.
“Yes! Your opponent is yourself. Unless you are aware from the beginning that it is a dream, your opponent will gain all the abilities you have in your memories. The stronger you are in your memories, the stronger your opponent will be! If you can defeat yourself, you can break the Dreamscape Field,” Vairocana explained.
“To wake up from the dream?” Gu Hai asked.
“Don’t worry too much. I have a way. Give me your hands!” Vairocana said.
Gu Hai and Hou Yi extended their right hands.
Vairocana quickly drew a swastika on their hands.
“This swastika symbol is what the Siddhārtha Buddha comprehended; it can help you wake up earlier. Remember, the sooner you wake up, the fewer the abilities your opponent gains from your memories!” Vairocana explained.
“Alright. Many thanks!” Gu Hai nodded.
Hou Yi nodded in bewilderment.
“Remember, the Dreamscape Field can dig into the deepest parts of your memory, even things you don’t know about yourself. Wake up quickly; otherwise, once you’re lost in the dream, it will be extremely dangerous!” Vairocana emphasized.
“I understand. The deepest parts of my memory!” Gu Hai responded.
Ba couldn’t wait, and Gu Hai couldn’t, either. With Vairocana’s help, he plunged into the sea of fire.
Hou Yi and Vairocana exchanged glances before stepping in after him.
Gu Hai took a step inside.
Boom!
Suddenly, the Dreamscape Field acted on Gu Hai. Even someone with his powerful will was suddenly entranced, as if he had entered a dream.
The swastika could accelerate the process of waking up but could not do it instantly. Sa’s strength was undeniable. Despite Gu Hai’s current strength, challenging Sa’s strength was arduous.
Gu Hai seemed to enter the dream in an instant.
It was pitch-black inside the dream. Everything around him was dark.
“Why am I here? Where is this? What am I supposed to do?” Gu Hai rubbed his head, feeling confused.
Clearly, the Dreamscape Field was incredibly powerful, instantly casting Gu Hai into a dream and making him forget how he got there.
It was pitch-black all around, and Gu Hai tried to recall while rubbing his head. However, there was nothing around him, not even Spiritual Energy in the air. It felt like he had entered the void. Suddenly, a furious roar came from the depths of the darkness.
“When you arrived, you had only three spiritual souls and no body. If it weren’t for my help, you would have perished in the void long ago. I gave you life, authority, and strength. To think you dared to s.n.a.t.c.h everything from me—my body, my deities, my world—and harm my people. Sa, your life is forfeit!” A thunderous roar resounded.
The owner of that roar seemed to possess an overwhelming might, and a fierce aura rushed straight at Gu Hai, making his heart tremble.
Gu Hai widened his eyes and vaguely saw the figure of that roaring individual.
It was a bare-chested man with bulging muscles all over his body. At a glance, one could sense the explosive strength in him.
This bare-chested man was over thirty kilometers tall, and veins popped out on his entire body. He held a ma.s.sive ax in his right hand.
Gu Hai recognized the ax at first sight. Isn’t this the Heaven Splitting Ax?
The man holding the Heaven Splitting Ax?
Could he be Long Zhanguo? Gu Hai looked at the face of that powerful man.
Suddenly, another male voice pierced the darkness, devoid of emotion.
“The winner is king and the loser is evil. I already control the three thousand Great Dao. I have s.n.a.t.c.hed away all your abilities. The power to create worlds? The physical body that stands at the top? They are all mine. I even destroyed your three spiritual souls and seven physical souls. Why do you think I went to the void? This is the only place where you will completely disintegrate, never to recover. No. All traces of you will vanish, and your souls will scatter. Reincarnation? Rebirth? There will be no opportunity for you to do those. You will never turn things around. You will never recover from this. As for the others, I will eliminate them all. This world is now mine!” The ice-cold voice echoed in the darkness.
The words seemed to provoke the man holding the Heaven Splitting Ax; he looked like he would erupt.
Could it be that Long Zhanguo and Sa are fighting? Gu Hai pondered.
Gu Hai’s gaze finally settled on the head of the colossal giant, and he saw the giant’s face clearly.
“It’s not Long Zhanguo?” Gu Hai exclaimed in surprise.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, a burning sensation on his right hand coming from the swastika jolted Gu Hai to his senses.
“So, it was just a dream! The Dreamscape Field?” Gu Hai realized with a sigh of relief.
However, in the next moment, Gu Hai was stunned as he returned his attention to the colossal giant wielding the Heaven Splitting Ax. The giant did not look like Long Zhanguo; his face was fierce, his red eyes blazing with boundless resentment.
It’s not Long Zhanguo? Who is this person in front of me? I don’t even recognize him. How could he exist in my memories?
Nevertheless, as Gu Hai gazed at the giant, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
He could almost empathize with the giant’s anger and frustration. There seemed to be a strange connection between them.
However, there was no such person in his memories. Only Long Zhanguo wielded the Heaven Splitting Ax, no one else.
“That’s not right. There’s one other person who wielded the Heaven Splitting Ax. He is…” Gu Hai looked at the giant before him in shock.
“Pan…Pangu?” Gu Hai’s eyes widened.
The giant before me is Pangu?
However, why is Pangu in my memories? I shouldn’t have any memories of Pangu fighting Sa in the void.
Could this be something that I imagined unconsciously in the past?
However, the reason Pangu appeared was no longer important. More importantly, when Gu Hai regained lucidity, Pangu suddenly stared at Gu Hai.
“The winner is king and the loser is evil? Haha! Sa, I don’t believe in such a thing. I am the king. You are just a dog wagging its tail before me. Dogs also bite their masters. Today, I will kill this evil dog that is you!” Pangu roared.
With his wild and flowing hair, Pangu looked like an invincible demonic G.o.d. He firmly gripped the Heaven Splitting Ax, stepping towards Gu Hai with determination.
Has Pangu mistaken me for Sa?
Gu Hai’s expression changed drastically. He kept pinching himself, muttering, “Aren’t I lucid? Why hasn’t Pangu disappeared? I’m sure I’m lucid.”
Pangu radiated a heavenly might as he swung down the Heaven Splitting Ax, looking like he would sunder the world, killing deities and buddhas, and nothing could get in his way.
The immense murderous intent pressed on Gu Hai, making him tremble from the bottom of his heart.
“Wait! I’m not Sa! I’m Gu Hai. You’ve got the wrong person!” Gu Hai called out.
However, Pangu was not listening to Gu Hai. He was simply unwilling to communicate with Gu Hai, wanting only to kill Gu Hai.
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The Dreamscape Field:
Ba faced another Ba, identical in every aspect, engaging in a fierce battle.
The Divine Farmer Hoe confronted a flawless version of himself, and both of them locked in combat.
Vairocana battled against another Vairocana.
Hou Yi squared off against his own double.
Only Gu Hai fought Pangu.
The Heaven Splitting Ax descended, intending to obliterate everything. With no other option, Gu Hai drew his Life Executioner Saber and met the strike head-on.
Boom!
A thunderous report reverberated throughout the fiery battlefield.