My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times

Standing amidst the ocean of his own mind, Lu Xuan's thoughts grew tangled. 'If I don't find the Magic Technique for the Earth Immortal Extreme Realm or break through to the True Immortal level soon, it will indeed be very difficult for me to make any significant progress.'

Even the various Divine Techniques he had obtained from undergoing the Earth Immortal Tribulations of the Nine Gates had now hit a bottleneck. He had long since mastered their basics but was stuck just before the Minor Achievement stage, unable to advance for now.

'The way of the Earth Immortal is to undergo tribulations. I have already been through all Nine Tribulations. Where, then, does the extreme of this realm lie?'

After a long period of fruitless contemplation, Lu Xuan sighed softly. He reined in his thoughts and, as usual, used the fourth Bronze Fragment—the one that could edit the fundamental rules of heaven and earth—to perfect the Acupoint Heaven and Earth in his left hand and the Peach Blossom Spring in his right.

By now, the Little World within the Acupoint in his left hand was already quite complete, even containing grass, trees, and shade. However, it was still incapable of creating true living beings, nor could it grant intelligence to the flora.

The Peach Blossom Spring had also undergone significant changes. Over the past seven years, the hundreds of millions of living beings within it had spontaneously cast aside the hundred schools of thought to revere only Lu Zi. The Thoughts of All Living Beings they gathered had grown ever more substantial.

This, in turn, made the Little World increasingly dense and real. Its sheer weight alone was estimated to be enough to crush a Grand Grade expert half to death.

But just like with All Skills and practices, the Little World's advancement had also hit a bottleneck. It was unlikely to experience another major surge in growth anytime soon...

Shaking his head, Lu Xuan reined in all his thoughts. He stopped overthinking and instead focused his mind on comprehending the Tao Te Ching.

He had a premonition that once he finished reciting the entirety of the Tao Te Ching to the world, there might be a heaven-shattering reward in store...

While Lu Xuan was immersed in his cultivation...

...within the Peach Blossom Spring—or rather, beneath it.

Ao Tao was shouldering the entire, incredibly heavy Little World. Blood streamed endlessly from his mouth, pooling into what was nearly a great river at his feet, and his gaze grew unfocused.

'It's getting... heavier and heavier...' he managed weakly.

.........

「A quiet night passed.」

Early the next morning, the caravan set off again, heading toward Jiangling City in the Chu Kingdom. What was different this time was the addition of a young man in his twenties or thirties, a Cyan Bull, and, on the bull's back, an old Daoist and a little girl.

For half a month, the journey was uneventful. The occasional bandits they encountered were dealt with cleanly by the caravan's guards.

The most "dangerous" incident involved the appearance of a great bandit at the Celestial Human Level. However, Lü Niangrong lopped his head off with a single sword strike. Her outstanding grace left Zhao Zheng staring, completely transfixed.

As they neared Jiangling, the old man on the bull's back asked with a faint, teasing smile:

"Xiaozheng, are you smitten?"

"Wh-what?" Zhao Zheng's face flushed slightly, and he grew a little flustered.

Lu Jianxue, who was sitting on the bull's head gripping its two large horns, asked curiously:

"What does 'smitten' mean?"

Lu Xuan just smiled without a word.

Another half a month passed, and they finally reached Jiangling. At Lü Niangrong's warm invitation, Lu Xuan and the others took up lodging at the Lü's Trading Company. In truth, it didn't matter where they stayed; Lu Xuan was mostly hoping to help Zhao Zheng out...

'Finding someone to love after turning thirty is a rare thing, after all.'

Of course, the main reason was that he wasn't in a hurry to find the Ghost Valley Master. The time was not yet right.

To be precise, his "past" self and Grandpa Chu had not yet arrived.

Two more months passed, and signs of turmoil began to appear in Jiangling City. This city had once been the capital of the Chu Kingdom. It was exceedingly prosperous and ideally located, with routes extending in all directions. Merchants from every city and kingdom flocked to it.

As a result, Jiangling had developed into something like a "financial center" of later eras.

And where there are people, there is conflict. Merchants, in particular, prioritize profit above all else, so the open strife and veiled struggles between the city's trading companies grew increasingly intense.

「In the depths of winter.」

Inside the Lü's Trading Company, Lü Niangrong rubbed her temples as she listened to the Steward's report.

"The Bai, Fan, and Duanmu Families are showing faint signs of forming an alliance. It seems they all intend to push our Lü Family out of the picture. We've suffered extremely heavy losses from their repeated attacks."

As he spoke, the Steward sighed and then added in a low voice:

"Young Miss, should we consider using unconventional methods?"

"Absolutely not." Lü Niangrong shook her head and said, "We are merchants. We pursue profit, but we do not take lives. More importantly, we cannot do things that break the rules."

"But..." The Steward gave a bitter smile. "But those three families are relentlessly attacking us! They've done plenty of dirty, rule-breaking deeds in the shadows..."

Lü Niangrong sighed again and said somberly:

"Didn't you just say it was 'in the shadows'? We have no direct evidence. If we were to strike back openly with Weapons, we would be the ones to lose our reputation, lose face, and overstep our bounds. Besides, the Lü Family disdains to use such filthy, underhanded methods..."

The Steward could only offer another bitter smile, thinking that his Young Miss was far too pedantic.

Just as the two were talking, someone knocked and entered. Seeing the visitor, Lü Niangrong's brow finally relaxed a little.

"Brother Zhao, is something the matter?"

Zhao Zheng smiled, a hint of reluctance in his eyes. He said with regret:

"We've imposed on you for several months now, but I'm afraid it's about time for us to leave."

"Oh?"

Lü Niangrong was taken aback for a moment, an imperceptible flicker of disappointment crossing her face. She quickly forced a smile and said:

"All good things must come to an end... Still, I should prepare a great banquet for you before you leave, Brother Zhao. Daoist Lu has given me no small amount of guidance on my cultivation during this time, and I have benefited greatly from each session."

With that, she rose gracefully and instructed the Steward at her side:

"Make the arrangements. Have the chefs from the best restaurant in the city come over."