Chapter 39 : Reencounter with the Dream Goddess, Only…
Chapter 39: Reencounter with the Dream Goddess, Only…
On Long Tao’s side, after parting ways with Dong Jiayuan, he walked back alone, his steps heavy as if his legs had been filled with lead.
The tangled mess in his heart only grew more knotted the more he tried to sort it out.
Master and servant entering an immortal sect together was nothing new in the Cultivation World.
Cases where the servant possessed extraordinary talent, later overtook the former master, and surpassed them in cultivation were far from rare.
Generally speaking, as long as old ties remained, both sides could maintain a semblance of dignity—sometimes even supporting one another and achieving a story worthy of praise.
For example, that well-known True Person Qingyang in the sect had entered as a household servant just like Nan Yuchen.
His talent turned out to be astonishing, and in the end, he even formed a Dao partnership with the young lady of the main family who had entered the sect alongside him.
Together, they both achieved the Golden Core Stage, making countless others envious.
Of course, those were extremely rare cases.
More often than not, the relationship barely held at the level of a polite nod.
Take Nan Yuchen, for instance—back then, he had come to the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect as the personal attendant of their family’s Young Lady.
Who could have imagined that he possessed a once-in-ten-thousand Heavenly Spiritual Root, leaping straight into becoming a personally transmitted disciple of a True Person?
Meanwhile, that former Young Lady could only rely on her family’s recommendation to barely become an Outer Sect Disciple.
As for their current relationship? It was said they were practically strangers.
If even someone with Nan Yuchen’s naive and sweet disposition could grow so distant, one could easily imagine what kind of life he had lived back in the main household.
And today, this basin of melodramatic blood had finally been poured squarely over Long Tao’s own head.
This was already the second time since obtaining that damned System that he had so clearly felt himself being dragged into some predetermined “plot.” But this time, what it brought was not curiosity, but deep entanglement and unease.
The “master–servant” relationship now hung over him like a sharp sword suspended above his head, its tip swaying uncertainly.
He had no idea when it might fall, nor what kind of consequences it would bring.
Even if Little Ying still remembered their past bond, her new master… True Person Zhiying… damn it… just thinking of that name made Long Tao’s scalp go numb.
That woman was stunningly beautiful, but her reputation within the sect was equally famous for decisiveness and ruthless resolve! If she decided that this “former master” of her precious disciple was an eyesore and struck him down with a casual sword… the Discipline Hall would probably just turn a blind eye and pretend nothing had happened.
However, perhaps because he had been tempered by the broken System’s two consecutive “life-and-death System Tasks,” Long Tao realized that his ability to withstand pressure had increased noticeably.
After the initial agitation and panic passed, he actually forced himself to calm down rather quickly.
So be it! Whatever comes will come! If it was fortune, it would not be disaster; if it was disaster, it could not be avoided!
At worst, it would just be humiliating! Could it be more humiliating than being forced by the System to spy on a Golden Core True Person bathing?
Just think about it—his own young master had struggled and strained through cultivation for five years, only barely climbing to the Qi-Refining Fifth Layer.
That little girl arrived and was directly taken as a personally transmitted disciple by a Nascent Soul seed-level contender, ascending to the heavens in a single step… This contrast alone was enough for him to become “immortalized in infamy” back in his hometown of Qinglin Town.
“No!” Long Tao suddenly stopped, gritting his teeth hard.
“Losing face is one thing, but I can’t lose it completely!”
No matter what, before meeting Little Ying again, he had to break through to the Qi-Refining Sixth Layer!
Even if it only salvaged a tiny, negligible shred of dignity, he would stake his life to claw it back!
This inexplicable surge of fighting spirit temporarily overwhelmed his fear of True Person Zhiying.
He quickened his pace, nearly rushing back to his small courtyard, his mind filled with only one thought—
Closed-door cultivation! Break through! Qi-Refining Sixth Layer!
……
That night, just as the sky darkened, Long Tao climbed into bed early, trying to store up every bit of energy for the crucial breakthrough the next day.
He had thought that the earth-shaking event of the day would leave him tossing and turning, yet the moment his head touched the pillow, an irresistible heaviness of drowsiness surged over him like a tide and swallowed him whole.
When he regained awareness, he found himself once again floating in that familiar dreamlike void with indistinct boundaries.
“Again?”
The thought had just surfaced when he froze himself.
In his subconscious, there seemed to be a voice reminding him that he had indeed had a similar Lucid Dream before, only to forget its contents completely after waking.
Now that he had fallen into this realm again, it felt as though the key had finally fit the lock—click—and fragmented memories surged forth.
“Who did I dream about last time…?”
He looked around blankly in the emptiness, his gaze quickly seized by a figure he could never mistake.
True Person Mingzhu.
That’s right! It was her last time too! Long Tao, oh Long Tao, you were truly wasting a priceless gift!
A limited-edition, ultra-high-definition erotic dream bestowed by the heavens, and you actually managed to forget it?!
Before he could finish berating himself, an invisible force tugged at him, gently drifting him over to True Person Mingzhu.
Before he had time to speak, the peerlessly elegant goddess in the dream naturally extended one slender, jade-like foot right in front of him.
“Your kneading last time was acceptable,” her tone was lazy, carrying an unquestionable air of noble entitlement.
“Continue.”
Ah! He remembered now!
A spark flashed through Long Tao’s mind—the previous dream had also ended with him massaging the True Person’s feet! So this erotic dream even had a serialized mode? Fine then.
Since it was his own dream anyway, why bother pretending to be a gentleman? He resigned himself, reached out, and began to “serve” her with practiced familiarity.
“Sigh…”
True Person Mingzhu suddenly let out a soft, lingering sigh.
The sorrow and languor woven into that sound were so intoxicating that Long Tao nearly collapsed on the spot.
He subconsciously raised his head and discovered that this longed-for face in his dream was astonishingly clear! Even the faint Aura of Quiet Sorrow shrouding her brows was visible in full detail, completely unlike the usual blur and distortion of ordinary dreams.
“True Person… do you have something on your mind?” he asked, emboldened.
True Person Mingzhu lounged leisurely with one leg crossed over the other, one hand propping up her chin as she looked down at him with a gaze that blended girlish petulance and queenly arrogance.
Then, that clear yet slightly soft voice rang out,
“Zhiying… seems to have taken in quite a good disciple.”
Huh?
Long Tao stared blankly for a long moment before it clicked.
This really was a case of thoughts by day, dreams by night! Hadn’t he been tangled up all day over Little Ying being taken as a disciple by True Person Zhiying? He hadn’t expected that emotion to feed back into his dream! But… come on! Bringing such reality-oriented plot into such a rare erotic dream was really killing the mood!
“Well… taking in disciples is a common thing…” Long Tao replied dryly, trying to drag the conversation back on track.
“No! It’s not fine at all!” True Person Mingzhu suddenly sounded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her voice rising with unreasonable petulance.
“Why does everything always go so smoothly for her?! Everything works out perfectly!”
This sudden, childlike outburst of complaint shocked Long Tao so much that his hands froze.
He stared dumbfounded at this scene that could never happen in reality.
“Don’t stop! Keep rubbing!”
The True Person stamped the foot in his hands in displeasure.
“Oh! Oh! Right away!”
Long Tao hurriedly resumed with extra effort.
As if his massage were some kind of switch, True Person Mingzhu continued venting her grievances,
“Mmm…! That girl’s luck is always infuriatingly good! Just think… it’s been almost three hundred years, hasn’t it? Back when Senior Brother brought her back to the sect, I was already at the Mid Golden Core Stage, while she was still a little girl who hadn’t even touched the threshold of Qi Refining! And then what happened? Senior Brother passed away long ago.
I struggled bitterly to reach the Late Golden Core Stage—and her?! In less than three hundred years, she caught up to me! Standing on equal footing!”
With a face full of resentment, True Person Mingzhu somehow produced a white jade wine flask out of thin air.
Like a bold wanderer of the martial world, she tilted her head back and gulped down several mouthfuls, completely ignoring Long Tao’s expression as his dream worldview shattered.
She continued her loud accusations,
“I thought that at least when it came to taking in disciples, I could finally outdo her! When Muzhi and Qingya advanced to the Golden Core one after the other, I enjoyed quite a bit of glory! Who would’ve thought… hmph! Her eldest disciple reached the Golden Core not long after! And the remaining two also look quite promising!”
As Long Tao listened to these “love and hate entanglements” of a giant of the immortal world, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to a certain breathtaking sight before him, swaying along with its owner’s agitated emotions.
At that moment, True Person Mingzhu’s other jade foot suddenly lifted and kicked him lightly but firmly, knocking him down into the void.
Then, both feet stepped onto him, as if using him as a human footstool.
Unsatisfied, she even ground them down a bit, as though only then could she vent the frustration in her heart.
“Later, I finally took in Yuchen! That child’s talent and disposition are flawless! I thought that this time I could definitely suppress her! But what happened?! Her! How could her luck be that good?! She just takes a casual stroll outside and picks up a successor who can inherit that absurd set of supreme arts of hers?! Wuu…”
Pinned underfoot, Long Tao’s mind was in complete chaos.
This… was this really his dream?
The True Person Mingzhu he had fantasized about deep in his heart… how could she be like this?!
He even began to seriously suspect that the stimulation he had suffered during the day had been too much, causing some kind of mental issue, which was why he could produce such an absurd and bizarre dream.