📖 Chapter 1310 - Whose Dream?

21 Apr, 2024

After learning about the Black Earth Empire from Little Fifth all those years ago, Wang Baole had searched for information on it for a long time. There was once a Black Earth Empire in the stele world, but that Black Earth Empire wasn’t the real one.

Now, after taking a long detour, he had arrived at the real Black Earth Empire like this.

Looking at the totem above the imperial palace in the distance, as well as the bustling crowds filling the streets despite the rain, Wang Baole felt his heart stir. In the crowds around him, he saw people walking alone, as well as couples cuddling together beneath their umbrellas. He saw some people rushing around in a hurry, while others strolled along in a leisurely manner.

He saw merchants hawking their wares from cloth tents. He saw showgirls holding fans to their mouths and beckoning to passersby from the windows of pavilions. He saw a mother in a yard tugging on the ear of her naughty son, and also a group of guards patrolling in the distance.

There was a middle-aged man lying drunk in the alleyway. The cold rain woke him up, but he didn’t rise to his feet. Instead, he muttered under his breath, turned around, and went right back to sleep. There was also a little thief filtering through the crowd picking pockets, and further away, a rich businessman in luxurious clothes could be seen walking out of a pavilion with a flushed face.

All of this was what Wang Baole saw as he looked at the city around him. Then, he closed his eyes.

Mixed noises gradually filled his ears. He could hear the sound of footsteps, the sound of raindrops falling to the ground, the shouts of the merchants, and the laughter of children playing in the rain.

Human life was like a painting. At this moment, a corner of this painting appeared in Wang Baole’s heart.

All kinds of sights and sounds wove together to form the world. As all of this emerged in Wang Baole’s mind, he opened his eyes once again. Holding his oil paper umbrella, he looked in front of him at a little girl with pigtails.

This little girl had inadvertently passed by Wang Baole while chasing her playmates. Even though she was soaked by rain, she was still happy. Even when she slipped and fell, splashing water all over the ground, she immediately got up and continued to run after her playmates while laughing.

However, after running a few steps, she suddenly noticed Wang Baole. Perhaps she was surprised by the appearance of a static person in this world full of movement, so she turned around and glanced at him.

Her eyes were clear, and her face was full of curiosity. When she made eye contact with Wang Baole, she suddenly stuck her tongue out at him and ran away.

Watching the little girl’s back disappear around the corner, Wang Baole smiled lightly. He knew that everything here was part of someone’s dream, and this dream was extremely realistic. Even if there was only one city in this dream, every puddle inside the city, every brick, every tile, and even every passerby was completely lifelike.

“Only someone with a deep obsession could create such a realistic dream.” Wang Baole murmured as he looked back up at the palace. In fact, deep obsession alone wasn’t enough for this realistic of a dream; shocking personal strength was also necessary.

Only then could a dream like this be created, where the city was already indistinguishable from reality. This dream was so realistic that it was even possible to get lost in it and end up unable to tell truth from falsehood.

There definitely weren’t many people in the Black Earth Empire who were capable of achieving such a feat. Wang Baole’s divine will immediately swept out, and in the palace, he sensed the aura of slumber.

This aura was extremely powerful. Even with Wang Baole’s current cultivation base, he couldn’t help but feel wary. The identity of this person wasn’t difficult to guess. This was… Little Fifth’s father, the Black Earth Emperor!

“Then is this the Black Earth Emperor’s dream?” Wang Baole felt a little uncertain. He knew that the Black Earth Emperor could indeed create a dream like this where the city seemed completely real. However… according to Wang Baole’s understanding as a fifth step cultivator, if the Black Earth Emperor really wanted to, it wouldn’t be impossible to dream up an entire starry sky.

Thus, deep in thought, Wang Baole walked toward the palace at an ambling pace. On the way, he passed countless pedestrians, but these people all forgot him as soon as they took their eyes off him.

It was as if everything in this dream had a fixed logic. Wang Baole’s arrival wasn’t enough to disrupt it; whether he was here or not, the dream would continue exactly as before.

Just like that, Wang Baole walked along in the rain. He crossed street after street and road after road, and finally appeared in front of the palace. Raising his head, he stared up at the huge parrot totem.

Faintly, it seemed as if the parrot was looking back down at him.

After staring for a long time, Wang Baole became pensive. Withdrawing his gaze, he took a step forward and disappeared on the spot. When he reappeared, he was already inside the palace.

The place he appeared seemed to be the Black Earth Emperor’s study. Bamboo slips filled the room, and at the head of the long table in the center of the room… was the Black Earth Emperor, sitting there like a mountain.

Dressed in a simple green robe, his figure was tall and muscular, and his expression was dignified as he read through the bamboo slips in his hands. Nothing shocking could be seen on the surface, but it seemed as if within his body was a storm that could destroy all of creation. It was even to the extent that laying eyes on him could make a person collapse directly, as if they had seen something that shouldn’t be seen.

The weight of his Dao was too great, and the power of law contained within him was like a gigantic, all-consuming vortex.

Compared to this figure, although Wang Baole was also a vortex, he was clearly weaker. However, he wasn’t so weak as to fall apart just from looking.

Right now, aside from the Black Earth Emperor and Wang Baole, there was no one else in the entire hall. It was completely and utterly silent.

Wang Baole didn’t say a word, merely observing the Black Earth Emperor and sensing the vast might emanating from the man’s body. Time passed, and the Black Earth Emperor suddenly spoke.

"You shouldn't have come."

As soon as his voice rang out, thunder rumbled outside, and bolts of lightning streaked across the sky. The dark clouds covering the sunset flickered.

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes, but he still didn’t speak. Instead, he turned around and looked at the threshold of the hall. At this moment, a young man dressed in a magnificent robe was standing there. He had already stepped one foot past the threshold, but at the Black Earth Emperor’s words, he flinched and hesitantly spoke in a quiet voice.

"Father, I…"

This young man looked exactly like Little Fifth. His aura was somewhat different from that of the others in this city, seemingly more intelligent.

“Leave.” Before Little Fifth could finish speaking, the Black Earth Emperor interrupted him, speaking coldly without even raising his head.

“Father, I… I want to go out, I don’t want to stay here, I…” Little Fifth tried again.

“Begone!” The Black Earth Emperor’s voice became louder, and the rumbling of thunder outside grew even more violent. Little Fifth instantly turned pale with fright, and instinctively withdrew the foot that had entered the hall. His face flushed red with grief and indignation, and after shooting Wang Baole a passing glance, he turned and left.

Wang Baole frowned slightly as he looked at Little Fifth’s retreating back. Little Fifth’s existence in this dream seemed a bit strange.

“Fellow Daoist, you came here through a dream. But no matter what your intentions are, you aren’t welcome. Are you going to leave or not?” A cold voice laced with killing intent came from behind Wang Baole as he watched Little Fifth leave.

The Black Earth Emperor slowly raised his originally lowered head. His eyes were ice-cold, and his gaze as he looked at Wang Baole seemed to contain rumbling thunder.

Wang Baole looked at the Black Earth Emperor and frowned. He had assumed from the very beginning that this was the Black Earth Emperor’s dream, and everything going on seemed to confirm that assumption. However… the anomaly in Little Fifth made him doubt himself.

‘Just whose dream is this?’ Narrowing his eyes, Wang Baole thought for a while. In the end, he bowed and cupped his fists toward the Black Earth Emperor.

“Pardon me.” With that, he turned and left.

The Black Earth Emperor’s gaze remained fixated on Wang Baole until he had completely disappeared from the hall. Then, lowering his head, the Black Earth Emperor began reading the bamboo slips again in silence.

At this moment, in an inconspicuous alley outside the palace, the drunk middle-aged man mumbled to himself.

“Why’s it raining again? Disturbing my sweet dreams...”