Chapter 160.1: Dreaming Butterfly (Part 4)

Xu Qianyu flipped backward into a somersault and kneeled on the ground, looking up. His expression changed instantly.

The appearance of the demon was hidden within dark magic energy, but its body was that of a giant, with eyes like lanterns and massive wings on its back. It stood on the ground, supported by eight vine-like tentacles. The tentacles wriggled like coiling serpents, producing a terrifying sound.

Suddenly, the tentacles spread out like a net, embedding themselves into the ground. The long tea table toppled, and beams of dust fell from the ceiling. The cultivators present turned pale with fear, and some reacted quickly by launching their magical tools, but they were useless, like eggs smashing against stones. Those with lower cultivation levels were already bleeding out on the spot.

Xu Qianyu immediately retreated several feet, and the Phoenix Butterfly formation snapped into place. She dug a small hole in the formation and peered outside. The demon, engrossed in its wanton killing, paid her no attention. Once everyone had perished, this little butterfly would be no exception.

The system spoke, “Why aren’t you fighting?”

“What’s the use of fighting? It’s all fake, a waste of effort,” Xu Qianyu replied.

She confirmed that when she had been pushed into this space, there was no one in front of her except for her ‘stepfather’ holding Xu Qianqian and no other presence. Then, the surroundings had completely changed.

She must have been pushed into someone else’s dream.

The banquet here included the figures of Xu Qianqian and her family. This wasn’t Xu Binglai’s dream, but Xu Qianqian’s. However, if it was Xu Qianqian’s dream…

“Can someone still dream inside a dream?” Xu Qianyu mused aloud.

“A dream within a dream?” the system replied. “It’s totally possible. It’s quite common, actually.”

Xu Qianyu looked around, recognizing several familiar faces:

A little girl in a purple dress was struggling in the air. Xu Binglai acted swiftly, drawing a jade ruler from his back and severing the demon’s tentacle. The girl, along with half of her tentacle, fell to the ground—it was the young Fu Shuangshuang.

Fu Shuangshuang gritted her teeth, her face filled with anger. She unfurled an iron fan and shot the iron needles from it at the demon.

“Shuangshuang, this thing has a strong sense of revenge. Be careful. Isn’t it time for your mother to come yet?” a Tianshan female cultivator, wearing a veil, swept the girl behind her with a sword wind. She thanked Xu Binglai and used seven puppet strings to entangle a tentacle that was lunging at them.

On the other side, someone was striking the copper door with a sword, creating sparks. “Why can’t the restriction be broken?”

The Tianshan sect leader’s puppet strings instantly pierced through the person’s body. “If this thing is released, it will cause disaster. We’re here to slay demons, even if it costs our lives. Are you planning to retreat in the face of danger?”

Amid the chaos, a cultivator angrily questioned, “Sect Leader Yin, the Lingyue Immortal Sect’s defenses are inadequate. How did such a demon appear within the sect?”

Yin Xiangjun was seen with a hole pierced through her chest, her complexion as pale as a crumbling jade mountain, leaning against a pillar. She was breathing only in shallow gasps, and with her life fading, there was no point in holding her accountable anymore.

Xu Qianyu did not see the figure of Luo Shui.

This kind of demonic power was unprecedented in her entire Spring Life career. If one were to compare, this demon before her was even more powerful than Xie Yuzhen. Its appearance had been so sudden that the cultivators were caught off guard, throwing their formation into disarray. They missed the chance to team up and create a strategy.

If they couldn’t kill the demon or escape, then when it was her turn, it would be dangerous.

The demonic aura crashed against the back of Xu Qianyu’s neck in waves, urging her battle spirit.

Dreams were illusory, but the burst and loss of spiritual power were real. The person who trapped her in this dream likely intended to use this great demon in the dream to wear her down.

What would happen if she died in a dream? Would she die in reality too?

As Xu Qianyu thought of this, she immediately moved to Xu Binglai’s side. Xu Binglai’s golden eyes swept over her and then passed right by her, walking to the table behind them. “Zhou Bei?”

Just moments before, when he saved Fu Shuangshuang, his wife Zhou Bei had been protecting Xu Qianqian; her back arched like a bridge. After a moment of silence, nothing moved.

Zhou Bei’s complexion was pale as she straightened up and looked at him. Xu Qianqian, who was in her arms, was not seriously injured but stunned, a wound on her cheek slowly healing. Xu Binglai let out a sigh of relief.

Xu Qianyu poked at Xu Binglai’s back with the sword sheath. Before she could make contact, Xu Binglai turned swiftly, his vigilance rising. Xu Qianyu lifted her head and clearly spoke, “Father.”

Xu Qianqian and Zhou Bei both turned to look at her, their expressions filled with surprise.

Xu Qianyu remained calm, realizing she had no choice but to wake up the dreamer.

“Look at my eyes and nose; do I look like you?” Xu Qianyu pointed at her face, her fox ears adding a cunning and charming touch, along with a trace of provoking hostility. “Or do you recognize this sword? It’s the one you personally chose for me.”

As she spoke, Xu Qianyu drew a wooden sword from behind her. At that moment, she saw a flash of hatred in Xu Qianqian’s eyes.

Xu Binglai’s hand tightened around the jade ruler in panic. A cultivator drawing their sword was seen as a challenge, but Xu Qianyu didn’t draw hers. She feinted with the sword and, in a move faster than the ear could register, struck Xu Qianqian’s chest, shouting, “Xu Qianqian, still not awake?”

Xu Binglai’s rage surged, and his sword aura swept her aside in an instant.

Xu Qianyu crashed heavily into the wall, suppressing the blood rising in her throat, and continued, “Xu Qianqian, do you still remember that you were born without spiritual roots? You can heal your injuries now, but the Thunder spiritual root on you—does it belong to you?”
She saw Xu Binglai and Zhou Bei anxiously inspecting Xu Qianqian’s injuries. The young Xu Qianqian had been struck hard, spitting out blood. Xu Binglai’s murderous intent surged, and he turned to strike again, but Xu Qianyu’s sword energy blocked him, causing his sword to fly from his hand and fall to the side.

Xu Binglai froze, reaching for the sword, but was struck away again by Xu Qianyu. Not only was his expression dark, but Xu Qianqian and her mother were also stunned.

“Don’t think that just because I call you father, that you’re really my father.” Xu Qianyu coldly glared at the jade ruler, wiping the blood from her lips and looking at Xu Qianqian. “You pride yourself on loving Xu Qianqian, but when I hit her twice, you couldn’t stop me. What kind of father are you? If anyone else harmed me, my grandfather would lay down his life to protect me.

What about you? You’re not even worth a single finger of his. You’re the one trying to be my father, but I don’t want you.”

Xu Qianqian was first shocked, then her black eyes dimmed, as if something shattered inside her, and strands of sorrow leaked from the fragments.

Suddenly, a pillar in the corner of the hall collapsed with a loud crash!
Amidst the dust and debris, someone joyfully shouted, “The restriction is broken; hurry up and leave!”

However, such a loud noise attracted the demon. It burrowed underground and emerged, several tentacles piercing through the air to block the opening. Other tentacles broke through Xu Qianyu’s sword energy, charging toward the group.

In the nick of time, Xu Qianyu saw Zhou Bei suddenly push away the sword sheath with her finger.

It wasn’t a particularly good sword. Zhou Bei’s fingers were covered in calluses, and her swordsmanship was mediocre, each move the result of painstaking practice, slightly awkward, just like her personality—reserved and somewhat clumsy.

But when she reached her fastest speed, the sword aura displayed a tragic beauty, like a lone wild goose flying toward the earth, leaving Xu Qianyu stunned.

Zhou Bei appeared before Xu Binglai at her fastest speed, her bloodstained hand holding Xu Qianqian. Xu Qianqian’s cries were now silent.

A tentacle pierced through Zhou Bei’s chest from behind, and the blood-red peony bloomed on her white clothes.

She stood still for a moment, and with a small shake of her head, her wide-eyed gaze locked on Xu Binglai.

Then she slid beneath the table, and there was no more sound.

Then something miraculous happened: the demon’s tentacles seemed to recoil from something that terrified it, retreating like receding tides. Xu Qianyu looked back as the crowd fled through the broken restriction.

The hall became eerily silent.

Not long ago, the hall had been filled with laughter and cheer. Now, it was a mess, empty and desolate.

Xu Qianyu took two steps in the silence, then suddenly stopped, crouching under the table.

Zhou Bei’s corpse lay alone beneath the long table, her eyes wide open, left behind in this place.

Xu Qianyu couldn’t understand why Zhou Bei had done this. Her cultivation was much lower, and she didn’t have to block that strike for Xu Binglai. Xu Binglai might not have died, but she had lost her life. Xu Qianyu could only conclude that Xu Qianqian truly had a good mother.

A mother who was so good that Xu Qianyu envied her.

Xu Qianyu paused for a moment, then, mimicking her senior brother, made a gesture to clean the corpse. She extended her hand to close Zhou Bei’s eyes, applying a little pressure to make them shut.

Suddenly, Zhou Bei gripped her wrist. Xu Qianyu was startled, a cold sweat breaking out on her back.

“I’ve waited for a hundred years, and I’ve finally been found. Thank you.” Xu Qianyu heard Zhou Bei’s voice, but the body before her remained motionless, clearly cold. The ethereal voice used a transmission from Penglai. “I wanted to tell Qianqian, but I couldn’t bear it.”

“You… you’re still alive?”

“I died long ago,” the voice replied calmly. “I only left a fragment of my will in Qianqian to wake her if she ever falls into an obstacle. It’s not needed now. Please, young friend, search my soul.”

Unexpectedly, hidden information lay here. Xu Qianyu extended his spiritual sense towards the corpse, then hesitated. “But after reading this, you will disappear. You will never meet Xu Qianqian again.”

Zhou Bei was silent for a moment, then bitterly smiled. “I would rather she never know any of this.”

Xu Qianyu’s spiritual sense swept through the meridians, quickly accessing the memories of the sword cultivator.

Zhou Bei’s recollections were grey, carrying the dampness of rain.

That grey was the smoke from when her father, before entering the Dao, was busy at the stove, standing on a stool, and it was the misty fields she gazed at while resting her chin on her hand, listening to the rain under the eaves. Zhou Yan entered the Dao with a sword from Gucun Village, and when she followed her father into the mountain gate, she took a last look at the village in the misty rain.