Chapter 95 - 92 Master of Dreams

Chapter 95: Chapter 92 Master of DreamsZhou Xuan had no intention of running away. The predestined death weighed upon him, and coupled with the significant strength disparity between him and the Alien Ghost, even if he wanted to flee, he couldn’t. One incense fire, one method. When he first encountered the Human Turtle, it had said, "Someone’s coming. How did I not predict it?" This confirmed that the Alien Ghost had predictive means, along with the Blood Mysterious Array Map around it, proving that its incense fire level was at least two incense, whether it was three or four or more. Zhou Xuan needed more information to make a judgment. But with more than two incense and having the "prediction" method, it reminded Zhou Xuan of that fortune teller who adeptly used Money Divination. "Prediction" was the natural enemy of the storyteller’s Dream Generation technique, and with a difference in incense fire levels, running would only expose more flaws— —Zhou Xuan gripped his Bodhi seed tightly, entering a life-and-death battle stance. This battle stance took the Human Turtle by surprise. "Why isn’t he panicking at all? Does he think I’m on the same Dao level as him, with only one or two incense?" The Human Turtle started to feel uneasy and grew cautious and suspicious. "Zhou Xuan only recently lit his incense, at most, he’s at one incense, let’s say two incense, If he’s not afraid of me, could it be that he has brought Forbidden Artifacts or Magic Artifacts?" Even with a Forbidden Artifact, it shouldn’t make up for the incense fire level difference between us." The Human Turtle had already attained the four incense level and could almost crush Zhou Xuan purely in incense fire level terms. "He better not be bluffing; this kid is cunning." Being naturally cautious, the Human Turtle decided to test Zhou Xuan! Thus, it circled around Zhou Xuan, getting two steps closer with each circle, until it annoyed Zhou Xuan. "Dawdling, what kind of Alien Ghost are you? If you don’t make a move, I’ll move first." Zhou Xuan needed to quickly gather more combat information from the Human Turtle, so he pinched a Bodhi seed and flicked it toward a thick bamboo not far away. He missed, lacking precision, But it didn’t matter, there were plenty of bamboos in the grove, and although he missed the first one, he struck another bamboo behind it. "Tap." The Bodhi seed’s impact on the bamboo produced the sound of a gavel. The Human Turtle knew from the information brought by Lao Ma before that Zhou Xuan had already joined the storyteller. The storyteller had the skill to generate dreams. He dared not underestimate him, and upon hearing the sound, the turtle shell on his forehead rotated, sealing his Six Senses, entering a Turtle Breath state, and he remained still like a stone. "This turtle has at least three incense fires!" Zhou Xuan discerned a bit. The Human Turtle’s method of incense fire required the turtle shell between its brows to be activated. Earlier, to prevent himself from resisting the dream, the turtle shell rotated, and his body remained motionless, which was another method of his. Prediction, array map, Turtle Breath. The three methods were clear. Zhou Xuan realized that the incense fire level difference between him and the Human Turtle wasn’t just large but substantial. The next moment, after the Human Turtle released the Turtle Breath state, he proudly and sarcastically said, "My Turtle Breath Technique specifically breaks your Dream Generation, watch..." Zhou Xuan did not wait for the Human Turtle to finish his sentence and flicked another Bodhi seed to hit the bamboo, producing the sound of a gavel. The Human Turtle, hearing the noise from the bamboo forest, immediately swallowed his unfinished words. The turtle shell between his brows activated again, and he entered the motionless Turtle Breath state once more. *"This old turtle’s prediction seems not to have been used from the beginning until now."* *Zhou Xuan discerned some battle information once more.* *The last time he saw Yuan Buyu duel with that fortune teller, he knew that the Money Divination continuously predicted while fighting.* *But the turtle shell between the Human Turtle’s brows almost never turned before he made the sound with the gavel.* *"The old turtle isn’t using prediction to counter my Dream Generation."* *Having this thought, Zhou Xuan decided to test, as he flicked another Bodhi seed. This time, instead of aiming for the bamboo, he flicked it towards a large rock next to the bamboo.* The sound of the Bodhi seed hitting the rock was quite different from the gavel’s sound. If the Human Turtle was countering the Dream Creation Technique through prediction, it wouldn’t predict this sound, and it wouldn’t react. The prediction method, as taught by Yuan Buyu, was to calculate the sound of a gavel. However, The Human Turtle once again reacted. Upon hearing the Bodhi seed strike the stone, he returned to the Turtle Breath state, sealing his Six Senses. Zhou Xuan repeated it three more times. Regardless of whether the Bodhi seed hit the ground or the bamboo leaves, as long as there was a sound, the Human Turtle would remain motionless to resist Dream Generation. Zhou Xuan discerned many things. *"This old turtle is listening to sound, where its immobility is sealing its perception."* *After a storyteller generates a dream, it drags people into a daydream, which, although very fast, still takes some time, even if it’s extremely brief.* *The Human Turtle capitalized on this weakness. Upon hearing the sound, it immediately sealed its Six Senses, thus sealing its perception.* *His speed in sealing his Six Senses after hearing the sound was faster than the storyteller’s pull into the dream, rendering the Dream Creation Technique ineffective against him.* *"However, relying on sound rather than prediction is clearly a notch lower. Why doesn’t he use prediction to calculate the gavel’s sound?"* It wasn’t that the Human Turtle didn’t want to use prediction, it was simply that his predictive speed was too slow to be used in a direct fight. The Money Divination’s strength lay in its fast calculation, but the Human Turtle’s prediction was stronger in layout, with exceptionally profound and broad predictions. Profoundly calculating the big picture but timid in small fights. *"The Human Turtle’s methods are mostly figured out... the remaining..."* *Zhou Xuan’s nerves began to tense up. He started strategizing on how to deal with this Human Turtle.* *The Human Turtle’s method of countering the storyteller, although simplistic in appearance, was quite effective.* *No matter what sound was made, it would seal its perception, meeting changes with consistency. As long as the Dream Creation Technique couldn’t be employed, none of the storyteller’s subsequent changes would follow.* *But breaking this Magic Skill wasn’t impossible, as long as no sound was made.* *Like Yuan Buyu, who lightly taps the gavel with his knuckles, controlling the sound to be minimal.* *As long as the Human Turtle’s ears couldn’t hear, he wouldn’t seal his Six Senses in time, naturally unable to defend against the Dream Generation technique.* *Zhou Xuan already had a plan to break the Human Turtle’s Turtle Breath technique, but the problem was—what after breaking the Turtle Breath technique?* *Currently, he hadn’t yet advanced to two incense, still at the one incense level. On the other hand, the opponent was at least at the three incense level. The gap was significant.* *Would his dream’s flaws be easily seen through?* Zhou Xuan continued flicking the Bodhi seed rhythmically, forcing the Human Turtle to keep using the Turtle Breath, just to buy more time for himself to think. *He occasionally glanced at the probing Human Turtle, then at the blood-colored Mysterious Formation Map overhead. Suddenly, a bold idea surfaced in his mind—since it’s already a gamble with life, why not gamble bigger...* Having thought through the setup, Zhou Xuan changed his psychological stance from defense to offense, choosing to take the initiative. He first headed deeper into the bamboo forest through a feigned attack with two or three Bodhi seeds. The denser bamboo deep within, he held the gavel behind his back with his left hand, and with his right, flicked the bamboo. "Tap!" The Human Turtle remained as cautious as before, immediately going into Turtle Breath upon hearing the sound. The bamboo was denser here; with just a couple of steps, Zhou Xuan reached another bamboo and flicked it again. This time, the Human Turtle didn’t go into Turtle Breath. Instead, he suddenly had a burst of energy, swaggering towards Zhou Xuan: "I’ve thoroughly figured you out, kid. You only have this trick of bluffing with sound." While Zhou Xuan probed the Human Turtle, the latter was also probing Zhou Xuan. Probing went both ways. Zhou Xuan stood still, reaching out to flick the bamboo again. Yet, this time the Human Turtle did not employ Turtle Breath. He had already gotten so close to Zhou Xuan. With one palm strike, he aimed at Zhou Xuan, who lightly tapped the bamboo with his hand behind his back. The Human Turtle unexpectedly entered Turtle Breath. *"How cunning."* *Only then did Zhou Xuan realize that the Human Turtle still feared Dream Generation, but he couldn’t endure the continued intimidation, so he pretended not to fear Zhou Xuan to bait him into using the gavel.* *His Turtle Breath had been waiting all along.* When the Human Turtle quickly released himself from Turtle Breath, Zhou Xuan was only a step away. The Human Turtle’s face showed ferocity, his forearm thrusting heavily towards Zhou Xuan’s chest. This time, Zhou Xuan neither dodged nor evaded, feeling that the timing was right. As the opponent moved genuinely, his hearing would decline, and he could start using the gavel! Zhou Xuan quickly wrapped his shirt sleeve around the gavel twice behind his back, then tapped it with his knuckles. The force he used was initially not strong, and with the shirt fabric cushioning, the sound was controlled to be very faint. To mask the sound further, Zhou Xuan pressed his foot down forcefully, causing the withered fallen bamboo leaves to crunch loudly underfoot. "Snap." The gavel’s sound merged with the rustle of crushed bamboo leaves. The Human Turtle did not enter the Turtle Breath state; the turtle shell on his back trembled slightly. He entered the dream. The Zhou Xuan in front of the Human Turtle suddenly vanished, replaced by various murmuring whispers. "Embrace death. Death is the beginning of rebirth." "Dying is simple... just pierce your sharp claws into your throat." "Believe in death, believe in reincarnation. Entering the cycle is eternal life!" Numerous thoughts encouraging death overwhelmed the Human Turtle, and a suicidal thought emerged. He would end himself! The Human Turtle slowly raised his right arm, the claw tips gleaming as they incrementally approached his throat. "No... no... no, you’re bewitching me!" he protested. More accurately, it wasn’t bewitchment but pollution. Zhou Xuan was only at the one incense level. Although he could utilize nearly all of the storyteller’s techniques, most techniques were mainly illusory, but due to the large gap in incense fire levels, the opponent could easily spot weaknesses. Or Zhou Xuan’s own incense fire level was insufficient to exert significant power. There was even the technique of three hours—Dream into Dream, which Zhou Xuan still didn’t know how to execute, given how abstract it was. To deal with the Human Turtle, Zhou Xuan recalled the storyteller’s technique of three hours—Master of Dreams! "If you reach three hours, the daydream is no longer something you create; you become the dream! In this realm, you’re the only God within the dream. Every thought can invade and pollute those trapped in your dream!" Those were Yuan Buyu’s words during the first day of teaching, which Zhou Xuan had remembered. Just now, he used the Master of Dreams technique according to those words. Unexpectedly, this technique felt strangely familiar to Zhou Xuan; he adapted quickly, using his thoughts to invade and pollute the Human Turtle, as if self-taught. "You’re bewitching me—I’m in your dream, and you’re bewitching me." After all, the Human Turtle was at the four incense level, and Zhou Xuan’s dream didn’t hold a firm grasp. "I need to break your dream!" Breaking the dream required finding its flaw...