Chapter 684  : Tear

Chen Fei remained calm, his halted steps seamlessly continuing forward along the mountain path, heading towards the summit.

There was a glimpse of probing, fleeting though it was, but Chen Fei caught it. “The spiritual essence of the Dream Shadow Cave, or something else?” Several thoughts flashed through Chen Fei’s mind, but the time was too short, and he couldn’t discern the meaning behind this probing.

Nevertheless, compared to before, Chen Fei became somewhat more cautious, and his pace slowed slightly as he ascended. Moreover, starting from halfway up the mountainside, the difficulty of various trials increased, and the techniques became considerably more profound.

However, the difficulty of the techniques was not an issue for Chen Fei. These trials on the mountain paths merely required one to learn and execute them, rather than attaining a certain level of cultivation in a short period.

Just learning was too simple for Chen Fei.

Although Chen Fei intentionally slowed his pace, because there were no checkpoints to stop him, he gradually neared the summit.

Outside the cave, onlookers almost held their breath. The spot on the mountain path where the light was, at this moment, was approaching a top-ten historical achievement.

Over thousands of years, countless prodigies had risen, and while those truly backed by significant backgrounds might disdain the inheritance of Master Dream Shadow, ordinary martial artists, given the right opportunity, still harbored thoughts of visiting the Dream Shadow Cave.

Throughout these years, although no one had been able to truly claim ownership of the Dream Shadow Cave, the position of the leader was already very close to the peak.

Or rather, the top-ten position was just a short distance away from the peak, but it was this small distance that ultimately stopped these individuals in their tracks. At this moment, on the Dream Shadow Cave, the positions of the former top ten were specially marked, visible at a glance to those outside.

Inside the cave, Chen Fei looked at the stone tablet ahead. Compared to the other trials on the mountain path just now, the appearance of this stone tablet seemed somewhat special.

Recalling information about the Dream Shadow Cave, Chen Fei suddenly realized that this was the place where the tenth-ranked individual fell all those years ago.

Chen Fei’s expression shifted slightly as he stepped into it.

A heavy drowsiness enveloped him, as if his entire mind was stuffed with rocks. Trying to even slightly maneuver his thoughts became not only extremely difficult but also accompanied by a sharp tearing sensation in his mind.

This kind of pain, as if it wanted to tear apart one’s consciousness, instinctively made one want to abandon excessive thoughts.

“Roar!”

A roar echoed in Chen Fei’s sea of consciousness, causing his soul to tremble. The sensation of pain dissipated from his mind, and simultaneously, a sense of sword intent extinguished the anomaly.

Chen Fei’s gaze only remained confused for a moment before returning to complete clarity. Looking around, he saw lush green mountains and clear waters, a scene of tranquility.

Glancing behind him, Chen Fei noticed a thatched hut, though it had aged and some parts were already damaged.

Lowering his head to examine himself, Chen Fei observed wrinkled skin on his arms, the body of someone approaching the twilight years of life. It felt as though his entire body was burdened, requiring all his strength with every movement.

“Dream Entry?”

A hint of a smile appeared on Chen Fei’s face. Compared to the illusions of the previous trials, he was finally entering the Dream Realm.

Illusions blur the lines between reality and falsehood, testing one’s discernment. It’s difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not, as seen in the ant-devouring illusion Chen Fei encountered before.

You know clearly that many of these are illusions, yet the pain feels so real, the disappearance of flesh and blood feels so real, eventually making you doubt whether everything in front of you is real, and whether you are truly about to be consumed completely. Dreams, on the other hand, undoubtedly take it a step further from illusions. They directly cloud your senses, cutting off your suspicions at the very root. With the power of a spiritual treasure like the Dream Shadow Cave, and all the participants being below the Mountain Sea Realm, the key point is that the person is still within the spiritual treasure. It’s effortless to let someone in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm enter the dream.

Even those at the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm were no exception, including those who practiced secret techniques to touch their own souls.

Except for Chen Fei!

Chen Fei looked up into the distance, and at some point, the sound of people became tumultuous there. The next moment, a group of people surged out, desperately running towards this direction.

Behind these people appeared mountain bandits, ruthlessly slaughtering those who were trying to escape.

Among those fleeing, many bore some resemblance to Chen Fei in their facial features. Even if they weren’t direct relatives, there should be some blood relation.

The screams of these people before their deaths were exceptionally agonizing, their contorted faces vividly displayed before Chen Fei, igniting a surge of anger in his heart.

This anger wasn’t Chen Fei’s own; it was bestowed by this dream.

The power of the dream lies in its ability to forcibly impose emotions upon you. If you don’t realize that you’re in a dream, then everything will be manipulated by the creator of the dream.

“Do you think you can hide from everything by hiding here? These people all died because of you. How do you feel?”

A leader of the mountain bandits grabbed a woman by her hair, forcefully dragging her along. The woman let out heart-wrenching cries of pain and pleas for mercy.

But the leader of the mountain bandits not only didn’t let go but also looked at Chen Fei with a smirk on his face, swinging his blade towards the woman’s legs.

“Hmph!”

A sword aura flashed past, causing the leader of the mountain bandits to involuntarily stiffen. A streak of blood appeared on his forehead. Not only did the leader freeze, but the actions of the nearly hundred people ahead also came to a halt..