“Ah, Ah—”
Jiang Yi was within a few hundred meters of the entrance. Countless bat demonic beasts were alerted of his presence. They hurled toward Jiang Yi like blades through the sky. At that moment, Jiang Yi felt like his body was being cut up into millions of small pieces. The pain was simply unbearable.
At that moment between life and death, his instinct was to escape and preserve himself. He wanted to use Heaven Evasion and leave immediately. He thought about using the Astral Winds Divine Shield to retreat. At the same time, the intense pain was reminding him that this was no illusion. If he continued to charge forward, he would really die.
“A Golden Millet Dream. Everything is nothing but a Golden Millet Dream. Whether I live or die is only a part of the Golden Millet Dream as well. Once I wake up, everything will be over. Go, go, go!”
At last, he chose to persevere against his better judgment. He cast all his worries aside and focused on charging forward. He did not care that his body was being cut up into a million pieces. At that moment, even his consciousness was a blur. Life and death were but a dream. Did Zhuang Zhou[1] dream of the butterfly or did the butterfly dream that it was Zhuang Zhou[2]? Jiang Yi did not know anymore. All he wanted to do was charge toward the entrance. He knew that as long as he was strong enough in heart, even the Death God could not defeat him.
“Ah, Ah!”
He kept screaming out in pain. Faintly, he could see his body falling apart into smaller pieces. His spirit had become just a small translucent person floating in the air. He caught glimpses of his spirit dissipating slowly. He was about to disappear from the face of the earth forever!
Everything went black. Jiang Yi felt like he was in an endless sea of darkness. There was no more pain. It felt like he was in the seconds just before death—there was only a small portion of his consciousness left.
“Congratulations, Jiang Yi, you have made it through the Golden Millet Dream…”
In the darkness, Jiang Yi heard a familiar voice by his ear. Then, he heard another familiar female voice. “Jiang Yi, I knew you could do it.”
Jiang Yi forced his eyes open and saw that he was already in the Mystic Divine Palace. He was standing in a city plaza. There were three transportation arrays around him. This was the white jade city plaza that led to the three different challenges of the Mystic Divine Palace.
“It really was an illusion. That illusion felt way too real. The Mystic Thearch’s standards are way too frightening.”
Jiang Yi was panting. He reached out and hit his own thigh. Then, he reached out and grabbed Yin Ruobing’s little hand. Once he was sure that he was no longer dreaming, he heaved a huge sigh of relief.
“Hehe!”
Yin Ruobing’s beautiful eyes were twinkling. She raised her eyebrows so that they formed beautiful curves, and she said, “Actually, Jiang Yi, your spirit isn’t that strong. If you were stronger, you would probably have been able to tell that it was all an illusion. In fact, what you saw and felt inside were just illusions. All you had to do was keep your focus on what was ahead and barge your way here.”
“Mm, I still have the two of you to thank for your advice. Otherwise, I would never have just charged forward.” Jiang Yi cupped his hands toward the two of them. Then, he looked around curiously. “Why is it just the two of you here? Where’s Jian Wuying?”
Yin Ruobing turned to glance at Yi Chan. She giggled, “He advanced into the next level a long time ago. Zhan Tianlei and She Fei have already gone in as well. The winner of this entire race gets the Mystic Divine Palace. Big Sister Chan insisted on waiting for you before advancing to the challenge.”
Yi Chan turned around and stole a sideways glance at Jiang Yi. In a cool voice, she said, “All the best, Jiang Yi. Whether you can obtain the Mystic Divine Palace is all up to your capabilities now!”
Swish!
With that, Yi Chan entered the middle transportation array. Yin Ruobing stayed where she was. Jiang Yi also kept his gaze fixed on the few sentences above the transportation arrays. The reward for passing the three challenges was right there in the white jade city plaza. The winner of the entire race would win the Mystic Divine Palace.
“Glazed Pagoda. The second place gets the Glazed Pagoda!”
Jiang Yi’s eyes were fixed on the second line. He began to get more and more excited. Compared to the Mystic Divine Palace, Jiang Yi wanted the Glazed Pagoda much more. As long as he could get the Glazed Pagoda, he would be able to bring Su Ruoxue safely back for sure. He was no longer interested in the treasures that the other people would get. He turned to look at the hellish-grade challenge.
Yin Ruobing straightened up and said, “Jiang Yi, you’re not thinking about going to the hellish-grade challenge, are you? She Fei and Zhan Tianlei entered that same transportation array. You will likely meet them inside!”
“All of them chose this one as well?” Jiang Yi’s eyes brightened. He said resolutely, “Then all the more I must enter this transportation array. This is the only one that will give me what I want. I’m going in. Take care of yourself.”
“No!”
Yin Ruobing gritted her teeth and said, “I’m coming with you.”
“You?”
Jiang Yi was slightly astonished. Yin Ruobing was pretty capable, but compared to him, she was weaker in terms of fighting skills. If he brought her along, he would have to take care of her for sure. After all, he could not sit back and watch her suffer, could he?
“Jiang Yi, don’t worry. I won’t be a burden to you!” Yin Ruobing’s jaw was set. “Even if something really does happen to me, you can go on ahead. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Jiang Yi stared into Yin Ruobing’s hopeful eyes. He could not bear to turn her down so he nodded and said, “Let’s go then. We have to pass this challenge as fast as we can so that we can overtake She Fei and the rest.”
“That’s right!”
Just before they entered the transportation array, Jiang Yi suddenly thought about something. He asked, “How long has it been since She Fei and the rest entered?”
“A day!” Yin Ruobing explained. “Actually, even time in the Golden Millet Dream is an illusion. Jian Wuying was only inside for a day at most. He must have entered the terrible-grade challenge. People who are not Demigods likely would not dare to enter the hellish-grade challenge. Big Sister Chan and I came in and waited less than a day before She Fei and Zhan Tianlei arrived as well!”
“Oh, oh. That’s alright then. They must not be too far.”
Jiang Yi nodded and charged toward the hellish-grade level. In a flash, his body disappeared. Yin Ruobing was following closely behind him.
“The Bridge of Helplessness!”
Jiang Yi was very grateful to be rushing through the stages once again. He looked in front, to the iron chain bridge and looked down to see molten lava. He recalled when he was trying to advance through similar levels a few years ago. A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Big Sister Chan is moving really quickly!” Yin Ruobing looked to the center of the iron chain bridge and exclaimed. Yi Chan looked like she was flying through the bridge. She was already half-way across it, and there was no indication that she was slowing down. Her purple hair was flying behind her, and she looked like a beautiful fairy.
“Keke, let’s overtake her.”
Jiang Yi smirked and grabbed Yin Ruobing’s waist. He jumped up, both of his legs leaving the ground. Very quickly, they flew down toward the lava lake.
“Ah?”
Yin Ruobing was so afraid that her face drained of all color. Her eyes widened, and she gripped onto Jiang Yi’s body with all her might. She looked just like a kitten hanging from Jiang Yi’s body. This made Jiang Yi laugh out loud. “Don’t be afraid, I am the Fire God. No flame can hurt me.”
Boom!
The two of them dropped into the lava lake with a loud splash, causing Yi Chan to jump in shock. She stopped running and frowned. The envy was clear in her eyes.
Bang!
Jiang Yi created a wave in the lava, and then it caused his and Yin Ruobing’s bodies to ride above it. With his bare two legs, Jiang Yi walked on the waves and held Yin Ruobing tightly against his side. The two of them floated above the lava lake, riding the lava waves; and yet the flames did nothing to hurt them at all. They looked like an immortal couple. Jiang Yi was moving way too quickly. In several blinks of the eyes, they arrived at the other side of the lava lake. They flew upward toward the stone gate at the end of the Bridge of Helplessness.
Hoo-Hoo!
Yin Ruobing was still in shock. She maintained her tight grip on Jiang Yi, her expression a mask of fear. Jiang Yi turned around and gazed at Yi Chan deeply. He nodded slightly and then led Yin Ruobing into the stone gate, disappearing before Yi Chan’s very eyes.
“That childish young man from the Stellarsky Continent has advanced to this stage. Ah… Yi Chan, you can only blame yourself for misjudging this entire situation!” With a flick of a finger, Yi Chan had passed the first stage. She ran with all her might across the bridge, which was in the terrible-grade challenge at that. Yet, she only made it half-way across the bridge. Yi Chan could not help but sigh deeply.
“This lass is going with Jiang Yi?”
Yi Chan suddenly thought about Yin Ruobing. She blinked several times and mumbled in a shocked tone, “Could it be… this lass wants to give in to him?”
[1] He is a famous Chinese philosopher.
[2] This is a reference to Zhuang Zhou’s story of sleeping and dreaming of a butterfly. Zhuang Zhou woke up and questioned whether he had dreamed he was a butterfly or whether a butterfly had dreamed that it was him.
