Compared to everything around him, he felt infinitesimally small.
A sense of powerlessness surged in his chest.
Ye Yu loathed this feeling.
At that moment, Tang Jiansheng’s voice echoed from above:
“No matter what fault Xuehen has, she does not deserve to be crushed to dust! Your actions pain me deeply, so you too shall suffer torment before you die—bones ground to fragments, ashes scattered to the wind!”
Hearing this, Ye Yu did not panic.
Worrying was useless.
What was meant to happen would happen.
Fear accomplished nothing.
Ye Yu gazed at the boundless stars, unable to pinpoint Tang Jiansheng’s position.
Very well—he would gamble it all.
“Fear’s Inferno!”
It was Ye Yu’s strongest divine art.
Even now, there was a risk.
If it failed, he would have to surrender.
Within the starry expanse, darkness began to spread, enveloping everything around him.
“Hm?”
Tang Jiansheng uttered a note of curiosity.
He watched the darkness cloak the space without interference, as though he wished it to do so.
When the void was complete, an aura of terror filled the air.
Tang Jiansheng’s figure materialized, standing unmoving.
Anyone trapped within Fear’s Inferno would instantly lose their divine power.
Yet Tang Jiansheng remained unaffected, as if his radiant starlight rendered him invincible.
Listening to the surrounding wails of horror, he smiled.
“So it is indeed Fear’s Inferno. Ghost Sage Xiao Xiu is your teacher?”
Hidden in the darkness, Ye Yu frowned.
Ghost Sage Xiao Xiu? He’d never heard the name before.
Was this technique’s founder?
Before Ye Yu could ponder further, Tang Jiansheng spoke again:
“If you refuse to speak, I will extract your soul—and then the truth will be revealed!”
As Tang Jiansheng prepared to act, a sudden wave of emotion seized him.
Tears sprang to his eyes involuntarily.
The moment a teardrop fell, Tang Jiansheng bowed his /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ head in confusion.
What was happening?
Why did he feel such overwhelming sorrow and despair, unwilling to do anything but weep alone?
This was utterly abnormal.
Tang Jiansheng had risen to elder of Jiyue Pavilion by virtue of his star-forged immortality—divine arts could not harm him.
Yet now, despite his intact starlight, Ye Yu’s technique struck him down.
And within Fear’s Inferno, no emotion should exist except fear!
Tang Jiansheng could not understand it, yet his tears flowed unchecked.
This was Ye Yu’s grand dao at work: negativity reigning supreme.
Over time he had amassed colossal negativity, now unleashed in a horrifying torrent.
Though it caused no physical harm, it ravaged the mind.
Seizing the moment, Ye Yu cast Despairing Forest.
Countless dead trees sprouted from the ground, wrapping around Tang Jiansheng.
Yet their sharp thorns could not breach his defenses.
Still, the Wind of Resentment followed, twisting the starlight behind Tang Jiansheng.
He surveyed the scene calmly, surprise glinting in his eyes.
“A lowly Celestial God Stage warrior reaching this far is no small feat. Xuehen was never your match—that’s understandable. But if you think you can slay me so easily, you are gravely mistaken.”
At his command, everything shattered.
Deadwood, ethereal wind, the infernal abyss—vanished in an instant.
In that moment, Ye Yu’s form lunged forward, delivering a full-force punch.
Starlight coalesced before Tang Jiansheng, absorbing the crushing blow.
He scoffed disdainfully.
Yet in the next instant, he winced, feeling a sudden pain in his back.
Turning, he saw a lone deadwood spike had grown and pierced him—his focus on the front having left his rear exposed.
He was not mortally wounded, but his divine power drained rapidly.
Without hesitation, Tang Jiansheng formed a hand seal.
Starlight blazed around him, then abruptly faded to nothing.
The surrounding space twisted and collapsed into silence.
Ye Yu, the stars, the deadwood—everything perished in that void.
Tang Jiansheng’s signature art: Stellar Annihilation!
Using himself as the stars, he eradicated all life!
When all fell into darkness, Ye Yu shot awake.
Damn it— even with his trump cards, he could not bridge the chasm between their realms?
The crushing weight of starlight was irresistible.
Still, it was no small feat to reach the Celestial God Stage within the Divine Realm—another record broken!
The next moment, the system’s voice chimed:
“Dream session ended! Ghost Age: 170 years. Divine Age: 1 year. Rating: Perfect! Random rewards granted: (1) Half-Step Immortal Emperor cultivation. (2) Divine Art: Fear’s Inferno. When dream rating is Excellent or above, two items materialize at random: (1) Reforged Divine Pill; (2) A batch of wedding wine!”
“Dream evaluation: Congratulations to the host on shattering the dream’s cultivation record—ascending into late Celestial God Stage. Continue striving for an even higher realm in your next dream!”
Hearing this, Ye Yu’s expression twisted.
Seriously? Is this some trick?
I only reached Celestial God Stage, and you reward me with Half-Step Emperor?
And you claim no foul play?
Sensing his complaint, the system quickly explained:
“Based on your performance, a higher cultivation reward is merited. However, to ascend to Emperor Stage, you must possess your own Grand Dao! Otherwise, even if we forcibly bestow Emperor cultivation, you would only have the form, not the substance.”
On hearing this, Ye Yu’s ire subsided.
Indeed—the Dao was the very foundation of Emperor Stage.
And from his prior Emperor Stage experiences within these dreams, Ye Yu had drawn a clear conclusion: the Dao was the keystone of the Divine Realm. Only with a powerful Dao as base could one advance farther and endure longer!
