264: Chapter 264 The Great Dream Barrier

Ye Tian's footsteps came to a sudden halt, his eyes instantly becoming as sharp as knives as the muscles across his entire body tensed!

This fragrance... he was all too familiar with it!

It was that woman who was as elusive as clouds and shadows, unfathomably deep—Yun Zhiying!

Hou Xiaojie also subconsciously stopped, twitching his nose in a daze. "Senior Brother, it smells so good. Where did this come from in the middle of nowhere..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a fiery red maple leaf drifted down silently at the bend of the maple forest path ahead. Immediately following it, a slender figure appeared, as if stepping out of a painting, or perhaps she had been standing there all along and was only now allowing herself to be seen.

She wore a light red silk dress, its hem embroidered with blood-colored mandalas that swayed gently in the autumn wind. Her snowy white feet were bare as she stepped upon the leaf-strewn ground, yet they remained untainted by a single speck of dust.

Her black hair fell like a waterfall, loosely held up by a simple wooden hairpin. A few strands draped beside her cheeks, adding a touch of lazy charm to her appearance.

Her face was peerlessly beautiful, her features like a painting. Her eyes, in particular, were as clear as water, yet they seemed capable of sucking one's very soul inside.

If it wasn't Yun Zhiying, then who else could it be?

She tilted her head, sizing Ye Tian up with a smile of ambiguous meaning playing on her lips. Her voice was soft and seductive to the bone. "Little young master, we meet again.

It seems your trip to the Ancient Sword Manor has yielded quite a harvest."

Her gaze swept over Ye Tian as if she could see through his hidden cultivation and trump cards. When her eyes passed over the Mini Dragon Ape on his shoulder, a flicker of surprise crossed the depths of her gaze, though it was quickly masked by her smile.

Ye Tian was greatly alarmed. He secretly gathered his true essence as the ancient sword pill trembled slightly within his Dantian.

He knew how terrifying this woman was; her methods were bizarre and far surpassed those of the Ancestors of the Ye and Zhao families.

However, today was different from the past. His cultivation had broken through to the seventh level of the True Martial Realm, his sword pill was completely refined, and his path of the sword had advanced greatly. With the Dragon Ape by his side, although he had no absolute certainty of victory, he would no longer be at her mercy like their first meeting.

This woman had appeared and disappeared like a ghost several times now, like a cat playing with a mouse, and he had long been suppressing a belly full of anger.

"Miss Yun certainly is persistent."

Ye Tian's tone was cold, his gaze like lightning. "I just wonder what tricks you're trying to play this time?!"

"Oh dear, those words really hurt my heart."

Yun Zhiying covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes brimming with charm. "I am very concerned about your growth, little brother.

Looking at the killing intent and confidence radiating from you... you're more than a level stronger than when we last met outside Cangya County.

Very well, let me personally test just how much you've improved on this trip."

Her voice was gentle, but as the word 'test' fell, the surrounding air seemed to freeze for an instant.

A formless and intangible pressure silently enveloped this maple forest.

This pressure was not aimed at the Physical Body, but directed straight at the Divine Soul, making one's heart feel stifled.

Hou Xiaojie let out a muffled groan, his face turning pale as he stumbled back several steps, actually finding it difficult to stand firm.

Even the Dragon Ape on Ye Tian's shoulder suddenly arched its back, its golden fur bristling slightly. It let out a low, threatening growl as pale flames flickered in its eyes, clearly sensing an immense threat.

"Roar! Master, this woman isn't right! Let me..."

The Dragon Ape sent a mental transmission, eager to strike. With its Huahai Realm cultivation, its perception was sharper, and it could sense the obscure aura emanating from Yun Zhiying that made even its heart palpitate.

"Don't Move!"

Ye Tian immediately sent a transmission to stop it, his tone grave. "Her cultivation likely exceeds the True Martial Realm!

Furthermore, she specializes in illusions that directly attack the mind.

Though your strength is great, your resistance to this type of attack is insufficient. Leave her to me!"

Ye Tian made an instantaneous judgment.

The Dragon Ape had only just awakened and its cultivation was not yet stable. Moreover, its talent seemed to lean more toward physical strength; its defense against mental illusions might not be stronger than his own, and it lacked mental-type attack methods!

He, on the other hand, had at least Cultivated the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra, underwent tempering in the Illusory Heart Cave, and had the chaos bead sitting in his Sea of Consciousness. He was more confident in dealing with mental attacks.

If he let the Dragon Ape act rashly and it was caught in an illusion, it might become a burden instead.

Yun Zhiying observed the subtle interaction between Ye Tian and the Dragon Ape, her smile deepening as she found it quite interesting.

She extended her jade-like hand and closed her fingers as if gripping something. A jade pen condensed from starlight and mist appeared out of thin air in her palm.

The barrel of the pen was crystalline, and the bristles displayed a dreamlike rainbow of seven colors. This was her natal Spiritual Artifact—the dream-weaving pen.

"The little young master seems very confident."

She sighed softly, her tone carrying a hint of playfulness. "Then I shall have to be serious."

As soon as she spoke, she lightly tapped the void with the dream-weaving pen.

There was no world-shaking commotion, but Ye Tian felt the surrounding maple forest, the main road, the sky...

The colors of everything instantly became vivid and distorted, and then rapidly blurred and dissipated like a fading ink painting!

In its place was a vast, boundless, hazy space!

There was no up or down, no passage of time, only countless flowing colors, shifting lights and shadows, and the eerie sound of whispers from the deepest parts of one's heart echoing in the ears.

Great Dream Barrier—Dream Weaving!

Ye Tian, Hou Xiaojie, the Dragon Ape, and even the patch of land beneath their feet were forcibly pulled into this dream world completely dominated by Yun Zhiying!

Here, she was the sole rule-maker, an existence akin to a creator god!

"Xiao Jie! Guard your mind! Dragon Ape, protect Xiao Jie, do not be deceived by the illusions!"

Ye Tian shouted sharply, while simultaneously guarding the core of his spiritual terrace.

A faint five-colored glow radiated from his body; it was the Five Elements Sword Body spontaneously protecting its master upon being stimulated.

Hou Xiaojie had already sat down cross-legged, desperately circulating his true essence to resist the all-pervasive illusory sounds.

The Dragon Ape let out a low roar and jumped in front of Hou Xiaojie, opening its mouth to spit out a ring of pale fire. It formed a protective shield of flames that barely managed to shield itself and Hou Xiaojie, though the flames appeared flickering and unstable within the dream.

"Not a slow reaction."

Yun Zhiying's voice came from all directions, ethereal and uncertain. "However, this is just the appetizer."

She waved her jade hand lightly, the dream-weaving pen sweeping through the air.

Within the dream, countless lights and shadows gathered, actually condensing into blurred figures around Ye Tian!

There was a hideous, blood-soaked 'Xue Wuya' seeking his life.

There was a 'Wang Laosi' charging with a halberd, his face full of resentment.

There was the cloaked man he had killed with a single finger.

There was 'Gao Ling' with eyes full of cold jealousy.

There was even... the blurred back of Ye Zhong as he departed, as well as the formless Heart Demon phantoms born from the confusion over his origins deep within his heart!

These figures were all 'opponents' and 'obsessions' he had once defeated, killed, or that had left a mark on his heart.

At this moment, within Yun Zhiying's Dream Weaving world, they were granted temporary 'life' and great power as they lunged toward him to kill!

What was even more terrifying was that these Heart Demon Incarnations were not mere illusions; their attacks carried the unique Moves and Concepts of those opponents in Ye Tian's memory—blood-thirst, poison techniques, freezing Qi, Sword Intent...

They interwove into a web of absolute slaughter, aimed straight at the soul!

"Trivial tricks!"

Ye Tian shouted coldly, though he didn't dare to be the least bit careless.

He knew that these attacks were both illusory and real; if he was 'killed' in the dream, his Divine Soul in reality would also suffer heavy damage!

The 'liuguang sword' unsheathed, its sword light dividing like a peacock spreading its tail, meeting every lunging Heart Demon Incarnation!

Sword light and Heart Demons collided, producing explosive bangs.

Ye Tian's figure shuttled through the countless attacks, his sword techniques incredibly sharp as he cut down the Heart Demon Incarnations one by one.

But these Incarnations seemed endless; as soon as one was destroyed, a new one would immediately condense from the depths of the dream. Moreover, they were becoming stronger and stronger, even beginning to simulate the poison barrier of the Ancestor of the Ye Family and the Profound Yin Sword Qi of the Ancestor of the Zhao Family!

Although their power was far inferior to the originals, their Concept already bore some resemblance, bringing immense pressure to Ye Tian.

Sweat appeared on his forehead as his Divine Soul power was consumed at high speed.

If not for the protection of the chaos bead, he likely would have already lost control of his mind.

Hou Xiaojie struggled to hold on under the Dragon Ape's protection. The Dragon Ape's pale fire could purify some of the stray mental attacks, but facing the pressure of the entire Dream Weaving world, it also appeared quite strained. Golden light and blood-colored claw prints flashed alternately in its eyes, as if that sealed killing Sword Intent was becoming restless.

"Oh? You can actually hold out for so long?"

Yun Zhiying's voice carried a hint of surprise. Her figure flickered in the distance of the dream as she watched the struggling Ye Tian with great interest. "It seems the benefits you gained at the Ancient Sword Manor are even greater than I imagined.

However, the dream is just getting started; the good show is still to come..."

She didn't seem in a hurry to defeat Ye Tian immediately, but rather appeared to be playing.

Ye Tian knew in his heart that if he couldn't break through this Dream Weaving world, his Divine Soul would eventually be drained dry, leaving him at her mercy.

Passive defense was definitely not a long-term solution!

Since this 'Dream Weaving world' was a mental landscape world constructed by Yun Zhiying with her Mental Energy, why couldn't he... construct one too?

He recalled his experience of fighting Heart Demons and tempering his will in the 'Illusory Heart Cave' of the Liuli Xuan Sect. He remembered the feeling in the 'Sword Washing Pond' when he comprehended the true nature of the sword pill—that sense of his mind merging with the ancient Sword Intent, as if he himself had become a part of the Dao of the sword!

"You want to see my mental landscape? Then look closely!"