382: Chapter 382 Zhou Gong's Interpretation of Dreams (Part 2)

"Don't be so surprised."

The Fifth Elder smiled at Zhou Yan and then released his grip on his wrist.

"I'm not actually exactly Lan Ruoyun."

Saying that, he sat where Zhou Yan had just been sitting and beckoned for him to sit as well.

Zhou Yan glanced at his panel and confirmed his identity.

[Lan Ruoyun (Theft Law Clone)]

[Vitality: 1/1]

After confirming it was Lan Ruoyun, Zhou Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Since he was here, it was likely a backup plan.

It made sense; if even Zhou Yan, who didn't interact with Long Tianxing often, understood his stubborn nature, there was no way the Fifth Elder, his Master who spent every day with him, wouldn't know or wouldn't have done something.

Zhou Yan sat down. He felt more confident now; with a powerhouse here, he probably wouldn't need to do much.

"Fifth Elder, I really didn't expect that someone as unreliable as you usually are would actually be so dependable for once."

"Are you here to help Long Tianxing resolve his Heart Demon issue?"

The Fifth Elder shook his head with an enigmatic expression.

"Not so, not so."

"The trouble Long Tianxing is facing is far more complicated than you think."

"I'm sure you've seen it; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this Heart Demon world is endless, right?"

"Fortunately, ninety-nine percent of it has nothing to do with his current self. We only need to resolve the immediate troubles."

"And for that, I need your help."

"Just like how you cured Wang Yao's mental trauma, I need you to help him fully overcome this, or at least clear out these few Heart Demons currently troubling him."

Zhou Yan nodded.

"Oh~, so you just want me to resolve a few Heart Demons troubling Long Tianxing, just like I did for Wang Yao... My ass!"

Zhou Yan's expression changed, and he pointed at the Fifth Elder.

"We're not in the Sect right now; this is a Secret Realm, man!"

"Solving one is reasonable, but with several, who knows what kind of chain reaction there might be? If something unexpected happens, how am I supposed to handle everything?"

"And if I'm the one solving the Heart Demons, what are you going to do? Shine my shoes?"

The Fifth Elder didn't argue but instead looked curiously at Zhou Yan's shoes.

"Aren't those boots? And high-quality Dharma boots at that; they don't really need shining, do they?"

Seeing Zhou Yan's face turning red—and knowing it wasn't from shyness—the Fifth Elder hurriedly explained, trying to preserve his own physical and mental well-being.

"Wait, wait, listen to me, listen to me."

Seeing the Fifth Elder back down, Zhou Yan held back his swearing for a moment, just watching him, waiting to hear his reasons before deciding how much to curse him out.

Seeing that Zhou Yan remained silent, the Fifth Elder continued.

"You've seen the intensity of the Heart Demons here. This Clone's role is important, but also very limited."

"To ensure Long Tianxing's safety, this Clone needs to periodically 'steal' away the Heart Demons here."

"So I can coordinate with you, controlling the power released by the Heart Demons to keep them at a level just slightly stronger than a mental knot."

"But beyond that, there's nothing I can do. After all, this happened so suddenly; it's different from what I anticipated."

Hearing this explanation, Zhou Yan didn't get angry again, but he looked at the Fifth Elder with a strange expression.

Instead of helping resolve the Heart Demons, he was 'stealing' his own Disciple's Heart Demons? What kind of move was that? What was the point of not curing the poison but just continuously regenerating health?

"I know you have many questions, but this involves a lot of arrangements and ideas; it just didn't turn out very well in the end. After all, we have different perspectives and face different problems."

As if reading Zhou Yan's thoughts, the Fifth Elder added another enigmatic remark.

Zhou Yan ignored him.

Since the Fifth Elder said he could reduce the Heart Demons' intensity, maybe he really could clear out many of them at once.

And with the Fifth Elder's guidance, he wouldn't be stumbling around blindly.

With a goal in mind, everything naturally became clear.

Having finished his thoughts, Zhou Yan was about to modify that little mutt again when the Fifth Elder reached out to stop him.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Saint."

"Since I stopped you before, it proves there's more to this little mutt than meets the eye. Why not keep watching?"

Zhou Yan nodded and took a few steps back, intending to keep watching.

At that moment, a flash of golden light crossed his eyes. He glanced at the Fifth Elder; his health bar and mana bar decreased slightly, but the Fifth Elder didn't notice.

Then, the Heart Demon began to change again.

The information Zhou Yan had previously stored in his panel popped up and began to update in real-time based on the scene before him.

Combining the panel's content with what he was seeing, Zhou Yan was quickly coming to understand.

A Soul remains in its state of death upon dying, but it undergoes a reshaping after a certain period of time.

Most of the time, this happens on the seventh day, known as the 'First Seven,' which is when most Souls are at its most lucid.

Since Zhou Yan had his own Underworld, he understood this very well.

When given the chance to change their appearance, many Souls choose to become their best selves.

Those with low intelligence usually do this; only those with higher intelligence can choose a specific period from their lives to manifest as.

Those who died tragic deaths and still maintain that appearance generally turn into vengeful spirits or malevolent ghosts later on. This is what's known as 'lingering resentment manifesting in one's appearance.'

This had caused Zhou Yan to subconsciously view the little mutt as a vengeful spirit seeking a life or trying to convey something.

But afterward, Zhou Yan saw something different.

Long Tianxing's parents were also Cultivators, both Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and the clan even had a Core Formation Old Ancestor.

If a minor ghost like this entered, it would likely be obliterated in an instant. Yet his parents hadn't seen it, and even the Old Ancestor only vaguely sensed it. Something was wrong.

So, after secretly using a Divine Ability to investigate again, Zhou Yan realized that the little mutt had become a Guardian Spirit, and one of high quality at that.

Although its strength wasn't great, it was around the third-rank level. If a Core Formation Cultivator didn't search carefully, it would be hard to detect.

The reason the little mutt looked like that was because it possessed intelligence; at the time, it thought it shouldn't change, fearing its Master wouldn't recognize it. That's why it had maintained its appearance from the moment of death.

The reason it kept following Long Tianxing was that its final wish before death was to protect him. This had become the catalyst for it becoming a Guardian Spirit and its sole objective.

So, once Long Tianxing grew accustomed to it, he no longer feared its appearance; only pain remained.

He didn't want his 'Xiao Long' to have died because of him, only to be unable to move on to Reincarnation forever just to protect a useless fellow like himself.

Thus, the more he saw it, the more he regretted.

The more he regretted, the more he suffered.

The more he suffered, the more impossible it became for the Guardian Spirit to find release.

Good grief, endless suffering? That's far too much torture for a child, isn't it?

Wait, Long Tianxing doesn't have these things around him now, which means he must have overcome it and dealt with the little mutt's issue.

So how did he handle it?

Zhou Yan gestured to the Fifth Elder behind him and then began to scrub through the progress of the Heart Demon. He saw a young boy—the catalyst for Long Tianxing's recovery.

The boy was named Wang Hu, a member of the newly arrived Wang Immortal Clan.

The Wang and Long Clans had been on good terms for generations. Because a Demon Calamity was approaching, they followed the custom of periodically relocating people to each other's territories for the safety of both clans and the local populace. This time, it was the Wang clan's turn to come to the Long Clan's side.

Since this system had existed for a long time, both clans had simply built branch residences near each other's ancestral lands.

It was also because of this opportunity that Long Tianxing discovered a boy his age in the previously uninhabited courtyard, while the other boy noticed this serious, sorrowful peer.

A bond was born from that single exchange of glances.

Wang Hu's personality could be summed up in one sentence.

A youthful version of Wang Yao!

If Wang Yao hadn't been burdened by childhood trauma, he would have been just like this; with that trauma, he was merely a bit more mature.

The same hot-blooded idiot, the same persistence.

Simply because he was bored and it was rare to meet someone his age, he decided to become friends with Long Tianxing and launched a series of "offensives."

At that time, Long Tianxing, shrouded in the shadow of Xiao Long, naturally didn't give him a warm welcome, so Wang Hu constantly met with rejection.

But this only fueled his determination to win over this best friend!

"Why does this scene look a bit familiar?"

Zhou Yan scratched his head. Could Long Tianxing's vivid imagination have originated from this kid?

Zhou Yan continued watching.

It could only be said that true gold fears no fire; Wang Hu's hot-blooded protagonist template was the real deal.

Through action and "Talk-no-Jutsu," he managed to turn the cold Long Tianxing back into his original, peak version.

Even the matter of Xiao Long, Long Tianxing told him about.

And Wang Hu was impressive; purely through intuition, he gained Xiao Long's approval, with the spirit believing Wang Hu could take its place in protecting Long Tianxing.

Thus, under Wang Hu's guidance, Long Tianxing finally stepped out of the shadows, reconciled with himself, heard Xiao Long's voice, and understood its thoughts.

Finally, amidst a tearful farewell, Xiao Long's lingering attachments were resolved, and it entered Reincarnation.

To become a third-rank Guardian Spirit as a little mutt, and then be able to change back and enter Reincarnation?

This little mutt could be considered a legend.

Zhou Yan looked at the other person seeing Xiao Long off: Wang Hu.

He was also bawling his eyes out, but this guy couldn't even see Xiao Long! So what exactly was he so moved by?

"With Wang Hu around and Xiao Long having entered Reincarnation, shouldn't the Heart Demon be gone by this point? There's no need for me anymore."

The Fifth Elder jumped down from a tree and clapped his hands.

"Keep watching."

"Huh? Wait, there's more?"

Zhou Yan couldn't help but fear the worst. After all, he hadn't seen that little mutt Guardian Spirit, but he also hadn't heard of Long Tianxing having any other friends.