456 Dreamland

Instantly, the four musicians sensed the rapidly rising aether waves on Charles's body. Student, Rhythm, Musician…he soon broke through the Barrier of Knowledge, Resonance, Disturbance… A spirit that was not his awakened in his eyes. The musicians felt a sense of danger and attacked at once!

A magnetic field appeared from the aether. They were tangent to each other and sparked with lightning. Beastly nature burst from thin air. It transformed into a six-eyed giant and roared.

Music theory crisscrossed. It sealed off the outside world with a disturbing nature. Air waves crashed, creating a vacuum. Formless poison rose up from thousands of bacteria strains. They formed spores and shot into all directions…

Time seemed to slow. The entire world slowed before the quickly operating consciousness. In the frozen world, Ye Qingxuan was still in Charles's body. He reached out. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei sounded. Thousands of strings shot out of thin air. They intersected, all playing different melodies. However, it was not disordered but in harmony.

Cold wind from the tundra instantly blew over. Winter was here!

In the cold wind, the four musicians instantly sank into a daze, about to fall asleep. However, in their daze, they saw a flag guiding the wind. Emerald will-o'-wisps snaked out of the cracks. Frozen tears rolled from their eyes. The withered Bodhi tree froze in the icy wind. Life elapsed rapidly and their hair turned white. A frozen flood swept out of nowhere. Crows that symbolized death flew from their fingertips… It was Winterreise!

The Philosopher's Stone transformed into the sub-originator, stirring huge tidal waves in the aether sea. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei rode the terrifying power that was born. It operated in the void and wove together under Ye Qingxuan's guidance. This was undoubtedly a twenty-three layered illusion!

The music theory grew out of nothing and shot out from Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. They instantly layered and dragged the four musicians in without warning. For the first time, Ye Qingxuan could experience the control Lola had towards illusions. It was as if a world of nothingness was created in his hands and turned into something.

For a second, he felt like a god.

But two seconds later, the first layer of Gute Nacht was torn apart. The four Distortion level musicians acted in unison. They communicated with each other and quickly found the flaws in the illusion.

Another layer fell apart! The crows that announced death were instantly destroyed and disappeared. Ye Qingxuan sighed. His abilities were still not enough.

The Disturbance level could disturb certain things and change them but it could not completely change something's nature like the Distortion level. Otherwise, he would be able to let out the last layer, Der Leiermann, to complete Winterreise. At that time, the twenty-four layers would die and regenerate by themselves. There was no possibility of being undone.

In addition, the spirit contained in Der Leierman was depressed by being unable to move forward one's entire life. Once inside this illusion, all musicians would be forced to the standard Musician level. Unless they had a secret weapon or technique targeted specifically at illusions, the victim would be stuck until his body deteriorated and his mind fused into the illusion.

Within a few seconds, fourteen of the twenty-three illusions were undone. If Ye Qingxuan still had no plans, the results would be bad. According to his Revelations sensing, these musicians contained three hidden yet sharp aether waves. They probably had some fatal weapon. If they were given the chance to take it out…

Ye Qingxuan had a headache. He quickly clenched his fists. In an instant, the fulcrums of the remaining nine layers ignited. They exploded along with the music theory, transforming into a huge sensory bomb, bursting in the minds of the four musicians.

The extreme force transformed along the Mind path. Containing the hidden hint for the formless river, it flooded into their minds. Like mercury, it exploded in the depths of their minds. It was a storm of emotions and a battle of feelings. Bitterness, ecstasy, depression, sadness… All emotions were forcefully stimulated. The musicians paled and went green. Their minds were in turmoil. Bits of memories flashed past their eyes as if someone had injected drugs in them.

Even so, they did not let their guards down or give Ye Qingxuan any opportunities. They could sense that Ye Qingxuan was still far away. They didn't know how he could cross such a large distance but he was not strong enough to threaten them.

They were only passively accepting the attacks now because they were getting ready. Ye Qingxuan was using his now. When this wave was over, he would have nothing left. He'd just be a sitting duck!

But just as they struggled to push down the unrest in their minds and music theories, they felt something serene rise from the broken fulcrums.

It was moonlight.

A white rim of cold yet arrogant moon rose from the broken illusion. It seemed so real. The white moon hung in the sky. Under the light, coldness seeped into every one of their pores, making them feel extreme danger and fear.

Then the moon shattered.

What replaced it was a sharp glint of metal. It was the Sword! Countless music notes flowed rapidly on the ice-cold sword of moonlight. They wove into a complex music score—detailed and beautiful. It was like an artistic masterpiece but with mind-numbing animosity.

What was this?! The four musicians gaped and all swore in their minds. No matter what it was, it would be bad to get hit by it!

They made a decision at the same time. Music theory erupted as they all used different methods to stop the sword from falling. They let out their hidden weapon! No matter what kind of music score, all would lose effectiveness once out of control. If they could kill Charles before the sword fell, then the sword would become nothing!

But in that moment, Ye Qingxuan smiled and closed his eyes. He seemed to be waiting for death to come. But also as if he had…fallen asleep.

He entered Dreamland!

Without a sound, something emerged from his body. It spread in all directions and enveloped the entire alley. All music notes in its path disappeared. The music theories broke down and even the music scores fell apart. It was as if a portion of the aether had disappeared and could no longer respond. The aether had fallen asleep with him.

In the Dreamland, Ye Qingxuan felt as if he had fallen asleep but was awake at the same time. Everything in his dream was identical to reality. Through the dreamscape, he observed the world. Letting his mind loose, his consciousness transformed into a flood. It pulled at the endless supply of aether into slumber with him! Everything was swallowed by silence. The sword of moonlight dissipated. But so did the shields of the four musicians.

As if they had put all their strength into the void, the music scores that contained their power all disappeared. They fell from the peak to the abyss. The sudden attack and terrifying emptiness paled them and they spat out blood. In their hands, the instruments that had accompanied them for decades turned into dead objects. The music notes on them extinguished rapidly and the music theory crumbled. The alchemy imprinted on was wiped away.

The spirits that were created by playing countless music scores disappeared with wails. The shell was still there but the spirit was long gone. Four priceless and rare musicians were completely destroyed! However, they had no time to mourn. In their fear, a bigger sense of danger arose. Even more terrifying was that they had activated the three secret weapons just then!

Ye Qingxuan's grasp on time was beyond their imagination. These three alchemy equipment had been bought by chance and fate. They had just been filled with immense aether but before they could act, they were thrown into an aether vacuum.

In the silence, even breathing was deafening. The equipment could not be saved either and were finally revealed under their gray clothing. It was a palm-sized figurine with a sword, a vial of beast ashes, and a strange key. They radiated like the sun even as cracks began appearing.

Originally, their music theory had formed a system that blocked the outside world. But in the silence, the system was unraveling. The power sealed within…was completely out of control.

In an instant, they became active and flowed out. The equilibrium of the four realms was upended. The once harmonious theories of the seven schools clashed with extreme heat and light.

The four musicians paled. They tossed the weapons without thinking and ran. Sadly, it was too late. A boom erupted in the silence. It should have been deafening but it was like muffled thunder that faded quickly. The three secret weapons broke completely. The strength within exploded just like how Ye Qingxuan had once thrown out the Double Snake Time Meter to self-destruct.

The terrifying yet dazzling light flashed. Under the silent dream, the explosion that should have obliterated the entire alley was restrained to a small area. This made the destruction worse.

In a second, the earth split apart. Bricks and dust flew. Silently, three bloody figures flew out, dropping in different places. Other than the Summoning musician who thought himself above relying on secret weapons, they were all gravely wounded. After entering the Resonance level, the musician's body would evolve under the music theory and aether, becoming less human. Otherwise, they would have evaporated instantly.

The tide had turned.