Chapter 452: Utopia

Chapter 452: Utopia

When Chu Liang woke up, he found himself inside a medicinal hall. Upon stepping out of its doors, he was greeted by a peaceful and idyllic scene.

A long street with an old-fashioned charm stretched out before him. A few elders sat on the side of the street, leisurely chatting while fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans. Groups of children ran by, leaving behind a trail of cheerful laughter. Teahouses lined half the street, filled with people casually sipping tea and chatting. There was even the faint clacking of mahjong tiles.

Anyone who stayed in such a place would not be able to help but feel very relaxed and content.

Chu Liang asked, "This is the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal...?"

He turned back into the medicinal hall and looked at the white-bearded elderly physician in confusion.

In Chu Liang's memory, his group had been searching for the Deep Pool of Dreams when there was a sudden shift in the abyss. Caught off guard, the abyss pulled them in.

I thought we were going to fall into the abyss. How did we end up here in the blink of an eye?

"That's right," the elderly physician answered with a kind smile. "Some people who had gone for a hike in the mountains found the two of you and brought you here. Why, are you not from the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal?"

"The two of us? Who is the other person?" Chu Liang asked in return.

"This young lady," the physician answered, pulling back a curtain to reveal Tang Shi's small figure.

Perhaps disturbed by Chu Liang's and the elderly physician's voices, Tang Shi's eyelids fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes.

She soon found herself as confused as Chu Liang.

Tang Shi asked, "The Kingdom of the Dream Immortal? What is this place?"

The elderly physician explained warmly, "This is an Immortal's Land that the Noble Dream Immortal established. It's said to be very far from the outside world. No one has ever left, and no one from the outside has ever entered..."

It seemed that even though he had never seen outsiders before, he harbored no animosity toward them.

"Well, this is..." Chu Liang muttered, scratching his head, "quite unexpected."

He had assumed that once they went beyond the Deep Pool of Dreams, they would find the palace on the mountain where he had met Gu Qingyuan. However, he then heard from Xue Ziyang that what he'd found were the desolate remains of a battlefield...

Why has that now changed to the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal??

As for the Deep Pool of Dreams or the Southern Bastion Mountain, the elderly physician knew nothing about them. He had never heard of such places existing in the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal.

At a loss, Chu Liang decided to walk around with Tang Shi first to try and figure out the situation they were in.

The kind elderly physician at the medicinal hall offered that if they had nowhere to stay, they could return and stay at his place. Chu Liang thanked him.

Afterward, Chu Liang and Tang Shi stepped out of the medicinal hall and glanced around the street.

The city seemed the same everywhere they looked. People were drinking tea, enjoying wine, playing mahjong, and eating hotpot. Children were playing games, and elders were chatting. Even the younger adults in the prime of their lives were behaving similarly, passing their time idly.

Some of its residents were gifted in cultivating the Dream Techniques, so they were chosen to become holy envoys. The Dream Techniques was said to be an immortal art that the Noble Dream Immortal had left behind for them. With it, they could create anything from nothing.

If anyone needed anything, they would go to the Holy Mountain to ask the holy envoys to create it, and someone would later deliver it to their home. Of course, if they wished for something outrageous, the holy envoys wouldn't make it.

While listening to the elderly physician's explanation, Chu Liang thought about it. He had previously heard Wei Lang mention the ancient Great Noble Dream Immortal.

Of course, Noble Immortals were not true immortals. During the era of the Immortal Dynasty, “Noble Immortal” was a title given to some eighth-realm cultivators who had attained the Heavenly Origin. The Immortal Dynasty had conferred the title of Noble Immortal to nine cultivators, all of whom were among the top eighth-realm cultivators in the world.

The Great Noble Dream Immortal had made a name for himself throughout the nine provinces with his Dream Techniques. Could it be that he had created the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal with his divine ability?

When the elderly physician was done explaining, Chu Liang sighed. "This place is a total utopia. There's no danger, no war, no oppression, no work... You just need to make wishes, and you will have anything you want. It's truly a place that can only be found in a dream..."

"Hmm..." The elderly physician's expression suddenly turned serious. "The Kingdom of the Dream Immortal is not entirely free of danger. In fact, I was just about to warn you about it."

"Oh?"

Chu Liang and Tang Shi listened attentively.

The elderly physician said, "Perhaps the original Kingdom of the Dream Immortal truly was a Pure Land[2], completely free of danger. But three thousand years ago, a massive demon descended from the sky... The holy envoys called it the Nightmare Demon, and that demon transformed into a mountain of demons."

"Since then, every full moon, the moon turns blood-red, and Nightmare Beasts descend from the Demon Mountain to devour people." Fear appeared on the elderly physician's face for the first time. "Those Nightmare Beasts can take on countless forms and are extremely terrifying. Fortunately, we have the holy envoys protecting the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal, so as long as we stay vigilant, we can avoid catastrophe."

"Blood moon... Nightmare Beasts..." Chu Liang muttered.

Hearing these familiar words made him furrow his brows.

This place seemed isolated from the outside world, yet it seemed to be linked to the outside world in countless ways. A seed of doubt sprouted in his mind, but he couldn't confirm it just yet.

"Oh, dear," the elderly physician uttered suddenly. "It seems we'll be having the blood moon tonight. You must stay in this medicinal hall. Do not sleep. And no matter what sounds you hear, do not leave. As long as you don't sleep and don't go outside, the Nightmare Beasts won't be able to harm you."

"And why is that?" Chu Liang asked.

"That is what we've learned from experience having fought the Nightmare Beasts for three thousand years," the elderly physician answered with a grim expression. "If you sleep, the Nightmare Beasts will emerge from your dreams. If you go outside and the blood moon's light falls on you, you'll immediately go mad! You'll become just like the Nightmare Beasts!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Liang was struck with a flash of insight.

He figured out why Xue Ziyang's companions had died so suddenly!

1. Polite but informal form of address for an older man. ☜

2. In Buddhism, it's believed to be a paradise where beings are reborn after death, free from the suffering and impurities of the physical world. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD