Carefree Path of Dreams

In the dream world, purchasing information took little time.

As long as the payment in terms of contribution points was made, the purchased information would appear immediately in the form of jade scroll guarded by a realm spirit which proved its authenticity.

"Dream Master’s Basic Introduction, purchase!"

"Dream Master’s 10 Questions, Shi Huzi requested 20 contribution points for it! Purchased!"

"Dream Creek Records, bought!"

"The Path of Illusion, the Tianlan People requested 50 contribution points! Buy...oh, I do not have sufficient contribution points again!"

Fang Yuan looked at his reduced contribution points on his inscription plate and the 3 manuals in his hand. He could not help but feel dumbfounded. "Selling manuals containing insights in cultivation is daylight robbery...if one more dream master were to purchase this information, they would gain another portion of contribution points."

However, he knew clearly that unless one was talented or famous, it would be wishful thinking for a dream master to become prosperous with just the manuals alone.

Fang Yuan left the Square and arrived in the alleys. He took out the ’Dream Master’s 10 Questions’ and flipped through it.

The pages of this ancient manual were yellow and its cover was hard. It appeared glossy and no matter how one looked at it, it looked like a treasure. As Fang Yuan’s hand descended onto the manual, there was a flash of light which engraved itself onto Fang Yuan’s forehead.

"Oh..."

Fang Yuan grew dizzy and in his sea of consciousness, a wall of text appeared. "Dream Masters make use of heaven and earth to become the master of all living things! In the beginning, dream masters were prosperous and were aware of the 10 questions..."

The 10 questions were simple and philosophical. Fang Yuan could tell that the author had reached the pinnacle of being a dream master just by reading the text.

After finishing the book, he turned his attention to the ’Dream Master’s Basic Introduction’. While the book explained difficult concepts in simple terms, it provided Fang Yuan with a solid foundation and clearly recorded the path after the Illusionary Divine Stage. As such, Fang Yuan was able to have a better understanding of his strengths and weaknesses.

However, what caused Fang Yuan to be astonished was the ’Dream Creek Records’ which appeared to be handwritten!

The manual was in tatters and was full of colloquial speech. However, it managed to portray the problems that the dream masters faced.

"After becoming a dream master and travelling through the Da Qian Empire, I have discussed swords with the sword masters, compared knives with the knife enthusiasts, ruled the beasts, remained undefeated and studied the different pathways under the heavens. This resulted in me feeling deeply that the path of a dream master is to use the blessings of heavens and earth and might not even be of this world!"

"When one is born, and by the time he reaches adulthood, he would have to ponder upon where he came from and where to go from there. Where do we, as dream masters, come from? Dream elemental force, the ability to actualize objects pique my interest!"

"...After thousands of comparison, I dare conclude that every pathway of cultivation requires the use of heavens and earth’s power for one to be extraordinary. Why do dream masters require so many resources? There can only be one reason! The difference between dream masters and Wu Zongs or spiritual knights! The dream elemental force that we require does not originate from this world! It is from another higher dimension which is able to support the dream master’s ability to actualize objects...we can even say that the Illusionary Divine Stage is entirely based on upon the unknown source of power!"

"The final outcome of any pathway to cultivation is to return to one’s roots, to search for the source of the power... I dare predict, that in order for a dream master to surpass himself, he needs to find his roots, the origin of everything!"

...

The records only contained a few pages but it was enough to shock Fang Yuan.

"It appears that the dream masters already knew the existence of another world and have even started exploring it!"

"It seems that the ability to actualize objects in the Illusionary Divine Stage is not just purely dependent on one’s intense training, it requires the source of the dream masters’ power..."

Fang Yuan had long sensed it.

If he had gone about doing things his previous way, in order for a dream master to actualize an object, he would need to thoroughly analyse the laws of the world which was impossible for anyone to accomplish.

However, throughout history, there were many dream masters who have reached the Illusionary Divine Stage. The only possibility was the addition of an external source of power which greatly simplified the process of reaching the Illusionary Divine Stage.

Fang Yuan’s mind wandered, and he imagined that when he broke through to the Illusionary Divine Stage, a ray of white light bestowed upon him the ability to create an actualized dream world and the ability to actualize objects as the giant door shattered!

"Dream Master World!"

"This is the name that the author give to the world where dream masters originated from! Ever since this writing was published, all the dream masters desired to find this world. However, no one was able to succeed till today..."

Just a small leakage from the Dream Master World was sufficient to supplement a dream master’s power and allow him to actualize an object.

If one is able to find the Dream Master World, wouldn’t he become extraordinary and divine, forever having nothing to worry about?

It was precisely because of this conjecture that spurred the later generations of dream masters to search for leads regarding the Dream Master World.

"There are talents in every generation...there has been rapid progression in the changes in the Da Qian dream master’s world in the few short years that my master lived in seclusion."

Fang Yuan nodded his head and felt excited. "However... I like this atmosphere!"

Fang Yuan had previously chased after longevity and eternity, but it had always been smoke and mirrors.

Now, he suddenly saw a possibility of success.

The excitement felt was similar to the feelings that a traveler, who had been travelling for a long time in the dark and had suddenly seen the light, would feel.

"Of course...the Dream Master World and the likes are still too far ahead of me. I should be considering the path to take after reaching the Illusionary Divine Stage!"

Fang Yuan grew serious.

After reaching the Illusionary Divine Stage, there were different pathways to take, the simplest being the dream spell master, followed by the dream soldier master, dream alchemy master, dream array master, dream beast master and the mysterious dream prophet master. There were all kinds of abilities and different pathways even though the end goal was to create an actualized dream world. The pathways taken were different and as such, each pathway had its own unique features.

"This is due to the fact that creating a whole dream world is too difficult and as such, the dream masters start with a portion of the laws and expand from there. As such, their abilities are different as well!"

Fang Yuan thought of his own master’s inheritance.

Master Heartless took the path to become a dream soldier master after reaching the Illusionary Divine Stage.

A dream soldier master created magical soldiers in his own dream world by first giving the magical soldiers form. With the condensed dream elemental force, the troop’s prowess increase and their thoughts can become a reality. They will be able to topple mountains and overturn the seas [1]. They are able to adapt and react to all types of situations. In the end, a dream soldier master would be able to use this pathway to have a better understanding of the world!

As for a dream spell master, he would be able to develop thousands of spells with a single thought. A dream array master would be to form an array in his dreams in an instant. If the elder of Xu Family was a dream array master and was able to call upon his arrays from his dream world, he would not have come to such a sorry end.

"A dream beast master create their paths using summoning spells. He uses dream elemental energy to actualize all sorts of wild beasts and summon a large army of beasts. Of course, there is a branch in this pathway which specializes in transforming one’s own body to become ancient beasts etc, inheriting their abilities and at the same time retaining the dream master’s intellect. It is difficult to master..."

The introduction to the basics of dream master was enough to dazzle Fang Yuan.

"Furthermore...all the pathways are not mutually exclusive and are able to complement each other. It is just that the time taken would be multiplied. There is also the issue with aptitude of the cultivator and as such, the cons outweigh the benefits..."

Given his current abilities, he was only able to use a few dream spell master’s techniques. Even other types of dream masters would not reject the use of dream elemental force to create dream spells in order to aid themselves in their chosen pathways. However, they pale in comparison to a true dream spell master who is able to cast thousands of dream spells with a single thought.

Only with single-hearted devotion can one achieve results.

Regardless of which pathway, the outcome was still the same. All the routes lead to the same destination and as such, it was a waste of effort to walk multiple paths.

"Where does my path lies?"

Fang Yuan sighed. Truth be told, he did not have many options.

While a dream soldier master might not be the strongest amongst the dream masters, there was no doubt that the inheritance in his hand was the most complete.

"Firstly, I do not have enough contribution points to search for the techniques of the other pathways. Secondly, these techniques might not be able to compare to what my master gave me...Afterall, my master’s dream soldier master inheritance is a secret inheritance and contain other mysteries. Furthermore, it is extremely compatible with me..."

Fang Yuan shook his head and made up his mind.

Fang Yuan had achieved much in the pathway of martial arts and was not willing to give it up. Choosing the pathway of a dream soldier master would undoubtedly maximize his potential in martial arts.

"Master’s dream soldier master pathway is a secret inheritance called the ’Eight Gates Sword Array’ which possessed some characteristics of a spiritual array. 8 magical soldiers are created in the dream world to form an array and when required, they can be summoned to assassinate opponents or act as protection for the user! It complements my martial arts!"

The 8 Gates Sword Array used the 8 trigrams [2] as its foundation which encompassed all the living things in the heavens and earth. The fine changes within were limitless.

"While the 8 Gates Sword Array is effective, it does have a downside to it. Its characteristics are obvious and as such, if the enemies of my master see it, I will be in deep trouble..."

"Furthermore, my martial arts is another limiting factor!"

Fang Yuan’s Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique was developed by himself and was currently in the beginning stage of forming the 4th spiritual meridian. However, he was unable to proceed further.

In order to achieve a breakthrough, he only had 2 options.

The first option was to obtain the entire manual of Yang Family’s technique, the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique and combine it to fill up the gaps in the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique.

The second option was to use his contribution points and request the help of a more skillful dream master to perfect his technique!

Due to their actualized dream world, dream masters were able to deduce martial arts techniques.

Fang Yuan faced difficulties and was unable to further improve his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique. However, that did not mean that other dream masters were unable to do so!

If that was the case, it would be difficult to keep the technique a secret and as such, Fang Yuan was unwilling to seek the help of other dream masters.

"Maybe...I should put up posters requesting to buy the entire volume of the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique manual?

Fang Yuan muttered to himself.

The Yang Family was exterminated by Qing Gui. As such, it was likely that the in-house technique was spread to the outsiders.

Afterall, there were so many dream masters in Da Qian with treasures and information as long as one was able to pay the price!

[1] A Chinese saying which means that they possess immerse power.

[2] The 8 trigrams eight symbols used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts.