The development of this dreamscape followed exactly what had happened over two thousand years ago - demon armies charging towards the Emperor's Dwelling Mountain, engaging in close combat with righteous cultivators in a battle of life and death.
Before this, during the thousands of years when the Ji Clan of Immortals ruled over both immortals and mortals, they had ruthlessly hunted down demons and monsters, forcing these supernatural creatures to hide in dark gutters and deep ravines, never to see daylight.
This was the first time demons had the power to resist.
Thousands of years of accumulated hatred exploded in this moment, like boiling oil being poured onto the first gate tower at the foot of Emperor's Dwelling Mountain.
Under such overwhelming circumstances, even as the Demon Lord, Xue Chenjing couldn't forcibly stop this great battle. Moreover, he was now powerless to prevent it.
Xue Chenjing couldn't break free or resist; he could only helplessly follow the actions from two thousand years ago.
He stood tall atop a demon beast, wearing dark robes with crimson trim that fluttered in the fierce wind. His black garments were embroidered with golden dragon patterns, his high-bound hair dancing wildly in the wind. Beneath his disheveled bangs, his face wore a wild and venomous smile, his pupils silvery-white, transformed into sharp vertical slits like those of a beast.
"The immortal lords have stayed up high for too long, believing their way is the only way, thinking those not of their kind deserve only to exist in gutters. Today, I, along with countless demons, invite you noble lords to come down and play with us."
His voice, tinged with mockery and enhanced by demonic power, echoed throughout heaven and earth. From his black and gold sleeves, he extended two fingers, drawing them through the air to form a longbow from condensed arc light.
Xue Chenjing drew the bow and released an arrow. It flew with a piercing whistle, demonic energy rolling off its tip like a black hawk taking flight, striking the first barrier.
With a thunderous boom, the barrier shattered.
Xue Chenjing raised his hand forward with a sweep, laughing, "Revenge for grievances, vengeance for hatred, and for those without either, we shall still leave none alive. From this day forward, I will ensure your ten thousand immortal mountains know no peace. Until the blood of the righteous path runs dry, the demons' hatred shall not cease. Kill!"
His bewitching voice spread across the battlefield, and the demons immediately responded, their eyes blood-red as they pounced toward the immortal gates, screaming "Kill!"
In an instant, righteous and demonic energies clashed, sword lights and blade shadows obscuring the sky, and the scent of blood quickly spread from the mountain's foot.
Xue Chenjing stepped on blood-soaked stairs, breathing in the sweet metallic scent of blood. He used to love this smell; it intoxicated him.
A figure fell not far ahead - he remembered that face, an immortal lord from the Ji family who had fallen to demons, ah yes, Ji Muyun. He had taken many White Spirit Pills, and after Xue Chenjing took control of his body, it was easy to break his mental state and drag the immortal lord into the abyss.
Ji Muyun was pinned to the stairs by a sword through his heart. His eyes were wide open in death, and his lifeless pupils gazed upon a righteous cultivator in blood-stained white robes.
His features were seven or eight parts similar to Ji Muyun's. Tears streamed down his face as he crouched to brush Ji Muyun's face, closing his eyes while saying sorrowfully, "May father rest in peace."
Xue Chenjing clapped his hands, stepping through the blood flowing from Ji Muyun's heart as he walked upward. "What a touching scene of filial piety, sacrificing family for righteousness. Yet nothing disgusts me more than those who 'sacrifice family for righteousness'!"
The cultivator turned to look at him, eyes bulging with rage as he drew his sword and slashed at him, shouting, "You brutal and shameless demon!"
Xue Chenjing dodged like a cat playing with a mouse, his form gathering and dispersing beneath the earthly turbidity.
The cultivator formed a formation with his hands, his spiritual sword splitting from one into two, two into three, instantly becoming countless sword shadows that formed a trapping formation, seamlessly imprisoning that ghostly figure within.
Sword shadows fell like rain, and the final sword finally pierced through the earthly turbid mist, stabbing into the Demon Lord's heart.
Blood trickled from Xue Chenjing's mouth, his pupils dilated, and tears of pain rolled from his eyes.
The cultivator's face showed wild joy as he shouted, "The Demon Lord is slain—"
Suddenly, the supposedly slain Demon Lord blinked, wiped away his tears, and easily broke the spiritual sword stuck in his heart. His bleeding lips curled into a smile, as if he had just enjoyed an excellent performance, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Hahahahaha, you fool, I was just pretending."
The cultivator froze, then was consumed by hatred. Behind Xue Chenjing appeared a massive nine-tailed fox demon, its soft tails like giant pillars, striking the cultivator into the air before slamming him down heavily.
The cultivator's body nearly broke in half, all his spiritual bones shattered. When he hit the ground, he had become nothing more than a boneless mass of flesh.
Xue Chenjing walked to his side, stepping on his face from above, looking down at him saying, "When the Ji family was using the White Spirit Pills for cultivation, no one called me a brutal and shameless demon. You called me the Great God, a merciful deity who protected all living beings."
He savored the cultivator's despairing gaze as he slowly applied pressure, crushing his skull.
Fresh blood stained his shoes.
The sounds of killing surrounded them. At every moment, someone was dying, whether demon or cultivator. Xue Chenjing once loved this scene of blood raining from the sky and endless fighting. Killing once brought him immense joy, but now, only despair and fear remained in his heart.
Yu Yi was here too.
Xue Chenjing's heart pounded wildly, fear gripping his heart like iron tongs.
He dared not imagine if she had possessed the body of Ji Muyun who was pierced through the heart, or this cultivator whose skull he had just crushed, or any of those being slaughtered or about to be slaughtered around them.
What could she do?
What could he do?
This dream had turned into a complete nightmare.
"Xue Mingyuan, you can torture me however you want, but please spare her, don't hurt her. Don't you love her too? How could you let her experience these things!"
Xue Mingyuan's voice resonated within his heart, "Chenjing, I want you to remember this moment of fear and pain. Killing should only bring you pain, not joy. Because they too are living beings, and there are people who worry about their death and harm just as you do. You fear her seeing your past because you know she abhors killing."
"Alright, I'll remember, I will remember." Xue Chenjing wanted to weep bitterly. He was indeed in pain now, more than ever before. This awareness that he would lose her was slowly torturing his heart.
But the him from a thousand years ago would not have stopped for anyone, nor would he have felt pain for anyone's death, whether it was the common people his brother once protected or the demons who now followed behind him.
He reveled in this slaughter, feeling only that the battlefield wasn't large enough, the smell of blood not thick enough.
Xue Chenjing drew his bow again, shooting through the second barrier, the third barrier, the fourth...
One by one the barriers broke, fresh blood staining the long stairs, flowing upward from below. Yu Yi was trapped within this divine tree, able only to shake its crown - she could only watch helplessly as the battle below gradually approached her.
That Demon Lord passed through the flashing swords and blades, wearing a coat of fresh blood, finally stepping into her field of vision.
Yu Yi saw his gradually clearing features, her heart skipping a beat - surprised, yet not entirely unexpected. She knew Xue Chenjing had died many times, reincarnated many times, knew that righteous and evil constantly struggled within his body.
From reading records about that Demon Lord, seeing how in the final moment he turned against his own side and sacrificed himself to seal away the demons who followed him, Yu Yi had roughly guessed who that Demon Lord from a thousand years ago might be.
She just hadn't expected to personally confirm this guess, to witness firsthand his past brutality and bloodthirst.
If this was a nightmare, she hoped she could wake up soon.
Xue Chenjing broke through the final barrier, finally reaching the peak. He looked up at the majestic tree crown above - this divine tree looked like a burning flame from afar, and standing beneath it, every leaf appeared like a tongue of fire.
"The Emperor's Dwelling Divine Tree, truly beautiful," Xue Chenjing sighed sincerely, his eyes showing wonder and covetousness.
This gaze, in Yu Yi's eyes, was like a venomous snake's flickering tongue, sending a chill through her entire being, as if invisible tentacles were already wrapping around her body, wanting to possess her completely.
"The crimson leaves can ward off evil." Xue Chenjing raised his hand, his fingertips still stained with someone's blood, and caressed her leaves. "Now, I am the most evil being under heaven, and I want to see how you will ward me off."
He pinched a flame-red leaf, his fingers exerting force to tear it from the branch.
The Heart Sea Oath Stone suddenly trembled, startling both of them. Xue Chenjing's eyes lit up, feeling a hint of post-disaster relief, "It's Yu Yi, she's in the Emperor's Dwelling Divine Tree."
Thankfully, she wasn't on the battlefield below. She wasn't dead, nor was she injured.
But after this brief relief, he quickly became anxious, because he knew what he would do next.
He would uproot this evil-warding Emperor's Dwelling Divine Tree with his own hands, strip away its roots, break its branches, burn its flame-like leaves, split it into hundreds of pieces, and have people drill holes and carve it into an ornate carriage.
Thereafter, he would drive this carriage made from the evil-warding divine tree across the mountains and rivers of the cultivation world, and years of accumulated blood would seep into the divine wood, impossible to wash clean.
Xue Chenjing's resistance caused the dreamscape to fluctuate. "Brother, don't make me do this to her, let me wake up..."
The branches and leaves of the Emperor's Dwelling Divine Tree rustled. Yu Yi realized it wasn't her imagination - Xue Chenjing's transparent tentacles were indeed wrapping around the tree trunk. He didn't even fear the thorns on the branches as more and more tentacles tightly constricted the trunk, attempting to pull her from the earth.
But she had clearly just heard Xue Chenjing's tearful plea.
Xue Mingyuan glanced at the trembling leaves. He certainly knew Yu Yi was within this tree - this dream was constructed because of him, as he had used the dream butterfly to lure her here.
Logic told him he should let this dream continue; their relationship would become irreparable.
His brother would never be able to complete the conquest mission.
However, when the crown of the Emperor's Dwelling Divine Tree quivered, Xue Mingyuan still backed down. He had overestimated his resolve - even seeing Xue Chenjing tear off one of her leaves made him feel distressed.
The dream shattered. Silver butterflies descended from the sky's canopy, their wings enveloping the dream, guiding their consciousness back to reality.
Yu Yi suddenly awoke from the dream, still feeling the sensation of being bound by tentacles. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of silver scales falling between the bed curtains. She reached out to lift the curtains, just in time to see a silver butterfly shadow disappear through the window gap.
She got out of bed and quickly walked out the door. The door of the west wing creaked open as well, and Xue Mingyuan emerged from his room. The two met in the garden between their quarters.
The morning light was blocked by dark clouds; today was another stormy day. Everything was shrouded in darkness, with only occasional rolling thunder illuminating the ground.
Yu Yi looked up and asked, "Was it your doing?"
Xue Mingyuan remained silent, giving a slight nod.
Immediately following was a sharp crack as Yu Yi raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
