Swallowed Star: Lord of the Wolf

After parting ways with the two overlords, Zongfu and Yufu, Gu You traveled alone across the shallow land of the Dream Realm.

*Smack* *Smack* *Smack*
Travel through shallow spaces.

As you walk, you are surrounded by flowing, colorful aurora borealis, and beneath your feet are crystals that emanate various emotional fluctuations. In the distance, an inverted waterfall flows silently, and the mountains play a quiet symphony.

The dense and chaotic dream energy in the air, like countless invisible hands, tried to stir his consciousness and drag him into a bizarre and fantastical dream.

Gu You calmed his mind, and his highly pure spiritual life force came into play at this moment. This spirituality acted as an inner anchor, allowing him to clearly distinguish the boundary between his own consciousness and the interference of external dreams, maintaining his clarity and composure.

“In the shallower areas, the creatures of the Dream Realm are relatively weak, and the value of treasures is mostly between one million and ten million merits. However, danger is also everywhere, especially the invasion of consciousness and the strange changes in the environment.” Gu You recalled the reminder from the God King Zongfu and the information about the Dream Realm.

Unlike Luo Feng, he did not have a large number of clones to conduct a wide-ranging exploration.

He only had one divine body. Although it could be cut into pieces, it would also mean a significant decrease in strength. Therefore, he only cut into two pieces, hiding one of them in the palace's secret treasure as a backup plan.

We must be cautious.

"Seeing with your eyes is not as good as relying on a flash of inspiration." Gu You closed his eyes and used his pure life essence to spread out his senses in all directions like tentacles.

The rules of the Dream Realm are completely different from those of the Origin Continent. The supreme rules here are covered or coexist with a higher-level, but seemingly less "perfect", "dream operation rules".

This rule causes all escape techniques to fail when approaching certain key points, such as the location of treasures, and has also given rise to unique dream realm creatures and rare treasures.

Ancient and mysterious spiritual perception focuses on the flow, convergence, and anomalies of life energy. Treasures often contain special energy fields, and the dream realm creatures guarding these treasures will inevitably exhibit life or life-like reactions.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked northeast, about hundreds of millions of miles away.

There, he sensed a gentle yet resilient fluctuation of life energy, a stark contrast to the chaotic and violent dream energy around him. Moreover, near the source of that energy, there were several enormous, solidified life forms.

"It's suspected to be a treasure, and it's guarded by someone," Gu You judged. "It's not too far away, let's go investigate first."

He dared not teleport.

In the shallower layers of the dream realm, the spatial structure is fragile and volatile, making long-distance teleportation extremely risky and easily marked by certain special entities or rules. He chose to fly at a moderate speed while maintaining his life and spiritual perception at its maximum range, remaining constantly vigilant.

During the flight, Gu You witnessed various strange phenomena in the shallow layers of the dream realm—

A seemingly calm "lake" was filled with liquid, seven-colored light. The reflection on its surface wasn't of the sky, but of countless overlapping, distorted human faces, emitting silent wails. As Gu You approached, those faces seemed to come alive, extending arms of condensed light to try and drag him into the lake.

Gu You immediately activated his life spirit, radiating pure life brilliance. Those human faces and arms quickly retracted as if they had encountered their nemesis, and the lake surface returned to "calm," but the intense aura of resentment lingered for a long time.

A "mountain" entirely composed of stacked transparent bubbles, each bubble sealing various fragmented memories—a grand wedding, a fierce battle, a child's innocent smile, a dying man's final sigh... As Gu You passed by, some bubbles burst, and those memory fragments transformed into tangible illusions, attempting to merge into his consciousness and alter his memories.

This forced him to gather spiritual light to protect his soul and quickly pass through.

There was also a group of dream-realm creatures that resembled ever-changing, colorful clouds, drifting aimlessly and seemingly harmless. But as Gu You flew by, one of the "clouds" suddenly extended a tentacle of colorful light with astonishing speed, striking directly at Gu You. Fortunately, Gu You reacted extremely quickly, his figure transforming into a blue afterimage to dodge, while simultaneously flicking his fingertip, sending out a gust of wind that struck the colorful tentacle. The tentacle retracted rapidly as if burned, the "cloud" emitting a silent shriek, and the other "clouds" also stirred.

Gu You, not wanting to linger, hastened his departure.

These experiences made Gu You even more vigilant.

The dangers in the shallow layers of the dream realm often do not come from the strength of an individual, but from the unpredictable and bizarre rules, the invasion of consciousness, and environmental traps.

A single adverse factor may seem easy to deal with, but if it is affected by multiple adverse factors at the same time, he may fall into a trap.

Finally, he approached the target area he had sensed.

It was a depression composed of warm, white, jade-like crystals, and in the center of the depression grew three strange plants.

The plant is a translucent pale blue, and its shape is like an orchid magnified a thousand times. However, silver veins flow along the edges of the leaves, and each leaf has a fist-sized, crystal-clear blue flower at its tip, with what appears to be a slowly rotating nebula inside.

The flowers were emitting the same kind of life energy fluctuations that Gu You had sensed before—a gentle yet resilient energy with a purifying and soothing rhythm.

"Purifying Star Orchid?" Information flashed through Gu You's mind. This was a rare treasure, seldom found in the shallow layers of the Dream Realm. Consuming it could purify impurities in the soul, stabilize consciousness, and resist mental attacks. For a God-King who frequently operated in places like the Dream Realm and the Abyss where consciousness attacks were common, it was extremely valuable.

A mature Cymbidium goeringii is worth about five million kJ.

There are three plants right in front of us, which is a contribution of fifteen million!

However, the treasure was not without protection.

Beside the three Pure Heart Star Orchids, nine seemingly random, dusty, and inconspicuous "rocks" lay scattered. But Gu You's spiritual perception told him that these nine "rocks" contained life energy imbued with clear hostility and territoriality!

Their auras were interconnected, subtly forming a simple combined attack formation.

The three most powerful "rocks" possessed life energy intensity that reached the peak of the first level of the God King realm, or even slightly exceeded it!
The other six pieces are also at the ordinary level of the first realm.

"Stone-type dream realm creatures have low intelligence but extremely strong defense and terrifying strength, and they are extremely aggressive towards any living being that gets close to their protective range," Gu You recalled the intelligence description.

More importantly, when he got close enough, the unique operating rules of the Dream Realm took effect. He felt an invisible repulsive force field enveloping the depression, rendering any means of concealment, stealth, or escape ineffective and forcing him to reveal himself.

This is a "protection mechanism" for treasures under the rules of the Dream Realm.

Ultimately, the Dream Realm is also a testing ground for Yuan to hone his younger generation.

Faced with the formidable, thick-skinned stone monster guarding him, Gu You's eyes narrowed slightly. Forcible take was the only option; the rules of the Dream Realm meant that shortcuts couldn't last long.

With a thought, he realized that although this clone only revealed the aura of the first realm, its essence was formed from half of the life spirit of the ancient Netherworld's true self. Its application of the Great Dao of the Origin of Life was far beyond that of an ordinary first realm cultivator.

"A swift victory is crucial to avoid unforeseen complications." Gu You's figure blurred, no longer concealing his speed, transforming into a blurry streak of azure lightning, hurtling straight towards the center of the depression. *Whoosh—!*
The nine "rocks" instantly became enraged, trembled together, and transformed into nine gray-black stone giants!
The three most powerful beings were over two thousand feet tall, with a violent aura, wielding stone fists as large as mountains. The other six beings also flanked from the sides, with earthen-yellow energy ripples spreading from their feet, attempting to slow down Gu You's speed.

"Thousand Threads!" Gu You swiftly waved his hands, instantly unleashing a second-level technique. Countless fine, hair-like yet incredibly resilient cyan spiritual threads shot out from his sleeves, coiling around their joints and points of leverage like serpents!

These spiritual threads contain the mysteries of "entanglement," "delay," and "interference with the flow of energy." They are a fusion of the spiritual life force and the branches of blood, and are a sophisticated means of control and restraint.

Chi Chi Chi -!
Spiritual threads precisely wrapped around the stone giant's arms, knees, and neck. The powerful stone giant's movements froze, as if it had sunk into an invisible quagmire; its punches and kicks became unusually heavy and sluggish.

"The effect is good!" Gu You secretly praised himself for his exquisite use of spiritual power, while continuing his movements.

"Nine Illusions of All Beings, Break!" He accelerated once more, the nine illusions indistinguishable from the real ones. Three of them fiercely confronted the strongest three-headed stone monster in front of him, using a subtle technique of deflecting and borrowing force to deflect the terrifying stone fist. Although the illusions flickered due to the shock, they successfully created an opening.

The other six phantoms, like butterflies flitting among flowers, slipped through the gaps in the stone giant's attacks, heading straight for Jingxin Xinglan!
"Roar!" The stone monsters roared angrily, unleashing their energy in an attempt to sever the spiritual threads. The most powerful of the three-headed monsters saw their eyes blaze with earthy yellow flames, and thick rock armor appeared on their bodies, further enhancing their defense. They forcefully broke free of their restraints, and their massive stone paws slammed towards the approaching ancient phantom.

The pressure has increased dramatically!

Gu You sensed a considerable force of recoil emanating from the void, and his spiritual threads were rapidly depleting. After all, this was the combined attack of nine powerful Dream Domain creatures, three of which had reached the peak of the first level of the cultivation realm.

"We can't delay!" A fierce glint flashed in Gu You's eyes, and one of the phantoms suddenly solidified, revealing his true form. He pointed his fingers like a sword, and a point of spiritual light, condensed to its extreme and appearing in a deep blue-black hue, emerged at his fingertips.

"Spiritual Rhinoceros Breaks Boundaries!"

This spark of light contains a highly concentrated, penetrating power of life's spiritual essence.

call out--!
The deep blue light, as if teleporting, ignored the waving arms of the stone giant and its thick rock armor, and precisely pierced the core of the chest of one of the strongest stone monsters—the pulsating, earthy-yellow crystal.

puff!
A slight cracking sound.

The stone giant's massive body suddenly froze, the light from the yellowish-brown crystal on its chest rapidly dimming, revealing spiderweb-like cracks. It let out a mournful cry, and its enormous body began to disintegrate, turning into countless fragments of stone and dissipating yellowish-brown energy.

One strike severely injured, or even nearly killed, a guardian leader at the peak of the first level!
The attacks of the other two strongest stone monsters and six ordinary stone monsters were all momentarily halted, clearly taken aback by this sudden attack.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Gu You unleashed the full speed of the remaining eight phantoms, like eight streaks of azure light, instantly covering the final distance and each reaching out to grab a Pure Heart Star Orchid.

His technique was extremely gentle and swift, enveloping the flower stem with the spirit of life, as if picking morning dew, without causing the slightest damage, while simultaneously isolating the Pure Heart Star Orchid from the potential backlash that might result from the connection between its energy and the earth's energy.

Swish!Swish!Swish!
The three Pure Heart Star Orchids were picked almost simultaneously and placed into a specially made jade box prepared in advance by Gu You. The sealing runes on the surface of the jade box lit up, isolating the inside from the outside.

"Roar—!!!" The remaining stone monsters went completely berserk. With their treasures stolen and their companions injured, they charged forward recklessly, their attacks becoming even more ferocious. They even began to burn their primal energy, and the earthy yellow light was stained with a layer of blood.

Without pausing, the moment Gu You put away the jade box, the eight phantoms suddenly merged into one, transforming into a beam of cyan light that had been condensed to the extreme. It shot away at a speed far exceeding its previous speed, in the opposite direction from where it had come from!
He had no intention of fighting these crazed stone monsters to the death.

The objective has been achieved; it is not advisable to linger in the battle.

Boom boom boom! ! !
Behind him, the ferocious attack blasted the white jade depression into a mess, sending energy turbulence soaring into the sky. But Gu You was extremely fast and adept at changing direction, quickly leaving the enraged stone monsters behind and disappearing behind a distorted mountain range of light and shadow.

Soon, in a relatively secluded "canyon" formed by a cluster of enormous, colorful crystals, Gu You stopped and calmed his breathing slightly. He checked the three Pure Heart Star Orchids inside the jade box; they were intact and full of energy.

"The first haul, a mere fifteen million in credit." Gu You's lips curled slightly.

This efficiency is far faster than being a guest minister or completing missions on the Origin Continent. No wonder so many God-Kings, knowing the dangers, still choose to venture into treasure lands like the Dream Realm.

But this is just the beginning.

In the years that followed, Gu You cautiously explored the shallower layers of the Dream Realm.

He avoided areas with overly strong or eerie auras, specifically seeking out targets with relatively clear life energy reactions and whose guardian strength was within the estimated range.

With his heightened spiritual awareness and keen intuition for danger, he successfully avoided several traps and bizarre environments that could have injured him.

The harvest followed, though not as bountiful as the first time—

The Dream Trace Crystal is worth approximately three million.

The Soul-Stabilizing Black Iron Fruit is worth approximately four million merits.

The Qingxin Stone is worth approximately two million in merit.

……

"Throughout the years, nearly a hundred epochs have been spent exploring the shallow and middle layers." After setting up a concealed array, Gu You sat down on the ground to take stock of his gains. Apart from the Pure Heart Star Orchid, all the other treasures he had collected were worth approximately eleven million merits.

A total of approximately 26 million in merit!

Such enormous gains in just one hundred epochs!

In the outside world, it often takes a period of time, measured in trillions of eras, for a first-level God King to accumulate more than 20 million merits by completing tasks and building up influence.

"Dream Realm, as expected of a high-grade treasure land left behind by Yuan, is incredibly rich." Gu You thought to himself, but he was not blinded by excitement.

He knew that during this hundred-year period, he was mostly familiarizing himself with the dream realm environment, adapting to its unique rules, and honing his ability to survive and explore in dangerous places.

Therefore, he remained cautiously at the shallow and middle levels, without venturing too deeply.

Now that we have a sufficient understanding of the Dream Realm and have accumulated some experience and treasures, it's time to venture deeper. (End of Chapter)