All the evil beasts in the world, I feed on demons and monsters

Chapter 396 Using Chopsticks to Save Lives
A wave of dizziness, as if the world were spinning, caused Li Hanzhang to stumble and fall face-first into the mud!

He rubbed his head and looked up—

Before me lay countless bluestone paving stones, their surfaces worn smooth and lustrous. Ahead, a colossal building stood silently.

The building's foundation was made of thick bluestone, rising more than a person above the ground. The eaves were supported by dozens of dark ochre wooden pillars that required two people to encircle. They were not bright vermilion, but rather the almost solidified blood color that had settled over the years.

The pillars show no intricate carvings, only the natural grain of the wood and countless fine cracks left by wind and rain, which, under the gloomy sunlight, resemble the veins on the back of an old man's hand.

Library?
Li Hanzhang yawned, feeling like he hadn't rested well.

Another early class.

He touched the Nine-Dragon Sword at his waist and called out towards the Sutra Repository, "Master Huang!"

"today--"

Snapped!
A light but not heavy slap made Li Hanzhang stagger, but he saw a blood-red flying sword flash past his eyes, and a strong killing intent made him shudder!
Dream!
I've entered a dream!
Startled by the murderous aura, Li Hanzhang finally came to his senses and remembered everything that had happened before.

I wasn't in the library of my own imperial city at all! I came to the border with Green Robe to inspect the drought situation, was kidnapped by a monster, witnessed the Yin Lord's escape from the water, and was rescued by two other great demons who sent me to the dream world to save me!

You'd better wake up.

"Don't think too much."

At this moment, a small primordial spirit sat atop the Heavenly Demon Sword Embryo. It was the killing intent primordial spirit that had been separated and reshaped by the Central Plains Deer. However, the reshaped primordial spirit was only level 1 at the moment, but it belonged to Ji Ran's divine abilities. Except for the Concealment Technique, which relied on the body and could not be used, all the others could be used.

"Go find the martial arts practitioners here."

Whoosh!
Ji Ran's primordial spirit transformed into a wisp of incense smoke, merged into the Heavenly Demon Sword embryo, and flew into Li Hanzhang's scabbard.

Normally, when a cultivator's primordial spirit leaves their body, their physical body falls into a deep sleep. But Ji Ran is different; he used the Central Plains Deer as a means of transformation. The shard of his spirit formed using the Central Plains Deer does not affect his physical body.

This feeling was as if he had two different perspectives. Although the Central Plains Deer had no rank, it was an item formed from the [Emperor's Position]. As a specialty of the Tianjin world, it gave Ji Ran the feeling that it was at least a spiritual tool or higher.

Moreover, its state has also changed somewhat in the Southern Han world—

[Central Plains Deer (Hunger+)]

Description: A manifestation of the dynasty's destiny. Feeding it with destiny will grant it special status buffs.

Uses: 1. To nurture with Qi, granting special status. 2. To serve as a vessel for the primordial spirit, allowing for the condensation of a divided spirit.

Note: If the Central Plains Deer is in a state of prolonged hunger, it will devour the host's luck.

Note: If the number of spirits it carries exceeds the limit of the Central Plains Deer, the Central Plains Deer will be destroyed.

Ji Ran did not feel his luck being lost. The Central Plains Deer was in a state similar to a hungry person, whose hunger required it to constantly consume luck. This was why it would devour the host's luck, but now it was able to absorb it from the outside world on its own.

It was the Southern Han Dynasty.

With the fall of the Southern Han dynasty, its fortunes scattered and adrift, giving the Central Plains a chance to absorb them.

"understand!"

At this moment, Li Hanzhang nodded. As he regained consciousness, the dream became a lucid dream, and all the buildings in front of him collapsed into nothingness.

What appeared before him was a border city.

The setting sun cast a cold wind, and the surroundings were desolate. Squads of Tang soldiers silently patrolled the city, while smoke rose from many houses.

"It's somewhat similar to the border town."

Li Hanzhang surveyed his surroundings. The road was a compacted dirt track, the buildings were low and practical, the walls were thick, and the windows were small to protect against the cold wind and stray arrows. "This is the dream that all those who fled north imagined."

Ji Ran's voice carried a hint of calm; clearly, this was a dream that encompassed everyone. The obsession of the Southern Han people fleeing north was to leave the Purple Rain region and enter the border of the Great Tang Dynasty.

In Ji Ran's view, the Dream Eater's domain is a special kind of closed domain. The opening of this domain is not voluntary, but involuntary.

It doesn't consume spiritual energy—let alone a fourth-grade Spirit Lord, even a fifth or sixth-grade Spirit Lord couldn't maintain the domain's expansion for a year.

This field demands mental energy. It consumes the mental energy of everyone involved!
Ji Ran could also feel his spiritual power, as if it had connected to a vast spiritual sea. But he dared not act rashly, for that intense spiritual energy was incredibly complex and chaotic, and even he himself would not be able to withstand it if he touched it.

The spiritual energy of all those people sustains this vast dream realm. If there were only a few people, they would be quickly drained upon entering.

The "dried-up people" that Li Hanzhang encountered in the cave were probably the unfortunate souls who were drained of their energy when the Dream Eater Spirit Lord first unleashed his domain. As time went on and more people joined, the energy expenditure was distributed among everyone, thus sustaining the situation for a long time.

What a powerful method!

If there are enough people in this demon's dream, then a false world can be maintained almost indefinitely!
now.

Li Hanzhang walked briskly down the street. In his view, the patrolling soldiers had blank stares, the buildings were almost identical, the distant sky was unchanging, and even the wind was blowing in the same direction.

“This is too fake.”

"That's because you're in Qingming Festival."

Ji Ran's voice was calm, but it made Li Hanzhang blush: "If you hadn't been in Qingming, you would still be in the courtyard of the Sutra Repository, doing your morning prayers."

"People in a dream will subconsciously visualize what they see, making it conform to their own perception, and they will not notice any flaws."

Ji Ran thought of the Jade Pillow Dream, a dream where reality was indistinguishable from the dream itself. This dream was somewhat inferior to the Jade Pillow, but it was far more vast and consumed far less energy; in some ways, it could even be said to consume virtually nothing.

"Um?!"

Suddenly, Ji Ran's eyes flashed, and she said, "Let's start eating!"

"what?"

Li Hanzhang was clueless, but Ji Ran, who was constantly observing the demons at the feast, saw that the Hundred-Eyed Spirit Lord had caught a figure with "Grade C Merit" in his arms!
Whoosh!
Ji Ran's primordial spirit suddenly rose, hovering in the void. His deepest eyes flickered with crimson light, like two blood lamps piercing through the fog, and a sudden change occurred in his vision!
boom!
In a cluster of low, gray buildings, a space suddenly twisted and expanded! Like a lurking beast arching its back, a grand mansion was forcibly "squeezed" out of the dream!

The vermilion gate towered like a mountain, its lintel ornate and exquisite, appearing particularly jarring and menacing in this barren, dreamlike landscape.

Swish——!
A sudden whooshing sound rang out!

Two powerful streams of incense smoke descended from the endless heights, like two giant golden pythons!

A winding path descends from the mansion, forming an invisible barrier that completely isolates the mansion from the surrounding dreamscape.

The other one was even more enigmatic. It hung straight down, suspended silently in the very center of the courtyard, its end swaying slightly, like a fishing line, waiting in silence for its prey to bite.

That's it!

"go!"

"Hey hey hey~!"

Ji Ran's primordial spirit immediately flew away, pulling the Heavenly Demon Sword Embryo and Li Hanzhang along at lightning speed!
The two went straight to the first bite of the feast, to the grand mansion in the dream that had suddenly undergone a strange transformation!
We must save him.

Ji Ran roughly understood the process of the merit feast: using incense as a bridge, killing the chosen person, and stealing the merit!
However, given the vast distance between them, only the domain itself can kill those within it.

Let alone a mere domain, even if the Dream Eater Spirit Lord himself came, Ji Ran was confident enough to save lives with his supernatural powers!
(End of this chapter)