My cards can be infinitely combined.

Chapter 539: Ten Years of Fantasy

Zhou Nan gathered Yue Baiting, Tianya Langren, Zhengyi Dajian, and Douzhan Wudi. Half a day later, they arrived at the entrance to the Seven Realms dungeon and started farming again.

He was running this dungeon purely for experience, and the difficulty level was set to N4.

Zhou Nan wasn't unwilling to increase the difficulty, but Yue Baiting and the others were too weak and had a passive attitude. If Zhou Nan didn't assist in the defense, the dungeon would be difficult to clear.

However, assisting in defense would reduce the efficiency of gaining experience.

All things considered, grinding on N4 difficulty is the most suitable, as it provides a stable income of around 100 million experience points per hour, allowing you to level up and train simultaneously.

With this one refresh, another whole day passed, and Zhou Nan easily leveled up to level 64.

Every time he enters a dungeon, he encounters the mad scientist.

That mad scientist was quite interesting; when she was bored, she would knit sweaters. She knitted very quickly and even knitted a pair of brightly colored woolen pants for Zhou Nan.

Zhou Nan initially thought the woolen pants were tacky and ugly, and vaguely didn't want them, but as soon as he received them, he immediately cheered.

Those woolen pants were real items, and not just any ordinary ones. The mad scientist told Zhou Nan that they were genuine Cloud Sea Immortal Garments, possessing extremely strong protective capabilities and able to isolate most cosmic energy impacts. He only gave them to him because he liked him.

Zhou Nan used it to enhance [King Overlord Sword Immortal Zhou Bai], making him [Hairy Pants Sword Immortal Zhou Bai].

Zhou Bai, the Sword Immortal in wool pants, has greatly increased his attributes. His health and immortal essence have increased to 100,000, and he has also gained a super-strong damage reduction ability called [Immortal Aura Protection].

However, the Cloud Sea Immortal Robe and Fur Pants were not something Zhou Nan had conjured up in his imagination. From then on, the Fur Pants Sword Immortal Zhou Bai wore a pair of brightly colored fur pants under his long robe. He couldn't change them, and they looked quite incongruous. It was for this reason that Zhou Nan renamed him the Fur Pants Sword Immortal.

Zhou Nan wanted more of these sweaters, but the mad scientist refused to give them to him.

He also tried to get more real items from the mad scientist, but to no avail.

Once again, everyone gathered at the entrance of the dungeon. Zhou had written a large poster: "Let's run N5 again. This time I'll defend, you guys focus on saving your progress and leveling up your characters. I'll take you through the dungeon again next time, but that might be a while."

"Okay, okay, then let's hold on for another three hours."

"To be honest, we can't take this much dungeon grinding anymore!"

"It's all liver!"

"There's a reason we're pushing ourselves so hard; our livers have reached their limit!"

"A strong liver is not as important as strong kidneys..."

Yue Baiting and the others muttered amongst themselves, and sure enough, they completely ignored defense once they entered the instance.

Zhou Nan, specializing in defense, proved to be quite reliable. Three hours passed in a flash, and the dungeon was successfully cleared. Zhou Nan bid farewell to everyone and went to Wukong Mountain to find Lan Yuping.

His main goal was to get some God and Demon Coins from Lan Yuping.

"Gods and Demons Coins are a currency issued through complex calculations and scientific methods, unlike Gold Coins and Void Coins. The issuance quantity and method are regulated. Since many civilizations' main gods have already established accounts in the Chaos Void, the issuance of Gods and Demons Coins has become more standardized and rigorous. To obtain Gods and Demons Coins, you have to earn them yourself..."

Lan Yuping spoke calmly. Beside him, the Holy Child, the reincarnation of the Holy Ancestor, was still fast asleep. Strangely enough, he floated in mid-air, with seven-colored light flashing on his body.

"If you need God and Demon Coins..."

A voice suddenly rang out, and Lan Yuping was stunned. Zhou Nan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman with long blue hair.

Zhou Nan couldn't see the blue-haired woman's attribute information, but he was certain that she was definitely not a player.

Because players won't have her otherworldly, ethereal quality.

"Who is this?"

Zhou Nan pondered this with curiosity.

Lan Yuping stood up and said, "What brings you here?"

The blue-haired woman said, "I'm free now!"

Lan Yuping paused for a moment, then asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

The blue-haired woman shook her head without answering. She looked at Zhou Nan and asked, "Does the Human Black Card Emperor recognize me?"

Zhou Nan shook his head.

"I am Lan Caihe!"

Zhou Nan's eyes lit up, and he quickly wrote a large poster: "I've heard so much about you!"

Lan Caihe had a hint of aloofness in her voice. She continued, "Human Black Card Emperor, according to the data recorded in the core, you rank 95th among human players and 998th among all players based on player growth potential. You are in the top 1,000. In these special times, you deserve some special treatment from me."

Zhou Nan scratched his head, not understanding.

What ranking? Is there anything wrong with my position?

So low?

Is it reasonable?

What does "special care" mean?

Lan Caihe stepped forward and said again, "Let me reintroduce myself. I am the embodiment of the core. You can think of me as a virtual representative with a personality set under the core's will. I do not have the core's abilities, but I can influence the core's operation and decision-making to a certain extent."

"The embodiment of the core!"

Zhou Nan's heart skipped a beat.

He had seen the core entity, the Brain in a Vat, which could collect the power of imagination and created the card world and many civilizations and gods. It had even created an avatar for itself.

If that's the case, then Lan Caihe is indeed a very high-profile figure.

No wonder Lan Cuihua calls her "Big Sister".

Lan Caihe continued, "After reviewing your data, I have used my core power to change a pre-existing setting for you. You now have four Star Beads. Go and collect the remaining three Star Beads. Once you have them all, you can obtain any item you want in the exclusive dungeon, even Divine Demon Coins."

"Star Beads, Exclusive Dungeons..."

Zhou Nan immediately understood.

Collecting all seven star beads unlocks an exclusive dungeon. This was a quest Zhou Nan obtained while exploring the chaotic void. However, collecting all seven star beads in the vast chaotic void was no easy task, and Zhou Nan had always taken a casual approach to this quest.

Unexpectedly, Lan Caihe made a fuss about this task.

Zhou Nan didn't doubt what she said. As long as he collected all seven star beads and opened that person's exclusive dungeon, he should be able to farm a lot of God and Demon Coins in it.

"Go ahead, work hard, and don't miss this opportunity..."

Lan Caihe waved her hand, indicating that Zhou Nan could leave. Perhaps in her eyes, Zhou Nan was just a slightly special player, not someone she would take seriously.

Zhou Nan thought for a moment, then cupped his hands in farewell.

He didn't want to waste time either.

Soon, Zhou Nan contacted Red Boy, Li Dapu, the Old Ancestor of the Sunken Ship, the Imperial Guards, and others, asking them to help him find the Star Pearl.

He returned to his training room in the Council of Gods and Demons.

"My growth potential, according to the core's evaluation criteria, is only enough to place me in the top 1,000 of all players. That's too low! Doesn't it have anything to do with strength? I can only say, core, you misjudged me! And the people from the Dragon Slayer Empire don't seem to have included me in their list of key targets either. They misjudged me too! I'm working my butt off so hard, and I haven't even started yet. So, starting today, I'll transform into a cultivation maniac and first improve my cultivation level..."

Zhou Nan sat cross-legged, pondered for a moment, and then took out a card.

"This is a time-space clue card left behind by Huang San, the former governor of the Dragon Slayer Empire. He called himself the Time Ghost and left a message on the card, saying that by using the card, one can steal ten years in a dream... Today, let's test the mysteries of this card!"

With a thought, Zhou Nan's card melted instantly, turning into a strange energy that enveloped him.

"Um?"

Zhou Nan was shocked and felt like he was suffocating. Before he could struggle, everything went black and he lost consciousness.

He didn't know how much time had passed before Zhou Nansu woke up. He found himself in a strange world, where everything was gray and hazy, as if he were in a chaotic void.

There seemed to be no color or sound here.

"What's going on? Where am I...?"

Zhou Nan was confused about the situation. He then discovered that he could not open his storage backpack, use the system functions, or hear system prompts. He tried everything but could not leave.

He panicked, opened his mouth wide to shout, and forgot about the Zen of silence, but no sound came out at all.

Here, there is no color, no sound, only emptiness and chaos.

Zhou Nan tried to calm himself down. After a moment, a thought suddenly appeared in front of him.

The phantom was none other than the colossal demon Chen Batian, who pointed his sword at the sky and laughed heartily.

However, Zhou Nan couldn't hear a single laugh.

This world is silent.

Zhou Nan's thoughts stirred again, and the phantom of Crab Sword Emperor Brother Ao Tian appeared. Then, there were phantoms of Dragon Prince Ao Yuanba, Old Dragon King Ao Jiaozhu, Heavenly King Covering the Earth Tiger, and so on.

Zhou Nan gradually understood.

In this bizarre world, everything you think about seems to manifest.

"Could this be what they call a dream of fantasy... a dream...?"

Zhou Nan discovered that he could not cultivate Qigong and Light Radiation Techniques here. He felt bored and listless. With another thought, the phantoms that had appeared around him flew up and split into two sides, each displaying its own methods and attacking each other, like a battle between gods and demons in the sky.

Gradually, Zhou Nan felt that these cards all made "a sense," and it seemed that as long as he found a glimmer of opportunity, he could completely recreate these cards in his imagination and make them the same as [King Overlord True Lord Zhou Liangpeng].

Soon, Zhou Nan fell into deep thought and sat down cross-legged.

And this sitting lasted for a full ten years!

At that moment, Zhou Nan suddenly opened his eyes in the cultivation room.

He woke up.

I've woken up from a decade-long dream!

After a moment of confusion, Zhou Nan checked the system notifications, and what he saw stunned him.

He realized that he had only been asleep for a brief moment!

It didn't even last ten seconds!

That is, I just used the time clue card left by Time Ghost Huang San.

But the ten-year dream wasn't entirely untrue.

"It's as if time has been frozen for ten years. Is this the work of the Time Ghost?"

After thinking it over again, Zhou Nan realized that he had been daydreaming for ten years, but in reality, only a few seconds had passed!

During these ten years of reverie, although his cultivation level did not increase, his understanding of techniques such as Haoyang Gong, Baqi, and Wangba Zhenjing deepened considerably.

Furthermore, it seems that ten years of daydreaming and twenty-three years of silent meditation can be subtracted from the previous ten years.

"Ten years of daydreaming can't be considered a complete loss, so now is the real retreat."

Zhou Nan sat down cross-legged and began to circulate his Haoyang Gong. A flood of insights and experiences rushed into his mind, making the cultivation feel much easier and more comfortable.

Perhaps because of his decade-long experience of daydreaming, Zhou Nan is now calm and composed, and he is also obsessed with cultivation. Before he knew it, more than a year had passed for him.

At this moment, Zhou Nan stopped cultivating. He examined himself and found that 440 small light spots had accumulated in his mind.

Each tiny point of light is forged from a spoonful of domineering aura.

After a moment's thought, Zhou Nan activated his domineering technique, merging the 440 small points of light into one, and refining them into a King Overlord True Monarch in his mind. He then used that King Overlord True Monarch's imagination to create a card, obtaining a [King Overlord True Monarch 440].

Even without releasing Wang Ba Zhenjun Si Bai Si, Zhou Nan could tell that he was much more agile than Zhou Liang Peng, and should be comparable to a medium-level intelligent NPC in the game. He wouldn't have much trouble interacting with others in a simple way.

"Four hundred spoons, agile as he may be, but lacking in combat power. Let's combine him with Zhou Liangpeng. The new card will be called [King Overlord True Lord - Five Hundred Spoons]!"

Zhou Nan made the decision, and soon, the brand-new [True Lord of Overlord - Five Hundred Spoons] appeared. Its card quality was significantly upgraded to purple, but its star rating returned to one star.

This [Infinite Synthesis] also reduced Zhou Nan's God and Demon Coins to only seven.

All of Wang Ba Zhen Jun Zhou Liang Peng's abilities and musical instruments were transferred to [Wang Ba Zhen Jun · Wu Bai Shao].

Zhou Nan held the card and left the training room.

A moment later, he left the council airship, stood in the chaotic void, and with a bang, released [True Monarch of Kings - Five Hundred Spoons].

"Five hundred spoonfuls!"

Zhou Nan called out with his thoughts.

Wang Ba Zhenjun Wu Baishao, who looked exactly like Zhou Nan, immediately bowed to Zhou Nan.

Zhou Nan smiled and conveyed his thoughts: "My will is your will. I entrust you with a great responsibility: lead the Blazing Flame Pirates to search for the Star Pearl!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhou Nan released the Flame Pirates deck again.

bang bang bang...

The Fiery Pirate Ship, the Firefighting Captain, the First Mate, and the Jump Ship Pirates quickly make their appearance.

Wang Ba Zhenjun bowed to Zhou Nan and then flew to the bow of the Blazing Pirate Ship. The next moment, the Blazing Pirate Ship sailed into the chaotic void.

Zhou Nan watched the Fiery Pirate Ship sail away and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Ten years of contemplation have finally shown me the correct way to use cards... Cards are my weapons, and my warriors!"

Zhou Nan turned around, stepping on the divine sword Jiangya Die Lang, and quickly began to unleash the Void Condensing Sword Movement.

He's going to the Ape Martial World to collect some Qi Beads.

"Ten years of daydreaming, plus over a year of cultivation in the meditation room, mean that less than twenty days have actually passed in the outside world... I need to continue my seclusion, and this time I'll try to master silent meditation in one go!"

It would take Zhou Nan less than 12 years to master the art of silent meditation.

Twelve years have passed in the cultivation room, while only six months have passed outside!

Zhou Nan estimated that even if he retired from the martial arts world for half a year, there might not be many more masters when he came out again.

As for the benefits of achieving silent meditation, Zhou Nan had already foreseen them.

He vaguely felt that if he mastered the silent meditation, the upper limit and recovery speed of his domineering aura would become stronger, possibly reaching a handful.

Zhou Nan's current maximum amount of domineering aura is one spoonful. If he doesn't refine his spirit, it won't increase, and the daily recovery amount is also one spoonful.

If one cultivates the silent meditation, then the upper limit of his domineering aura will be raised to one handful, and the daily recovery amount can also reach one handful.

(End of this chapter)