Long Yan said indifferently, "My resonance with him is the dream, the simplest and most superficial kind. To exploit this resonance, what’s needed is a Nightmare. I will use the Nightmare as a catalyst to make Shen Bai enter a dream right where he is, and then kill him inside it."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yun’s face filled with astonishment. His gaze snapped to the Female Daoist’s right hand.

On her hand, the Evil Thought Pearl was glimmering.

"I understand now. The Evil Thought Pearl is the bridge, and the Nightmare is its cornerstone. You’re using the Evil Thought Pearl and the Nightmare to build a bridge connecting your Dream Realm with Shen Bai’s. That must come at a tremendous cost."

This kind of resonance was catalyzed by something sinister. ’The cost would be anything but small,’ Tang Yun thought.

Long Yan nodded. "And now, the price has come."

As she spoke, looks of confusion spread across everyone’s faces. They couldn’t fathom what she meant by "the price."

But at that very moment, a flicker of panic appeared in the Female Daoist’s eyes.

"You mean... we’re the price?"

She had just been looking at Long Yan’s expression, and the terrifying possibility suddenly dawned on her.

The instant the thought formed, the Flower Spear in Long Yan’s hand shot forward.

As the Flower Spear struck, an operatic melody echoed through the dark street.

Along with the melody, a bloody hole appeared in the chest of each member of the Wild Taoist Sect.

It was silent, and utterly indefensible.

The Female Daoist looked down at the bloody hole in her chest as the light in her eyes slowly faded.

Tang Yun frantically patted himself down, only to find, to his surprise, that he was unharmed.

Long Yan said coolly, "To kill Shen Bai, every member of the Wild Taoist Sect bravely charged into the fray and was ultimately wiped out. What a touching story. It could even be adapted into an opera."

The Female Daoist raised a trembling left hand, pointed at Long Yan, and said, "We... won’t let you get away with this!"

"And who’s to say I did it? The only one left alive is Tang Yun." A smile touched the corners of Long Yan’s eyes.

As she finished speaking, all the members of the Wild Taoist Sect, including the Female Daoist, became corpses.

From the bloody holes over their hearts, beads of blood floated out. They swirled and coalesced, forming a sphere of blood the size of a fist.

"Open your mouth," Long Yan said flatly.

Sprawled on the ground, Tang Yun’s voice trembled as he pleaded, "Martial Uncle Long, I’m from the Peach Opera Garden too! Please, spare my life! I don’t want to be the vessel."

He understood her methods. She was using the members of the Wild Taoist Sect to pay the price. Once he consumed this heart-blood, he would become the battlefield for the life-and-death struggle between Shen Bai and Long Yan.

And that battlefield would be his own dream.

He didn’t have to imagine what the consequences would be.

Long Yan’s gaze grew cold. "You are the battlefield, but I won’t let you die. Rest assured, I still plan to use you to take control of the entire Peach Opera Garden. And not just the Peach Opera Garden—I will make our opera spread throughout the entire Great Zhou Country. I will be far more successful than that useless father of yours."

The desperation in Tang Yun’s eyes intensified. He wanted to beg again.

But now, killing intent glinted in Long Yan’s eyes, making him tremble even more violently.

"I’ll say this one last time. Eat it."

Gripping her Flower Spear, Long Yan took two steps forward.

Tang Yun gritted his teeth. Seeing he had no other choice, he opened his mouth.

With a flick of her hand, Long Yan tossed the sphere of blood into Tang Yun’s mouth.

Tang Yun felt a gut-wrenching pain instantly overwhelm his entire body.

His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.

’So I’m not just falling asleep... I’m passing out from the pain.’ This was Tang Yun’s last thought.

Now, the street had become eerily deserted.

Only Long Yan remained conscious.

Long Yan stood on the makeshift stage. She didn’t move forward, but instead performed a flourish with her Flower Spear. Then, she formed an "orchid finger" with her left hand, placing it beside her right cheek.

"Eee~yah~"

A strain of an operatic melody escaped her lips as she slowly closed her eyes.

...

Shen Bai was confused. While everyone else had entered the Dream Realm, he noticed that Amber hadn’t reacted at all.

Normally, a Deceitful Beast should have had some kind of reaction in a situation like this.

Here, aside from those who had fallen into the dream, Elder Mu and Liu State Governor were standing on either side of Shen Bai.

After noticing the anomaly, Shen Bai immediately prepared to tell Elder Mu about it.

After all, when something so bizarre happened, it was best to talk it over and resolve it together.

But before Shen Bai could explain the details to Elder Mu, something strange began to happen to him.

Shen Bai’s vision started to blur, and he watched as the surrounding scenery rapidly faded away.

In a mere moment, everything dissolved into nothingness.

As the scenery dissolved, he heard the voices of Elder Mu and Liu State Governor.

"What’s happening?"

"Shen Bai, wake up! Wait, that’s not right... Elder Mu, I think he’s Entering the Dream!"

"How could he be Entering the Dream?! He didn’t light any Dream-Entering Incense!"

"This is no time to worry about that! We have to wake him up! What’s going on? Why can’t we wake him?!"

"Shen Bai, remember, you have to be careful of..."

Those were the last words Shen Bai heard.

Before his consciousness faded completely, a storm of realization crashed through his mind, and all the clues clicked into place.

’So that’s it. I’ve been inexplicably pulled into a Dream Realm. And from the looks of it, this is Landlord Long’s doing.’

’I understand. She wants to kill me in my dream.’

As the thought faded, so too did Shen Bai’s consciousness.

Everything around him blurred completely. As the scenery dissolved, layers of smoke rolled in from the distance, shrouding all that he could see.

Shen Bai narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing his surroundings. He soon discovered sinister wisps of cold Qi swirling within the enveloping mist.