At this point, Zhou Xuan was in a small dream realm and saw the pregnant queen beckoning to him again. He took step after step towards the deep pool, about to plunge into the water.

"In my own dream realm, can my mind still be contaminated?"

Zhou Xuan’s last shred of rationality, wobbling on the edge, issued a sigh — I am the Dream Master, isolating myself from the world and the heavens, yet can’t isolate the illusions created by the Ginkgo Ancestor Tree?

"What exactly is this method, so incredibly mystical."

Zhou Xuan couldn’t comprehend, he only understood one thing — he finally knew why the "Mountain Ancestor," revered as a Heavenly Vault God, would also be imprisoned for decades as a ghost by something in the Earth Abyss.

"So tired, so sleepy."

Zhou Xuan’s eyelids could no longer lift; he was about to sleep, to sink into the deep pool, to sleep on the pregnant queen’s belly...

...

"Third Child, our chance has come, huh? Look, they’ve all been deceived."

"How can they be so smart and yet be deceived?"

"Who cares about them? Once they deliver themselves to death, we’ll grease our heels and make our getaway."

In Zhou Xuan’s Secret Realm, Big Child was joyously leaping about.

Within the Black Water Secret Realm, Miss Qiang found herself back in the Blood Flesh Divine Dynasty.

The eight Blood Well Human Brains felt like they were back with their families, enjoying wonderful times before death.

And the Buddha Country Main Brain considered itself the true main brain of the Blood Flesh Divine Dynasty, commanding tens of millions of people.

Except for Third Child and Big Child, these two Red Ginseng Children, were still discussing escape plans as if nothing was wrong.

Big Child, making a "shouldering a backpack" gesture, said to Third Child, "Let’s make our escape later."

Third Child, however, was fixated on the "Flying Chess" formed by Black Water, saying, "I don’t want to run, this place is so much fun... there’s Monopoly, and Flying Chess, way more fun than in the mountains."

After Big Child and Third Child’s souls were captured into the secret realm by the Blood Well Hand, they thought they’d suffer inhuman abuse. Unexpectedly — entering the secret realm was like entertaining unto death, with eight human brains, the Buddha Country Main Brain, and Miss Qiang setting up two tables of games — one playing Flying Chess, the other playing Monopoly, leaving these two children overjoyed.

"You little one, you’re just too playful."

Big Child lectured Third Child, then sat down weakly in the Black Water, saying, "I also find it quite fun here, but all these people have been deceived, what can we do?"

"Just shout, remind Zhou Xuan, that person is sharp; we can remind him — he’s been deceived."

Third Child said.

"Is that really a plan?" Big Child asked.

"Just shout first and see."

Third Child was very persistent, cupping his two plump hands around his mouth and shouting with all his might, "Zhou Xuan, you’ve been deceived; there’s something in the Earth Abyss deceiving you all."

"Zhou Xuan, you’ve been tricked, this is a deceptive game."

...

Zhou Xuan stood above the blue wave pool; his body had gradually surrendered autonomy. The pool seemed like a man-eating beast, pulling him inch by inch into the water.

"Zhou Xuan, you’ve been tricked, this is a deceptive game."

Big Child’s powerful voice echoed in the secret realm, also awakening Zhou Xuan’s fleeting clarity.

"I’ve been deceived."

Hearing this, Zhou Xuan suddenly started to awaken.

"Yeah, it’s a trick, not a dream, it’s a trick, not a dream."

Zhou Xuan kept repeating aloud.

Tricksters are always skilled at weaving deceptions, each one thoughtfully designed, even harder to escape than dreams.

"No wonder as ’I am the Dream Master,’ I also couldn’t escape the Ginkgo Ancestor Tree’s methods... because it’s creating not a dream, but a trick."

Zhou Xuan’s consciousness was waking even more.

"In dreams, they weave a dream to contaminate my spirit."

"In a trick, they directly control my spirit; I am deceiving myself."

Zhou Xuan quickly understood the mystery within.

"I am the Dream Master," able to separate myself from heaven and earth, letting ’self’ discern the truth. But when "self has deceived itself," what use does this isolation serve?

"Taoist Natural, restore my clarity."

At this moment, Zhou Xuan reinvigorated his spirit, employing the "Gorge True Scripture."

"Knowing its male yet preserving its female, for heaven’s gorge..."

In the Gorge True Scripture, there is an infinite sage, and also a Daoist doing nothing.

The Daoist doing nothing is not truly doing nothing, but preserving his heart, revering nature, transforming himself into a valley and mountains.

Valleys are silent, without thought, without desire, without emotion.

The mountains solid and motionless, neither born nor dying.

No birth or death, no emotion or thought, how can human deceit deceive me?

"Transform into the streams and mountains, preserve my heart."

"Transform into the streams and mountains, preserve my heart."

Zhou Xuan continuously operated "Daoist doing nothing," rendering the deception ineffective; within the Earth Abyss, the true face revealed itself.

...

Zhou Xuan saw the true depths of the Earth Abyss,

not as beautiful as seen before — no glowing ginkgo tree, no grand Heavenly God Altar, only a Silver Ginkgo Blood Tree hanging with thousands of skulls.

Every inch of the tree’s bark was stained with blood.

Inside the Earth Abyss’s pit, dozens of cocoons hung; most were shriveled, but one was particularly bulging.

At the top of the pit, there was a gigantic human brain, as large as a gold shop.

The brain was alive — gently swelling, then quickly contracting, pulsing rhythmically.

With each pulse of the brain, blood-colored droplets would be squeezed out from the brain’s tip, and once full, they would drop, precisely landing on the Silver Ginkgo Blood Tree.

Beneath the Silver Ginkgo Blood Tree sat a middle-aged man in a Daoist robe.

He was entangled by the roots of the Silver Ginkgo Blood Tree, his body still bearing the unhealed marks of whipping.

"He is the Mountain Ancestor." Zhou Xuan thought.

The Mountain Ancestor wore a look of despair, sighing, "It’s over, it’s over. A direct disciple of the Tao Ancestor, once a Dragon Seeking Grandmaster of Hidden Dragon Mountain, yet can’t see through the ’Wind Horse Sparrow’ trick... Truly a Tangkou that should be taken by heaven, even a Heavenly God’s Will-possessing Zhou Xuan empowered by the storyteller’s incense can’t see through it."

His lament was overheard by the Silver Ginkgo Blood Tree, which lowered its branches, whipping the Mountain Ancestor sharply and decisively.

Each lash struck the Mountain Ancestor’s Divine Soul.

The Mountain Ancestor screamed in pain, cursing, "Don’t think you’re all that. With your skills, I’d burn you to cinders if I weren’t being whipped... stop, stop... your ancestors were all sons of bitches."

Upon hearing Zhou Xuan speak, the Mountain Ancestor raised his head, surprised, and said, "Done for, done for."

Zhou Xuanzheng tried to tell the Mountain Ancestor that the ones who saw through the "Earth Abyss deception" were the Red Ginseng children,

The Mountain Ancestor heaved a sigh, then said wonderingly, "This is great, now we can play games again with flying chess "

Big Child said crossly, "Why weren’t we deceived? Because we’re ginsengs, of course! Have you ever seen a human brain trick us?"

The Mountain Ancestor was by then completely defeated by the whipping. Upon hearing Zhou Xuan’s voice, he immediately looked up, astonished, and said, "Done for, done for. The shōsong won’t even see through this?"

Zhou Xuanzheng realized by the time he found out that the Mountain Ancestor hadn’t deceived him, it was really within the domain of the "Wind, Horse, and Sparrow" Tangkou in dealing with "Bi Fang."

Even capable of deceiving gods and the Heavenly God’s Will, could they not deceive a single Bi Fang?

Zhou Xuan had reached this conclusion, and asked Big Child and Third Child in the Secret Realm, "I do owe you two little dolls a lot for this. Why weren’t you two fooled?"

Third Child heard Zhou Xuan’s voice and immediately jumped up excitedly, saying, "Great! Now we have someone to play Flying Chess with again!"

Big Child grumbled, "Why weren’t we fooled? Because we’re ginseng! Have you ever seen a ginseng that could trick someone?"

Hearing the Mountain Ancestor speak self-deprecatingly, Zhou Xuan laughed and thought.

That’s right!

These two kids were essentially ginseng; their thinking was totally different from humans. For example, their mindset about life and death — they belonged to the kind that found living good, but wouldn’t mind dying either.

What living thing would have such peculiar thoughts?

Zhou Xuan’s mind was almost clear now, and he asked Big Child and Third Child in a calm manner, "I owe you two little ones this time, why weren’t you deceived?"

Upon hearing Zhou Xuan, Third Child cheered and clapped his chubby hands, saying, "We’re golden! Now we can play Flying Chess again..."

Big Child, however, said with slight irritation, "Why weren’t we tricked? Because we’re ginseng! Have you ever seen a person tricking a ginseng?"

Zhou Xuan now had a composed mind and understood, nodding to himself.

That’s it!

These two little ones, at their core, were just ginseng; their way of thinking was entirely different from humans, such as their view on life and death — they’re the kind who are fine with both living well and being dead.

What living being would have such an odd perspective?