Chapter 215: The Ultimate Dream – The Prophet’s Path of Fire and Flames

Recalling the bygone years, the path taken to get here can no longer lead to the beauty of the past. We know that those memories we can recall will not fade away with time. Over millions of years, we have repeatedly experienced human emotions, leaving behind the imprints of life.
All I can do is repeat certain emotions within this story, while you are but a fleeting passerby, reading about these events. If this is chance, then let’s work together to bring this accidental story to completion.
……
In an instant, the world of this dream fell silent once again, everything returning to an abnormal normalcy. All around was emptiness; under the night sky, bright stars shone, and the cold moonlight cast shadows of the two of them, as if nothing had happened just moments ago. The appearance of Pangu and the celestial maiden seemed like a dream within a dream.
Yet, at this moment, Liu Yi had an idea—a thought he himself couldn’t believe. Since the first nightmare, everything seemed to have been arranged by someone else. Even if this dream were real, it was still just a dream. How could someone in a dream have thoughts or emotions? Everything was so illusory yet so real, especially in the end, when Pangu simply disappeared.
Liu Yi understood clearly that the grudge between him and Pangu could surely give Pangu a reason not to leave and kill him in the dream. But why? Why did Pangu just disappear? There were two possibilities. One was that Pangu was under someone else’s control, and that person didn’t want Pangu to kill Liu Yi. But the likelihood of this was almost zero—Pangu was the god of gods; who could control him?
The other possibility was that Pangu wasn’t the real Pangu. But this made even less sense. In these nightmares, even if it wasn’t a real person, even a virtual one would attack Liu Yi. If Pangu wasn’t the real Pangu, then he should have had sufficient reason to kill himself in the dream. Why did he suddenly back down?
Thinking of these things, Liu Yi’s mind became confused. A sudden thought that arose just now made him even more uneasy. Seeing Liu Yi’s state, Ye Luobaihua seemed worried and asked, “What’s wrong? Did you think of something?”
Liu Yi looked at Ye Luobaihua. Her bright, clear eyes calmed him somewhat. He said, “Why did Pangu leave? He had the power to kill me.”
Ye Luobaihua looked at Liu Yi anxiously and said, “Are you confused? It’s better that he didn’t kill you. We should leave here quickly. If he wants to kill you, that god of gods—how can we resist?”
Liu Yi shook his head and took a few steps forward. He said, “That’s exactly what I’m thinking. My grudge with Pangu is deeper than anyone else’s. He couldn’t just leave like that. But now he left so easily. I think… someone must be controlling him.”
Hearing Liu Yi’s words, Ye Luobaihua became even more puzzled, her eyes filled with disbelief. She said, “How is that possible? Pangu’s power is already the greatest in the world. Who else could control him?”

Liu Yi turned to look into Ye Luobaihua’s eyes and said, “That’s right. Pangu is the god of gods. In this world, his power is the greatest, and no one can control him… But we’re not in that real world now; we’re in this dream. In a dream, Pangu can’t possibly still be the strongest.”

Ye Luobaihua listened to Liu Yi’s words and seemed to understand. “If what you say is true, it does make sense. Pangu is a god in the real world, but is he also the strongest god in this void world?”

Hearing Ye Luobaihua’s words, Liu Yi seemed to think of something. He suddenly turned and gazed at the distant sky, staring at the endless starry expanse. Clenching his sword in his left hand, he said, “Prophet, come out. How much longer do you plan to play around?” His voice was loud, like thunder shaking the heavens, echoing far and wide.

Ye Luobaihua listened to Liu Yi’s words and seemed to realize something. She thought to herself, “That’s right. In this dream, the strongest one isn’t Pangu but the creator of this dream—the Prophet. If that’s the case, it’s not hard to explain how real those previous nightmares were. Everything is being controlled by someone.” But soon, another question arose in her mind: Why? The Prophet had always been the guardian of the Ye family’s dreams. Now that she had come here to ask him to heal Liu Yi’s eyes, why was he being so difficult? Moreover, the two of them had barely survived to reach the third dream.

Liu Yi finished speaking, but after what seemed like a long time, there was still no response. He began to doubt—had he been wrong? Impossible. Only the creator of this dream could create such a realistic world and control Pangu. It must be the Prophet. After thinking this, Liu Yi became even more determined. “Prophet, come out!” His voice grew louder, carrying even farther.

Just as Liu Yi’s voice faded, the world finally stopped being quiet. With a loud “whoosh,” the sky turned fiery red, as if a huge fire had consumed the entire sky. At that moment, the ground beneath their feet began to shake. As the shaking intensified, a steep mountain a hundred meters high appeared before Liu Yi and Ye Luobaihua.

The two of them observed carefully what was happening. The mountain before them was a hundred meters tall—not very high, but extremely steep. No plants grew on it. Strangely, it was made up of black stones. Upon closer inspection, they were shocked—each stone had sharp edges, standing at an angle, with both sides as sharp as blades. Under the fiery red sky, they appeared even more eerie and peculiar.

The fiery red color in the sky came from behind the mountain of black stones. Although they couldn’t see what was behind, Liu Yi could sense that it must be a sea of fire. Otherwise, the sky wouldn’t be so red. Watching what had just happened, Ye Luobaihua asked in confusion, “What is this? We can’t possibly cross this mountain.”

Liu Yi also frowned. Ye Luobaihua was right—there was no path to climb up that mountain. Not only was it steep, but the black stones piled up there were as sharp as knives. Even if one used true energy to leap over them, they would likely be cut by those stones. It would be great if one could ride a sword.

Just then, a white light gradually appeared in the fiery red sky. As the light spread, the figure of an old man with white hair, white beard, and white clothes appeared in the sky. Liu Yi glanced at Ye Luobaihua, who shook her head, indicating she didn’t know the old man. Looking at the old man, Liu Yi exclaimed, “Are you the Prophet?”

Hearing Liu Yi say this, Ye Luobaihua also looked at the old man. The old man smiled kindly and sat in mid-air, saying, “Welcome to this real dream. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone from the Ye Luo family.”

Liu Yi didn’t know what to say. At that moment, the old man in white continued, “You’re right. I am the Prophet.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Luobaihua immediately said happily, “Are you really the Prophet? Really? Yes… this is my friend.” She pointed at Liu Yi and added, “He’s blind, so we came here hoping you could heal his eyes.”

The Prophet’s figure floated there, his kind eyes examining Liu Yi. He said, “Although he isn’t from the Ye Luo family, if Princess Baihua is willing, I can fulfill one of your wishes and restore his sight…”

Hearing the Prophet’s words, Liu Yi seemed to think of something, but the idea was vague, leaving him unable to figure it out. He could only continue listening to their conversation.

Ye Luobaihua said happily, “Thank you, Prophet. I’m willing. I’ll use my wish to restore his sight.”

The Prophet nodded with a smile and said, “If the princess is willing, then he can indeed regain his sight. But… it depends on whether he has the fate to survive long enough for me to fulfill your wish.”

Hearing the Prophet’s words, which seemed to imply more, Ye Luobaihua became anxious and asked, “What’s the problem? Are there any other requirements?”

The Prophet smiled and said, “All these years—I don’t even know how much time has passed—every wish I’ve fulfilled has been for someone from the Ye Luo family. Although the princess is willing to use her wish for him, after all, he is the source of that wish. Therefore, he must pass through this mountain of black stone knives and the Mysterious Heaven Fire Sea ahead. If they can do that, they can meet me, and I can heal his eyes.”

Hearing this, Ye Luobaihua said urgently, “Prophet, this won’t work.”

The Prophet continued, “Also, during this time, you’ll lose all your true energy. You’ll have to rely on yourselves. If you can, you’ll fulfill your wish, and I’ll help you make it happen. If not… you’ll remain in this dream forever, forever and ever.”

Hearing this, Liu Yi rushed forward. Without true energy, it was impossible to cross the mountain of knives and the fire sea. Even if a miracle allowed someone to cross, they would likely only have a single breath left. Even if their eyes were restored, they would die here. Ordinary people could never make it through.

Liu Yi looked at the elusive prophet in the sky and said, “Are you trying to trick us? Even if we try to walk over, we’ll die here.” The prophet in the sky smiled and shook his head, saying, “Young man, do you really not want to give it a try? There are many things waiting for you outside. Without eyes to see, no matter how high your cultivation is, if you really encounter Pangu, you have no chance of winning. Even if you don’t die here, if you can leave now, you’ll just be a worthless person.” Hearing this, Liu Yi instinctively gripped his sword. But suddenly, he felt all his strength vanish, unable to gather any energy at all. At that moment, the figure in the sky slowly disappeared, leaving behind one last voice: “To the left is a door leading to the outside world. If you give up, you can leave.” After that, there was no sound left, and the distant sky turned red once again. Liu Yi turned to look, and indeed, about ten zhang to his left, a white, glowing cube appeared. If what the prophet said was true, this must be the door to the real world. After thinking for a moment, Liu Yi took Ye Luo Baihua’s hand and headed toward the door. Ye Luo Baihua forcefully pulled away from Liu Yi’s grip, asking, “What are you doing?” Liu Yi looked back at her bright eyes and said, “Let’s leave this place. The chances of us making it across and surviving are almost zero. Instead of wasting our lives, even if we can’t see, I still have to find July.” Ye Luo Baihua stared at Liu Yi with her bright eyes and shook her head, saying, “You’re scared…” Liu Yi looked into her eyes, unable to meet her gaze, and turned away, saying, “It’s not fear. It’s simply impossible. I don’t want to drag you down. Rather than dying here, let’s use the remaining time to finish what we started.” Ye Luo Baihua replied, “How do you know it’s impossible? How do you know we’ll die? If you don’t even dare to try, it’s already destined that you can’t change your fate. I want you to know that from the moment I came with you into this dream, I never thought I’d still be alive. Maybe you feel responsible, but do you know what it means to do something willingly?” Liu Yi shook his head, saying, “It’s not worth it.” Ye Luo Baihua shook her head and said, “You’re really wrong. A woman never cares whether something is worth it or not. She never expects anything in return for her efforts. Do you remember July’s words? Everything is something I choose to do.” Hearing Ye Luo Baihua’s words, Liu Yi couldn’t describe the feeling in his heart. All he knew was that he must have gotten into trouble… Ye Luo Baihua looked at Liu Yi and continued, “Face this dream. Your eyes must be restored. We have no choice. Even if we leave now, even if you can save July, without eyes, your chances of defeating Pangu are even slimmer. If you leave now, the pain ahead will be ten thousand times worse than these mountains of knives and seas of fire. Your wife, your friends, your enemies—how will they treat you? Don’t you think about the future?”

Hearing Ye Luobaihua’s words, Liu Yi felt even more ashamed. Yes, if he left like this, how could he defeat Lan Ying, how could he defeat Pangu, and what about the ever-elusive JiuyouJiuyou Demon God? It was better to suffer briefly than endure prolonged pain. If he really died here, at least he would have tried his best and would have no regrets.

After thinking for a while, Liu Yi glanced at Ye Luobaihua again and said, “It’s just…”
Ye Luobaihua seemed to know what Liu Yi wanted to say. With a beautiful smile on her face, she said, “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve died several times here already. How could I still be afraid of this? Since we’re destined to face it, we must be brave.”
Liu Yi looked at Ye Luobaihua and, hearing her words, felt even more pain in his heart. Was he hurting her? In his heart, Ye Luobaihua was like a shadow in July—so persistent, so brave. But why couldn’t he see the hidden pain in her heart?

At that moment, the white light disappeared, and the door on Liu Yi’s left suddenly vanished. Looking at Ye Luobaihua, Liu Yi asked, “Will you regret it?”
Ye Luobaihua shook her head and said, “If I were to regret it, then the Ye Luobaihua before you must not be real.” Her words were vague yet clear. Liu Yi nodded gently and said, “Let’s begin.”
Without thinking further, Liu Yi and Ye Luobaihua walked toward the black stone mountain. Soon, they arrived at the steep base of the mountain. The black rocks seemed even sharper than knives, emitting a cold glow. Liu Yi looked up at the rocks above and said, “I think the chances of us even seeing the sea of fire ahead are very slim.”
Ye Luobaihua turned to look at Liu Yi, flashing a confident smile, and said, “The moment we take our first step on this mountain of knives, we’ll have no regrets. We’ve given our perseverance and effort, and our beliefs will guide us. Strength will be the result of our efforts—that’s truth.”
Liu Yi nodded gently, also smiling at Ye Luobaihua and saying, “You’ve changed… become your true self.”
Ye Luobaihua smiled and nodded, saying, “This is the price of my bravery, and the reward I’ve received. I have no regrets in this life.”
Liu Yi stared for a moment before finally taking his first step on the steep black stone mountain. As that step was taken, pain surged through his heart. At the same time, without hesitation, Ye Luobaihua also took her first step. The same agonizing pain twisted her face, but to prevent Liu Yi from worrying, she forced a smile and said in her sweet voice, “No matter if it’s a mountain of knives beneath our feet or a sea of fire ahead, Baihua will walk with you forever, never retreating.”
Hearing Ye Luobaihua’s words, Liu Yi felt a hint of emotion, but more than that, he felt pain even sharper than being cut by knives. He couldn’t respond or admit anything. He could only keep walking. Amidst the pain, he and Ye Luobaihua took their second steps together. To avoid worrying each other, they both turned their faces away, for they had already lost a lot of blood.

Their feet continued to climb upward little by little. The sharp stones mercilessly scraped their clothes and pierced their bodies. The intense pain nearly numbed their entire bodies. The footprints they left behind were blood-red and dark black—now mixed together, indistinguishable from one another.

Both turned their faces away. They shared the same thought: they didn’t want the other to see their pale faces and get distracted. Yet, after only half the distance, Ye Luobaihua already felt dizzy. Her frail body, having lost so much blood, was struggling to hold on. To prevent herself from passing out, she suddenly thought, “Maybe talking more can distract me and help me hold on a bit longer.”

Ye Luobaihua slowed down and followed behind Liu Yi. Suddenly, she asked him, “Does it hurt?”

Liu Yi’s body was also numb from excessive blood loss, leaving him somewhat dizzy. It was only his unwavering determination that kept him going. Hearing Ye Luobaihua’s question, he replied, “It doesn’t hurt.”

Ye Luobaihua nodded gently, about to ask more questions, but couldn’t think of anything. In truth, she knew very well there were many questions about the Heavenly Maiden, about July, and even about herself that she wanted answers to. Yet, she kept telling herself that she didn’t want to cause him any worries, so the questions she wanted to know would remain buried in her heart forever.

At that moment, Liu Yi continued to walk with difficulty, his voice trembling slightly as he said, “Perhaps without me, you wouldn’t have to endure all this pain.” His voice carried gratitude, even a hint of self-reproach.

Ye Luobaihua slowly followed behind Liu Yi. Her clothes were stained red with blood, and her feet hurt terribly. But hearing Liu Yi’s words, she replied sweetly, “Are you blaming yourself? But you must know that if you hadn’t appeared, there wouldn’t be a Ye Luobaihua like me now.” Her voice trembled slightly.

Thus, pain dominated them as time tested them in excruciating slowness. Blood washed away the black path ahead. As they walked, the black stones behind them disappeared, turning into flat sand and stones. When Liu Yi raised his blurred eyes, he realized they had reached the top of the mountain…