Chapter 1333: The So-Called Reality
Tianlong turned around to look directly into Qinglong's eyes. The two locked gazes, both falling silent.
They looked as if they were staring at another version of themselves, yet also at someone completely unfamiliar.
"I manage this place myself...?" Qinglong narrowed his eyes, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
"Yes." Tianlong agreed. "You're afraid I might die in this room at any moment and drag you down with me, and I'm afraid you might kill me at any moment, leaving me unable to sleep soundly, not even in my dreams. Since we both have to live in constant fear every day, why not take this opportunity and just give me a quick end? How about it?"
Qinglong let out a light laugh—
Right now, severing the "Twin Blossoms," then killing Tianlong.
What a perfect plan?
This thought coiled in his mind, and moments later, an eerier smile involuntarily spread across his face. His laughter grew louder, and he even began reaching out to tap the table.
A few seconds later, Tianlong also burst into manic laughter.
The two of them roared with laughter, leaning forward and backward in this arena, like old friends sharing a hilarious joke—the scene was utterly bizarre.
"Ah..." Qinglong walked slowly over to Tianlong. "Tianlong... how ridiculous. Severing the 'Twin Blossoms' now? Are you messing with me...?"
"Hahaha." Tianlong laughed heartily in return. "What's the matter? Now that you know the method to break the 'Twin Blossoms,' why don't you show it to me? Isn't that a good idea?"
"No good...?" Qinglong shook his head. "Tianlong... what exactly has kept me alive until now?"
"Wits, perhaps? Or your methods and such... I don't know." Tianlong shook his head.
Qinglong was amused by Tianlong again. He pointed at the table. At that moment, a few specks of blood mist drifted in and adhered to the surface. "Tianlong, the moment I sever the 'Twin Blossoms,' I'll turn into specks of blood mist just like these, won't I?"
"Yes, naturally." Tianlong nodded. "My 'Dissolution' is always ready for you. Perhaps I'll try to grind you into even finer pieces... This quality of blood mist is hardly befitting your status."
"Haha!" Qinglong shook his head. "Tianlong, I've really put you to the trouble. You thought that because I'd consumed so much 'Conviction,' my rationality would dwindle along with it... and so you came up with such an absurd scheme."
"It doesn't hurt to try." Tianlong stretched lazily. "What a shame. You didn't take the bait."
"We both know exactly what kind of person the other is." Qinglong said. "Spare me these kinds of tricks. Just go back to sleep quietly. You try to kill me in your dreams, I try to kill you in reality. We meet once every ten days. It's a pleasant arrangement—nothing wrong with that."
"It seems you still don't understand that killing you isn't my primary goal." Tianlong shook his head. "Though we both know what the other is, we are not the same."
"Yes." Qinglong gave a faint smile. "How sanctimonious you are? You can even graciously grant all 'Participants' two days of 'reality.' That way, the truth of this whole 'Peach Blossom Springs' becomes even more convoluted, doesn't it?"
"Could it be that they simply lack brains?" Tianlong said. "The 'reality' I bestowed upon them is filled with so many loopholes. Anyone smart enough could spot the clues. Not only can they cast 'Immortal Arts' within their so-called 'reality,' but everyone's dreams also collapse uniformly at the final moment. If they just talked to each other about their experiences before entering 'Peach Blossom Springs,' they'd find that the same earthquake mysteriously appeared across all times and spaces, and even the sky eventually cracked open. Isn't that suspicious enough?"
"Hmph..." Qinglong let out a cold laugh. "So these 'loopholes'—were they left behind out of your great benevolence as well?"
"All I can say is, 'Participants' aren't any different from 'Heavenly Ranks.'" Tianlong said. "As long as they don't want to believe it's a dream, no matter how big the loopholes are, it's useless. Those who don't want to wake up never will."
"'Heavenly Ranks' are just 'Participants' to begin with." Qinglong said. "These nine people are held up entirely by their paper-tiger titles. It's just as well they died—spares us the trouble of executing them in front of the 'Earthly Ranks.' That would only stir up more unrest among them."
"Qinglong, if you don't change your nature... unrest is inevitable sooner or later." Tianlong sighed lightly.
"Change my nature?" Qinglong raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "You think there's any difference between our natures...? I can change my own half, but I can't change your half. Why don't you change yours instead?"
"Ha..."
Qinglong sat back down at the round table: "I don't understand your ideals, and you don't understand mine. Let's just each strive for our own visions."
It was as if they had finished telling a joke. Their expressions gradually calmed over the course of a few seconds.
The room returned to a silence thick with hidden danger.
"Can you still manage with that injury?" Tianlong turned his head to look at Qinglong. "This is the first time in years I've seen you this badly wounded."
As Tianlong finished speaking, he reached out a hand as if to touch Qinglong's wound, but Qinglong leaned back, dodging the gesture.
"I won't die."
Tianlong let out a light snort and said no more. He too sat down again in the room, rubbing his forehead as he slowly calmed his own 'Conviction.'
Bickering with Qinglong was the norm every cycle, after all—since neither could kill the other.
But what came next was always the most difficult part.
He had to make everyone fall into their dreams, one after another, within half a day.
Perhaps Qinglong had never understood why he insisted on 'entering dreams' in the first place.
Because 'dreams' could convey many things.
Qinglong had all sorts of deals with the 'Participants.' Naturally, he did too.
The way to contact them was through 'dreams.' If necessary, he would even alter the dream memories of certain individuals, making them believe that their real lives had changed.
This exquisite technique of 'entering dreams' required using fragments of their memories to construct the most realistic dream world. Although it consumed a tremendous amount of 'Conviction,' it could stabilize everyone's emotions.
What 'real world' was there?
From the moment they entered 'Peach Blossom Springs,' they should have known that only one path lay ahead: 'death.'
But 'rumors' could spread among the 'Participants.' They would discover that everything in 'Peach Blossom Springs' could not only affect 'reality,' but even offered a faint glimmer of hope for escape.
Yet even if they took their 'Immortal Arts' back to the so-called 'reality,' nothing would truly change.
Despair was always present in those dreams, and that world was destined to collapse.
Tianlong sighed. What a pity that every time he woke up, the very acts of 'Dissolution' and 'Entering Dreams' drained all of his 'Conviction,' forcing him back into slumber.
But if he didn't do this... was there any better way?
The only way was to find someone who shared his vision—someone willing to abandon this place, escape 'Peach Blossom Springs' together, and build a new order.
The two sat in the room in silence for hours, until a figure suddenly appeared at the doorway at great speed.
She stood cautiously outside the door, then knocked.
It was Tianma. She seemed to be sore all over, massaging her lower back.
"Tianma..." Qinglong turned his head to look, his face showing a hint of displeasure. "I thought you were dead."
"Tianlong! I can't find my precious grandson anywhere..." Tianma said, her expression filled with panic. "I don't know if something's happened to him..."