"Master, this creature should be a variant of the Demon Race!
All beings of the Demon Race fear Buddhist cultivation methods!
Since vanquishing demons and evil beings is part of the Buddhist sect's purpose, many techniques pioneered by Buddhists have special effects against the Demon Race and the Demon Race!"
At that very moment, one of the Heart-Devouring Demons suddenly sent a sound transmission to Ye Yunfei.
Back within the North Star Continent, Ye Yunfei had subdued a total of eleven Heart-Devouring Demons.
These eleven Heart-Devouring Demons had been inside the Illusory Shadow Pagoda all along. As they had already submitted, Ye Yunfei didn't restrict their perception, so they could all sense things happening outside at any time.
"Oh, is that so?"
Upon hearing the Heart-Devouring Demon's words, Ye Yunfei's heart stirred, finding it quite reasonable. The doctrines of the Buddhist sect indeed took vanquishing demons and upholding the Dao as their duty, and quite a few cultivation methods created by Buddhists were specifically targeted at the Demon Race and the Demon Race.
Bang!
Under the onslaught of Ye Yunfei's many frightening attacks, caught off guard, that Dark Dream Demon was struck repeatedly. The Great Tathagata's Eighteen Palms pressing down from high above directly shattered the Dark Dream Demon's head with a smack.
"This fellow's body seems illusory, like a mass of black shadow—no physical substance! It's as if it's composed of a cluster of energy!"
Having smacked the Dark Dream Demon's head to pieces, Ye Yunfei sensed something odd and couldn't help but frown.
Life forms without physical bodies were often quite difficult to kill!
Ah!
The Dark Dream Demon let out a shriek as its body was sent tumbling backwards.
"Kid, you deserve to die!"
The Dark Dream Demon's body turned into a plume of black smoke that instantly expanded, transforming into thousands of black tendrils that swiftly spread out in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, the Dark Dream Demon had vanished, leaving behind only tens of thousands of fine, drifting black tendrils of smoke.
"That's a highly advanced doppelganger method! Unless you can find his main body, it's extremely difficult to kill him! This must be a life-preserving technique unique to the Dark Dream Demon. It also indicates that your attack just now wounded him, making him wary of you."
Hun Lao immediately transmitted this to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes."
Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Damnation! I finally get a few beings wandering into this area, thinking I could replenish myself, and I get injured by this brat!"
In the distance, concealed within the shadows, the Dark Dream Demon stared at Ye Yunfei with eyes filled with hatred, its teeth grinding with fury.
"This kid not only cultivates Mental Force energy but also Buddhist methods. I'd better be cautious."
Though the Dark Dream Demon wished it could charge forward immediately to slay Ye Yunfei and avenge itself, both Mental Force energy and Buddhist techniques were things that filled it with dread. On top of that, Ye Yunfei's earlier assault had already wounded it, so it didn't dare to recklessly charge forward to fight.
"What happened?"
It was Yan Xiaoquan who was first to awaken from the dream state. Her eyes snapped open, taking in their surroundings, a touch of confusion gracing her exquisitely beautiful face.
"Did... did I fall asleep just now? And I seemed to have had a dream... In the dream, I met a girl I used to know. She seemed to stretch out a pale, soft hand, asking me to go over and hold it…"
At that moment, Wu Wang also woke up, mumbling groggily.
"I'm not that drowsy anymore. I actually fell asleep and dreamed of my father. My father was calling me to come before him to pour him some tea."
Zhou Ye had awakened as well.
"I had a dream too. I dreamt of my very first Master from the world I used to belong to. I was just about to go over and kowtow to my Master when I woke up."
Wu Tianyu also awoke, speaking up.
"No! This is off. With our strength, there's no way we'd just suddenly fall asleep here! What exactly happened!"
By now, Yan Xiaoquan realized that something was very wrong.
Each of them was a Mystic Immortal. Mystic Immortals simply did not need to sleep unless they themselves willed it!
"Ye Yunfei, did you fall asleep? Do you know what happened just now?"
Yan Xiaoquan immediately shifted her gaze to Ye Yunfei and asked.
"Yes! This is very wrong. With our cultivation, how could we possibly fall asleep here?"
Wu Wang snapped to awareness as well, exclaiming.
Zhou Ye and Wu Tianyu also realized by now that things weren't right.
"Something is indeed very wrong. You four were all ambushed, forced into a sleeping state. Your dreams were also controlled by someone else. You almost remained trapped within those dreams forever, from then on controlled by another, becoming their slaves."
Ye Yunfei nodded and spoke.
"What is going on?"
Upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words, Yan Xiaoquan and the other three all paled with shock.
Then, Ye Yunfei quickly summarized what had happened with the Dark Dream Demon.
"A being called a Dark Dream Demon forced us to sleep, made us dream, and even controlled our dreams!"
After hearing Ye Yunfei's account, the expressions of Yan Xiaoquan and her companions shifted drastically. Waves of lingering fear washed over them.
"Do such bizarre beings truly exist in the world?"
Zhou Ye couldn't help but ask.
"They truly do. I've already clashed with that Dark Dream Demon just now and likely managed to wound him. The existence of beings like Dark Dream Demons is real, which has already been confirmed—no need for doubt."
Ye Yunfei stated.
"That bastard actually tried to be my dad in my dream! It's infuriating! If I ever run into him again, I won't let him off!"
Zhou Ye suddenly bellowed in rage.
"I almost kowtowed to him, taking him for my Master! I'll rip him to pieces!"
Wu Tianyu gritted out angrily.
"What are you complaining about? In my dream, he wanted to be my first love! I almost went over to hold his hand, and even intended to kiss him! Thinking back on it now, I feel sick! I'm going to kill that damned Dark Dream Demon!"
Wu Wang's face was twisted with fury as he ground his teeth in anger.
"I think it'd be best for us to hurry and cross this dark region. This is the Dark Dream Demon's territory, and there's a chance he might have other companions."
Ye Yunfei simultaneously released his Mental Force Energy and Soul Force Energy, sweeping his perception outward in all directions to locate traces of the Dark Dream Demon. However, he found nothing, which somewhat startled him. Therefore, he voiced his thoughts.
Ye Yunfei knew the Dark Dream Demon must still be lurking nearby, yet he couldn't perceive it. In such circumstances, there was simply no way to deal with it.
Thus, Ye Yunfei felt retreating was the wiser course of action.
"Ye Yunfei makes a good point. This dark region is undoubtedly the Dark Dream Demon's domain. It's pitch-black here, our Soul Force Energy has a severely limited perception range, and we'd have a very hard time dealing with the Dark Dream Demon in this place. It's better to avoid trouble whenever possible.
Right now, let's all speed up, striving to cross this dark region as quickly as we can! What's most important for us at present is to reach that ancient battlefield on time and complete our mission swiftly!"
After thinking for a moment, Yan Xiaoquan spoke up.
"Ye Yunfei, you take the lead.
Also, since the Dark Dream Demon couldn't put you to sleep and you could even detect him, you need to protect us four."
Yan Xiaoquan instructed Ye Yunfei.
"Of course."
Ye Yunfei nodded.
And so, Ye Yunfei took the lead, swiftly advancing forward.
Yan Xiaoquan and the other three followed closely behind Ye Yunfei, not daring to let too much distance stretch between them.