Long Yan never would have imagined Shen Bai would suddenly make such a strange move.

In her mind, Shen Bai was supposed to trade blows with her. They would fight until one of them exhausted all their Qi, or until she found an opening to strike him down for good.

After all, in her current state—merged with the Nightmare—she was far stronger than before.

But now, Shen Bai had suddenly plunged Cold Moon into the ground, an action that filled Long Yan with boundless confusion.

Beyond her confusion, Long Yan also noted the calm expression on Shen Bai’s face.

’Why is he still so calm? What is he planning?’

But that confusion vanished in an instant.

Shen Bai’s actions told her exactly what he intended to do.

Shen Bai circulated the Qi within him. Then, countless streams of Blood Red Sword Qi erupted from Cold Moon, spreading out in every direction.

This time, however, the Sword Qi didn’t target Long Yan. Instead, it assailed everything in sight.

The white mist, the sky, the ground, and the vast, distant void...

Anything and everything visible was enveloped by Shen Bai’s Blood Red Sword Qi.

BOOM!

The roar echoed ceaselessly throughout the mysterious dream Space.

It only took an instant for Long Yan to understand his plan. She shook her head. "You want to destroy this Dream Realm so you can escape. A pity, but you’re wrong."

"The very fact I could lure you in here proves you can’t destroy this Dream Realm."

She had created this Dream Realm with Tang Yun as its foundation, reinforced by a Secret Technique. Long Yan was completely certain that Shen Bai could never destroy it. Everything he was doing was just a futile effort.

Hearing this, Shen Bai smiled. "Are you sure it can’t be destroyed?"

At his words, Long Yan’s brow, which had just relaxed, furrowed once more.

For some reason, a feeling of uncertainty bloomed in her heart.

’Suddenly, nothing felt certain anymore.’

’I clearly have the upper hand, so why do I feel this way?’

Long Yan was unsure, but she had no intention of letting Shen Bai continue. With a flourish of her Flower Spear, a terrifyingly cold aura surged toward him, blanketing everything.

But just as the frigid Qi was about to reach Shen Bai, an invisible wall seemed to materialize around him, completely isolating him from the attack.

Long Yan froze for a moment, then she noticed what was wrong.

"No, you’re not attacking the Dream Realm... You’re absorbing Tang Yun’s Qi!"

She could feel that her attack had failed because the Dream Realm itself was becoming extremely unstable.

Because of this instability, her attacks could no longer manifest properly within the Dream Realm.

Dreams were like that—full of randomness and change.

The slightest deviation could cause the entire dreamscape to undergo a cataclysmic transformation.

And now, that cataclysmic transformation had arrived.

Shen Bai gripped Cold Moon in a reverse hold, his eyes glinting. "So you’ve figured it out. It seems there’s nothing you can do to stop me."

At this moment, Shen Bai was pouring all of his Qi into fueling the Sword Qi of his Anti-Demon Blood Sword Dance.

Using Cold Moon as a conduit, he activated the Soul-Draining Attribute of his Spirit Casting Technique. Everything around him dissolved into streams of Qi, which he then drew into his body.

The Qi he absorbed was then converted into more of the endless Blood Red Sword Qi, which pulsed outward to absorb even more Qi.

The Dream Realm began to collapse, cracks spiderwebbing out from all directions.

The dreamscape fluctuated violently, trapped in a cycle of destruction and rebirth.

The aura around Long Yan began to vibrate erratically.

An eerie presence and her human Qi intertwined chaotically, making it impossible for her to even hold her Flower Spear.

CLANG!

With a sharp clang, the Flower Spear fell from Long Yan’s grasp, dissolving into a puff of smoke as it hit the ground.

Long Yan clutched her head, writhing on the ground in agony.

The chaotic streams of Qi wracking her body felt like a thousand steel needles piercing her from within, bringing an unbearable wave of pain.

"Impossible... how can I be losing? Stop! Stop it! I’m begging you!"

"Stop!"

Long Yan pleaded desperately.

Shen Bai’s expression remained as calm as ever. "Landlord Long, return to your true self. You are a Landlord of the Observatory, a guardian sworn to protect the peace of this land, not a monster bent on destruction. The Nightmare is influencing you, but you can break free."

The Sword Qi was relentless, its tide endless.

But to Long Yan, Shen Bai’s words were a demonic chant more terrifying than the Nightmare itself, twisting her face into a mask of even greater agony.

A series of cold, whistling shrieks escaped from Long Yan’s mouth.

The shrieks, accompanied by white mist, began to coalesce.

The Nightmare, its body covered in heads, floated in mid-air, letting out a desperate, mournful howl.

The howl rushed toward Shen Bai, trying to force him to stop.

Shen Bai twisted Cold Moon, and the Sword Qi wove together before him, forming an impenetrable barrier.

"I was just wondering how I was going to eliminate you, and here you are in this dream. In that case, you can turn into endless nothingness along with it."

Deprived of the Qi that sustained it, the Dream Realm—along with the Nightmare—began to dissolve into nothing.

In the space of just a few breaths, everything began to blur.

And before Shen Bai’s eyes, six wisps of Evil Qi appeared, which he promptly absorbed.