Chapter 452: The Doubt of Heaven and Earth

At Jiyuan’s level of cultivation, he rarely dreams. If he does, they are typically controlled, evolving landscapes within his mind, similar to a state of meditative tranquility. Given the unique nature of his Ethereal Realm, Jiyuan’s sleep is itself a distinctive form of cultivation.

Of course, Jiyuan also sleeps normally, as it is a very comfortable experience. Even cultivators, to Jiyuan’s knowledge, require sleep; some even remain in a dream state for half a year or several years.

Jiyuan’s original intention was to consolidate the insights gained from his Skyfall Sword Technique. He also aimed to use a subtle understanding of how divine power, magic, and the manifesting force of creation combine to harness the power of heaven and earth for profound techniques, thereby breaking the long-standing stagnation in the advancement of his Universe in the Sleeve ability.

The last major breakthrough for Universe in the Sleeve occurred when Jiyuan integrated the application of "momentum" into the technique, influenced by the Old Dragon’s method of capturing Monk Huitong. This breakthrough happened just before the dejected Lu Chengfeng paid him a visit.

The gains from that breakthrough transformed Universe in the Sleeve from a mere concept, or at least from a simple storage method, into a significantly expanded space. He no longer needed to consider carrying a separate bag for a few items, nor did he have to specially refine and roll up a fishing rod just to fit it in.

Yet, since that last time, progress had halted. While Jiyuan’s magical power grew increasingly profound and his mastery of the Five Elements became complete, the space within his sleeve indeed expanded, even allowing for distinct segregated areas and some wondrous applications. However, it still fell far short of Jiyuan’s ultimate vision.

While the current Universe in the Sleeve, if taken on its own, would be considered an extraordinary storage ability within the cultivation world — convenient, quick, spacious, and even stylish — what Jiyuan desired was far more than just a storage technique.

This time, however, Jiyuan’s sleep was rather unusual. Before he could even enter his cultivation state, a growing sense of exhaustion enveloped him the moment he lay down.

On that day, his mind had been excessively drained from using the Skyfall Sword Technique. Afterward, he had remained constantly alert due to the Earth Malevolence, preventing him from getting proper rest or mental recovery. The moment he finally relaxed, Jiyuan could no longer resist the overwhelming urge to sleep.

‘Just sleep for a while, a good long sleep…’

For Jiyuan, restoring his mind through meditation or through sleep made no difference, so he naturally chose the more comfortable method.

With that thought, Jiyuan finally fell into a deep slumber that lasted for ten days. Uncharacteristically, at the very end of the tenth day, he had a short, genuine dream.

As the saying goes, "thoughts by day, dreams by night." In his dream, Jiyuan seemed to return to his hometown from his past life, to his childhood home, and even appeared as his younger self, sitting beside his grandfather watching programs on a bulky, old black-and-white television set.

This black-and-white television, even connected to cable, only offered twelve channels and required manual turning of the dial. It was once Jiyuan’s most important source of joy as a child, serving for both watching TV and playing his Famicom console.

At that moment, *Journey to the West* was playing on the television. Perhaps due to his thoughts being projected into the dream, the other channels also showed *Journey to the West*, albeit different episodes. Jiyuan switched to two other channels, each playing a distinct segment.

One segment showed Sun Wukong attempting to leap out of Buddha’s palm with his Somersault Cloud, mistakenly believing he had reached the ends of the sky, and then urinating on Buddha’s finger.

The other segment was set outside the Wuzhuang Temple, where Sun Wukong, in a fit of pique, snapped the Ginseng Fruit Tree. Realizing the trouble he had caused, he tried to sneak away with Tang Sanzang and his junior disciples, only to be captured by Zhenyuan Great Immortal, who used his Universe in the Sleeve.

Jiyuan watched the television with complete focus, contemplating how, in both instances, Sun Wukong seemed to have been ensnared by divine abilities of a remarkably similar nature.

The dream was short, lasting only these few fragments. Afterward, Jiyuan, lying on his bed, slightly furrowed his brow as his conscious mind regained control over his dreaming thoughts.

The dream began to transform, manifesting a vast world of mountains, rivers, and lakes, eventually shaping itself into the expansive mountain range that had stood before the ground fissure on that day.

Jiyuan still stood atop that mountain peak, gazing at the surrounding demons. However, in this vision, there were no cultivators from Xianxia Island battling; only a chaotic scene of dancing demons.

"Skyfall Sword Technique."

He uttered the words softly, drawing a sword-finger across the dream version of his Green Vine Sword.

"Zheng—"

The immortal sword instantly transformed into a beam of light and ascended. Following it, a conceptual landscape manifested, anchored by the sword, linking with the innate power of heaven and earth. The sky became a radiant white sword light, and with a single downward stroke, the momentum was akin to the very sky falling.

The power of the Skyfall Sword Technique in his dream far surpassed its original might, perhaps because the dream-world itself was a manifestation of his will, allowing for freer exertion. The moment the Skyfall Sword Technique was unleashed, the celestial energy surged, mountains and rivers trembled, and a terrifying pressure, as if doomsday had arrived, descended.

The surrounding demons fled in desperation, some even crashing directly into the ground in extreme terror, appearing utterly frantic. Before the sword’s momentum even fully descended, some demonic creatures, already covered in blood, disintegrated into a bloody mist and vanished, a result of their own demonic energy self-detonating.

Jiyuan’s sword-finger swept downwards once more, unleashing another rain of falling demons. This time, however, many demons in mid-air either dissolved into a bloody mist or spontaneously combusted, leaving not a single one intact when they struck the ground; all were utterly annihilated, body and soul.

Jiyuan again sat down on the mountaintop, though this time it was not from exhaustion but simply from a casual and unconstrained gesture. Observing his surroundings, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Tsk tsk, what was the saying from my previous life... Oh right, 'exuding ultimate coolness'!"

Jiyuan then rose, shook his robes, and looked at his sleeve.

"The Skyfall Sword Technique borrows the power of Qiankun (heaven and earth) to strike the spirit, and Universe in the Sleeve borrows the power of Qiankun to capture physical forms... It's still not quite right... To wield the power of Qiankun, one must first possess the momentum of Qiankun..."

His thoughts in the dream remained unresolved, and outside the dream, Jiyuan's brows also subtly furrowed.

Meanwhile, outside in the courtyard of Juean Pavilion, a group of little characters had been divided into opposing teams for a long time, showing no signs of boredom and thoroughly enjoying their game. The little paper crane, on the other hand, was diligently observing a swarm of bees busily flitting among the date tree blossoms, looking every bit like a tiny overseer.

"Patter..." A soft sound drew the attention of both the paper crane and all the little characters in the courtyard to a corner of the wall. There, they saw a red fox shaking its fur as it rose from a slightly crouched position.

"Look, the foolish fox is here!" "Mmm-hmm, no knocking, how rude!"

"But what if the Master wakes up if it knocks?" "Right, right, it's better not to knock!"

"If his fur were sold to a furrier, it would be worth a lot of money, wouldn't it?"

"Absolutely, that fur..."

The rustling whispers of the little characters reached Huyun’s ears, causing him to stiffen. He then leaped onto the stone table in the courtyard, looking around in all directions.

"Come out, all of you, where are you? If you're here, Mr. Ji must surely be back!"

Huyun called out softly to his surroundings, but the little characters' ability to hide was remarkable; he could hear their voices but couldn't see a trace of them.

Then Huyun instinctively glanced towards the main room of Juean Pavilion. The door was closed, and he could neither hear nor sense anything, but Mr. Ji might be sleeping inside.

The little characters did not emerge, but the paper crane, which had been circling among the bushes, flew down and landed on the tabletop. At this, Huyun broke into a joyful smile, certain that Mr. Ji had indeed returned.

Previously, Jiyuan had departed in a hurry, and Huyun had been sent back by Bai Qi. Having been back at Niukui Mountain for over a month, he was somewhat worried about Jiyuan, or rather, feared that Jiyuan would be gone for a very long time again. He had come to visit twice before, only to find the pavilion empty, but this time, he was correct.

"When did you all get back? Oh, right, I have something to give to Mr. Ji!"

Huyun winked conspiratorially at the little paper crane, his fluffy, large tail wagging rhythmically up and down behind him. The paper crane tilted its head, observing Huyun’s tail; it knew where this fox habitually hid things.

"Oh, what good thing is it?"

A calm voice emanated from within the house. Then, the door creaked open from the inside, revealing Jiyuan, who had changed into a green robe.

"Mr. Ji! You're back?"

"Heh heh, am I not standing right in front of you? What, did Bai Qi bully you?"

Huyun shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"No, no, Bai Qi is very good. Oh, right, I found something good in the mountains and came to give it to you, Sir!"

"Hahaha... what could you have foun—"

Jiyuan’s words stopped short as Huyun’s paw retrieved two large gold nuggets from his fluffy tail. Judging by their size, each was at least half a palm's length and certainly not light.

"Heh heh heh, Sir, mortals all love gold. Lu Shan-jun seemed to take a lot before he left, but I could never find any. This time, I got lucky; I dug these two out of a rabbit's burrow, so I brought them for you!"

Jiyuan instinctively stepped out of the courtyard and turned to look in the direction of Niukui Mountain.

'Could there be a gold mine in these mountains?'

"Mr. Ji, how many copper coins are these gold nuggets worth? Is that a lot?" Huyun inquired, as he now had a good grasp of the value of copper coins, but not gold. Hearing this, Jiyuan smiled and replied:

"They're worth a lot of money. If I spent it like I typically do, it would probably last me a hundred years."

"Oh, oh, so do you want them, Sir?"

Huyun offered the gold nuggets like presenting a treasure. Jiyuan smiled and unhesitatingly reached out to take them.

"Yes, of course, I want them. I've spent quite some time traveling among mortals, and of all things one might lack, money cannot be one of them."

Huyun, who had prepared himself for rejection, immediately beamed with joy upon seeing Jiyuan accept the gift.

Jiyuan weighed the two gold nuggets in his hand, which clinked together. They weighed several catties, equating to several hundred taels of silver, a substantial sum for him.

Placing the gold nuggets into his sleeve, Jiyuan looked up at the top of the date tree and waved his sleeve upwards.

"Woosh... Swish..."

A faint whistling sound emanated from his sleeve, as if the air within Juean Pavilion was being drawn into Jiyuan's cuff. All the bees on the tree were pulled in along with it.

However, the instant the swarm of bees drew near, Jiyuan immediately dissipated his magic, allowing the startled insects to scramble away in a panic.

"No, no, that's not how it works..."

Although the display just now appeared grand, it seemed more as if things were merely being sucked in by the wind. The Old Dragon's method of snatching people with his dragon claw, by contrast, was effortlessly masterful.