In Li Mo’s room at the Qiushui Pavilion.

"Hmm? Why is it itching again..."

Young Li Mo lay on his bed.

Though his consciousness had already submerged into his inner world, his body instinctively scratched his neck.

......

Meanwhile, in the dream realm.

Do you all even hear what you're saying?

Oh, perhaps there’s no need to listen anymore.

The Phoenix Heaven Empress, Palace Master Ying, was never one to just talk without action.

"!"

Qin Yuzhi had already turned to stone, but the scene unfolding before her left her utterly shattered, nearly crumbling into pieces on the spot.

She recalled a creature, half-human, half-demon, known as a Night Ghost. They would embrace their prey, immobilizing them, then sink their fangs into their victim’s neck, piercing the veins...

High-tier Night Ghosts could even resemble humans in appearance, nearly indistinguishable except for their aversion to sunlight...

It had to be a Night Ghost—a high-tier one at that!

Otherwise, even in a dream, Qin Yuzhi could hardly believe that the "Divine Hammer Little Tyrant" would be so utterly defenseless.

A Night Ghost disguised as the Palace Master is devouring someone! Is no one going to do anything about this?!

(Thud!)

Splat—

The food box slipped from Qin Yuzhi’s hands and crashed to the ground.

Ying Bing: "?"

She lifted her head in a daze, staring at Qin Yuzhi, finding her unfamiliar. There was no such disciple in the Moon Palace.

Then she glanced at Li Mo—that troublesome little brother who was dating her, the domineering Palace Master.

Right.

How could the Moon Palace have a male disciple?

Snap—

The dream began merging with reality as a ray of sunlight pierced through from beyond, dissolving all illusions in its path.

The Moon Palace, perpetually shrouded in frost, seemed to finally thaw at this moment.

The light of the Heavenly Mountain enveloped everything.

"Haah... haah..."

At dawn, Ying Bing awoke with a soft gasp. Blinking her bleary eyes, she looked out the window to find the sky bright, the glare almost blinding.

She rested the back of her hand against her forehead, shielding herself from the intrusive warmth, and fell into a momentary daze.

What had she dreamed of last night?

Ah, yes. Using the Millet Dream technique, she had guided herself back to the Moon Palace, reliving her past life as the Phoenix Heaven Empress.

But just before entering the dream, that damned system had appeared out of nowhere...

And played back some scenes from Li Mo’s mind.

Those images were impossible to forget!

Naturally, they shattered the dream she had meticulously constructed for herself...

"So..."

Ying Bing’s thoughts drifted back to the dream, her delicate, fair feet curling slightly.

Had she really dreamed of a scene straight out of The Domineering Empress Falls for Me?!

People don’t dream of things they’ve never seen.

But who could blame her? She had witnessed Li Mo guiding Ouyang in illustrating that very serialized comic—and the setting of the story just happened to bear an uncanny resemblance to her memories of the Moon Palace!

And... worse yet, Qin Yuzhi had seen it too.

Meanwhile, next door.

"Progress today is about the same as yesterday."

"Just fifty-five more Lesser Forms, or five Greater Forms, and the Primordial Battle Intent will reach a new level."

Li Mo stretched as he got up, rubbing his temples, but exhaustion still weighed on him.

His head felt dizzy, as if his spirit had been completely drained.

That was to be expected.

Pulling all-nighters to grind bosses for levels, sometimes dying multiple times to a single boss before moving on to the next—who wouldn’t feel like a burnt-out office monkey after that?

"At this rate, even by the time I reach the Nine Apertures of Divine Observation, I still won’t have gathered enough Power of the Masses to challenge the Great Dao Forms."

Li Mo took out the Tower of Ten Thousand Colors and calculated the accumulation progress of the Power of the Masses.

Currently, it was a little over fourteen layers—still a long way from the thirty-six needed.

The main issue was that the rate of gathering the Power of the Masses had been slowing down recently.

After some thought, Li Mo figured out the reason.

Faith requires maintenance.

Take the flourishing Buddhism of the Western Regions, for example. Though the Buddha exists only in legends, his golden temples are everywhere, with monks tirelessly spreading his teachings.

Meanwhile, our Heavenly Venerable Immortal had only manifested once before vanishing into obscurity.

Over time, his image would naturally fade from the hearts of the Southern Border’s people. Even his past commands—like having the people dig mountains and dredge rivers—would gradually be forgotten.

After all, he didn’t intimidate the people, nor did he demand traditional offerings. The common folk didn’t even have a proper way to worship him.

"But the Southern Border is so vast—how am I supposed to manage it all alone?"

Li Mo rubbed his temples in frustration.

He could use avatars to act in his stead, but his current cultivation level couldn’t sustain them, and their limitations were significant.

For one thing—how many strands of hair would he have to pluck out daily?

"Me, bald..."

Li Mo shuddered at the horrifying thought, then headed to the kitchen to prepare a simple breakfast—hand-pulled noodles and some Paradise Redberries.

Ah, Paradise Redberries. They looked like strawberries, with a sweet-and-sour taste, and had the added benefit of relieving fatigue and sharpening the mind.

A few in the morning? Absolutely delish~

As soon as he stepped out, he saw the ice block (Ying Bing) sitting there, her gaze distant as she stared blankly ahead.

Qin Yuzhi, meanwhile, was tilting her head at a 45-degree angle, lost in thought.

"Have some fruit in the morning."

Li Mo didn’t think much of it, setting the Paradise Redberries on the table.

Then he scratched his neck—why was it even itchier today?

Weird. With his physique, he couldn’t possibly have sensitive skin, could he?

"Pfft—"

Qin Yuzhi had just picked up a Paradise Redberry when she saw Li Mo scratching his neck again, causing her to spit out the water she’d just sipped.

"This is..."

"A strawberry. Tastes amazing—sweet, sour, just like me."

Li Mo found the system’s name for it too much of a mouthful.

"I... I don’t really like fruit."

"?"

And so, a bewildering breakfast began.

Sharp-eyed Li Mo noticed that the ice block (Ying Bing) had let her hair down. The dark strands fluttered in the breeze, repeatedly brushing against her lips, almost slipping into her mouth.

So he casually remarked:

"Ice block, your hair’s loose. Let me help you..."

"!"

Ying Bing’s serene eyes trembled slightly.

"I... I can do it myself..."

"Your hands are all curled up—are you cold?"

Li Mo picked up her hairpin, twirled it around the ends of her hair, and effortlessly tied it up.

Once done, even he was surprised.

Huh. Why am I so good at this?

Is this some kind of hidden talent?

"Cough! Cough-cough—!"

Qin Yuzhi, witnessing this, choked so hard on her noodle soup that she nearly passed out—despite being a seventh-realm cultivator.

"What’s wrong with you?" Li Mo asked curiously.

"Last night, I was just... wandering around."

"Where?"

Qin Yuzhi averted her eyes. "In a dream. Then, uh, accidentally—definitely not on purpose!—I wandered into Little Bing’s dream."

Ying Bing’s heart clenched.

So that Qin Yuzhi in the dream wasn’t part of the original illusion!

Li Mo’s interest was piqued. With a grin, he asked, "What was she dreaming about? Not another nightmare, was it?"

"No, quite the opposite... She dreamed of you."

Qin Yuzhi glanced at her, then at him, and shook her head solemnly.

"It's nothing. Just a very ordinary dream," Ying Bing said expressionlessly, though her fingers gripping the chopsticks curled tighter involuntarily.

"What kind of dream?" Li Mo couldn't help but ask, curiosity piqued.

"She... you..."

Snap—

The chopsticks broke cleanly in half. Despite being at the Palm Mystic Realm, Qin Yuzhi felt a sudden chill run down her neck.

"...Well, she restrained you and then gave you a thorough beating. You couldn’t even fight back."

"??"

A tiny question mark popped up above Li Mo’s head.

This was way off from what he’d imagined.

Why would that ice block suddenly decide to teach him a lesson?

And besides, he was the Divine Hammer—er, no, the fourth-ranked Hidden Dragon, even above that ice block in the rankings.

How could he possibly be helpless against her?

Did that even make sense?