Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 131: ”Dream Tribulation”

All for my sake? Chen Jindong was so enraged he could barely contain himself. He wanted nothing more than to strike down the insolent young man who had humiliated him on the spot.

How could a person be so shameless? Dressing up something clearly meant to harm me in such sublime language, as though it were genuine concern?

And Master is actually starting to believe it!

Chen Jindong forced himself to keep his composure. His fury had passed the point of anger and come out the other side as a laugh.

”Why not have Divine Physician Zeng examine you first for Soul Displaced Sickness?”

”If Young Hero Chen insists, I am happy to have Divine Physician Zeng diagnose me right now,” Ding Songyan said without a trace of hesitation.

He wasn’t afraid in the slightest.

Chen Jindong was left without a retort. He realized he had been too furious and had chosen the wrong angle of attack.

Zheng Zhuxi had known in advance what approach her junior brother intended to take, but seeing and hearing it play out in person still left her momentarily speechless.

All it took was a shift in framing—from ”punishing evil and upholding good” to ”for your sake”—and the cunning, silver-tongued Chen Jindong was reduced to sputtering, struggling to respond...

But it also showed a precise understanding of what Chen Jindong feared most, and of what He Yuanzhi cared most about.

To ensure Chen Jindong’s advancement to the Dharma Realm went without a hitch, He Yuanzhi would rather err on the side of caution and have him checked out first.

As an onlooker, He Yuanzhi could actually sympathize with his personal disciple’s feelings. If the positions were reversed, and he were suddenly told out of nowhere that he had a strange illness, he too would be furious, refuse the examination, and feel insulted.

But this concerned the threshold of the Dharma Realm, so caution was necessary. Cultivators of the Great Dream of Three Thousand Years developing strange, self-concealed conditions was not unheard of in the Huangliang Sect—uncommon, but not once-in-a-century rare either.

He Yuanzhi looked at his disciple and said with deliberation, ”Jindong, just let Divine Physician Zeng take a look. Think of it like an error—if there is one, correct it; if there isn’t, take it as encouragement. There is no need to feel as though your dignity has been compromised.”

Chen Jindong was shaken and frightened. It burst out of him involuntarily.

”Master, you don’t believe me either?”

He Yuanzhi let out a sigh.

”Of course I believe you. But you are about to enter seclusion and face the Dream Tribulation. If Divine Physician Zeng can confirm right now that you have no Soul Displaced Sickness, that will put your mind at ease and help you enter the Dharma Realm.

”Divine Physician Zeng is a man of great integrity. He would never fabricate a diagnosis, and I will be watching.”

Chen Jindong could no longer fully control his expression. But his master had already said everything there was to say. If he kept refusing, it would only invite real suspicion. Marshal Zhong across from him was already watching with sharp, intent eyes.

But he genuinely did have Soul Displaced Sickness!

Ever since he had discovered the other ”him,” he hadn’t dared consult a physician, but he had gone through many medical texts and ancient records and found cases that matched his own situation. They didn’t use the term Soul Displaced Sickness, but that was only a difference in name—everything else was the same.

Zheng Zhuxi watched Chen Jindong with clear, steady eyes, waiting to see what excuse he could possibly find. Ding Songyan still wore an expression of genuine concern, as though he would gladly sacrifice his own reputation for Chen Jindong’s sake.

Chen Jindong forced himself to stop looking at the two of them, afraid he might cough up blood on the spot.

He dismounted and walked toward Divine Physician Zeng, who was already waiting for him by the roadside, his mind racing through the options, weighing the merits of each response.

Abruptly, he stopped. He reached into his robes and drew out a brocade pouch.

Inside was the Fuyu Mountain Cinnabar Grass.

Chen Jindong turned to face He Yuanzhi with a smile that was both resolute and proud.

”Master, I would rather break than bend. I will not accept slander and false accusations.

”I have no Soul Displaced Sickness and I need no treatment! I will face the Dream Tribulation right now!”

Even as he spoke, before He Yuanzhi could react and stop him, Chen Jindong swiftly stuffed the Fuyu Mountain Cinnabar Grass into his mouth and chewed it down.

Then he sat cross-legged on the ground, reached out to the void’s qi, and triggered the Dream Tribulation directly.

Chen Jindong had already thought it through. His greatest concern at this moment was his master, He Yuanzhi. As long as He Yuanzhi didn’t suspect him and was willing to protect him, then neither Marshal Zhong Pinglan nor the Brightnight Sect’s Zheng Zhuxi and that infuriating young man could do a thing to him.

Since he couldn’t let Divine Physician Zeng’s diagnosis reassure his master, the next best thing was to break through on the spot. That way, at least until he emerged from the Dream Tribulation, his master would be firmly on his side no matter what.

Once he entered the Dharma Realm, the Soul Displaced Sickness would presumably be resolved anyway. He would have no reason to fear Divine Physician Zeng’s diagnosis, and no need for one.

The only problem was that without seclusion and without cultivating the proper state of mind, facing the Dream Tribulation would be dangerous. But it was necessary.

In this situation, he had no other choice.

When has life ever offered a sure thing?

In that case, he would face it head on!

Watching his disciple choose to risk the tribulation rather than accept someone else’s suspicion, He Yuanzhi’s gaze froze. He felt an instinctive pang of guilt and, unavoidably, a flicker of doubt.

Could Jindong actually have a problem?

This reaction is a bit extreme...

He Yuanzhi didn’t think he had done anything wrong. He let his suspicion of Chen Jindong sit quietly while he turned a dark gaze on Marshal Zhong, Zheng Zhuxi, and Ding Songyan—one that said clearly: If Jindong succeeds in entering the Dharma Realm, we can let this go. But if he loses himself in the Dream Tribulation because of this, I will make you pay.

Zhong Pinglan hadn’t expected Chen Jindong to make such a drastic move. He was at a momentary loss.

Before Zheng Zhuxi could form a coherent thought, she noticed her junior brother quietly maneuvering his horse behind her, apparently ducking his head low as well.

The Great Dream of Three Thousand Years... It clicked for Zheng Zhuxi at once.

She suspected her junior brother had been counting on Chen Jindong to break through on the spot.

Zheng Zhuxi straightened unconsciously and shifted her position, deliberately blocking He Yuanzhi’s line of sight.

Behind her, Ding Songyan’s lowered head had quietly begun to change—his face sharpening, his eyes shifting, blue-black scales appearing across his skin.

An instant later, every trace of this vanished. Ding Songyan returned to his normal appearance.

This was the Celestial Heart imprint’s concealment at work.

Although the Huangliang True Qi that Ding Songyan had produced through his Great Dream of Three Thousand Years could only coexist with his Presence-Absence Myriad Forms Qi and could not be paired with any other true qi, the Celestial Heart imprint was a foreign element. It existed in his sea of consciousness without needing to be maintained, and would naturally take effect whenever the Presence-Absence Myriad Forms Qi flowed through it—compatible with any martial art.

Ding Songyan raised his head casually and used the Celestial Heart imprint to split his consciousness in two.

...

Inside a filthy prison lined with instruments of torture.

Chen Jindong surveyed the surroundings with a cold expression, then let out a derisive laugh.

”So you are my Dream Tribulation. I thought I could just put you to sleep directly.

”You coward. You gutless rat. Where are you hiding?

”Say something! If you have what it takes, speak up! Aren’t you always so bold when you’re sneaking around committing your crimes?”

...

By the roadside on the official road.

Chen Jindong sat with his eyes half-closed and let out a sneer.

”You committed all those wrongs and couldn’t face them. Living in fear day and night of being discovered and thrown in prison—that is what split me out of you.

”I am the perfect version of you—unafraid of law, unafraid of hardship, committing evil without a moment’s guilt. Without me, with your timid nature, how could you have reached the perfected Great Proliferation Realm in under four years? How could you have sensed the void’s qi so easily?”

Divine Physician Zeng, standing nearby, listened with equal parts delight and shock.

This is genuine Soul Displaced Sickness!

But this Chen Jindong is confessing to committing many wrongs?

Why would he say it aloud?

Zhong Pinglan was both astonished and overjoyed.

He had been deeply discouraged, feeling that after all the effort to catch Chen Jindong, the man had used a breakthrough on the spot to slip free. If the scoundrel actually succeeded in advancing, he would most likely have no choice but to watch him walk away unpunished.

Who could have guessed that Chen Jindong, right in the middle of his breakthrough, would expose his own crimes!

You search the world over and find nothing, and then it drops into your lap without any effort at all!

Marshal Zhong couldn’t help but glance at Zheng Zhuxi, Ding Songyan, Divine Physician Zeng, and the two constables who had come along, his mood suddenly surging with excitement and satisfaction.

With this many witnesses, neither Chen Jindong nor the Huangliang Sect could deny it!

He Yuanzhi’s face had gone ashen. He managed a strained defense.

”He is lost in the Dream Tribulation. This is nothing but delirious rambling.”

Why is everything Jindong doing and saying in the dream manifesting in the waking world, as though someone has entered it with him?

Other people’s Dream Tribulations don’t work like this...

Does he truly have Soul Displaced Sickness? Is this the displaced soul speaking?

Hearing He Yuanzhi’s explanation, Zhong Pinglan felt a sudden chill.

Wait. If Chen Jindong successfully breaks through, he will be a true Grandmaster. As long as He Yuanzhi doesn’t move to subdue him, all of them combined would be no match for him.

But would He Yuanzhi act against him?

For the sake of the Huangliang Sect and his personal disciple, would he instead join hands with Chen Jindong to silence us all?

I may be a court official, and my death would bring a serious investigation, but that wouldn’t stop a desperate man from making desperate moves.

File this away for now and proceed carefully...

Zhong Pinglan gave a light nod in response to He Yuanzhi.

”This is my first time witnessing someone undergo the Dream Tribulation. So this is what it looks like.”

Beyond managing her horse and doing her best to block her junior brother from view, Zheng Zhuxi kept her composure. But she made no effort to hide the contempt that rose steadily as she listened to Chen Jindong’s words.

Chen Jindong let out another sneer.

”You were fond of the Shao family’s fourth daughter. But you were afraid she’d find out what you’d done, so you didn’t dare court her properly. You just wanted to manipulate her in her dreams and carry on an affair in secret. When she ended up pregnant, you didn’t dare acknowledge it. You hid and left the mess for me to clean up.

”I killed off the Shao girl, and you had the nerve to resent me for it. You don’t wish to do good, but you aren’t thorough when committing evil either. What use are you?

”Give up. Only I have the nerve to act on those ideas of yours. Heh. Those people all died of sudden illness. No one can catch me!”

Inside the grim and terrifying prison, Chen Jindong moved through cell after cell, searching for his other self.

Then a look of relief crossed his face. He felt something and ran toward the cell in the corner.

A figure was sitting cross-legged inside.

”So this is where you were hiding.” Chen Jindong smiled.

Before his smile could fully form, it froze.

The figure was not the other him. It was a clean-cut, fair-faced man in a scholar’s headscarf and cyan robe with Frostshade laid across his knees—Ding Songyan.

”Where is he?” Chen Jindong blurted out.

Ding Songyan said at ease, ”Affected by the Fuyu Mountain Cinnabar Grass’s Resolute, he has fallen asleep.

”Isn’t that exactly what you anticipated?”

Chen Jindong’s pupils dilated. His expression shifted rapidly.

”You...”

Ding Songyan’s mouth curved upward in a faint smile.

”Me?

”I am your Dream Tribulation.”