But who was this old man standing before her?
Xing Rui and Yu Weifeng both addressed him as Elder. Was this someone from the Xing family she had conjured up in her dream, a helper sent against her?
It felt so real.
Yao Ranran opened her mouth slightly in astonishment.
Seven Star Elder chuckled. "It seems you are quite surprised."
He seized one end of the blood threads, gathering them into his hand and yanking them bloodily out from the constellation-shaped desk.
"With this, you can go to your death."
The aura of benevolence around Seven Star Elder suddenly shifted into vicious cruelty.
Yao Ranran was stunned for a moment.
"Damn, now it's turning into a nightmare."
She had known all along—killing Yu Zhenyan would not end smoothly.
Now that she had provoked the three great clans, how could she still expect sweet dreams?
The bloody threads tightened around her, constricting further and further. Seven Star Elder grasped the lines with both hands, reeling them in.
Yao Ranran frowned slightly, discomfort rising as the blood threads cut into her skin.
Seven Star Elder's eyes suddenly turned crimson, his hands shriveled like dead wood, shaped like the claws of a ghost.
"Die! Die!"
The clash between Yu Weifeng and Xing Rui still resounded in her ears.
Yao Ranran abruptly stood up and snorted coldly. "So you're nothing more than a wicked spirit, trying to show off in someone else's dream? Watch me put you down!"
Seven Star Elder's vicious expression faltered, a trace of mockery flickering in his eyes. This woman was about to perish, yet she truly thought this was only a dream? Laughable!
"Heh…"
A low laugh rolled from Seven Star Elder's throat. But the next instant, a faint line appeared across his neck.
Yao Ranran flung off all the blood threads, then reversed them, binding them tightly around Seven Star Elder's body instead.
After finishing, she dusted off her hands lightly.
Seven Star Elder's eyes bulged wide in horror.
"No… no, impossible!"
"In my dream, nothing is impossible."
Yao Ranran toyed with the stars on the desk with casual curiosity as she replied.
"This Seven Stars Array of yours looks impressive on the surface. I didn't expect my random dreaming to have such finesse."
Seven Star Elder's gaze dropped, and he saw that the seven-star formation on the desk had been scrambled into chaos by her. His eyes widened with despair as he turned to Xing Rui.
"Stop… stop fighting!"
Yao Ranran lifted her head. "Who are you talking to? Oh, you mean them!"
She turned and shouted at Yu Weifeng and Xing Rui. "You two, stop fighting already. If you keep this up, the sky will brighten soon!"
And when morning came, she would wake.
Time to switch dreams, perhaps something more fun.
As she thought this, Yu Weifeng and Xing Rui actually stopped their battle.
"Elder, how did it go?"
Xing Rui's face lit up, believing Seven Star Elder was about to announce that the Blood-Seeking Enemy-Slaying Curse had been completed.
Yu Weifeng slumped against a pillar in defeat, sighing.
"We're still a step too late…"
Xing Rui rushed toward Seven Star Elder. But at that instant, Yao Ranran tightened the blood threads, the blood mist dispersed, and she vanished.
"Elder, is she dead?" Xing Rui asked with excitement.
Seven Star Elder's pupils shifted toward her with great effort. "Dead…"
"That's wonderful! Where did she die? I'll send the Xing family disciples at once to seize the supreme spiritual vein!"
Her long-held hatred avenged, Xing Rui's joy overflowed.
Seven Star Elder's throat bobbed, eyelids drooping. "It… was here…"
"Here?" Xing Rui froze.
What did that mean? Where was "here"?
She was just about to ask again when Seven Star Elder's body suddenly collapsed. His head struck the ground with a sharp crack as the rest of his body dissolved into a bloody mess, not even leaving a Nascent Soul behind.
Xing Rui stood frozen, staring blankly at the severed head rolling to her feet. Seven Star Elder's eyes were shut tightly, and in that instant she finally understood what he meant by "here."
"Elder Seven Star Elder… Elder Seven Star Elder is dead?"
Yu Weifeng leapt to his feet, staring at the mangled remains in disbelief.
Xing Rui's expression was horrified. She picked up Seven Star Elder's head with trembling hands, his face already drained of all blood.
"The dead one… how could it be him?"
…
Yao Ranran slipped into another dream.
This one was far warmer than the last. She dreamed of her original body's mother appearing, stroking her hair and praising her for having grown so much. She even cooked her a table full of delicious dishes.
Yao Ranran happily gnawed on a chicken leg while Yao Yanliu sat opposite her, watching her with tender eyes.
"Dang dang dang!"
A flash of spiritual light squeezed through the window, clattering about the room.
Yao Ranran frowned, opening her eyes just as a sound transmission talisman floated to her face.
"Is it news from my little disciple already? That was fast."
She caught the talisman and listened to Lu Ziqian's voice.
"Master, I've found out who that person is. Master, you must be very careful of him. He is Pu Yehai, the final disciple of You Yan Gate's sect master, Hao Yinqin!
This person was frail and sickly from childhood, possessing an extremely rare cultivation constitution. He cultivates by drawing illness into his body, making his progress abnormally fast."
Yao Ranran's eyes widened in sudden realization.
So Yehai was actually Pu Yehai. No wonder he had formed a Golden Core at such a young age.
A diseased-body demon cultivator… and the beloved last disciple of a sect master!
But why had he hidden his identity to follow Tang Xiangyin into Longyin Village?
That part she could not understand.
"Boss, are you awake? Xiao Jiang said you're going down the mountain to visit Physician Ye, is that true?"
A small figure leaned against the door, shouting loudly.
Yao Ranran's lips twitched.
With a voice that loud, she would be awake even if she hadn't been.
"It's true. Wait for me a moment."
She swiftly dressed, opened the door, and went down the mountain with Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin.
"Boss, he really is a divine physician. I was dizzy and nauseous a few days ago, but as soon as he prescribed me a formula, I immediately recovered!"
Xiao Rong praised Pu Yehai with admiration.
Yao Ranran asked suspiciously, "Why were you dizzy and nauseous? Did you eat something bad?"
"I didn't eat anything bad. Ever since Xiao Tang started cooking, I've been eating…"
Xiao Rong suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth.
Could it be that Xiao Tang's cooking had poisoned him?
"That's right, I've been watching Xiao Rong's meals. He hasn't eaten anything wrong, so it must have been a cultivation misstep!" Tang Xiangyin nodded, utterly unaware of how questionable her cooking might be.
Yao Ranran glanced at Xiao Rong's guilty expression, then at Tang Xiangyin's confidence, and sighed helplessly.
Let them keep fumbling as long as no one dies from it.
"We're here. Physician Ye, we've come!"
Xiao Rong politely knocked on the door, much more restrained than when shouting at Yao Ranran's door.
Creak!
Pu Yehai opened the door, a smile on his lips. When he saw Yao Ranran, a spark of delight lit his eyes.
"Please, come in. Fairy Ranran, it truly has been too long."
His pale face seemed to flush faintly with color from joy.
"Physician Ye, staying home all day must be dull. Why don't you come play at Gu Ling Mountain tomorrow?"
Xiao Rong spoke boldly as he strode inside and sat on a chair.
Pu Yehai smiled. "Very well. I have long wanted to visit Gu Ling Mountain. If you're all there tomorrow, it would be proper to go and enjoy myself too."