Chapter 529: Phantom City
Upon closer inspection, he realized these “lanterns” were actually transparent, jellyfish-like creatures. Their translucent bodies hovered in the air like glowing lanterns, their energy cores burning brightly within.
He vividly recalled how swarms of these Lantern Jellyfish, drawn too close to the Mist Zone, had been devoured by Old Mist.
Old Mist must have had quite the feast that day.
What Feng Qi hadn’t expected was to encounter these Lantern Jellyfish again in this Future Line.
These creatures possessed minimal combat prowess. Killing them yielded no Qi and Blood Power, only a meager amount of mental power.
The Lantern Jellyfish offered little to enhance his strength.
Therefore, he hadn’t paid much attention to them in this Future Dream Timeline.
What truly piqued his curiosity was the illusory city at the edge of the plain, where the Lantern Jellyfish resided.
Could it be the clan territory of a Domain Force?
Intrigued by the power dynamics of the future world, he decided to set out immediately to investigate. Along the way, he would hunt domain creatures on the plain to further strengthen himself.
“You’re planning to go there?” the Lord of the Mist suddenly spoke up.
“Just to see what that illusory city is all about.”
“Your curiosity might be your undoing. This world is dangerous. Since awakening, I’ve faced life-threatening crises more than once. I advise you not to be reckless.”
Hearing the Lord of the Mist’s earnest warning, Feng Qi chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Whether you come or not is up to you. I’m still going to take a look.”
In this Future Dream Timeline, the Lord of the Mist hadn’t undergone 1,500 years of growth and development. He had only recently awakened, his strength even inferior to Feng Qi’s when fully unleashed in Blood Source Form.
Whether he traveled with the Lord of the Mist or not no longer mattered to him.
After all, Old Mist wasn’t foolish enough to shield him from Little Black, nor would he hunt alongside him to aid his growth.
Brother has outlived his usefulness. Time to discard him. In this Future Dream Timeline, Old Mist is just a playmate.
The Narrator’s commentary was sharp and to the point.
“Fine, I’ll accompany you for now, but I’ll leave at the first sign of danger,” the Lord of the Mist said, swatting away Feng Qi’s arm with a hint of annoyance.
“Why are you still willing to come with me? Don’t you doubt I’m your brother?” Feng Qi asked.
In response, the Lord of the Mist’s eyes flickered with purple light before he replied softly, “Ever since you first approached me, I’ve sensed something strange about you. My instincts even stirred a primal resistance toward you. Such feelings don’t arise from nothing. Even with my memory loss, I understand that we must share some unpleasant history. But… when you called me ‘brother,’ I could feel the sincerity in your words.”
“So I believe we were once friends, but it’s also highly likely we were enemies.”
Hearing the Lord of the Mist’s analysis, Feng Qi couldn’t help but nod.
It seemed Old Mist had seen through his disguise long ago. What intrigued him was why Old Mist still chose to follow him.
“If that’s the case, why are you still with me? Did you suddenly decide to acknowledge me?”
A smile spread across the Lord of the Mist’s face as he replied, “Of course, it’s because you’re strong enough. Especially after witnessing Suction Cup’s power, I decided to stick with you. This world is teeming with terrifying creatures. Whatever your intentions toward me, clinging to a powerful ally is the only way to survive.”
“Besides, I can use you to hunt prey and enhance my own strength. Whether we’re brothers or not is irrelevant for now. After all, I can’t recall any memories of you. But improving my strength is paramount. In this world, power is the foundation of survival.”
“What I didn’t expect, though, was that after you kill prey, I can only devour the rune crystals—not a single drop of qi blood.”
“So you’re still willing to come with me?” Feng Qi asked, surprised.
“At least you’re stronger than me. I’ll be safer with you.”
“Aren’t you afraid I might harm you?”
“I’ve already considered that. I figured you must have some ulterior motive for being with me. But after thinking it through, I realized I have nothing to worry about. You could easily take everything I have right now, and killing me wouldn’t be difficult either. You could just have Suction Cup attack me the moment we met—I wouldn’t even be able to resist.”
“So, what do I have to fear?”
Good grief, Old Mist is as cunning as ever. He’s already figured out how to latch onto you and exploit you after just meeting you! Hahaha! You thought you could use him, but he’s seen right through you! Tsk tsk, no wonder he’s so impressive—even without his memories, he’s still this brilliant!
Feng Qi: ……
Looking at Old Mist’s smiling face, Feng Qi suddenly saw a glimpse of the Lord of the Mist, the master strategist.
“You’re something else. This is the first time I’ve ever been used by someone else in the Dream Realm.”
With that, Feng Qi turned and began walking toward the far end of the Plain Region.
“What do you mean by ‘Dream Realm’?” the Lord of the Mist asked, hurrying to catch up.
“Too lazy to explain. Figure it out yourself,” Feng Qi replied without looking back.
“Literally speaking, a dream of the future world? Are you saying this entire world is just a dream? No, everything here feels incredibly real. How could it possibly be a dream?”
Feng Qi glanced helplessly at the Lord of the Mist beside him, who was chattering incessantly.
This co-op partner deserves a terrible review!
After advancing a short distance, Feng Qi and the Lord of the Mist entered the Plain Region.
Without the dense vegetation to block it, the wind swept fiercely across the plain. The sea of white flowers swayed in the gale, rippling in concentric waves like a vast, undulating ocean. Countless white petals danced through the air.
Looking ahead, they could clearly see various domain creatures roaming the plain.
These domain creatures were noticeably stronger than those in the city ruins, but none appeared to be living in groups; they were widely dispersed.
They also witnessed domain creatures hunting, chasing down other domain creatures across the grassland.
They continued onward.
Whenever a domain creature blocked their path, Feng Qi would strike without hesitation, killing it and absorbing its bloodline evolution points.
Along the way, he acquired three new innate abilities.
However, these abilities didn’t suit his combat style, so Feng Qi planned to dismantle them once he returned to Earth.
During this time, the Lord of the Mist tried to intervene several times, but Feng Qi stopped him each time.
He understood Old Mist’s burning desire to grow stronger.
In the harsh future world, where one could become prey to terrifying creatures at any moment, strength was the key to survival.
But compared to Old Mist, Feng Qi believed his own growth was far more critical.
If he let Old Mist have the prey, he would lose the chance to improve his own strength.
Still, he would leave Old Mist the scraps.
After killing a creature, the rune crystals within its body were useless to Feng Qi. He let Old Mist absorb them all.
The Lord of the Mist was quite satisfied with this arrangement.
As the Narrator put it, Old Mist had completely mastered this Future Dream Timeline, treating Feng Qi as his personal leveling service on his path to growth.
The debt owed from the previous timeline was slowly being repaid in this Future Dream Timeline through this method.
After traveling further, they finally emerged from the Plain Region and arrived before the illusory city.
(End of the Chapter)