Chapter 1338: Paradise

The two of them walked downstairs as casually as two friends taking a stroll, stepping into this foul and grotesque world of flesh and blood.

The massive flesh-and-blood clock and the display screen downstairs had already vanished, but neither of them paid it any mind, moving forward without hesitation.

This eerie dreamscape was filled with faceless people, bustling about the streets as if they had lives of their own.

This time, unlike before, no one took notice of the two of them. They didn’t linger either, merely going about their business like the rest of the nameless masses.

They had no faces, so like the faceless crowd, they could neither see the road ahead nor voice their suffering.

As Tianlong gazed at the bustling streets, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this dream was somehow different from the last one.

It felt… stable?

It was strange to describe this grotesque world as “stable,” but it wasn’t nearly as chaotic as before.

The last time he had entered this place, his only impression of Bai Yang was “madness.”

But now?

Here, it seemed as though everyone had found their own path in life. If he looked closely, he could even spot faceless delivery workers and small-time vendors chatting and joking on the street.

Except they were all completely silent, not a single sound escaping them.

“Tianlong, do you want to hear a story?” Qi Xia asked.

“A story?”

“That’s right.” Qi Xia nodded. “A story about ‘eternity.'”

The two walked along the flesh-paved road, chatting like ordinary passersby.

“Pass.” Tianlong sighed softly. “Your mind games don’t work on me anymore. Focus on how you plan to survive under my hand.”

“Pity.” Qi Xia smiled faintly. “Perhaps if I ask again later, your answer will be different.”

They fell silent, walking for a few more minutes.

“Bai Yang… you’re a man of principles,” Tianlong murmured. “Walking this far—are you picking out your own burial site?”

“I just don’t want to wreck my own furniture,” Qi Xia replied. “What about you? Any preferences for your grave?”

“Nothing special.” Tianlong shook his head. “The only thing I hope for is that it contains only your corpse.”

“Fair. I’d prefer the same for yours.”

Tianlong clenched his fist slightly behind Qi Xia, realizing he still wasn’t at his best. Today, he had seemingly invoked the most powerful “dream invasion” he ever had, and his hands were still trembling.

“Tianlong, you’re a man of principles too,” Qi Xia remarked. “Not planning to ‘dissolve’ me right now?”

“You promised me a defeat,” Tianlong chuckled behind him. “If I ambush you, how will you ever accept it wholeheartedly?”

“Let me rephrase that,” Qi Xia said. “You’re not even sure if you *can* ‘dissolve’ me right now, are you?”

Tianlong said nothing.

“You can ‘dissolve’ ‘participants’ because you’ve always seen yourself as a ‘god’ and them as ‘ants’ you can crush at will.” Qi Xia shook his head. “But in this space, you consider us equals. That means your ‘conviction’ isn’t strong enough to ‘dissolve’ the ruler of this realm.”

“Isn’t that exactly what you wanted?” Tianlong countered. “A relatively fair duel.”

“Let’s hope it’s fair.”

Before long, Qi Xia stopped in front of a grotesque amusement park made of flesh and blood.

Tianlong halted as well—it seemed the “burial site” had been chosen.

“How about here?” Qi Xia asked.

Tianlong scanned the scene before him, noticing that the amusement park was filled with “greenery.”

Except the leaves of those plants were all fingers or strands of hair, swaying on skeletal branches as if alive—or perhaps on the verge of death.

In the distance, there was a Ferris wheel made of giant eyeballs, a roller coaster constructed from elongated spines, and even a drop tower formed by two massive leg bones.

It was called an amusement park, but no matter how one looked at it, it was a scene straight from hell.

“What a horrifying sight, Bai Yang,” Tianlong laughed. “Only a monster could dream up something like this.”

“Do you know why I chose this place?” Qi Xia asked.

“Why?”

“This amusement park is useless now. We’ll tear it down, and I’ll build a new one later.”

“You’d better not be joking with me.”

The two stepped into the amusement park one after the other. Qi Xia walked slowly toward the depths without looking back, while Tianlong began stretching and loosening his muscles.

Though Qi Xia appeared to be injured, Tianlong knew his own condition wasn’t much better.

He was prepared to pour every last ounce of his “conviction” into this final, desperate struggle against Qi Xia.

Just then, a clown dressed in ragged attire rushed over, holding what looked like a bundle of long balloons, silently gesturing in front of Tianlong.

But the clown had no mouth, so no sound escaped.

This was the first person in this world who had acknowledged Tianlong since his last “dream invasion.”

“What’s he saying?” Tianlong asked.

“He’s asking if you’d like him to twist a balloon animal for you,” Qi Xia answered without turning around.

Tianlong looked down and realized the clown wasn’t holding balloons—they were lengths of intestines.

“No need,” Tianlong said with a smile. “Use those intestines to build a grave for the man in front of me instead.”

The clown froze for a moment before turning and fleeing in a panic.

“What an interesting place, Bai Yang…” Tianlong watched the clown’s retreating figure. “He came running with intestines, yet ended up scared off… Hah…”

“A clown comes to you with balloons, but you say they’re intestines.” Qi Xia mused. “Tell me… from *their* perspective, aren’t *we* the insane ones?”

“So what are you implying?” Tianlong asked. “That this is a normal world, and only you and I see everything as flesh and blood?”

“Who knows?” Qi Xia replied.

“You really are mad.” Tianlong sneered. “Every punch we throw here will damage your mind, making you even crazier. So… are you ready?”

“Is that so?” Qi Xia stretched his limbs. “I told you—this isn’t a dream. So it doesn’t matter.”

The two came to a slow stop in a small square in front of a carousel.

The carousel’s horses were made of bones stitched together with tattered flesh, twitching as if alive.

“Tianlong, I’ll ask you one last time,” Qi Xia said expressionlessly. “Do you want to know what ‘eternity’ is?”

“I don’t.”

“Fine.” Qi Xia nodded. “Then hurry up and lie down. I still have to go home for dinner.”

Tianlong’s expression darkened. “In that case… die in this dream.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Tianlong shot forward like a bullet.

Qi Xia didn’t even turn around. As Tianlung lunged, a massive wall of flesh and blood erupted in front of him, blocking his path.

Every attraction in the flesh-and-blood amusement park seemed to respond to some unseen call, shuddering to life as if electrified.