Chapter 1333

Tian Long turned around and looked into Qing Long's eyes. The two stared at each other in silence, as if each was gazing at a mirror image of themselves, yet also at a complete stranger.

"I manage this place myself...?" Qing Long narrowed his eyes, a slight smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes," Tian Long replied. "You're afraid I'll die in my room at any moment and drag you down with me, and I'm afraid you'll kill me at any moment, even making my dreams restless. Since we're both living in fear every day, why not seize this chance for you to end it quickly for me? What do you say?"

Qing Long let out a light laugh.

At this very moment, he could unravel "Shuang Sheng Hua" and then kill Tian Long.

What a perfect plan?

The idea lingered in his mind, and after a few seconds, a increasingly strange smile spread across his face. He laughed louder and louder, even reaching out to tap on the table.

A moment later, Tian Long joined in, bursting into wild laughter.

The two of them doubled over in the room, laughing as if they'd shared a hilarious joke among friends, though the scene was eerily bizarre.

"Ah..." Qing Long stepped slowly toward Tian Long. "Tian Long... this is ridiculous. Now you're asking me to unravel 'Shuang Sheng Hua'? Are you trying to trick me...?"

"Ha ha ha ha." Tian Long laughed back. "What's the matter? Since you know how to unravel 'Shuang Sheng Hua', why not show me? Wouldn't that be great?"

"Not great...?" Qing Long shook his head. "Tian Long, do you know why I've survived this long?"

"Strategy? Or something like cunning tactics...? I'm not sure." Tian Long shook his head.

Qing Long was amused again by Tian Long's words. He pointed to the table, where specks of blood foam had drifted in and stuck to the surface. "Tian Long, the instant I unravel 'Shuang Sheng Hua', I'd turn into blood foam like this, wouldn't I?"

"Yes, that's inevitable." Tian Long nodded. "My 'Li Xi' is always prepared for you. I might even try to grind you into even finer pieces... This kind of blood foam doesn't suit your status at all."

"Ha ha ha!" Qing Long shook his head. "Tian Long, it's really tough on you. You thought my 'Xin Nian' was depleted so much that my rationality would suffer too... Leading to such an absurd scheme."

"Trying it doesn't cost anything." Tian Long stretched lazily. "What a shame you didn't fall for it."

"We both know what kind of person the other is." Qing Long said. "Let's skip these kinds of schemes. Just quietly go back to sleep. You can try to kill me in your dreams, and I'll try to kill you in reality. We meet every ten days, and it's not a bad way to get along."

"You still don't seem to understand—killing you isn't my main goal." Tian Long shook his head. "Even though we both know what the other is, we're not the same."

"That's right." Qing Long chuckled lightly. "You're so self-righteous. You can even show great mercy by giving all the 'Can Yu Zhe' two days of 'reality'. That makes the truth of 'Tao Yuan' even more confusing, doesn't it?"

"Is it possible they just don't have the brains for it?" Tian Long said. "The 'reality' I grant them is full of flaws—any intelligent person could spot them. Not only can they use 'Xin Fa' in this so-called 'reality', but everyone's dreams collapse uniformly at the end. If they just talked about their experiences before entering 'Tao Yuan', they'd realize the same bizarre earthquake appeared in all timelines, and even the sky cracks open at the end. Isn't that suspicious?"

"Hmph..." Qing Long snorted coldly. "So these 'flaws' are another act of your great mercy?"

"I can only say, 'Can Yu Zhe' and 'Tian Ji' are no different." Tian Long continued. "As long as they don't want to believe it's a dream, no matter how big the flaws are, it's useless. People who don't want to wake up will never wake up."

"'Tian Ji' are basically 'Can Yu Zhe' anyway." Qing Long said. "These nine people are just propped up by a paper-tiger reputation. If they die, so be it—it saves us the trouble of executing them in front of the 'Di Ji' and stirring up more chaos."

"Qing Long, if you don't change your nature... chaos is inevitable sooner or later." Tian Long sighed lightly.

"Change my nature?" Qing Long raised an eyebrow, smiling. "Do you think there's any difference in our natures...? I can change my half, but I can't change yours. Why don't you change yours instead?"

"Ha..."

Qing Long sat back down at the round table. "I don't understand your ideals, and you don't understand mine. Let's just keep striving for our own."

The two of them seemed to have finished their jest, their expressions gradually calming over a few seconds.

The room returned to its tense, deadly quiet.

"Can you still manage with your injury?" Tian Long turned to look at Qing Long. "It's the first time in all these years I've seen you hurt this badly."

As he finished speaking, he reached out to touch Qing Long's wound, but Qing Long leaned back to avoid it.

"I won't die."

Tian Long gave a soft hum and said no more, settling back into his seat in the room. He rubbed his forehead, slowly steadying his own "Xin Nian".

Bickering with Qing Long was a routine in every cycle, since neither could kill the other anyway.

But the real challenge lay in the time ahead.

He had to get everyone into the dream state one by one within half a day.

Perhaps Qing Long never realized why he insisted on "Ru Meng".

Because dreams could transmit so many things.

Qing Long had all sorts of deals with the "Can Yu Zhe", and so did he.

The way to connect with them was through dreams. If needed, he could even alter parts of someone's dream memories, making them think their real life had changed.

This sophisticated "Ru Meng" technique involved crafting the most realistic dream world from fragments of their memories. Though it consumed a massive amount of "Xin Nian", it helped stabilize everyone's emotions.

What was there to call a "reality world"?

From the moment they entered "Tao Yuan", they should have known there was only one path: death.

Yet, "rumors" could spread among the "Can Yu Zhe", leading them to discover that everything in "Tao Yuan" could influence "reality" and even offer a glimmer of escape.

But even if they returned to their so-called "reality" with "Xin Fa", nothing would change.

The dreams would always end in despair, and that world was destined to collapse.

Tian Long sighed. Unfortunately, every time he woke up, just "Li Xi" and "Ru Meng" would exhaust all his "Xin Nian", forcing him back into sleep.

But if he didn't do this... was there a better way?

The only option was to find someone who shared his ideas, someone who could abandon this place and escape "Tao Yuan" together, building a new order.

The two sat in the room in silence for a full few hours before a figure suddenly appeared at the door.

She stood carefully outside and knocked.

It was Tian Ma. She looked weary, massaging her sore back.

"Tian Ma..." Qing Long turned to look, a hint of displeasure on his face. "I thought you were dead."

"Tian Long! I can't find my precious grandson..." Tian Ma said anxiously. "I don't know if he's okay..."