After quite a while had passed, I raised my head and began to speak hesitantly.
"I... saw a strange creature somewhere, something that didn't resemble anything I've seen before. It called itself the Beast Lord, master of the Animal Realm."
I finally managed to say it. Mona Ouyang looked at me with some confusion, then continued speaking.
"Be more specific."
Gritting my teeth, I could only keep going, explaining how I met the Beast Lord. But the situation at the time was hard for me to clarify. After all, the power of imagination the Beast Lord spoke of—what exactly was it? He needed my help, and only I could hear his voice.
I swallowed, and Mona Ouyang continued explaining.
"Illusion Realm, yes, that place does exist. It's filled with unreal things, meaningless in themselves. Back when I wandered the world of dreams, I saw the Illusion Realm several times. It's purely void—most of what it contains are things imagined by people or other beings. You should have experienced that yourself."
It was from that time that the Illusion Realm came into being—a place very similar to dreams, always visible in the world of dreams. From then on, people's fantasies began to pass down through generations, and these fantasies would enter this Illusion Realm. Over the years, it has grown into an immense, vast space. Mona Ouyang has observed it several times, but everything inside is fake, appearing only in dreams and never posing any real danger.
"How do you know about that?"
"Did you forget? Back when you were under Yvonne's Instinct, didn't you get swallowed by the ancient beast Chaos? Later, you only managed to escape by eating the meat inside its belly."
I stared at Mona Ouyang in shock.
Mona Ouyang nodded.
Mona Ouyang smiled wickedly. I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine. He was still using Vivian Ouyang's body, his words laced with sarcasm. The whole thing was unsettling.
"Yvonne told me. Besides, didn't you visit the world of shadows? The Isle of Nine Shadows—most of the animals on that island, and the creatures recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, aren't they all there?"
My eyes widened, and I nodded.
"Those things really do exist."
Previously, we'd encountered monsters like Qiqiong and others. Back then, I wondered why such impossible creatures existed, but I never found an answer.
"All these things are simply creatures imagined by people throughout history. These fantasies, passed down through generations, formed a space called the Illusion Realm, where everything inside is alive, but unable to leave the realm of imagination. Now, the real problem is that Emperor God and the others have revived these fantasies, or rather, they've managed to bring ancient beasts from those fantasies back to life."
I swallowed, and Mona Ouyang continued explaining.
"If the two of us work together, we can become the strongest. The reason I'm so weak in the real world is that I can't fully materialize the power of dreams. Now, the Illusion Realm is so powerful it's tempting. If we combine your instinct with the other two instincts—Genesis Instinct and Instinct Endbringer's Power—we can build a production chain to completely revive the monsters stored in the Illusion Realm, giving them ghostly forms. That way, we'll have unlimited troops. So, Ethan Zhang, what do you say?"
It was from that time that the Illusion Realm came into being—a place very similar to dreams, always visible in the world of dreams. From then on, people's fantasies began to pass down through generations, and these fantasies would enter the Illusion Realm. Over the years, it has grown into an immense, vast space. Mona Ouyang has observed it several times, but everything inside is fake, appearing only in dreams and never posing any real danger.
I immediately pushed Mona Ouyang away. She gasped softly, then laughed quietly.
I swallowed. On the Isle of Nine Shadows, the monsters' strength grew from the lowest to the highest. We only reached one of the middle islands and didn't go further up. I heard from Xu Fu that the ninth island is home to monsters so powerful it's unimaginable.
"So you're saying the Isle of Nine Shadows has been used by Old Hell to prepare for war since ancient times?"
Mona Ouyang stared at me seriously.
"The intel you got from Xu Fu was that the three rulers of Old Hell wanted to use experiments to build the strongest vessel capable of containing the Ghost Ancestor's Three Souls and Seven Spirits. That's true. But if the vessel can't match the form of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, it won't work. This plan probably hasn't succeeded yet. The most successful thing so far is reviving the monsters from the Illusion Realm. I haven't told anyone about this, since I don't want any more trouble."
I swallowed. Mona Ouyang approached step by step, forcing me back against the wall as she laughed softly and continued.
"This plan can't start right away. We can work together first, see if we can use my power and your instinct to bring the monsters from the Illusion Realm into reality, then keep experimenting and move on to the next step. If it works, we can wait until the Infernal Judges and Old Hell weaken each other, then seize Hell and become its true rulers. That way, we'll never be at anyone's mercy again. The Infernal Judges will never give up Hell, so in the war, they're bound to do something—like if the fighting gets intense, they might wipe out us Ghost Sovereigns. What do you think? They're absolutely capable of that."
I swallowed. Mona Ouyang kept her hand by my cheek, tugging on my ear.
"It's time to wake up, Ethan Zhang. Instead of trusting the Infernal Judges, you'd be better off trusting me—or the other Ghost Sovereigns. We're much more reliable, especially that Lady Meng. She's not trustworthy at all. They just want to use us, so you have to be cautious. This backup plan is necessary. If we win the war and find out they're up to something, we won't need to be polite. With the seven Ghost Sovereigns, plus the monsters you and I create, we can defeat the Ten Infernal Judges."
I couldn't understand why Mona Ouyang was suddenly telling me all this. From the look on her face, it didn't seem like this plan was hers.
"Did John Chou put you up to this?"
"If the two of us work together, we can become the strongest. The reason I'm so weak in the real world is that I can't fully materialize the power of dreams. Now, the Illusion Realm is so powerful it's tempting. If we combine your instinct with the other two instincts—Origin and End—we can build a production chain to completely revive the monsters stored in the Illusion Realm, giving them ghostly forms. That way, we'll have unlimited troops. So, Ethan Zhang, what do you say?"
"Forget it. Why would I cooperate with you on something like this?"
After a while, I nodded in agreement. Just as Mona Ouyang said, we needed a backup plan. If the Infernal Judges attacked us, we'd use this power to create powerful monsters.
With a creak, the door opened. Mona Ouyang and I walked out, returning to the sky above Hell's Eye.
"What do you mean?"
Once outside, Mona Ouyang started talking, but the Infernal Judges and Lady Meng all stared at us with disbelief.
"First, we have to stop the power of Heaven's Law from being released. We must completely suppress it. If you can't do it, then lend a hand—don't hold back, and let us borrow your prized Hell treasures. Redmane will figure out how to suppress Heaven's Law."
As Mona Ouyang spoke, she turned to Redmane, who immediately grinned arrogantly.
"This plan can't start right away. We can work together first, see if we can use my power and your instinct to bring the monsters from the Illusion Realm into reality, then keep experimenting and move on to the next step. If it works, we can wait until the Infernal Judges and Old Hell weaken each other, then seize Hell and become its true rulers. That way, we'll never be at anyone's mercy again. The Infernal Judges will never give up Hell, so in the war, they're bound to do something—like if the fighting gets intense, they might wipe out us Ghost Sovereigns. What do you think? They're absolutely capable of that."
I swallowed. Mona Ouyang kept his hand by my cheek, tugging on my ear.
"Once Heaven's Law is confirmed to be suppressed, Ethan Zhang, John Chou, and I will head to the Animal Realm."
I couldn't understand why Mona Ouyang was suddenly telling me all this. From the look on his face, it didn't seem like this plan was his idea.
"Did John Chou put you up to this?"
I looked at Mona Ouyang, annoyed. He smiled and nodded.
"But the plan itself was mine. Long ago, I talked to John Chou about the Illusion Realm in Endless Hell. Ethan Zhang, stop hesitating. You can try now—bring out that Beast Lord from the Illusion Realm, fully materialize him, and deal with what's in front of us. Not here, though. We need to go to the Animal Realm; if we do it here, they'll sense something."
After a while, I nodded in agreement. Just as Mona Ouyang said, we needed a backup plan. If the Infernal Judges attacked us, we'd use this power to create powerful monsters.
With a creak, the door opened. Mona Ouyang and I walked out, returning to the sky above the Eye of Hell.
"There's a way."
Once outside, Mona Ouyang started talking, but the Infernal Judges and Lady Meng all stared at us with disbelief.
"First, we have to stop the power of Heaven's Law from being released. We must completely suppress it. If you can't do it, then lend a hand—don't hold back, and let us borrow your prized Hell treasures. Red Hair will figure out how to suppress Heaven's Law."
As Mona Ouyang spoke, he turned to Red Hair, who immediately grinned arrogantly.
"Leave it to me. I'll use my power of calamity to suppress Heaven's Law. You can rest assured about that."
At that moment, Mona Ouyang spoke again.
"Once Heaven's Law is confirmed to be suppressed, Ethan Zhang, John Chou, and I will head to the Animal Realm."