Liu Hui heard what Qin Zhou said, and he shook his head. "Qin Zhou, even if your dream design is incredibly realistic, I won't be fooled again. Have you forgotten? The only reason I discovered the existence of your dream-stealing team last time was because I possessed a secret weapon. As long as I have this secret weapon, I can never be tricked by you again."

Qin Zhou was greatly surprised and said, "How is that possible? No secret weapon can help one discover they are dreaming, because the moment you realize you are dreaming, you will immediately wake up."

Liu Hui shook his head. "Let's not discuss this secret weapon for now; you wouldn't understand even if I told you. I'll talk about the flaws in your other aspects."

Liu Hui could contact Xiao Hei within the dreamscape, thus learning his true predicament through Xiao Hei's feedback; therefore, Xiao Hei was Liu Hui's secret weapon. However, Liu Hui would never expose Xiao Hei, his greatest secret, just to satisfy Qin Zhou's curiosity.

Qin Zhou paused. "We have other flaws? How is that possible? Our design is always flawless."

Liu Hui chuckled. "As long as it's a plan, there is no such thing as flawless; there will always be loopholes. The moment I walked into your clinic just now, I noticed something was amiss inside."

Qin Zhou inquired, "What was wrong with our place?"

Liu Hui smiled. "Last time you forcibly entered my dreamscape, were exposed, and fled. As you escaped, you used powerful mental energy to erase the traces you left in my dream, making you feel very familiar, yet I couldn't recall who you were. However, for some recent reasons, my mental power has surged significantly. Although my current mental strength still cannot match yours, I can barely recall the situation from the last time you entered my dream.

Qin Zhou sighed. "So you've remembered some of the contents of that last dreamscape; no wonder you noticed our abnormality."

Liu Hui nodded. "Exactly. When I first entered this clinic today, the moment I saw that old man sweeping outside, he felt intensely familiar, and then the beautiful nurse—she also felt very familiar. Afterward, upon seeing you and that young man delivering medicine, I felt that same sense of familiarity. I immediately knew something was wrong. In that fleeting moment when I first saw your figure entering this dream, your image finally overlapped with the impression you left in my dream before, and I instantly knew you were Wen Xing."

Qin Zhou said, "So, you were toying with us the entire time? Aren't you afraid we'll kill you on the outside?"

Liu Hui sneered. "Do you think you can accomplish that? Perhaps you don't believe me, but even while asleep, I can monitor everything happening around me. If anyone tries to harm me, I can wake up in an instant and slay all of you. Moreover, even if you attack me, you won't be able to harm a single hair on my head."

Although Liu Hui was asleep, he had split half of his mental power to monitor the outside world, and he was protected by the Hong Guang Armor. Even if someone attacked him now from the outside, unless they were a god-level master, they couldn't harm him; this was the source of his confidence.

Qin Zhou also sneered. "Actually, the medicine we just injected into you outside contains a potent toxin; you're about to die!"

Liu Hui laughed heartily. "You really have bad luck. Due to certain reasons, my body has long been immune to all poisons. So, even if I am injected with a deadly toxin, at most, it will only give me diarrhea and require me to rest for half a day. It poses no threat to me whatsoever. Otherwise, do you think I would have allowed you to inject me with those drugs?"

Qin Zhou's expression finally changed drastically. He said, "Since that's the case, why didn't you deal with us outside? Why bring us into the dreamscape only to expose everything?"

Liu Hui smiled. "It's all because of my wife. She recommended that I seek treatment here. If she ever found out that you were the ones secretly plotting against me, and that I was harmed while being treated by you, she would carry that guilt for the rest of her life, making our future miserable. That's why I've trapped all of you in my dream and will kill you here. Outside, your condition will appear as brain death, rendering you vegetative. That way, she won't know what actually happened. While she might be puzzled, she won't feel she wronged me."

Qin Zhou suddenly burst into laughter. "Liu Hui, you truly are devoted. Hu Xian'er was right not to follow the wrong man. However, do you really think you can keep us trapped in this dream? You're being too naive. I said it before: when it comes to business, I'm no match for you, but concerning the understanding of dreams, I can be your teacher. We intend to leave this place; you simply cannot stop us."

Liu Hui chuckled. "Then why don't you try? See if you can leave."

Qin Zhou exchanged glances with his four companions. A smile touched his lips, and he shouted, "Here I go!"

Following this shout, Qin Zhou's figure began to fade, and the figures of the other three also started to dim slowly. Liu Hui did nothing, simply watching their performance with a cold smile.

As Qin Zhou's form started to dissipate, just as it was about to vanish completely, Liu Hui opened his mouth and uttered the word, "Dream." Then, the character "Dream" flew out of his mouth, rapidly expanding and dissolving throughout the dreamscape.

Instantly, Qin Zhou's fading form grew solid again, then reverted to its previous state, standing before Liu Hui once more, as if time had reversed. The situation for the other three was identical; they had returned to Liu Hui's dreamscape.

"How is this possible?" Qin Zhou looked at his newly solidified hands with an expression of utter disbelief.

Liu Hui spoke the word "Dream" again from his mouth, and another "Dream" flew out. Behind him, a throne slowly rose from the ground. This throne was immensely huge, burning with fierce flames, and Liu Hui slowly ascended it like an emperor.

Before Qin Zhou and the others, the scene suddenly blurred, and they found themselves suspended above an extremely hot, bubbling expanse of lava. They were encased within a thin, delicate bubble.

Liu Hui sat atop the blazing throne suspended in the air, looking down upon them like a demon god.

"Impossible! This was supposed to be the dreamscape we designed. How could it suddenly shift to another lava dreamscape?" Qin Zhou stared at the unfolding scene in disbelief.

"Qin Zhou, do not doubt it. Everything you are experiencing now is already under my control. With me here, you have absolutely no way to escape." Liu Hui sat upright on the throne, his voice echoing around them, full of majesty that placed immense pressure on the four of them.

What Qin Zhou didn't know was that after suffering such a heavy loss to the dream-stealing team last time, Liu Hui had immediately traded with Xiao Yaozi for a cultivation technique related to dreams—the Hui Meng Xin Jing (Dream Recalling Scripture)—which was almost useless in the cultivation plane.

At the time, Xiao Yaozi found it strange why Liu Hui would want a technique that amounted to mere entertainment in the cultivation world, one that offered no aid in increasing personal strength. He never suspected that Liu Hui was preparing for this confrontation with the dream-stealing team.

After cultivating the Hui Meng Xin Jing, Liu Hui gained absolute control over his own dreamscapes. Thus, even though Qin Zhou possessed unique insights into dreams, they appeared rather childish when measured against a true cultivation method. Therefore, it was better for them not to enter Liu Hui's dream. Once Qin Zhou entered, their fate would be entirely beyond their control.

Seeing that escape from Liu Hui's dreamscape was impossible, Qin Zhou asked reluctantly, "Liu Hui, what exactly do you want by trapping us here?"

Liu Hui responded, "Qin Zhou, if you tell me who instructed you to steal my secrets, I will consider letting you go."

Qin Zhou suddenly laughed. "Liu Hui, do you think you are invincible just because you've achieved this much? You must remember that in this world, there are always greater experts beyond the known ones, and mountains beyond the mountains. If you truly provoke such a being, you won't have any good days left."

Liu Hui sneered. "Then tell me who this person is! We'll see who is more formidable. Otherwise, you will endure unimaginable suffering."

Qin Zhou remained silent. Liu Hui's face turned cold, and the transparent bubble enveloping the four of them instantly burst. The intense heat of the surrounding lava immediately surged in. In virtually an instant, large blisters formed all over their bodies. They writhed in agony but clenched their jaws, refusing to utter a single secret to Liu Hui.

Liu Hui smiled. "Indeed, quite strong-willed, but this is only the beginning."

The blisters burned onto Qin Zhou by the lava rapidly grew larger, then burst, only for new ones to form again. After several cycles, Qin Zhou was nearly dead.

Liu Hui smiled slightly, waved his hand, and a new transparent bubble materialized, encasing the four of them again. Then, several white-winged angels appeared from the void. These angels sang songs of praise to the four, and streams of blessed healing magic descended from above, landing on them. Their injuries were instantly restored, only to face the searing heat of the lava once more.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ Woke up early to write today; the goal remains four chapters, twelve thousand characters. The first chapter is now served! Thanks to Ambassador and other readers for supporting the updates with vote tickets. Thank you all! RO