The night was calm — deceptively calm.
Stars shimmered above Tian Yuan's divine realm, their light falling gently upon endless fields of divine crops. Every blade of grass seemed to hum with life; the soil beneath glowed faintly, fed by the purified qi that now circulated freely through the land.
Yet, far beneath that harmony, something unseen had begun to stir.
The Ten Shadows
The ten Void Shades had failed to pierce the barriers of Tian Yuan's realm. Each one, a god-level remnant of corruption born from the Shadow Lord's curse, now drifted aimlessly in the void — until they found cracks in reality.
And those cracks… led downward.
Toward the mortal realm.
"If we cannot swallow the source," hissed one of them, its voice like dry wind scraping bones, "then let us devour his roots."
They drifted like fog through the folds of creation, unseen by immortals or divine watchers. Slowly, they descended upon the world Tian Yuan once called home — the same mortal continent that now flourished under his disciples' reign.
Their plan was simple: If they could not kill the god, they would poison his legacy.
The Farmer Above
In his divine realm, Tian Yuan sat beneath the Celestial Vine, the Realm Spirit resting quietly beside him — a glowing, childlike figure of light and curiosity.
The system floated before them, now fully awakened after its upgrade — and annoyingly talkative.
"Boss, I'm telling you, this new consciousness was a great idea!" it said with a proud grin. "I mean, sure, I may be a little too handsome to be a system now, but perfection has a price, right?"
Tian Yuan glanced sideways, unimpressed. "You look like a floating gourd with a face."
"Hey! This is a divine artifact visage! Took me hours to manifest this level of charm!"
The Realm Spirit giggled softly — a clear, bell-like laugh that warmed even Tian Yuan's usually stoic expression.
"System," the spirit said, tilting her head, "you sound like the birds near the eastern meadow."
"Birds?" the system frowned. "Excuse me, I'm a sophisticated AI artifact powered by ten thousand divine algorithms, not some feathered—"
"System," Tian Yuan interrupted, eyes still closed. "Status report on realm purification."
The system pouted — but obeyed.
"Realm purity: 92%. Qi stability: 98%. Divine ecosystem developing nicely. Oh, and your Celestial Orchard's first fruit batch matured this morning."
Tian Yuan nodded slightly. "Good. The soil is alive again."
The Realm Spirit looked up at him. "Father… will the outside realms see us soon?"
He was silent for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"Not yet. The soil must learn to breathe before it is seen."
Down Below — Disciples' Dreams
That same night, far below, across the continent once called Green Mist, the disciples of Tian Yuan slept beneath celestial skies.
Each one of them — from Elder Xun the Emperor, to Mei Hua the Sword Saint, to gentle Lian the Alchemist — felt the same peace they always did when meditating beneath the old farmer's statue.
But peace began to twist.
The first dream came to Elder Xun.
He stood in a vast field of golden wheat that stretched forever. The air smelled of rain. Then — darkness fell.
The stalks turned black.
And from the earth rose figures — warped, familiar. They looked like his fellow disciples… but hollow-eyed, broken, whispering his name.
"He left you," one hissed. "You grew, and he abandoned you."
"You were his seed… nothing more."
Xun stepped back, sword glowing with divine qi. "Lies. Master never—"
But before he could finish, the sky itself cracked open — and from the fracture, a shadow descended, whispering into the world like smoke.
"He will never return to you."
The shadow lunged — and Xun woke up, drenched in sweat.
In another part of the world, Mei Hua stood by her sword altar, watching petals fall from the trees. Her sword — the same one blessed by Tian Yuan himself — began to hum in agony.
The blade vibrated until cracks appeared across its edge. She gasped, grabbing it tightly.
Then a whisper coiled through her mind.
"You were meant to be more. He kept you rooted."
Her reflection in the blade twisted — revealing a dark version of herself.
Cold. Merciless. Without love or discipline.
"Cast away his teachings, and bloom freely," it said.
The petals turned to ash.
She snapped awake — panting.
The sword, still glowing faintly with divine warmth, was intact. But she could still hear the faint echo of that voice.
Back to the Divine Realm
The system flickered red. "Boss! Incoming anomaly reports from your mortal-linked consciousness nodes!"
Tian Yuan opened his eyes immediately. "Dream corruption?"
"Exactly! The Shadow Lord's pets found a backdoor — dreams! They're planting despair through subconscious energy!"
The Realm Spirit frowned. "But Father… dreams are sacred. You said they are where the soil of the soul grows."
"Yes," Tian Yuan said softly. "Which is why they're attacking through them."
He stood, his aura expanding until the skies trembled. The system floated beside him nervously.
"Boss, are we going full god mode?"
"No," Tian Yuan replied. "We'll tend this… gently."
The Dreamwalk
He knelt beside the Celestial Vine — the conduit connecting his divine realm to every living soul connected to him.
Closing his eyes, he let his consciousness fall. Down through roots of divinity, across dimensions, through layers of spiritual soil — until he reached the border between dreams and reality.
There, a world of shifting light awaited him — endless fields under a twilight sky. Dreams. The collective subconscious of his disciples.
But corruption had begun to bloom there, too — black vines crawling across dream-fields, wrapping around glowing seeds of hope and turning them to ash.
"Your shadow spreads fast," Tian Yuan murmured, raising his hand.
Light erupted from his palm — golden and soft. Every corrupted dream nearby began to dissolve, returning to purity.
But something laughed behind him.
From the haze, one of the Void Shades emerged — a tall, hollow figure cloaked in darkness.
"The Farmer walks among dreams now," it hissed. "How quaint."
Tian Yuan didn't turn. "You are trespassing on my soil."
"Your soil?" the Shade laughed. "This is mind, not earth."
Tian Yuan smiled. "Everything that grows begins in the soil. Even thought."
He pressed his hand to the dream ground.
Instantly, roots of golden light shot outward, wrapping around the Shade. The creature screamed — its form unraveling as the dream realm turned solid, bound by his will.
But the other nine watched from afar, hidden.
And they began whispering — their corruption seeping deeper into the dreams of mortals and minor cultivators, sowing discord and false visions of godhood.
The Realm Spirit's Awakening
While Tian Yuan battled in dreams, the Realm Spirit wandered through his divine fields. She felt the faint tremors of corruption — but she also felt something else: will.
The animals and divine beasts had begun to move restlessly. The five divine beasts — Azure Crane, Vermilion Lion, Silver Wolf, Shadow Fox, and the Golden Dragon — all gathered around her instinctively, as though protecting her.
"He fights for us," she whispered. "But we must help."
The system popped up beside her, scratching its glowing head. "Uh, little sparkle, that's dangerous territory. Boss said stay put."
"But I am part of him," she said softly. "And part of the soil. The soil must help the seed grow."
Before the system could argue, her form brightened — and she began to sing.
It wasn't a song made of words, but of resonance — the same hum the divine realm used when it first awakened. The air shimmered. The divine beasts raised their heads, answering the melody.
Golden energy poured from the heavens into the land — flowing directly into the Celestial Vine, where Tian Yuan's consciousness still fought below.
The Dream Cleansing
In the dream world, Tian Yuan began to feel that energy.
The soil beneath his feet brightened. The corrupted vines hissed and withered.
Then, a new light descended — the Realm Spirit's melody, carried by the essence of every divine creature that served him.
It struck the dream-world sky — and a single, enormous flower bloomed there, pure and radiant.
The Void Shades screamed.
Their corruption melted beneath its light.
Tian Yuan's eyes shone like suns. He raised his hand and whispered:
"Dreams are seeds. I will not let you poison them."
The entire realm of dreams pulsed with divine energy, erupting in waves that tore through the last of the shadows.
When silence fell again, only golden petals drifted through the void.
Tian Yuan stood among them — calm, unshaken.
Then he looked up, sensing her presence.
"You did well," he said.
The Realm Spirit's voice echoed faintly in the wind:
"We did it, Father."
Aftermath
Back in the mortal world, Elder Xun awoke. The fields outside his palace glowed faintly, crops stronger than ever.
He fell to his knees.
"Master… even now, you till the soil of our hearts."
All over the continent, disciples awoke — their cultivation surging. The blackness in their dreams was gone, replaced by warmth and light.
Meanwhile, in the upper realm, Tian Yuan opened his eyes once more — sitting beneath the Celestial Vine, the Realm Spirit curled up asleep beside him, exhausted.
The system floated nearby, whistling.
"Well, boss… not bad. Saved ten worlds, purified a few nightmares, taught the Void to fear bedtime… classic you."
Tian Yuan smirked faintly. "Report."
"All clear. Dream networks stable. Mortal connections fortified. Realm purity now… 98%. Congrats, boss."
He stood, looking into the distance, where faint traces of the Shadow Lord's essence still lingered beyond the borders of creation.
"He's testing," Tian Yuan murmured. "But we'll be ready."
The Golden Dragon coiled around the highest peak, gazing down proudly. "The soil stands. Let them come."
Tian Yuan nodded once.
The breeze carried his whisper through every leaf, every root, every corner of his divine land:
"A garden does not fear the storm…
it welcomes the rain."
End of Chapter 80