Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

At the end of the passage was a peculiar room, filled with an ethereal, dreamlike atmosphere. In the center of the room stood a white dragon statue, its limbs curled up as if in slumber. The statue's paint, which should have been pure white, was now covered with a thin layer of gray, like a pearl covered in dust, having lost its former luster. Cheng Yu stared at the statue, a strange sense of familiarity welling up within him. He subconsciously thought of the Dream God. Could the Dream God be the White Dragon? This thought flashed through his mind like lightning. If so, then the Northern Wolf Clan's hatred for the White Dragon might stem from the entanglement between the Dream God and the God of Pleasure.

The statue of the Dream God was imprisoned in a massive metal cage, surrounded by thick chains that seemed to restrain some terrifying power. Ancient runes were engraved on the chains, shimmering faintly, as if telling a forgotten story. Cheng Yu's heart sank; he sensed that a great secret was hidden within, a secret that could overturn his understanding of the world.

Kaimen Richie didn't linger in the room. He walked to the right wall and knocked lightly a few times, revealing a hidden door. He gestured for Cheng Yu to follow, his tone serious: "Stay close to me, and don't move no matter what happens."

Cheng Yu nodded and followed closely behind Kaimen Richie into the hidden door. Behind the hidden door was another narrow passage, at the end of which was an even more mysterious room. In the center of the room stood another white dragon statue, but this white dragon's left horn was broken off, and a strange tentacle extended from its right horn. The tentacle was covered with fine barbs and emitted a nauseating stench.

Cheng Yu recognized the statue at a glance; it was Aolian, the one he knew. But why had Aolian's statue turned into this? And what was this eerie aura? His heart was filled with doubt and fear, an ominous premonition enveloping him. Kaimen Richie walked to the statue, reached out, and gently stroked the strange tentacle, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes.

"This is..." Cheng Yu couldn't help but ask.

Kaimen Richie withdrew his hand, turned to Cheng Yu, and said in a low voice, "This is a corrupted god, and the root of the White Dragon Clan's curse." He paused, then continued, "Long ago, the God of Dreams and the God of Pleasure fought a great war. The God of Dreams was defeated and corrupted by the God of Pleasure, becoming what he is now. As a result, the White Dragon Clan was cursed and became slaves to other races."

"Could you tell me more detailed history?"

"If you want to know, that's fine too. After all, to break the seal, you need to know some things from the past."

“The god that our people originally worshipped did not belong to this world. He told our ancestors that he came from beyond the heavens and that he came here to find his dearest friend.”

Because the "wolf" itself does not belong to this world, its power is greatly limited. In order to find its best friend more quickly, it looked to the ancestors of the northern wolf clan. Overwhelmed by the god's power, our ancestors could only help this unfamiliar god find another god.

But later, our ancestors learned that the wolf was actually very loving; it did not force them, and even bestowed upon them great power—though this power was nothing more than insignificant dust to the gods.

"...Although I really don't want to bother you, I feel like you've been praising your God in one way the whole time. I just want to ask you, can't you just get to the point?"

Kaimen Rich glared at Cheng Yu, but he did begin to get to the point.

“After ‘Joy’ descended, it sent our ancestors to find its dearest friend, and our ancestors succeeded in finding the dearest friend that ‘Joy’ spoke of. He was a white dragon youth. At that time, the white dragon had not yet become a god, but was only a demigod. However, he had a divine companion, namely the Dream God.”

Perhaps 'Joyful Desire' was stimulated by seeing the God of Dreams, and actually found a divine path in this world where the rules were not perfect for him. He then successfully established a new divine position in this world, namely 'Joyful Desire'. As for what exactly happened during this period, and why he changed 'Wolf' to 'Joyful Desire', no one knows.

However, after that, the dragon youth actually became a god. But how can a god without a true divine position be called a god? He's just a false god. For some reason, after this false god visited 'Pleasure and Desire,' our god launched a divine war against the Dream God. In the end, the false god successfully became a god and disappeared. Then, the Dream God was killed by our god in His dream.

"That doesn't explain why you hate the White Dragon. This matter is just a dispute between three gods. Why are the Northern Wolf Clan and the White Dragon involved?"

"Heh~ What do you know? Not long after 'Pleasure' returned, He actually perished in the temple built for Him by His ancestors, and His last message was that the White Dragon was untrustworthy, that the White Dragon had stolen His divine status and deceived Him for thousands of years."

The White Dragon's curse was also His final revenge against the White Dragons. From then on, the White Dragons lost their powerful spiritual abilities and became almost indistinguishable from ordinary races.

Cheng Yu stared at Kaimen Richie in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing. Had Aolian lied to him? The White Dragon Clan had been enslaved for this reason? He felt his worldview crumbling; he needed time to process this information.

Kaimen Richie seemed to notice Cheng Yu's shock. He patted Cheng Yu on the shoulder and said, "Child, you need to know that you are also a wolf. Even if you are of different blood from us, you shouldn't help an outsider. Besides, this is the truth. It's absolutely impossible for you to help the White Dragon Clan here."

Cheng Yu took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Looking at the corrupted lotus statue, a fierce fire ignited within him. He was determined to find a way to break the curse and help the White Dragon clan regain their freedom.

Someone is definitely lying here. At this moment, Cheng Yu believed Ao Lian's words even more, because during their time together, Cheng Yu only felt genuine kindness from her, so how could she lie to him?

No, no, this is all wrong! So the Forgotten Land is the Dream God's dream! But... Aolian said the Dream God's nightmare... is in that cave? No, this is just a dream? So whose dream is this nightmare? Is the Dream God really dead?

Cheng Yu's inner monologue exploded in his mind like a thunderclap. He stared in disbelief at the corrupted statue, his thoughts churning like wild horses. Ao Lian, that gentle and kind white dragon, could she really deceive him? Was the suffering of the white dragon clan truly because they stole divine power?

Confusion, bewilderment, anger, and pain intertwined, giving Cheng Yu a splitting headache. He stared intently at the statue in the center of the room, which seemed to be disturbed and began to frantically change its appearance. One moment it was the peaceful sleeping face of the Dream God, the next it was the sorrowful face of Ao Lian, and finally it even turned into his own face!

Cheng Yu felt a wave of dizziness, as if his soul had been ripped from his body. He saw his appearance constantly changing from a third-person perspective, switching back and forth between a white dragon, a wolf-beastman, and even a human. He wanted to stop it all, but found himself powerless, forced to watch helplessly as it unfolded.

Meanwhile, at the White Dragon Ranch of the Black Dragon Tribe, a enslaved white dragon suddenly raised his head. His eyes were no longer cloudy; instead, they held an unprecedented clarity. As if sensing something, he shouted excitedly, "The Dream Weaver! It's the Dream Weaver! The Dream God is returning! We are saved!"

His shouts startled the surrounding white dragon slaves, who all looked up, their eyes gleaming with hope. Could a miracle truly be about to occur?

Kaimen Richie watched Cheng Yu's pained expression, a barely perceptible glint of triumph in his eyes. He walked up to Cheng Yu, looking down at him, and said, "Now, do you understand? This is the truth. The White Dragon Clan deserves what they got."

Cheng Yu gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating headache. He didn't believe Kaimen Richie's words; he believed Aolian. He was determined to find the real answer and uncover the truth hidden behind history.

“No, I don’t believe it,” Cheng Yu said with difficulty. “There must be something wrong here.”

Kaimen Richie sneered: "Problem? The facts are right in front of you, what else do you have to say?"

Cheng Yu took a deep breath, trying to stay awake. He remembered what Ao Lian had once said: the nightmare of the Dream God, the forgotten land… Could it be that all of this was just a dream?

He suddenly looked up at Kaimen Richie, his eyes flashing with unwavering determination: "I know now, it's all fake, all a dream! You've all been deceiving me with lies, none of you are trustworthy! Aolian too! You bunch of liars!"

Kaimen Richie's expression changed slightly; he hadn't expected Cheng Yu to react so strongly. He snorted coldly and said, "What nonsense are you spouting? What Aolian? I think you're just emotionally unstable; you need to calm down!"

"How many times are you going to lie to me? My dearest friend is a fake, all of this is a lie, the Northern Wolves and the White Dragon should not exist! You blasphemers!"

It was only then that Kaimen Richie noticed Cheng Yu was already beside the statue, and realized that Cheng Yu was completely under his control.

Gradually, Cheng Yu felt everything around him begin to blur, and his consciousness gradually detached from the real world, entering a bizarre and fantastical dream.

In this dream, he saw a huge cave filled with thick fog. He vaguely saw something wriggling deep inside the cave.

Kaimen Rich cursed under his breath and struck Cheng Yu on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious. If this continued, Cheng Yu would definitely be corrupted. To cleanse him of the corruption, he had to take Cheng Yu to the temple. Although the temple's stored divine power was dwindling, Cheng Yu was key to the seal, and he had to remain normal.

In his dream, the unconscious Cheng Yu was like a lost child, or more accurately, a mad child. He was drawn by an inexplicable force, involuntarily moving towards the writhing thing deep within the cave, wanting to touch it, wanting to merge with it.

Just as Cheng Yu was about to touch that thing, a photograph suddenly appeared in front of him. The photograph emitted a strong light, and a powerful purifying force instantly swept through the entire dream.

The dream shattered, and Cheng Yu woke up with a start, finding himself in Kaimen Richie's arms. Qian Tu and Obsidian were beside them, looking at him with concern.

"You're awake?" Qian Tu asked with concern. "You looked terrifying just now."

Cheng Yu rubbed his still-aching head, trying to recall the scenes from his dream. What was that wriggling thing? Why did that photograph possess such power? Why did he feel such fear?

“I…I had a dream,” Cheng Yu said haltingly, “a very scary dream.”

Obsidian frowned: "What did you dream about?"

Cheng Yu shook his head: "I don't remember. I only remember that it was a terrible feeling, as if something was going to devour me."

Kaimen Richie sighed. "It seems the pollution has begun to affect your mind. We must get to the temple as soon as possible and seek divine help."