Chapter 114

Chapter 16: The Fourth Kind of Contact

Once again, just like last time, she could slowly move around within the scene. However, this time Bai Ling came prepared and could do more things, such as reaching out toward floating objects in the air.

That was a fragment of a roof overhang, with jagged edges that looked like they’d been shattered by some kind of energy. The fragment itself had an ancient design and smelled faintly of sandalwood.

Could this place be…

Another fragment floated into view, inscribed with two characters: one “four,” one “square,” but only half of them were visible.

Alright, no need to guess now. It’s definitely that place Yuan Xiaoling has been wanting to investigate.

“We’ve come for you.”

A heavily overlapping voice echoed endlessly in her ears. Bai Ling looked up and noticed that in the blink of an eye, those people who seemed to float without touching the ground had surrounded her. Their necks appeared boneless, heads drooping on their shoulders, staring at her from all directions with slanted eyes.

It was a bit creepy.

Bai Ling glanced around and casually asked someone who looked somewhat normal, “Who are you? And who are all of you?”

The person she addressed looked decent enough, with a dignified appearance, seemingly a woman in her thirties with well-preserved looks.

Still, like everyone else, her expression was blank and rigid, which made her look quite unsettling.

“You’ll understand once you join us.”

Suddenly, countless voices spoke together, including the woman’s. Bai Ling tried to differentiate… it was useless, impossible to tell them apart; all the tones were identical.

“Are you the Foundation Stone?” Bai Ling asked bluntly, “Fragments of the Inner Stone of the Mind?”

She had analyzed before; in Tianhai City, there wasn’t anyone capable of achieving this level of mental influence on her, not even ten years later.

So, it was most likely not human.

But when confronted with her question, every single one of them became mute, just floating around silently staring at her.

Soon, Bai Ling realized—since they weren’t human, they might not understand what she meant.

In that case, she would treat them as if they were, and ask another question.

“Why are you here? This scene has appeared twice, so it must hold some special significance for you.”

As for why they targeted her, Bai Ling could roughly guess without asking. In the span of ten years, she was the only Fifth-tier Mental-type practitioner, so it was natural for the Foundation Stone to seek her out.

The woman floating in the air slowly extended her hand.

“Understand us, and you will comprehend everything.”

A chaotic mass of memories coalesced into a bundle and drifted toward her. Bai Ling hesitated for a moment before deciding to reach out and make contact.

Instantly, countless fragmented images flashed before her eyes. An ancient temple courtyard, filled with people of various ages moving back and forth day and night. Gradually, emotions began to plummet.

Finally, each face bore expressions of unease, suspicion, and resentment.

“If… we had acted sooner…”

“Why didn’t you…”

“There’s still a chance… don’t… leave…”

“………..me………..”

The words grew increasingly hazy until they became completely unintelligible. Bai Ling felt her own consciousness starting to get pulled into the swirling mass, giving her the sensation of drowning.

“Come on,” countless shadows spoke again, “Join us.”

Uh-oh!

In reality, Yuan Xiaoling watched as Bai Ling slept soundly, puffing her cheeks in anger.

What does it mean?! She worked herself tired, got mocked, and then this girl just went straight to sleep with great quality, as if she were having a wonderful dream.

The Blonde-haired Maiden sat beside her in a pink-and-white strap swimsuit, looking frail, pitiful, and helpless.

“No way! I absolutely have to get my revenge… for that one finger!”

Yuan Xiaoling stared at the sleeping Bai Ling, rage rising in her heart, and seized Dabeitù, pressing it down onto her face.

Repaying kindness with kindness, how should one repay kindness? Repaying a finger with a ball—kindness and revenge combined!

I’ll suffocate you, dammit!

In the dream, Bai Ling’s consciousness sank deeper into a flickering vortex, struggling harder and harder. Around her, the floating figures’ faces displayed eerie smiles.

How do you blend an apple slice into watermelon juice? Simple—put them both in a blender and mix thoroughly. That’s exactly what they were doing right now.

Just a little longer, just a bit more…

But just then, everyone in the dream involuntarily looked up toward the sky.

What… smell?

Rich, sweet, irresistible just from sniffing it, making mouths water.

And then, in the next second, milk poured down from the sky like a torrential waterfall, drenching everyone’s heads. Some bodies were even knocked down by the force and instantly submerged in the ocean of milk.

The watermelon juice was contaminated, turning into fruit milk.

Even worse, after the incident, the dream itself started becoming unstable, cracks appearing in the air as if it would collapse at any moment.

Their smiles disappeared, replaced by expressions of regret as they left the area.

Zz…!

Bai Ling woke up from the dream, wiping cold sweat off her forehead and breathing heavily.

“Huff… huff…”

It was very dangerous just now; she almost lost herself. Now that she had awakened, her consciousness gradually cleared, though she still felt slightly suffocated.

Hmm… wait, suffocated?

Her awareness was attacked, but now that her consciousness had recovered, why did her body still feel suffocated? Moreover, she could detect a faint milky scent on her face.

Bai Ling glanced to the side and saw Yuan Xiaoling pretending to sleep beside the pillow, the blanket and pillow somewhat disheveled.

In an instant, she understood.

It was extremely perilous earlier. Fragments of the Inner Stone of the Mind sought her out because of her Fifth-tier Mental Power, aiming to resonate with her. But this wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Just look at Yuan Xiaoling’s grandfather—after resonating, he couldn’t remain human anymore, transforming into an elemental being.

Resonance within the Mental-type was even more dangerous. If Bai Ling accepted the resonance, she wouldn’t just become a spirit entity but also lose her self-awareness, becoming part of “us.”

Yuan Xiaoling was right; simple resonance alone wasn’t the correct way to break through—it was missing something.

Fortunately, this attempt wasn’t entirely fruitless. Besides directly contacting fragments of the Foundation Stone, she also gained some clues. Especially about those individuals drowned in the milk ocean, whose related memory fragments remained in her mind. With the right method, she could attempt to interpret them.

As for why she was saved, Bai Ling figured it out—she had left Yuan Xiaoling alone while sleeping, and the Blonde Busty Girl couldn’t stand it, so she pressed down hard on her.

The milk waterfall was the manifestation of a real-world attack in the dream. However, the true reason the dream shattered was because she felt suffocated, causing her brain to sense danger and interrupt the sleep state, otherwise known as emergency awakening.

Thus, although it was a prank, it turned out to be fortuitous. She should properly thank Yuan Xiaoling.

Bai Ling turned over, facing Yuan Xiaoling who pretended to be asleep, and slowly leaned towards Dabeitù.

At this moment, Yuan Xiaoling was quite nervous.

She thought Bai Ling was deeply asleep, and a little teasing wouldn’t wake her, but unexpectedly, she woke up after being pressed for a while.

How annoying! If only you reacted this quickly to other matters too.

However, since she reacted so fast, Bai Ling probably wouldn’t discover her scheme, right? Yuan Xiaoling thought this as she cautiously peeked open her eyes, only to find Bai Ling staring at her. Scared, she quickly closed her eyes again.

Oh no, oh no, have I been found out? Well, doesn’t matter now. Things have come to this.

Yuan Xiaoling encouraged herself mentally—so what if she got caught? Even if questioned, she wouldn’t admit it. After all, she’s already asleep, and no amount of calling would wake her. What could you possibly do, bite me?!

“Ikeeeeee?!”

She really did bite!