"Interesting. So this Day-Night Forest is indeed not simple.The Curse of Eternal Slumber from that Nightmare Melody almost caught even me.If not for the protective treasures I carry, I might truly have fallen into a deep sleep and become a part of the Nightmare World forever…But if that's what they want—then let them try. I welcome it."
Thoughts flashed rapidly through Yi Tianxing's mind.
From the outside, his body appeared to be undergoing the same change as Monkey—slowly turning into a tree—but in truth, he had never fallen asleep.
As the Nightmare Melody rang out, multiple soul-protecting treasures had activated:
The Soul-Shocking Bell (惊魂钟) echoed within his mind,
The Bodhi Seed (菩提子) released countless calming mantras,
The Innocent Heavenly Melody Tree (无邪天音宝树) emitted a divine sound that washed the soul clean,
The Tribulation-Dissolving Auspicious Cloud (无劫渡厄庆云) guarded his spirit from every direction.
Even the Curse of Eternal Slumber couldn't break through these barriers.
But Yi Tianxing didn't resist outright. When he saw Monkey turn into a tree, he made a decision—
He too allowed himself to transform.
And as he transformed into a tree, he could feel roots extending from his feet, digging deep into the earth, slowly drawing in nutrients—not quickly, but steadily, enough to sustain a state of long slumber.
This energy entered his body directly, without the need for refinement.
Yi Tianxing realized he was now connected to the land, to the Day-Night Forest, and even to the entire Nightmare World.
An eerie transformation.
And in that moment—a strange force emerged inside him, manifesting quietly in his mind.
A new Life Aperture (命窍) began to form.
"The Eerie Tree Life Aperture (诡树命窍)!"
At the moment of its formation, threads of Nightmare Law flowed into the aperture, shaping and perfecting it.
This aperture, born from the weird and eerie trees, would allow Yi Tianxing to become an Eerie Tree—a twisted form rooted in the nightmare.
But that wasn't enough.
"You want me to awaken just one little Eerie Tree Life Aperture?That's far from enough. If I'm going to open one, I might as well go all in."
Yi Tianxing sneered inwardly.
The Nightmare Laws were fading, as if the transformation had reached its end—but he refused to stop. With a thought, he activated his root system, drawing in even more Nightmare Law from the land and the forest.
The aperture, which had begun to stagnate, reactivated, evolving further as the Laws intensified.
At the same time, within the Dream Butterfly World in the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower, a vast source of Dream Laws surged into the Life Aperture.
With this massive infusion:
The Eerie Tree Aperture underwent a full metamorphosis—transforming into the Nightmare Life Aperture (梦魇命窍).
Within it, a mystical and terrifying Nightmare Tree took root.
This was the evolved form of the eerie tree—the king of all eerie trees.
Yi Tianxing had now gained the ability to transform into a Nightmare Tree, draw power from dreams, and reign supreme over all eerie trees—none could resist its command.
"Excellent. This is just what I needed.You tried to trap me—but I've made myself part of your world.And now, I can consume it from within."
Externally, Yi Tianxing's body had already turned into a colossal Nightmare Tree, its bark covered in the ever-shifting faces of billions, flickering with nightmares so terrible that a single glance could drive mortals mad.
The Day-Night Forest had tried to assimilate him, but instead, he had assimilated it.
With another thought, his roots extended further—not just passively, but aggressively.
10 zhang…
50 zhang…
100 zhang…
Hundreds, then thousands of zhang in every direction.
Roots tore into the ground and absorbed Nightmare Energy at frightening speed. The Nightmare Tree inside the Life Aperture grew explosively—meter by meter, zhang by zhang.
Within moments, Yi Tianxing's tree form had become the tallest in the entire Day-Night Forest—over 1,000 zhang tall, and still growing.
All the nearby eerie trees, except for Monkey's tree form, withered and died, their life essence consumed.
Within a radius of 3,000 zhang, nothing remained but barren land.All was absorbed by Yi Tianxing.
"So vast. So limitless. This Nightmare Power is like an ocean with no end.This… this is a once-in-a-lifetime fortune!"
He felt like a rat in a rice barn—no matter how much he took, there was more.
But Yi Tianxing did not continue to devour wildly. After absorbing the nearby eerie trees, he stopped and began drawing directly from the Nightmare World itself, a slower, more sustainable method.
Every breath brought in enough energy to raise a mortal to Nascent Soul Realm.
The scale of this was almost unimaginable.
And then, something unexpected occurred.
Inside the Nightmare Life Aperture, a vortex formed, naturally sweeping in the immense Nightmare Power—and then disappeared.
BOOM!
In the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower, within the chaotic world, Nightmare Power began pouring in, converted directly into chaotic essence, fueling world expansion.
World Expansion Rate:
1 zhang…
2 zhang…
10 zhang…
100 zhang…
The chaotic world—and even the 44 subsidiary worlds within the tower—began to expand visibly.
In mere breaths, Yi Tianxing's internal realm had expanded by a li (approx. 500m).
"One li per minute…That's 60 li per hour…That's 1,440 li per day!"
He was stunned.
All his hard work over the years had expanded the tower's space to 2 million li. But now, with this method, he could grow his domain by tens of thousands of li per month—for free!
"In just ten days, I can expand 10,000 li.In 100 days, tens of thousands.In one year… over half a million li.This is absurd. It's theft at a cosmic scale."
A zero-cost fortune. A divine opportunity.
"So be it. If this makes me a thief…Then I'll be a thief."
He inhaled deeply.
With time, he could elevate the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower to the pinnacle of the middle-tier worlds, eventually qualifying to compete with Grand Worlds.
But he had to be careful.
This current method—slow and steady—was sustainable. But if he tried to forcefully devour more, it would surely attract the will of the Nightmare World itself, bringing disaster.
After all, he was stealing its origin power.
"It's time to use the Nightmare Tree's true potential."
Yi Tianxing's eyes gleamed.
The Nightmare Tree was more than a devourer—it had the power to create a Nightmare Sanctuary (梦魇圣地).
A sacred refuge, like a miniature world, protected from the corruption of other nightmare beings.
Just like the Fairy Tale Town (童话镇) he once entered—a sanctuary within the Nightmare World, inhabited by creatures from dreamlike fairy tales.