The sub-space shifts again.
In an instant, the grassland vanishes.
A sea of fire rises, flames roaring across the horizon, devouring everything in sight as if the world itself has turned into a furnace.
Then,
The fire collapses.
It becomes water.
An endless ocean stretches outward, waves surging under a silent sky.
Moments later, the water dissolves into wind, invisible currents sweeping through the void, tearing apart what little form remains.
Lightning follows.
Blinding arcs crack through space.
Then light.
Pure, radiant brilliance fills everything.
And finally,
Darkness.
Absolute.
Total.
A void without end.
Lin Yu observes all of it calmly.
He does not reveal the depth of his understanding.
Not the part that surpasses the DemiGod stage.
Not yet.
Instead, he lets the transformations settle, his thoughts turning inward as a new plan begins to take shape.
In this world, recovery is not simple.
He cannot act recklessly.
He must follow the way of the world itself.
Yes,
With his power, he could forcefully alter the rules of this world.
Rewrite them.
Bend them to his will.
He could have done so the moment he ascended here.
Even before refining the sub-space.
But he did not.
Because this world is different.
Previously, he existed within a world that was part of the Great Dream World, but that relationship was distant, like a vassal bound loosely to a greater power.
This world,
It is not the same.
This world is like a state within a vast country.
Close.
Connected.
Observed.
The attention a state receives is far greater than that of a distant vassal.
The risk is greater.
The consequences are heavier.
And now,
He is certain.
This is truly within the Great Dream World.
Not some outer extension.
Not a lesser fragment like the Great Thousand Worlds.
After refining the sub-space and connecting to the rule network, he has already perceived something.
Something vast.
Something unfathomable.
Deep within the origin of this world.
A presence.
A power beyond measure.
Even at his peak,
Even at the Sixth Stage,
He would be nothing before it.
At most,
A slightly larger ant.
That realisation alone is enough.
He will not test the rules.
Not now.
Not before he recovers fully.
Even regaining his Sixth Stage strength would not grant him true safety here.
But recovering his body,
That is different.
That will give him stability.
Peace of mind.
Without his body, without his full existence,
He feels it.
A constant tension.
A quiet paranoia.
A sense of vulnerability he has not experienced in ages.
That must change.
The shifting terrain slows.
Stops.
The fire fades.
The water recedes.
The wind stills.
The lightning disappears.
Light and darkness dissolve together.
The subspace returns to its original state.
A blank emptiness.
Silent.
Waiting.
Lin Yu stands within it.
His thoughts are clear.
His decision has been made.
His new plan for recovery,
Both grand.
And…
Amusing.
Lin Yu stands within the empty sub-space, his thoughts settling into clarity as a new idea takes form, one that aligns perfectly with both the rules of this world and his own need for recovery.
This world has an Adventure Union.
Where there is an Adventure Union,
There must be dungeons.
A faint smile appears on his face.
"Yes…" he murmurs softly, "then I will create one."
He will turn this sub-space into a dungeon.
A place that draws people in.
A place they will fear.
A place they will desire.
A place where they will struggle, grow, and sometimes,
Die.
And everything they bring into it,
Their fear.
Their hope.
Their emotions.
Even their lives,
Will become a resource for him.
Because he cannot take a simpler path.
He cannot destroy the world and devour everything.
Even if he did,
It would not be enough.
He looks at his current progress.
Skeleton Formation: 0.00018%
An abysmal number.
Even after devouring the Snake Mother.
Such a being,
And yet, the progress remains almost nonexistent.
If he were to devour the entire world,
Perhaps only his skeleton would be formed.
And after that?
Muscles.
Nerves.
Veins.
Organs.
Brain.
Skin.
Countless components are still missing.
The path is long.
Too long to rush.
And there is another problem.
Karma.
If he destroys the world directly, the backlash will not be something he can ignore.
The Great Dream World itself may intervene.
Punishment would follow.
That path is not acceptable.
So he chooses another way.
A better way.
A method of harvesting where those involved do not feel loss,
But gain.
A dungeon.
Adventurers will enter willingly.
They will fight monsters.
They will hone their skills.
They will seek rewards.
They will believe they are benefiting.
And in truth,
They will be.
But at the same time,
He will harvest from them.
Their emotions.
Their experiences.
Their life force.
Their belief.
All of it will flow back to him.
Like a carefully managed field.
Not stripped bare,
But cultivated.
Harvested.
Again and again.
A perfect cycle.
Through this, he can recover steadily.
Slowly.
Without drawing attention.
Without disrupting the balance of the world.
And perhaps,
Even guiding its growth in subtle ways.
The empty subspace remains still.
But within Lin Yu's mind,
The dungeon has already begun to take shape.
Now, Lin Yu turns his attention to its foundation, understanding that the nature of the first dungeon will determine everything that follows, its influence, its growth, and the kind of people it will attract.
It must be something that draws attention.
Something that inspires fear.
Something that cannot be ignored.
"A goblin dungeon…" he thinks at first.
Then immediately dismisses it.
"No… no…"
Too common.
Too ordinary.
He considers another idea.
A monster dungeon filled with goblins, kobolds, orcs, and trolls.
A classic structure.
Balanced.
Familiar.
Again,
He shakes his head.
"No… no…"
It is effective, yes.
But not striking.
Not enough to stand out in this world.
Not enough to create a legend.
His thoughts move again.
"An elemental dungeon…"
Fire.
Water.
Wind.
Lightning.
A place of raw power.
Dangerous.
Impressive.
Then he rejects it as well.
"No."
Too dangerous.
For this world,
It would be a death sentence.
Knights form the largest population among cultivators.
Most ordinary people walk the path of a Knight because it only requires a strong body.
Dream Magicians,
Require talent.
Rare talent.
If the dungeon is too lethal, it will simply be avoided.
That will not serve his purpose.
He needs participation.
His thoughts continue to turn, exploring one possibility after another, discarding each carefully.
Then,
A flash of insight appears.
A new idea.
"An undead dungeon."
His eyes sharpen slightly.
This,
Is different.
Undead are something even ordinary people can face.
Low-level skeletons.
Slow.
Predictable.
Manageable.
Perfect for beginners.
At the same time,
They carry inherent fear.
Death.
Decay.
The unknown beyond life.
An undead dungeon will naturally attract both curiosity and dread.
And more importantly,
It can grow into something far greater.
Something that stirs the entire world.
Lin Yu's perception spreads.
Through the rule network.
Across the world.
He observes silently.
This world has seven Demigods.
Three on the Dream Side.
Four among humans.
None of them followed a defined cultivation path to reach that level.
There is no clear method.
They advanced through comprehension.
Through understanding laws.
Breaking the boundary between mortal and divine.
Yet,
They are not truly immortal.
Evil spirits may live for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.
But human demigods,
At most,
Two thousand years.
And one of them,
Is nearing the end of his lifespan.
Lin Yu's thoughts deepen.
Desire.
Fear of death.
The pursuit of immortality.
These are universal.
He understands what to do.
Within the dungeon,
Rewards will exist.
Among them,
A rare possibility.
Techniques.
Methods to transform into undead beings.
To escape mortality.
To extend life beyond human limits.
Some will obtain it.
The lucky ones.
Or the desperate ones.
And when they transform,
They will not remain hidden.
They will return to the outside world.
Changed.
Different.
Feared.
Their existence will create conflict.
Chaos.
Turmoil.
And at the centre of it all,
The dungeon.
The source.
The origin.
It will become a place of awe.
Of fear.
Of legend.
Exactly what Lin Yu wants.
With the concept decided, his thoughts move to execution.
Choice alone means nothing without structure.
He observes the sub-space carefully.
The energy within it is unique.
A fusion.
Dream energy is intertwined with true energy.
It is the very essence of the Great Dream World,
The ability to turn illusion into reality.
To give form to thought.
To make the imagined… real.
But even so,
The energy is limited.
Not enough to construct a complete dungeon spanning from ordinary beings to Demigod-level challenges.
He does not rush.
He adjusts his plan.
Step by step.
He will begin with five floors.
Each floor corresponds to a cultivation level within this world.
A foundation.
Expandable in the future.
His will moves.
The empty sub-space responds.
The First Floor begins to form.
A Catacomb.
Dark.
Cold.
Silent.
Stone walls rise from nothingness, forming corridors that stretch endlessly, twisting and turning into a maze of tunnels and chambers.
Rooms of various sizes emerge, some narrow and cramped, others wide and open, connected through winding paths that disorient those who enter.
At the heart of it,
A larger chamber forms.
Its ceiling is higher.
Its presence is heavier.
From there, a staircase descends downward.
Leading to the yet unfinished second floor.
The structure stabilises.
Then,
He defines its logic.
Its difficulty.
Its purpose.
The First Floor is divided into three sections.
The outermost section,
The easiest.
Here, ordinary skeletons roam.
They patrol the rooms in groups of three to five.
Their movements are simple.
Their strength is low.
Suitable for beginners.
For ordinary people taking their first step into danger.
The second section,
More dangerous.
More organized.
Groups still consist of three to five skeletons.
But now,
Among them are Level One skeletons.
In smaller groups, one stands among two weaker ones.
In larger groups, two stand among the rest.
Their coordination improves.
Their threat increases.
The final section,
The deepest part of the first floor.
All skeletons here are Level One.
No weakness remains.
Only danger.
And at the end,
The final room.
A large chamber.
Ten skeletons stand within it.
Five archers.
Five swordsmen.
They guard the centre.
A tomb.
Sealed.
Silent.
Waiting.
Only when all ten skeletons are destroyed,
Does the tomb respond?
It opens.
Slowly.
Heavily.
From within,
A new presence emerges.
A Black Sword Skeleton.
Stronger.
Faster.
Deadlier.
A Level Two existence.
The true guardian of the first floor.
Waiting for challengers.