Barbara's transliminal empathy service has concluded, and she has long since been sent out of the Mountain and Sea Realm.
Originally, she had planned to experience the transliminal empathy of several other Dreamforging contestants, one by one.
But now, she no longer has any such intentions.
If only… she could witness the Mountain and Sea Realm once more.
How did contestant Lily manage to forge such a magnificent and mysterious dreamscape?
Right, she must have Vanna experience it quickly. Barbara silently clenched her fist.
Vanna is the mutual aid sister Barbara met in the StarNet game. They would log on daily, exchange gifts, and have played several games together, gradually becoming friends. However, even the closest of friends may support different contestants.
Especially in the Dreamforging live competition, Barbara is a staunch supporter of the local Star Domain and Star District contestants, while Vanna, on the other hand, judges based on appearances.
At the beginning of this year's Dreamforging live competition, as some of the seed contestants from various star domains revealed their forged potentials on StarNet, Vanna eagerly dove headfirst into the trap of Kalman, a contestant from the Pran Star Domain.
The noble-born, elegantly aloof contestant Kalman made Vanna's eyes turn into sparkling little stars at first sight.
She was infatuated with him, utterly obsessed. Even before the official matches had started, she was already cheering for him daily on StarNet.
After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade Barbara, Vanna still tried to reason with her earnestly: "Barbara, you don't have to support Kalman, but why bother paying attention to those small planet contestants? If you ask me, none of those contestants have received proper Dreamforging training—what's there to see?"
In addition to the official points ranking in the Dreamforging live competition, there is also a ranking based on the contestants' popularity and viewer attention throughout the entire event. Before the competition concludes, there will also be a voting activity for the audience.
As soon as this competition began, Vanna already had her sights set on Barbara's voting quota for Kalman.
During the two days when Lily's personal independent dreamscape was not yet available, Barbara had already been coerced by Vanna into experiencing Kalman's dreamscape and sending him votes.
Vanna repeatedly insisted, "You support my contestant, and I'll support yours. We'll help each other out."
Vanna repeatedly insisted, "You support my contestant, and I'll support yours. We'll help each other out."
Barbara truly didn't know what to do. It was enough to drive her mad!
Now, heh!
Barbara curved her lips into a smile. She couldn't help but look forward to seeing the expression on Vanna's face once she experienced the Mountain and Sea Realm.
[Barbara]: Kisses, Vanna. I've supported Kalman for you, so you'll help me support Lily, right? Barbara shared contestant Lily's dreamscape...
[Vanna]: Of course, I'll support the contestant you're backing, my dear Barbara! I've already bought it, but I'm saving it for later and haven't experienced it yet. I need to log off for now.
Hearing Vanna's words, Barbara felt a twinge of disappointment.
She shared the message with other close friends, and under the only post sharing her personal dreamscape, the feed was constantly refreshing every second.
#Chief Lily Dreamscape#
#Lily Dreamscape Open#
#Witness The MountainAndSea#
#What Is The Classic Of MountainAndSea#
The hot topics from the past few days revolved around the various contestants' dreamscapes in the Dreamforging live competition. Each dreamscape, with its unique features and brilliance, sparked widespread discussion.
[StarSeaAbove, I don't know how to describe my current feelings. Is Lily really a Dreamforging Master just barely of age? The quality of the contestants this year is unbelievably high!]
[Can anyone tell me what the Classic of Mountain and Sea actually is? I mean, I really need a Classic of Mountain and Sea. If I can never see it again, I...]
[Why hasn't contestant Lily appeared yet? Where is she? Tell me! Where is she?! I need more, more! Why can't I find the Classic of Mountain and Sea in
[If StarSea has a spirit, I hope contestant Lily can quickly open up more Mountain and Sea Realms and update the Dreamforging content. Having experienced the Mountain and Sea Realm, I've completely lost interest in any other dreamscapes.]
my paid database? Why can't I find information on Taotie and Shèn Beast?]
Barbara gazed at the words continuously refreshing before her, feeling an overwhelming sense of agreement, nodding furiously.
Thinking of this, Barbara wondered what Lily, the contestant, might be doing at that moment. Would she see the comments they had posted?
No, it won't do! She must tell Lily how much she likes her—hurry up and release the Shan Hai Realm!
Just the thought of that vast and expansive map, where she had only unlocked three tiny dots, made her feel utterly distressed—so, so distressed.
Though she could still enter the Shan Hai Realm and play with the Taotie, seeing such a vast map unfold before her eyes, yet being unable to reach the other areas—it was truly torturous, making her heart ache with longing.
The public channel on the Star Network was alive with constant discussion, while Lily's contestant profile saw an explosion of real-time comments and followers. Barbara rushed over to Lily's personal feed, where she was greeted by a flood of cheering supporters.
"Please, I'm begging you, really, truly begging you—hurry up and finish the Shan Hai Realm."
"I saw it! You must have finished all the content for the Shan Hai Realm, you wicked woman—hurry up and release it!"
Is it just about the money? Do you look down on me or something?
"Why would I be wasting my time watching a live stream? If I didn't watch the live stream, I wouldn't have met Lily. If I hadn't met Lily, I wouldn't have entered her Dreamforging Realm. If I hadn't entered the Shan Hai Realm, I wouldn't be feeling like this right now. Why did you make me see you? Why did you let me enter the Shan Hai Realm..."
"Respected Lily, if you could release the Shan Hai Realm soon, I would already be kneeling on the ground, offering you my most sincere affection."
Upon seeing this message, Barbara trembled all over.
Before Barbara could even post a comment, she saw a familiar ID and avatar drift past her eyes.
Wait a minute, that ID and avatar were just chatting with me not long ago.
It's Vanna!
"Is this it? Is this it? Is this it? Just three unlocked points? Lily, do you look down on us? Don't make me lie down and beg you!"
She took a screenshot at lightning speed, her lips involuntarily curling into a smile.
Oh, oh, didn't someone just say they were logging off? What's going on here now?
Just as she had saved the image, planning to tease Vanna later, she noticed that Vanna's profile picture had changed—from the contestant Kalman to the Taotie that Lily had forged in her Dreamforging Realm.
This woman has no sense of decency!
I can't let her beat me to it; I was here first!
Barbara ground her teeth in frustration, then quickly rushed to Lily's Dreamforging showcase to find a good angle of the animated Wenyao Bird. She snapped a screenshot and changed her avatar to the image. As she lay on the Wenyao Bird's back, racing through the sea in the Shan Hai Realm, she could almost feel the sea breeze tugging at her clothes, watching the waves crash over the bird's body. The Wenyao Bird's skin was covered in a soft, light layer of fur, and the sensation of sitting on it was absolutely delightful.
Everyone on the Star Network was a high-intensity surfer, and Barbara soon saw countless users changing their profile pictures and IDs. Some were things like "Taotie's 23,333rd Meal", "Riding the Wenyao Bird Pig", and "Crawling into the Shèn Beast's Shell".
Barbara thought for a moment. So many people were changing their names, most of them adding Taotie or Wenyao Bird to their IDs—there was nothing memorable about it. She certainly wouldn't follow suit.
But after seeing these users' names, Barbara felt an unbearable itch in her heart. Every time she saw one, it instantly reminded her of the experiences she had in the Shan Hai Realm.
She longed to return to the Shan Hai Realm, to explore what lay in the other mountains near Taotie's dwelling on Gouwu Mountain. What secrets might those other peaks hold?
What were those fleeting shadows that disappeared in the misty clouds? What creatures or secrets could they be hiding?
Would they appear in Lily's future Dreamforging creations? Could those mysterious shadows be brought to life in the Shan Hai Realm?
Could such a mystical world have ever truly existed? Was there a time when such wonders roamed the earth, waiting to be discovered once more?
Like countless other viewers, Barbara's heart was filled with curiosity—countless questions, of every kind—yearning to return to the Shan Hai Realm, to uncover the mysteries that still lingered in that vast, enchanting world.
Tomorrow—tomorrow is the second round of the official competition.
Barbara could hardly wait to see Lily's Dreamforging in the new competition. Would there be more creations from the Shan Hai Realm? What new wonders could be brought to life?
Leaving Lily's profile, Barbara returned to the Star Network interface, where she spotted a post with incredibly high engagement.
know what the creature is that met me on the coastline, riding on the back of the Wenyao Bird, carrying me to find Taotie? It has nine fluffy tails, extremely, extremely beautiful, with white fur all over."
What? Nine fluffy tails? It picked up this user by the coastline?
Barbara froze, stunned. It was clearly that massive clawed bird with nine heads that had taken her away to the beast's lair, not something with nine fluffy tails!
The comments on this post were rapidly increasing in real-time, and Barbara watched intently as the responses piled up before her.
"I'm not like you—this greenish bird came to pick me up. I sat on its back, flying over the sea, seeing many Dreamforgings, but before I could get a good look, we flew too far."
Is everyone's experience different? The one that took me to Taotie was an unusual flying horse beast, and its tail wasn't quite like those of the usual winged creatures."
"Ah, then did any of you see bird people in the sea? Are we seeing the same things?"
"I'm different from all of you! It was a bird person with a human face who blew a breath, and I was carried by the wind to Taotie. I only remember that the bird person had two green snakes at its ears and under its feet!"
Bird people? Flying horse beasts? A green bird? A bird person stepping on green snakes?
Barbara thought long and hard, but it seemed she hadn't seen any of those creatures. She sat there, dazed, only vaguely recalling that, aside from the large bird that had carried her, she might have glimpsed a tiger-headed figure with a human face in the mist.
She immediately posted everything she had seen, hoping to find others who had shared the same experience, looking for companions who might have witnessed the same strange sights.
After a long while, a tech expert opened a channel to organize and categorize the experiences that everyone had been uploading, carefully compiling the information.
In their shared sensory experience, they realized that in the Shan Hai Realm, not only did their encounters with the Shèn Beast and Taotie vary, but even the fleeting glimpses in the sea and mist, seen in the blink of an eye, were different for each person.
The statistics revealed that none of the viewers had the exact same experience of observing the Shan Hai Realm. Each person's journey through the realm was uniquely different.
Barbara was stunned, and countless viewers were left in shock, frozen in disbelief. Some trembling users quickly posted inquiries on the Star Network in real-time, seeking answers.
"How vast is the Shan Hai Realm, really?"
"Shan Hai Realm, just how vast and mysterious of a world is it, really?"