13 Reality or a dream?

'I looped again!' Chi Yan's breathing became haggard when he had this realization.

Looping itself wasn't the main problem, however, his aptitude was dropping with each day!

'Is my aptitude dropping with each loop or is it with each day that passes, being a nourishment for the Butterfly Gu?' Chi Yan asked himself. If every day his aptitude would drop by 1% no matter what, then that was simply terrible; it was a death sentence for him even worse than Spring Autumn Cicada's!

'But no matter what, how do I leave this loop? Or am I stuck in a Dream Realm?'

Chi Yan saw two possibilities: it was either that he had a Vital Gu that forcefully returns him through time when he falls asleep, or he was stuck in a repeating Dream Realm until he unravels it.

If it was still reality but in a loop, then having the ability to loop was incredible, and so was the ability to reduce his Aptitude in his situation! But only if Chi Yan could control it.

First he knew that he had to find a way out of this loop or in three months' time he would have no aptitude to speak of! Furthermore, if it was actually a Dream Realm then his soul could slowly suffer damage as well and he might die before his Aptitude declines.

After taking several heavy breaths, Chi Yan calmed himself down. His Aptitude was still at around 98%, so it was not that bad yet. His future cultivation would be slowed down, but he could recover it eventually.

'Thinking back, I once again recall entering some kind of river briefly as a butterfly, perhaps the River of Time? And then there was a dream of me going to the inn, drinking Green Bamboo Wine and then coming back home; it repeated itself quite vividly. Compared to my previous loops of this day, that was definitely a dream. Is following this dream the solution to leaving this loop? I must give Fang Yuan a hint and not scheme against him? Or did I loop again because I activated the Butterfly Gu in my sleep by accident? What if I didn't go to sleep?' Chi Yan had many questions but no answers.

After thinking things through, he felt depressed. The dream that he saw was clearly showing him to buy Green Bamboo Wine, drink some and then obediently come back home. It seemed to him that he might not be allowed to scheme against Fang Yuan.

Chi Yan realized - him activating the Butterfly Gu over and over again without knowing was a useless route, as he simply had no idea how it happens and he couldn't stop it - refusing to sleep was not a permanent solution. So if it wasn't him who activated the Butterfly Gu, then it was obvious that it must have been Heaven's Will that activated it for him!

In the end, it aligned with Heaven's Will's motives of keeping Fang Yuan alive.

If Spring Autumn Cicada had Heaven's Will and could influence it, then why wouldn't the Dream Path Gu that Chi Chang acquired not be under Heaven's partial control as well when it was literally naturally nurtured within his body out of nothing?

If he was correct, then it seemed that no matter what he tried, he would not be able to do anything to Fang Yuan. Any time that Chi Yan does something, then he might loop and lose his Aptitude, very likely until his Aptitude drops to the point he dies.

As for trying to remove this Butterfly Gu, it might be possible, but then it would spread out its Immortal aura and attract countless people toward him. It was a risky move to try.

'Though the crux of the issue is that this looping seems like an obvious warning from Heaven's Will. I killed Fang Yuan and this is what happened as if Heaven's Will already knew about me planning it. Next time I went my own way, not following the dream I saw, and I looped once again. A clear warning. If I ignore what happened, forcefully get rid of the Butterfly Gu and then try to kill Fang Yuan again, then I can only imagine Heaven's Will would be more radical as well,' Chi Yan concluded.

Chi Yan's heart sank. He wanted to take his own destiny in his own hands and become a powerful existence in Fang Yuan's place, but it turned out that he was nothing but a helpless pawn of the heavens. And he even might need to help Fang Yuan, the main character, to follow the established route!

Knock, knock, knock.

"Young master, I prepared the warm water for you to wash up. Should I come in?" a maiden's voice floated from behind the door.

***

After taking care of his basic hygiene, Chi Yan went to take a bath in the bathing room of the manor.

While relaxing in a large wooden tube full of warm water, similar to a jacuzzi, Chi Yan thought about his situation again. 'It isn't yet certain that the things are how I think they are. I could have thought about this kind of situation because of Heaven's Will influence because it's true, or perhaps I was wrong. I could have simply been stuck in a dream realm! This might not be reality! Either way, today I will do exactly like in the dream and then see the result.'

'If this is the reality and I cannot make a move on Fang Yuan, then it isn't the end of the world yet. In an ideal situation my mysterious Gu might be able to help me to lower my aptitude at will to prevent the explosion of my Extreme Aperture, as well as force a loop to happen through sabotaging Fang Yuan in case I want to change something or if I want to gain the best benefits from a situation. Although I can't kill Fang Yuan or stall his growth yet, I can still set my sights on the side benefits for now. Later on, when I became a powerful Gu Immortal, I might be able to resist the Heaven's Will influence with my personal strength, as well as remove Heaven's Will from the Butterfly Gu…'

With this realization Chi Yan slightly calmed down. Although the difficulty would increase a thousand times, if he's lucky there was still a good chance of him finishing Fang Yuan at an opportune time and stealing his inheritances and fortune when Fang Yuan became hated by Heaven's Will later on.

Chi Yan then decided to give a temporary name to the mysterious butterfly Gu.

'I'm not clear of its full effects, but for the time being let's call this Gu the Dream Butterfly Gu. The reason for this name is obvious. It's also inspired by a Chinese story 'The Butterfly Dream'...'

According to the Chinese philosophical classic Zhuangzi, the great Daoist thinker of that name fell asleep one day and dreamed that he was a butterfly flying around from flower to flower and while he was dreaming he felt free, blown about by the breeze hither and thither. When he woke up, however, he was not sure if he really was a man who had dreamed he was a butterfly or whether he was a butterfly now dreaming he was a man.

The conclusion of this story was: even if we are wrong about everything else, we cannot be wrong about the fact that we exist.

'I think therefore I am. Either way, to have the ability to allow me to regress like this, the Dream Butterfly Gu has to be an Immortal Gu! And if its effect is different then it's likely still an Immortal Gu. If it's a pure Dream Path Gu then perhaps it can simulate reality?'

With his mind slightly calmed down, Chi Yan proceeded to wash himself with a soap-soaked sponge.

As Chi Yan rubbed his chest and his chiseled abs, he felt poetic about his tricky life situation; he laughed and recited a poem in his mind: 'Even if my life is the setting sun, I will live my own splendor!' 

Even if he's Heaven's Will's side pawn, he would still do his very best! Though if the Heavens want him to give up best girl Shang Xin Ci for Fang Yuan, then he would unravel these shitty heavens!

***

After bathing, just like in previous loops, Chi Yan went to Gu Yue Chi Lian and reported the Single Aperture Charcoal Gu that he refined with the use of Dream Butterfly Gu. He then, once again, received Copper Skin Gu and went to the training room to practice with it.

Using a wooden puppet, Chi Yan practiced simple punches and kicks while using Copper Skin Gu. His Martial Arts foundation was quite shallow, but he did practice Muay Thai back on Earth for a year, so he did have decent basics.

Having to hide his lowered aptitude and insufficient Primeval Essence recovery from Gu Yue Chi Lian, Chi Yan finished martial arts practice quickly and returned to practice in his room instead.

Chi Yan then focused on absorbing Primeval Essence from the primeval stones and using his primeval essence to nurture his aperture walls. Since Heaven's Will already surely knew about him, he didn't see it as a big deal.

Chi Yan felt that at this moment his priority was to increase his cultivation in order to recover his Aptitude. The reason being - with Extreme Physique again he could raise his cultivation much faster and practice his fighting ability to the limit.

Chi Yan felt a heartache because even though he desperately needed to raise his cultivation, he might need to give up on the Liquor Worm of the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance! Earlier when he had an Extreme Physique having the Liquor Worm was not necessary, as his cultivation speed would already be at a frightening speed that would make others suspicious, but now it would come in really handy.

For today, Chi Yan could only allow things to play out as he saw them in his dream and see the result, all while he simply cultivated.

Eventually, the evening arrived.

As the sound of the rain ceased, Chi Yan went out to drink in the inn once again.

When Chi Yan entered the inn, he saw a thin teenager with a plain facial appearance and short black hair sitting at one of the tables. The teenager noticed Chi Yan and looked at him for a while; it was naturally Fang Yuan.

Chi Yan wrinkled his brows. 'Fang Yuan, fuck you and your plot amor.'

He then turned to the waiter. "Waiter, give me a jar of Green Bamboo Wine."

After paying the price, Chi Yan ordered some dishes and went to sit at one of the tables. First he received his wine and poured himself a cup.

Feeling the strong wine fragrance of Green Bamboo Wine in the air, the hunters asked for the wine that Chi Yan was drinking, but they eventually gave up once they heard the price.

However, Fang Yuan bought himself a jar. He ate his dishes and then left with a jar of wine in hand.

Following that, Chi Yan finished his own meal and left with his own jar that held the rest of the Green Bamboo Wine, most of it untouched.

After returning back home, Chi Yan washed himself briefly and went to sleep. He had to admit that although his brain was full of activity and emotions, he would always fall asleep very easily in this world, which he saw as an amazing quality of life improvement.

Once Chi Yan opened his eyes, he noticed that it was still raining, or perhaps it was raining again.

However, surprisingly things were different this time, as there were people present inside his room.

"Young master Chi Yan , you're awake!" Luo An called out, sitting at a chair near Chi Yan's bed. There were dark eye bags under her eyes and her facial expression seemed pale and tired.

Next to Luo An sat a red-haired middle aged man, Gu Yue Chi Lian. He corrected his posture in a soft armchair as he rubbed his eyes, seeming as if he was napping just a while ago.

Chi Lian looked at Chi Yan with a relieved and overjoyed expression. "Chi Yan, you finally woke up!"