He was careful. If Wu Kong got caught, or he left behind any traces, then it would become infinitely harder to get to the bottom of this mystery. To make up for all the losses he’d suffered because of the Dream realm, he needed to uncover the Dream Masters plan.

In the back of his mind, he tried to figure out the connection between the Dream realm and the ongoing universal war. So far, on the surface, there seemed to be nothing, but how could that be? The timing was too coincidental.

Wu Kong knew for a fact that the appearance of the Dream realm had interfered with the rescue plans for the Dao Lords trapped within Arch-Heaven. The already difficult task had become even more difficult. Simply that alone was enough to convince him that this was planned, let alone many other things that had happened.

Wu Kong returned the memories he stole from the living dream, and began to follow the stream of Dao Essence to where it was being channeled. It was leading to the depths of the Dream realm, and for a while he was making decent progress in following it... right up until he encountered a barrier.

Its mere appearance made Wu Kong realize that it was ancient - far older than even himself. In fact, his heart trembled as he caught an ancient scent - one that hinted at the fact that this barrier may have been around since the Primordial Age!

Wu Kong realized that this was a secret that may be even beyond him, and so he retreated from the barrier and activated a mark that was attached to his very soul. That mark was one of his greatest secrets as it was the mark that bound him to Nuwa, and allowed the two of them to communicate from across the universe.

"Holy Mother, I have important news," Wu Kong said in a solemn voice. "I have uncovered a great, ancient secret within the Dream realm. There is-"

Wu Kong suddenly found himself unable to speak as a gentle, yet unquestionable force emerged from within the mark and stopped him.

"Do not tell me anything, Wu Kong. All eight of us have begun to move, and troubled times lay ahead. The Sages will make their move, and we don’t know who might be pulling the strings in secret. Although you and I think that our connection has remained secret, who can say for sure that remains true even now?

"Someone may be using you to transmit this secret to me. Do not share anything with me until I ask you myself, and stay safe. The last time something like this happened, many lives were lost. Even now, Dao Lords are not nearly as infallible as they wish to believe. It’s just that the Sages have kept the dangers at bay. Soon, that will no longer be true."

Wu Kong was stunned, and suddenly filled with hesitation.

"Should I abandon my investigation, then?" he asked, unsure of how to proceed. If only she knew the gravity of what he had discovered... but the more it was like this, the more he could not tell her lest it sway her actions in some way. She was right. When the beings above the Dao began to play their games, who could say for certain what the outcome could be?

"No, continue as before. If you behave differently for no apparent reason, it might attract attention. Simply proceed with caution."

Wu Kong nodded, and felt the energy from his mark disappear. He returned to the barrier once more and began to probe it, but no matter what he did, he could not find a way through. Even his many methods failed. Wu Kong even began to suspect that the Dao Essence was sustaining this very formation, and that had been its purpose all along.

Then, one day, without warning, the barrier disappeared, and from within an aura of a magnificent treasure spread out. Wu Kong was stunned, because as the barrier disappeared, so too did the stream of Dao Essence - as if it had never been real to begin with... as if it had merely been a dream.

It was almost as if it really had only existed to support the barrier, but Wu Kong could not help but feel a hint of doubt. That was too simple, too easy. Would so much Dao Essence really be required to sustain a barrier? Moreover, no matter how he looked at it, the aura of the treasure seemed like bait.

Even if it really did exist, was it something that could so easily be acquired? Did the barrier only exist to suppress the aura of this treasure? How did the treasure even come to exist? Why would the owner leave it here for anyone to find? Much more importantly, did the Dao Essence have something to do with the treasure?

Equipped with the new perspective granted to him by Nuwa, he entered the now unsealed area with extreme caution. For once, the prolific thief felt no temptation to steal. Instead, he sought only to uncover the mysteries that lay before him.

While he explored this new area, he was also on the lookout for the altar he had seen previously, or others like it. He didn’t believe that the altar just ceased to exist. It had to still exist somewhere else.

After all, if a treasure that could tempt the entire universe truly did exist, then Wu Kong could only imagine the amount of energy required to build it - not to mention the amount of energy required to use it!

He even began to imagine a situation where the Dao Essence to run that thing might be insufficient, causing the Dream Master to open up the realm simply to catch more Dao Lords. That would explain why the Sandmen were so active.

Unfortunately, his plans to investigate in secret were disrupted by the surge of Dao Lords all entering the same area. It wasn’t long before some enemies ran into each other, and a conflict broke out.

The sheer reverberations from the fight between an increasing number of Dao Lords broke Wu Kong’s stealth, exposing him for anyone to find. Unfortunately, this time around, that happened to be an old enemy.