"You've finally arrived." Xuan Ming stopped in his tracks.
"What do you mean? You know me?"
An old man in white robes slowly emerged from the void.
"You've been watching me for so many days, how could I not know?" Xuan Ming said.
" That Shi Nian."
Shi Nian's lips curled into a sinister smile. "It seems the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has received the news. But since you knew someone would target you, why did you come out alone?"
" The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is the same; they didn't even send a few people to secretly follow you. It seems they don't value you that much."
"Don't worry about whether they value me or not. If you're going to make a move, then hurry up," Xuan Ming said.
Shi Nian frowned slightly. "Did you deliberately lure me out?"
"Otherwise what?" Xuan Ming said.
"Why?" Shi Nian asked, puzzled.
"Are you crazy?"
"I've heard that your Martial Soul, Remnant Dream, can make people see their greatest fears. I'm very curious, what exactly are I afraid of?" Xuan Ming said.
"Your students are too weak, and they've had bad luck. Now, let me see what you can do."
Shi Nian's eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected Xuan Ming to approach him with such a mindset. However, his Seventh Soul Skill, Nightmare, had already been successfully activated. Xuan Ming was trapped in his Remnant Dream, and there was no one else nearby. This kid couldn't possibly resist him!
"Since you're so eager to experience despair, then I'll grant your wish." Shi Nian uttered a low shout, his figure gradually blurring, and everything around him becoming hazy.
Xuan Ming stood motionless, neither gathering his Soul Power nor offering any resistance, awaiting the effects of the Remnant Dream.
It's not that he's lost his mind, but even if he gets lost in the illusion, the Ice Dragon King will pull him out, and Ah Yin has enough power to protect him.
Illusion was something he had never experienced before. After all, Mental Attribute Soul Master were extremely rare, and not every spiritual Soul Master possessed Shi Nian's abilities.
Everything around him began to change. Xuan Ming suddenly felt his body become incredibly heavy. The next moment, he felt as if he had lost weight and was falling continuously in the air. He subconsciously tried to fly up, but he couldn't muster any strength at all.
The surrounding environment changed drastically. The originally hazy and indistinct scene quickly dissipated like a thin mist swept away by a gale, replaced by a blinding white.
Xuan Ming felt a flash of white light before his eyes, and when he could see his surroundings clearly, he found himself in a hospital room.
The walls were a monotonous white, gleaming with a cold light, as if devoid of any warmth.
The sheets on the hospital bed were also white, wrinkled and looking somewhat old.
Various medical instruments were placed beside the bed, making a ticking sound that seemed particularly jarring in the quiet ward, like the tolling of a clock signaling the end of Life.
"A dream?" Xuan Ming felt weak all over, and his eyelids felt so heavy.
Without Soul Power, without Martial Soul, I can't sense anything, only the quiet ward and the cold ticking of electronic clocks.
The ward was filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant; the odor was so strong it made one wrinkle their nose.
"It was just a dream..."
Shi Nian leaned against a large tree, his seventh Soul Ring continuously emitting a dazzling black light. Ten meters away from him, Xuan Ming lay quietly on the ground, without making a sound.
There was no fear, no pain, no anger, only emptiness.
Shi Nian frowned deeply. He had used Nightmare to torture and kill dozens of people, but he had never seen anything like this before.
His Nightmare had taken effect! The young man had indeed seen his deepest fear, but why was he reacting this way?
What exactly did you see?
Seeing that Xuan Ming remained unchanged, Shi Nian was losing patience.
The fact that the Seven Great Families entrusted him with this task was extremely dangerous. If he were discovered, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might not be sure, but Dugu Bo, that Yazi Old Poison, would definitely launch an endless hunt for him!
If the Seven Great Families hadn't offered him sufficient benefits and revealed that Xuan Ming possessed an extremely precious, high-quality Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone —meaning the Soul Bone would be his once the deal was completed, and news of Xuan Ming's existence would be kept secret—why would he have taken such a risk?
With this thought in mind, Shi Nian stepped forward, intending to forcibly kill Xuan Ming. However, as soon as he approached within five meters of Xuan Ming, blue-gold vines burst forth from Xuan Ming's wrists, instantly forming a huge cage that tightly enveloped Xuan Ming.
Shi Nian tried to force his way through, but the vine cage was extremely sturdy; as soon as one layer was destroyed, another would grow out.
" Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?" Shi Nian looked surprised.
This kid actually carries around Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?
"Hmph, so what if you have Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast protecting you? I'd like to see how long these vines can protect you." Shi Nian sneered and resumed his destruction of the Blue Silver Cage.
Although he is not Power Attack System Soul Master, even if Blue Silver Grass grows to ten thousand years old, it cannot stop a Soul Saint like him!
Chapter 239 Hallucinations
Heaven Dou City.
After watching Gu Yuena's match, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who was about to go for dinner, suddenly stopped.
Bi Ji and the others, who were walking behind the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, also stopped. "What's wrong?"
"Auntie, I... I feel like something's happened," the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said in a flustered manner.
"Something happened?" Bi Ji was taken aback.
"What happened?"
" Xuan Ming, I feel something's wrong!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was very anxious, and its third eye on its forehead was flashing with an eerie light.
" Di Tian, take us there quickly!"
Hurry up!
Di Tian frowned, but didn't ask any more questions. He fully released his senses and found the location of the Ice Dragon King. The spatial connection was activated, and a dark vortex emerged from the void. Di Tian waved his hand and led everyone into it.
When Di Tian, along with Bi Ji, Zi JI, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, appeared at Xuan Ming's location through spatial teleportation, the scene before them caused their expressions to change drastically.
Shi Nian was frantically attacking the cage formed by Blue Silver Grass, while Xuan Ming inside the cage remained motionless, as if he had fallen into an endless slumber.
"Court death!"
Spare his life!
Just as Di Tian raised his hand to strike Shi Nian to death, Bi Ji quickly called out to stop him.
Di Tian paused slightly, then withdrew most of his power. The dark fluctuations instantly struck Shi Nian. Even though Shi Nian used all his strength to defend himself, he was still instantly severely injured and fell to the ground, half-dead.
Bi Ji and the others rushed forward, Ah Yin also untied the cage, revealing Xuan Ming inside.
" Xuan Ming? Xuan Ming?" Bi Ji's hand flickered with emerald Life light, providing healing and recovery for Xuan Ming, but Xuan Ming showed no reaction whatsoever.
His eyes were open, but his gaze was utterly empty, and he could not hear Bi Ji's cries.
"What did you do to him?" Bi Ji asked, looking at Shi Nian.
With blood trickling from the corner of Shi Nian mouth, Shi Nian knew he had nowhere to run when he saw this scene. He sneered, "He's fallen into my Nightmare, seen what he fears most, and has now broken down."
Although I don't know why this kid is different from the people he tortured and killed before, this feeling of emptiness is unmistakable; he has broken down!
" Nightmare?" Zi JI's eyes turned cold, and a surge of immense devouring energy erupted from her, enveloping Shi Nian. "Tell me, how do you dispel this Nightmare!"
Enveloped by this chilling and terrifying devouring energy, Shi Nian felt excruciating pain throughout his body, yet a twisted smile appeared on his face. "Release? Hahahaha!"
"My Nightmare is over, but he's like this, I'm afraid he won't be able to get out!"
"You!" Zi JI was enraged by these words. Her Devour Domain suddenly erupted, swallowing Shi Nian whole. With a twisted roar, Shi Nian's figure disappeared from the spot, leaving only a round skull radiating seven-colored light.
" Di Tian, do you have any ideas?" Bi Ji turned to look at Di Tian.
Di Tian crouched down, looking into Xuan Ming's empty eyes, "Aunt Bing?"
The Ice Dragon King was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's take him back first."
Back to Heaven Dou City.
Bi Ji and her group brought Xuan Ming back to Ah Rou's courtyard.
"Don't worry, he's alright," the Ice Dragon King said.
" Di Tian, go and bring Gu Yuena here."
Without asking any further questions, Di Tian turned and quickly left towards the hotel where Gu Yuena was.
"Aunt Bing, what's wrong with him?" Bi Ji asked worriedly.
" Nightmare, he's trapped in it," the Ice Dragon King said.
"Trapped? But he doesn't seem afraid." Zi JI frowned.
"Didn't that human say he saw his greatest fear?"
"Now that the Nightmare is over, he should wake up."
"That human's Soul Skill was merely a trigger, leading him astray; this fear has always remained with him," the Ice Dragon King said.
"Fear is not necessarily pain. I've told you before, his mind is twisted. For him, pain means nothing; he even craves pain, at least it confirms that he's alive, truly alive."
"Then what exactly is he afraid of?" Bi Ji asked anxiously.
"Can you distinguish between reality and fantasy?" the Ice Dragon King asked.
Bi Ji was taken aback. "He can't tell the difference between real and fake?"
"He can tell the difference, but he can't," the Ice Dragon King said.
"He can see the difference, but he can't tell which side is real and which is fake. Usually, he'll assume the worse side is real."
"Why?" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion asked in confusion.
"You're used to eating bitter things. If you suddenly taste something sweet, won't you wonder if you've eaten poison?" the Ice Dragon King said.
"He's used to bad luck. If he gets even the slightest bit of good fortune, he'll doubt whether it's real or if there's an even bigger problem waiting for him. If there is, he'll feel relieved; if not, he'll be too afraid to touch it."
"I'm not joking when I say he's psychologically twisted; he really is."
Xuan Ming was very uncomfortable with the feelings those young girls had for him, because those feelings were very simple and pure, just the mutual admiration between young men and women. Xuan Ming was somewhat afraid of such pure and beautiful things; he was afraid that they were fake.
Bibi Dong and even Qian Renxue's feelings for Xuan Ming were not pure; the former's were even twisted. Therefore, Xuan Ming was not so resistant to their feelings. The reason Xuan Ming could tolerate Qian Renxue for so many years was actually because of Qian Renxue's scheming, which made Xuan Ming feel at ease being with her.
Upon hearing this, Bi Ji's expression grew even more solemn. She gently stroked Xuan Ming's pale face and said with heartache, "Then what should we do now to make him believe that everything before him is real and beautiful?"
"The method is simple, you can do it, but I hope Gu Yuena will do it," the Ice Dragon King said.
"This is my personal reason, and it's also for the sake of the Dragon Clan."
She could awaken Xuan Ming and bring him back when the Nightmare first took effect, but now such opportunities to directly touch Xuan Ming's heart are far too rare.
Xuan Ming has grown up, and his guard has become increasingly strong. She wasn't sure if she would have another chance like this. If she missed it, it would be almost impossible for Gu Yuena to gain Xuan Ming's trust.
She could tell that Xuan Ming had some doubts about Gu Yuena's identity, but because Gu Yuena's mind was very simple, the Silver Dragon King deliberately downplayed the sense of responsibility in that part of her soul, and her mind was filled with memories of Xuan Ming.
Xuan Ming is unable to resist such pure and kind intentions. Even if he finds it hard to accept, he will never resist them.
Just then, light footsteps sounded outside the door, and Gu Yuena followed Di Tian into the courtyard. She immediately saw Xuan Ming lying on the bed with a blank Xuan Ming in his eyes, and her heart tightened.
"What's wrong with him?" Gu Yuena walked quickly to the bedside and asked softly.
Bi Ji briefly recounted the events to Gu Yuena. After listening, Gu Yuena frowned, pondered for a moment, and then looked up at the Ice Dragon King: "What should we do?"
"You all go out first." The Ice Dragon King looked at Bi Ji and her group.
Although Bi Ji and the others were filled with worry, they still slowly left the room as instructed, leaving only Gu Yuena to guard Xuan Ming's bedside.
The Ice Dragon King looked at Gu Yuena, somewhat hesitant, "This is actually considered cheating; the rewards are huge, but the risks are also very high."
If you touch the most sensitive part of Xuan Ming's heart and succeed, you can naturally cross Xuan Ming's defenses and get closer to him. However, Xuan Ming is suspicious. If touching this part arouses his vigilance, then there will really be no hope at all.
Not only will it fail to strengthen the relationship, it will also cause all of this to vanish.
Gu Yuena looked into Xuan Ming's empty eyes, "I just want to bring him back. If he doubts me... I'll just leave."
The Ice Dragon King was taken aback, "You..."
"I know you're struggling too. You had to scheme against him for the sake of the Dragon Clan, but since he's already done so much for us, we can't continue to hurt him," Gu Yuena said.
The Ice Dragon King nodded slightly, a hint of relief and complexity in his eyes. "Since you've made up your mind, let's begin. I once shared a portion of my dragon soul with him. Through this resonance, I can enter his spiritual world, and I can also send you in silently."
"Remember, never provoke him, not even if you fail. He's already twisted enough; if you provoke him further, I don't know what he'll become."