I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
Tiandou City.
After watching Gu Yuena's match and preparing to go to dinner, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion suddenly stopped.
Bi Ji and the others, who were walking behind the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, also stopped. "What's wrong?"
"Auntie Ice, I… I feel like something bad has happened," the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said with a hint of panic.
"Something bad?" Bi Ji was startled.
"What happened?"
"Xuan Ming, I feel very, very wrong!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was extremely anxious, and the third eye on its forehead also flickered with an eerie light.
"Di Tian, quickly take us there!"
"Hurry!"
Di Tian frowned, not asking further. He fully released his senses, found the Ice Dragon King's location, activated Spatial Transference, and a dark vortex emerged from the void. Di Tian waved his hand, taking everyone with him as he rushed in.
When Di Tian brought Bi Ji, Zi Ji, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion through spatial travel to Xuan Ming's location, the scene before them made all their faces change.
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.
"Seeking death!"
"Spare his life!"
Di Tian had just raised his hand to kill Shi Nian when Bi Ji quickly called out to stop him.
Di Tian paused slightly, retracting most of his power. That dark ripple instantly fell on Shi Nian. Even though Shi Nian used all his strength to defend, he was still instantly severely injured and half-dead, falling to the ground.
Bi Ji and the others quickly stepped forward. Ah Yin also released the cage, revealing Xuan Ming inside.
"Xuan Ming? Xuan Ming?" Bi Ji's hand glowed with a verdant light of life, providing healing and recovery for Xuan Ming, but Xuan Ming showed no reaction at all.
He had his eyes open, but his gaze was extremely hollow, and he couldn't hear Bi Ji's calls.
"What did you do to him?" Bi Ji looked at Shi Nian.
Shi Nian had blood at the corner of his mouth. Seeing such a lineup, he knew he had no escape. He sneered, "He fell into my Nightmare, saw what he feared most, and has now collapsed."
Although he didn't know why this kid was different from those he had tortured and killed before, this hollow feeling couldn't be wrong—he had already collapsed!
"Nightmare?" Zi Ji's eyes turned cold, and a vast devouring energy erupted from her, enveloping Shi Nian. "Speak, how do you remove this Nightmare!"
Shi Nian was enveloped by the chilling and terrifying devouring energy, feeling intense pain throughout his body, but a twisted smile appeared on his face instead. "Remove it? Hahahahaha!"
"My Nightmare has ended, but in his current state, I'm afraid he won't be able to get out!"
"You!" Zi Ji was enraged by these words. Her Devouring Domain erupted fiercely, swallowing Shi Nian. With a series of distorted screams and shouts, Shi Nian's figure disappeared, leaving only a circular skull emitting colorful light.
"Di Tian, do you have any ideas?" Bi Ji turned to look at Di Tian.
Di Tian squatted down, looking at Xuan Ming's hollow eyes. "Auntie Ice?"
The Ice Dragon King was silent for a moment. "Let's take him back first."
…Back in Tiandou City.
Bi Ji and her group brought Xuan Ming back to A Rou's small courtyard.
"Don't worry, he's fine," the Ice Dragon King said.
"Di Tian, go bring Gu Yuena here."
Di Tian didn't ask further, turning and quickly heading towards the hotel where Gu Yuena was staying.
"Auntie Ice, 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 deeply.
"Didn't that human say he saw what he feared most?"
"Since the Nightmare is over, he should wake up."
"That human's Spirit Ability was just a trigger, guiding him to fall in. This fear has always existed within him," the Ice Dragon King said.
"Fear isn't necessarily pain. I've told you, his psychology is twisted. For him, pain is nothing. He even craves pain, at least it lets him confirm he's still alive, truly alive."
"Then what exactly is he afraid of?" Bi Ji asked anxiously.
"Reality and illusion, can you distinguish them?" the Ice Dragon King asked.
Bi Ji was startled. "He can't tell truth from falsehood?"
"He can tell the difference, but he can't confirm which is real and which is fake. Usually, he'll default to the worse option being real," the Ice Dragon King said.
"Why?" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion asked, puzzled.
"If you're used to eating bitter things and suddenly taste something sweet, would you doubt if you've eaten poison?" the Ice Dragon King said.
"He's used to bad luck. If his luck improves even a little, he'll doubt if it's real, if there's a bigger problem waiting for him. If there is, he'll be relieved; if there isn't, he'll be afraid to touch it."
"When I said his psychology was a bit twisted, I wasn't joking. He truly is twisted."
Xuan Ming was very uncomfortable with the feelings those young girls had for him, because those feelings were simple and pure, the mutual admiration between young men and women. Xuan Ming was somewhat afraid of such pure and beautiful things; he feared they were fake.
As for Bibi Dong, and even Qian Renxue, the feelings these two had for Xuan Ming were not pure. The former's were even twisted, which is why Xuan Ming wasn't so resistant to their feelings. The fact that Xuan Ming could tolerate Qian Renxue for so many years was actually because Qian Renxue's calculating nature made Xuan Ming feel more at ease staying with her.
After 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 does this," the Ice Dragon King said.
"This is my selfish desire, and it's also for the Dragon Clan."
When the Nightmare first took effect, she could have woken Xuan Ming, could have pulled him back, but now, such an opportunity to directly touch Xuan Ming's inner self was too rare.
Xuan Ming had grown up, and his guard was getting heavier. She wasn't sure if such an opportunity would ever come again. If they missed it, it would be almost impossible for Gu Yuena to make Xuan Ming trust her.
She could tell that Xuan Ming had some doubts about Gu Yuena's identity, simply because Gu Yuena's thoughts were very pure. The Silver Dragon King had deliberately diluted the sense of responsibility in this part of her soul; her mind was mostly filled with memories of Xuan Ming.
And Xuan Ming was unable to resist such pure and kind things. Even if it was difficult for him to accept, he would never resist.
Just then, a light footsteps sounded from outside the door, and Gu Yuena followed Di Tian into the courtyard. She immediately saw Xuan Ming lying on the bed, his eyes hollow, and her heart tightened.
"What happened to him?" Gu Yuena quickly walked to the bedside and asked softly.
Bi Ji briefly explained what had happened to Gu Yuena. After listening, Gu Yuena frowned, pondered for a moment, then looked up at the Ice Dragon King: "How do I do it?"
"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 exited the room as instructed, leaving only Gu Yuena by Xuan Ming's bedside.
The Ice Dragon King looked at Gu Yuena, somewhat hesitant. "This is actually cheating. The benefits are great, but the risks are also very high."
Touching the most sensitive part of Xuan Ming's heart, if successful, it would naturally cross Xuan Ming's mental defenses and bring them closer. But Xuan Ming was suspicious. If touching this aroused his vigilance, then there would truly be no hope at all.
Not only would it fail to bring them closer, but it would also make everything they had now vanish into thin air.
Gu Yuena looked at Xuan Ming's hollow eyes. "I just want to pull him back. If he suspects me… I'll just leave."
The Ice Dragon King was startled. "You…"
"I know you're also struggling. For the Dragon Clan, you had no choice but to scheme against him. But since he's already willing to do so much for us, we can't keep hurting him," Gu Yuena said.
The Ice Dragon King nodded slightly, a hint of relief and complexity in her eyes. "Since you've made up your mind, then begin. I once gave him a part of my Dragon Soul. Through this resonance, I can enter his spiritual World, and I can also silently send you in."
"Remember, absolutely do not stimulate him. Even if you fail, do not stimulate him. He's already twisted enough. If you stimulate him again, I don't even know what he'll become."
As the Ice Dragon King finished speaking, a quiet blue light began to emanate from her body. The light rippled like water, gradually enveloping Gu Yuena and Xuan Ming.
In this quiet blue light, Gu Yuena felt a blur before her eyes. When she regained her senses, she found herself in a chaotic void. All around was endless gloom, without direction, without boundaries, as if the entire World had fallen into eternal silence.
Under the Ice Dragon King's guidance, a white wooden door appeared before Gu Yuena. "He's inside."
Gu Yuena nodded, grasped the doorknob, and gently pushed the door open. A strong white light flashed, and she arrived in a strange white room.
The air was filled with a pungent, strange smell, and there were various metal instruments she had never seen before, beeping and ticking. She saw Xuan Ming lying on the bed, his face as pale as paper, his lips bloodless, his eyes hollowly staring at the ceiling, as if his soul had been extracted, leaving only a lifeless shell.
Gu Yuena's heart clenched, and an indescribable pain spread from deep within her. She slowly walked to the bedside, gently sat down, and reached out to caress Xuan Ming's face, but stopped just before touching him. She was afraid her touch would disturb this fragile soul.
"Xuan Ming…" Gu Yuena called softly, her voice trembling with infinite tenderness. However, Xuan Ming showed no reaction, still immersed in his own World, oblivious to everything outside.
"Xuan Ming, can you hear me?" Gu Yuena asked softly again, gently holding Xuan Ming's hand.
Xuan Ming's eyes seemed to flicker slightly. He looked at Gu Yuena beside him, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Having hallucinations?
This thought flashed through Xuan Ming's mind, and a self-deprecating smile appeared in his hollow eyes.
Just finished a dream, and now having hallucinations. It seems his time is up.
Thinking this, Xuan Ming slowly closed his eyes.
Gu Yuena saw the fleeting self-deprecating look in his eyes, and her heart ached. She held Xuan Ming's hand tightly, her voice softer yet firmer: "Xuan Ming, this isn't a hallucination, I'm real, I'm right here beside you."
Xuan Ming didn't respond. He seemed completely unable to hear Gu Yuena's voice.
Before Gu Yuena could say anything else, an instrument nearby suddenly emitted a sharp, piercing alarm. The previously regular fluctuating line instantly became a straight line, indicating Xuan Ming's heart had stopped.
Gu Yuena's pupils contracted sharply. Her hands tightly clasped Xuan Ming's. "Xuan Ming?"
Before Gu Yuena could say anything more, Xuan Ming's body dissipated like an illusion.
The next moment, the scene of the hospital room also began to shatter like fragile glass. Fragmented light and shadows danced in the air, as if time and space had lost their restraints.
Gu Yuena felt as if she had fallen into an endless abyss. All around was infinite darkness, and Xuan Ming's past flashed before her eyes like a rapidly spinning kaleidoscope.