“Can you let go of my hand?” Ling Yun answered Xuanyuan Xue’er with a shake of his head, and he held her hand even tighter, causing her to sigh helplessly. “How can your grip be this strong? Even after I’ve used my strength, I can’t let go of my hand.”

“You must still remember my physical training when we were still living on earth, right?” Xuanyuan Xue’er nodded to Ling Yun. “After I arrived at the Sky Cloud Realm, I met my blacksmith master. He forged some extremely heavy equipment for me, weighing up to 4000 pounds in total, and I’ve been training with them for so long that I’m already accustomed to such a weight.”

Xuanyuan Xue’er was stunned for a moment after hearing that, but her smile soon grew. “You’re crazy; do you know that? There are many body cultivators in the Holy Land of Sword, and their cultivation has reached the five god realms, but only a few of them can lift such a heavy weight. Maybe not only will you become the best dual cultivator, but you might also become the best body cultivator in the universe.”

“You’ve changed a lot, you know? Your talkativeness and decreased coldness make Mu Yan’s decision to bring you to the upper realms perfect.” Xuanyuan Xue’er did not deny his words, especially since she herself realized it, and Ling Yun then replied to her previous words. “Honestly, I never thought about becoming the best at first, and I just wanted a peaceful life for those closest to me. Unfortunately, the cultivation world is harsh and cruel, and there are so many evil cultivators. Those who are stronger and better than me have the potential to hurt them, and I don’t want anything undesirable to happen to them, so I have no choice but to strive hard to be the best.”

Naturally, Xuanyuan Xue’er could understand Ling Yun’s feelings, especially since she herself had experienced unpleasant situations in the past, which made her strive to become the strongest in the cultivator realm. “A year has passed since I last saw you, but you’ve grown so much as a cultivator.”

Ling Yun stopped walking and faced Xuanyuan Xue’er while holding both hands, causing her to become increasingly uncomfortable. She even had to struggle to suppress her killing urge. “The first time I heard your name was from Ruxue, and I heard about your past from Long Qiu. Back then, I was afraid to enter the cultivator realm, especially since I have dark qi and am a novice cultivator. As for you, you are the strongest in our world, and you hate the owners of dark qi very much. However, after meeting you, I realized you are not as cruel as people think.”

“Is that so?” Xuanyuan Xue’er asked with a faint smile.

“Yes.” Ling Yun nodded to her. “Actually, you have a soft heart, and you became cruel because of your circumstances. Unfortunately, people can’t understand your feelings and situation, so they judge you based on your cruel actions towards cultivators with dark qi.”

Xuanyuan Xue’er released a soft sigh before replying to him. “Honestly, I never cared about other people’s opinions of me, and I actually feel lucky because they think that I am a cruel woman, which allows my clan members to live safely and peacefully for decades.”

Ling Yun suddenly thought of something and pulled Xuanyuan Xue’er closer before hugging her waist, but his action made her tremble violently, and her killing intent leaked out of her body.

However, Ling Yun was not intimidated by that, and he released his own killing intent to suppress Xuanyuan Xue’er’s killing intent, which surprised her. “I understand your fear and trauma, but you can’t keep living with those feelings, and you have to overcome both of them. Otherwise, both of them will prevent you from moving forward, and you will eventually reach a dead end.”

After hearing that, Xuanyuan Xue’er immediately suppressed her killing intent and tried to control herself, especially since several people had reminded her about it. In fact, she had tried to learn to forget her fear and trauma, but both of them continued to haunt her heart and mind, which made her never succeed in doing so.

Ling Yun also withdrew his killing intent and cupped Xuanyuan Xue’er’s face, and he gently looked into her black eyes. “Do you want to forget your fear and trauma? If you want, I can help you forget everything, so you can become a new Xue’er and live a better future.”

“How can you help me?” In a soft voice, Xuanyuan Xue’er asked.

Ling Yun smiled and waved his hand, surprising Xuanyuan Xue’er as the portal to the Yin-Yang Chamber suddenly opened before her. He then led her inside.

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As soon as they entered, the beauty of the place took Xuanyuan Xue’er aback for a moment. However, when she saw the huge bed in the middle of the room, she raised her eyebrows and turned to Ling Yun with a frown.

“Haha.” Ling Yun chuckled in response to her expression, and he pinched Xuanyuan Xue’er’s sharp nose, making her feel strange about his intimate actions, but she did not reject it. “Don’t misunderstand me, okay? I do often use this place for dual-cultivation with all my women, but that’s not the purpose I brought you here for. I want to take you somewhere else, and we need a safe place before I do.”

“Where do you want to take me?”

“You’ll know soon.” Ling Yun then carried Xuanyuan Xue’er to the bed and asked her to lie down there, but she felt reluctant to follow his request. “Trust me, okay?”

“All right.”

After Xuanyuan Xue’er lay down on the bed, Ling Yun immediately used the dream creation technique on her before sending her subconscious into the dream space, and he also entered there afterward.

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“What kind of place is this? Why can’t I utilize my cultivation here?” Xuanyuan Xue’er asked in a panicked tone, her current situation making her feel as helpless as when she was still weak in the past. The fear of her past immediately surged out, causing her to cry for the first time in decades.

Seeing her reaction like that, Ling Yun immediately hugged Xuanyuan Xue’er tightly, and he used his light qi to calm her down. “No one else can enter this dream space other than me and my master, so you don’t have to be afraid like this because no one can hurt you here.”

Hearing that, Xuanyuan Xue’er hugged Ling Yun back and buried her face in his chest, but her body couldn’t stop shaking. “Is it true that no one else can enter this place except you and your master?”

“I don’t need to lie to you, right?” Ling Yun then released Xuanyuan Xue’er from his embrace and wiped her tears, but he suddenly remembered a beautiful place on earth, and he immediately snapped his fingers.

Soon, the area changed so quickly that many trees with pink flowers began to appear there, leaving Xuanyuan Xue’er stunned and amazed at the same time. “How did you do this?”

“Ha ha.” Ling Yun laughed softly and held Xuanyuan Xue’er’s hand, and he led her to walk beside him along the path in front of them. “As I said before, I want to help you overcome your fear and trauma, and this dream space is the best place to do so, especially since I can do whatever I want in here. Moreover, the flow of time here is thousands of times faster than the outside world, so we can spend time together without having to worry about the outside world.”

Xuanyuan Xue’er turned to him with a puzzled look. “Dream space? What do you mean by that? How can the flow of time in this place be so fast?”

“As you have experienced yourself, you are no different from an ordinary human in this place, especially since this is just your subconscious, and your real body is sleeping in the previous place.” Xuanyuan Xue’er, who had never heard of such a technique before, still appeared confused by everything, prompting Ling Yun to speak to her once more. “To put it simply, this place is a dreamland, and I can control everything here according to my will, including the flow of time in this place.”

Xuanyuan Xue’er immediately frowned as she realized something. “Doesn’t that mean you also control my life while I’m in this place?”

“Do you think I’ll kill you?” Xuanyuan Xue’er answered Ling Yun’s question with a shake of her head. “However, you are right; I have control over your life here, and you will die in the outside world if I kill your subconscious.”

“I see.” Xuanyuan Xue’er then looked around them before asking him again. “What are we going to do here? How are you going to help me?”

“Isn’t that easy?” Ling Yun asked back while hugging her waist. “We just need to stay here and spend time together, and we can do many activities like normal people without having to worry about anything. You might be able to forget everything once you become accustomed to having me by your side, and after we leave this place, you will become a new Xue’er.”