Soon, Zi Linling shook her head.
From meeting Ye Lingyuan to now, it had been less than a month. How could there be talk of love?
To say Ye Lingyuan had feelings for her?
Perhaps a little, but who knew if this wasn't the meticulously planned scheme of the King of Hell?
To say she had feelings for Ye Lingyuan? That was even more impossible.
She always claimed Ye Lingyuan was hers, but it was merely because Ye Lingyuan, as a friend, was worth her protectiveness.
As for love, even if there was some, it was only the affection between friends.
Moreover, wasn't three months just the beginning?
At most, she was only interested in Ye Lingyuan now.
Alright, this third dreamscape, for now, could be considered love, even if it was friendship… Uh, at least, that's what Zi Linling thought.
Then what about the fourth dreamscape?
When she saw the original owner's tragic fate, the thought that flashed through her mind was that since she was using the original owner's body, she had to avenge her.
Therefore, the fourth dreamscape was, very obviously, hatred!
Love, hate, affection, enmity?
What did the Nightmare Beast, in weaving these four dreamscapes, intend to convey?
Could it be that it wanted her to… renounce the world?
Zi Linling raised an eyebrow. This was a bit troublesome.
The mortal world was so interesting; how could she bear to leave it?
Besides, what good was it to renounce the world? Why should she renounce the world?
Pah, pah, pah!
Zi Linling realized she had strayed off topic again.
But what was this trial testing?
What was the connection between love, hate, affection, and enmity? Where did their roots lie?
Protection!
These two words suddenly popped into Zi Linling's mind.
Love was protection, and wasn't hate also a form of protection?
Those who cared for each other protected each other, and weren't those who harbored hatred also a kind of protection?
Recalling past events, Zi Linling finally found her answer.
Protection required faith; love was that!
Protection required strength; hate was that!
Protection required motivation; affection was that!
Protection required responsibility; enmity was that!
With these thoughts clear, Zi Linling felt a sudden enlightenment.
"You have passed. Go!"
As the Nightmare Beast's voice faded, Zi Linling's soul returned to her body on the altar steps.
She felt a power slowly rise from the depths of her heart, gradually seeping into her limbs and bones.
Then, an even more potent force erupted from her body, surging towards a barrier within her.
This barrier was the one beyond the peak of the Spirit Gathering realm.
A vortex of spiritual energy appeared above Zi Linling's head.
Now was the time!
Zi Linling channeled her spiritual power into that force and rammed it against the barrier.
"Boom… Boom… Boom…"
The colossal sounds made her soul tremble.
But Zi Linling gritted her teeth and crashed against it again and again.
Having finally seized the opportunity to break through, not going all out to break through would not be her style, Zi Linling.
Soon, blood trickled from the corners of her lips.
After breaking through the tenth level of body tempering and the breakthrough beyond the peak of the Qi Gathering realm, Zi Linling discovered that breaking through this realm above the peak was even more difficult than breaking through a major realm.
Without an opportune moment, even if one's spiritual power overflowed the body, they would still be stuck in place.
Zi Linling repeatedly struck the barrier, the tremendous roars causing her consciousness to blur.
Yet the barrier remained there, as unyielding as ever.
Was she going to fail?
No! She absolutely could not give up.
If she gave up this time, she didn't know when the next opportune moment would arrive.
She gritted her teeth fiercely, the taste of blood spreading in her mouth.
At the same time, her consciousness gained a sliver of clarity.
One last gamble!
She gathered all her strength and spiritual power, charging at the barrier.
With a "crack," a fissure appeared on the barrier, but that was all.
"Is she about to break through?"
A strange light flashed in Feng Lixi's eyes.
"However, it seems the power is still not enough. Since that is the case, I shall help you this once!"
As her words fell, the core five-colored crystal ball of the Goddess Palace trembled violently. The spiritual energy within the Vast Heaven Formation surged out of the Goddess Temple, rushing towards the barrier.
Zi Linling gave a wry smile; she had no strength left.
Just then, a torrent of power surged from the Goddess Palace, crashing against the barrier.
Crack…
The fissure slowly widened.
Then, with a "bang" and a subsequent "clatter," the barrier finally shattered completely.
Zi Linling's heart leaped with joy. Enduring the pain of her soul about to shatter, she controlled the vortex above her head to furiously draw in the spiritual energy around the altar.
The spiritual energy rapidly filled her meridians, revitalizing the depleted channels.
The successful breakthrough beyond the peak of the Spirit Gathering realm had granted her the qualification to contend with those at the peak of the Saint King realm.
The spiritual energy vortex slowly merged into Zi Linling's body, and the surging spiritual power within her finally calmed.
However, this physical body…
It seemed she would need to find time to ascend the Heavenly Stairs again.
But not now.
Only two and a half days remained, and she had only just passed the seventh trial.
Zi Linling slowly opened her eyes, a flash of light streaking through them.
Beside her, Ye Lingyuan's face was contorted in pain, his entire body wreathed in black energy, as if a devil god had descended.
Zi Linling frowned deeply.
What was happening?
Why was he in such agony?
What she didn't know was that Ye Lingyuan's soul was experiencing the most painful event of his life.
He had watched, with his own eyes, as his mother sent him out of the raging inferno in his childhood, while she herself was rapidly consumed by the flames.
Hate!
Profound hate!
To the extreme!
His previous suspicions were correct; that great fire was the work of that person.
He wished he could tear that person limb from limb, skin them, and dismember them, to avenge his mother.
But in the end, he could only watch as his mother was consumed by the flames, turning into a scorched corpse.
This was because he could not break the rules of this place; his soul power was utterly ineffective against that person.
The death of his mother back then had become a nightmare he could not shake.
Today, when the Nightmare Beast wove this deeply buried memory into his dream once more, the rage in his heart reignited, and a heart demon formed.
Hate to the extreme led to a desire for destruction.
Zi Linling looked at Ye Lingyuan's trembling body and his face twisted in pain, her heart aching.
Her hand passed through the swirling black energy and landed on Ye Lingyuan's trembling shoulder. She murmured, "Although I don't know what you've gone through, I can feel your pain right now. No matter what, I will always support you!"
In the dreamscape, Ye Lingyuan, enveloped by demonic energy, suddenly awoke.
"Lin'er!"
He murmured, the red in his eyes slowly receding, clarity gradually returning.
"Lin'er, is that you?"
A beam of light shot into Ye Lingyuan's soul, dispelling all the darkness.