Ye Xuan Commits Suicide

Beside the purple bamboo forest of Changmen Palace.

To avoid the Emperor's harassment, Ye Xuan stubbornly laid his bedding beside the filled-in site of an old latrine.

Although bamboo had already been planted there, he felt that this was the furthest place from that resplendent imperial palace.

The night was deep and dark.

Just as Ye Xuan closed his eyes and prepared to sleep, a suffocating, terrifying pressure descended from the sky.

"Who is it?"

Ye Xuan jolted awake. Before he could even sit up, a cold hand reached through the void and directly gripped the back of his neck.

"Ugh!"

He was like a little chick caught by an eagle, completely devoid of any power to resist.

Wu Lingxiao's figure materialized.

She was not wearing her elaborate dragon robes, but only a thin red garment. Her long hair cascaded down, and there was a terrifyingly wicked aura around her eyes and brows.

Looking at this man who would rather sleep next to a latrine than on the dragon bed, the last thread of reason in her eyes completely snapped.

"You like sleeping here?"

Wu Lingxiao sneered. With a sudden jerk of her arm, she lifted Ye Xuan right up. "What a pity. Tonight, I do not want you to sleep here."

"Let go... cough, cough... what are you doing..."

Ye Xuan struggled desperately, using both hands to pry at her fingers. But the strength of the Qi Condensation realm striking a mighty expert of the Tribulation Transcendence realm was not even enough to tickle her.

"What am I doing?"

Wu Lingxiao leaned close to his ear, her warm breath spraying against his neck, yet the words she spoke sent chills through his entire body:

"Doing what I should have done long ago."

Before her voice faded, space distorted.

Ye Xuan's vision blurred. When he opened his eyes again, the small courtyard filled with the scent of bamboo had disappeared. In its place was the extravagantly luxurious bedchamber of Weiyang Palace, the very place he dreamed of escaping.

"Bang!"

He was thrown heavily onto that massive dragon bed.

Beneath him were brocade quilts as soft as clouds, and all around was the thick, lingering scent of ambergris.

Just as Ye Xuan tried to scramble up, an invisible force instantly immobilized his limbs.

To his horror, he found that aside from speaking and blinking, he could not move a single finger on his entire body.

This was the domain suppression of a peak Tribulation Transcendence expert.

"No... don't..."

Watching Wu Lingxiao approach step by step, the composure in Ye Xuan's eyes finally crumbled, revealing genuine terror.

He could endure hunger, he could endure brutal beatings, and he could even endure death.

But he could not endure this kind of humiliation under absolute power.

Wu Lingxiao slowly stepped onto the dragon bed, looking down from above at this man who had finally shown a panicked expression.

She reached out her slender fingers, gently tracing Ye Xuan's eyes and brows. Her fingertips were slightly cool, carrying the arrogance of one who controlled everything.

"You are truly beautiful."

Wu Lingxiao sighed softly, her gaze hazy and greedy. "You are clearly just a piece of trash with five spiritual roots, so why... why does this face fascinate me so much?"

Ye Xuan wanted to curse out loud, wanted to bite his tongue to end his own life, but a force sealed his meridians, leaving him without even the strength to clench his jaw.

He could only watch helplessly as that madwoman began to unhurriedly untie her sash.

The red gauze dress slipped down.

Wu Lingxiao's movements paused for a moment, as if she had thought of something.

Looking at Ye Xuan, a bizarre trace of shyness actually flashed across her face.

"Ye Xuan, you should feel honored."

As she spoke, she slowly removed the last undergarment covering her upper half, revealing snow-white skin and a proud figure enough to drive all men in the world mad.

"When ordinary men enter the palace to serve me in bed, I do not take off all my clothes."

Wu Lingxiao raised her chin, her expression incomparably haughty:

"I am the Son of Heaven, and the majesty of the Son of Heaven cannot be violated. But in front of you... I am willing to make an exception for you."

"This is the special honor I bestow upon you."

"Lunatic... you lunatic..."

Ye Xuan roared in his heart, tears slipping from the corners of his eyes.

Wu Lingxiao ignored his tears; instead, she felt that the tears made him look even more pitiful and moving.

She leaned down, her red lips pressing against Ye Xuan's trembling lips.

"Mmph!"

Ye Xuan struggled with all his might, his spiritual consciousness frantically battering against the confinement, wanting to take back control of his body.

But it was utterly meaningless.

How could the light of a firefly compete with the bright moon?

Soon, the red bed curtains fell, covering the room full of spring passion, and also covering the desperate, powerless whimpers.

This night, the candles of Weiyang Palace burned until dawn.

For Wu Lingxiao, this was the thrill of conquest, a feast to fill the emptiness in her heart.

But for Ye Xuan, it was the darkest moment where his dignity was crushed into the mud.

The next morning.

Sunlight shone through the window screens, stinging Ye Xuan's eyes.

The confinement had been lifted.

But he lay motionless on the bed, his eyes red and swollen, his face as pale as paper, like a ragdoll that had been played with until it broke.

Wu Lingxiao was already fully dressed.

She lay on her side next to Ye Xuan, propping her head up with one hand while her other arm lazily embraced Ye Xuan's shoulders, her face bearing a smug and radiant glow.

"Consort Xuan's body is truly not bad."

Wu Lingxiao's fingers drew circles on the red marks on Ye Xuan's chest, her tone brisk:

"Although your cultivation base is a bit low to be fully satisfying, it wins in having a unique flavor."

"I am very satisfied."

She leaned in close to Ye Xuan and kissed his pale cheek, as if teasing a pet:

"Since you served me so well, I naturally have a reward for you. Tell me, what would you like me to bestow upon you?"

"A top-grade spiritual vein? Or a Heaven-tier cultivation method? Or... shall I kill the people who beat you last night to let you vent your anger?"

Ye Xuan did not speak.

He only stared with hollow eyes at the luxurious canopy above his head.

The pain in his body was not even a ten-thousandth of the disgust in his heart.

Seeing him remain silent, Wu Lingxiao did not get angry.

She reached out her hand, her fingertips carrying spiritual energy, wanting to gently caress Ye Xuan's cheek and help him tidy his messy hair.

However.

At the very moment her fingers were about to touch Ye Xuan's skin.

Ye Xuan, who had been like a dead man all along, suddenly recoiled as if he had been electrocuted.

"Slap!"

He used all his strength to fiercely swat Wu Lingxiao's hand away.

"Don't touch me!"

Ye Xuan's voice was hoarse, filled with deep disgust and trembling.

Wu Lingxiao's hand froze in mid-air.

The smile on her face vanished instantly, replaced by unbelievable astonishment.

Ye Xuan shrank into the corner of the bed, hugging himself with both arms. Looking at her with a gaze as if looking at garbage, he gritted his teeth and said word by word:

"You are so dirty."

Boom!

These few words were like a clap of thunder, violently striking Wu Lingxiao's mind.

All the pleasure and sense of conquest from last night instantly vanished into nothingness at this moment.

She, the grand Female Emperor of Great Xia, the supreme ruler, was actually being called dirty by a male favorite who had just crawled off the dragon bed?

"You..."

Wu Lingxiao was utterly enraged.

She lunged forward, grabbing Ye Xuan by the neck and pinning him firmly against the pillow.

A terrifying killing intent erupted in an instant. Ye Xuan's face immediately turned a purplish-red as he struggled to breathe.

"You dare to call me dirty?"

Wu Lingxiao's eyes were bloodshot. Like an enraged lioness, she roared hysterically:

"I am the sovereign of the world! I bear the destiny of the True Dragon! Every inch of my skin is holy and flawless! Countless men in this world would kneel and beg for a single glance from me, yet they are unworthy!"

"You are but an ant in the Qi Condensation realm. For me to favor you is a blessing you have cultivated over lifetimes! How dare you call me dirty?"

Her fingers tightened.

Ye Xuan felt as if his throat was about to be crushed, and his vision began to darken.

Yet, he still did not beg for mercy.

He struggled to pull up the corners of his mouth, revealing a deeply mocking sneer, and squeezed the words through his teeth:

"Is your... body... not dirty?"

"Don't forget... how many... male concubines you have..."

Ye Xuan looked at her, his gaze as sharp as a knife:

"How many people... has this mouth of yours kissed... How many men... has this body of yours slept with..."

"Even I... feel disgusted for you..."

"Shut up!"

As if a sore spot had been poked, Wu Lingxiao furiously increased her grip.

She freed one hand, pointed at the magnificent rivers and mountains outside the window, and roared self-righteously:

"Does this world only allow men to have harems, but not women?"

"Which of those mortal emperors doesn't have three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines? Which of those mighty male cultivators in the cultivation world doesn't have flocks of wives and concubines, and countless cauldrons?"

"Why is it that men can do it, but I cannot?"

"I am the Empress! The ruler of the Great Xia! Naturally, I must dare to lead the world!"

Facing this self-justifying roar.

Ye Xuan, on the verge of suffocation, suddenly stopped struggling.

His eyes became incredibly pitiful, as if seeing through a pathetic clown.

"Heh..."

Ye Xuan used all his strength to squeeze out a sneer through his teeth:

"If... I had entered the palace willingly..."

"Even if you had a harem of thirty thousand... I wouldn't care..."

"That would be your freedom... and my choice..."

Ye Xuan stared into Wu Lingxiao's eyes, pausing after each word, every syllable piercing her heart:

"But, Wu Lingxiao."

"I was... captured and brought here by you."

"I was... raped by you."

Wu Lingxiao's fingers suddenly stiffened.

Her towering rage and self-righteous arguments were suddenly, in this instant, brutally cut off by an invisible hand.

Taking advantage of her loosened grip, Ye Xuan gasped heavily, greedily breathing in the air.

Watching Ye Xuan's absolute refusal to bow his head even on the brink of death, the tyrannical fury in Wu Lingxiao's heart strangely transformed into an extreme sense of helplessness and compromise.

"Speak."

She sat up straight, casually gathering her disheveled red robes, and resumed the aloof posture of an Empress, though a trace of imperceptible irritation lingered in her voice:

"What exactly do you want?"

"Since you want to throw a tantrum, I will indulge you. As long as it is not excessive, I can grant your wishes."

Ye Xuan slowly lifted his head from the pillow, looking with complex eyes at the woman before him who had just tried to strangle him to death, yet was now allowing him to make demands.

His voice was already hoarse:

"Since... my body has already been defiled by you..."

"Since I cannot escape..."

Ye Xuan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a nearly stubborn light flickered within them:

"As long as you agree to one condition. From now on, I will willingly be your husband, never leaving your side, bound together in life and death."

Hearing this, Wu Lingxiao's lips curled into an expected cold smile.

Just as she thought.

All this aloofness, all this stubbornness, was nothing but holding out for a better price.

"I knew it."

She cast a disdainful glance at Ye Xuan, absently playing with a lock of black hair falling over her chest. "Speak. Do you want high rank and generous wealth? Or do you want heaven-defying cultivation resources? Or perhaps you want me to posthumously bestow a noble title upon your deceased mother?"

"As long as you are obedient from now on, these things are nothing but a piece of cake for me."

Ye Xuan shook his head.

He propped up his battered body, kneeling on the dragon bed, his gaze more serious and solemn than ever before:

"I don't want money, I don't want power, and I don't want resources."

"What I want is..."

He took a deep breath, speaking word by word:

"One lifetime, one couple."

"I want you to disband your harem. From now on, your bedchamber can only have me, and only I can stand by your side. I want you to be like an ordinary wife in the mortal realm, loyal and devoted only to me."

Silence.

Deathly silence.

Immediately following.

"Hahahahaha!"

As if she had heard the most absurd joke in the world, Wu Lingxiao laughed so hard she leaned back and forth, almost laughing to the point of tears.

"One lifetime, one couple?"

She pointed at Ye Xuan, her eyes instantly becoming sharp as knives, full of mockery:

"Ye Xuan, are you still dreaming?"

"You are merely an ant in the Qi Condensation realm, possessing nothing but a pretty face. Do you think you are worthy of setting such a condition with me?"

"Do not forget, even the Empress, Zhou Xubai, the eldest legitimate son of the Four Great Clans with a Body Integration cultivation base, would not dare say such things to me! What do you think you are? You expect me to give up the pleasures of an Emperor just for you?"

Facing the Empress's humiliation and mockery, Ye Xuan did not back down.

He straightened his spine. Although his clothes could not cover his body and he was covered in scars, his aura at this moment was not in the least bit inferior to this Empress who ruled over the world.

"Do you think that just because I am poor, lowly, and weak, I do not have a heart?"

Ye Xuan's voice was calm, yet it contained the power of rolling thunder:

"I am an ant, and you are a divine dragon. But in love, we should be equal."

"My heart is made of flesh, just like yours. It hurts when stabbed, and it bleeds when betrayed."

"All I seek is a clean and complete love. You and I only differ in strength and cultivation realms, but in our souls..."

Ye Xuan looked straight into Wu Lingxiao's eyes, neither humble nor arrogant:

"We are no different!"

These words were deafening and enlightening.

The smile on Wu Lingxiao's face gradually vanished.

She looked at Ye Xuan, a sudden surge of inexplicable irritation and anger rising in her heart.

This kind of equality rhetoric made her, an emperor accustomed to controlling everything, feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Absurd! Utterly ridiculous!"

Wu Lingxiao fiercely flicked her sleeve and said coldly:

"A sovereign does not joke. I cannot agree to this condition, nor will I."

"I am the Emperor, destined to have three palaces and six courtyards. You are merely a diversion in my long years."

"Choose another one. Don't refuse the face you are given."

The light in Ye Xuan's eyes instantly dimmed.

It was the deathly stillness after the last hope had shattered.

He lowered his head and let out a bitter laugh, seemingly mocking himself, yet also like a release:

"Since that is the case..."

"Your Majesty, please bestow the hairpin on your head to me."

Wu Lingxiao froze for a moment.

She hadn't expected Ye Xuan to change the subject so quickly.

She subconsciously touched the incredibly sharp phoenix hairpin on her hair bun, forged from Ten-Thousand-Year Phoenix Blood Gold.

"At least you have a good eye."

Wu Lingxiao sneered, thinking he had finally figured things out.

She reached out, a spiritual light flashing at her fingertips as she erased her original defensive restrictions on the hairpin, and then casually handed it to Ye Xuan:

"This hairpin is a high-grade Earth-tier artifact. Although your cultivation base is too low to unleash its power, you can exchange it for enough spirit stones to live in luxury for several lifetimes."

"I bestow it upon you."

Ye Xuan reached out a trembling hand and took the icy hairpin.

He gently stroked its sharp tip. It pierced his fingertip, drawing a single bead of blood.

"Thank you for your boundless grace, Your Majesty."

Ye Xuan looked up, a tragically beautiful smile blooming on his face.

He looked at Wu Lingxiao. The anger, fear, and longing that once filled his eyes were completely gone, replaced only by a bottomless disgust and absolute resolve.

"Wu Lingxiao," he said softly.

"You are truly... so filthy."

"You!" Wu Lingxiao flew into a rage, just about to lash out.

However, in the very next moment.

Squelch!

The muffled sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh echoed in the air.

Under Wu Lingxiao's utterly terrified gaze, Ye Xuan gripped the phoenix hairpin tightly with both hands and, without a single shred of hesitation, drove it into his own neck with all his might!

Blood gushed out like a fountain.

It splattered across Wu Lingxiao's face, staining her proud True Dragon crimson robes.

"No!" Wu Lingxiao let out a shrill, bloodcurdling scream.

She watched helplessly as Ye Xuan's body went limp and collapsed. The light rapidly faded from his clear eyes, yet a smile of pure liberation lingered at the corners of his lips.

It was his ultimate revenge against her.