Pour Out One's Heart

After a while, the two found a sheltered rock wall to rest.

This rock wall was located halfway up a mountain peak, offering a wide field of vision that overlooked more than half of the secret realm.

The distant mountains rolled like a dormant giant dragon. The sky remained a hazy gray, void of the sun, moon, and stars.

Bai Qianqiu sat cross-legged on a flat rock, her hands forming seals as she began to breathe and regulate her aura.

The spiritual energy within her body flowed slowly through her meridians like a trickling stream, nourishing every inch of her flesh and blood.

Her breathing gradually became long and steady, her chest rising and falling slightly in a rhythmic pattern like the tides.

Ye Xuan, however, was bored out of his mind. Leaning against the rock wall, his fingers unconsciously tapped his knee, making an annoying tap-tap sound.

Tap, tap, tap...

The sound echoed through the silent mountains, seeming particularly grating.

Bai Qianqiu's brows furrowed slightly, but she forced herself not to open her eyes. She knew that the greatest taboo in cultivation was impatience, and she had to maintain a peaceful state of mind.

But Ye Xuan's tapping grew louder and more urgent, like a death-knell drumbeat.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap...

Finally unable to bear it any longer, Bai Qianqiu slowly opened her eyes. Her cold, clear pupils reflected Ye Xuan's slacking figure.

Since you have nothing to do, can you tell me about you and my master?

Your master, Ye Jiuzhou?

Ye Xuan yawned and waved his hand listlessly. There is nothing to say about her and me. She is just a spoiled woman.

Ye Jiuzhou? Bai Qianqiu knitted her delicate brows, a flash of surprise in her eyes. But my master's esteemed name is Ye Jiuhuang.

Heh... Ye Xuan sneered, his expression full of disdain. That was her old name. What, does changing a name wipe away all the dirty deeds of the past?

His voice carried heavy sarcasm, and a complex emotion flashed through his eyes, containing anger, pain, and a trace of imperceptible nostalgia.

You even know this?

Bai Qianqiu was truly intrigued now.

She stood up, walked over to Ye Xuan, and looked down at him.

The fact that her master had changed her name was a top secret of the Sword God Palace. Aside from a few reclusive supreme elders, absolutely no one knew about it. Even as a personal disciple, she had only learned this secret by chance after accidentally overhearing a conversation between her master and her martial uncle.

Yet the man before her had blurted it out just like that.

What did this mean?

It meant that his relationship with her master was far deeper than the outside rumors suggested.

Leaning forward slightly, she wanted to press for more, a gleam of curiosity shining in her eyes.

But Ye Xuan had already shut his mouth.

He pulled out a wine flask from somewhere. It was a quaint bronze wine flask, its body carved with the marks of time and some blurred runes.

The flask exuded a faint aroma of wine, the scent of an aged vintage, mellow and lingering.

Ye Xuan pulled out the stopper, tilted his head back, and started chugging.

Gulp, gulp...

The liquor flowed down his throat, making clear swallowing sounds. He drank hurriedly and fiercely, wanting to numb himself with the alcohol.

The liquid spilled down the corners of his mouth and soaked his lapels.

The white lapels became translucent as they were drenched in wine, faintly revealing his strong chest.

He had been in a terrible mood lately. The moment he closed his eyes, his mind would fill with the faces of those women, making him almost want to vomit.

Wu Lingxiao with her cold, noble face; Zi Yao with her gentle, charming face; and Ye Jiuhuang with her aloof, arrogant face...

These faces flashed continuously in his mind, spinning like a carousel, giving him a splitting headache.

I originally thought that by being reborn for another lifetime and cultivating to the Nascent Soul stage, I would be invincible...

Ye Xuan's eyes blurred as he muttered self-deprecatingly, Only to enter this secret realm and still be chased and beaten.

His voice grew lower and hoarser, laced with heavy self-mockery and despair.

Seeing him in this drunken stupor, Bai Qianqiu could not help but frown and say:

Drinking in this secret realm, you truly aren't afraid of death. The hearts of men here are unpredictable, and there are all sorts of bizarre demonic beasts. The slightest carelessness will result in your death and the end of your cultivation.

Her tone carried a trace of worry. Although her words were sarcastic, her eyes revealed a hint of concern.

Die?

Ye Xuan acted as if he had heard a joke. He drank more and more, the corners of his eyes flushing with an eerie crimson red as his voice turned hoarse and frantic:

Dying is fine... If I die, I won't have to wear so many green hats.

As he said this, a twisted smile appeared on his face, a smile full of pain and despair.

Looking at him acting like useless mud that couldn't support a wall, Bai Qianqiu inexplicably felt an urge to laugh.

This man was terrifyingly contradictory.

He clearly possessed top-tier divine abilities and physique, yet he lived so wretchedly. He clearly could have relied on his own strength to carve out a place in the world, yet he chose to depend on women.

Since you don't want to talk about my master, then tell me about those Dao companions from your past life.

She sat down beside Ye Xuan, maintaining a safe distance, her eyes filled with inquiry.

Normally, Ye Xuan would never say much. But at this moment, the alcohol went to his head, and the resentment that had accumulated in his heart over several lifetimes rushed out like floodwaters breaking a dam, completely uncontrollable.

Dao companions? Heh, the excitement around me in this life is no less than in my past life.

Ye Xuan violently smashed the wine flask onto the ground. The flask rolled a few times, spilling the remaining liquor all over the floor.

His eyes were bloodshot, his body exuding a hostile aura, looking entirely like a wounded beast:

Do you know? I still have two Half-Step True Immortals by my side right now!

These two sluts used to play me like a dog. Now? Heh, now I torture them in different ways every day, squeeze dry their resources, and exploit their guilt... Wait until I thoroughly use up these bitch women...

He made a throat-slitting gesture, a chilling, sinister smile appearing on his face:

I will slaughter them all, one by one!

His voice echoed through the mountains, startling a flock of birds resting in the trees. The birds flew up in panic, making flapping sounds as they circled in the hazy gray sky.

Slap!

A crisp slap suddenly interrupted Ye Xuan's wild rant.

The slap came suddenly and fiercely, striking Ye Xuan's face to the side and causing a trace of blood to seep from the corner of his mouth.

Struck so hard that his head turned, Ye Xuan froze completely.

Covering his face, he looked at Bai Qianqiu in disbelief. Shock, anger, and a hint of bewilderment flashed through his eyes.

Before he could react, a fragrant breeze swept over him.

Bai Qianqiu actually flipped over and mounted his waist, pinning him down firmly from above.

Her movements were clean and decisive, clearly the result of professional training. Her legs clamped tightly around Ye Xuan's waist, and her hands pressed down on his shoulders, nailing him securely to the ground.

She grabbed Ye Xuan by the collar. Those eyes that were always as cold as frost were now burning with flames of anger.

Slap!

She delivered another backhanded slap.

This slap was even heavier, causing Ye Xuan's cheek to swell high, leaving five bright red finger marks clearly visible.

Ye Xuan flew into a rage and tried to struggle, only to find that the other party's strength was astonishingly great.

He could only glare and roar, "Bai Qianqiu! You dare hit me? Do you know who I am?"

"Let me tell you! Your master is also my Dao Companion! Back then, even she had to kneel and beg me! Believe it or not, with a single word from me, I can have her expel you from the sect and cripple your cultivation!"

His voice was hoarse and manic, his eyes flashing with a crazed light.

Alcohol and anger had stripped him of his reason, making him utter the most vicious words.

"Shut up!"

Bai Qianqiu's eyes burned with anger as she slapped Ye Xuan across the face again.

"You are truly shameless! Since they have repented, if you refuse to forgive them, you could just let them go and have nothing more to do with each other! Why pretend to be ignorant, enjoying their resources on one hand while plotting to kill them behind their backs on the other?"

"Let them go?"

Ye Xuan reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly jerking his upper body up until he was almost nose-to-nose with Bai Qianqiu.

His eyes were completely bloodshot as he roared, "They are the ones clinging to me! They stick to me like leeches! I couldn't shake them off even if I tried!"

"Even so, you shouldn't treat them like this!" Bai Qianqiu sneered, the contempt in her eyes like she was looking at a rat in a gutter. "Toying with people's hearts and exploiting their feelings, is this your Dao?"

"My Dao? My Dao shattered a long time ago!"

Ye Xuan's chest heaved violently. Reaching the peak of his anger, he actually burst out laughing.

"Bai Qianqiu, it's easy for you to stand there and judge! They were the ones who betrayed me! They were the ones who wronged me first!"

His laughter was shrill and desperate, echoing through the mountains like the mournful cry of a night owl.

"Even so, you shouldn't stoop so low!"

Bai Qianqiu's face was indifferent. The fingers pressing down on his shoulder dug in slightly, her nails almost sinking into his flesh.

"You could have completely avoided them, flown far away, and pursued immortality alone. But you didn't. You chose to stay behind and leech off their blood!"

"Avoid? Hahahaha..."

Ye Xuan suddenly spread his hands, laughing so hard that tears almost came to his eyes. His smile was utterly tragic.

"Any single one of them is in the Mahayana Realm, a Half-step True Immortal! A sweep of their divine sense can cover an entire continent! How do you expect a mere Qi Condensation cultivator like me to avoid them?"

"Should I crawl into a crack in the ground? Or bury myself in the dirt?!"

His voice carried deep despair and helplessness, like a wild beast trapped in a cage.

Bai Qianqiu was slightly taken aback.

Looking at the hysterical man beneath her, the anger in her eyes gradually subsided, replaced by a complex rationality.

"Fair point."

She finally realized how intimate their current posture was. A barely noticeable blush flashed across her face before she calmly climbed off Ye Xuan and straightened her disheveled skirt.

Her skirt had been pulled somewhat messy during the previous movements, revealing a section of snow-white calf. She hastily pulled the hem down, covering the alluring skin.

"The disparity in strength makes it indeed difficult to escape," she said in a low voice, though her tone remained unyielding. "But no matter what, your actions have gone too far. They're too twisted."

Ye Xuan didn't get up, remaining on the ground.

He grabbed his wine jug again, only to find it was already empty.

Disappointed, he tossed the wine jug aside. His expression shifted from anger to a deep exhaustion and resentment.

"Sometimes... I also feel like I'm shameless."

The spicy liquor had entered his throat, burning his lungs and heart with pain. Even though the wine jug was empty, his throat still felt fiery, as if it had been scorched by fire.

"If I don't forgive them, I don't forgive them. But I just had to use them, drain them dry, and watch them suffer. Only then do I feel a tiny shred of pleasure in my heart."

He gave a bitter laugh and raised his hand, staring blankly at his palm lines.

"It's not like I haven't tried to work hard on my own. But with my garbage talent, all that hard work amounts to jack shit."

"For me to reach the Nascent Soul realm, to form a Golden Core—every spirit stone, every pill was from their resources."

"I am a complete and utter gigolo, living off selling my dignity and our past feelings."

His voice grew lower and hoarser, filled with heavy self-deprecation and despair.

Bai Qianqiu watched him quietly, her expression terrifyingly calm.

"That is also a method of yours. To make Half-step True Immortals willingly sacrifice for you—at the very least, that's a skill others cannot imitate."

Her tone carried a trace of acknowledgment. Even though she didn't approve of Ye Xuan's methods, she had to admit that this was indeed a kind of skill.