Ye Xuan: Oh No, He's Coming for Me

Night fell, and stars dotted the boundless night sky.

Inside the extremely luxurious cabin of the Cloud Dream Ship, a half-human-tall bronze beast incense burner in the corner was lit with a top-tier incense known as the Dragon Saliva Calming Incense, a spice worth its weight in gold.

Faint purple smoke curled upward and permeated the room, carrying a trace of sweet, languid warmth.

Ye Xuan had finished bathing. He had washed away all the dust gathered in the secret realm. At this moment, draped only in a loose white robe, he lay lazily on his stomach upon the soft couch.

Behind him, his maid Ying'er, who had delicate features and a soft, graceful figure, knelt obediently.

Her small, seemingly boneless hands, coated in a faintly fragrant spirit herb essential oil, followed the contours of Ye Xuan's muscles, massaging his shoulders and back with just the right amount of pressure.

Mhm... that feels good.

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes in comfort, letting out a deeply satisfied sigh from his throat, not holding back his praise at all. Ying'er's technique is getting better and better. A little to the left... yes, right there, use a bit more force.

Ying'er kept her head down. Her delicate face looked exceptionally gentle under the dim light, and her expression was extremely focused.

She was Ye Xuan's personal maid, the person in this world who had accompanied him the longest and seen the most sides of him.

She was of humble status and had a soft personality. Her clear eyes were completely filled with nothing but her young master.

But precisely because of this, her understanding of Ye Xuan even surpassed that of the two lofty figures outside—the Female Emperor and the Demon Venerable.

She could keenly catch any minuscule change in Ye Xuan.

Her master's muscles were very relaxed right now, without the slightest hint of guard.

His breathing was long and steady, as peaceful as if he were in his own home.

His handsome lips, even with his eyes closed, constantly wore a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

Ying'er thought carefully about this state of completely dropping his guard and realized it had been a very, very long time since she had last seen her master like this.

Normally, although her master seemed cheerful on the surface, effortlessly navigating between two terrifyingly powerful women and playing the charming peacemaker, whenever he faced her alone late at night, Ying'er could always sense an indescribable, hidden tension in his body.

This tension was like that of a man walking over a bottomless abyss, ready to fall into the depths at any moment.

But tonight was different.

That bone-deep tension in her master had miraculously vanished.

Replacing it was a heartfelt, relieved ease and comfort, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

Master...

Ying'er paused her fingers slightly as she massaged him gently, finally mustering the courage to ask in a quiet, probing voice:

Did something... make you happy today?

She bit her lower lip, anticipation shining in her eyes:

Could you share it with Ying'er? Ying'er wants to be happy for you, too.

Hearing this, Ye Xuan did not even open his eyes.

Treating it merely as the little girl's idle chatter, he shook his head lazily and gave a perfunctory reply. It's nothing.

I just feel that it's good to be alive. The air is fresh, and the world is beautiful.

He was lying.

Ying'er's oil-covered fingers suddenly hitched slightly on Ye Xuan's back.

Having served her master for so many years, sharing his bed night after night, she knew better than anyone else in the world the imperceptible change in his heartbeat when he lied.

He wasn't happy just because he was alive at all.

Then what was it for?

In a split second.

Ying'er's heart felt as if it had been violently squeezed by an invisible hand.

A strong sense of bitterness and deep grievance, mixed with the helpless realization of her own lowly status, spread rapidly in her chest like a wad of water-soaked cotton, suffocating her.

She lowered her head silently, her eyes instantly turning red.

She knew her place very well. She was just a bought maid whose life did not even belong to her.

She had no right to pry into her master's private affairs. She didn't even have the right to feel jealous, a privilege common women enjoyed.

Master... Ying'er's voice uncontrollably took on a heavy nasal tone, and her massaging fingers lost their usual rhythm.

Ye Xuan felt it.

Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the sudden drop in the mood of the little girl behind him, who usually chirped away like a little sparrow.

This girl was too smart and understood him too well.

If it were in the past, he might have patiently turned around, gently pulled this frightened little rabbit into his arms, and coaxed her with a few practiced sweet words.

But tonight, Ye Xuan did not.

He couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids, leaving the girl behind him to sink into her sorrow alone.

He was too tired.

During the thrilling and perilous Shura Field preview earlier that day, he had exhausted all his mental energy calculating against Ye Jiuhuang and pacifying the naive and ignorant Bai Qianqiu just to control the situation.

All his patience and gentleness had been squandered in that grand drama during the day.

Now, toward Ying'er's cautious probing, he only felt an instinctive annoyance and a bone-deep apathy.

As long as she doesn't cause any trouble, it's fine.

He kept his eyes closed, coldly calculating in his mind.

As for whether you're happy or not... what does that have to do with me?

It's enough that I provide you with food and shelter.

Don't forget that you're just a little maid with an unclean body.

Ye Xuan suddenly rolled over, his movement so large that he completely evaded Ying'er's hands, which were still suspended in mid-air.

Alright, stop massaging.

Ye Xuan yawned, his voice as flat as if he were ordering a lifeless object:

Let's sleep.

Ying'er froze completely, as if struck by lightning.

She knelt there blankly, looking at her master's cold and resolute back. The tears swirling in her eyes could finally no longer be held back and fell like a broken dam.

Patter, patter.

One by one, scalding teardrops smashed heavily onto the expensive snow silkworm quilt, instantly blooming into dark water stains.

In the past, when her master was in a good mood, he would always pull her into the covers and fool around with her with a wicked smile on his face.

Even if her master was truly exhausted and did nothing, he would still turn around to tease her, affectionately pinch her cheeks, or order her to serve him in bed like calling a little cat.

That was the moment when she, as a maid in this vast world, felt closest to her master, most aware of her own worth, and most needed.

But today.

Unprecedentedly.

Her master actually didn't ask her to serve him in bed.

He didn't even offer a single casual word of teasing.

Yes... Master.

Ying'er sniffled hard, desperately fighting back the sob that was about to spill from her throat. Gripping the corners of her clothes tightly with both hands, she replied obediently and humbly.

She did not dare to defy even a sliver of his will, let alone ask another question.

She silently got up and blew out the extra bright lights in the room, leaving only a single wall lamp emitting a dim yellow glow.

Then, like a homeless and docile little kitten relying solely on its master's charity to survive, she carefully lifted the corner of the quilt, climbed onto the outermost edge of the bed, and gently slipped under the covers.

She deliberately curled her body up, not daring to get too close, terrified that her scent or even the slightest movement might annoy her master.

But right at that moment.

In the darkness, a strong arm suddenly reached over.

Ye Xuan still had his eyes closed. In a half-awake, half-asleep state, he reached out quite naturally and pulled her, who was huddled at the edge of the bed, into his embrace.

Ying'er trembled violently all over, as if struck by lightning. A massive surge of joy, like surviving a disaster, instantly welled up in her previously dead heart.

She thought her master had finally softened his heart and changed his mind. She hurriedly lifted her tear-stained little face, looking affectionately at Ye Xuan's chin in the dim light. She had even quietly untied the strings of her inner garments, ready to offer herself at any moment.

However.

The tempestuous storm she had anticipated did not arrive.

Ye Xuan merely rested his chin heavily on the top of her head, shifted his body to find the most comfortable position, and then held onto her tightly, as if hugging a human-shaped body pillow.

There was not a single extra movement.

There were no hands wandering everywhere and stirring up fires like usual.

Nor did she feel any trace of a man's desire or arousal.

After only a brief moment, the sound of even and deep breathing came from above her head.

He had actually fallen asleep just like that.

Ying'er froze in that warm embrace, not daring to move an inch.

The fire of joy that had just ignited in the depths of her eyes dimmed and extinguished, little by little, irreversibly.

He didn't touch her, not out of pity for her daytime exhaustion.

But because... he had already found complete satisfaction elsewhere, with another woman.

Outside the window, the moonlight was as cold and clear as frost, shining solitarily on this luxurious, lone boat surfing through the clouds.

Ye Xuan slept very soundly, a hint of a smile even hanging on the corners of his mouth. In his dreams, he was still gleefully reliving his flawless, perfect plan.

But Ying'er kept her red and swollen eyes wide open, pitifully curled up in Ye Xuan's arms, listening to his heartbeat, sleepless all night.

In the early morning, the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, yet it failed to dispel the bone-chilling cold on the top deck of the Emperor Boat.

A piece of rice paper emitting a faint spiritual light hovered quietly in mid-air under the cold and stern gazes of two people.

It was densely covered with names written in cinnabar.

This was not just a list of names; it was the result of the Great Xia's shadow guards and the Heavenly Demon Sect's intelligence network operating through the night.

It recorded the names of all the female cultivators who had made it out of the Tianyuan Secret Realm alive this time. Behind each name was an extremely detailed background check tracing back eighteen generations, even precise down to the micro-expression analysis of the exact moment they saw Ye Xuan at the realm's exit.

"Cross it out."

Empress Wu Lingxiao sat upright on a wide throne, her golden phoenix eyes devoid of any ripples as she spoke coldly.

"This one is too ugly, Ye Xuan wouldn't fancy her." Demon Venerable Zi Yao leaned lazily against the railing, her fair fingertips casually flicking.

A cluster of purple nether demon fire appeared out of thin air, burning that name along with the edge of the paper to ashes with a sizzle.

"This one is too old, hundreds of years old and still in the Golden Core stage. Ye Xuan's tastes aren't that heavy."

"This one already has a Dao companion..."

Under the almost harsh cross-screening of these two women, who held the greatest power in the world, the names on the rice paper grew fewer and fewer.

Eventually, on the massive rice paper, only one name remained, floating solitarily in mid-air and emitting an incredibly piercing light.

Sword God Palace, Bai Qianqiu.

Wu Lingxiao slowly stood up, her loose crimson-gold dragon robe trailing on the deck.

She stepped forward, extended a long, cold finger, and tapped heavily on this name:

"This woman is very special."

"Special?"

Zi Yao pursed her alluring red lips in disdain, glancing at the name with a tone full of contempt: "Isn't she just the disciple of the Sword Sovereign? That old woman's disciples are all like blocks of wood, completely devoid of romantic charm."

"No."

Wu Lingxiao shook her head with a solemn expression.

With a casual wave of her hand, an extremely precious, top-grade recording stone flew into the air, instantly projecting a crystal-clear image.

The image froze at the exact moment the secret realm opened and everyone was teleported out.

In the footage, Bai Qianqiu was being forcibly swept away by Ye Jiuhuang.

Right at the instant she ascended to leave, Bai Qianqiu, who should have been looking straight ahead, turned her head at an extremely subtle angle.

Her gaze did not look toward her majestic master, nor did it look at the vast heaven and earth. Instead, carrying a trace of extremely hidden, maidenly shyness, along with an intensely thick attachment and reluctance to part, she secretly glanced at an inconspicuous corner in the crowd.

And zooming in along her line of sight... standing in that corner was none other than Ye Xuan.

"Although it was only for a fleeting moment."

Wu Lingxiao stared dead-on at Bai Qianqiu's eyes in the projection, her voice cold and gloomy, the imperial dragon aura around her even beginning to boil with rage:

"I am far too familiar with this look. This is the look of someone who has just tasted the forbidden fruit and given her heart to someone."

Zi Yao stared fixedly at the image for a long while. The laziness deep in her eyes was peeled away little by little, replaced by monstrous killing intent.

"Good... very good."

She laughed out of extreme anger, her laughter as bone-chilling as a night owl:

"The Holy Maiden of the Sword God Palace, is it? Pure and flawless, is it?"

Zi Yao violently crushed a corner of the railing, sending wood chips flying:

"I would like to see if her body is truly that pure!"

"Let's go."

Wu Lingxiao didn't waste any words; the killing intent in her eyes had already materialized.

She raised her hand and dominantly tore through the void in front of them, revealing a profound spatial tunnel: "Since we have a suspect, let's go take a look. Better to kill by mistake than to let her slip away!"

Accompanied by two deafening booms that shattered the clouds, two terrifying auras shot into the sky, transforming into two shooting stars that teleported toward the Sword God Palace in the extreme north with murderous intent.

Outside the mountain gates of the Sword God Palace.

The cold wind howled like cutting knives, and goose-feather-like heavy snow drifted down, blotting out the sun and the sky.

This holy land of sword cultivators, which should have been pure, solemn, and aloof from the world, welcomed two peerless malefic stars surging with murderous intent today.

"Wu Lingxiao of the Great Xia and Demon Venerable Zi Yao, have come to pay our respects!"

The cold and domineering voice, laced with the terrifying spiritual power of half-step True Immortals, exploded among the snowy peaks like rolling heavenly thunder, shaking the entire impregnable mountain-protecting grand array of the Sword God Palace until it hummed under the overwhelming burden.

However, amidst the heavy snowfall, no one came out to welcome these two supreme figures of the world.

The only response they received was a snow-white figure blocking the massive mountain gates, sitting quietly cross-legged on a frost-covered bluestone.

Ye Jiuhuang.

She maintained that posture of sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, her white clothes already covered in accumulated snow. She was like an eternal, lifeless, breathtakingly beautiful ice sculpture, stubbornly guarding the outermost entrance of the Oblivion Cave.

"Oh my, what grand airs the Sword Sovereign puts on."

Zi Yao shattered the void as she arrived, her purple robes fluttering wildly in the blizzard.

She laughed so hard she trembled like a blossoming branch, yet her fox-like, seductive eyes were as cold as a viper's. Looking down condescendingly at Ye Jiuhuang, she said, "The two of us came here together, and you won't even offer us a cup of tea?"

Sitting cross-legged, Ye Jiuhuang finally opened her eyes slowly, her gaze indifferent.

"The Sword God Palace has sealed its mountain and is declining all guests. You two, please go back."

Wu Lingxiao let out a heavy, cold snort and took a large stride forward.

In an instant, crimson-gold imperial dragon aura gathered madly behind her, transforming into a faintly discernible, thousand-foot-long phantom of a golden dragon. Its peerless pressure forcefully pushed back the sky full of wind and snow.

"I am not looking for you today. I am looking for your disciple, Bai Qianqiu."

"I have some matters regarding the secret realm that I wish to ask her about."

Sitting on the bluestone, Ye Jiuhuang did not even bat an eyelid, completely disregarding Wu Lingxiao.

She slightly raised her chin, her tone so stiff that it left no room for negotiation.

"She just came out of the secret realm and gained some enlightenment. She is currently in secluded meditation. No one is allowed to disturb her."

"Secluded meditation?" Wu Lingxiao laughed out of extreme anger, her golden eyes full of mockery. She sneered, "How coincidental? Going into seclusion right after coming out? I think she has a guilty conscience and is hiding, too afraid to see anyone!"

"Tell her to come out!"

Zi Yao completely lost her patience. The dense, pitch-black demonic aura around her surged like boiling asphalt, swallowing half the sky. "I only want to ask a few questions and inspect her body. If there's nothing suspicious, I will naturally offer an apology! But if you are hiding something..."

Clang!

An exceptionally clear and resonant sword cry violently interrupted Zi Yao's unfinished words.

The simple and unadorned longsword resting on Ye Jiuhuang's knees automatically unsheathed itself by three inches at this moment.

In an instant, an apocalyptic, bone-chillingly cold, and materialized sword intent, like a glacier spanning through eternity, instantly locked onto Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao in midair.

Ye Jiuhuang abruptly stood up. Amidst the heavy snow, her white robes outshone the snow itself. Her long black hair danced wildly in the sword aura, and her eyes no longer held a trace of immortal grace, leaving only an arrogant, world-disdaining, and even slightly maddened brutality.

"Inspect her body?"

"Are you even worthy?"

She reached out and firmly grasped the hilt of her sword. The boundless sword aura slashed the surrounding space into countless pitch-black rifts.

"This is the Sword God Palace! Not your Great Xia Imperial Palace, nor your demon lair!"

"She is my disciple. If I want her to enter secluded meditation, she enters secluded meditation. Since when is it your turn to act wildly here?"

The atmosphere instantly froze to absolute zero at this moment, even the falling snowflakes hovering in midair.

Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao exchanged a glance, both seeing the thoroughly ignited, furious rage in each other's eyes.

As the most supreme experts standing at the very top of the world's pyramid, their words were law. When had they ever been pointed at and cursed so mercilessly?

"You refuse the face you are given!"

"Since you won't hand her over, then I will go in and find her myself!"

Without any room for compromise, an earth-shattering battle instantly erupted.

Wu Lingxiao struck out a palm, shattering space. That thousand-foot-long imperial golden dragon let out a heaven-shaking roar, opening its bloody maw as it dove downward.

Zi Yao flipped her wrist, wildly shaking an ancient demonic bell. Purple sound waves transformed into a sky full of visible, sharp scythes, reaping all vitality.

The two Half-Step True Immortals had completely torn off all pretense and joined forces, their might shaking the heavens and the earth.

However, this was the Sword God Palace.

The holy land for millions of sword cultivators worldwide, a stronghold that had been passed down for tens of thousands of years.

"Form the array!!"

Just as the golden dragon and demonic sound were about to descend, an ancient and resolute roar suddenly echoed from the depths of the Sword God Palace.

Immediately following, eighteen terrifyingly powerful auras at the peak of the Tribulation Crossing stage surged into the sky like eighteen heaven-supporting pillars from various hidden peaks.

It was precisely those eighteen Supreme Elders.

They had already been suppressing a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent because Ye Jiuhuang had suddenly sealed the mountain. Now, seeing that someone actually dared to arrogantly attack their mountain gate, they instantly flared up like angry roosters finding a target to vent upon.

"Myriad Swords Returning to Origin Grand Array! Rise!"

In an instant, the light of the entire Sword God Palace shone as bright as day.

Millions of flying swords pierced through the air from the sword tombs, from the hands of disciples, and from within the mountain peaks, blotting out the sky.

The eighteen peak Tribulation Crossing stage sword cultivator old monsters joined forces. Combined with the mountain protection array empowered by the past patriarchs of the Sword God Palace, they unleashed a terrifying power no less than the strike of a True Immortal, directly trapping the imperious Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao firmly within the center of a blade storm.

"What?"

Wu Lingxiao's expression changed drastically, the golden dragon phantom letting out a mournful wail under the strangulation of the sky-filling sword aura.

She never expected the Sword God Palace's reaction to be so massive, so extreme!

Just as the two were suppressed by the grand array, scrambling to prop up their protective spiritual lights to deal with the sky full of flying swords...

Deep within the wind and snow, an ultimate sword light that stunned time itself and even severed karma lit up silently.

That was Ye Jiuhuang's long-premeditated, reckless strike.

There were no flashy sword incantations, no deafening booms.

There was only ultimate speed, and ultimate sharpness.

Pfft!

Pfft!

Amidst the sky full of wind and snow, only two muffled sounds of sharp blades piercing flesh could be heard.

Wu Lingxiao's crimson-gold imperial robe, possessing astonishing defensive power, was forcefully pierced through. A tragic bloom of blood suddenly burst from her round, fair left shoulder.

Zi Yao's protective demonic aura, claimed to be impervious to all arts, was brutally torn apart. A transparent, bloody hole radiating a chilling sword intent directly appeared on her flat, alluring abdomen.

"Scram!"

Having succeeded in her strike, Ye Jiuhuang did not pursue. Holding her dripping longsword, she stood atop the peak of the mountain gate's archway.

Her waterfall-like black hair danced wildly in the blizzard. Her breathtakingly beautiful face was distorted by extreme vigilance and madness, looking like a crazed demon:

"Dare to take one more step forward, and even if I have to throw away this avatar, I will sever your Dao foundations!"

This entirely reckless, completely irrational, and crazed momentum thoroughly intimidated the two in midair.

Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao tightly clutched their bleeding wounds, their complexions exceedingly ugly. Their chests heaved violently, yet they truly did not dare to forcibly advance another step.

They had come to find evidence, not to risk their lives. On her absolute home ground, relying on the foundation left behind by past patriarchs, this madwoman truly possessed the terrifying ability to drag one of them down with her to the grave.

"Good... what a fine Sword Sovereign!"

Wu Lingxiao gritted her silver teeth, staring fixedly at Ye Jiuhuang's crazed face.

"I have noted down this debt!"

In an atmosphere of extreme unwillingness and humiliation, the two cut sorry figures as they transformed into two streaks of escaping light, tearing through space and fleeing the range of the Sword God Palace's sky-filling sword net.

Ten thousand miles away, above the endless clouds.

The two wretched figures finally came to a halt. What was eerie was that they did not fly into a rage out of humiliation over the insults and trauma they had just suffered. Instead, they exchanged a glance, and a spine-chilling, sickly sneer simultaneously appeared on their pale faces.

"Did you see that clearly?" Wu Lingxiao extended her thumb, roughly wiping away a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. Her golden phoenix eyes were as cold as blades, glinting with excited brilliance.

"I saw it clearly." Zi Yao clutched her stomach, which was still oozing blood. She grimaced and gasped in pain, yet her stunningly beautiful face trembled with wild laughter. "That crazy woman was panicking."

A sinister light of absolute clarity flashed in the depths of her eyes:

"If Bai Qianqiu was really just in ordinary seclusion, would she need to mobilize eighteen Supreme Elders? Would she have desperately stabbed us with her sword?"

Wu Lingxiao nodded with certainty, her tone carrying the chilling conviction of someone who had grasped the truth. "There is absolutely something wrong with Bai Qianqiu. It's even possible... that Ye Xuan has already gotten his hands on her."

Zi Yao licked the taste of blood from the corner of her mouth, an extremely dangerous light flickering in her eyes—the innate tyranny of the Demonic Sect Master. "In that case, shall we march on the Sword God Palace? I will mobilize a hundred thousand demonic cultivators right now and level the Sword God Palace to the ground!"

Wu Lingxiao fell silent for a moment. The killing intent in her eyes surged and churned as if it had physical form, but ultimately, her rationality as the ruler of a nation firmly suppressed the impulse.

"No."

She slowly shook her head, her gaze profound. "The Sword God Palace has profound foundations, and those eighteen old fogeys are not to be trifled with. Furthermore, the true body of the Sword Sovereign is still in death-seclusion... If we really push her into forcing her true body out of seclusion, it will result in mutual destruction."

Wu Lingxiao looked at the bloody hole in her shoulder, coldly weighing the pros and cons:

"To deplete the nation's strength for a single woman is not worth it."

Hearing this, Zi Yao also forcefully suppressed the anger in her heart and gave a cold snort. "True. If my Demonic Sect's vitality is severely damaged, wouldn't that just let your Great Xia reap the benefits?"

These two women standing at the pinnacle of power were romantic rivals who would love nothing more than to tear each other apart, but in the face of massive interests, they were both extremely shrewd and ruthless politicians. Neither was willing to exhaust their foundational strength just to catch a mere homewrecker.

"Since that's the case..."

Wu Lingxiao abruptly turned around, her dragon robes billowing.

Her icy gaze seemed to pierce through endless space, locking firmly onto the direction of the Imperial Boat where Ye Xuan was located.

"The monk can run, but the temple remains."

A cruel curve hooked the corners of Wu Lingxiao's mouth:

"Bai Qianqiu is hiding in her tortoise shell, so we can't touch her. But the chief culprit is still wandering around outside."

"To catch the bandits, first catch the ringleader."

She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white from the force:

"As long as we capture Ye Xuan and pry his mouth open, everything will become clear."

Hearing this proposal, Zi Yao was briefly taken aback, then extended her scarlet tongue and deeply licked her lips.

The anger in her eyes dissipated completely, replaced by the extremely cruel and excited smile of a hunter looking at their prey:

"Agreed."

The demonic aura around Zi Yao boiled once more, and her tone became sickly and obsessed:

"This time, we don't need to pretend to be gentle and virtuous anymore. We will strike directly, snatch him back, and lock him up!"