True Destiny's Great Female Lead: Yunmeng

"And this one, this one, and this one too!"

Yun Meng excitedly pulled out a large handful of various seashells from her embrace, each one emitting a different glow.

She looked like a little girl showing off her treasures to her beloved, her eyes full of anticipation.

"I collected so, so many, all to give to you when you came!"

Ye Xuan looked at Yun Meng's innocent face, a complex wave of emotion welling up in his heart.

Tenderness, indulgence, and a trace of deep helplessness.

Yun Meng was the most powerful existence he had ever seen, yet also the most innocent.

She possessed the power to destroy everything, but all she wanted was to collect seashells, watch the stars, and wait for him to come and talk to her.

"They are all very beautiful."

Ye Xuan said gently, reaching out to lightly pinch Yun Meng's cheek.

"I like them very much."

A brilliant smile bloomed on Yun Meng's face, a smile so pure it made one's heart ache.

Meanwhile, standing in the distance, Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao watched this heartwarming scene, yet they felt as if they had been plunged into an icy abyss.

Jealousy.

Intense jealousy that threatened to swallow them whole.

They originally thought their greatest enemy was each other, or perhaps that Bai Qianqiu who was still in secluded meditation.

Never in their wildest dreams did they expect that Ye Xuan would actually have a woman hidden away as a secret lover in this bizarre place.

Moreover, looking at their intimacy, it was obvious they were old lovers!

What was even more unacceptable to them was that Ye Xuan's attitude toward this young girl was completely different from how he treated them.

Toward them, Ye Xuan was cold, calculating, and full of guardedness.

But toward this young girl, Ye Xuan was gentle, doting, and completely unreserved.

This kind of gentleness was something they had never seen before.

This kind of doting was something they dreamed of but could never obtain.

A strong wave of sourness surged in Wu Lingxiao's heart. She was the Female Emperor of Great Xia, the supreme existence ruling over billions of subjects. She had never imagined that one day she would go mad with jealousy over a man's tenderness.

Zi Yao gnashed her teeth even more. She had waited for Ye Xuan for thousands of years and sacrificed so much, only to not even receive a single gentle look in the end.

And this wild brat who had popped out of nowhere, what right did she have to receive such favor from Ye Xuan?

"Husband! Who is she?"

Wu Lingxiao finally could not hold back. She took a step forward, and the coercive pressure of the Mahayana realm erupted with a bang. Golden spiritual power surged out like a tide, intending to show this wild brat who appeared out of nowhere who was boss.

The entire space trembled under her pressure, and waves were stirred up across the silver beach.

"I am your Dao companion! How is this wild woman who popped out of nowhere worthy of giving you things?!"

Wu Lingxiao's voice carried a near-hysterical anger. She could not accept it; she could not accept Ye Xuan being so gentle to someone else, and she could not accept being ignored.

Zi Yao's demonic aura also surged, murderous intent fully revealed in her eyes. The purple demonic energy condensed into tangible demonic dragons that roared in the air:

"Fine, Ye Xuan, you really are a bastard who leaves a trail of broken hearts everywhere! To think you actually had another one hidden here!"

"Believe it or not, this seat will kill her! I'll let you know the price of betrayal!"

Two Half-Step True Immortals lashing out at the same time created a terrifying aura sufficient to change the color of the world and reverse the flow of rivers and mountains.

Such pressure was enough to reduce any cultivator to ash in an instant.

However.

Facing this world-destroying pressure.

The young girl named Yun Meng merely... turned her head.

She was no longer looking at Ye Xuan.

Instead, she looked at Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao.

In an instant.

The smile on the young girl's face disappeared.

Replacing it was an absolute, lofty ruthlessness, like a god looking down upon ants!

Those silver nebula eyes that were originally filled with joy became cold and indifferent at this moment, as if looking at two insignificant objects.

There was no movement.

Just a single look.

The spiritual power and demonic energy that Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao had erupted with... annihilated in an instant.

It was as if they had been forcefully crushed by an invisible giant hand.

Not defeated, not suppressed, but... annihilated.

Completely erased from the source, from the concept, from the very level of existence.

Immediately after.

Thud!

Thud!

The sounds of two heavy objects falling to their knees.

The insufferably arrogant Female Emperor, the world-shaking Demon Venerable.

At this moment, as if struck by a paralyzing spell, they kneeled stiffly on the beach.

Their knees sank deeply into the sand, and the bones in their entire bodies emitted cracking sounds under the overwhelming burden.

Cold.

Bone-piercing cold.

Wu Lingxiao felt her soul trembling, her consciousness collapsing, and her very existence teetering under this terrifying pressure.

Zi Yao's face was even more deathly pale, her entire body trembling violently.

She could feel the shadow of death shrouding her; this feeling was ten thousand times more terrifying than any life-and-death crisis she had ever experienced.

They wanted to beg for mercy, wanted to scream, but found that they could not even open their mouths, and even their divine sense had been completely frozen.

Yun Meng looked at them. In those silver nebula eyes, there was no anger, only a pure curiosity and confusion.

It was like observing two bugs that had suddenly intruded into her home.

"Ah Xuan."

Yun Meng's voice was still very light and soft.

"These two bugs are too noisy."

She tilted her head, her long silver hair swaying gently with the movement.

"Do you want me to help you kill them?"

This word kill was spoken with absolute nonchalance.

Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao trembled violently, the jealousy in their eyes instantly swallowed by boundless fear.

Death.

The true shadow of death loomed over their hearts so clearly for the very first time.

They had no doubt that as long as Ye Xuan nodded, they would instantly disappear from this world, without even the chance for reincarnation.

No, even their souls would be completely erased, wiped from the river of time as if they had never existed.

A strong surge of regret welled up in Wu Lingxiao's heart.

She regretted why she had been jealous, why she had been impulsive, and why she had shown hostility in front of this terrifying existence.

Zi Yao was even more driven to the absolute depths of despair.

She did not know who the woman in front of her was, but she had to be an unimaginably terrifying existence.

Ye Xuan stood to the side, looking at the two women shivering on the ground, his eyes as cold as ice.

He did not answer immediately.

Instead, he allowed this fear to ferment for a moment.

He could see the despair in Wu Lingxiao's eyes, the regret in Zi Yao's eyes, and he could see their pride being completely shattered at this moment.

This was what he wanted.

He wanted to make these two women understand that they were nothing in front of him.

Their power, their status, their pride in front of a true powerhouse, they were merely a joke.

Only when the two women's minds were on the verge of collapse did he slowly turn around, embracing Yun Meng's slender waist with a face full of tenderness.

"Forget it, Yun Meng."

Ye Xuan's voice was very light, but every word sounded like heavenly music, allowing the two women to see the hope of survival.

"Although they are noisy, keeping them around still has some use."

"After all, they are also my... concubines."

"Concubines?"

Yun Meng tilted her head, a trace of confusion flashing through her silver, nebula-like eyes. She seemed to be trying hard to understand the meaning of the word. After a long while, she nodded as if suddenly enlightened:

"Oh, so they are Ah Xuan's toys?"

She shrugged indifferently, an innocent smile reappearing on her face:

"Since Ah Xuan likes them, let's keep them."

"However..."

Yun Meng turned her head and looked at Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao again. The silver light in her eyes had restrained itself slightly, but it still carried a soul-trembling coercion:

"If you dare to interrupt me and Ah Xuan talking again, I will turn you into seashells and seal you at the bottom of the ocean, where you will never, ever be able to get out."

With that said.

The silver light in Yun Meng's eyes completely faded away.

The terrifying coercion that was enough to crush souls vanished in an instant.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao slumped onto the ground, gasping heavily for air. Their bodies were completely drenched in cold sweat, looking as if they had just been fished out of the water.

Their faces were deathly pale and their lips purple. Their eyes were filled with the relief of surviving a disaster and a deep-seated fear.

They raised their heads, looking in horror at the young girl nestled in Ye Xuan's embrace, and then at the indifferent Ye Xuan.

At this moment, their worldview completely collapsed.

A True Immortal?

No... the feeling this young girl gave them was ten thousand times more terrifying than a True Immortal!

"Husband... Husband..."

Wu Lingxiao's voice was terribly hoarse. Looking at the young girl smiling so innocently in Ye Xuan's arms, an unprecedented fear surged in her heart.

"Who... who exactly is she?"

Wu Lingxiao's voice trembled, every word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth.

As the Empress of Great Xia, she had seen countless experts and experienced numerous life-and-death crises. But never once had she felt so powerless and insignificant.

In that brief instant, when Yun Meng's gaze swept over them, she felt as if her soul was about to be frozen. That feeling was like an ant being stared at by a god, where even breathing became a luxury.

Ye Xuan smiled faintly, a trace of amusement and satisfaction in his smile.

He lowered his head and affectionately rubbed his forehead against Yun Meng's. The movement was so tender it was heartbreaking, as if he were treating the most precious treasure in the world.

Yun Meng smiled, her smile pure and sweet, and the silver nebulae in her eyes softened.

She reached out and gently hugged Ye Xuan's waist, leaning her entire body against his chest like a spoiled kitten.

Watching this scene, Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao's hearts were bleeding.

This kind of intimacy, this naturalness, this heartfelt tenderness—it was something they had never seen, and something they would never obtain.

Ye Xuan enjoyed Yun Meng's tenderness for a moment before slowly turning around. Facing the two terrified women, he calmly introduced her:

"Didn't I just tell you?"

His voice was very light, but every word clearly reached the ears of the two women:

"She is my Dao Companion, Yun Meng."

"And she is also the master of this Sea of Reincarnation."

The master of the Sea of Reincarnation?

These words exploded like a clap of thunder in the minds of the two women.

Wu Lingxiao's face instantly turned deathly pale. She remembered what Ye Xuan had said earlier: this sea was reincarnation itself, and all life would come here after death.

If Yun Meng was the master of the Sea of Reincarnation, didn't that mean she controlled the life, death, and reincarnation of all living beings?

What kind of existence was this?

This was no longer a level that True Immortals or Immortal Kings could reach!

Zi Yao also trembled violently. She finally understood why Yun Meng could make them kneel with just a glance, and why Yun Meng could so easily threaten to kill them.

Because in front of Yun Meng, they were worse than ants.

Speaking up to here, Ye Xuan paused. His eyes suddenly became sharp, his voice carrying a chilling majesty:

"Wu Lingxiao, Zi Yao."

He walked toward them step by step. Even though there were no fluctuations of cultivation on his body, his imposing aura made the two Half-Step True Immortals feel suffocated.

"Do you really think that I, Ye Xuan, am just a plaything who has lost his cultivation, who can only rely on your protection, and is at the mercy of your manipulation?"

Ye Xuan's voice grew colder and his gaze sharper:

"Do you really think that by letting you be my concubines, I was begging you?"

"Do you really think I need your protection, your resources, your pity?"

Ye Xuan approached step by step, looking down condescendingly at these two supreme beings of the mortal realm.

"That was my... grace bestowed upon you."

Ye Xuan's voice became even icier, every word sounding as if it came from an ice cellar:

"If I wanted to, killing you would take no more than a single sentence."

"I would only need to say one word to Yun Meng, and you would instantly vanish from this world."

"Not even your souls would remain, and you wouldn't even have the chance to enter reincarnation."

"It would be as if you never existed at all."

Ye Xuan stopped in front of the two women, a cold light flickering in his eyes:

"Now, do you understand?"

Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao shuddered.

They looked at the man before them, who, despite having no cultivation, controlled life and death. A strong sense of fear and despair surged in their hearts.

From beginning to end, they were never the hunters, but the prey.

They thought they were controlling Ye Xuan, but in reality, Ye Xuan was the true controller.

The trump card in Ye Xuan's hand was far more terrifying than they could have ever imagined.

"Un... Understood..."

Zi Yao lowered her head, a hint of a sob in her voice. Her pride, her self-esteem, was completely shattered at this moment.

Wu Lingxiao was also deathly pale and obediently nodded her head.

She did not dare to speak again, nor did she dare to show any dissatisfaction.

In front of this terrifying young girl, she had to be careful even when breathing.

"Good girls."

Ye Xuan smiled in satisfaction, reaching out to gently pat their cheeks.

Afterward, Ye Xuan ignored the two women. He turned around and took Yun Meng's hand. The coldness on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a heartfelt tenderness:

"Let's go, Yun Meng."

"Take me to get that book."

"Okay!"

Yun Meng smiled sweetly, the silver nebulae in her eyes brightening. Holding Ye Xuan's hand, she ran barefoot on the beach like a happy little girl.

Her long silver hair fluttered behind her, exuding a dreamlike luster under the illumination of the silver light.

With Ye Xuan being pulled along by her, the two of them left two lines of footprints on the silver beach.

The sea breeze blew their hair, creating a scene as beautiful as a painting.

However, Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao, who were following behind, felt as if they were walking on thin ice, trembling with fear at every step.

They looked at the backs of the two people talking and laughing ahead, a strong sense of frustration and jealousy welled up in their hearts.

Wu Lingxiao's gaze became extremely complex.

Fear and reverence were mixed with a trace of an even more twisted obsession.

'So... this is Husband's true foundation.'

Wu Lingxiao thought silently in her heart, her eyes becoming increasingly fanatical:

So he actually has such a side to him... chatting and laughing with such an indescribable, terrifying existence, and even making her obey his every word.

Only a man like this... is worthy of me, worthy of me spending my entire life to conquer.

Zi Yao also had mixed feelings in her heart.

Watching the intimate manner between Ye Xuan and Yun Meng, the jealousy in her heart almost swallowed her whole.

But at the same time, she also felt a deep sense of despair.

They walked for an unknown amount of time.

Yun Meng suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Ah Xuan, we are here."

She pointed forward, her voice becoming somewhat low:

"That book is right there."

Ye Xuan followed her gaze.

Not far ahead on the sandy beach, there was a withered skeleton.

The skeleton was incomplete; it was missing an arm, several ribs were broken, and it was curled up in a posture of extreme agony.

Yet, on this skeleton, there was still a white robe that had long rotted into strips of cloth.

The style of this white robe was unexpectedly exactly the same as the one Ye Xuan loved to wear on a daily basis.

Ye Xuan looked at the skeleton, a trace of extremely complex emotion flashing through his eyes.

It was desolation, self-mockery, and also a resonance that transcended time and space.

He could feel that this skeleton was him.

Or rather, his past life.

"He brought it,"

Yun Meng pointed at the skeleton, her voice low and a hint of sorrow flashing in her eyes:

"The previous Ah Xuan."

"When he came, he was covered in blood. It was so pitiful."

Yun Meng crouched down and reached out to gently stroke the skeleton's skull, as if petting a sleeping child:

"He placed the book here and said to me, Yun Meng, if the next me comes, give this to him."

"And then... he died."

Yun Meng's voice choked up a bit, tears welling in her eyes:

"When he died, he was still smiling."

"He said, Yun Meng, do not cry, I will come back."

"Then, he closed his eyes."

Yun Meng looked up at Ye Xuan, the tears in her eyes finally falling:

"Ah Xuan, do you know?"

"Every time, every time you die, I feel so sad."

"I know you will come back, I know you will reincarnate, but I still feel so sad."

Yun Meng's voice became increasingly choked with sobs, her tears flowing continuously:

"I am so tired, Ah Xuan."

"I am truly so tired."

"I do not want to watch you die anymore."

Hearing Yun Meng's words, a strong surge of guilt and heartache welled up in Ye Xuan's chest.

He crouched down, reached out to hug Yun Meng, and gently patted her back:

"I am sorry, Yun Meng."

"For making you wait so long."

"But this time, it really is the last time."

Ye Xuan's voice was firm, his eyes flashing with an almost maddening determination:

"This time, I will not die again."

"I will break this cycle of reincarnation, I will transcend everything, and I will stand at the very pinnacle of this world."

"And then, I will stay by your side forever."

Yun Meng looked up, gazing at Ye Xuan through tear-blurred eyes:

"Really?"

"Really."

Ye Xuan gently wiped the tears from the corners of Yun Meng's eyes, his gaze incredibly resolute:

"I swear."

Hearing this, a smile finally appeared on Yun Meng's face.

Although there were still tears in her eyes, the smile was one of genuine, heartfelt joy.

"Mhm! I believe you!"

Standing behind them, Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao watched this scene, a strong sense of shock surging in their hearts.

They finally understood that the bond between Ye Xuan and Yun Meng was something they could never hope to match.

It was a bond that spanned countless reincarnations and countless ages.

While they were merely passing travelers in Ye Xuan's life.

Ye Xuan remained silent for a moment, then slowly stood up.

He stepped forward, crouched down, reached out his hand, and gently stroked the skull of the withered skeleton.

"You have worked hard."

Ye Xuan said in a low voice, carrying a trace of complex emotion.

It sounded as if he was speaking to someone else, yet also as if he was speaking to himself.

Afterward.

He felt a hard object in the skeleton's embrace.

It was a book.

A book made of an unknown material, entirely pitch-black, exuding a chilling aura that made one's heart palpitate.

Ye Xuan took the book out.

On the cover, there were only a few large, bloody characters—

The Heavenly Scripture of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

And in the bottom right corner of the book, where the author's signature should be.

There was no name written.

Instead, there were two densely packed, overlapping characters.

Carved layer upon layer with blood, with fingernails, and with hatred—

Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan...

Countless Ye Xuans.

Some of the handwriting was messy and frantic, written in extreme agony;

Some of the handwriting was neat and elegant, carrying a certain resolute calmness;

Some of the handwriting was even illegible, leaving behind only a dried puddle of black blood.

This was not just a book.

This was something forged with the lives and blood of countless failed Ye Xuans across countless reincarnations.

Ye Xuan's fingers gently brushed over those names.

He could feel the monstrous hatred and unyielding fury contained within them.

It was an unwillingness to accept fate, anger at failure, and hatred toward betrayal.

Every Ye Xuan represented a failure, a death, and a new beginning.

But they did not give up.

They used their own lives and blood to pave the way for the next Ye Xuan.

They carved all their experiences, their lessons, and their hatred into this book.

Just so the next Ye Xuan could go further, become stronger, and break this damned cycle of reincarnation.

"Phew..."

Ye Xuan let out a long breath.

His eyes gradually filled with excitement, the madness of a gambler seeing his final trump card.

"Finally... I have obtained it."

Ye Xuan slowly stood up, tightly gripping the heavy book.

He turned around and looked at the two dumbfounded women behind him, as well as the innocent-looking Yun Meng.

He raised the book in his hand, a cruel yet confident smile curving the corners of his mouth:

"Alright."

"This chess game has only just begun."