So They Were the Real Victims

Over the next few days, Ye Xuan sat cross-legged beside that withered skeleton.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation Heavenly Scripture in his hands moved without any wind, its pages flipping rapidly and making a rustling sound.

As he began to circulate the methods recorded in the book, strands of gray, deathly energy from the surrounding silver void drilled into his seven orifices like living creatures.

That was the power of reincarnation, and it was also a deadly poison capable of corroding all life.

Ugh...

Ye Xuan let out a muffled groan. The veins on his forehead bulged, and his face twisted in extreme agony.

His skin began to shrivel and age at a visible rate, turning him into a dying old man in the blink of an eye.

His skin sagged, covered in dense wrinkles, his hair turned snow-white, and his teeth began to fall out.

The next second, he rapidly plumped up and became rosy, turning into a delicately carved baby.

His skin was smooth and tender, his eyes clear and innocent, and his entire body exuded the aura of life.

Life and death, youth and old age, wildly alternated upon his body.

This soul-tearing pain far exceeded any torture in the world.

With every transformation, it was as if he had experienced a complete lifetime.

From birth to death, and from death to rebirth.

This pain was not just physical; it was deeply rooted in his soul.

Yet, he did not utter a single sound.

He merely gritted his teeth, his eyes revealing an almost paranoid fanaticism.

There was no pain in his eyes, only excitement.

Because he could feel that he was getting stronger.

With every cycle of life and death, his soul became more solid, and his origin grew more powerful.

In the distance.

Yun Meng quietly watched this scene.

In her silver nebula-like eyes, there was no worry, only a calmness that had long grown accustomed to this.

She had seen such scenes far too many times.

Every Ye Xuan had to endure this kind of pain.

Some succeeded, and some failed.

But whether they succeeded or failed, she could only watch quietly, unable to do anything.

Ah Xuan is cultivating.

Yun Meng turned her head and looked at Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao, who were about to step forward. Her voice was gentle but carried an unquestionable command:

Do not disturb him.

This is his tribulation, and it is also his path.

No one can help him; he can only rely on himself.

The two Half-Step True Immortals froze in place.

Even though the other party had no spiritual energy fluctuations, the suppression stemming from the level of life made it difficult for them to even breathe.

Alright.

Wu Lingxiao gritted her teeth and unwillingly stepped back.

She looked at the figure experiencing the cycle of life and death in the distance, a strong surge of heartache welling up within her.

She wanted to go forward and help, to share Ye Xuan's pain, but she knew she could do absolutely nothing.

Zi Yao also bit her lip, a trace of complex emotion flashing through her eyes.

Looking at Ye Xuan's constantly changing face, a strong sense of guilt rose in her heart.

If she hadn't betrayed him back then, if she had been able to hold her bottom line, would she be the one by Ye Xuan's side right now?

But it was too late to say anything now.

Time lost its meaning in this bizarre space.

An unknown amount of time passed.

In front of a simple thatched cottage, beside a stone table carved from white coral.

Yun Meng was pouring tea.

The tea was silver, emitting a salty, fishy smell of seawater, yet it also carried a clear fragrance that pierced straight to the soul.

This fragrance was very special. It smelled like the breath of life, making one feel an indescribable sense of comfort.

Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao sat opposite her, feeling as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

They looked at the young girl in front of them.

Only from up close did they realize that not only was the girl's hair silver, but even her eyebrows and eyelashes were pure snow-white.

Her skin was so delicate it seemed unreal, like the most perfect porcelain, without a single pore.

Although her appearance was that of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, the aura revealed in her every gesture carried a vicissitude older than the end of time.

This kind of vicissitude could not be cultivated by living for thousands or tens of thousands of years.

It was a deathly stillness settled after witnessing the birth and death of countless eras and the rise and fall of countless civilizations.

Um...

Wu Lingxiao ultimately could not hold back the curiosity in her heart.

She picked up the teacup and took a sip. As the tea entered her mouth, a cool sensation instantly spread throughout her body, and even her soul felt a burst of comfort.

But she had no time to savor the beauty of this tea, and instead asked tentatively:

This... Miss Yun Meng.

How many times... have you seen Ye Xuan?

As soon as this question was asked, the air instantly froze.

Zi Yao also looked nervously at Yun Meng, waiting for her answer.

Yun Meng put down the teapot, her movements elegant and slow.

The flow of time for her seemed half a beat slower than for ordinary people, and every movement carried an indescribable sluggishness.

She tilted her head, a trace of confusion flashing in those silver nebula eyes, as if she were trying hard to recall something.

After quite a while, she softly replied:

I can't remember clearly.

Anyway, Ah Xuan comes over every now and then.

It's just that he looks different every time.

Yun Meng stretched out her slender fingers, gesturing in the air, her voice carrying a trace of reminiscent tenderness:

Sometimes he wears a dragon robe, looking majestic, saying he is some kind of emperor.

Sometimes he wears demonic armor, covered in blood, saying he is being hunted down.

Sometimes he is a beggar, all dirty, but his eyes are still so beautiful.

Sometimes he is a monk, bald, and even preaches some Buddhist dharma to me, which I don't understand.

Crack.

The teacup in Zi Yao's hand was squeezed until a crack appeared.

Wu Lingxiao's face also instantly turned livid.

Every now and then?

Different every time?

Did this even need to be guessed?

This was clearly every reincarnation of Ye Xuan!

The two women looked at each other, both seeing the stormy waves in each other's eyes.

They originally thought that accompanying Ye Xuan for one lifetime, for hundreds of years, was already a profound and heavy affection.

But this woman in front of them... she had actually spanned across Ye Xuan's countless reincarnations?

Just how long had she lived?

Was she a human, a ghost, or a god?

Zi Yao took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the sourness and unease in her heart.

She recalled her own unforgettable past, that Ye Xuan who possessed the Daluo inheritance and dominated the world.

Then...

Zi Yao's voice trembled slightly. She stared fixedly into Yun Meng's eyes, her voice carrying a trace of anticipation and fear:

That Ye Xuan of mine... have you seen him?

The one who bore the Daluo inheritance, wielded an immortal sword, was known as the Xuantian Sword Venerable, and slaughtered until the whole world was terrified at the news of him!

That was her proudest husband.

He was the most perfect Ye Xuan in her heart.

Hearing this description, a very faint smile unexpectedly flashed across Yun Meng's originally indifferent face.

Oh, you mean that Ah Xuan who wore black clothes.

Yun Meng nodded, her tone brisk, the light of memories flickering in her eyes:

He came here.

In that lifetime, he was heavily injured and chased by many people.

Yun Meng's voice became a bit low:

He was covered in blood and couldn't even stand steady.

He hid here with me.

I healed his wounds and accompanied him as he recovered.

A sweet smile appeared on Yun Meng's face:

"He stayed here to heal his wounds, accompanied me to pick seashells, and told me stories of the outside world."

"He said the outside world was wonderful, with many, many interesting things."

"He also said that when his injuries were healed, he would take me out to see..."

Yun Meng looked at Zi Yao, her eyes shining with the light of reminiscence. Her voice became even gentler, as if she were telling a beautiful fairy tale:

"He stayed here with me, keeping me company for a full thousand years."

"Until later, he said he was going to ascend, to go up there and fight. Only then did he reluctantly chat with me for a whole night before leaving."

Speaking up to here, a trace of regret appeared on Yun Meng's face:

"When he left, he even said he would come back to see me."

"But after that, he never came back."

"I waited for a long, long time, waiting until that incarnation of him died, waiting until the next him appeared."

"But the next him didn't remember me anymore."

Yun Meng's voice choked up slightly, and tears welled up in her eyes.

But she quickly wiped away her tears, and a smile reappeared on her face:

"But it doesn't matter, Ah Xuan will always come back anyway."

"As long as he is still alive, he will definitely come back to find me."

A thousand years!

A full thousand years!

These words were like a clap of thunder, exploding in Zi Yao's mind.

At this moment, Zi Yao completely lost her mind.

She stood up abruptly, her eyes bloodshot, her whole body trembling violently.

The teacup slipped from her hands, crashing to the ground with a crisp shattering sound.

But she didn't notice it at all.

Only one thought remained in her mind: A thousand years!

She remembered that lifetime!

She remembered it crystal clear!

In that lifetime, Ye Xuan left the Heavenly Demon Sect to roam the world.

Zi Yao had thought he was just going out for a few years and would return soon.

But he was gone for hundreds of years.

During those hundreds of years, Zi Yao missed him day and night, longing for his return.

She even thought he had died, reduced to a pile of white bones in some unknown place.

And the result?

The result was that he wasn't dead?

Not only was he not dead, but he was hiding in this worldly paradise, living a two-person world with this white-haired woman for a full thousand years?

A thousand years!

One must know, the time he spent by her side was only a mere few decades!

A few decades versus a thousand years!

What kind of disparity was this?

What kind of mockery was this?

Zi Yao felt as if her heart was going to break.

This feeling of being deceived, betrayed, and played for a fool instantly overwhelmed her.

"Ahhhh!"

A shrill scream erupted from Zi Yao's throat.

Her voice was filled with anger, despair, sorrow, and a near-mad jealousy.

Her mindset collapsed.

Completely collapsed.

A monstrous fury of being deceived, betrayed, and treated like an idiot instantly washed away Zi Yao's rationality.

Her yandere attributes completely erupted at this moment.

"Slut!"

Zi Yao pointed at Yun Meng, her voice hoarse and sharp:

"So it was you who hid him! It was you who stole him!"

"That was my thousand years! That is my husband!"

A crazed light flickered in Zi Yao's eyes as purple demonic qi surged madly from her body, condensing in the air into ferocious demonic dragons.

"I will kill you! I will tear your body into ten thousand pieces!"

"I will let you know the consequences of stealing my man!"

Boom!

Terrifying demonic qi erupted from Zi Yao's body, and the entire space trembled under her fury.

She summoned her natal demonic bell; it was the natal magical treasure she had cultivated for thousands of years, containing her entire demonic cultivation base.

The demonic bell spun in the air, emitting bursts of ear-piercing rings.

The ringing contained terrifying demonic sounds, enough to cause any cultivator's soul to collapse.

Zi Yao desperately channeled the demonic bell, turning it into a world-destroying sound wave that blasted toward the seemingly fragile young woman in front of her.

She no longer cared about any consequences.

She only wanted to kill this woman, kill the woman who had stolen her thousand years of time.

Wu Lingxiao, who was standing to the side, wanted to stop her but it was already too late.

She could only watch helplessly as Zi Yao launched her attack, a strong sense of fear surging in her heart.

It's over.

Zi Yao is courting death.

However.

Facing this resentful strike from a half-step True Immortal.

Yun Meng didn't even bat an eyelid.

She just maintained her tea-pouring posture and sighed softly:

"Noisy."

This word was spoken very lightly, very casually, as if complaining that the cicadas outside were too loud.

But just this single word.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

There was no world-destroying collision.

The very instant the demonic qi was about to touch Yun Meng's hair.

An indescribable power descended directly from a dimensional level.

It was not spiritual energy, nor was it any known form of energy.

It was... laws.

The most fundamental laws of this world.

"Pfft!"

Zi Yao's demonic body, which was capable of shattering mountains and rivers, was ruthlessly smashed as if by an invisible giant hammer.

She violently spat out a mouthful of blood, and her entire body flew backward, crashing heavily onto the beach and smashing out a deep crater.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Zi Yao lay at the bottom of the crater, vomiting blood in large mouthfuls.

It wasn't ordinary blood, but fragments of internal organs mixed with demonic blood.

To her horror, she discovered that a crack had actually appeared on her demonic nascent soul!

Although the crack was very thin, it cut deep into her origin, almost splitting her demonic nascent soul in two.

Just a single word!

Almost crippled all of her cultivation!

"This... how is this possible..."

Her face covered in blood, Zi Yao looked in disbelief at the young woman who was still sitting peacefully.

Her eyes were filled with fear and despair.

She finally understood exactly what kind of existence she was facing.

Wu Lingxiao was also scared out of her wits.

In that instant just now, she felt an aura of death that suffocated her.

This feeling was like being targeted by the Grim Reaper.

She had no doubt that if Yun Meng's target had been her just now, she would already be dead.

Without even a chance to resist.

"You really are courting death."

A cold and detached voice drifted over.

Ye Xuan had, at some unknown point, finished his first stage of cultivation.

Although he still looked devoid of cultivation on the outside, his eyes had become much more profound.

Deep within his pupils, a faint gray ring of light was circulating.

That ring of light was very faint, yet it gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.

He walked to the edge of the deep crater and looked down condescendingly at the wretched Zi Yao.

There was not the slightest bit of pity in his eyes, only mockery and icy coldness:

"Making a move against her here? Are you even worthy?"

Ye Xuan pointed at Yun Meng, his tone chilling:

"Let alone you."

"Even if Ye Jiuhuang were to come here in person, even if she held that sword that severs stars."

"In this small grotto-heaven, with just a single thought from Yun Meng, her fate would also be death."

Ye Xuan's voice was very calm, but every word was like stating a fact.

An unquestionable fact.

Wu Lingxiao gasped.

Even a True Immortal couldn't do it?

This woman... just who on earth was she?

"Who... who exactly is she?"

Wu Lingxiao's voice trembled as she finally asked this most core question.

Ye Xuan did not answer.

He turned and walked to Yun Meng's side, reaching out to gently embrace the young girl's slender and delicate shoulders.

Yun Meng did not resist. Instead, she obediently leaned into his embrace, a hint of a shy blush appearing on her face.

Ye Xuan looked down at her with incomparable tenderness and said softly,

"This should be my final incarnation."

"Yun Meng, are you ready?"

The words were spoken very lightly, but they made Wu Lingxiao and Zi Yao's hearts leap right into their throats.

Ready?

Ready for what?

Yun Meng's long eyelashes fluttered, and a very faint trace of shyness flashed across her face.

She lowered her head, looking at her toes, her voice soft and sweet,

"Ah Xuan... your current body..."

She reached out a finger and gently poked Ye Xuan's chest,

"It is too weak."

"It will break."

Ye Xuan blanked for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

He reached out and dotingly pinched Yun Meng's fair, tender little face, his eyes full of an unmelting tenderness,

"I actually forgot."

"The current me indeed cannot withstand your origin source."

Ye Xuan's voice took on a tinge of regret,

"Never mind, there is no rush."

"That day will come."

He gently hugged Yun Meng and whispered in her ear,

"It is okay, we have plenty of time."

"Wait until I cultivate to be strong enough, wait until my body can withstand your origin source."

"When that time comes, we can truly be together."

Hearing this, the blush on Yun Meng's face deepened.

She nodded gently, her voice so small it was almost inaudible,

"Mhm... I will wait for you."

"I have already waited this long anyway, waiting a little longer does not matter."

Watching the two of them acting as if there was no one else around, flirting so openly...

Especially hearing phrases like "are you ready", "body is too weak", and "it will break"...

Zi Yao, who was lying in the pit, and Wu Lingxiao, who was standing to the side...

The hearts of the two women shattered into a million pieces.

Jealousy.

Maddening jealousy.

They felt that they had not just been cuckolded, but that an entire vast green prairie had sprouted right on top of their heads!

They had fought tooth and nail to compete, only to find out that these two were already acting like an old married couple!

Moreover, from the implications of their conversation, the two of them had not even truly...

But so what?

That kind of intimacy, that kind of tacit understanding, that kind of heartfelt tenderness, was something they would never be able to obtain.