Belated Revenge

Ye Xuan pinched her chin and pulled a large handful of pills emitting a rich medicinal fragrance from his robes.

These were the supreme blood-replenishing pills and holy healing medicines capable of regrowing flesh and bone, priceless treasures hard to find in the cultivation world.

Without a shred of pity, he roughly stuffed the entire handful of pills into Xia Lengyue's mouth, even using his fingers to forcefully shove them down her throat.

"Mmph... cough cough..." Xia Lengyue gagged in agony.

"Swallow it."

Ye Xuan tightly covered her mouth, his eyes so cold they lacked any trace of human emotion:

"Stop playing dead and bleed faster!"

"If you die, where will I go to drink such excellent wine?"

Xia Lengyue was forced to swallow those pills along with her own bloody saliva.

The medicinal power of the supreme pills instantly dissolved within her body. A tyrannical force quickly repaired her riddled body, forcefully generating fresh blood, which then flowed down her slit wrists into the wine vat.

This cycle of having her physical body constantly destroyed and then forcibly healed and reborn, of having her soul torn apart and brutally pieced back together, was the world's most extreme torture, making one beg for death yet unable to die.

In the days that followed.

In this purgatory-like side hall, Xia Lengyue lived a life worse than a beast's, a life worse than death.

She was firmly imprisoned in this sunless wine cellar, having her wrists slit to drain her blood every day, and being force-fed those precious pills daily.

However, to a woman as deeply twisted as her, what made her suffer even more than the physical torment was the psychological destruction Ye Xuan had meticulously prepared.

Ye Xuan deliberately removed the soundproofing array of the side hall, allowing the gossiping voices of the maids and eunuchs outside to enter her ears clearly, without missing a single word.

"Did you hear? Her Highness Consort Xuan broke through again last night!"

"Yes, His Majesty was overjoyed and rewarded her with many treasures. I heard half the national treasury was moved to Consort Xuan's palace."

"It's said that to win Consort Xuan's favor, Demon Venerable Zi Yao personally went to the extreme north, risking a near-certain death to capture a ten-thousand-year-old ice dragon to make soup to nourish Her Highness's body..."

"Sigh, that demoness locked in the side hall is really pitiful. I heard she was also once a Dao companion just like Consort Xuan, but now she's been reduced to a blood slave, having her blood drained every day..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Do you have a death wish?! She deserves it! Who told her to be so weak? She isn't even fit to carry His Majesty's shoes!"

Every sentence, every word, was like a rusty serrated knife, slicing Xia Lengyue's heart bit by bit in a lingering execution.

She hated!

She hated them so much that she bit her lips to a bloody pulp! She hated those two aloof women for using such lowly methods to steal her Ye Xuan!

But she hated herself even more!

Hated herself for being so weak!

If she were a True Immortal, if she were invincible in this world, Ye Xuan would never have left her!

Ye Xuan would have obediently been her exclusive possession like an obedient dog, smiling only at her!

"Power..."

In the darkness, Xia Lengyue lowered her head, a beast-like rumbling growl coming from her throat:

"I want power..."

Deep within her dantian, which had been empty due to excessive blood loss, a pitch-black flame suddenly ignited.

"I will slaughter my way out... I will snatch Ye Xuan back... I will lock him up and break his legs... I will kill everyone!"

She suddenly raised her head; her eyes had completely lost their human pupils, turning into a chaotic blood-red.

Driven by this extreme jealousy, hatred, and twisted obsession, the demonic cultivation method within Xia Lengyue's body actually began to mutate in a way that defied the laws of heaven.

Those supreme pills Ye Xuan fed her were not just for replenishing blood; they were also mixed with a trace of destructive comprehension regarding the cycle of life and death from the Six Paths of Reincarnation Heavenly Scripture.

She was suspended in mid-air, enduring inhumane torture, but the aura around her was frantically surging at a terrifying, spine-chilling speed.

The surrounding walls began to form scarlet frost.

The inner demon that had originally been deeply rooted in her soul due to Ye Xuan's death in his previous life was now completely devoured by a larger, more twisted obsession.

The Tribulation Transcendence stage bottleneck that had troubled her for a century emitted a crisp shattering sound at this moment.

It actually began to loosen.

Three days later.

Inside the dim side hall wine cellar, the thick stench of blood intertwined with a bizarre yet mellow aroma of spiritual wine, fermenting into a putrid scent that was nauseating yet inexplicably intoxicating.

On the surrounding walls, faint blue candlelights flickered like ghost fires, stretching Xia Lengyue's suspended reflection into extremely distorted shapes.

Drip, drop...

Crimson heart-blood trailed down her fingertips, dripping one by one into the churning white jade wine vat below, rippling out glaring bloody rings.

Ye Xuan leaned lazily against a large black jade chair in front of the wine vat.

He wore a dark robe, his collar slightly open.

At this moment, he was holding a luminous glazed cup in his hand, and the liquid rippling inside was none other than the supreme spiritual wine brewed from Xia Lengyue's heart-blood.

He gently swirled the cup, tilted his head back, and downed the scarlet liquid in one gulp.

As his Adam's apple bobbed, he closed his eyes and let out a satisfied yet cruel sigh.

"Truly a fine taste..." Ye Xuan slowly opened his eyes. His pitch-black pupils held not a shred of their former warmth, only an endless abyss and tyranny.

He raised his hand and lightly tapped his long, slender fingers in the empty air.

The four runic chains binding Xia Lengyue suddenly lit up with a blinding bloody glow, and the marrow-extracting grand array on the ground was instantly activated. Countless visible spiritual energy spikes materialized from the array, mercilessly piercing into Xia Lengyue's meridians and bone marrow.

"Ah!"

The silent wine cellar was torn apart by an extremely shrill scream. Xia Lengyue violently threw her head back, her beautiful face violently distorted by extreme agony. Her whole body trembled madly like a sieve, causing the chains to rattle loudly.

"You... you bastard!" Xia Lengyue gritted her teeth tightly as cold sweat mixed with tears rolled down in large drops. Her eyes were fixed on Ye Xuan, who sat below looking completely at ease. Her voice was hoarse and broken: "You... you just love... torturing me with these methods!"

Her chest heaved violently. She had wanted to curse out loud and unleash the most vicious words upon this man who had betrayed her, but the pain of having her bones and marrow extracted by the array overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

She opened her mouth, but her throat could only produce agonized grunts, unable to piece together even a single complete sentence.

Seeing her in such a wretched, agonizing state, the smile at the corners of Ye Xuan's mouth only grew wider.

He set down the wine cup, stood up, and stepped over the mottled bloody shadows on the ground, walking step by step until he was right in front of Xia Lengyue.

He reached out and forcefully pinched Xia Lengyue's chin, forcing her to look down at him.

His fingers were piercingly cold, and the force was so great that it almost crushed her jawbone.

"What? You can't take it already?"

Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow, his eyes full of smugness and mockery: "Senior Sister, back when you took my heart-blood every day, you treated me the exact same way. I am merely giving you a taste of your own medicine."

He leaned in close, his warm breath fanning against Xia Lengyue's icy cheeks. His voice was as gentle as a lover's whisper, yet it dripped with a bone-chilling malice. "Senior Sister, look at me closely. Do you like how I am now?"

Xia Lengyue was forced to look directly into Ye Xuan's eyes. Those eyes, once clear and full of love and humility, were now filled with endless wickedness, madness, and brutality.

Seeing his wicked demeanor, Xia Lengyue felt as if her heart were being ruthlessly crushed by an invisible hand.

She gritted her teeth, her eyes flickering with extremely complex emotions: resentment, unwillingness, and surprisingly, a trace of twisted affection.

"You are not him..."

Xia Lengyue's eyes were red, her voice trembling. "My husband from back then, the husband who only had eyes for me... how could he turn into something as cruel as you?!"

Hearing the word "husband," Ye Xuan's gaze suddenly darkened, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

As if he had just heard the greatest joke in the world, he suddenly let go of her and let out a piercingly harsh sneer.

"Husband?" Ye Xuan scoffed, his eyes full of contempt. "Senior Sister, have you forgotten? Wasn't that foolishly devoted husband of yours, who was as stupid as a pig, killed by your paramour while trying to save you?"

These words were like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly smashing against Xia Lengyue's heart.

The hatred on her face instantly solidified, replaced by an unconcealable look of guilt. She lowered her eyes, not daring to meet Ye Xuan's gaze again.

Seeing her guilty appearance, a flash of vindictive pleasure crossed the depths of Ye Xuan's eyes.

He leaned in again with a smile, coming so close that their noses were almost touching.

He tilted his head and placed a cold, gentle kiss on Xia Lengyue's cheek, which was covered in cold sweat and blood.

Xia Lengyue stiffened all over, her pupils quivering in shock.

"Senior Sister," Ye Xuan whispered in her ear, his voice carrying a morbid sense of pleasure. "I really like how I am now. Evil, shameless, and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve my goals."

"But I don't feel the slightest bit of pain, nor do I feel the slightest bit of guilt."

Ye Xuan raised his head, his eyes hazy and manic. "As long as I have no heart, as long as I am crueler than all of you, I'll never have to experience pain again, right?"

Feeling the lingering cold touch on her cheek and listening to his sick words, an uncontrollable, morbid flush actually rose on Xia Lengyue's originally pale face.

Under extreme agony, the twisted attachment deep within her heart was completely ignited.

A clear tear slid from the corner of her eye, and her voice softened, carrying an almost humble plea. "Husband... it was I who wronged you back then. I was blinded. I know I was wrong. Take me away... let's go home, okay?"

"Home?"

This word touched the most painful reverse scale deep within Ye Xuan's soul. The smile on his face instantly vanished without a trace, replaced by an unprecedented look of madness.

He suddenly took a step back, his hands rapidly forming seals, and without hesitation, he pushed the power of the array to its absolute limit!

Ghostly blue flames suddenly surged up Xia Lengyue's body along the chains. This was no ordinary fire, but karmic hellfire that directly scorched the soul!

"Ah!"

Xia Lengyue let out a heart-wrenching shriek, her body arching violently in mid-air.

"We haven't had a home for a long time!" Ye Xuan roared, his eyes bloodshot as he pointed at her. "From the moment you plunged that bone-scraping knife into my chest, my home became hell!"

Xia Lengyue was in so much pain she was about to lose consciousness, but she stared fixedly at Ye Xuan, her eyes full of a morbid obsession and guilt. "Husband... you... you can torture me however you want... as long as you are willing to forgive me... as long as you don't leave me..."

"Torture you however I want?"

Ye Xuan laughed out of extreme anger. He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly as he let out a spine-chilling, sinister laugh.

He slowly raised his head. There was no longer a shred of human emotion in his eyes, only pure destructive desire.

"Alright," he said softly. "Then you can't blame me."

Ye Xuan slowly extended his right hand and made a grasping motion in the empty air.

"Clang!"

Accompanied by a sword cry that resounded through the clouds, the surrounding temperature instantly soared to a terrifying degree.

A divine sword, entirely crimson and engraved with ancient totems on its blade, appeared in his hand. It was the Sun-Slaying Divine Sword!

As spiritual energy was poured in, extremely terrifying golden flames suddenly surged upon the blade.

These flames could incinerate all things in the world. Even the surrounding space was burned to the point of slight distortion, and the dim wine cellar was instantly illuminated as bright as day.

Gripping the sword, Ye Xuan walked toward Xia Lengyue step by step. The scorching firelight reflected on his maddened, twisted face, making him appear even more deranged.

He raised the flaming Sun-Slaying Divine Sword, pointing the tip straight at Xia Lengyue's heart, and shouted with crazy, burning eyes:

"Senior Sister! Didn't you want my love?"

"Then feel it well, and accept this fiery love of mine!"

Before his voice had even faded, Ye Xuan violently swung his arm, and the blade burning with divine flames mercilessly pierced into Xia Lengyue's shoulder.

"Sizzle!"

The harsh sound of searing flesh rang out, and the golden flames instantly invaded her limbs and bones through the wound.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Xia Lengyue's eyes widened as she let out the most shrill, desperate, and agonizing scream she had ever made since the day she was born.

The scream pierced through the thick stone walls, echoing endlessly through the night sky of the Great Xia Imperial Palace...