The End of the Player

Zihua Palace.

It was even more chaotic here than in Lengyue Palace.

Shattered jade vessels and torn curtains littered the place, and the air was thick with the pungent scent of spirit wine.

Zi Yao slumped on the throne in the center of the grand hall. Holding an empty wine jar in her hand, her eyes were glazed over with intoxication, her makeup long ruined by tears.

"Sob... why... why am I the redundant one..."

"You despise me too... you also think I'm useless..."

"Wu Lingxiao is the Empress of Great Xia... Xia Lengyue is a Demon Venerable... Only me... only I am a parasite surviving on your charity..."

She cried while banging her head against the hard armrest of the throne.

Right at this moment, the hall doors opened without any wind.

A slender figure walked in against the light. His footsteps echoed in the empty hall, each step seemingly trampling on the very tip of Zi Yao's heart.

"Is this how the dignified Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect should look?"

His voice was cold, carrying a hint of bitter disappointment at her failure to meet his expectations.

Zi Yao trembled all over and abruptly raised her head.

The moment she saw Ye Xuan, she subconsciously shrank back. It was an instinctive fear formed from long-term mental suppression.

"Hus... Husband?"

She frantically wiped the tears from her face and tried to stand up, but stumbled due to her drunkenness, falling awkwardly to the ground:

"I... I'm not drunk... I just..."

"Shh."

Ye Xuan walked up the steps, looking down at her from above.

His gaze was no longer just cold, but filled with an unfathomable chill.

[Samsara Illusion]

Gray ripples expanded outward once again, instantly enveloping the dilapidated hall.

The vortexes in Ye Xuan's eyes spun madly, directly drawing out the deepest desires hidden in Zi Yao's heart.

In Zi Yao's vision.

Ye Xuan, who initially had a look of indifference, suddenly crouched down. With incredibly gentle movements, he picked her up from the ground.

His face bore deep guilt and fervent passion.

"Silly girl."

Ye Xuan's voice trembled, as if suppressing immense emotion:

"Did you think that when I scolded you, I truly despised you?"

"Wrong! You are completely wrong!"

"Wu Lingxiao is nothing but a dog guarding her inheritance, and Xia Lengyue is merely a rabid beast. Only you, Zi Yao... only you are the true uncut jade in my eyes!"

"Re... really?" Zi Yao was stunned, tears hanging from her eyelashes in disbelief.

"Of course."

Ye Xuan gazed at her affectionately, his fingers caressing her cheek:

"If I didn't scold you to wake you up, how could I force out your potential? If I wasn't cruel to you, how could I make you independent in this ruthless cultivation world?"

"Everything I've done has been to make you a true empress."

"In my heart, you are the one most qualified to sit in that position."

As he spoke, the Ye Xuan in the illusion lifted her up and actually placed her directly onto the Heavenly Demon Throne—the very throne she usually only dared to look up at, feeling she was unworthy to sit upon.

Then, Ye Xuan knelt on one knee, taking her hand like a subject worshipping his queen:

"Zi Yao, tonight, I shall submit to you."

"I want you to know that you are my pride."

Zi Yao's psychological defenses completely collapsed.

Her long-standing inferiority complex found a vindictive satisfaction in this moment.

Looking at Ye Xuan kneeling at her feet, an overwhelming sense of vanity and love instantly went to her head.

"Husband! I knew it! I knew you had good intentions for me!!"

Zi Yao screamed and threw herself at Ye Xuan in the illusion, frantically demanding his kisses and embraces.

Meanwhile, in reality.

The Heavenly Demon Hall was dead silent, save for Zi Yao's rapid panting brought on by her over-excitement.

She was currently lying on the cold, hard steps, reaching her hands out into the empty air. A nearly manic smile of happiness was on her face as she continuously cried out:

"I am the queen... I am your pride... Husband... kiss me..."

Ye Xuan stood on the steps, coldly looking down at this woman making a complete fool of herself at his feet.

He turned around, swept up his long robe, and sat down boldly on the broad Heavenly Demon Throne.

"Ying'er."

Ye Xuan beckoned lazily.

From the shadows, Ying'er walked out with her head lowered.

Her legs were currently trembling.

Having already been tormented for half an hour in Lengyue Palace, she now had to face another Demon Venerable.

Moreover... the scene here made her feel even more ashamed.

"Young Mas... Master."

"Come here."

Ye Xuan patted the armrest of the throne, the seat that symbolized the supreme power of the demonic path:

"Your mistress is on the steps dreaming of being a queen."

"But this real throne... belongs to you tonight."

Ying'er bit her lip and glanced at Zi Yao, who was writhing deliriously at the empty air at the bottom of the steps. This immense sense of role reversal made her scalp tingle.

She walked up the steps one by one, eventually kneeling beside Ye Xuan's feet. Then, Ye Xuan pulled her up, pressed her onto the throne, and made her sit in his lap.

"Are you afraid?" Ye Xuan asked, his lips close to her ear.

"I am..." Ying'er answered honestly, her voice as faint as a mosquito's. "If Venerable Zi Yao wakes up... she will kill this servant."

"She won't wake up."

Ye Xuan chuckled lightly, his fingers undoing the collar of Ying'er's clothes:

"Even if she does wake up, she will thank me."

"Just like Xia Lengyue earlier."

"Look at her."

Ye Xuan forced Ying'er to turn her head and look at Zi Yao, who was immersed in her hallucination at the bottom of the steps:

"Remember this feeling, Ying'er."

"The lofty Demon Venerable is begging for my love like a dog."

"While you, a lowly maid, are on her throne, enjoying everything she has ever dreamed of."

"Mmph!"

Following Ye Xuan's movements, Ying'er sharply threw her head back, tightly covering her mouth.

Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, not out of sorrow, but from a shudder deep within her soul.

In this vast and gloomy Heavenly Demon Hall.

Down in the dust at the bottom of the steps, Zi Yao dreamt her beautiful dream of being crowned queen, crying out, "Husband, I'm the best, aren't I?"

Up in the throne at the top of the steps, Ye Xuan ruthlessly possessed the little maid in his arms, replying faintly, "Yes, you're the best."

Zi Yao heard this reply and, thinking he was praising her, cried out even more joyously.

Ying'er heard it too. She knew exactly who he was talking about, and her toes curled in utter shame.

At this moment, the absurdity reached its peak.

Walking out of the Heavenly Demon Hall.

The eastern sky had completely brightened.

The first ray of sunlight spilled onto the resplendent glazed tiles of the imperial palace, refracting a dazzling light.

Ye Xuan stood on the high steps, overlooking this massive inner palace.

Weiyang Palace, Lengyue Palace, Heavenly Demon Hall.

Standing like the three legs of a tripod.

Three once-imperious women were now all living within the lies he had woven.

And the only winner, the one who had truly obtained him, was currently curled up in his arms.

"Love in this world truly is the biggest joke."

Ye Xuan sighed, a wicked curve lifting the corners of his mouth.

At this time, the sound of a bell rang out from afar.

It was the bell for the morning court assembly.

"Let's go."

Ye Xuan stretched lazily and walked in the direction of the Imperial Garden.

"Since everyone is in such good spirits, it seems today's show will be even more spectacular."

One year later.

The sky was high and the clouds were pale; a gentle breeze blew harmoniously.

An extremely luxurious royal cloud skiff slowly sailed out of the towering gates of the Great Xia Imperial Capital.

Above the skiff, spiritual energy swirled into a massive vortex centered around it, displaying the owner's incomparably noble status.

Ye Xuan stood at the bow of the ship, his robes fluttering wildly against the high-altitude astral winds.

His mood at this moment was as vast and clear as the endless blue sky.

The cultivation base of a peak Soul Formation realm surged within his body. Behind him stood three Mahayana realm Empresses and Demon Venerables who were dead set on him, and beside him was a little maid whose eyes were filled with nothing but him.

This feeling of having everything under his control even gave him the illusion that there was nowhere in this world he could not go, and no one he could not toy with.

Of course, little did he know that this was merely an illusion.

Because these women had long since discovered the truth, only choosing to keep it hidden.

"Husband, the wind is strong outside, have a cup of wine."

Wu Lingxiao walked over holding a jade cup, a touch of shyness on her face.

"Yes, Junior Brother, this is the Forget-Sorrow Dew I specially brewed for you."

Xia Lengyue was not to be outdone, pressing up against him from the other side, her eyes practically dripping with affection.

Zi Yao sat to the side playing the zither. The music lingered in the air as her gaze drifted toward Ye Xuan from time to time, carrying a secret excitement that seemed to say, "Only we know each other's secrets."

Ye Xuan took the wine cup and drained it in one gulp, the smile on his lips growing even more intense.

"The weather is excellent today."

Ye Xuan set down the cup and waved his hand with high spirits:

"Since we are all out, let us take a tour of these endless rivers and mountains. I also want the people of this world to see just how peerless and magnificent my, Ye Xuan's, wives are."

However.

At the exact moment the cloud skiff sailed out of the range of the Imperial Capital's grand defensive array, completely breaking free from the suppression of the Imperial Dragon Aura.

The strings under the fingers of Zi Yao, who had been playing the zither, suddenly snapped.

"Twang!"

A piercing, sharp sound tore through the vast sky.

The smiles on the faces of Wu Lingxiao and Xia Lengyue, who had just been fighting for his affection, froze at the exact same time.

The cloud skiff stopped.

It hovered tens of thousands of feet in the air, surrounded by a deathly silence.

Ye Xuan frowned slightly and turned around, his face still bearing a gentle smile:

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

No one answered him.

The three women stood shoulder to shoulder, facing him.

They were no longer hostile to one another, no longer jealous.

They just looked at Ye Xuan quietly. The love, infatuation, and adoration that had previously filled their eyes vanished completely in an instant.

Replaced by a heart-palpitating brutality, icy coldness, and bottomless mockery.

Their gazes were like watching a jumping clown finish his final, ridiculous act.

"Heartless wretch."

The three words were spoken in unison, exploding in Ye Xuan's ears like thunder from the ninth heaven.

Before Ye Xuan could even react.

"Slap!"

A crisp and resounding slap echoed out.

The Great Xia Empress, Wu Lingxiao, took a step forward and raised her hand, viciously slapping Ye Xuan across the face.

This slap didn't use any spiritual power, but it contained the full physical strength of her body.

Ye Xuan's handsome face was instantly knocked to the side. Half of his cheek swelled up high, and a trace of fresh blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

"You..."

Ye Xuan's pupils shrank drastically, and the gray vortex deep in his eyes had just begun to revolve.

"Slap!"

A second slap immediately followed.

Zi Yao, her face as cold as frost, backhanded the other side of his face. Where was there any trace of inferiority or flattery in her eyes? There was only deep disgust.

"Slap!"

The third slap followed right on its heels.

Xia Lengyue slapped Ye Xuan so hard that he stumbled back three steps, crashing against the guardrail of the cloud skiff.

"What are you doing?!"

Ye Xuan covered his face, flying into a furious rage.

He never expected that the three women who had been as docile as sheep just a moment ago would suddenly turn into man-eating tigresses.

He forcefully suppressed the shock in his heart, trying to maintain his persona as he shouted sternly:

"Are you crazy? I am your husband!"

"Husband?"

Wu Lingxiao sneered coldly. There was not a shred of warmth in her laughter, only endless disappointment:

"Blame it on our blindness. To think that my once proud, unyielding Consort Xuan would turn into such a sickening state today."

"You..." Ye Xuan's heart sank.

"To think you became a liar."

Zi Yao took a step forward, her eyes full of disgust:

"Using those despicable illusion arts to weave one fake dream after another. Ye Xuan, do you really think we are fools?"

"Hehehe..."

Xia Lengyue let out a burst of sinister laughter. She looked at Ye Xuan playfully, a wisp of demonic energy twirling at her fingertips:

"Junior Brother, you didn't actually think that with your meager Soul Formation realm illusion arts, you could truly fool the three of us at the Mahayana realm, did you?"

"In the Imperial Palace, we played along with your act because we still harbored a sliver of fantasy about you. We wanted to see just how far you would take this act, and just how shameless you could be."

"In the end..."

Xia Lengyue shook her head, her eyes filled with contempt:

"You have disappointed us too much. Aside from using us and deceiving us, you didn't even have a single word of truth."

"So that's how it is..."

Ye Xuan suddenly lowered his head, his shoulders twitching slightly.

A moment later, he raised his head. There was no longer any gentleness on his face, leaving only naked coldness and ferocity:

"Since you saw through it long ago, why didn't you make a move?"

"Did you bring me out of the Imperial Capital now just to humiliate me?"

"What do you want?"

Watching his current demeanor, the disappointment in Wu Lingxiao's eyes grew even thicker.

She sighed, her gaze carrying a lofty sense of grievance:

"Ye Xuan, I treated you with utter sincerity. Even knowing you were using illusion arts, I was willing to sink into them, only wishing that you could give me even a tiny bit of true affection."

"But what about you?"

"You toyed with our feelings and trampled on our dignity."

Wu Lingxiao took a deep breath, her voice returning to the majesty of an Empress:

"From now on, you are no longer my Consort Xuan."

"I am tired too, and I no longer wish to play this house-playing game with you."

"Return the things on your body that belong to me."

"That's right."

Xia Lengyue also spoke coldly. At this moment, she had regained the domineering aura of a Demon Venerable:

"Junior Brother, you have constantly used our feelings, toyed with us, and treated us as your blood banks and tools. Our patience has its limits."

"Over these past twenty years, how much of my essence blood have you absorbed? How many supreme treasures of the Demon Palace have you taken? Hand them over."

Zi Yao crossed her arms, looking at him with a face full of mockery:

"Do you think too highly of yourself? Did you really believe that a few sweet words could turn us old monsters who have lived for thousands of years into your pets?"

"Spit out my Heavenly Demon Token, as well as all those top-grade spirit stones."

Facing the forceful demands of three Mahayana realm experts.

Facing this overwhelming coercion.

Ye Xuan did not beg for mercy, nor did he feel fear.

"Haha... Hahahaha!"

He suddenly burst into loud laughter.

The laughter was shrill and mournful, echoing through the high altitude as he laughed until tears flowed from his eyes.

He pointed at the three women, his eyes filled with endless desolation and accusation:

"I am a liar? I am a heartless wretch?"

"How truly hilarious..."

Ye Xuan took a sudden step forward, staring straight into Wu Lingxiao's eyes, and roared:

"Who made me like this?"

"In my past life, I, Ye Xuan, lived with the utmost passion and loyalty! I bled for you, I risked my life for you! For love, I was willing to throw away my dignity, my cultivation base, and even my very life!"

"But what was the result?"

"I was imprisoned! I was bled dry! I was betrayed! I was thrown into a corner like trash and left to fend for myself!"

A gray light exploded in Ye Xuan's eyes:

"I never thought of doing anything to betray you! It was you! It was you who drove me step by step into becoming a madman! You turned me into a devil!"

"And now you turn around and blame me for being heartless? Blame me for deceiving you?"

"What right do you have?"

This tearful and resounding accusation caused the expressions of the three women to shift slightly.

A trace of guilt flashed through their eyes.

Indeed, regarding everything in their past lives, they owed him.

But soon, this trace of guilt was replaced by coldness.

Because they were at the Mahayana realm, existences standing at the very pinnacle of the world. They could admit their mistakes, but they would absolutely never tolerate betrayal.

"You are right."

Wu Lingxiao spoke indifferently, her voice as cold as ice:

"In our past lives, we wronged you. But over these twenty years, we have already compensated you."

"It is you who didn't cherish it, you who narrowed your own path."

"Haven't you always longed for freedom?"

Wu Lingxiao looked at him as if looking at a stranger:

"We will give you your freedom."

"The three of us have discussed it, and we will forget a heartless man like you. We are tired and no longer wish to be entangled with you."

"Hand over the resources on you that belong to us, and you can leave. Isn't this exactly what you've always wanted?"

"Fine."

Ye Xuan nodded without any unnecessary words.

He swiped his hand and took off the storage ring on his finger.

"This is the key to the Great Xia treasury, these are the supreme-grade spirit stones you gave me, this is the token of the Weiyang Palace..."

Clatter.

Countless treasures were thrown onto the deck by him, piling up like a mountain.

He turned to look at Xia Lengyue:

"This is the secret technique of the Cold Moon Demonic Palace, these are the blood crystals you wanted..."

Another pile of treasures was tossed down.

He then looked at Zi Yao:

"This is the Heavenly Demon Token, this is your natal magical treasure..."

In less than a moment, Ye Xuan was stripped almost completely bare of his possessions.

Other than his white robes and the Sun-Slaying Divine Sword in his hand, he had nothing else on him.

"It's all here."

Ye Xuan said indifferently.

"Hold on."

Wu Lingxiao looked at the treasures on the ground and suddenly sneered:

"What about the rest?"

Ye Xuan froze for a moment: "What rest?"

Wu Lingxiao took a step forward, her gaze becoming extremely sharp:

"Don't play dumb. You have the resources given to you by Ye Qingcheng and Bai Qiangu. Those resources should be given to me as compensation. Don't forget, in order to save you, I used up the only immortal medicine in the national treasury."

Ye Xuan nodded calmly.

Without any hesitation, he tossed out two more storage rings.

Wu Lingxiao waved her sleeve, collecting all the resources.

She took a deep look at the calm-faced Ye Xuan, a final trace of complex emotion flashing through her eyes before turning resolute.

"From now on, we owe each other nothing."

After saying this, Wu Lingxiao's figure flashed, directly transforming into a streak of golden light and disappearing into the horizon.

This was the Empress—decisive in her actions, never dragging her feet.