The Inner World of the Empress

Wu Lingxiao was agitated and restless, the feelings she had forcibly suppressed beginning to stir once more in her chest.

She stared hard at Ying'er, then turned her head to look at Ye Xuan, her voice tinged with a hint of hysteria:

"How is this possible?! If it still doesn't work after [Eternal Conquest] is lifted, then why has my affection for you decreased?!"

Ye Xuan curled his lips into a mocking smile, his voice ice-cold yet dripping with endless derision:

"Because you're a heartless woman. [Eternal Conquest] locks love in place, but you're fickle and faithless by nature, so once it was lifted, your affection declined rapidly. But Ying'er is different—her heart is as pure as a blank sheet of paper, and her love for me has never been tainted by the slightest calculation."

Wu Lingxiao was so furious she nearly spat blood. Her imperial robes billowed as a deep sense of humiliation and confusion flickered in her eyes.

But soon, she sneered again, forcing down the strange stirring in her heart:

"What you say makes sense, so let's just wait and see. I'll take Ying'er to a palace where she cannot see you. I don't believe her affection will remain so high!"

Ye Xuan shook his head, his voice eerily calm: "Then go ahead and try."

Wu Lingxiao snorted coldly. With a wave of her hand, golden light enveloped Ying'er, whisking her away from the Demon-Suppressing Hall to a secluded yet lavish palace deep within the imperial grounds. The palace was surrounded by layers of seals, completely isolating it from space itself—Ye Xuan's divine sense could not penetrate it at all.

Over the following days, Wu Lingxiao visited that palace personally every single day.

First, she used the power of time to once again erase any lingering traces of [Eternal Conquest] from Ying'er, then sat across from her, listing Ye Xuan's crimes in a cold, harsh voice:

"Little girl, do you know that Ye Xuan is no good? He used [Eternal Conquest] to subjugate countless women!"

"From Xia Lengyue to Zi Yao, Ye Qingcheng, and even myself—he controlled us all through that wicked art! He is ruthless and stops at nothing to achieve his goals. If you stay with him, you'll eventually become his pawn, played with in the palm of his hand!"

The more viciously she spoke, the more she painted Ye Xuan as a complete devil.

But Ying'er remained composed throughout. Sitting on the soft couch in the palace, her eyes held not a trace of wavering. She simply looked calmly at Wu Lingxiao and spoke in a soft yet unshakably firm voice:

"I know all the things you're saying... My husband has indeed done many cruel things in the past. But so what? I still love him."

"Because I've seen him shield me from wind and rain at the Burial Abyss of the Gods. I've seen him willing to hurt himself to protect me. No laws or tricks can change how I feel for him."

Wu Lingxiao tried again and again, and failed again and again.

She looked at Ying'er's clear, water-like eyes, and the turmoil in her heart only grew worse.

In the dead of night, she sat alone in the imperial study, gazing out at the blood-red moon beyond the window, her mind endlessly replaying Ying'er's words.

"Why... why did my affection drop so quickly after the spell was lifted, yet she remains so stubborn? Could it be... that I truly am a heartless woman? So faithless that I'm even worse than a simple little girl?"

The more she thought, the more confused she became. The feelings that had been temporarily suppressed by the power of time began to quietly sprout again.

She slammed her fist onto the desk, shattering the jade, yet she could not shatter the increasingly clear confusion in her heart.

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan was held alone in the deepest part of the Demon-Suppressing Hall. His body was covered in wounds, but he remained in quiet meditation, a cold smirk perpetually hanging at the corner of his lips.

The law force of "One Conquest, Eternal Conquest" flowed silently through his body like a trickling stream.

He knew that although the Time Dao Body was powerful, it could never rival his own infinity.

"Wu Lingxiao... the harder you struggle, the more you will realize that you are already trapped deep within. The moment you truly awaken, that will be the day you completely submit."

He murmured to himself, the crimson marks deep within his gray-white pupils growing ever brighter.

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.

During these ten days, Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of Great Xia, had fallen into a near-mad cycle.

Every day, she would step into that cold, gloomy dungeon and torment Ye Xuan with every kind of cruel instrument of torture.

Sky-iron whips, bone-devouring nails, soul-corrosive water...

Each time, they left Ye Xuan flayed open and gasping for breath, his life hanging by a thread.

But what drove her into ever-greater fury was that no matter how unimaginable the agony his flesh endured, those gray-white eyes of Ye Xuan never showed the slightest trace of submission or fear.

On the contrary, he always gazed at her with a gentle, knowing smile — as if he saw through everything.

"Lingxiao, the strength behind your whip today seems three parts lighter than yesterday. What's the matter? Are you feeling sorry for me?"

Ye Xuan would always ask her this, coughing up blood, his voice hoarse yet teasing.

Every time she heard such words, Wu Lingxiao would fly into a rage like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, lashing out with another heavy strike and screaming hysterically that she would tear him limb from limb.

But when she stepped out of the dungeon and looked at her own trembling palms, the panic growing like wild weeds in the depths of her heart could not be suppressed no matter what she did.

And after torturing Ye Xuan, Wu Lingxiao would immediately head to that lavish side hall deep within the imperial palace.

She tried with every word and piece of evidence to prove to Ying'er that Ye Xuan was an irredeemable demon who toyed with women.

She even used the power of her Time Dao Body to wash over Ying'er's soul again and again, attempting to erase any trace left by "One Conquest, Eternal Conquest."

But she failed. Utterly and completely failed.

That afternoon, the doors of the side hall were slammed open.

Wu Lingxiao strode in, clad in her black-gold imperial robes, her face cold as frost.

Behind her followed a dozen or so young men, all handsome and each with a distinct temperament.

Some were aloof and ethereal sword cultivators. Some were sinister and seductive holy sons of demonic sects. Others were gentle as jade, sons of noble houses. Every single one was a rare beauty of a man, difficult to find even across the Great Xia Dynasty and the surrounding provinces.

Ying'er was quietly sitting on a soft couch by the window, staring blankly at a winter plum tree outside.

Hearing the commotion, she turned her head, a flicker of confusion passing through her clear, limpid eyes.

"Little girl, look carefully."

Wu Lingxiao strode up to Ying'er, gesturing at the group of trembling yet desperately charm-flaunting men, her voice carrying a suppressed madness and seduction: "Look at them! These men — in terms of looks, talent, and background, every one of them is one in ten thousand!"

"Just nod your head, and if you like them, they're all yours! You can even do what I did back in the day — take them all into your harem and indulge in endless revelry night after night!"

She stared hard at Ying'er, trying to catch even a flicker of hesitation in the girl's eyes: "Why must you cling so stubbornly to a Ye Xuan? Anything he can give you, these men can give you too! Even more, and better!"

Ying'er's gaze swept over the group of handsome men, yet it did not linger for even a single breath.

Her gaze was clear as a spring that ran down to its very bed—no desire, no wonder.

She lifted her head, calmly watching Wu Lingxiao, then suddenly asked in a soft voice, "Sister, you sit atop the entire Great Xia empire. Every man under heaven would kneel at your feet at a single word, waiting to be chosen. And yet... are you not still unable to forget your husband?"

The words fell lightly, but they struck Wu Lingxiao's spirit like a hammer of iron.

Wu Lingxiao's breath caught. Her cold, beautiful face flushed crimson in an instant, as if someone had stabbed at her most hidden wound.

Burning with rage, she snapped, "How dare you! I, the Empress, still remember him? That is hatred! I wish I could eat his flesh and drink his blood! All because of that cursed 【One Conquest, Eternal Conquest】 law of his—he tried to pollute my mind!"

"Is that so?" Ying'er was not cowed by her fury. Instead, she shook her head gently, those pure eyes of hers able to see through every disguise. "But sister, didn't you already use your Time Dao Body to lift the 【One Conquest, Eternal Conquest】 long ago?"

Wu Lingxiao froze. She opened her mouth, but it felt as if a wad of cotton were lodged in her throat. No sound came out.

Ying'er went on, "Since it is already lifted, since you are already free..."

"Then why haven't you opened your harem gates again as you did before? I have heard that the Empress of Great Xia once kept countless beauties in her pleasure palace. But ever since you captured your husband, you dismissed them all and have remained alone. These ten days—your heart, your eyes, everything you do each day—have all revolved around only one man: your husband."

"If it were only hatred, you could have simply killed him. So why is it that you cannot even bring yourself to glance at another man?"