Goading.
It was goading again.
But for the arrogant Xia Lengyue, this trick worked every single time.
She looked at Ye Xuan coldly, calculating in her heart.
Ten years.
For cultivators, it was but the snap of a finger.
Ye Xuan had a Five Elements Heavenly Dao Foundation, which indeed required a massive amount of resources. Even given ten years, he would at most just reach Core Formation.
Such a meager level of strength was utterly insignificant.
Moreover, if she pushed him too hard and he actually detonated himself, she would truly be left with nothing.
"Hmph, at least you are clear-headed."
Xia Lengyue retracted all her oppressive aura. The ferocious expression on her face vanished in an instant, and she reverted to being the proud, cold, and glamorous queen.
She walked up to Ye Xuan, reached out, and smoothed his collar which had been rumpled from her grip. Her movements were so gentle that it was as if the murderous lunatic from a moment ago had not been her at all.
"Fine, I agree."
"Ten years."
"During these ten years, I will give you whatever you want. I won't force you to share a bed with me, nor will I force you to smile."
"But Ye Xuan, remember this."
She whispered softly in Ye Xuan's ear, her tone chillingly cold:
"This is your last chance."
"Ten years from today, if you still dare to bring up anything about 'forgetting each other in the martial world'..."
"I will break all four of your limbs, turn you into a 'human swine,' and keep you in my vase."
"To accompany me forever."
After saying this, she planted a light kiss on Ye Xuan's cold cheek.
"Husband, the ten-year agreement is now in effect."
Ye Xuan lowered his eyes, concealing the deep murderous intent flashing in his gaze.
"It's a deal."
Spring left and autumn arrived; cold and heat alternated.
In the blink of an eye, three years passed.
During these three years, many major events occurred in the Qingyun Sect.
The two biggest were, firstly, Xia Lengyue broke through to the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm at a shocking speed, only a step away from the False Core realm, becoming the number one figure among the sect's younger generation.
Secondly, Ye Xuan, who had once been regarded by countless people as a kept man, actually had his cultivation skyrocket to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, all thanks to Xia Lengyue piling resources onto him without regard for the cost.
Lengyue Peak, inside an extremely luxurious cultivation chamber.
The air was filled with a medicinal fragrance so thick it wouldn't dissipate. That was the scent of burning fifth-tier Spirit Gathering Pills. An ordinary Golden Core cultivator could prolong their lifespan just by taking a sniff, yet here with Ye Xuan, it was merely the incense used for his daily cultivation.
"Phew..."
Ye Xuan slowly exhaled a breath of impure air. Five-colored light flowed around his body before finally settling into tranquility.
He opened his eyes, feeling the spiritual energy surging like an ocean within his body.
This feeling of being brimming with power was intoxicating, but the depths of his eyes remained as clear and cold as ice.
"It's still not enough."
"This speed is still not enough."
The door was gently pushed open.
Xia Lengyue walked in, carrying a jade tray. Resting on the tray were three fruits emitting an ice-blue halo—Ice Soul Vermilion Fruits.
Every single one was invaluable, enough to cause a bloody massacre in the outside world.
"Husband, you've worked hard on your cultivation."
At this moment, the suffocating bloody aura around Xia Lengyue had been restrained considerably.
As her cultivation advanced, she had become increasingly beautiful and alluring, carrying a natural, authoritative dignity in her every movement. But in front of Ye Xuan, she still tried her best to play the role of a gentle and virtuous little wife.
"These are Ice Soul Vermilion Fruits just sent over from the Northern Plains. I tasted one; they aren't sour, they're very sweet."
She peeled the fruit and offered the crystal-clear flesh to Ye Xuan's lips.
Ye Xuan did not stand on ceremony in the slightest and opened his mouth to swallow it.
The icy juice burst in his mouth, transforming into pure spiritual energy that nourished his limbs and bones.
After eating, Ye Xuan looked up at Xia Lengyue's expectant eyes.
He knew that at this moment, he needed to pay his compensation.
Not spirit stones, not his body, but emotional value.
Ye Xuan reached out and gently held Xia Lengyue's fingers, rubbing the pad of his thumb against the back of her hand, his eyes revealing a perfectly measured hint of being moved and attached.
"Senior Sister."
His voice was deep and magnetic, carrying a barely noticeable tremble:
"You are so good to me."
These simple words instantly lit up Xia Lengyue's previously dark and profound eyes.
Ye Xuan did not stop. He looked into her eyes and continued affectionately:
"Did you know? I used to always feel like this was a cage."
"But over these past three years, you are the one I see when I open my eyes every day, and the one I think of when I close them."
"I've even started to wonder if my painful memories from before were really just a nightmare."
"If it was a nightmare, why are you so real, so warm right now?"
"Senior Sister..."
Ye Xuan pressed her hand against his cheek, closed his eyes, and greedily absorbed her warmth:
"In this life, besides you, no one has ever treated me this well."
"Perhaps... you were right."
"Time truly is the best medicine to forget everything."
These words were like the sweetest poison in the world, injected precisely into Xia Lengyue's sick, twisted heart.
She trembled all over, the smile on her face gradually widening. It was a smile that mixed ecstasy, satisfaction, and a trace of hair-raising possessiveness.
"Really? Husband?"
Xia Lengyue excitedly gripped Ye Xuan's hand back, her voice becoming somewhat shrill from excitement:
"Do you really... not feel the pain anymore?"
"I knew it! I knew it!"
"As long as I treat you well, as long as I give my heart to you, you would definitely be moved and change your mind!"
She suddenly threw herself into Ye Xuan's arms, hugging him tightly. Her grip was so strong it was as if she wanted to knead him into her very flesh and blood.
"Husband... my husband..."
She murmured in Ye Xuan's embrace, her eyes blurred and fanatic: "Since you've figured it out, since you've started to accept me... then let's..."
Her hand slid down Ye Xuan's spine, carrying a scorching temperature and unmasked desire:
"Let's... consummate our marriage tonight, okay?"
"I want you... I really want you so much..."
"I want to become one with you, I want to bear your child... give birth to a child with a Five Elements Heavenly Dao Foundation..."
This topic again.
This was also the biggest crisis Ye Xuan had faced over these past three years.
As Xia Lengyue's investment in him increased, her desire for a return grew stronger and stronger. Spiritual comfort was almost no longer enough to suppress her physical thirst.
Ye Xuan's body stiffened slightly for a split second.
But he did not push her away, nor did he show any disgust.
Instead, he reached out and gently stroked Xia Lengyue's cascading long hair. His tone was full of doting affection, yet carried a trace of firmness.
"Silly girl."
Ye Xuan sighed softly, gently catching her restless hand and pressing it against his dantian.
"Senior Sister, have you forgotten our goal?"
"Goal?" Xia Lengyue lifted her head in a daze, her eyes somewhat unfocused.
"Yes, immortality."
Ye Xuan looked at her, his expression earnest and serious:
"You are a heaven-chosen genius, destined to become an immortal ancestor and ascend to the upper realm. And since I possess the Five Elements Heavenly Dao Foundation, naturally, I cannot hold you back."
"The Five Elements Chaos Sutra records that if a cultivator can maintain a body of pure yang during the Foundation Establishment stage, the quality of their golden core upon Core Formation can increase by thirty percent. There is even a chance to form the legendary Flawless Golden Core."
"Senior Sister."
Ye Xuan took the initiative, a trace of reproach in his eyes:
"If you take my body now, you will indeed gain a moment of pleasure."
"But that would ruin my foundation. It would ruin our future of staying together for thousands of years."
"You love me, don't you?"
"Since you love me, you should support me. For the sake of our future, please endure it for a little while... okay?"
These words were logically rigorous and completely impeccable.
Xia Lengyue froze.
The lust in her eyes began to struggle violently against the concepts of a Flawless Golden Core and staying together forever.
She looked at Ye Xuan's handsome face.
He is doing this for me... to be able to accompany me for a long time... that is why he is enduring this loneliness.
Once this thought emerged, it grew wildly like weeds, instantly transforming her dissatisfaction into a deeply moving sense of personal sacrifice.
"Husband..."
Xia Lengyue's eyes turned red.
She let go of him and lowered her head in shame:
"I am sorry... I was too impatient."
"I was too short-sighted."
"You are right. What we seek is immortality, to be together life after life."
"I cannot ruin your Great Dao for a moment of fleeting pleasure."
She cupped Ye Xuan's face and kissed his forehead tenderly:
"Alright, I will endure."
"When the day comes for you to form your core... when the day comes that you are truly powerful..."
"I want you to pay back this debt you owe me, with interest."
Ye Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his back already covered in a layer of cold sweat.
Yet, a warm smile appeared on his face as he nodded firmly:
"Alright."
"When that time comes, I will give myself to you completely."

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!

close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"