Returning in Triumph

Wu Lingxiao froze.

The warmth left behind by Ye Xuan’s palm still seemed to linger atop her head, but those heart-wrenching words had already crushed her self-respect, her pride, and the final line she held as the Empress of Great Xia.

“Husband…” Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Only two tear tracks, mingled with blood, slid silently down her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Ye Jiuhuang watched Ye Xuan approach, a smile capable of enchanting all living beings blossoming across her breathtaking features.

She raised her delicate hand and gave a light beckoning motion toward the void.

“Rumble!”

High above the nine heavens, the clouds were instantly torn apart by an overwhelming sword intent.

A ten-thousand-zhang-long Sword Emperor Airship, forged entirely from ten-thousand-year-old Profound Ice Jade and Primordial Star Iron, descended upon the skies above the Great Xia Imperial Palace with a thunderous roar. It resembled an ancient behemoth bursting from the depths of the sea.

Sword qi soared from the airship, surrounded by countless sword phantoms. Its supreme might seemed capable of suppressing the ages.

“Husband, please,” Ye Jiuhuang said, bowing slightly as she made an exceedingly respectful inviting gesture.

Ye Xuan nodded. Carrying Ying’er, who had a bag of melon seeds in her arms, and accompanied by Ye Jiuhuang, who followed him like a shadow, he transformed into three streaks of light and landed steadily on the deck of the Sword Emperor Airship.

Ye Jiuhuang reached out and grabbed at the air. A terrifying force of attraction erupted, and Ye Qingcheng, Xia Lengyue, and Zi Yao were flung onto the airship.

“Set sail.”

At Ye Jiuhuang’s cold command, the enormous Sword Emperor Airship rang out with a sword cry that shook heaven and earth. It then transformed into a blinding white streak that tore through the void, vanishing above Shangjing City in an instant.

High in the heavens, astral winds howled.

Yet on the deck of the Sword Emperor Airship, a powerful invisible sword barrier blocked all the wind and frost outside. Within the vessel, it was as warm as spring, and spiritual energy suffused the air.

Ye Xuan reclined on a soft couch covered in the hide of a ninth-order great demon, idly playing with a lustrous spiritual-jade wine cup.

Ye Jiuhuang naturally knelt beside him, like the gentlest and most considerate wife, carefully peeling the skin from a spiritual fruit for him.

“Husband.”

Not far away, Ying’er spat out a melon-seed shell and clapped her hands. Her clear, lively eyes gleamed with curiosity.

She leaned over and could not help asking, “As for Wu Lingxiao… what exactly are you planning to do? Are you really going to bring that madwoman to the Sword God Palace?”

Ye Xuan took a sip of spiritual wine and smiled faintly.

“Didn’t I already say? She possesses one of the Nine Ultimate Physiques—the Temporal Dao Body. Throughout the myriad heavens and countless realms, hers is the only body with the qualifications to touch the origin of the Temporal Great Dao. With a little refinement, she has a very high chance of proving the Dao and becoming a Time Dao Ancestor.”

A sharp glint flashed through Ye Xuan’s eyes, as though he were appraising a priceless treasure.

“A future Time Dao Ancestor… She will be the most important trump card in my hands for dealing with the enemies of the future. I can’t kill her, but neither can I simply let her go. Naturally, the only option is to keep her by my side and make use of her.”

Ying’er nodded thoughtfully, but the astonishment in her eyes only deepened.

She blinked and asked tentatively, “Then… you mean you’ll forgive her past betrayal and… let her become your woman again?”

At those words, Ye Jiuhuang’s hands paused slightly as she peeled the spiritual fruit. She said nothing, but her ears pricked up and the faint tension along her jaw revealed the unease in her heart.

“Heh…”

Ye Xuan let out a derisive laugh, as though he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

His expression instantly became filled with disdain, while unconcealed disgust and contempt churned deep within his eyes.

“Become my woman? Ying’er, are you underestimating your husband’s standards?”

Ye Xuan brought the white jade wine cup down hard against the table and said coldly, “A discarded woman is still a discarded woman. Tea that has gone stale will never produce a fresh fragrance, no matter how many times you boil it. I’m keeping her because her physique has value, because she can serve as a sharp blade.”

“But that doesn’t mean I’ll touch her.”

Ye Xuan sneered, his tone vicious and cutting.

“That body of hers was already tainted by the filth of her dealings in the halls of power—filth that can never be washed away. Keeping her at my side as a fighter, a servant to be commanded at will, or even a time-hound guarding the gate is already the greatest mercy I can show her.”

“As for loving her? Sharing my bed with her? Heh… That would be nothing less than a stain upon my Dao heart.”

At these cold, decisive words, Ye Jiuhuang finally let out a long breath of relief. A radiant smile immediately bloomed across her usually aloof features.

She gently fed Ye Xuan a peeled, crystal-clear spiritual fruit and said softly, “Husband is wise. A shameless woman like that deserves nothing more than to sweep the steps at the foot of the Sword God Palace.”

Ying’er shrugged and cheerfully picked up another handful of melon seeds.

“I knew it. My husband would never be the sort of man whose judgment was clouded by some inferior romance.”

The airship sped through the sea of clouds, crossing countless famous mountains and rivers as well as ancient Dao Provinces.

After an unknown length of time, the clouds ahead gradually dispersed. A bone-chilling cold and an astonishing sword intent swept over them like a tidal wave.

“Husband, we’ve arrived,” Ye Jiuhuang said softly.

Ye Xuan rose and walked to the edge of the deck, gazing ahead with his hands clasped behind his back.

At the end of his vision, the heavens and earth seemed to have been cleaved apart by an enormous sword. At the heart of the storm, where endless ice and astral winds intertwined, stood a towering sword peak that pierced the clouds.

At its very summit, one could vaguely see a vast complex of magnificent palaces, all carved from white jade and ice.

This was the absolute holy land of swordsmanship across the Three Thousand Dao Provinces—the Sword God Palace.

The Sword God Palace stood atop the highest peak. No vegetation grew around it. There was only ten-thousand-year-old ice that never melted and sword-qi astral winds as sharp as blades.

The higher one climbed, the colder it became.

That sense of solitude and aloofness, of cold detachment yet disdainful supremacy over all beneath the heavens, perfectly matched Ye Xuan’s state of mind.

“Ten thousand lifetimes of reincarnation—all nothing but delusion.”

As Ye Xuan gazed at the solitary sword peak and felt the absolute loyalty and tenderness radiating from Ye Jiuhuang beside him, an ambition capable of overturning the heavens and myriad realms ignited deep within his eyes.

“In this life, I will sit at the highest point and watch those bitches who once betrayed me struggle in the mire. I will watch as the heavens and myriad realms prostrate themselves beneath my feet!”

“Come. Let’s return to the palace.”