A flicker passed through Ye Xuan’s eyes, and the coldness on his face receded like the tide.
He slowly turned around and lowered his head, looking at Xiao Honglian, who was clutching his leg and crying so hard she was utterly beside herself.
Then he let out an extremely helpless sigh, one that seemed to contain endless vicissitudes and the cruel twists of fate.
“Haah…”
To Xiao Honglian, that sigh sounded like music from the heavens!
She abruptly raised her head, her swollen eyes shining with desperate hope.
Ye Xuan reached out and gently stroked Xiao Honglian’s disheveled hair. His voice held a rare warmth and complexity—one that made her soul tremble:
“Junior Sister, why do you have to put yourself through this?”
“I understand your feelings, Senior Brother. I can also empathize with the suffering you’ve endured over these past few thousand years. It’s just…”
His tone shifted, taking on an unyielding resolve and the helplessness of fate itself.
“In this life, you and I are ultimately destined to miss each other.”
“What’s missed is missed. Besides… I’ve already promised, in front of everyone under heaven, that I would marry Ye Jiuhuang. I cannot disregard the reputation of the Sword God Palace, nor can I ignore Ye Jiuhuang’s dignity.”
Destined to miss each other!
Those four words, though cruel, were ten thousand times gentler than “a ruined woman” or “I don’t love you anymore”!
In the depths of her utter despair, Xiao Honglian’s mind desperately seized upon the loopholes in Ye Xuan’s words.
He sighed! He stroked my hair! He said he understood me!
He said he was marrying Ye Jiuhuang because of his reputation and her dignity—because he had already made a promise before everyone under heaven!
He doesn’t despise me! There’s still a place for me in his heart! It’s only because of worldly obligations that he can no longer make me his legal wife!
The moment this thought arose, Xiao Honglian’s body trembled violently as though struck by lightning.
An utterly insane and shameless thought—one that the Flame Emperor of old would never have voiced even if she had to die ten thousand times—exploded in her mind.
As long as I can stay by his side! As long as I can see him day and night!
As long as I can seize a place for myself in this missed relationship once more!
What does status matter?! What does dignity matter?!
Xiao Honglian abruptly raised her upper body and stared fixedly at Ye Xuan. Almost without thinking, she blurted out:
“I don’t want to fight Ye Jiuhuang for the position of wife!”
“Senior Brother… I can… I can be your concubine!”
When the word “concubine” came from the mouth of the Flame Emperor, a woman who stood at the pinnacle of power and looked down upon all beneath the heavens, the entire world seemed to tremble.
Even Ye Xuan, who had long expected her to break down, was visibly stunned when he heard those words.
He truly had not expected Xiao Honglian to debase herself to such an extent for the sake of atonement and love!
The dignified Flame Emperor was willing to become the concubine of a man who had not even reached the True Immortal realm?
And not just any man—she was willing to become a secondary wife beneath Ye Jiuhuang, someone who surpassed her in every possible way?
This was simply the greatest joke under heaven!
A deeply complicated glimmer flashed through Ye Xuan’s eyes. There was mockery and contempt in it, but also a trace of supreme delight at having successfully achieved his revenge.
However, he did not agree immediately.
Ye Xuan fell silent.
He slightly furrowed his brows, his eyes filled with struggle and hesitation, and simply gazed quietly at Xiao Honglian.
To Xiao Honglian, this silence was more terrifying than being tortured to death.
She was terrified that Ye Xuan would strip her even of the right to become his concubine. She was so nervous that she could barely breathe.
Just as Xiao Honglian was preparing to kowtow and beg once more, Ye Xuan finally moved.
He did not answer her directly. Instead, as though he had made some difficult decision, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
Then Ye Xuan flipped his wrist and took a parchment scroll from his storage ring. The scroll radiated an ancient, primordial aura as he slowly extended it toward Xiao Honglian.
Xiao Honglian froze for a moment, staring blankly at the ancient scroll before her. For a while, she could not understand what he meant.
Ye Xuan looked at her with an unusually serious expression. His tone contained a rare hint of entreaty:
“I’ll set aside your feelings for now. Since Junior Sister has come to the Sword God Palace this time, I happen to have something I’d like to ask for your help with.”
The moment Xiao Honglian heard him use the word “ask,” astonishing brilliance erupted from her hollow eyes!
He isn’t driving me away! He needs my help! I’m still useful to him!
This sense of being needed gave Xiao Honglian the feeling that she had seized a lifeline. She scrambled forward and said urgently:
“Senior Brother, just tell me what you need! Don’t say it’s merely help—even if you wanted my life, I would give it to you immediately!”
Ye Xuan shook his head and pointed at the ancient scroll in his hand.
“I’d like to ask Junior Sister to refine some pills for me. The scroll contains a formula known as the ‘Fortune-Reversing Pill.’ It is an extremely rare ancient divine pill, powerful enough to defy the heavens and change one’s destiny.”
As he looked at Xiao Honglian, a carefully measured hint of expectation appeared in Ye Xuan’s eyes.
“Across the Three Thousand Dao Provinces, apart from you, the Flame Emperor who commands all the fires of creation, I can’t think of anyone else who could successfully refine this Fortune-Reversing Pill. Only you can help me with this.”
“Only you!”
Those three words were the deadliest aphrodisiac in the world.
Xiao Honglian trembled violently with excitement. Amid the endless inferiority she felt from being completely crushed by Ye Jiuhuang, Ye Xuan’s words finally allowed her to recover a trace of the pride and superiority that belonged to the Flame Emperor.
That’s right. Ye Jiuhuang only knows how to wield a sword—what does she know about alchemy?
The only one who can help Senior Brother is me! Only me, Xiao Honglian!
Xiao Honglian hurriedly extended her fair hands, still stained with blood, and accepted the parchment scroll with the utmost reverence.
She immediately unfurled it and rapidly scanned its contents.
As she read on, the flush of excitement on Xiao Honglian’s face gradually faded, replaced by gravity and shock.
After all, she was one of the top ten alchemy grandmasters in the world. With a single glance, she could already see how terrifying this Fortune-Reversing Pill was.
“This… this Fortune-Reversing Pill…”
Xiao Honglian sucked in a cold breath and could not help praising it fervently.
“Senior Brother, this pill formula is truly ingenious beyond the work of heaven! If it can be successfully refined, it would be powerful enough to defy the heavens and change someone’s fate. It’s just…”
Her brows drew tightly together as she pointed to several of the primary ingredients listed on the formula.
“Every material required here is a treasure born from the creation of heaven and earth. Netherworld Underworldspring Water, a ten-thousand-year-old Black Tortoise shell, and even the blood from a true dragon’s heart… These materials are simply too expensive and too rare. Even if one emptied the reserves of an ancient orthodox lineage, they might not be able to gather enough for more than a few batches.”
At Xiao Honglian’s words, an imperceptible slyness flashed through Ye Xuan’s eyes.
He let out a deep sigh and said with a bitter smile:
“Junior Sister has a discerning eye. To be honest, although I currently oversee the Sword God Palace, such a vast enterprise requires money everywhere. On top of that, preparing for my wedding to Jiuhuang has already consumed an immense amount of resources.”
“Right now, I’m truly short on funds.”
Ye Xuan looked at Xiao Honglian and said in a tentative, almost humble tone, “So, I’d like to ask Junior Sister… could you use the resources of your Endless Flame Domain to cover the cost of the materials for me? It wouldn’t take much… If you could just help me refine five Creation Pills, that would be enough.”
After saying this, Ye Xuan even lowered his head slightly, putting on an embarrassed look as though his lack of money made him feel ashamed.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
