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.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
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!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
