Chu Jinghong Is About to Go Crazy

Ye Xuan turned his head and glanced at her.

For once, Ying'er had not put on her usual mischievous, wicked little-demon act. Instead, she looked like a true wife, genuinely worried about her husband's health.

The concern in her eyes was so intense it seemed almost tangible.

As Ye Xuan looked at her, he suddenly reached out and pinched her rosy lips.

Ying'er let out a muffled “Mm,” her eyes widening as she stared at him with a watery gaze.

Ye Xuan spoke with an expressionless face. “One moment you call me ‘husband,’ and the next you call me ‘master.’ What exactly do you want to call me?”

With her lips pinched, Ying’er's voice came out somewhat muffled, yet she still smiled impishly. “I can call you whatever I want.”

She blinked, her eyes as sly as a little fox's. “I’ll call you ‘master’ in bed and ‘husband’ the rest of the time. Is that not allowed?”

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment.

Then he released her and patted her on the head, his tone carrying an indescribable hint of helplessness. “You little minx. You’re becoming more and more skilled at taking advantage of every opening I give you.”

Ying'er immediately seized the opportunity and wrapped herself around his arm, pressing against him as though she had no bones at all. Her smile was so sweet it was almost cloying. “That’s only because you indulge me, Master.”

Ye Xuan did not respond. He simply rose and slowly walked to the edge of the cultivation hall. Through the layers of spiritual mist, he gazed toward the boundless sky beyond the Sword Palace.

“This wedding probably won’t be peaceful.”

His voice was calm, but the smile on Ying'er's face gradually faded as well.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Ye Xuan continued, “I told Ye Jiuhuang long ago not to make the wedding known throughout the Three Thousand Dao States. But instead of restraining herself, she practically wanted to send invitations throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.”

Ying'er sighed softly and walked over to his side. “Sister Ye Jiuhuang did it on purpose.”

Ye Xuan glanced sideways at her. “Of course I know she did.”

Ying'er blinked and lowered her voice. “She wants to announce that you are her husband.”

Ye Xuan did not deny it.

In truth, he understood Ye Jiuhuang's temperament better than anyone.

On the surface, that woman was cold as snow and aloof, as though nothing in the world truly concerned her.

But whenever something touched upon what she had genuinely claimed as her own, the dominance and possessiveness buried in her bones became even more direct—and even more unreasonable—than those of any emperor or hegemon.

Once she had decided that Ye Xuan was her husband, she would certainly proclaim it to the world.

She wanted everyone throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands to know that this man was her, Ye Jiuhuang's, husband.

Anyone who dared reach out for him would be cut down.

Anyone who dared harbor such a thought would be annihilated.

Thus, from the very beginning, this wedding was destined to be more than a wedding. It was more like a grand declaration and display of authority.

At that thought, Ye Xuan let out a quiet breath. “Forget it. Let her do it.”

Ying'er looked up at him and asked softly, “Are you worried that someone will come to steal the bride?”

Ye Xuan's lips curled into a cold smile. “It isn’t a matter of worry. They will definitely come.”

Ying'er was slightly stunned.

Ye Xuan turned to look at her, his gaze so deep it made one's heart tremble. “The karma I carry in this life is more complicated than you can imagine. Xiao Honglian was only the first. She won’t be the last. Now that the invitations are spreading throughout the Three Thousand Dao States, those who once formed karmic ties with me will probably no longer be able to sit still.”

As he spoke, a chill flashed through Ye Xuan's eyes.

“And besides, the truly troublesome ones have never been those mad women themselves.”

“It’s the orthodoxies, imperial dynasties, and forbidden lands behind them.”

Ying'er pressed her lips together, just about to speak.

Suddenly, Ye Xuan seemed to sense something. His gaze snapped toward the east.

In an instant, an unusual glint that was almost impossible to detect flashed deep in his eyes.

“This is going to be troublesome.”

“What is it?” Ying'er asked, startled.

Ye Xuan did not answer. He merely said calmly, “An invitation has already been delivered to the one place it should never have reached.”

…

At the same time.

The Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.

It was a terrifying imperial dynasty standing amid endless immortal mountains and golden divine rivers, its territory spanning dozens of Dao States.

Within the dynasty, ancient war banners blotted out the sky, immortal soldiers and divine generals guarded the Eight Desolations, and billions upon billions of living beings bowed their heads in submission.

Deep within the imperial capital at the very center, inside a black-and-gold palace that towered into the clouds—

The atmosphere had become oppressively tense.

Within the enormous Imperial Hall, all the civil and military officials knelt prostrate on the ground, not one of them daring to raise their heads.

Even though the weakest among them was a mighty figure who ruled over an entire region, while the strongest were ancient ministers at the Half-Step True Immortal level, every one of them now wore a deathly pale expression, cold sweat soaking their backs.

Because the person seated upon the dragon throne was on the verge of madness.

The Great Jin's First Emperor.

Chu Jinghong.

She wore a black-and-gold imperial robe and a crown strung with twelve rows of jade beads. Her features were breathtakingly beautiful, her phoenix eyes sharp as blades. Her face possessed a beauty that was both striking and supremely noble, as though all the authority and killing intent in the heavens and earth had been gathered into her alone.

Yet now, her expression was almost twisted.

Her pale, slender hand clenched a wedding invitation so tightly that her knuckles had turned faintly white.

Two strands of Dao intent intertwined upon the invitation.

One was cold and vast, capable of cleaving the heavens and earth apart. It was none other than the supreme sword intent of the Sword Sovereign, Ye Jiuhuang.

And the other…

The instant Chu Jinghong sensed that strand of Dao intent, her breathing suddenly became ragged.

It was Ye Xuan's Dao intent.

Unique and unmistakable.

Dao intent was different from aura, different from cultivation techniques, and different from fluctuations of the soul.

No matter how a cultivator reincarnated, seized another body, or concealed themselves, the most fundamental strand of “intent” rooted in the essence of their Great Dao was nearly impossible to change completely.

Therefore, she could not have mistaken it.

Chu Jinghong stared at the wedding invitation in her hand, the veins on the back of her hand bulging as her fingers tightened.

Within her phoenix eyes, disbelief appeared first. Then came delight. After that, it transformed into an almost maddened rage and possessiveness.

“Ye Xuan…”

She whispered his name, her voice terrifyingly hoarse.

“My husband…”

In the next instant, the terrifying aura belonging to a True Immortal erupted from her body.

The entire Imperial Hall shook violently. Dozens of sky-supporting divine pillars simultaneously emitted an overwhelmed, mournful hum. Beyond the hall, clouds spanning billions of miles churned violently, and the sky suddenly darkened. Even the heavens and earth trembled in response to the First Emperor's emotional upheaval.

The ministers below all changed color and buried their heads even lower.

“Your Majesty, please calm down!”

“Your Majesty, please think this through!”

“Please take care of your health, Your Majesty!”

But Chu Jinghong could not hear a word.

All that remained before her eyes was the name on the invitation.

Ye Xuan.

Ye Jiuhuang.

Wedding.

Those few words were like knives, twisting violently in her heart.

She had searched for Ye Xuan for tens of thousands of years.

Tens of thousands of years!

She had traversed forbidden lands countless times, divined the secrets of heaven, and even gone so far as to expend her origin to seek answers from the river of time, all to find that man's shadow amid an endless web of karma.

Yet she had never been able to find him.

Until today.

Until this wedding invitation was delivered before her.

She had finally found him.

But the first thing she learned after finding him was that the husband she had searched for over tens of thousands of years was actually going to marry another woman!

And that woman was Ye Jiuhuang!

That Number One Sword Under Heaven, that madwoman who struck terror into the hearts of all the True Immortals across the myriad heavens, the one known as the Sword Sovereign!

Chu Jinghong shot to her feet from the Dragon Throne in a single jolt.

Her imperial robes billowed through the air, snapping loudly in the wake of her movement, and her eyes were already streaked thick with bloodshot veins.

"Ye Xuan is my husband!"

Her voice was not loud, yet it exploded like a thunderclap across the entire Imperial Polar Palace.

"He is my one and only Imperial Consort!"

"Someone, mobilize the troops to march on the Sword God Palace!"

"I will bring my husband back!"

The moment these words fell, the entire court was thrown into utter shock.

Every single minister's face blanched to an ashen white in an instant.

A white-haired grand tutor whose aura ran as deep as an abyss practically crawled forward a step, knocking his head heavily against the floor as his voice trembled violently, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! This must not be done!"

A leading general in charge of military forces also dropped to his knees in a hurry, crying out urgently, "That is right, Your Majesty! That is the Sword God Palace that has stood tall for tens of thousands of years! And on top of that, the invincible Sword Sovereign Ye Jiuhuang resides within its walls!"

"If we dispatch troops now, it will inevitably spark a catastrophe that sweeps across dozens of Dao Provinces!"

"The slightest misstep will shake the entire Immortal Dynasty and bring untold suffering to countless living beings!"

"We beg Your Majesty to reconsider!"

"Please, Your Majesty, reconsider!"

For a moment, the cries urging her to reconsider rose and fell nonstop throughout the great hall.

Chu Jinghong stood frozen in place, her chest heaving violently, the wedding invitation in her grip nearly crumpling to pieces under the force of her fingers.

She knew full well that the ministers were speaking nothing but the truth.

No matter how unruly she might be, she had not truly lost all reason.

For she was the First Emperor.

She was no Xiao Honglian, a woman who could be completely swallowed up by her own emotions.

She ruled over an entire Immortal Dynasty, holding the power of life and death over hundreds of millions of living beings. A single order from her concerned not just one individual, but the very fate of the entire Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.

So after a short while, Chu Jinghong finally forced herself to calm down.

She slowly closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, the surging killing intent had been forcibly suppressed deep beneath her gaze, leaving only a bone-chilling coldness in its wake.

"All of you, rise."

She spoke in a flat, faint tone.

The ministers below, however, still dared not stand up.

Chu Jinghong stepped down from the dragon steps, pausing at the edge of the high palace dais to look down at all her officials, her voice restored to the characteristic calm and majesty of an emperor. "You are correct. Now is not the time to march openly on the Sword God Palace."

The ministers all let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

But before they could even catch their breath, Chu Jinghong's next sentence sent a sharp jolt through their hearts once more.

"But..."

She slowly tightened her grip on the invitation, the corners of her lips curling up into an almost sickly, twisted smile.

"My husband is not something I can give up."

"I will find a way to take him back."

These words were even more hair-raising than her earlier order to march on the Sword God Palace.

What they feared most was not the emperor declaring open war outright.

It was when the emperor had calmed down and was now seriously devising a proper plan.

That meant this matter would never be dropped.

A middle-ranked senior official summoned his courage and spoke up, "Your Majesty... everyone under heaven knows that the Sword Sovereign is utterly obsessed with Ye Xuan. If she ever discovers that someone is plotting to take Ye Xuan away, the consequences will be unthinkable."

At these words, Chu Jinghong's phoenix-like eyes turned icy cold in an instant.

"Obsessed to the point of madness?"

She repeated the phrase under her breath, then let out a sharp, cold laugh.

"What right does Ye Jiuhuang have?"

"Is it because she met him first? Or because she has a marriage pact with him?"

"I have been searching for him for tens of thousands of years! Tens of thousands of years!"

By the end of her words, a hint of uncontrollable, repressed madness surfaced once more on her stunningly beautiful face.

"My husband—who gave anyone the right to love him?"

"Who gave anyone the right to touch him?"

"Who gave anyone the right to marry him?"

The several senior officials immediately fell completely silent, not daring to utter another word.

Chu Jinghong swept a cold glance over them, then suddenly waved a dismissive hand.

"All of you, leave."

The ministers felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty, quickly kowtowing before hurrying to retreat.

Before long, the vast Imperial Polar Palace was left with only Chu Jinghong all by herself.

The great hall was empty, dead silent.

There she stood, high on the imperial steps, clutching the wedding invitation in her hand, not moving a single inch.

After a long, long while.

She slowly lifted her hand, her fingertips brushing gently over the runes belonging to Ye Xuan printed on the invitation. The gesture was so tender it bordered on reverence.

Yet the look in her eyes grew more and more warped, more and more consumed by madness.

"Ye Xuan..."

"My husband..."

She whispered softly to herself, her gaze a tangled mess of pain, obsession, joy, possession, and a stubborn will so heavy it threatened to crush all rationality.

How could I possibly give you away to someone else.

How could I ever.

She suddenly burst out laughing.

Ye Jiuhuang.

So what if you are Number One Sword Under Heaven?

You can slay every last True Immortal, you can subdue the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, but you will never be able to hold on to a man who never truly belonged to you in the first place.

Chu Jinghong slowly clenched her fist, her nails digging deep into the flesh of her palm. Blood trickled down through the gaps of her fingers, dripping onto the golden palace bricks and blooming into stark, dazzling red blossoms.

But she felt no pain at all. She only stared at the wedding invitation and whispered in a low voice,

"If a direct open grab is not possible, then I will take him secretly."

"If mobilizing the imperial army is not feasible, then I will go myself."

"I refuse to believe..."

A nearly eerie, otherworldly glow lit up her phoenix eyes little by little.

"My husband would feel nothing at all for me, his long-lost wedded wife from days long past."