Only for Love's Sake

“Your Majesty, why must you do this?”

Twelfth Sister anxiously knocked her head against the floor again and again, desperately trying to dissuade her. “As long as you remain here, you will still be the exalted Emperor of Great Xia! You possess unparalleled power and resources. If you feel lonely, you can simply open your harem and summon every handsome, gifted young man in the world to serve you!”

“Why must you debase yourself like this and remain so obstinately devoted to one Ye Xuan?”

“Devoted?”

Upon hearing those words, Wu Lingxiao suddenly let out a cold laugh. Her laughter carried three parts imperiousness and seven parts desolation.

“Do you truly think Ye Xuan is merely a fixation of mine, Wu Lingxiao’s, alone?”

Looking down at Twelfth Sister kneeling before her, she spoke each word distinctly. “You have no idea how many supreme women in this world are fixated on him! And every one of those women possesses a status and strength no lower than mine—if anything, they surpass me!”

Chu Jinghong, the First Emperor of Great Jin; Flame Emperor Xiao Honglian; and the current Sword Heavenly Son Ye Jiuhuang…

Which one of them was not an eternal empress who had suppressed an entire age?

Wu Lingxiao raised her head, drained the final mouthful from the jug of strong liquor, and let out a cold, bitter sigh.

“Perhaps this is simply the fate of women like us.”

“Better to be a hero’s concubine than an ordinary man’s wife.”

She casually smashed the empty jug against the ground. Her gaze became incomparably sharp and resolute.

“I, Wu Lingxiao, have already possessed a man as astonishingly talented as Ye Xuan. I have tasted what it means to stand above the nine heavens. How could I possibly find the mediocre men of this mortal world appealing ever again?”

Twelfth Sister opened and closed her mouth, only to discover that she had no words to offer.

Indeed.

By now, Ye Xuan’s name had resounded throughout the three thousand Dao Prefectures. And what had made him famous was not merely his unfathomable cultivation, but also the astonishing romantic scandals surrounding him.

He was not only the official husband soon to marry the Sword Heavenly Son Ye Jiuhuang.

He was also the white moonlight that the Empress of Great Xia, Wu Lingxiao, could never erase from her heart; the Imperial Consort whom Chu Jinghong, the First Emperor of Great Jin, would rather abandon the entire world to reclaim; and the beloved whom Flame Emperor Xiao Honglian could not forget even after descending into madness and demonic corruption.

To be madly desired by so many empresses standing at the pinnacle of power and strength—to the point that they were willing to tear off all pretense and fight over him—was itself a kind of unimaginable, deadly charm.

Faced with a man like that, what other man in this world could possibly catch Wu Lingxiao’s eye?

Twelfth Sister lowered her head dejectedly and ultimately decided to accept the throne that had fallen into her lap.

Wu Lingxiao could not be bothered with any elaborate abdication ceremony. After all, Twelfth Sister was merely a “proxy emperor.”

Nor did she care whether Twelfth Sister would use this opportunity to cultivate her own faction and expand her influence in an attempt to undermine her authority.

This was the brutal world of cultivation, not some mortal dynasty rife with intrigue and political maneuvering.

The emperor of an immortal dynasty possessed absolute strength enough to “suppress an entire nation alone.”

Before overwhelming superiority in cultivation, schemes and stratagems were nothing more than jokes that would collapse at the slightest touch.

What was more, Wu Lingxiao possessed one of the Nine Ultimate Dao Bodies—the Time Dao Body!

Her cultivation had already reached the pinnacle of the Great Ascension Realm, only a single step away from becoming a True Immortal.

With her strength, she was powerful enough to fight a True Immortal head-on.

Seeing that Wu Lingxiao’s mind was made up, Twelfth Sister could not help letting out a helpless sigh.

“Your Majesty, why must you humble yourself like this…”

Wu Lingxiao turned her head toward the distant Sword God Palace. The coldness in her expression gradually gave way to a bitterness that could not be dispelled.

“I’m not going there to compete for his favor. I want to remain by his side and atone for my sins. I’ll continue atoning until he is willing to accept me again.”

Twelfth Sister asked cautiously, “…What if he never accepts you?”

“Then I’ll atone forever.”

Wu Lingxiao smiled bitterly. In those eyes that had once struck fear into the hearts of countless powerful cultivators, there now remained only utter coldness and determination.

“I was the one who wronged him. This is the price I must pay.”

Twelfth Sister was still unwilling to accept this and felt aggrieved on her elder sister’s behalf.

“But, Your Majesty… Ye Xuan already has many women around him. He keeps one woman on each arm, and he himself is hardly innocent!”

“Hardly innocent?”

When Wu Lingxiao heard this, she did not become angry. Instead, her bitter laugh grew even more desolate.

“So what? During these days, I have finally come to understand everything.”

She drew a deep breath, and a tear slid from the corner of her eye.

“Perhaps Ye Xuan never loved me when he stayed by my side. Perhaps he was only pretending.”

“But that is precisely the point! At least he was still willing to pretend! He still tried to act as though he loved me. When he was by my side, he never crossed the line even once. He never betrayed me!”

Wu Lingxiao abruptly clutched at her chest and let out a howl of unbearable anguish.

“But what about me?”

“I wasn’t even willing to pretend! I trampled on his dignity right in front of him! I was the one who betrayed our promise first!”

“One person, one lifetime, one partner?”

Wu Lingxiao laughed at herself, the sound echoing through the great hall with indescribable sorrow.

“I’m not worthy. A woman as selfish as I am has no right to it.”

Her laughter gradually faded.

Without the slightest hesitation, Wu Lingxiao raised her hand and tore open space itself.

Holding the secret key that represented the supreme authority of the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty, she swept away more than half of the dynasty’s finest spirit veins, magical treasures, and divine pills.

Then she transformed into a streak of dazzling rainbow light and shot out of the Great Xia Imperial Palace without looking back, speeding toward the Sword God Palace.

For the sake of that man, the Empress of Great Xia had completely abandoned her empire.

In the rear garden of the Sword God Palace, spiritual energy hung thick in the air. Immortal flowers bloomed, and several spirit cranes preened their feathers beside a clear spring. Everything was tranquil and peaceful.

Ye Xuan, dressed in white, was lounging lazily in a jade chair.

Beside him, the charming and lovely Ying’er smiled sweetly as she peeled spirit fruit for him. The two chatted idly, creating a warm and leisurely atmosphere.

Suddenly, Ye Xuan stopped chewing. His eyes lifted slightly toward the layers of protective formations surrounding the garden.

He let out a soft sigh, his voice tinged with boredom.

“Someone’s here.”

Ying’er froze for a moment, then followed Ye Xuan’s gaze toward the garden entrance.

Boom!

A violent gale slammed into the garden’s moon gate, snapping several precious sword trees in half.

A disheveled, seemingly hysterical woman stumbled inside.

She was no longer wearing the nine-dragon imperial robes of the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty, which symbolized supreme authority. Instead, she wore a finely made but exceedingly humble gauze dress meant for a concubine.

It was none other than Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of Great Xia.

Her eyes were bloodshot, with frightening veins spreading across them. She had even lost one of her shoes. The soles of her pale feet had been cut by the shattered stones and were bleeding faintly, yet she seemed to feel no pain.

The instant she saw Ye Xuan, her entire body trembled violently, as though all her strength had been drained away.

With a heavy thud, and without the slightest hesitation, she dropped to her knees directly before Ye Xuan.

The jade-paved ground gave a dull, muffled sound, and blood immediately seeped from her knees.

Ye Xuan looked down at her from above, not a trace of pity in his eyes. Instead, the corner of his lips curled into an undisguised, icy sneer.

“What is it? The mighty Wu Lingxiao, Empress of Great Xia, has finally come to her senses?”

Wu Lingxiao abruptly raised her head. Tears streamed down her breathtakingly beautiful face, which was filled with abject pleading. She bit her bloodless lips hard, her voice so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable.

“I understand now… Ye Xuan, I understand now!”