The most unbreakable prison in this world is forged from guilt itself.

“Lu Yanchen… How dare you scheme against me?”

A terrifying killing intent erupted from Qing Xuanyin’s eyes, accompanied by the overwhelming pressure of a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator!

She finally realized just how sinister Lu Yanchen’s intentions were.

She wanted to rush out, tear away Lu Yanchen’s hypocritical mask, and call off this ridiculous wedding.

But—

When she reached the door, her footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

“Divine Maiden, please reconsider!”

The elder outside fell to his knees and anxiously tried to dissuade her. “The envoys from all the major sects have already arrived at the mountain gate. They’re all here to congratulate the Qing family on this happy union! If we call off the wedding now, word will spread that the Qing family’s Divine Maiden broke off the engagement—or worse, that she couldn’t even tolerate an ordinary cultivator…”

“What will become of the Qing family’s reputation? And what of your own good name, Divine Maiden?”

“Besides, Young Master Lu says the pain in his heart meridians has returned. If the wedding is canceled, he may immediately explode and die! What about your sister’s dying wish…”

“Enough!”

Qing Xuanyin shut her eyes in anguish.

Reputation. Honor. Her sister’s dying wish. The shackles of her inner demon.

These things were like invisible chains, tightening around her neck and leaving her unable to breathe.

She had been placed over a blazing fire, with nowhere left to retreat.

“Ye Xuan…”

Qing Xuanyin called his name silently in her heart as two streams of tears slid down her exquisite cheeks.

“I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry…”

“Just this once. Endure this humiliation one more time. Once today is over, I swear I’ll give you an explanation.”

Qing Xuanyin opened her eyes. The panic within them had been replaced by a twisted, morbid resolve.

She wiped away her tears with spiritual energy, took a deep breath, and said coldly to the people outside the door:

“Help me change.”

“Prepare to receive the guests!”

Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the dungeon—

As the faint sounds of immortal music and festive revelry drifted in from outside, Ye Xuan slowly opened his eyes.

Sitting cross-legged amid blood and filth, he raised his head. His gaze pierced through the thick stone walls, allowing him to see the grand wedding outside, the Qing family grounds decorated with lanterns and colorful ornaments, and Qing Xuanyin in her bridal gown—filled with guilt, yet deceiving herself all the same.

“Go on. Put on your show of devotion and righteousness to your heart’s content.”

Ye Xuan’s voice was cold as he spoke silently to himself.

“Every bit of affection you owe me, every betrayal you inflicted upon me, will become a chain that binds you in the future.”

“The strongest prison in this world has always been forged from guilt.”

On the day of the wedding, the entire Qing family was caught up in a frenzy of activity.

Immortal flowers rained down from the sky. Auspicious spirit beasts and divine birds circled among the clouds. Countless guests bearing lavish gifts crowded the Qing family’s vast square until there was barely room to stand. Words of flattery and congratulations rang out without end.

Yet Qing Xuanyin, the female lead of this grand ceremony, seemed like a soulless puppet.

Dressed in an exquisitely luxurious gown woven from Heavenly Ice Silkworm silk and wearing a phoenix crown, she was surrounded by countless people as she mechanically completed one elaborate ritual after another.

Her gaze was vacant. She did not even look at Lu Yanchen, who stood beside her with a face glowing with delight and a smile stretched across his lips.

As the ceremony progressed, they finally reached the most crucial and solemn step in a cultivation-world wedding: the oath between dao companions.

“May the two newlyweds offer a drop of their natal essence blood and swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao, becoming dual-cultivation partners from this day forth, sharing life and death and illuminating the Great Dao together!”

The officiating elder’s voice, amplified by spiritual power, resounded throughout the entire Qing family.

Just as Lu Yanchen happily cut his fingertip and prepared to force out a drop of essence blood—

“Wait.”

Qing Xuanyin suddenly spoke. Her voice was not loud, but it carried an icy authority that brooked no challenge.

The entire venue instantly fell silent. Everyone stared at the bride in astonishment.

“Xuanyin, what’s wrong?” The smile on Lu Yanchen’s face froze, and an ominous premonition suddenly rose within him.

“This part is canceled.”

Qing Xuanyin glanced at him coldly, then turned to the officiating elder and said forcefully, “Lu Yanchen and I are only entering into a worldly marriage. We will not become dao companions. The oath can be omitted.”

The moment those words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in an uproar!

They weren’t becoming dao companions?

What kind of wedding was this supposed to be?

Lu Yanchen’s expression instantly became unbearably ugly, as if he had swallowed a dead fly whole.

Lowering his voice, he gritted his teeth and pleaded, “Xuanyin! The heroes of the world are all watching. Are you trying to turn me into a laughingstock? Didn’t we agree before that…”

“I said it’s canceled!”

Qing Xuanyin’s gaze turned razor-sharp, and the pressure of a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator faintly radiated from her.

“If you say another word, this wedding is over.”

Lu Yanchen’s entire body trembled. Looking at the merciless expression in Qing Xuanyin’s eyes, he knew she was absolutely serious.

Rage burned within him. He wanted nothing more than to tear the woman before him to pieces. But in the face of absolute strength, he could only force down his anger.

“Fine… Fine, we’ll do as you say.”

Lu Yanchen forced a smile, but deep within his eyes flashed an extremely venomous glint.

“It doesn’t matter. Once night comes, once the deed is done, I refuse to believe you’ll still be able to escape my grasp!”

Night fell.

At last, the noisy banquet came to an end.

Reeking of alcohol, Lu Yanchen staggered as he pushed open the door to the bridal chamber.

Inside, red candles flickered. Qing Xuanyin sat upright on the wedding bed, a red veil covering her head.

“Xuanyin… my dear wife…”

Lu Yanchen rubbed his hands together, lust gleaming in his eyes. Like a hungry wolf, he lunged forward and reached for the veil.

But before his hand could touch even a corner of it—

Bang!

Qing Xuanyin tore off the veil herself. Her exquisite face was covered in frost.

She raised her hand and suddenly clenched it in the air.

A terrifying invisible force instantly seized Lu Yanchen by the throat and lifted him into the air like a chick!

“Urgh… cough, cough…”

Most of Lu Yanchen’s drunkenness vanished in an instant. His legs kicked wildly in midair, his face flushed red as he stared at Qing Xuanyin in terror.

“Who gave you permission to make your own arrangements?”

There was not the slightest trace of bridal joy in Qing Xuanyin’s eyes—only a killing intent that sent chills down the spine.

“I originally intended for this to be nothing more than a formality within the Qing family. Who spread the news and summoned people from all over the world? Do you really think I can’t find out that you were behind it?”

“Xuanyin… I… I didn’t… Cough, cough…”

Lu Yanchen struggled to defend himself. “I… I love you too much… I wanted the entire world to know… that you belong to me…”

“Shut up!”

Qing Xuanyin flung Lu Yanchen to the floor like a piece of trash.

“Love? You have no right to speak of that word.”

Looking down at him from above, Qing Xuanyin’s eyes were filled with undisguised disgust and contempt.

“Lu Yanchen, I’ve finished playing along with you. The life I owed you has now been repaid in full.”

“From this moment on, we’re even. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have someone give you enough resources to squander for the rest of your life. Then you will leave the Qing family immediately. Never appear before me again!”

Upon hearing those words, Lu Yanchen was struck as if by a bolt from the blue.

He had thought tonight would mark the beginning of his rise to the pinnacle, but he never imagined that it would instead be Qing Xuanyin’s order for him to leave!

“No… Xuanyin, you can’t treat me like this!”

Lu Yanchen scrambled toward her on his hands and knees, dropped to his knees at Qing Xuanyin’s feet, and clung desperately to her leg as he pleaded through his tears, “I’m your husband! We just held our wedding today, and everyone under heaven knows that I’m your man! You can’t just drive me away!”

“Husband?”

Qing Xuanyin seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. Without the slightest mercy, she kicked Lu Yanchen aside and sneered, “A despicable, shameless good-for-nothing like you thinks you’re worthy of being my husband?”

“Listen carefully.”

Qing Xuanyin lifted her chin slightly, her voice filled with a cruel resolve and utter disdain. “In this life, I, Qing Xuanyin, have only one true love and only one husband. That man is Ye Xuan!”

“You? You’re nothing more than a filthy rag I used to purge my heart demon and soothe my conscience!”

“Now that my heart demon has been eliminated, it’s time to throw away this rag of yours!”

Her words pierced Lu Yanchen’s heart like thousands of arrows, tearing all his fantasies and self-respect to shreds.

“No… No! You’re lying to me! I won’t leave! I’m your husband! You can’t treat me like this!” Lu Yanchen begged and kowtowed like a madman.

But Qing Xuanyin had already run out of patience.

Without even sparing Lu Yanchen another glance, she turned, pushed open the door, and walked into the night without a trace of hesitation.

After removing her cumbersome wedding robes, Qing Xuanyin felt no relief. Instead, an unprecedented terror surged through her heart.

The unease felt as though an invisible hand were viciously kneading her heart.

She wanted to see Ye Xuan.

She wanted to see him with a desperate, almost maddening urgency.

She wanted to rush to the dungeon at once, pull him tightly into her arms, and tell him that she had completely dealt with that burden—that from beginning to end, she had loved only him.