Returning the Original Object

The blizzards of the Northern Frontier never cease.

Over the next five days, Ye Xuan led Ying'er through the desolate mountains and wild ridges, walking at a leisurely pace as if strolling through his own courtyard.

The outside world had already turned upside down.

The Azure Cloud Sect's Blood Kill Warrant was plastered across every city in the Great Qian Dynasty.

In every street and alley, tea house and tavern, people were discussing Ye Xuan, the heartless scoundrel who had absconded with the funds and betrayed his senior martial sister.

In the portrait, his face was as flawless as jade, yet the artist had deliberately added a touch of sinister gloom to his features.

Ye Xuan sat on a bluestone, casually picking up a wanted poster that the wind had blown to his feet.

Looking at the unfamiliar version of himself in the portrait, a mocking curve formed at the corner of his mouth. He crumpled it into a ball and tossed it into the campfire before him.

Crackle.

The paper turned to ashes.

They are hunting Ye Xuan, what does that have to do with me, Ye Xiaoyao?

He picked up his wine flask, tilted his head back, and took a swig, his expression so indifferent it was as if he were the only person in this world.

Ying'er sat obediently to the side, roasting a wild hare in her hands.

She didn't understand anything about wanted posters. She only knew that as long as she followed the young master, even a trip to hell would be like a spring outing.

They traveled for another half day.

Beneath a snow-covered precipice, a ruined palace with only one corner exposed suddenly came into view.

It was unknown how many years the palace had been abandoned. Weeds grew among the broken walls and ruins, but the purple-gold glazed tiles of the past were faintly visible, exuding an immortal divine aura amidst the wind and snow.

Ying'er blinked her large, curious eyes and asked, Master, what are we looking for in this desolate wilderness?

Ye Xuan stopped in his tracks. Looking at the familiar ruins, a trace of nostalgia flashed in his eyes as he smiled faintly.

Looking for a treasure.

A treasure that will give us a safe place to settle down.

However, in the next second, he seemed to sense something, and the smile on his lips instantly morphed into a chilling sneer.

He looked toward the south, his gaze seeming to pierce through thousands of mountains and rivers.

It seems... she noticed.

A bit faster than I imagined.

But... the timing is just right.

Meanwhile.

Thousands of miles away, in Falling Cloud City, in front of that dilapidated noodle stand.

The originally bustling crowd of diners had long since fled, leaving only the noodle stand owner slumped on the ground, shivering uncontrollably.

Because standing before him was a woman dressed in blood-red clothes, radiating a monstrous murderous aura.

Xia Lengyue.

In her hand, she gripped a silver ingot.

It was the silver Ye Xuan had left behind, which still carried an extremely faint trace of spiritual energy fluctuation belonging to the Five Elements Chaos Sutra.

Found you...

Husband... I would recognize your scent even if you turned to ash.

Xia Lengyue stared fixedly at the silver in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the force.

She took a deep breath and suddenly glared at the noodle stand owner, who had already wet his pants in terror.

He gave you this silver?

Was there... someone else with him?

How could the owner have ever seen such a terrifying scene? He stuttered, unable to form a complete sentence, Y-yes... it was a little beggar... that girl... girl...

A girl?

Xia Lengyue's pupils violently contracted into pinpricks.

She couldn't be bothered to listen to any more nonsense.

Soul Search.

Her icy palm pressed directly onto the crown of the owner's head.

Ahhhhh!

The miserable, bloodcurdling scream lasted for only a moment before abruptly coming to a halt.

Countless memory fragments flooded into Xia Lengyue's mind.

She saw Ye Xuan sitting there eating noodles.

She also saw that filthy young girl humbly walk up to Ye Xuan and say in a tone as lowly as the dust:

Husband... could you reward me with a bowl of noodles to eat? After I finish... I can sleep with you.

Boom!

Monstrous anger instantly ignited Xia Lengyue's rationality.

Slut!

Shameless bitch!

Xia Lengyue crushed the owner's skull with a single grip. Blood splattered across her face, making her already ferocious expression look even more like a demonic ghost.

Ye Xuan... you would rather have a dirty woman who would sell her body for a bowl of noodles...

Than have me?

What exactly are you trying to do? Are you doing this just to disgust me?

I will kill her! I will tear her body into ten thousand pieces!

The space trembled.

With a flash of blood-red light, Xia Lengyue's figure instantly vanished from the spot, leaving behind a mess and the owner who died with his eyes wide open.

In front of the abandoned palace.

Ye Xuan led Ying'er, treading on the snow, into a grand hall that looked as if it was about to collapse.

The moment they stepped inside, the sound of the wind and snow from the outside world vanished instantly.

Ye Xuan looked around at the mottled pillars and dust-covered murals, sneering endlessly:

Not bad, it really is here.

Although it's a bit dilapidated, the core formation is still intact. I've finally found it.

Ying'er touched and looked around like a curious baby: Master, what is this thing? It looks so broken.

Ye Xuan walked to the center of the hall, reached out to stroke a stone stele covered in runes, and smiled:

This is no junk.

This is an Innate Spirit Treasure, the Purple Heaven Palace.

In ancient times, it was a renowned supreme defensive treasure. As long as you are inside and the formation is activated, unless a mighty figure of the Mahayana realm comes in person, no one can even think about breaking its defenses.

Furthermore... A sharp glint flashed in Ye Xuan's eyes: It doesn't require its master to have a very high cultivation base. As long as there is enough spiritual energy, it can operate continuously.

I searched for so long, and I've finally found it.

Saying this, Ye Xuan bit his fingertip without hesitation.

A drop of blood containing the essence blood of the Five Elements dripped onto the stone stele.

The originally dead silent palace suddenly awakened from its slumber.

Streaks of purple-gold light rose from the ground. The ruined walls unexpectedly repaired themselves rapidly within the light, and the originally dull dome instantly became magnificent and resplendent.

The entire palace transformed into an immortal palace flowing with brilliant colors, directly merging into Ye Xuan's bloodline perception.

Ying'er watched, dumbfounded: M-Master! How did you know this supreme treasure would fall here? This is too much of a coincidence, isn't it?

Ye Xuan turned his head, looked at her, and smiled meaningfully:

Because this magical artifact used to be mine.

He didn't explain further and waved his large sleeve.

Clatter!

From his storage ring, the mountain of supreme-grade spirit stones—the dowry Xia Lengyue had once given him—poured out madly like a dazzling spiritual river, filling the formation cores surrounding the grand hall.

With these spirit stones, even if Xia Lengyue chops off her own hands, she won't be able to break in anytime soon.

After finishing all this, Ye Xuan clapped his hands and looked at Ying'er, whose face was still full of ignorance.

His expression turned serious.

Ying'er.

Did you learn the things I asked you to learn?

Ying'er was stunned for a moment, then her small face turned red, but she raised her head without shrinking back, revealing a smile that was both shy and resolute:

Of course.

For Master's sake, Ying'er has been studying it every night, and now... I know it by heart.

Good.

Ye Xuan nodded, a trace of approval flashing in his eyes.

The next moment.

He took a deep breath and no longer suppressed the aura within his body.

Boom!

The Five Elements spiritual energy of the half-step Golden Core realm surged into the sky like a signal fire, directly piercing through the dome of the palace and spreading out in all directions!

This was a provocation.

It was also an invitation.

In less than a minute.

The sky turned dark.

The originally gloomy, snowy sky suddenly turned blood red.

A suffocating and terrifying pressure, carrying apocalyptic rage, descended with a crash!

"Husband!"

Accompanied by a heart-wrenching roar.

A red silhouette fell like a meteor, smashing heavily onto the plaza in front of the Purple Heaven Palace.

The dust and smoke cleared.

Xia Lengyue's hair bun was already disheveled, and her originally exquisite dress was now covered in dust.

Her eyes were crimson, bloodshot all over, as she stared fixedly at the figure standing at the entrance of the Purple Heaven Palace.

Ye Xuan, and... the girl in the yellow dress leaning against him.

"Husband!"

Xia Lengyue suddenly raised her hand to point at Ying'er. Her fingers trembled violently from extreme anger, her knuckles turning pale, and her voice was so shrill that it had changed its pitch:

"Who is she?"

"Did you scheme so hard to run away just to be with this slut?!"

Ye Xuan stood with his hands behind his back on the high white jade steps of the Purple Heaven Palace, looking down at her from above.

Facing her shrewish questioning, he did not panic at all. Instead, right in front of Xia Lengyue, he slowly reached out and gently wrapped his arm around Ying'er's shoulder.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing an incredibly gentle smile on his face:

"Her?"

"Naturally, she is my most beloved Ying'er."

"And the woman... that I, Ye Xuan, have chosen."

"No!"

Xia Lengyue screamed in breakdown. Tears instantly burst from her eyes, mixing with the dust on her face and leaving two miserable streaks:

"Ying'er? More like a whore!"

"I've investigated! She's just a beggar! A slut who would kneel to anyone and let anyone sleep with her just for two steamed buns!"

"She is nothing but a filthy woman who would sleep with any man!"

"Ye Xuan! Are you blind? You abandon a proud daughter of heaven like me, and you want this kind of trash?"

Facing this venomous abuse, Ying'er's frail body instinctively trembled slightly, subconsciously wanting to shrink back behind Ye Xuan to hide.

But Ye Xuan's hand, like an iron tongs, pressed firmly and powerfully on her shoulder, giving her silent support.

Then, Ye Xuan turned to look at Xia Lengyue. The false gentleness on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a coldness and mockery enough to freeze the soul:

"Sleep with any man?"

"Xia Lengyue, do you have the right to say those words?"

"Back then..."

Ye Xuan deliberately lowered his voice, carrying a trace of pain and disgust toward the memories that seemed to come from the depths of his soul: "Weren't you exactly the same?"

Xia Lengyue's whole body suddenly stiffened, her originally frantic movements freezing instantly.

Of course she knew what Ye Xuan was referring to; it was the most untouchable forbidden zone in her heart.

"That... that was all in our past life!"

Xia Lengyue painfully clutched her chest, as if a piece of flesh was being forcefully carved out of it, her eyes bleak and desperate:

"Ten years! Husband!"

"Ever since you died, I kept my chastity. I didn't even cast a single glance at another man!"

"Can you really not see it? My whole heart is entirely devoted to you!"

"I've given you my life, why must you hold onto a little mistake from my past life?"

"A little mistake?"

Ye Xuan sneered. There was no warmth in his laughter, and his eyes were incredibly cold, as if looking at a nauseating stranger:

"To you, it was just a little mistake."

"To me, it was a knife stabbed into my heart."

"Xia Lengyue, I've said it before."

"The fate between you and me is over. If we meet again, we are enemies."

"And towards enemies..."

Ye Xuan's fingers gently stroked Ying'er's smooth, long hair. His movements were gentle, but the gaze he directed at Xia Lengyue was incredibly ruthless, revealing a chilling killing intent: "I never show mercy."

"Enemies..."

Xia Lengyue stumbled two steps back, as if all the strength in her body had been drained instantly, barely able to stand steady.

Looking at Ye Xuan's cold, almost heartless face, she felt as if her heart was being twisted by a knife, the pain making it impossible to breathe.

"I sacrificed for over a decade... gave everything... only to get the word 'enemies' in return?"

"Haha... Hahahaha..."

She suddenly began to laugh. The laughter was shrill and mournful, a hundred times uglier than crying.

Along with her laughter, the aura around her became extremely unstable. Red spiritual energy burned wildly on her body like out-of-control flames, making her face look ferocious.

Watching her look as if she was about to suffer qi deviation, Ye Xuan slightly closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

His sigh drifted in the wind, sounding with a trace of deep exhaustion and helplessness.

"Forget it."

"I no longer want to dwell on the matters of the past life."

"Xia Lengyue, just go."

Ye Xuan opened his eyes again, his tone returning to a stagnant calmness:

"If you leave now, we can both be at peace."

"As for those resources I took... I promise you, when I form my Golden Core in the future, I will definitely repay you tenfold."

"With this, you should be satisfied, right?"

"Satisfied?"

Xia Lengyue acted as if she had heard some massive, utterly absurd joke.

She abruptly raised her head. The eyes behind her messy hair were crazy and paranoid, as she roared hysterically at the high platform:

"Resources? Who cares about those broken stones!"

"What I want is you! Husband! I want you!"

"Give my husband back to me!"

Ye Xuan looked coldly at her mad state, a cruel curve forming at the corner of his mouth:

"Husband? Which husband of yours?"

"You have far too many husbands. There's Zhao Wuji, Li Chengfeng..."

"I, Ye Xuan, am not worthy of such high status."

Every name spat out was like a heavy hammer smashing into Xia Lengyue's heart.

"Don't say it! Don't say it anymore!"

Xia Lengyue painfully clamped her hands tightly over her ears, tears streaming down her face, her body trembling violently:

"Husband, I beg you... stop hurting me with your words..."

"My heart really hurts so much..."

"Hurts?"

Ye Xuan was expressionless, his voice as cold and hard as iron:

"You were the one who hurt me first."

This sentence became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Xia Lengyue violently dropped her hands. Those crimson eyes were like poisoned blades, staring fixedly at Ying'er. The killing intent in her eyes almost materialized, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet a few degrees:

"I understand now..."

"It must be this slut!"

"Did this filthy woman drug you with a bewitching potion? Did she enchant you?"

"She must have seduced you! I'll kill her right now!"

Boom!

Xia Lengyue raised her hand and unleashed a terrifying blood-red palm print, carrying world-destroying momentum, ruthlessly blasting toward the defensive barrier of the Purple Heaven Palace.

Thud!

With a muffled sound, the transparent barrier trembled violently, rippling in layers, but after all, it was an ancient grand formation. It remained as steady as Mount Tai, completely blocking the attack.

Ye Xuan looked through the screen of light at Xia Lengyue, who was attacking continuously like a mad demon outside the barrier. His eyes were cold to the extreme, without a shred of pity:

"No."

"This is my own decision."

"It has nothing to do with her."

"I don't believe it! You love me! You definitely still have me in your heart!"

Xia Lengyue frantically pounded against the invisible curtain of light. Her nails scratched against the barrier, producing a teeth-setting screeching sound as blood trickled down her fingertips:

If you really wanted to break away from me completely, why did you leave clues for me to find you?

You left that silver on purpose, didn't you just want me to come looking for you?

Husband, come back with me... I'll kill this woman, and we can start over, okay?

Ye Xuan did not answer.

He merely looked at her quietly, as if looking at an incurable monster, his eyes carrying a trace of condescending pity.

It was the look one gave a lunatic.

Leave.

It's better for both of us.

I won't leave!!

Xia Lengyue completely erupted. The veins all over her body bulged out, making her look hideously terrifying. She was like an evil ghost crawling out of hell as she roared hoarsely:

I will take you back! I will lock you up!

As for this bitch beside you... I will peel off her skin! I will pull out her tendons! I will throw her into the Myriad Snake Cave and let her suffer the agony of ten thousand snakes biting her heart!!

Hearing this extremely vicious curse, Ying'er, who had been cowering behind Ye Xuan, suddenly stopped trembling.

She looked at the crazy woman before her, recalling the words Ye Xuan had spoken to her, and remembered her own mission.

Ying'er peeked out from behind Ye Xuan.

She looked at that high and mighty immortal cultivator, and a sneer actually appeared on her face—a sneer that belonged to a vulgar street shrew, extremely mean and full of provocation.

Pah!

Ying'er was not polite at all, spitting heavily onto the barrier's curtain of light between them. The filthy trace slid down the light curtain:

You crazy hag, keep your mouth clean!

Calling me a bitch this and a dirty woman that.

How clean do you think you are?

Xia Lengyue froze instantly, seemingly not expecting this ant to dare fight back, and then flew into a rage: You dare curse at me? What right does a cheap whore ridden by a thousand men have to talk about me?

So what if I'm a whore?

Ying'er held her head high and retorted loudly, every word like a sharpened knife stabbing precisely at the other party:

I sold my body to get a bite to eat! To survive!

I didn't steal or rob, and I never hurt anyone!

What about you?

Ying'er pointed her finger at Xia Lengyue's nose through the barrier, her eyes full of undisguised contempt:

As the eldest miss of a righteous and prestigious sect, you betrayed your own husband for a few lousy pills and fooled around with some wild man!

That's called being shameless! That's called being a slut!

Between the two of us, who is really the dirtier one?

Ahhhhh! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to tear your mouth to pieces!!

These words poked at Xia Lengyue's most painful spot. Trembling with anger, she let out a beast-like howl. She crazily bombarded the Purple Heaven Palace, every strike making the earth tremble.

Ye Xuan quietly watched this scene, not stopping Ying'er's insubordination. Instead, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly into a satisfied arc.

He knew the time was right.

Xia Lengyue attacked like a madwoman for a long time. Seeing that she still couldn't break through that damn defense, her movements suddenly stopped.

She panted heavily, her face as pale as paper, but her eyes suddenly became extremely gentle, even carrying a trace of humble pleading as she looked at Ye Xuan through the light curtain:

Husband... stop fooling around.

My heart is all with you... Can't you see that?

Being with this dirty woman will only disgrace your status.

Come back with me... As long as you come back with me, I will listen to whatever you say...

Looking at her going from crazy one second to humbly begging the next, Ye Xuan remained completely unmoved.

He shook his head decisively, his eyes like ice.

Impossible.

The gentleness in Xia Lengyue's eyes dissipated instantly, like a shattered illusion, replaced by extreme gloom and resentment, a gaze that seemed to want to devour the world.

Good... good...

Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit...

Then don't blame me! Today, even if I have to destroy this Purple Heaven Palace, I will drag you back!

Rumble!

Along with her angry roar, blood-colored flames ignited on Xia Lengyue's body. She began to burn her lifeblood essence, preparing to use a forbidden technique to force her way in. A terrifying pressure instantly swept out.

Watching this, Ye Xuan felt no fear; instead, he suddenly smiled.

He smiled somewhat weirdly, somewhat wickedly, as if everything was under his control.

Xia Lengyue.

Did you think I came here and seized the Purple Heaven Palace just to hide in a turtle shell?

Xia Lengyue's movements suddenly paused, a trace of an ominous premonition rising in her heart: What are you going to do?

Naturally, it is to take the humiliation you once brought upon me...

Ye Xuan looked at Xia Lengyue, a calculating light flashing in his eyes, and said word by word:

And return it in full.