I Have a New Dao Companion Again

During his days under house arrest, Ye Xuan's heart completely died.

That was until the day he met a woman named Su Rou in the back kitchen of the Spirit Dining Hall.

She was merely an odd-job disciple with no spirit root, only capable of doing menial chores.

She had a delicate appearance, though not peerlessly beautiful, but her charm lay in her crescent-shaped eyes that curved when she smiled, feeling like a warm spring breeze.

On that day, Ye Xuan was starving to the point of stomach cramps, and Su Rou secretly slipped him a steaming hot meat bun.

"Senior Brother, eat it quickly, don't let anyone see."

Her smile was incredibly warm, and her fingers, though rough, carried a comforting heat.

At that moment, a crack appeared in Ye Xuan's long-frozen heart.

In the days that followed, Ye Xuan often went to help Su Rou chop wood and carry water.

The two would sit on the threshold and chat, talking about the rolling wheat fields in the mortal realm and the dumplings eaten during the New Year.

In Su Rou's eyes, Ye Xuan was neither a useless kept man nor Elder Ye's ex-husband.

He was simply Big Brother Ye, a good man who would tell jokes and help wipe the sweat from her brow.

Finally, a month later.

When Ye Qingcheng appeared in Ye Xuan's room like a ghost once again, Ye Xuan took the initiative to speak for the first time.

"Give me some spirit stones," Ye Xuan said.

Ye Qingcheng froze.

Over the years, she had given him countless heavenly treasures and earthly materials, but Ye Xuan always threw them away like trash. This was the first time he had actively asked for resources.

Ecstasy instantly flooded her heart. Ye Qingcheng frantically pulled out a storage bag, her voice trembling: "How much do you need? I have it all! Here are fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones, is that enough? If not, I'll go get more from the treasury!"

She thought Ye Xuan had finally come around and was finally willing to accept her support.

Ye Xuan took the storage bag, his expression calm: "I don't need that much. I want to hold a wedding, a mortal-style one. I need to buy some red candles, wedding attire, and arrange a banquet."

Ye Qingcheng's smile froze on her face, her mind going completely blank: "A... a wedding? You want to make up for our wedding?"

"Not with you."

Ye Xuan looked at her, cruel yet brutally honest: "I'm getting a new Dao companion. The odd-job disciple, Su Rou. I'm going to marry her."

Ye Qingcheng felt as if she had been struck by lightning, completely dumbfounded.

What followed was a monstrous wave of anger and jealousy, a burning sensation a hundred times more terrifying than a flare-up of love poison.

"How could I not know you have a new Dao companion? I forbid it!"

She roared hysterically, the oppressive aura radiating from her body erupting and causing the entire shantytown to tremble: "A cheap wench! A mortal menial! What right does she have? How is she better than me?"

Ye Xuan watched her go mad with calm detachment, saying lightly: "Don't you have a few new Dao companions as well? I heard those four new Golden Core senior brothers even accompanied you to admire the moon yesterday."

"I..."

Ye Qingcheng was left speechless, but the jealousy in her heart made her completely lose her reason. Her eyes turned bloodshot: "That was just putting on an act! That was for cultivation! But this is different! Ye Xuan, you can only have me! Your body and soul belong only to me!"

"You can have multiple husbands and attendants, yet I can't marry a wife and have children?"

Ye Xuan flew into a rage out of humiliation and violently smashed the teacup in his hand: "Ye Liuli, you are simply unreasonable! Is this your love? Your love truly disgusts me!"

"I won't listen! I won't listen!"

Ye Qingcheng covered her ears and rushed out, "I absolutely disagree! And I will never let you marry her!"

The next day, Ye Qingcheng's mood was at rock bottom.

She cultivated in her immortal cave as a form of venting, but nearly suffered qi deviation. Her mind was entirely filled with the image of Ye Xuan saying he wanted to marry that woman.

"No... he is mine... he can only be mine..."

She muttered to herself in the darkness, her gaze terrifyingly sinister.

One evening a few days later, driven by some inexplicable impulse, she concealed her aura and returned to the shantytown.

This time, she witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life, one that drove her completely insane.

Ye Xuan's dilapidated house had been renovated, and festive red paper cutouts were pasted on the windows.

Inside, candlelight flickered.

Ye Xuan and Su Rou were sitting around a small table. There were no exotic delicacies on the table, only a few home-cooked dishes, and in the very center sat a large, somewhat lopsided cake—handmade by Su Rou using spirit wheat flour.

"Happy birthday, Big Brother Ye!" Su Rou clapped her hands, her face beaming with a bright smile.

"Silly girl, cultivators don't celebrate birthdays."

Although Ye Xuan said this, a radiant smile bloomed on his face.

He reached out, gently tapped Su Rou's nose, then cut a piece of cake and fed it to her.

"Is it sweet?"

"Yes!"

The two looked at each other and smiled. In that smile, there was no scheming, no suppression, only pure happiness and peace.

Outside the window, Ye Qingcheng dug her nails deeply into the dirt.

It had been a very, very long time since she last saw Ye Xuan smile like that.

When he was with her, Ye Xuan only showed pain, forbearance, anger, and coldness.

Yet in front of this vulgar mortal woman, he smiled like a child who had just received candy.

Jealousy gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake.

On what grounds?

I gave you immortality, I gave you dignity, and you only give me a cold face.

She gives you a broken cake, and you pour your heart out to her?

Ye Xuan's happiness can only belong to me!

His smile can only belong to me!

"Bang!"

The door instantly shattered into pieces.

Ye Qingcheng appeared in the doorway like an Asura from hell, her terrifying Golden Core aura instantly crushing Su Rou to the ground, causing her to cough up blood.

"Su Rou!"

Ye Xuan cried out in alarm, immediately shielding Su Rou behind him and looking up to glare furiously at Ye Qingcheng, "Are you crazy?!"

Ye Qingcheng stepped into the room step by step, her eyes fixed dead on the cake on the table. With a casual wave of her hand, the cake exploded into mush.

"Ye Xuan, come back with me."

She reached out her hand, her tone icy and leaving no room for doubt: "Chase this woman away, and I will pretend nothing happened today."

Ye Xuan stood up, blocking Su Rou, his eyes more resolute than ever before:

"Allow me to introduce to Elder Ye, this is my Dao companion, Su Rou. We will accompany each other for the rest of our lives."

"Dao companion? Does she even deserve it?!" Ye Qingcheng laughed out of extreme anger, grabbing Ye Xuan's arm and trying to pull him out: "I am your only Dao companion! I am a Golden Core Master! She is just mud on the ground!"

"So, am I your only Dao companion too?"

Ye Xuan didn't struggle; he just looked coldly into her eyes and asked this question.

Ye Qingcheng froze.

In that instant, her imposing aura weakened, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She let go of his hand, looking at Ye Xuan almost pleadingly:

"Husband, just wait for me a little longer... just give me a bit more time. When I am invincible in this world, I will kill those men, and I will only have you as my Dao companion. Then we can be together forever, okay?"

"My heart is always with you! Everything I do is for our future!"

What a grand, empty promise.

What touching self-sacrifice.

Ye Xuan looked at her, and the last trace of warmth in his eyes vanished.

"Wait until you are invincible?"

Ye Xuan gently shook his head, "Ye Liuli, stop lying to yourself. When you reach the Nascent Soul stage, you'll realize you need the primal yang of a Soul Formation cultivator. When you reach Soul Formation, you'll need the protection of a Void Refinement expert. Your desire is a bottomless pit that can never be filled."

"I refuse! No one can stop us!" Ye Qingcheng cried out, flying into a rage out of humiliation. "I'll kill her right now!"

She raised her hand, spiritual energy gathering in her palm.

Ye Xuan suddenly took a step forward, pressing his chest firmly against her palm.

He stared dead into Ye Qingcheng's eyes, enunciating every single word:

"Don't make me hate you."

These few words were spoken lightly, but they felt like five massive mountains, instantly crushing all of Ye Qingcheng's madness.

She looked at Ye Xuan's resolute gaze—a gaze that said he truly would hate her for the rest of his life, and might even die for that woman.

Ye Qingcheng trembled all over, her hand dropping weakly to her side.

She felt an unprecedented sense of hurt.

Even when she was tortured on that stormy night, she had never felt pain like this.

"Husband... just give me a little time... I'm begging you..." She cried like a helpless child.

"Ye Qingcheng."

Ye Xuan turned around and helped Su Rou up from the ground, without giving her another glance.

"I am already disgusted by this relationship. I've thought it through."

"Let's not see each other again."

"And she, Su Rou, will be my only lawful wife in this life."

At this moment, Ye Qingcheng heard the sound of her own heart breaking.

She stood at the door, watching the pair inside supporting each other, watching Ye Xuan gently wipe the blood from the corner of that woman's mouth.

It was a tenderness that she could never win back, even if she exhausted her lifelong cultivation and all her dignity.

Outside, it started to rain again.

It was just like that night from many years ago.

Only this time, the one locked outside in the rain was her, Ye Qingcheng.