The Female Devil

The catastrophe of the West Continent had descended.

The flames of war had burned for three entire months.

The West Continent, a land once flourishing with civilization, was now utterly devastated.

The demonic cultivator army of the Joyous Union Sect swept through like a plague of locusts. Wherever they passed, sects were destroyed, and noble families were slaughtered to the last.

Ye Qingcheng fulfilled her promise. She would use the entire West Continent as the betrothal gift to marry Ye Xuan.

She wanted to prove to Ye Xuan that not only had she washed clean the Joyous Union Sect, but she would also slaughter everyone in this world who might know of her past.

The West Continent Alliance retreated in defeat again and again. The last remaining five Tribulation Transcendence stage experts fell back to defend their final holy land, the Heavenly Dao Mountain.

Tomorrow would be the final battle.

The night was as dark as ink, and the scarlet moonlight spilled over the massive dragon carriage.

This was Ye Qingcheng's mobile palace, pulled by nine flood dragons, hovering tens of thousands of feet in the sky, overlooking the burning earth below.

Inside the palace, the luxury was pushed to its absolute limit.

Ye Qingcheng dismissed all her attendants.

She took off her blood-stained battle armor and changed into a phoenix coronet and red silk robes she had never worn before.

It was the bridal attire of mortal women. The bright red color contrasted with her pale yet breathtakingly beautiful face.

She walked over to the Nine Revolutions Exquisite Coffin that she had always kept by her side. With trembling fingers, she undid the seal.

Click.

The coffin lid slid open.

Ye Xuan lay quietly inside. The erosion of hundreds of years, combined with long-term imprisonment, had reduced him to skin and bones. His originally handsome face now held only a sickly pallor.

However, his eyes were as deep as two ancient wells, completely devoid of ripples.

"Husband, come out and get some fresh air."

Ye Qingcheng reached out her hand carefully. "Tomorrow... is the final battle."

Ye Xuan did not resist, allowing her to lift him out of the coffin and place him on the soft cloud bed.

Due to his prolonged inability to move, his limbs had withered and lost their strength.

Ye Qingcheng let him lean against her embrace, tending to him like a paralyzed cripple, yet snuggling up to him like her most beloved paramour.

Outside the window, the faint sounds of shouting and killing drifted in.

Inside the window, red candles flickered, creating a deathly sort of warmth.

"Husband, look." Ye Qingcheng pointed at the burning cities outside, her eyes flashing with a sickly, excited light. "That is the Heavenly Sword Sect. Their sect master once called you trash, so I killed him and hung his head on a flagpole."

"And over there, that is the Medicine King Valley. Back then, I wanted to beg for medicine to save you, but they dared to refuse. I annihilated them too."

She looked eagerly at Ye Xuan like a child who had scored perfect marks and was waiting for praise, her tone humble and fawning:

"The entire West Continent will soon be ours. Do you like this betrothal gift?"

Ye Xuan looked at the sea of fire outside the window, the passing of countless lives reflecting in his pupils.

If it were him from the past, he might have been furious and cursed her for being a madwoman.

But now, he merely blinked lightly, the corners of his mouth curling into an extremely faint arc.

"It is spectacular."

Hearing these words, Ye Qingcheng trembled all over, and tears instantly welled up.

It had been hundreds of years!

For hundreds of years, this was the first time Ye Xuan had not cursed her, had not mocked her, but had actually affirmed her!

"As long as you like it... as long as you like it!"

Ye Qingcheng tightly hugged Ye Xuan's frail body, burying her face in the crook of his neck, greedily sniffing the faint aura of death on him. "As long as you are happy, let alone the West Continent, even if I have to destroy this entire world, I am willing."

The night deepened.

Ye Qingcheng poured Ye Xuan a cup of spirit wine, the liquid as crimson as blood.

"Husband, once I kill those five old fogeys tomorrow, let's get married, okay?"

Her face flushed with shyness, her eyes hazy as if she were already living in that beautiful future. "I have already found a secret technique. Although your body is hollowed out, I can use my origin essence to reconstruct it for you. When the time comes, we will consummate our marriage right here on this dragon carriage... We will have many children. The boys will look like you, and the girls will look like me."

When she said "the girls will look like me," she suddenly stopped, her expression turning panicked. "No, not like me... It's bad if they look like me. I am dirty... The girls must look like you too. Only if they look like you will they be clean."

Ye Xuan looked down at the woman in his arms, who had been tortured out of her humanity by her inner demons.

She was a Tribulation Transcendence expert, the female demon who struck terror into the hearts of the entire cultivation world, yet at this moment, she was shivering in his embrace, utterly disgusted with herself over the word "dirty."

A trace of complex emotion flashed through Ye Xuan's eyes.

It was neither pity nor love.

Rather, it was the cold satisfaction of a hunter watching his prey finally fall into the trap.

"Qingcheng."

Ye Xuan suddenly spoke. Though his voice was weak, it carried a strange sort of gentleness.

Ye Qingcheng jerked her head up, looking at him in disbelief.

He actually called her name?

No longer "slut," no longer "bitch"?

"I am here! Husband, I am here!" She was so excited that she didn't know what to do with herself.

Ye Xuan struggled to raise his emaciated hand, gently resting it on the back of hers.

Even such a tiny movement made Ye Qingcheng stiffen all over, not even daring to breathe too heavily.

"All these years, I was locked in the coffin by you, unable to move my limbs, unable to speak. In the endless darkness, I thought a lot."

"What did you think about, husband? Do you hate me?" Ye Qingcheng's eyes were red.

"Hate?"

Ye Xuan shook his head, revealing a desolate smile. "Hating is too tiring. I was wondering, what exactly was the point of our entanglement all these years."

He paused, his gaze looking directly into Ye Qingcheng's eyes, as if trying to see into the depths of her soul. "In the coffin, I exhausted my life's blood and comprehended a spell."

"A spell?" Ye Qingcheng was taken aback. "Husband, you cannot mobilize spiritual energy. How could you comprehend a spell?"

"It is a spell drawn with heart's blood and sacrificed with the soul." Ye Xuan's voice became low and seductive. "This spell is earth-shattering. Once cast, even gods and demons cannot stop it. It is the sole achievement of my entire life."

Although Ye Qingcheng did not understand, her heart was filled with wild joy.

Ye Xuan was willing to share his "achievement" with her, which meant he had her in his heart!

She hurriedly asked, "This spell must be very powerful, right? What is its name?"

Ye Xuan looked at her, the smile at the corners of his mouth deepening a bit, containing a certain cruel resolution:

"Its name is, The Love of Qingcheng."

"The Love of... Qingcheng?" Ye Qingcheng muttered to herself, and then a brilliant smile bloomed on her face. "It is named after me? Husband, did you create it for me?"

Ye Xuan neither confirmed nor denied it, merely saying softly, "I will pass this cultivation technique to you right now. But I have one request."

"Tell me! As long as it is your request, I will agree to a hundred of them!"

"The power of this spell is too great; it harms the harmony of heaven."

Ye Xuan's expression became serious. "I am passing it to you in the hopes that you will have an extra life-saving trump card. But I hope... you will never use it."

Ye Qingcheng was moved to tears.

He is caring about me!

He is afraid I will get hurt!

This must be a peerless killing move, and he has given the best thing to me!

"Okay, I promise you, husband. Unless absolutely necessary, I will never use it." Ye Qingcheng pledged solemnly.

Ye Xuan smiled faintly, his forehead gently resting against Ye Qingcheng's forehead.

"Relax your mind, I will pass it to you."

The next moment, a massive and obscure stream of information surged through their touching foreheads and flooded into Ye Qingcheng's sea of consciousness.

It was an extremely profound cultivation technique.

Every word was written in blood, carrying a terrifying sense of resolve and desolation.

The core of the technique was about the application of rules. It transcended the boundaries of spiritual energy and touched upon the laws of life and death.

Ye Qingcheng was, after all, a Tribulation Transcendence realm expert. With just a glance, she could sense the terrifying nature of this spell.

It was a power capable of striking directly at the very origin of existence.

"So strong..." Ye Qingcheng marveled. "Husband, you are truly a genius! If you could cultivate, your achievements would definitely not be beneath mine!"

The transmission of the technique ended.

Ye Xuan's face grew even paler; this action had exhausted his remaining life force.

He leaned limply against Ye Qingcheng's embrace, his breath as weak as a gossamer thread.

"Husband, are you alright?" Ye Qingcheng panicked, hastily transferring her spiritual energy to him.

"It is nothing... I am just tired." Ye Xuan waved his hand, stopping her.

He looked at Ye Qingcheng, his eyes revealing an unfathomable gleam.

"Qingcheng, do you truly believe you are invincible in this world?"

Ye Qingcheng nodded proudly, her eyes brimming with confidence. "Rest assured, Husband. I am now at the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence realm, and I have an immortal artifact protecting me. In tomorrow's battle, those five old fogeys will undoubtedly die. In this world, no one can harm a single hair on my head anymore."

"Is that so..."

Ye Xuan smiled, his voice as light as the wind. "If I told you that I could defeat you, would you believe me?"

Ye Qingcheng burst into laughter. She stroked Ye Xuan's face dotingly. "I believe you. I will believe whatever my husband says. You are the only person in this world who can conquer me. My heart will always belong to you."

She thought it was just a sweet nothing.

Immersed in the false warmth Ye Xuan provided, she completely failed to notice the bone-piercing chill hidden deep in his eyes.

Ye Xuan slowly closed his eyes, as if gathering his strength.

After a long while, he suddenly spoke again, his tone exceptionally solemn:

"Can you promise me one last thing?"

"Tell me, I will agree to anything." Ye Qingcheng was in an excellent mood; she felt that happiness was right at her fingertips.

"Tomorrow, during your duel with those five experts, at the very moment you are about to win."

Ye Xuan opened his eyes, staring fixedly at her, and enunciated every word clearly:

"No matter what, you must turn back and look at me."

Ye Qingcheng paused for a moment. "Why?"

Ye Xuan revealed a meaningful smile, a smile that contained hundreds of years of scheming and a final trace of liberation:

"I want you to see how I am cheering for you."

"I want you to witness our ending with your own eyes."

Ye Qingcheng's heart skipped a beat, and a faint trace of unease flashed across her mind.

But soon, this unease was washed away by the impending victory.

She smiled and nodded. "Alright! Husband, you are most safe being closely protected by me inside the coffin. When the time comes, I will open the coffin and let you watch with your own eyes as I reign supreme over the world."

"That is good."

Ye Xuan closed his eyes, masking all of his emotions.

"Go to sleep. Tomorrow... will be a very long day."

Ye Qingcheng held him as if cradling a rare and priceless treasure.

"Goodnight, Husband."

Ye Qingcheng pressed a kiss onto his cold lips.

Ye Xuan did not dodge.

Because the dead do not dodge.