The Shattering of the Illusory Realm

In the illusion, another three years passed.

Under Ye Xuan's rule, although the Hehuan Sect had a terrifying reputation, there was no longer any chaos within.

Ye Xuan sat high above the clouds, but he had never taken a Dao companion, nor had he ever touched a woman.

He spent most of his time standing above the clouds, silently gazing in a certain direction in the mortal realm.

There, lay a small town.

Ye Qingcheng and her family lived there.

Wang Teng had grown into an adult. Although his spirit root was decent, due to Ye Xuan's past "warning" and Ye Qingcheng's insistence, he did not practice cultivation. Instead, he became a wealthy mortal patriarch, marrying, having children, and expanding the family tree.

Ye Qingcheng had grown old.

The lifespan of a mortal was only a fleeting century. Even though she was once a cultivator, after her cultivation stagnated, aging was still inevitable.

Her hair had turned white, and her back was hunched.

But her smile remained as peaceful and content as ever.

Ye Xuan simply watched.

He watched her sew clothes for her grandson, watched her and Wang Luo support each other while walking under the setting sun, and watched her argue with neighbors over trivial matters like firewood, rice, oil, and salt.

These trivial, mediocre, and even somewhat boring daily routines.

In the eyes of the Tribulation Stage expert Ye Xuan, they were the most precious scenery in this world.

"Sect Master."

Behind Ye Xuan, a stunningly beautiful woman in a red dress couldn't help but speak. She was a newly promoted protector by Ye Xuan, and also someone who had admired him for many years.

"Your subordinate does not understand."

The woman in red looked down at the wrinkled old woman, her eyes full of disbelief. "That woman... has now aged into such a state, completely devoid of spiritual energy, like a piece of rotting wood. Meanwhile, you are a Tribulation Stage Heavenly Sovereign."

"Since you like her so much and cannot let her go, why don't you just snatch her back?"

"If you just feed her a Face Retaining Pill and a Life Extension Pill, she could regain her youth and stay by your side forever. That mortal ant, Wang Luo, is completely unworthy of her, let alone worthy of your gaze."

Ye Xuan withdrew his gaze and glanced at the woman in red indifferently.

"You don't understand."

He shook his head, his voice as light as the wind.

"She was originally my Dao companion. I was useless and couldn't protect her back then, which was why she had to choose to leave."

"Snatch her back?"

Ye Xuan looked down at his long, pale, and seemingly flawless hands, giving a bitter smile.

"My entire being... is too dirty."

"My body has been touched by countless people. My Nascent Soul was refined through dual cultivation and plucking. My soul is carved with the debauchery and filth of the Hehuan Sect."

"And her?"

Ye Xuan pointed at the old woman below, who, despite her age, had clear eyes.

"Although she is old and merely a mortal, she has lived a clean and pure life by Wang Luo's side. She has only ever had Wang Luo as her man. Her heart is steadfast, and her soul is pure."

"If someone as filthy as me were to forcefully snatch her back, it would only dirty her."

"Just watching like this... not disturbing her, letting her finish this life cleanly, is already good enough."

The woman in red was stunned.

She could not understand.

In this cultivation world, the strong were revered.

As long as one was strong enough, what woman couldn't they have? Dirty? Couldn't they just wash it clean?

Why was this Demon Venerable, who terrified the world, so humble and lowly as dust in front of this old woman?

Outside the illusion.

"No... it's not like this!!"

The real Ye Qingcheng let out a shrill scream.

"Ye Xuan! You are in the Tribulation Stage!

"What do you mean dirty or not! Who dares to say you are dirty? You killed all those who knew the truth!"

"Go and snatch her back! Don't let her be with that piece of trash! That Wang Luo is useless except for being clean!"

"Why did you fulfill their wishes? Why are you so humble?"

Ye Qingcheng desperately tore at her own hair in a breakdown.

Ye Xuan's words, "I am unworthy of her," acted like a heavy hammer, smashing her pride as a Tribulation Stage Female Emperor to pieces.

She had always thought that as long as she became stronger, as long as she stood high enough, those stains of the past would no longer exist.

But Ye Xuan told her:

No.

Dirty is dirty.

Even if you are invincible in the world, in front of that "clean person" who held onto their bottom line, you will still feel ashamed of your own impurity.

"I don't believe it... I don't believe you can hold back forever!"

"When she is about to die! You will definitely regret it! You will definitely make a move!"

Ye Qingcheng stared fixedly at the light screen, waiting for the final twist.

In the illusion, another thirty years passed.

The heavy snow in the mortal realm fell exceptionally hard.

Ye Qingcheng's time had come.

She lay on the sickbed, her hair completely silver, her face covered in age spots, and her breathing as weak as a gossamer thread.

Wang Luo had also grown too old to walk, but he still tightly held Ye Qingcheng's hand, his old tears flowing freely.

"Qingcheng... don't be afraid... I am here with you..."

Right at this moment, the candlelight in the room suddenly froze.

The sound of the wind and snow disappeared.

A figure silently appeared before the bed.

Ye Xuan was still dressed in a green shirt, his face as pristine as jade. Time had left no marks on him. He and the dying old woman on the bed seemed to belong to two completely different worlds.

Seeing Ye Xuan, a flash of complexity crossed Wang Luo's cloudy eyes. He tried to get up and bow, but Ye Xuan raised a hand to stop him.

"Ye Xuan..."

Ye Qingcheng on the bed slowly opened her eyes.

Her vision was already blurred, but she still recognized this man at a glance.

"Don't hide anymore... I know... you have always been here."

Ye Qingcheng's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Ye Xuan walked to the bedside and looked at this aged face.

In his eyes, she was still the young girl from the outer sect of the Hehuan Sect, who had coldly rejected him because she did not want to associate with the corrupt.

"I didn't hide."

Ye Xuan said softly, "I just... didn't dare to get too close."

Ye Qingcheng looked at him, a relieved smile appearing in her eyes.

"You are still the same... you haven't changed at all."

"While I... have already become a wretched old woman."

Ye Xuan shook his head, his eyes affectionate and focused, as if looking at a rare treasure.

"No. In my heart, you will always be the most beautiful."

"More beautiful than anyone else in this world."

Ye Qingcheng smiled, smiling until tears fell.

She turned her head with difficulty, glancing at Wang Luo leaning by the bed, and then at Ye Xuan.

"Thank you... for your protection all these years."

"That the Wang family can have today's peace... that Teng'er could be safe and sound... I know, it was all due to your secret care."

"Those pills left at the door... actually, Wang Luo later picked them all up for me to eat... otherwise, I wouldn't have lived until today."

Ye Xuan did not speak; he just quietly listened.

Ye Qingcheng gasped for breath a few times, then suddenly asked a question that made everyone inside and outside the illusion hold their breath.

"Ye Xuan..."

"Tell me... if back then... I had endured it a little..."

"If back then... I had also bowed my head a little for resources... and hadn't left you so resolutely..."

"Today... would I still be able to stand by your side? To be your Dao companion?"

This question was too heart-wrenching.

It was asking: If I had also become dirty, would I have been able to be with you?

Ye Xuan remained silent for a long time.

He looked at Ye Qingcheng's expectant yet clouded eyes.

If it were the real Ye Qingcheng, she would definitely say without hesitation: Yes! Then we would be a match made in heaven!

But Ye Xuan didn't.

He gently tucked the corners of her quilt and said softly:

"There are no ifs."

"Qingcheng, you did the right thing."

"It is precisely because you didn't bow your head, precisely because you chose to leave, that you are the Ye Qingcheng in my heart who can never be replaced."

"If you were also tainted... then this world would truly be left with nothing but darkness."

Ye Qingcheng froze for a moment, then closed her eyes with a bitter smile.

Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.

"Thank you... Husband."

This was the last time she called him husband before she died.

Her hand dropped weakly.

Ye Qingcheng was gone.

She left cleanly and peacefully.

Ye Xuan stood before the bed, looking at her breathless face.

He didn't cry.

At his realm of cultivation, great sorrow was silent.

Wang Luo lay on the corpse, weeping bitterly.

After a long time, Wang Luo raised his head and looked at this man who had always protected their family, yet had always been "guarded against" by them.

"Holy Son Ye..."

Wang Luo smiled miserably, the wrinkles all over his face trembling:

"You won."

"You are better than me... You guarded her for a lifetime, loved her for a lifetime, yet never disturbed her."

"And I... although I had her, I always guarded against you in my heart, never truly letting go of my grudge against you."

"In this love... I am inferior to you."

Ye Xuan's expression was indifferent, and he didn't reply.

He took one last deep look at Ye Qingcheng, as if to carve her face into the depths of his soul.

Then, he turned around and walked out resolutely.

"When a person dies, the lamp goes out."

"From now on, the Wang family has nothing to do with me."

With the step he took out of the room.

The thatched cottage behind him, Wang Luo, Ye Qingcheng's corpse, and even the entire small town, the entire world...

Began to shatter and collapse like a mirror.

The Great Void Illusion had ended.