Madwoman

Powerful, overbearing, entirely devoid of reason. Looking down at the lingering devastation below, Xu Yuan asked hesitantly, "Did you win?" Tianye's petite shoulders gave a slight shrug. "Let's just say I didn't lose." Xu Yuan's eyes flickered, and he probed further, "Is the White Emperor really that strong?" Hearing this question, Tianye was visibly taken aback. She pressed her brow and chuckled softly, then reached up to tap Xu Yuan's forehead. "Brother Changtian, what are you thinking?" As she spoke, she ran the back of her finger down her flat yet shapely figure, guiding his gaze. "Leaving aside that the body I'm using right now can't handle too much strain, even twenty thousand years ago, killing a Saint took considerable effort on my part—to say nothing of a being like the Lord of Guyuan. "He retreated after a single strike. Did you want me to stake Little Sister Tianyan's life on chasing him down for a full-blown war?" "..." Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment before murmuring, "Yet you're the 'Tianyan' who faced a calamity alone." Tianye waved a hand with a laugh and replied offhandedly, "How could Saints ever decide victory or defeat so quickly? I was able to face the Meishen Calamity alone back then only because that crisis had a central core in the Meishen cherry tree. Through calculated planning against an unsuspecting foe and preparing countless contingency plans, I barely managed to sever its head. Had it been the aberrant ghost calamity ten thousand years ago, I never could have handled it by myself." At this point, Tianye seemed to lose interest. She rolled her eyes and gave Xu Yuan a reproachful glare. "Anyone who manages to become a Saint is no simple figure. Though speaking of preparations, I did once have a fight with the Lord of Guyuan twenty thousand years ago over a treasure." "Did you win?" "Naturally." A hint of reminiscence surfaced in Tianye's beautiful eyes, and she shook her head slightly. "However, judging from that strike just now, this White Emperor seems to be a cut above the Lord of Guyuan back then." Hearing her words, Xu Yuan was silent for quite a while before blurting out, "You couldn't deal with the White Emperor in a short time, yet you dragged your feet and wouldn't leave?" Tianye cast him a glance, sounding as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "Because it's fun." "What's fun about that?" "Isn't teasing a generation's Lord of Guyuan fun?" "What if he had fought to the bitter end?" "I was rather hoping he would." "Did you have a trump card held back?" "At the cost of completely burning through Tianyan's life, there would be a slim chance of slaying him. But most likely, it would only have severely wounded him and forced him to flee." "..." Xu Yuan furrowed his brow, his hands tightening slightly into fists. Watching the faint resentment in Xu Yuan, Tianye narrowed her pretty eyes. Her fingertip traced her crimson lips, and she let out an enchanting laugh. "See, Brother Changtian? That anxious look of yours is another fountain of joy for me~" As she spoke, she gently slid her hand down over the lower abdomen of Tianyan's body. "It really gets me so excited..." "Fucking madwoman," Xu Yuan couldn't help cursing. At his words, Tianye laughed until she trembled like blossoms in the wind, the golden gleam in her eyes shimmering with placid light. She tapped his chest with a gentle motion. "Are you only just realizing I'm crazy, Brother Changtian?" "..." Staring at her for several breaths, Xu Yuan took a deep breath and suddenly let out a soft laugh. "Are you reveling in the twisted pleasure of Tianyan choosing to let you burn away her life for my sake?" "..." Tianye was startled for a moment. Tilting her head in thought, she held up her thumb and forefinger to pinch together a tiny sliver of space, and smiled radiantly. "Just a tiny bit." "If Tianyan burns away her life, what about you?" "Naturally, I'll die too." Tianye responded without the slightest hesitation, countering with a light smile, "As her State of Divine Emptiness, if she dies, I naturally die as well." "You'd do that just for a fleeting thrill?" "Of course." Tianye pouted playfully and twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "My duty was fulfilled twenty thousand years ago. Rather than living, I'm actually much more curious to see what expression you'll make when two generations of 'Tianyan' die for you at the same time." As she spoke, the smile at the corners of the maiden's lips resembled that of a shadowy devil, her voice soft as water: "Of course, I would ensure your safety and let you live on, Brother Changtian. That's the only way it would be truly entertaining~" "..." His fragmented memories had skewed Xu Yuan's understanding of this demoness, but her behavior just now had thoroughly filled in the missing pieces. Xu Yuan was fond of amusement himself, but he enjoyed watching the fun—he had no desire to become the spectacle itself. Yet this enchantress Tianye was an utter lunatic. For the sake of a moment's twisted pleasure, she was even willing to throw away her life. She was an uncontrolled bomb. No, more accurately, a nuclear warhead. "What is it, Brother Changtian? Do you want to kill me again?" Tianye seemed to see right through Xu Yuan's thoughts, but she showed not the slightest irritation. Instead, she seemed faintly thrilled. "No need to deny it. You were always trying to kill me back in the Charm God Illusion realm. To think that before your memories have even returned, this killing intent of yours woke up first." With that, the young woman took his limp hand by his side, gently guiding his forefinger to press right against where her heart was. Having done so, Tianye looked directly into his eyes, her golden pupils shimmering with undulating light and her slender eyelashes quivering slightly as she smiled like a blooming flower. "Back then, you stabbed your sword straight into this spot right while you were bedding me, you know~" Tianye lightly bit her rosy lips, a flush of crimson gracing her fair cheeks. Narrowing her watery golden eyes with an uncanny allure, she whispered: "Back then, Brother Changtian, that look on your face—as if you were on the verge of tears—truly brought me so much joy..." "..." Xu Yuan had no words. "Ah." Tianye suddenly seemed to realize something. She hurriedly flung his hand away, took two steps back, and turned her gaze aside with feigned bashfulness, giggling: "It seems Little Sister Tianyan doesn't know about this. My apologies~" "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. Instinctively, he felt Tianye was making up stories, yet what she said rang with chilling authenticity. This demoness had been awake for less than half an hour, and his mental state had already begun to crack under her torment. Yet in the illusion realm, bound by the Lock of Shared Life, he and she had engaged in a lethal love-hate struggle for nearly ten years. Xu Yuan could hardly bear to imagine what his state of mind must have been like back then. With a sigh, Xu Yuan withdrew his gaze from Tianye and rubbed his brow firmly to steady his nerves. He had finally realized it. This demoness took extraordinary pleasure in rattling his psyche. The more he glared or resisted, the more excited the woman became. No matter how scummy he could be, he would never dare toy with a crazy woman—yet this enchantress seemed to have locked onto him completely. What an absolute sin. The silence stretched for several breaths. Once Xu Yuan had completely regained his composure, he asked calmly, "The White Emperor has left, but what about that couple below?" Tianye chuckled and said with a smile, "They fled, of course. Just because you couldn't see my clash with the White Emperor doesn't mean they couldn't. What else were they going to do besides run—wait around to die?" Xu Yuan thought for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "You should be able to sense the location of the willow ghost blade, right?" Tianye nodded slightly and smiled. "A ghost blade I personally forged from the Thousand-Thorns Ghost Willow naturally shares a strong connection with me." Having said that, she paused, then asked abruptly, "By the way, what was that amusement you promised me earlier?" Xu Yuan let out a soft snort of laughter. Staring down at where Mu Xingyi and his wife had once stood, he spoke slowly: "Ordinary Source Qi cannot aid my cultivation, but Madame Wan—or rather, the thing inside Madame Wan's belly—can." "Oh~?" Tianye drew out the syllable as she realized what the man before her intended to do. "In that case, even once the reinforcements from your Prime Minister's Manor arrive, there's no need to rush after them." "Why?" Xu Yuan asked, puzzled. "Beings like yin ghosts don't have brains." Smiling, Tianye fixed her gaze in the direction where Mu Xingyi and his wife had fled, her tone laced with disdain. "For the sake of their child, those two cripples will take the initiative to come looking for you again~"