Chapter 32: This Lord Will Sever It with My Own Hands

Chapter 32: This Sovereign Will Cut It Off Myself

Yan Huaixuan gave a soft hum and shut his eyes again.

When that day arrived, Shen Lian clung desperately to the bundle in his arms, watching Yan Huaixuan as he sat in meditation.

Around Yan Huaixuan, spiritual power exploded, pouring into his body like a whirlpool.

In the midst of a radiant glow, his features became even more coldly handsome.

And then—

Above the imperial palace, rosy clouds suddenly gathered, ethereal music drifted from the horizon, and a hundred birds circled in homage.

Let alone the palace—every citizen in all of Great Yan streamed out of their homes, raising their heads to gaze at the sky.

"What... is this?"

Within the palace, everyone crowded around the Old Emperor, and the Imperial Astrologer immediately said, "Your Majesty, this is a sign of good fortune, a sign of good fortune! It proves you are a wise ruler for all eternity!"

The Emperor's hands were trembling too. "Really?"

He stared intently at the auspicious omen.

However, just as they were getting excited, and the civil and military officials below were bowing in reverence, about to chant "Long live the Emperor, ten thousand years!"—

A striking figure in snowy white slowly materialized in mid-air.

His snow-white robes billowed in the wind like a celestial immortal from the highest heavens. His handsome face was utterly expressionless, and his eyes held a frosty chill.

Recognizing that face.

Everyone went rigid.

"The Deposed Crown Prince..."

The Old Emperor froze even harder, staring at Yan Huaixuan and murmuring, "So you really weren't deceiving me..."

It was as if a haughty voice rang in his ears again.

"Yan Mu! I'm telling you, I'm an immortal from the heavens, and I want a single partner for life, just the two of us. If you ever dare to let me down, I will definitely leave you and go somewhere you'll never find me!"

Yan Mu's lips quivered, and his vision slowly blurred with tears.

"A Xun..."

Above Yan Huaixuan's head, a passage glowing with iridescent light slowly opened.

Then, no one could see anything anymore.

Only Shen Lian could see.

Shen Lian also possessed spiritual power within him, so he could clearly see the passage to the immortal cultivation world right above Yan Huaixuan's head.

But he didn't even have a Golden Core, let alone the ability to fly.

He could only look at Yan Huaixuan. "A Xuan, why haven't you come to get me?"

But to his surprise, Yan Huaixuan slowly lowered his gaze, his icy, emotionless eyes falling upon Shen Lian's face.

"Why would this Sovereign take you with me?"

Shen Lian stood frozen on the spot. After a long pause, he finally managed to shift his gaze, forcing a smile onto his face. "Aren't you going to take me to the cultivation world with you?"

Yan Huaixuan asked once more, "When did this Sovereign ever agree to that?"

Shen Lian's fingers clenched.

Oh, that's true.

Yan Huaixuan had never actually said he would take him along, had he?

"Yan Huaixuan, you promised you'd never abandon me, didn't you?"

Before Yan Huaixuan could even finish—

He interrupted, "Forget it. Was I being unreasonable just now?"

Shen Lian's eyes were dry and sore; he looked like he was about to cry. "Yan Huaixuan, are... are you disgusted by my low cultivation? I'll cultivate diligently, I definitely won't hold you back."

But Yan Huaixuan still showed no expression. "Shen Lian, at this point, are you still putting on an act?"

Shen Lian couldn't believe it. "Who's putting on an act?"

Yan Huaixuan raised his hand, and a Water Mirror slowly materialized before him. Within it was that pond, and a corpse slowly surfaced.

Shen Lian seemed to realize something, and his lips began to tremble.

Yan Huaixuan said word by word, "You told this Sovereign that you are Shen Lian. Then who is the person in the pond?"

Shen Lian shook his head. "Listen to me."

Yan Huaixuan looked down at him from above. "You professed your love for me time and again, but in truth, you already knew this Sovereign could cultivate. So to seize my fortune, you tried every means to curry favor with me."

Tears spilled from Shen Lian's eyes. "It's not like that, Yan Huaixuan. Listen to my explanation."

He reached out his hand, as if trying to grasp Yan Huaixuan.

But Yan Huaixuan was so far away from him. "Yan Huaixuan, I have my reasons."

A bloody taste rose in Shen Lian's throat, but he suppressed it with all his might.

"Yan Huaixuan, I truly love you. Have you forgotten the nights we held each other close?"

Unexpectedly, Yan Huaixuan only said indifferently, "That was merely an illusion. This Sovereign has never touched you."

The Water Mirror in his palm shifted once more.

It showed Shen Lian lying alone on his bed.

Shen Lian's fingers dug into his palms as he stared fixedly at those images.

Those nights of intertwined sleep he had believed in, those moments of passionate embrace he had believed in—all of it was nothing but an illusion of his own.

In the image, he had been lying alone on the bed the entire time.

And Yan Huaixuan stood nearby, utterly devoid of emotion.

Shen Lian opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but no words would come out.

His heart ached with an unbearable pain.

He looked up at Yan Huaixuan and suddenly said, "So, you never had any feelings for me at all?"

At that moment, Yan Huaixuan raised his hand, and a Fate Red Thread slowly appeared around his little finger.

Shen Lian followed the thread with his eyes and looked down at his own little finger.

"This Fate Red Thread means we've long been destined as dao companions."

Shen Lian's eyes were full of shock and disbelief.

So it turned out they'd been fated partners from the very beginning.

Shen Lian staggered, his eyes red as he looked up. "When did you find out about the Fate Red Thread between us?"

Yan Huaixuan met his gaze and, for some reason, paused. "On our wedding day."

Hearing this, the taste of blood surged in Shen Lian's throat again.

But the next moment, he saw Yan Huaixuan grab the red thread.

"And today, I'll sever it with my own hands right in front of you."

"No—" Shen Lian's pupils constricted. He scrambled desperately to stop him, but with his cultivation level, he couldn't even fly. He fell to the ground, watching helplessly as Yan Huaixuan tightened his grip. "Don't, Yan Huaixuan! Yan Huaixuan!"

In that instant, Shen Lian felt something being pulled out from within his body.

The Fate Red Thread fell from the air, turning to ash inch by inch.

Shen Lian frantically reached out to catch the ashes, but they slipped right through his fingers.

"No, no," Shen Lian kept shaking his head. "Don't cut it."

But the ashes still spread to Shen Lian's little finger anyway.

When he felt that connection vanish completely,

Shen Lian knelt on the ground, his eyes dazed. "Yan Huaixuan, what am I to you in your heart?"

"You're just a tribulation on my path to the Heartless Dao."

As those words fell, Shen Lian felt his meridians start flowing in reverse, every part of his body seeming about to explode.

So it was all a lie.

All that affection, all that love—

It was all just his own delusion.

From start to finish, Yan Huaixuan had known what he was doing, just watching coldly from the sidelines as Shen Lian sank deeper and deeper.

He should've known all along.

No one could be trusted.

But that lesson—it was Yan Huaixuan who taught him that.

Don't rely on anyone.

Shen Lian clawed at the ground until his fingers bled, letting out a low, bitter laugh.

Seeing the passage about to close, Yan Huaixuan had no intention of lingering with Shen Lian any longer. As for why he hadn't struck Shen Lian with his sword—

Yan Huaixuan's lips pressed together almost imperceptibly. He flicked his sleeve and turned away, but just before stepping through the passage,

he cast one last glance at Shen Lian sitting on the ground.

But the next moment, his pupils narrowed.

Spiritual energy was gathering wildly around Shen Lian, violently destroying his meridians.

Ling Yun had already returned to Yan Huaixuan's body. Seeing this, its face inexplicably went pale.

Shen Lian had originally been practicing a reversed cultivation technique, and now, under this trauma, his spiritual energy was in chaos.

If this kept up, he'd self-destruct and become a complete cripple.

It opened its mouth, about to say something,

but then saw Yan Huaixuan suddenly charge forward.

At that moment, it seemed to catch a glimpse of something on Yan Huaixuan's face.

Ling Yun was stunned.

But Shen Lian couldn't feel anything anymore. He could only sense the spiritual energy inside him surging higher and higher.

If Yan Huaixuan wouldn't take him to ascend, then he'd ascend on his own.

But unexpectedly, at that very moment, a flash of cold light appeared in the air.

Shen Lian looked up and saw Yan Huaixuan charging at him with a longsword, the strike carrying an aura of world-destroying power.

"Yan Huaixuan!" Shen Lian's eyes were wide with rage.

He hadn't expected that after humiliating him, Yan Huaixuan would go so far as to cripple his cultivation and cut off his path to immortality.

But no matter how Shen Lian struggled, his power was far too weak. He was firmly suppressed by Yan Huaixuan, frozen in place, unable to move.

All he could do was watch the sword come down.

What followed was his power being stripped from his body, piece by piece.

A trail of bloody tears slid down Shen Lian's face.

"Yan Huaixuan, I hate you."