Chapter Seventeen and Eighteen: You Are Not Him at All

Chapter Seventeen: Xueqing’s Killing Intent

“Sigh!” Ye Wuyá let out a long breath.

He still wasn't safe; there were far too many unstable factors—whether it was the nine women of Immortal Moon Tower, or the enemies of this body! Without overwhelming strength, he couldn’t take a single step forward.

Only with true power need he no longer fear exposure, only then could he protect himself and the women by his side.

Right now, he was far too weak. He couldn’t spend his whole life hiding behind women, could he? That was never Ye Wuyá’s way! But this self-operating technique was too unstable; he hadn’t fully mastered it. One origin was damaged, making cultivation impossible for ten years, and the other two couldn’t be cultivated actively either. All these burdens fell on him now.

Immortal Moon Tower! The greatest force in the ancient lands? Nine unknown wives—how should he face them?

Ye Wuyá shook his head. In the end, it was all about strength: he was always worrying about this and that!

Forget it—when soldiers come, I’ll face them; when water rises, I’ll block it! Staring toward the center of Ling City in the distance, a tall, ancient tower rose up. Is she inside there?

Last night, he’d already promised the two women to help their Ye family resolve the major trouble with the Lu and Mu families.

Ye Wuyá made a silent decision: once everything settled down, he would embark on a journey to train.

He should pick a time to visit the Ye family with the two women. After all, he’d run off with both their daughters—though not by his own doing, but a meeting with the father-in-law was inevitable! But should he bring a gift when he met the old man?

Just as Ye Wuyá was pondering when to return to meet the father-in-law, the door creaked open.

A figure leapt into Ye Wuyá’s arms, hugging him tightly. From her fragrance alone, he didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“Qing’er, why are you up so early? Why not get some more rest?” Ye Wuyá gently stroked Xueqing’s hair, feigning annoyance.

“It’s not early! It’s almost noon! Huh? Husband, there’s a spiritual fluctuation on you, about the second level—can you cultivate again? But this spiritual energy doesn’t seem to be yours, it’s only on the surface!” Xueqing asked joyfully.

“Husband, that bloodthirsty aura just now—was that you?” Xueqing asked again.

“Mm.” Ye Wuyá nodded, holding Xueqing close, slowly recounting every detail of what had just happened.

“Oh? The Mad Corpse Forbidden Art? A self-operating technique? Out of your control?!” When Ye Wuyá reached this part of the story, Xueqing began examining his body, but found nothing amiss.

Xueqing took out a small purple fruit. “This is a century-old Violet Spirit Fruit, filled with pure spiritual energy. Husband, take it and try running your technique.”

Ye Wuyá nodded, activating the Mad Corpse Forbidden Art. The technique spun rapidly, and a powerful suction came from within him. In moments, the Violet Spirit Fruit withered in his hand.

The pure spiritual energy was gradually absorbed by Ye Wuyá. This time, he didn’t feel out of control—everything was normal.

“Well? Did you notice anything?” Ye Wuyá felt nothing strange, only a sense of renewed vigor, and looked at Xueqing in his arms.

“Everything’s normal, Husband. But there is something odd. Huh—your skin seems a bit tougher than before!” Xueqing remarked.

Ye Wuyá scratched his head in embarrassment. “Alright, alright, just tell me what’s strange. Be good, and your husband will reward you later!”

Of course, Xueqing knew what kind of “reward” he meant. She rolled her eyes, “No way!”

“Heaven and earth are filled with all kinds of spiritual energy,” Xueqing said.

“What does that have to do with me?” Ye Wuyá asked.

“Of course it matters. The world is saturated with different types of spiritual energy. For example, Yue’er and Xue’er have the ice attribute, so they can cultivate ice-based techniques to draw in the world’s ice energy. If someone has no attribute, they’re a wastrel—unable to resonate with spiritual energy, unable to guide it into their body to refine and absorb it, and naturally, unable to cultivate!”

After hearing Xueqing’s words, Ye Wuyá suddenly understood.

Then, Xueqing flipped her hand, producing a crystal ball the size of a human head. “This is a crystal ball for testing attributes. Husband, put your hand on it.”

“Alright.” Ye Wuyá nodded, placing his hand on the white crystal ball. It felt as if a surge of spiritual energy entered his body, warm and pleasant. Suddenly, the crystal ball shone with dazzling white light, so bright Ye Wuyá had to shield his eyes.

Could I have a powerful special attribute? But what does white mean? Ye Wuyá wondered.

The white light gradually faded, and after a while, the crystal returned to its previous state.

Xueqing, however, frowned in deep thought. The crystal hadn’t turned black—so it wasn’t the darkness attribute, nor was it fire, nor ice… Suddenly, an idea struck her, and her expression changed to shock and panic.

Could it not be him? How could that be! Xueqing felt on the verge of collapse. She had waited thousands of years, and now—

Looking at Ye Wuyá, a terrifying killing intent surged from her, chilling him to the bone, as though the very air was being sucked away. Ye Wuyá’s breathing grew rapid.

“Qing’er, what’s wrong? You look so frightening!” Ye Wuyá stared at Xueqing’s icy, murderous gaze, so different from before, and broke out in a cold sweat, clenching his fists. Had she found him out? Where had he gone wrong?

Xueqing took a step forward, and Ye Wuyá stepped back.

At the same time, his technique began running wildly within, drawing in the meager spiritual energy from the air.

Ye Wuyá’s fangs appeared again, his eyes turning blood-red, gleaming with demonic light. As the spiritual energy flooded in, the killing intent surged anew. But this time, Ye Wuyá didn’t suppress it—he desperately poured everything into the Mad Corpse Forbidden Art.

He felt his body brimming with power—a single punch could shatter a boulder. But it wasn’t enough. Not enough at all. Such strength was nowhere near enough to contend with Xueqing. Was he about to die again? Calm down, calm down! He must not panic; there had to be a way. Damn it! Where had it all gone wrong? Ye Wuyá raged inwardly.

Was there anything else besides the Mad Corpse Forbidden Art? Anything at all? Right—Heavenly Corpse Dissolution! No matter what, live or die—it didn’t matter! Heavenly Corpse Dissolution, do it—

“Qing-jie, Husband, what are you two doing? Husband, what’s wrong?” Unbeknownst to him, Ruyue and Ruxue had entered the courtyard. Seeing Ye Wuyá’s fangs and blood-red eyes, they rushed forward in alarm.

Hearing their voices, Ye Wuyá looked over. The two women stood there, cheeks flushed, beautiful and graceful. He was just about to unleash the Heavenly Corpse Dissolution, but stopped.

The women were about to run over.

Ye Wuyá roared, “Stay there! Don’t move!”

They stopped at his words, unsure what was happening. Hearing his command, they didn’t dare move and grew increasingly anxious.

Calming his mind, Ye Wuyá looked at Xueqing. “Qing’er, what’s wrong? It’s me, Ye Wuyá—your husband!”

“Shut up! You’re not him at all!” Xueqing screamed.

At her words, Ye Wuyá thought: So it’s true! But where had things gone wrong?

The two women saw Xueqing’s ferocity and felt a chill in their hearts. Ignoring Ye Wuyá’s warning, they dashed over and stood protectively in front of him. “Qing-jie, Husband is still Husband—Ye Wuyá! What do you mean, ‘not him’? Who else could he be? Qing-jie, talk it out first!”

Ruyue suddenly realized something was off—Qing-jie seemed about to kill Ye Wuyá! She didn’t want to become a widow right after getting married. What would she and her sister do?

“Get out of the way, or I’ll kill both of you with him!” Xueqing snarled.

“We won’t!” Both women stubbornly shook their heads, arms spread wide before Ye Wuyá, determined not to let her pass even if it meant death.

“You’re not afraid to die? For this attribute-less wastrel? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him after just one day?” Xueqing asked with cold amusement.

“Qing-jie, you don’t understand us sisters at all. Since we decided to marry Ye Wuyá, he is our husband, no matter if he’s a wastrel or not. If you want to kill him, you’ll have to go through us! We know we can’t beat you, and we don’t know what happened between you, but we will never allow you to hurt him unless we’re dead!” Ruyue declared, her tone resolute. A powerful chill emanated from the two women, causing frost to form in the courtyard.

This force was stronger than Ye Wuyá at his peak.

Seeing the women ready to fight Xueqing to the death, Ye Wuyá felt a warm surge in his heart.

He realized he had truly fallen in love with them. With wives like these, what more could a husband ask for?

He reached out, placing his hands on their shoulders, and gently pulled them behind him.

“Husband!” the two women cried anxiously.

“Have you forgotten what I said?” Ye Wuyá spoke without turning.

That sentence echoed in their minds, bringing them back to yesterday, when he had stood solemnly within the contract formation and vowed: “I, Ye Wuyá, swear here and now—if anyone tries to harm my women, they must first step over my corpse! If I break this vow, may I suffer inner demons, my soul scattered! Heaven and earth bear witness, the contract…”

Tears welled up in their eyes, glistening droplets tracing down their cheeks, falling to the ground, freezing instantly into crystalline ice-flowers.

Ye Wuyá looked at Xueqing. “Qing’er, this has nothing to do with them. Don’t make things hard for them.”

“You know, seeing you so miserable hurts me here,” Ye Wuyá said, pointing to his chest.

“Can’t you just tell me why?” Ye Wuyá pleaded, pain in his voice.

“Don’t you love me at all? Was everything you said to me yesterday a lie?” Ye Wuyá gave a bitter smile.

“Shut up! Say one more word and I’ll kill you!” Xueqing was already weeping uncontrollably…

“Please, just tell me why,” he begged.

Looking at Ye Wuyá’s anguished expression, Xueqing gave a wretched smile. “He had seven attributes, and you have none. No matter how a person changes, their innate abilities can never change! So you’re not him at all! You’re a liar, and Immortal Moon Tower is full of liars! I hate you all!”

With that, Xueqing slapped Ye Wuyá hard across the face, turned abruptly, and, as the air rippled, vanished into nothingness—leaving behind only her crystalline tears, drifting in the air…

Ye Wuyá, dizzy from the slap, suddenly remembered—“Qing’er! Wait!”

He stared at the empty space where she’d disappeared, then slumped to the ground, dazed, muttering to the corpse worm wriggling on his finger, “Seven attributes... I have them too…”

At that moment, Ye Wuyá was filled with regret. Why hadn’t he explained everything sooner? If only he’d said it all, this misunderstanding wouldn’t have happened!

“Husband, are you alright?” The two women each took one of his arms, trying to help him up, but a powerful suction immediately pulled at them—one they couldn’t escape! Their cultivation was being drained by Ye Wuyá, drawn into one of the corpse worms!

The cold ice energy snapped Ye Wuyá to attention, and he hastily suppressed the technique. After a moment, his eyes cleared, the blood-red faded, and his fangs receded.

Both women, pale, sat down beside him.

“Yue’er, Xue’er, are you alright?” Ye Wuyá asked anxiously. He hadn’t expected the Mad Corpse Forbidden Art could absorb someone else’s cultivation!

“Husband, I’m fine. Just a little weak. I’ll be alright after some rest,” Ruyue replied feebly.

Hearing her say she was fine, Ye Wuyá turned to Ruxue.

Ruxue shook her head. “Husband, I’m fine too. But your technique is truly powerful—it can absorb someone else’s cultivation!”

“As long as you’re both okay. Recover your strength first,” said Ye Wuyá.

“Mm!” The two women sat cross-legged, beginning to cultivate and absorb spiritual energy to recover.

Ye Wuyá also sat down, looking at his right index finger, now coated in a thin layer of frost, obscuring what lay beneath. Everything felt normal, but the corpse worm inside seemed to be growing rapidly.

He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the changes. After a while, he opened them slowly. So that’s how it worked! The corpse worm could absorb another’s cultivation to grow, as well as consume attribute-laden spiritual treasures.

Ye Wuyá began to form some theories regarding the nine women of Immortal Moon Tower, Xueqing, and that other person…

If their attributes were all different, then his guess might be true!

He also gained new insights into the Mad Corpse Forbidden Art. The Violet Spirit Fruit earlier seemed to have been divided up by the ten corpse worms within him, each growing a little.

“Husband, what happened between you and Qing-jie?” Ruyue, her color much improved, asked in confusion.