I couldn’t possibly ask him.

When a married couple reaches the point of separation, isn’t it because all warmth and passion have been depleted?

Besides, Xie Zhuo had been openly declaring he wanted to kill me.

His request was utterly bewildering.

So I silently stared at him, just as he usually silently stared at me.

He looked at me, waited for a long time, then finally spoke: “Fu Jiuxia, are you playing a game… If I treat you like that, then at some point, you’ll treat me the same way.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re taking revenge on me…”

I froze, watching as Xie Zhuo slowly closed his eyes. Then his hand finally lost strength, releasing me and falling limp. His injuries were too severe; he couldn’t hold on any longer and truly lost consciousness.

I thought Xie Zhuo must be delirious from his wounds. His words sounded… like a child expressing his grievances.

I looked at the unconscious Xie Zhuo, standing in silence for a long while, considering the time and place, my heart filled with mixed emotions.

I had come to arrange the meeting between Xie Xuanqing and Xiaxia, but at this crucial moment, Xiaxia was absent, Xie Xuanqing was nowhere to be found, and only I and Xie Zhuo—this bitter couple—had miraculously repeated the same event from five hundred years ago.

The arrangements of fate were truly beyond my comprehension.

But after a brief moment of reflection, a sudden flash of inspiration hit me! What was I lamenting? What was I grieving about? This was a heaven-sent opportunity—

Why not take this chance to steal his Pangu Fu!?

Although I hadn’t yet managed to arrange the meeting between Xiaxia and Xie Xuanqing, having the time-traveling weapon in my own hands was certainly better than having it in Xie Zhuo’s possession!

Since arriving five hundred years in the past, my cultivation techniques had never been comparable to Xie Zhuo’s, let alone being able to snatch something from him. If not now, when?

I immediately crouched down, first searching his sleeves, then feeling around his belt, patting his trouser legs and shoes. After completing this body search, I found nothing but blood on my hands—he truly had no weapons on him.

After a moment’s contemplation, I simply grabbed his collar and stripped off his upper garments entirely…

As his clothes fell away, I was stunned.

Xie Zhuo’s body was covered in scars.

Apart from the scar on his chest, whose origin I knew, the rest of his body was covered with marks of all sizes, depths, and ages—all from sources unknown to me.

What was more terrifying was that these scars, without exception, were all injuries inflicted by evil spirits and malevolent energy.

Wounds left by evil spirits were more grotesque than those left by ordinary celestial weapons. Besides the location of the wound itself, the surrounding area would be marked with spider-web-like tearing of the skin, making them immediately recognizable…

I stood with my mouth agape, staring at his body, completely dumbfounded.

Not long ago, I had seen Xie Xuanqing’s body in this same cave. His body wasn’t like this. Though not completely unblemished, with occasional scars in places, it was certainly nothing like this…

So terrifyingly numerous…

Xie Zhuo…

What had he experienced?

I couldn’t help but raise my finger, avoiding his fresh wounds, tracing over the old scars.

These countless marks—if it had been someone else, they would likely have lost their life. Yet Xie Zhuo had endured so much without ever letting me know…

This demon… did he not feel pain?

My brain felt like it had been struck by a wooden mallet, momentarily buzzing with confusion. But within that mental hum, I suddenly recalled the reasons behind several arguments I’d had with Xie Zhuo during our five hundred years together.

The trigger had been Xie Zhuo’s inexplicable disappearances.

He would never inform me beforehand, but as days passed, he would simply vanish. During several of these disappearances, I even thought Xie Zhuo had abandoned me and run off.

But after some time, Xie Zhuo would quietly return, as if nothing had happened.

Regarding this behavior, I had of course questioned, argued, berated, and threatened him.

But he would never directly answer me about where he had gone, what he had done, why he behaved this way, or whether it would happen again…

Time after time, as instances multiplied, I grew weary, exhausted, and eventually indifferent.

Later, I no longer bothered to keep track of his whereabouts, only asking that he not question mine.

But he would never stop monitoring my movements…

This became another reason I sought separation.

When I married Xie Zhuo, I hadn’t been aiming for separation. But the emotions resulting from various incidents after our marriage pushed me inevitably down this path, which ultimately became an inescapable road, paved by our personalities and past experiences.

This road would only lead to one destined conclusion…

Separation…

So…

During those times, Xie Zhuo disappeared; was he fighting against evil spirits?

But why didn’t he tell me?

And where did Kunlun Xu get so many dangerous spirits? Are spirits powerful enough to injure Xie Zhuo like this?

If such powerful evil entities were so numerous, how could Kunlun remain oblivious? How could everyone, from top to bottom, lack any sense of crisis over five hundred years?

The higher immortals focused on their cultivation, the lesser immortals tended to flowers and sought their pleasures, and Xi Wang Mu even opened the East-West Market… Kunlun was essentially a cultivation paradise according to human legends.

Could it be that my ex-husband, Xie Zhuo, was eliminating evil in another world?

I couldn’t make sense of it…

If, at our first meeting, Xie Zhuo had concealed his identity as a snow wolf demon to avoid frightening me, then what purpose did concealing his body full of scars serve during our five hundred years together?

My fingertip inadvertently touched Xie Zhuo’s skin, and I immediately withdrew my hand, yet the lingering coolness clung to my fingertip, impossible to ignore. His skin was ice-cold, as if his body no longer had the strength to maintain its temperature.

If I could cast a spell to protect his vital energy channels, he might feel better…

Suddenly, through my divine consciousness, I heard my angry scolding: “Damn it! How reckless! Why the hell did you carry me here?”

Xiaxia had awakened.

The Yin-Yang fish on Xiaxia’s ear remained active, allowing me to see the scene on her side once again.

She had kicked Wu Cheng’s backside, sending him sprawling.

Meng Meng stood stunned beside them, quickly stepping between them to mediate: “Jiu Xia! Someone secretly reported that you’re practicing demonic arts!”

“Secret report? Demonic arts? Why don’t you believe I’m practicing beauty preservation techniques instead!?”

Xiaxia stepped right over Wu Cheng’s back and waved her hand to form a wind-riding spell, apparently not forgetting the task I had assigned her.

But Wu Cheng grabbed her leg: “Boss! Don’t stray from the righteous path!”

“Get the hell off me! Always wasting time!” She kicked Wu Cheng away.

Xiaxia rose with the wind, remembering my existence, and quickly called out to me: “Are you still there? Has the time passed? Is there still a chance? Can I still be saved?”

I glanced at Xie Zhuo, then tapped my ear twice, allowing Xiaxia on the other side to see the same scene I was seeing.

Her wind-riding speed slowed down, clearly relieved: “You went in my place? That’s good… So clever, worthy of being me.”

“This is Xie Zhuo,” I told Xiaxia. “Xie Xuanqing wasn’t found.”

Xiaxia was startled, clearly stunned for a moment, then without wasting words, directly asked me: “Why don’t you just stab him!?”

I: “…”

When it comes to ruthlessness, she truly takes the crown.

Seeing I hadn’t made a move, Xiaxia seemed confused: “You really won’t kill him? Last time I told you, killing him is the once-and-for-all solution. No need for the Pangu Fu, no need to find Xie Xuanqing. You previously told me this approach wouldn’t work because Xie Zhuo was too powerful, impossible to kill. Now, hasn’t the opportunity presented itself?”

I took a deep breath: “I won’t kill him.”

“Why not?”

“Do you see the wounds on his body?”

I stared at Xie Zhuo’s body, and Xiaxia fell silent for a moment. Though she wasn’t yet a high immortal and hadn’t taken command of Kunlun’s defense forces, she had served in the military and recognized these wounds.

“In the five hundred years to come, does he often battle with evil spirits?” Xiaxia asked me. “Has he rendered great service to Kunlun?”

“I don’t know if he’s rendered great service to Kunlun, but with a body covered in such scars, no cultivator of Kunlun should kill him.”

The war against evil spirits is not only the duty of our Kunlun defense forces but the mission of all cultivators in the primordial world.

Someone who has risked his life to eliminate evil spirits, regardless of what grievances exist between us, should not die because of our feud.

“Besides…” I said, “he once saved my life.”

“He would save your life?” Xiaxia found this hard to believe.

Of course he would…

I looked at the scar on Xie Zhuo’s chest, raised my finger, and the spell energy accumulated at my fingertip passed into Xie Zhuo’s body through skin contact.

Light flashed as I protected his vital energy channels.

After seeing Xie Zhuo’s body covered in scars, even Xiaxia, who had just shouted, “Why not kill him?” did not stop me. She only wondered: “A demon who wanted to kill you after separation would save someone?”

“Four hundred years ago… which would be one hundred years in your future. There was evil spirit activity at Kunlun’s northern entrance. After ascending to high immortal status, I was responsible for commanding Kunlun’s defense forces. I went to guard the northern entrance, and Xie Zhuo accompanied me…”

“Huh?” Xiaxia was somewhat incredulous. “I… you became Kunlun’s defense commander and let your husband join you on the front lines? Wouldn’t those sarcastic folks mock you?”

“Sarcastic folks” was our affectionate term for fellow military commanders.

When Xie Zhuo accompanied me to the front lines back then, I was indeed mocked by those sarcastic people, just as Xiaxia blurted out.

At that time, I had been Kunlun’s defense commander for only a hundred years, and Kunlun had not experienced any major conflicts, so I hadn’t established my authority. Many generals had grown up alongside me and still treated me as a friend in conversation.

This was fine in peacetime, but highly inappropriate during war.

My orders were executed with low efficiency on the front lines, as some generals didn’t take my words to heart.

In their view, I was merely a female immortal who had gotten lucky and ascended successfully before them. This contempt became even more undisguised after Xie Zhuo followed me to the battlefield.

They thought I was a novice girl who, despite ascending to high immortal status, had little ability and needed to rely on my quiet demon husband for courage.

I urged Xie Zhuo to go back several times. But Xie Zhuo’s response was always the same: “The coming threat is not benign. Be careful…”

At that time, our scouts hadn’t yet returned, and although we knew evil spirits were stirring beyond Kunlun’s northern entrance, we didn’t know what level of demonic entity we were dealing with.

Not only did the generals not believe Xie Zhuo’s words, but I didn’t either. However, the trouble his presence brought to my command was very real.

I couldn’t drive Xie Zhuo away, so I often sent him away from my side. Then I would face those defiant generals alone, gradually making them realize that I didn’t need anyone’s backing to handle them.

However… while I was still establishing internal authority, the evil spirits beyond the northern entrance suddenly launched an attack.

That day, I was to inspect Yang Peak at the northern entrance, the highest point overlooking the outside situation. This location was within the northern gate and protected by the Pangu Fu barrier, theoretically a very safe place.

Xie Zhuo only obediently followed my instructions to visit the returned injured scouts after learning where I was going, content to be sent away by me.

But no one expected that this invading evil spirit would truly be as malicious as Xie Zhuo had said. It directly breached the Pangu Fu barrier, headed straight for Yang Peak, ignored all other vital areas of Kunlun, and fixated solely on capturing me, taking me beyond Kunlun…

That was also the first time in my immortal life that I left Kunlun…