When that person removed their mask, their voice also changed from aged and mixed to light and melodious.

As expected.

As long as the true appearance isn’t revealed, the probability of it being a woman is extremely high—reference Qi Jingxuan, who once took Gu Honghong as her master.

Please, can we change the pattern!

“Swish!”

Ye Xingchen turned around, his eyes surging with shock.

This woman revealing her true appearance looked very much like Jie Lingyao, and also very much like Empress Lingyao, as if she were a combination of the two.

However.

Her eyes were dim, her face abnormally pale.

At first glance she seemed malnourished, but upon closer inspection… she seemed to be approaching the end of her lifespan.

Be confident.

Remove “seemed.”

This woman was already at the end of her rope, her breathing noticeably labored.

She struggled to put on a charming smile: “Surprised?”

“…”

Ye Xingchen’s expression shifted between light and dark, but his heart was more shocked than anything.

That he himself was Night King had already been difficult enough to suppress. Now seeing the fake Night King’s true face, his shock level climbed several more steps.

“You…”

Ye Xingchen said in a deep voice: “Just who are you!”

“I’m Lingyao, who has always followed by your side, accompanying you through life and death.” That woman said.

Ye Xingchen’s eyes once again surged with killing intent.

She looked too much like Empress Lingyao, so old and new grievances welled up once more.

“I know you hate me.”

Lingyao said: “But please, for the sake of how long I accompanied you, forgive my past selfishness and willfulness.”

Her voice sounded more and more like Empress Lingyao.

“Smack!”

Ye Xingchen lunged forward in one step, directly gripping her neck, his killing aura permeating as he angrily said: “Stop playing tricks and pretending here!”

After killing Empress Lingyao in the upper realm, he always felt it wasn’t that simple. Now encountering this again, there must be a conspiracy.

Perhaps.

That woman didn’t die at all.

Every step was designed by her in advance!

To obtain the Supreme Profound Scripture, she cruelly killed him. To ascend to the upper realm, she deceived the nine Great Martial Emperors. In Ye Xingchen’s heart, Empress Lingyao was a venomous snake woman skilled in calculation and unscrupulous in her methods.

“I don’t have much time left.”

The restrained Lingyao didn’t resist, weakly saying: “Can you listen to my explanation?”

Like pleading, like begging.

Strangely, the originally extremely angry Ye Xingchen suddenly felt a trace of softness in his heart, his grip gradually weakening.

“In the past, you knew that deducing the future would consume lifespan, yet you still did it without hesitation. Do you know why?” Lingyao said.

“Why?”

“You found an opportunity to break through to higher realms.”

“What opportunity?”

When Ye Xingchen asked this, Lingyao’s face showed a bitter expression: “I accompanied you for hundreds of thousands of years, thinking I was closest to you, but you never told me some things, as if treating me as an outsider.”

“A woman skilled in scheming must naturally be guarded against.” Ye Xingchen said flatly.

“After your rebirth you forgot everything. I don’t blame you for saying this.” Lingyao looked at him and said: “But remember this—in this lifetime, I, Lingyao, have schemed against many people, but never against you, Night King.”

“What about Empress Lingyao and Jie Lingyao?” Ye Xingchen said with a dark face: “Don’t tell me they were just your avatars and it was all a test.”

“They aren’t my avatars.”

Lingyao said: “They are flesh and blood people with independent consciousness.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

Ye Xingchen had already determined that Empress Lingyao and Jie Lingyao were her avatars, that everything was her plan, her conspiracy.

“Among the thirty-two spirit seeds of the Canghai System that seize heaven and earth’s fortune, one spirit seed was born fused with two soul bodies. Though they aren’t separate from each other, they are each independent, so it’s called the Spirit of Dual Souls.” Lingyao said.

“…”

Ye Xingchen frowned.

“That’s right.”

Lingyao said: “I inherited this spirit seed.”

“…” Ye Xingchen said with a straight face: “So what’s the difference from an avatar?”

Lingyao didn’t answer this question, instead continuing: “You repeatedly used lifespan to deduce the future, until one day you deduced an opportunity to reach higher realms, until you realized your time was running out and chose to reincarnate through self-dissolution.”

Ye Xingchen was stunned.

So it wasn’t that his lifespan ran out and he died, but that he committed suicide.

“For greater strength, you Night King could decisively choose to end your own life, but did you ever consider your friends and family? Did you ever consider me?” When Lingyao said this, tears streamed down uncontrollably.

Though this had happened long ago, she could never forget when she came to the secret chamber as usual and saw that cold corpse—how intense the pain in her heart was.

“You just left when you wanted to leave.”

Lingyao said with grief: “Did you ever consider my feelings?”

“No.”

“You never consider others.”

“In your heart, the martial dao is always above everything.”

“Whether it’s the Night King Alliance you personally established, or the subordinates who fought battles by your side, you could abandon them all and pursue higher realms without hesitation.”

Ye Xingchen’s grip tightened again as he coldly said: “Your so-called explanation is just criticizing me?”

“You’re selfish, you’re heartless, you have no sense of responsibility.”

Lingyao laughed through her tears and said: “But I still love you. Isn’t that foolish.”

This love was one-sided.

Though she had always been by his side, working tirelessly to handle organizational affairs without asking for anything in return.

It was somewhat like Jun Changxiao and Hua Meigui—the latter also constantly managed sect affairs without seeking reward.

However!

From what’s currently known, Dog Leftovers was ultimately more reliable than Night King—at least not as extremely selfish and heartless, and had even begun to take on the responsibilities of being a husband.

“After your self-dissolution, I met Weibu Zi.” Lingyao struggled to control her emotions and said: “He told me that with your personality, no matter how many times you’re reborn, you won’t change, unless… someone is willing to sacrifice themselves to help you change.”

The key point was here!

Lingyao continued: “I used your corpse as the array center to set up the Karmic Reincarnation Array, forcibly separating the Spirit of Dual Souls, letting them intersect with you after reincarnation and form karmic ties, hoping to change your extremely cold and heartless personality.”

“Empress Lingyao was killed by you.”

“Which means she failed.”

“…”

Ye Xingchen’s face darkened even more.

Wanting to change his cold and heartless personality by deliberately backstabbing him—was this really not intentionally trying to kill him?

“Though Empress Lingyao inherited half of my soul, after separating from my body and reincarnating, she was no longer under my control. She is herself, with independent consciousness and independent ideas.” Lingyao said.

“…”

Ye Xingchen said coldly: “She should have inherited your scheming too.”

“I don’t deny that.” Lingyao said: “But Jie Lingyao inherited the other half of my soul. She doesn’t understand scheming or plotting. I hope you can treat her well in the future.”

Mentioning Jie Lingyao, Ye Xingchen thought of the child in her womb again. His face gradually twisted, clearly extremely conflicted and struggling.

“Buzz!”

At that moment, Lingyao’s body gradually became ethereal, then he heard her laugh: “After the soul was separated into two independent beings, I actually died long ago. I’ve just been clinging to life through secret techniques, leading them forward as ‘Night King.'”

“I’m tired.”

“Now I’ve finally waited for you to arrive, finally have no regrets.”

“…”

Ye Xingchen released his hand.

She was becoming ethereal—he could no longer grasp her.

“Night King.” Cracks gradually appeared on Lingyao’s face. She stood on tiptoe and leaned closer, forcing a smile: “Before I go, can I hug you?”

“…”

Ye Xingchen’s heart suddenly ached like needle pricks.

He didn’t speak, nor did he refuse.

Unfortunately, Lingyao’s body had completely etherealized. When she tried to embrace Ye Xingchen, she passed right through him. She stood dazed behind him, her eyes showing disappointment as she said: “Never able to obtain you—perhaps that’s just my fate.”

Her body disintegrated, transforming into starlight.

“All under heaven is the king’s land, all subjects under heaven are the king’s servants. This was the great ambition you once established. I will always watch from heaven…”

The starlight gradually weakened, the voice gradually weakened, until it completely vanished without a trace.

Ye Xingchen clutched his chest, pain showing on his face. Then he turned and walked step by step toward the luxurious throne and sat down calmly.

“Swish!”

“Swish!”

In an instant, the Night King Alliance high-ranking members who had long been arranged in neat formation outside the great hall all bowed and shouted loudly: “Welcome Night King’s return to his position. We pledge to follow unto death, through fire and water!”

—