'It's finally over!'
An unknown amount of time had passed.
Yang Xiao had purged every last Demon Thought.
By the time he finished, his own spirit was utterly exhausted, but at long last, it was over.
At that same moment,
Xue Yi's main consciousness was growing clearer and clearer.
The look she gave him...
...grew ever more gentle, brimming with affection.
However,
Yang Xiao didn't notice. His mind was currently flooded with Xue Yi's memories.
And after seeing these memories,
Yang Xiao's heart ached for this woman all the more.
Because her life had been one of immense suffering.
Her father died before she was even born.
By the time she was three, her mother was also gone.
At that tender age, she struggled just to survive,
even fighting wild wolves for scraps of food.
After she grew up, she was corrupted by the Evil Sword.
And because of her stunning beauty, she was constantly targeted by young masters from wealthy families who had designs on her.
Left with no other choice,
Xue Yi fought back.
And it was during that very resistance that she accepted the power of the Evil Sword,
sowing the seeds for today's bitter fruit.
Of course, for Xue Yi to become the person she was today,
the Profound Celestial Sect had also played a major role.
'Judging from her memories, the Profound Celestial Sect is very likely the mastermind. They're the ones who pushed Xue Yi to this point, step by step...'
Yang Xiao's thoughts ran deeper.
With his worldliness and experience, Yang Xiao was able to perceive subtle clues within Xue Yi's complete memories that she herself had never noticed.
In his eyes, the Profound Celestial Sect's conspiracy had likely begun the moment Xue Yi's mother obtained the Broken Sword.
Because the man who delivered the Broken Sword was unmistakably an Elder from the Profound Celestial Sect.
Although Yang Xiao had killed him with a single sword strike,
with his level of Spiritual Power, he could clearly remember everyone he had ever killed.
Xue Yi, in contrast, lacked such an ability.
She had been too young at the time; even if she had seen the man, she wouldn't have recognized him.
Beyond that, there were many other traces of the Profound Celestial Sect's interference.
For example, the first young master Xue Yi killed had clearly been goaded by someone into trying to force himself on her.
And the one who did the goading,
if Yang Xiao wasn't mistaken, was also a member of the Profound Celestial Sect, merely in disguise.
'Especially when Xue Yi's Essence Qi was being devoured by the Evil Sword... for the Profound Celestial Sect to arrive so promptly, and even be willing to give her a Desolate Divine Fruit... a coincidence like that, if it wasn't a calculated scheme, is simply impossible to justify.'
Yang Xiao sighed inwardly.
He knew this was likely the biggest flaw in the Profound Celestial Sect's entire plan.
It was precisely this flaw that had made Xue Yi, who no longer dared to trust anyone, grow suspicious.
Otherwise, with her personality,
she wouldn't have merely agreed to a single task.
She would have submitted wholeheartedly to the Profound Celestial Sect.
Of course, this was also because Xue Yi was normally unable to take action.
She had to constantly resist the mental invasion of the Evil Sword.
Therefore, after learning of her situation, the Profound Celestial Sect had agreed to her terms.
Because to them, Xue Yi was likely a disposable pawn. Once used, she would be finished.
They naturally didn't care whether she truly submitted or not.
As long as she promised to give them this one and only opportunity to act, that was enough.
And what pained Yang Xiao's heart the most...
...was this very fact.
To guarantee she could be used for this one opportunity, the Profound Celestial Sect had actually sealed her within a Blood Coffin, treating her like a corpse.
She wasn't released until the incident with the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion.
'If the Profound Celestial Sect hadn't already been wiped out, I'd be tempted to annihilate them several more times! Daring to scheme against someone of mine... they were simply courting death!'
Yang Xiao was seething with rage.
Xue Yi, however, did not receive the same privilege.
Although they had undergone Divine Intent Fusion,
what had actually fused were just wisps of consciousness corrupted by Demon Thoughts—far too weak compared to Yang Xiao's Divine Soul.
As a result, she was completely unable to peer into his memories.
Naturally, she couldn't learn Yang Xiao's secrets.
However,
though she couldn't see his memories, a feeling of intimacy remained.
It gathered,
causing feelings of affection to grow ever stronger within Xue Yi.
"What is it?"
Indeed, even though he was mentally exhausted, her affection was so potent that Yang Xiao sensed the change in her heart and couldn't help but ask softly.
"It's nothing, Master. From now on, please let Xue Yi protect you."
A simple sentence,
yet heavy with affection.
Even Yang Xiao found it a bit overwhelming.
With a slight nod,
he vanished from her Sea of Consciousness.
If he had stayed any longer,
it would have become awkward. The gratitude of a beautiful woman is a heavy burden—one he found overwhelming.