As the ice blade struck the chains binding Chu Yang, a crisp sound echoed through the cave. In an instant, the chains seemed to petrify, shattering inch by inch until they were completely broken.
With the shackles gone, Chu Yang felt a sense of rebirth.
Liu Xiaoxiao stepped forward, grasping Chu Yang's hand and pulling him outward. She said excitedly, "I'm taking you out of here. I know a place where we can escape without anyone noticing, far from the Demon Sect."
Her voice was filled with joy.
However, Chu Yang did not move. Instead, he gently freed himself from Liu Xiaoxiao's grasp and reached up to remove the veil from her face.
In the next moment, Chu Yang's eyes narrowed.
The flawless face of Liu Xiaoxiao, once without a single blemish, now bore a horrifying scar.
It looked as if it had been burned by a scorching flame, leaving a lasting mark.
Without speaking, Chu Yang lifted her hands.
One hand was already a bloody mess, with bones almost visible beneath the charred flesh. The palm still bore the destructive traces of the fire.
The other hand was frozen, transformed into a blue ice sculpture with tiny cracks, as if it might shatter at any moment.
Chu Yang's heart couldn't help but tremble.
His gaze towards Liu Xiaoxiao was filled with complex emotions.
He could hardly imagine what the little woman before him had gone through to obtain these items for his rescue.
Only she knew the hardships she had endured.
Both items possessed immense power, capable of leaving indelible scars.
It was evident how much effort Liu Xiaoxiao had put into saving him and the immense pain she had endured.
Despite everything, she never complained, silently bearing it all alone.
Seeing the pain in Chu Yang's eyes, Liu Xiaoxiao felt a sudden relief from her own pain. She smiled beautifully and said, "Brother Chu Yang, it's okay, Xiaoxiao doesn't hurt."
Even at this moment, Liu Xiaoxiao's first thought was to comfort Chu Yang, never uttering a word of complaint.
Then, a hint of panic appeared on her face.
Remembering something, she hurriedly put the veil back on.
Back when she confessed her love to Chu Yang, her face had shown no panic or shyness. But now, she looked timid.
Worried, she asked, "Am I ugly now? I still want you to marry me, but do I not deserve you anymore?"
Chu Yang didn't speak, but his eyes were full of pain.
Unable to resist, he gently patted her head.
Meanwhile, outside the Heavenly Emperor's realm, the cultivators watching through the mirror felt moved.
Who could have thought that a young girl in her early twenties would make such a decision for her beloved?
She not only betrayed the Demon Sect she had always lived in but also her own father.
She did all this just to save the Emperor, not wanting to see him suffer any longer.
One cultivator sighed, "One must admit, the Demon Empress's love for the Emperor was extreme, even to the point of obsession."
"Doesn't that make the Emperor seem even more cold-blooded later on?"
"Despite the Demon Empress helping him so much and sacrificing everything for him, the Emperor still attacked the Demon Sect and killed her father."
"The Emperor's ruthlessness is well-known. Even if the Demon Empress's father was a demonic emperor who committed many evils, it wasn't reason enough for the Emperor to kill him!"
"Regardless of the demonic emperor's sins, he was still the Demon Empress's father. The Emperor could have subdued him instead of killing him."
"Even so, the Demon Empress never hated the Emperor. Her only regret was that the Emperor's heart had no place for her."
The cultivators couldn't help but discuss in hushed tones.
They feared that if the Demon Empress heard them, she might deal with them as she had with previous cultivators.
Everyone had witnessed the Demon Empress's obsessive love for the Emperor.
They knew that in her heart, the Emperor's life was more important than her own.
While they felt pity and sympathy for the Demon Empress, they also envied the Emperor.
In this golden age of races vying for supremacy, what was every cultivator striving for? Wasn't it to achieve invincible power? Wasn't it to win the heart of a peerless beauty?
Perhaps, when facing others, the Demon Empress was arrogant and indifferent, but in front of the Emperor, her demeanor was what every cultivator considered the perfect soulmate.
To grow old with one person, to live and die in one city.
No matter if the world cursed her, no matter if the heavens and earth betrayed her, no matter if she was called the demon of the apocalypse, no matter if she stood alone in the end, she did not care.
Even if she had to stand against the entire world, she only wanted to quietly stand by his side.
Such an obsessive woman would only reveal her gentle side to her beloved, showing endless indifference to everyone else.
Because in her heart, she only wanted to show her most beautiful and tender side to her beloved.
Who wouldn't envy having such a soulmate in life?
The cultivators' hearts were filled with indignation towards the Emperor.
Such a devoted woman, yet his heart never held a place for her.
How could the cultivators not be angry?
Liu Xiaoxiao did not care about the gazes of the surrounding cultivators; her eyes were always fixed on the man in the mirror.
It seemed that in her eyes, there was no room for anything else but this man.
Unlike her previous indifference, Liu Xiaoxiao's eyes were now full of tenderness.
Even though that moment had passed many years ago, seeing Chu Yang's tender and pained gaze upon her still filled her with immense satisfaction and emotion.
Long before they had met, upon hearing of Chu Yang's past, his name was etched deeply into her heart.
She had never met another person in this world who valued emotions and loyalty as deeply as Chu Yang did.
This was one reason why she loved Chu Yang so completely and unwaveringly.
Even though her love was ultimately unreciprocated and she was considered a loser by the world, she didn't care.
She only knew that she had to love him well, regardless of the outcome, regardless of whether it was fulfilling or not.
She never regretted falling in love with him.
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8