As Xiaofan gazed at the distraught Yaoxi before him, a pang of guilt tugged at his heart.
The Peach Blossom Valley was, after all, the place where the Heavenly Emperor had told him Yaoxi's husband was hidden. By revealing this location, Yaoxi naturally had no reason to doubt him.
Yaoxi's eyes were locked onto the small emerald-green bottle in Xiaofan's hand, her lips trembling uncontrollably. The man's words echoed in her mind—this bottle held the soul of her husband.
That could only mean her husband was… already dead.
In an instant, Yaoxi's face turned ashen, her entire being crumbling as she slumped to the ground, her spirit seemingly shattered.
"Fool, in the end, I still broke my promise…" Yaoxi murmured in a daze, tears welling up in her eyes. The tears streaked down her cheeks, making her once stunning face appear even more sorrowful.
Seeing Yaoxi in such utter despair, Xiaofan felt a stab of pain in his heart, yet he maintained his cold expression and said indifferently, "If you don't acknowledge me as your master, I'm afraid even your husband's soul won't survive."
"I'll kill you!" Yaoxi's eyes burned with fury, her voice filled with venom as she glared at Xiaofan, her body instinctively trying to lunge at him. But alas, her body was already bound, preventing her from getting any closer.
Her entire body trembled violently, her eyes widening to the point of nearly tearing apart, consumed by an overwhelming hatred.
But Xiaofan remained unmoved, casually rubbing the small green bottle in his hand. "If you don't become my disciple, don't blame me for crushing this bottle and sending your husband's soul into oblivion."
These words seemed to calm Yaoxi, though her body still quivered uncontrollably with rage.
"Why? Why must I become your disciple?" Yaoxi asked through gritted teeth, her gaze fixed on Xiaofan.
"Status. I recently joined the Heavenly Court and need a position to secure my standing," Xiaofan replied calmly. "Being the master of Princess Yaoxi seems like a decent choice."
Upon hearing this, Yaoxi turned to the Heavenly Emperor, her voice trembling as she asked, "Is this… also your will?"
"I promised him a reward. Since he wishes to take you as his disciple, I have no objections," the Heavenly Emperor replied coolly.
Yaoxi felt her entire spirit drain away at these words. In that moment, all her hopes were utterly crushed. She had always believed that although the Heavenly Emperor was harsh and demanding, he still cared for her as his daughter. But now she realized how terribly wrong she had been.
Looking at the green bottle in Xiaofan's hand, Yaoxi bit her lip hard. Then, with a loud thud, she bowed her head deeply, hitting it against the white jade floor in front of Xiaofan.
"I, Yaoxi, hereby acknowledge you as my master!" she cried out in near despair, her voice choking with tears of pain and resentment, which dripped ceaselessly onto the ground.
This scene made Xiaofan's body shudder slightly, a sudden tightness in his chest causing a breathless sensation, nearly making him lose his footing.
Seeing that the disciple ceremony was complete, the Heavenly Emperor, concerned that the severe blow Yaoxi had just suffered would damage her spirit, cast a spell to make her fall into a deep sleep.
Once Yaoxi had fallen unconscious, Xiaofan could no longer maintain his cold facade and collapsed beside her in a state of exhaustion.
"I'm sorry…" Xiaofan murmured in guilt as he looked at Yaoxi's face, still etched with hatred even in her sleep. His remorse deepened as he glanced at the small green bottle in his hand. "I won't let you and your husband be separated," he whispered softly.
With that, Xiaofan suddenly reached out and pulled a simple peachwood hairpin from Yaoxi's hair. It was an ordinary, even crudely made, hairpin that seemed out of place with Yaoxi's usual elegance.
For some reason, Xiaofan was certain that this was the token of love between Yaoxi and her mortal husband, something she must have cherished dearly.
Holding the green bottle and the peachwood hairpin, Xiaofan turned to the Heavenly Emperor with a pleading expression. "Heavenly Emperor, please seal Yaoxi's husband's soul within this hairpin."
The Heavenly Emperor gave Xiaofan a deep look before silently complying, using a binding spell to transfer the soul from the green bottle into the peachwood hairpin. Yaoxi, with her current cultivation, would never be able to detect it.
After the spell was completed, Xiaofan gently returned the hairpin to its place in Yaoxi's hair.
Outside the Haotian Mirror, everyone who witnessed this scene could not help but admire Xiaofan's thoughtfulness. Though Xiaofan had, for some reason, killed Yaoxi's husband, and despite needing her to assist in saving the world, he still sought to make amends in whatever way he could.
As they realized that the husband Yaoxi had been searching for was, in fact, always right by her side, everyone couldn't help but cast peculiar glances at the Yaoxi Empress.
Watching the scene unfold within the Haotian Mirror, the Yaoxi Empress was completely stunned. Without a moment's hesitation, she carefully retrieved the peachwood hairpin from her Qiankun Ring.
This hairpin was the only token of love between her and her husband, and over the millennia, it had been her sole comfort for her yearning heart.
But the hairpin was, after all, a mundane object, and she had kept it sealed away to prevent it from being damaged. Even after her cultivation had reached the Emperor's realm, she had never once probed it with her divine sense.
Because she never imagined that her husband's soul had been hidden within this very hairpin all along.
With trembling hands, the Yaoxi Empress carefully held the peachwood hairpin and extended her divine sense to examine it.
In the next moment, her eyes filled with tears, yet a smile spread across her face. Anyone who saw it could not help but feel deeply moved by the joy of her reunion.
"Give that to me!"
Suddenly, Xuanwei, the Empress of the God Clan, made her move. Just as the Yaoxi Empress was fully immersed in her joy, Xuanwei snatched the peachwood hairpin from her grasp.
The Yaoxi Empress, already severely weakened and unprepared, worried that a struggle might damage the hairpin. Thus, Xuanwei easily took it from her.
"What are you trying to do?" the Yaoxi Empress asked, her eyes fixed warily on Xuanwei.
"Nothing much. I just want to see what kind of person has kept you longing for thousands of years," Xuanwei replied nonchalantly with a smirk.
Though Xuanwei had no real intention of harming the Yaoxi Empress's husband, she did harbor some disdain for the Empress. Seeing everyone so heartbroken while the Yaoxi Empress alone rejoiced was infuriating.
So, besides satisfying her curiosity about the Empress's husband, the real reason Xuanwei had seized the hairpin was to wipe that smug look off the Yaoxi Empress's face.
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8