Jun Moxie’s body trembled, and he grasped her hand.

"Don't touch me! You are unworthy of that name, you liar!"

Miao Xiaomiao’s eyes cleared. She fiercely shook off his hand, yanking hers away, rubbing it repeatedly on her clothes. Then she lowered her head, bowing deeply, utterly still, the tremor in her delicate body gradually subsiding.

She waited until her trembling completely ceased, then drew two deep, forceful breaths. Jun Moxie could distinctly feel her small frame momentarily expand and then contract with the sheer effort of her breathing.

Then, Miao Xiaomiao lifted her head, meeting Jun Moxie’s gaze with a faint smile. "Lord Jun, are you not going to explain? I am listening. I await your explanation!"

Her voice had suddenly become perfectly level.

Yet, this tranquility was akin to the stillness of the grave!

A pang shot through Jun Moxie’s heart.

Miao Xiaomiao's face was deathly pale. Though she smiled, her eyes were utterly devoid of light, filled only with ash-grey emptiness. Given the present circumstances, he knew that no explanation, no matter how intricate, would penetrate her consciousness.

Jun Moxie sighed inwardly, feeling sharp, tearing pain in his own chest.

"Little Miao, the situation back then was this... Since I began cultivating the Profound Arts, my progress far outpaced what anyone could imagine. In just a few years, I had already attained the height of Saint Sovereign."

Even though Jun Moxie knew explanation was futile, he could not remain silent now.

Having lived two lifetimes, he had never felt such profound guilt!

Nor had he ever found the act of speaking so agonizingly difficult.

"With the Profound Arts mastered, my lifespan naturally extended. Xiao Yi and Qing Han, who stayed by my side, have shown devotion that runs deep! But, the problem we faced was..."

Jun Moxie let out a deep sigh, "...I might be able to maintain my youthful appearance for a thousand years, and so could Xueyan. But the others were destined to age, as their cultivation levels could not reach such heights. To put it plainly, no one possesses the ability to halt time entirely; the Profound Arts only slow aging, they do not preserve looks forever. Even if they reached Saint Sovereign like me, they would still be ground down by the passage of heaven and earth. This issue might mean little to a man, but for a woman..."

"Xueyan and I can maintain our youth because we possess... an alternate opportunity."

Jun Moxie glossed over the detail. "For a woman, watching her beloved and her sisters retain eternal youth while she herself must confront the decay of age is undoubtedly an extremely cruel fate!"

"I do not wish to witness their future sorrow, nor do I wish to lose them... My women, I must cherish them with every fiber of my being!"

Jun Moxie stated solemnly, "But, there is only one method to resolve the aging of looks alongside such massive leaps in cultivation—and that is to consume both the Exquisite Lotus and the Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit simultaneously!"

"There is no other way!"

At this point, Miao Xiaomiao’s eyes flickered slightly. She said coldly, "And so you set your sights on the Heavenly Saint Palace and the Misty Illusory Mansion? All for the sake of the ones you love!"

"Precisely," Jun Moxie confirmed. "In Azure Dragon City, I waged war against the Three Great Sacred Lands, and the stakes were the Exquisite Lotus! They lost the gamble, and I proceeded to the Heavenly Saint Palace. As per the agreement, I obtained the Lotus, and you have already experienced the fruit grown from the seeds I cultivated."

"As for the Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit, obtaining it was even harder. The first hurdle was that I had no way to enter the Illusory Mansion at all, so, while still in Azure Dragon City, I preemptively planted the seed of the 'Ethereal Physique'..."

"Then, you used your so-called 'Ethereal Physique' to earn Cao Guofeng’s trust, setting up obstacles along the way so that they would struggle and labor exhaustingly, ultimately delivering you directly into the Misty Illusory Mansion yourself..."

Miao Xiaomiao let out a cold, sneering laugh. "Lord of Evil, what magnificent planning, what cunning calculation! Everyone was played like puppets in the palm of your hand! Previously, I had only heard the phrase 'turning clouds into rain and rain into clouds,' but only heard of it in passing. But you, my Lord Monarch, have truly shown this humble woman what it means to overturn the heavens with a flip of the hand and suppress the earth with a flick of the wrist!"

"Correct! I finally achieved my goal of entering the Misty Illusory Mansion. My initial plan was that once I located the Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit, I would stealthily steal it and vanish. After success, 'Mo Junye' would disappear completely, and no one would ever see the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree I obtained. I was sure no one would ever suspect me."

Since the subject was laid bare, Jun Moxie held nothing back; he revealed everything.

"But you never expected that the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree was not within the Mansion, but in another independent space. Thus, you resorted to your old tactics again, turning your attention towards me?"

Miao Xiaomiao let out a low, chilling chuckle. "I must admit, a foolish girl like myself is exceedingly easy to deceive. No wonder you fixed your target on me. The facts prove you right! Your planning was flawless!"

"That is not the truth!"

Jun Moxie burst out, enraged. "From beginning to end, I never intended to use you! From entering the Mansion, to Gu Feiyu’s provocation and my counterattack, to the Zhan family brothers’ challenge—Little Miao, when did I ever exploit you?"

"Lord Jun! Do not call me Little Miao!"

Miao Xiaomiao erupted. "That is a term reserved only for my closest kin! You are unworthy! You have no right!"

Jun Moxie drew a deep, steadying breath. "Fine, I will not call you that. Once I understood the full context, I did everything possible to secure a spot in the Mansion's Spirit Medicine Garden. That gamble with the Zhan family was solely for that purpose! As for your quota, I never intended to take it for myself! You cannot deny that point, can you?"

Miao Xiaomiao’s gaze emptied as she turned aside, slowly nodding.

"However, fate is capricious; plans never keep pace with change. After their defeat, the Zhan family was unwilling to concede and resolved to eliminate me. It was you who came to rescue me, heedless of death. While I was naturally grateful, this only solidified my resolve to keep my distance from you. Because I could not bear the weight of such profound righteousness! Had I known at the time that befriending you would lead to this inevitable revelation, I would not have dared—nor could I have endured it!"

"So, when you sought me out that day, I deliberately made it clear that I already had a wife elsewhere, rejecting you!"

Jun Moxie squeezed his eyes shut. "I truly did not wish to hurt you..."

"But you... but you were far more devoted and resolute than I ever imagined! After returning that day, you immediately fell into an unresponsive coma..."

Jun Moxie gasped out in agony, "Your desperate devotion, your unwavering commitment, left me no retreat! I could not bear to watch you sink into eternal sleep like that, so I chose to save you!"

"Even if I am the Lord of Evil, possessing immense power and overwhelming strength, fundamentally, I am just a man. And you, such a peerless beauty, such a gentle soul, feeling such deep affection for me—how could my heart not be moved? How could I not cherish you? The moment I decided to save you, I claimed you as my woman! Jun Moxie’s woman!"

Jun Moxie's voice dropped low. "Perhaps you don't know? My mother, after my father died unexpectedly, succumbed to overwhelming grief and fell into a sleep just like yours—a slumber lasting a full decade, preferring the embrace of dreams to waking reality."

"My mother's suffering, my mother's love, taught me that I could not allow such a tragedy to befall you again! Therefore, no matter what I had to face, I would wake you and keep you by my side!"

Jun Moxie fixed his gaze upon her. "To give you happiness!"

"Once a choice is made, there is no hesitation, and no regret! From that moment on, I stopped evading our feelings."

Jun Moxie stated in a low tone, "Until I left, until now, my heart for you has been true..."

"Has Lord Jun finished speaking?"

Miao Xiaomiao offered a faint, cold smile. "Has your explanation concluded?"

Upon hearing this, Jun Moxie knew she had absorbed none of it, and he could only let out a long, deep sigh.

"Perhaps, just as you say, everything you did had reasons that could not be avoided!"

Miao Xiaomiao said softly, "You treat your wives well; for them, you are willing to do anything, to resort to any means to secure the elixir of eternal life for them... This is what you should do as a man, as a husband. I understand you, and I do not even blame you!"

"But have you ever considered how many people your actions have harmed? In the Illusory Mansion, Cao Guofeng and the other seven Saint Sovereigns placed all their hope in you, treating you more kindly than their own kin; yet, you deceived them! From start to finish, you were utterly deceitful!"

"Furthermore, all the high-ranking elders of the Illusory Mansion regarded you as the future hope of the Mansion, supporting you wholeheartedly! And you deceived them just the same."

"As for me, you need not feel guilty," she continued, giving a desolate laugh. "You did not trick me!"

"I am not speaking ironically; I speak the honest truth. My husband is Mo Junye, my spouse is Mo Junye. He never lied to me; he was truly, wonderfully kind to me. I am his wife, his woman! It is just that... he is no longer here..."

"Mo Junye is still here! I am Mo Junye!" Jun Moxie roared.

"No, you are not!"

Miao Xiaomiao’s clear eyes locked onto Jun Moxie. "You are Jun Moxie! You are only Jun Moxie, not my Mo Junye! Even if he was just an incarnation of yours, you cannot replace him. He was born because of you, and he ceased to exist because of you. No, how could my Junye be gone? He will live forever in my heart..."