Jun Mo Xie said coldly, “…Gu Han, Elder Gu, I want you to remember this, you must remember: From this moment forward, I do not wish to hear anyone in my presence utter the three words, ‘I want to die’! If I do, I will immediately grant their wish! There will be no need for them to seek out the foreign races for self-destruction. I can fulfill their desire instantly! I can make them die without the slightest pain!” “That is absolutely better than self-detonation, and they’ll even keep a whole corpse!”

Jun Mo Xie slowly turned his back to Gu Han, speaking with chilling indifference, “Perhaps you haven’t realized what a massive debilitating effect such words have on the morale of our own troops. Maybe you still think this sounds tragic, deeply moving, perhaps even warrants tears! But to me, anyone speaking those words in this time and place is utterly unforgivable! Death by a thousand cuts wouldn't redeem their sin, and ten thousand cycles of reincarnation couldn't absolve their guilt!”

“Dying after being cuckolded by one’s wife is, at most, the death of one man! But your kind of death indirectly buries countless brothers of mine! Heh heh, if so many Saint Venerables and Saint Monarchs have despaired and committed suicide, what use are we, who are weaker? Is resistance still meaningful? Guess how many people might think that way? And how many people would think it?,” Jun Mo Xie sneered, “Do not think my words just now are meant to insult you or profane your spirit. In truth, your rash self-detonation… is truly less worthy than those men who seek a desperate fight to the death after their wives cheated on them.”

“In my eyes, they at least retain a shred of spirit, but you people lack even that tiny bit of spirit! The so-called ten thousand years of glory, the final splendor you struggle to maintain, you inwardly treat it as less than dog shit!!”

Walking forward slowly, Jun Mo Xie raised his hand and lightly tapped twice on the sealed space wall. He said mildly, “Elder Gu, you don’t want me to forcibly break open your spatial lock and leave, do you?”

“Please wait! I have one last thing to ask of Master Jun!” When Gu Han turned around, Jun Mo Xie was nearly startled. Gu Han’s hair—in this short span of time—had turned entirely white!

The first time they met, Gu Han’s hair was still raven black, making him look no different from a man in his prime. The second time they met on Tianzhu Mountain, the heavily wounded Feng Han already had streaked gray hair, wrinkles etching his face, and his aged state was apparent.

Yet, in these few short days, Gu Han’s hair had turned completely snow-white at this very moment!

This generation’s Saint Monarch had suffered too great a blow in less than seven days, front and back!

First, the Heavenly Saint Palace he had guarded for two whole generations was suddenly destroyed, and the Tianzhu Mountain separating the two sides of the continent had collapsed. It was as if the very pillar of his belief had been wrenched out instantly!

The man had practically become an empty shell!

But it wasn't just that! The profound arts he prided himself on throughout his life suddenly faltered just as he was about to break through the most crucial juncture! A massive regression!

If it were only this, he could have endured!

But then he learned that the ten thousand years of guardianship over the Holy Land, the Heavenly War he had dedicated five thousand years to, was all a colossal mistake! This blow utterly crushed his spirit!

His only remaining goal became death—only death, to perish together with the foreign races.

But now he was being told that this manner of death was merely escapism, the most shameful act of a coward!

It was even worse than those men who sought death after being cuckolded!

Gu Han collapsed! A complete and utter collapse!

His profound, deep martial arts shattered entirely at this moment, and the visage he had maintained for thousands of years instantly withered!

But Jun Mo Xie always felt there had to be another reason!

Neither Gu Han, nor the former Legend Wu Shan Yun, should be this fragile.

“One last thing, my final request is a private one.” Gu Han was silent for a long time, until Jun Mo Xie was nearly losing patience, before he turned around shakily. There was a glimmer of tears in his eyes, “Please, you must, you absolutely must take good care of Qiao Ying!”

Jun Mo Xie couldn't help but fall silent.

“Qiao Ying is a pitiful girl. The Wisdom Eye bestowed upon her existence, but because of that same Wisdom Eye, she was brought into the Heavenly Saint Palace when she was still young. She spent over a thousand years in solitude! Though her years are many, her heart remains stuck in the bloom of youth. The happiness a worldly woman should enjoy—a husband, children, kinship… she has none of it! Absolutely none! She has paid everything she possesses for the Holy Land, for the Heavenly War! Now, I entrust her to you.” Gu Han looked at Jun Mo Xie, his eyes filled with supplication.

“I hope you can look after her well. If possible… if she survives this war, I hope she can find her own destination, find… her own happiness, the happiness of a woman!” Jun Mo Xie remained silent.

Because he could hear that Gu Han’s words were not yet finished… there should be other instructions.

But Gu Han stopped, his expression wistful and sorrowful.

“I am very curious. The fact that Qiao Ying possesses the Yin-Yang Eye—besides those closest to her, no one should know about it. Even those closest to her might not fully grasp what she truly possesses.”

Jun Mo Xie said lightly, “Such matters are not uncommon. Folk legends often tell of children who can see strange things… given enough time, such innate talents and anomalies gradually fade, blending into the masses!”

He coughed and continued, “Why was Qiao Ying the only one discovered by you? Was it truly a coincidence?”

Gu Han’s body trembled. He remained silent for a long, long time, his eyes looking toward the empty air. The blankness in his gaze slowly turned red. He finally closed his eyes, groaning as if on the verge of death, his tone filled with finality, “Because Qiao Ying’s father was not an ordinary man… She… she is my daughter!”

Although Jun Mo Xie had guessed something, he was still startled by this statement!

Gu Han’s tenderness toward Qiao Ying, and the sense of relief on his face when Qiao Ying was sent to the Heavenly Punishment camp, both suggested something unusual to Jun Mo Xie.

But he never expected Qiao Ying to be Gu Han’s daughter!

The age gap between the two was simply too vast!

“The trial of love has always been the hardest to overcome. When I first came to the Heavenly Saint Palace in this lifetime, my beloved wife had already passed away for two hundred years,” Gu Han said bitterly, “There was a period where I missed her day and night, often waking alone at midnight, standing silently on the mountain peak, quietly savoring every moment of the past.”, “But during that time, I discovered that precisely because of that period of deep affection and persistence, my cultivation advanced significantly. Passages that were impossible to break through in normal times were overcome easily then. Because at that time, my heart was utterly empty save for my deceased wife! Instead, my spiritual platform was clear, and my cultivation surged forward—extreme in emotion, extreme in love, extreme in heart…”

Jun Mo Xie let out a soft sigh; he almost guessed what Gu Han intended to say next.

“A thousand years later, my heart had reached a state of utter stillness, like a dry well. My own cultivation followed suit, becoming dormant. For a long, long time, there was no sign of breakthrough. At first, I didn't pay it much mind, thinking that cultivation would advance naturally, but hundreds of years passed, and I remained in the same state. I then recalled how missing my late wife had helped my cultivation break through. But by then, my wife had been dead for fifteen hundred years. Even if I forced myself to recall, all the memories were so hazy… I couldn’t even feel any sadness anymore…” Gu Han recounted in a low voice.

“So you decided that instead of continuing like this, it would be better to re-enter the world and challenge the trial of love again?” Jun Mo Xie sighed, unsure whether to scold him or respect him.

This situation was not rare. Some people broke through using the power of hatred, some through dual cultivation with women, and others simply through a lust for slaughter and bloodlust. But one thing was certain: no matter what method was used as a reliance on external forces, one could never reach the true pinnacle, especially when done deliberately!

Gu Han clearly intended to use the descent into emotion to achieve a breakthrough.

This wasn’t entirely unexpected!

“Exactly so!” Gu Han nodded, “At that time, I had cultivated across two lifetimes. Under the name Gu Han, I was still over seventeen hundred years old, but thanks to my profound martial arts and maintenance skills, I looked only about thirty. Furthermore, with a disguise, I was completely unrecognizable. After descending the mountain, it took almost no effort to find a suitable candidate.”

Gu Han sucked in a breath tragically, “I desperately sought that feeling of a heart being broken, so naturally, I looked for a young woman with low talent who couldn't cultivate profound energy. I still remember her name was Qiao Qingyi. A kind and beautiful girl with an excellent mind. But she was naturally frail…”

“Elder… Elder…” Gu Han was almost unable to speak coherently, “I needed to pour out all my love and emotion, yet I had to watch her fade away… that feeling truly was…” “Several years later, she gave birth to a daughter for me, and her body weakened further. Two years after that, her chronic illness worsened severely, and she finally passed away…” Gu Han’s voice trembled, “Before she died, she grasped my hand and said that no matter what, I must take good care of our daughter… Then she said one more sentence and her eyes closed! But that last sentence she spoke always tears my heart apart and fills me with agonizing guilt whenever I recall it even now—she said, ‘I know you are an extraordinary person… I do not blame you. Being married to you for these few years, being husband and wife for a time, I am content, truly content. This life is enough…’” Gu Han wept, suddenly almost sobbing uncontrollably!

Jun Mo Xie let out a deep sigh; another woman blessed with both beauty and intelligence.

It was just that, since ancient times, beautiful women often met with tragic fates.

This Gu Han… was truly ruthless. And his ordeal, though self-inflicted, was indeed tragic enough!

While he obtained the heartbreaking sensation he craved for his breakthrough, he would never truly escape it for the rest of his life…