"Yan Xiao… I let you down…"
Nalan Yanran's face was clouded with guilt and sorrow. As she thought back on her embarrassing failure, her heart was filled with shame. In this moment, she didn't question why Yan Xiao had suddenly appeared here, nor did she realize anything suspicious about the pill he had given her. All she could focus on was how she had utterly lost face in front of the man she loved most.
'I must look so useless in his eyes…'
Anxious, she bit her lip and asked softly, "You… you must think I'm completely worthless now, don't you?"
"How could I?"
Xiao Yan's smile remained gentle—so gentle, in fact, that even he found it disgustingly fake. But he held the act, his voice soft and reassuring. "No matter what happens, in my heart, you have always been the most perfect person."
"Really?" Her voice trembled with hope.
"Of course… it's all a lie."
The moment those words fell, they landed like a blade through her chest.
Xiao Yan suddenly released his arms, letting her weakened body fall heavily to the ground. Caught off guard, Nalan Yanran winced in pain. She barely had time to react before she looked up in stunned confusion—only to witness the face she had longed for begin to blur and morph.
That gentle expression disappeared.
Yan Xiao's features faded, replaced by a far more familiar and chilling visage—Xiao Yan.
"Surprised?"
Xiao Yan's smile grew more twisted by the second. "You went so far as to humble yourself, to pursue and even fall in love with a man… who just so happens to be the one you hated most in the past. Doesn't that just feel poetic?"
"Yan Xiao… Xiao Yan…"
Nalan Yanran repeated the two names like a whisper, her eyes wide and lifeless. Her complexion turned deathly pale, but that wasn't all. Slowly, unnoticed even by herself, her hair began to lose its color, turning snow white strand by strand.
"This… this isn't possible…"
From the VIP seating area, Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma exchanged glances, both visibly shocked.
"To think Yan Xiao was Xiao Yan all along…"
They breathed sighs of relief almost in unison. During the previous days, they'd been worried sick about the ambiguous relationship between Yan Xiao and Nalan Yanran. She was the future Sect Master of Yunlan Sect—if Yan Xiao married her, with his heaven-defying alchemy skills, he could have become a second Gu He… or even surpassed him.
That would have spelled danger for the Jia Ma Empire.
But now, they realized everything had been an act—Xiao Yan's carefully orchestrated revenge scheme. And they couldn't help but feel a chill. 'This kid… really is vicious.'
Across the plaza, some of the disciples finally noticed Nalan Yanran's unusual condition.
"Look… something's wrong with Senior Sister Nalan!"
It wasn't just her face that had paled—her entire appearance was changing.
Reaching up in confusion, Nalan Yanran touched her once-silky hair… and froze. Her fingertips felt only coarse, brittle strands.
She looked down at her hand. It was shriveled and dry—like that of an old woman.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Her hand trembled as she touched her cheek—gone was the smooth, youthful skin. In its place, she felt wrinkles and loose flesh. Then she looked up—and caught her own reflection in Xiao Yan's mocking eyes.
A ghostly, aged face stared back at her.
"It was… that pill… What did you do to me?!"
Though she didn't understand the specifics, she now knew the truth. That so-called miraculous pill had come with a cost—a price she had never even considered.
She had trusted him. Trusted Yan Xiao.
"Did you really think a pill that could take a Da Dou Shi to Dou Wang in moments would have no side effects?"
Xiao Yan chuckled coldly and shook his head. "You made the choice. If you hadn't planned to cheat in our duel, that pill would've never activated. But since you tried to play tricks, then… this is the fruit of your choice."
For the Xiao Yan who had experienced the entire Path of Reincarnation, his hatred for Nalan Yanran and Yunlan Sect ran deep. By the time he returned, he had long since decided how to exact his revenge. He could have simply killed her. But that would've been too kind.
No.
He wanted her to suffer.
And suffer she would.
Nalan Yanran was prideful—her confidence rested on three pillars: her beauty, her talent, and her status. Xiao Yan intended to shatter all three.
Now, her beauty was gone.
The pill's backlash had drained her vitality, turning her into a white-haired, decrepit old woman. Her Dou Crystal, shattered. Her Dou Qi whirlpool, obliterated. She would never cultivate again. She was now a cripple.
And that wasn't even the worst part.
Two years ago, while passing a Ziying Crystal to Yun Yun through the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, Xiao Yan had planted a trap. That very crystal had eventually been used in crafting a pill for Nalan Yanran.
Back then, he had no idea he would reach the Dou Di Realm so quickly—but he had prepared this trap just in case. As it turned out, he no longer needed such tactics. But this… this was poetic justice.
'You looked down on the weak, didn't you? Thought yourself superior to "trash"? Very well… now you're the trash. Let's see if your Yunlan Sect has any wise old spirit in a ring who can help you reclaim your glory.'
On the high platform, Yun Yun stood frozen.
She couldn't comprehend what had just happened. One moment her disciple was fighting… the next, she was aged beyond recognition. As she moved to help—
—she found she couldn't move.
Her limbs refused to respond.
As if an unseen force had locked her in place.
"Don't be so hasty, Yun Zhi… no, I suppose I should call you Sect Master Yun Yun now."
Xiao Yan turned to her, a harmless smile on his face. "There's no need to get so excited. The real show has only just begun. Your turn will come, I promise. For now, why not enjoy the front row seat?"
And with that, his smile vanished.
His eyes turned cold as they swept toward the edge of the plaza.
"Hai Bodong," he said sharply, "Did you do what I asked?"
(End of Chapter)
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