72: Give me a reason to act, Lord of Liyue.

Afterward, he appointed Empress to take charge of the battlefield and handle the aftermath, while he took Li Yue to the sleeping chambers.

Inside the sleeping chambers, the atmosphere was subtle and scorching.

Li Yue was bound in the hall by a gentle Restriction; no physical pain was inflicted, yet it was more agonizing than any torture.

The potency of the heavenly soul disturbance fragrance ravaged her body completely, like ten thousand ants gnawing at her reason and cold detachment. That moon-white immortal dress, symbolizing her status as the Palace Mistress of Guanghan, had now become the most vexing restraint.

Her breathing was rapid, her cheeks flushed like the sunset, and her once ice-like eyes were now misty, fracturing into an astonishing charm.

Her slender fingers uncontrollably clawed at her lapel, her collar already slightly disheveled to reveal a section of her jade-like neck, her skin glowing with an enticing pink hue.

She bit her lower lip hard, attempting to use pain to maintain her last shred of sobriety, yet a few broken, unbearable moans still escaped her throat.

Pride and desire clashed violently within her, adding a soul-stirring sense of beauty on the brink of shattering to her peerless features.

Chu Ye sat leisurely on a jade chair not far away, with a pot of clear tea even placed by his side.

Like a most discerning connoisseur, he "admired" the spectacle before him—"the moon of Guanghan falling, the jade mountain about to collapse"—with a playful gaze and a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Mm... Ugh..."

Li Yue's will retreated step by step amidst the surging fire of desire; eventually, her remaining reason led her to look toward the only man who could possibly resolve her current predicament.

Her voice was trembling and weak, carrying a plea she hadn't even noticed herself. "Help... help me... Chu Ye... I beg you..."

"Help you?"

Chu Ye seemed to have heard some amusing joke; he took a light sip of tea, his tone leisurely to the point of cruelty. "Palace Mistress Li Yue, did I hear that correctly?"

"You personally orchestrated the alliance of the Central Territory's powerhouses, intending to destroy my Great Chu and capture me. And now, you want me to help you, my greatest enemy... get through this 'minor' difficulty?"

He set down his teacup, and with a flash of light from his fingertip, a translucent Recording Stone floated up, capturing every detail of Li Yue's current state.

"The world says the Fairy of Guanghan has icy skin and jade bones, free of desires, a bright moon of the Nine Heavens that cannot be profaned."

Chu Ye's voice was like a demon's whisper, each word striking against Li Yue's nearing-collapse mental defenses. "If they were to see with their own eyes that the Fairy Li Yue, so lofty and inviolable in their hearts, was actually like this..."

"Looking so overcome with passion and softly pleading for favor... Tell me, if these images were to spread, what kind of scene would that be?"

"What would happen to the ten-thousand-year reputation of the Guanghan Immortal Palace, and the Dao Heart you have spent your life defending?"

Hearing this, Li Yue's body shook violently, and a look of extreme shame and terror crossed her eyes—a gaze that seemed ready to bleed.

The faint light of the Recording Stone flickered in her hazy vision, becoming the straw that broke the camel's back.

Chu Ye stood up and walked slowly toward her.

He reached out, his fingertips carrying a slight chill, and gently tilted Li Yue's burning and delicate chin, forcing her to look up with that peerless face capable of toppling all living beings.

Even in such a wretched state, that soul-stirring beauty and the fragility following her shattered pride were still breathtaking.

Li Yue's gaze was completely dazed, supported only by a sliver of wavering will, like a lone lamp in a violent storm.

She looked at Chu Ye, her eyes a tangle of hatred, pleading, humiliation, and a physiological longing that was nearly overflowing.

Chu Ye leaned down close to her ear, his voice low and full of allure, like the most cunning hunter offering a final choice before the prey completely gave up resistance:

"Give me a reason, Li Yue."

"A reason sufficient for me to set aside the grudges between us and step forward to 'help' you, the noble Palace Mistress."

Inside the sleeping chambers, the air was so stagnant that only Li Yue's increasingly uncontrollable panting and the unnerving glimmer of the Recording Stone remained.

Chu Ye's question was like the final straw pressing down on Li Yue's near-collapsing will.

The struggle in her eyes was intense; shame, fear, hatred, and the desire that threatened to incinerate her boiled together.

She knew what Chu Ye wanted—not just her submission, but her complete and utter surrender, with no hope of ever rising again.

"I..."

Her voice was so hoarse it was almost tuneless, each word squeezed out as if from cracking ice. "Guanghan Immortal Palace... can... stop being your enemy... resources... ancient texts... yours for the taking..."

"Not enough."

Chu Ye shook his head, his fingertips lightly stroking her burning cheek; the sensation was delicate, yet it carried the coldness of inspecting merchandise.

"Those things, I can get just as well by defeating you. Palace Mistress, you don't seem to understand your own situation and value yet."

Li Yue's body trembled as a deeper fear seized her. She realized that what he wanted was far beyond material compensation.

"Then... what do you want?"

She practically spat the words through gritted teeth; the surging potency of the drug within her made her vision darken in waves, the string of her reason stretched to its limit.

The air in the sleeping chambers seemed to freeze; only Li Yue's broken gasps and the glimmer of the hovering Recording Stone stung her nerves in the silence.

Chu Ye admired her extreme struggle for a moment before tossing out an even heavier boulder in a flat, almost conversational tone: "By the way, the Palace Mistress still seems to be wondering where exactly this 'heavenly soul disturbance fragrance' came from?"

He leaned in slightly, his gaze locking onto Li Yue's suddenly widened eyes, and spoke clearly and slowly: "It was me. From the recipe to the refinement, to letting it drift into your palace with the wind, it was all by my hand."

Li Yue's body shook violently, disbelief flashing in her eyes, followed by deeper humiliation and realization. So that's how it was!

Li Yue had previously paid a great price to ask the Heavenly Secret Pavilion for a way to neutralize the poison, and the prophecy given by the Heavenly Secret Pavilion was Chu Ye.

It made sense now; in a moment of clarity, she realized the person who could neutralize the poison could also be the one who administered it.

So the source of all her wretchedness, this poisonous scheme that destroyed her and her Sect's dignity, was actually a premeditated revenge by the man before her!

"Why..."

Her voice was hoarse, every word a tearful interrogation. "My Guanghan Immortal Palace and you..."

"Why?"

Chu Ye interrupted her, his gaze turning cold. "Naturally, it's because you moved against me first. In the discussions of the encirclement and suppression, Guanghan was the most proactive, wasn't it?"

"Since you chose to be the hunter, you must be prepared to be bitten back by the prey, or even dragged into a trap. This fragrance is a... minor punishment for your greed and arrogance."

"Punishment..."

Li Yue laughed miserably; this "punishment" had nearly destroyed everything she had.

"Of course, this is only the beginning."

Chu Ye's tone shifted, adding a few more degrees of unquestionable pressure. "The Palace Mistress is a smart person. Right now, you have two choices."

He held up a finger: "First, continue to resist. I will copy this recording ten thousand times and scatter them across every corner of the Central Territory. Let the world enjoy the 'grace' of the Palace Mistress of Guanghan to their heart's content."

"At that time, the ten-thousand-year reputation of the Guanghan Immortal Palace will collapse, and the Disciples under your command will be deeply poisoned with little time left; they will either betray you or disperse, and your legacy will become a laughingstock of the mortal world. As for you..."

His gaze swept over her body, which was trembling from the potency of the drug. "Perhaps you will be 'received' by certain forces, becoming a true plaything for anyone... Heh, you understand."

Li Yue's face turned ashen, her eyes filled with terror, as if she had already seen that hellish scene.