Ryu coughed violently, several mouthfuls of blood flowing from his lips and drenching his body. He hung somewhat limply within the face of the mountain, his body feeling as though it had been ripped into several pieces.

'The Princess's husband'

The first thought Ryu had was betrayal. It was the kind of sickening, twisting feeling that tore into his guts and wrenched at them. He could hardly even focus on the world around him, the blood flowing from his mouth taking with it some bile from his stomach.

He felt sick almost to the point of his entire will collapsing.

He truly loved Elena. To her, it had been 900 million years. But, to him, they had just shared their wedding bed at most three years ago. Even though he had lived a short time in the eye of other cultivators, such a time was still just a short while to him.

The two had spent hundreds of years together, there was practically not a single day they had spent apart. As close as Ailsa and him seemed, Elena had been his partner, the love of his life, for an even longer time. It was too difficult for anyone to replace that.

However, Ryu inwardly knew that things weren't this simple. If it was truly betrayal in the worst and most grotesque sense, why would Isemeine call him her husband?

What was the truth? What was going on?

Ryu looked up to find Isemeine hovering above him. Her golden spear angle downward and to the side, her aura still fluctuating wildly with that same white-gold energy.

She looked down toward Ryu with a frown. At that moment, she felt like she could slaughter him as easy as breathing. The difference in their strength couldn't have been more obvious.

To put matters into perspective, Isemeine was a genius possibly even beyond the little nephews. Yet, she was six sub stages and a large realm gap more powerful than them.

The only reason Ryu had dared to engage without stepping through Heaven's Gate was because he had felt the changes to his body after his Ice Jade Crystal bones seemed to have evolved. Plus, since that battle with his little nephews, his Heavenly Pupils had undergone a massive change and he had benefited from two top tier Primordial Yins.

But, it all felt like a joke now seeing his current state. A single falter and he had almost died.

"My wife. Where is she?"

Isemeine had grown a healthy dislike of Ryu, especially his cold voice. It had always been grating on her nerves, as though it was constantly poking at her veil of superiority.

Isemeine was used to looking at the world from on high. What she hated the most were those who dared to impugn on her sovereignty, and Ryu seemed to exude an aura and a majesty that did this subconsciously, as though he didn't need to try to be above her.

However, at this moment, Ryu's voice was decidedly less cold, his aura was decidedly less sharp, and his air of superiority seemed to have deflated.

Isemeine found it all to be quite amusing. She had only casually mentioned Elena, and not even by her name, yet it had made such an arrogant man fall to such depths. Was this what they called love?

What a useless thing.

"To think I was a bit attracted to you." Isemeine scoffed. "I knew a handsome face was useless."

"Where is she?" Ryu asked again.

Isemeine looked down toward Ryu again, her gaze filled with a playful, sneering light.

"You're asking me this question as though I know the answer. Do you think it's normal for me to interact with her?"

Ryu didn't respond, but he knew this was true. By now, with her talent, and especially with the help of his Primordial Yang, Elena was likely at the Half-Step World Sea Realm. In fact, Ryu wouldn't be surprised if she was already in the World Sea Realm, it wouldn't be too shocking at all.

Such an expert wouldn't be mingling with Path Extinction Realm juniors.

Ryu's family could be considered to be an exception to the rule. Most of the time, even parents at such a level wouldn't interact with their children, let alone someone not even blood related to them like Isemeine.

"Plus, do you think that just because we are both Martial Gods that I like her? We are not even from the same branch of the family.

"However, this is definitely quite the scandal. We've heard so much about this husband, but come to find out that he is in the Connecting Heaven Realm

"I can't decide what to do. So many options, so many choices"

Isemeine giggled almost as though she was a little girl.

"Should I kill you and send your head to her? I wonder if she would care if I did that. Well, she would at least be humiliated, right? Her own husband killed by a junior of her family, she would never be able to wash such a stain off"

Isemeine touched a finger to her chin, seemingly in deep thought.

"Or maybe I should turn you into a corpse puppet and castrate you. Imagine that, the husband of a Princess as an undead eunuch. I think that that could be an excellent choice as well, don't you think?"

Isemeine's eyes lit up. "Ah!

"Wouldn't it also be entertaining if I just dropped you in the middle of a pack of horny Rotting Apes? I'm not sure if I would have to stomach to watch such a scene, though. It would also be a shame if your corpse was ruined beyond recognition, because then how would I have my fun?"

Ryu didn't respond, his elongated hair partially hanging over his face.

"Ah, don't be so sad." Isemeine continued. "If it makes you feel better, your wife's father is very doting of her and never forces her to do anything. So, all the men she's run through in the past several million years have been all her choice."

Isemeine's laughter rang through the dark mountains. But, it was suddenly cut short by a hand firmly wrapping around her delicate neck.

She hiccuped and coughed, her pupils constricting.

Before her, Ryu stood beaten and bloodied, arcs of black lightning surging around him.

At that moment, his irises had turned such a dark shade of purple that they almost looked like the depths of the night.