After that came the subsequent plan, and if she wanted to complete this plan, she had to calm down. Otherwise, there were many things that she wouldn't be able to do.

For this purpose, the Holy Spirit Cult had developed a type of medicine for her to repress her deranged emotions and spirit, and the medicine was completed with assistance from the Spirit Pagoda.

Of course, the Spirit Pagoda had no idea for what purpose the Holy Spirit Cult had been developing this medicine.

Looking at Long Yeyue and Chen Xinjie, she couldn't help but think back to her passed husband and these past 20,000 years of insanity.

All of a sudden, she found herself completely transfixed and absorbed by her memories.

"I'm fine." Chen Xinjie raised a hand to try and caress Long Yeyue's cheek, but he only made it halfway before his hand fell limply to his side again.

Long Yeyue hurriedly grabbed onto his hand and placed it onto her own cheek.

Chen Xinjie's eyes were slightly out of focus as he appraised Long Yeyue with a gentle expression. "You've become old, Yeyue, and so have I..."

Tears were gushing out of Long Yeyue's eyes. "You're a bastard! You ruined my life, and now, you're abandoning me? I won't have it! I won't let you abandon me!"

Chen Xinjie sighed, "I'm sorry. Leaving you was the worst decision I ever made in my life. If I hadn't been so stubborn, perhaps the tragedies between us would've never happened. After you told me the truth that day, I felt like my entire world had collapsed around me. I wanted to tear myself to shreds, but I knew that there was no point in doing that. In the instant I decided to tell you where Eternal Heaven was truly being stored, I had already decided that I wouldn't leave you ever again no matter how you treated me.

"I'm satisfied as long as I can sense your aura within a certain range. All I want is to continue to live as Old Man Chen the sweeper and accompany you in completing the final phase of the journeys of our lives. However, the heavens refused to grant me this opportunity. Yeyue, if reincarnation exists, I'll stay with you every single day in our next lives, and I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"You're an idiot!" Long Yeyue sobbed, "If you lost your stubbornness, your resolution, your drive, your sense of self, would you still be the Chen Xinjie I love? I never wanted you to be some sweeper; I only wanted to stay by your side! In my heart, you're an unmatched hero, an almighty figure in the Soul Master world; I love the Chen Xinjie who can carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. To be honest, I never hated; I never went to find you because I was scared to see you! I felt like I didn't deserve to see you again as I was unable to give birth to our child.

"I was in so much pain after losing our child. I wanted more than anything than to give birth to him, then take him to see you. Even if you didn't want me anymore, I wouldn't have left. However, our child was miscarried, and that dealt me an extremely heavy blow. At the time, you were at an important point in your career. If I had gone to find you then, I knew that you would return to my side without any hesitation, but you were the heir to your family and the most brilliant young talent in the military; if you were to marry a high-ranking member of Shrek Academy, your future would be flushed down the drain.

"Hence, I didn't go see you. I missed you so, so much, but I still didn't go to find you. By the time you had reached the peak and everything had stabilized, I finally worked up the courage to see you, but I received news of your engagement. On your wedding day, I looked at you from afar among all of the guests, and I felt like my tears would never stop. Even so, I still didn't hate you, but my heart died on that day."

Chen Xinjie was rooted to the spot as he listened to Long Yeyue's story, and he closed his eyes with a pained expression.

Only now did he truly understand her heart. Perhaps the difference had been nothing more than a single day. Perhaps if his engagement had been delayed by a single day, Long Yeyue would've come to see him, and they wouldn't have missed out on a life of happiness together.

He had never truly loved his wife; their marriage had been an entirely politically motivated one.

Even if Long Yeyue had come to him on his wedding day, he would've abandoned his bride and left with her without any hesitation.

However, she had refrained from doing that for the sake of his career. Everything that she had done was for his sake. She had done all of this for his benefit, yet she had dug herself deep into the pit of despair in the process.

Somehow, Chen Xinjie was able to summon the strength to lift his arms and tightly embrace the woman of his heart.

"YOU are the idiot, Yeyue! Why were you so foolish? You really are the biggest idiot in the world!" His voice was also trembling with tears as he spoke.

His life force had already completely faded, and he was only just barely clinging onto a shred of his soul with his Divine Origin realm spiritual power, but he really didn't want to let go.

100 years had passed by in the blink of an eye, but before this moment, he didn't feel as if he had ever truly lived.

Long Yeyue was also holding tightly onto him. "Xinjie, do you want to see me back when we first met?"

Chen Xinjie faltered slightly upon hearing this, and a warm smile appeared on Long Yeyue's face as gentle golden light swirled around her.

Her white hair gradually turned black and lengthened until it pooled all the way down past her backside.

Her wizened features gradually became rejuvenated, and all of her wrinkles faded away. Her eye became clear and incredibly captivating, and her tears receded, replaced by a joyful and passionate expression.

She was so beautiful; she was once the number one beauty of Shrek Academy!

Chen Xinjie stared at her in a slack-jawed manner, and it really was as if he had returned to the moment when they had first met.

He could still clearly recall how entranced he had been when he had seen her for the first time; he simply couldn't take his eyes off her.

In his youth, all he did was cultivate. He didn't believe in love, nor did he have any interest in relationships.

However, on that day, he saw her beside the Sea God's Lake, and everything changed.

That was an unforgettable view, and in that instant, he became a believer of love at first sight.

Thus, he stayed at Shrek Academy to study as an exchange student, all so that he could remain by her side.

At the time, she had many pursuers, all of whom were extremely powerful, and there was certainly no lack of love rivals more powerful than him.

Thus, he began to engage in a very idioitic endeavor. He would challenge anyone who pursued her, and most of the time, all he received for his efforts was a beating, but he never gave up.  

[1]

He continued to work tirelessly in his cultivation, all so that he could chase away everyone around her.

He had the courage to challenge all of the men in Shrek Academy, but not enough courage to confess to her, until that day, on the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention. As an exchange student, he wasn't supposed to have been allowed to participate in the event, but he had rushed onto the lake without any thought of consequences and finally confessed to her.

As she removed her mask, the entire lake around him seemed to dim, and he could still clearly recall that moment as if it had happened yesterday.

[1] [Are we sure Chen Xinjie isn't related to Tong Yu?]