What?
Father Liu had to resist the urge to clean out his ears.
What did he mean by “it’s only a mid-grade magical treasure”?
Only?!
You’re telling me even a gatekeeper has a magical treasure, and you have the nerve to say “only”?!
How is your Ye family supposed to leave the Xuan Yue Sect with any dignity left?!
Father Liu returned home in a complete daze. When he saw his wife, who had no idea what was going on, already back and playing with the short blade Ye Shaohua had given her, his face twitched uncontrollably.
But what he didn’t know was that the “magical treasure” he kept referring to…
Was actually a spiritual weapon that even the Xuan Yue Sect would fight over!
Still, the news of the Ye family and Liu family’s upcoming marriage was no longer a secret. It had spread widely throughout the city.
At this very moment, Ye Yuan was at the City Lord’s manor.
Today was Lord Xuan Yuan’s birthday, and all the notable families in the city had gathered to celebrate.
Of course—
Only the Ye family was absent. Ever since Xuan Yuan Che had broken off the engagement, the two families had completely cut ties.
Speaking of which, the Xuan family found it rather strange. The Ye family had actually severed their relationship with them just for Ye Shaohua’s sake. Many people thought the Ye family was acting foolishly.
“Yuan’er, I heard from Che’er that you’re preparing to break through to the Golden Core stage now, is that right?” Lady Xuan Yuan looked at Ye Yuan with great satisfaction.
Ye Yuan nodded.
Beside her, Xuan Yuan Che spoke with pride: “Yuan’er’s talent is extraordinary. In her second year, she was fortunate enough to complete a mission and was rewarded with a precious Foundation Establishment Pill, successfully building her foundation.”
At the mention of the Foundation Establishment Pill, everyone in the room drew in a sharp breath.
A flicker of arrogance also crossed Ye Yuan’s face.
She got a magical treasure and a Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward? This Ye Yuan is truly something. I wonder what the Ye family thinks now, knowing they’ve lost someone of her caliber?
Sitting among the crowd, Father Liu’s expression remained perfectly calm. Inwardly, he was thinking: So Foundation Establishment Pills are supposed to be rare? The Grand Elder just gave
He Jingnian’s hands—
Ugh, they were so infuriating!
After he left, Li Shanchuan sat on the sofa, sighing heavily.
His daughter was as lovely as a flower, delicate and budding like a blossom about to bloom.
Knowing that someone had their eyes on his precious girl, Li Shanchuan’s mood wasn’t exactly great.
“Qiaoqiao, you and He Jingnian… you’re not dating, are you?”
He gazed at Li Qiao with hopeful eyes, while she, in turn, seemed to give the question some serious thought. “No.”
“Oh…” Good, that’s good, that’s a relief. Li Shanchuan’s smile had barely started to spread across his face when Li Qiao’s next words completely shattered his heart into pieces.
“We should be in that vibe—yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s it. We’re definitely in that ambiguous stage,” Li Qiao confirmed matter-of-factly.
Li Shanchuan was stunned speechless. His hands trembled, his heart quivered—was his precious cabbage about to be snatched away?
The ambiguous stage?
Absolutely unacceptable!
Li Shanchuan spoke earnestly, with all the care of a worried father: “Qiaoqiao, any man who keeps things ambiguous without defining the relationship is a jerk. Don’t let him fool you. When it comes to men, don’t just look at their faces—we need to focus on character…”
“Dad, do you think He Jingnian has bad character?” Li Qiao snapped back to attention and asked, and the question caught Li Shanchuan completely off guard.
He Jingnian—the man in charge of the He Group—had a sterling reputation in their circles.
Moreover, the He family and the Li family were business partners!
He couldn’t bring himself to say He Jingnian had poor character, but saying he had good character? As her father, Li Shanchuan just couldn’t get the words out.
“It’s nothing, sweetheart. Daddy just thinks you’re still young, and there’s no rush when it comes to matters of the heart. Your mom and I still want you around for a few more years. The world is big, and there are plenty of good men out there—we can take our time choosing.”
His only daughter, lost for eighteen years, had only been back by his side for such a short time—Li Shanchuan’s heart ached for her!
Li Qiao felt warm inside from her father’s love. She giggled and said, “Dad… I get it.”
“Good.”
With those words from her, Li Shanchuan felt his mood lighten.
But it was only temporary. That night, Li Shanchuan tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Beside him, Liu Yusi couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Honey, I suspect He Jingnian has ulterior motives toward Qiaoqiao.” Li Shanchuan sat up, his expression very serious.
Liu Yusi rolled her eyes at him and said gently, “You’re just figuring that out now?”
“I…” Li Shanchuan wore a worried frown. He had suspected it before, but he’d never thought He Jingnian would actually be serious!
He Jingnian—after all these years, he’d never shown interest in any woman. In private, Li Shanchuan had even wondered if He Jingnian wasn’t into women at all.
Who would have thought He Jingnian would end up setting his sights on his daughter? Li Shanchuan suddenly felt his heart ache terribly.
“My precious cabbage…” Li Shanchuan looked like he was about to cry, his face filled with the heartache of a father whose prized cabbage was being rooted up by a pig.
“Keep it down. Go to sleep.” Liu Yusi gave him a shove.
The night grew deeper.
Before bed, Li Qiao received a call from Su Yan. Su Jianguo had already kicked Li Nana out.
As for the child in her belly, Su Jianguo had received texts from Li Nana’s lover, which included a string of intimate photos and hotel records. After some comparison, Su Jianguo finally accepted that Li Nana’s child wasn’t his.
Su Yan laughed happily on the other end of the line. Li Qiao rubbed her brow and asked, “Aren’t you going to check on Mr. Su?”
“My dad had it coming. At his age, he still wanted to play the hero—he’s just way too caught up in his own savior complex.”
Li Qiao listened quietly. She then asked, “After coming back from Yushan, have you felt any discomfort anywhere?”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
Good, as long as she was okay. They chatted briefly before hanging up. Lying in bed, Li Qiao reached under her pillow and pulled out that jade pendant!
Gradually, clutching the pendant, she drifted into sleep. In her dream, she saw a woman’s face—the one from the ancient coffin, dressed in traditional attire.
me a whole bottle of them yesterday.
“Yesterday, my third uncle returned to the Ye residence but couldn’t see the Grand Elder,” Ye Yuan said with a sigh. “I heard the Ye family is short on members now. I wonder how they’re faring?”
“They’re just… managing,” Lady Xuan Yuan said with a delicate laugh, a trace of mockery flickering in her eyes. “I heard that former genius girl is now spending every single day at home hammering away at iron.”
This was no longer a secret in the city.
Especially since Mother Liu loved to brag about it.
Everyone around praised her outwardly, but who among them wasn’t sneering on the inside?
This Ye Shaohua—her spiritual roots are ruined, she got dumped by the Xuan family, and now she’s gone and lost her mind from all that blacksmithing.
Lady Xuan Yuan thought of this and felt grateful for the ten-thousandth time that her son had broken off that engagement. Otherwise, who knows how much ridicule they’d be facing now?
“Blacksmithing?” Ye Yuan was taken aback as well.
In her previous life, that brilliant, unparalleled young woman had actually fallen this far? Had she gone mad?
She hadn’t expected Ye Shaohua to have such fragile resolve. Served her right—she deserved to rot here forever.
“Who knows?” someone beside her chuckled, then said fawningly to Ye Yuan, “And besides, the Ye family is now marrying into the Liu family. That Ye Shaohua is about to marry Liu Yunchen.”
At this, Ye Yuan let out a scornful laugh. “So now they think to marry her off to him? Too little, too late.”
She had already made up her mind. No matter what the Ye family did, she would never go back.
As for Liu Yunchen—she truly despised him. In both this life and the last, he had been the most worthless playboy in the entire city.
The group continued their chatter.
Suddenly—
An overwhelming, terrifying aura descended upon the City Lord’s tower.
Xuan Yuan Che and Ye Yuan’s faces changed drastically.
Both of them were at the peak of Foundation Establishment, yet this single pressure was enough to suppress them completely. They both knew—this had to be someone at the Nascent Soul stage or above!
“This must be a supreme expert from one of the three great sects!” Ye Yuan said in shock to Xuan Yuan Che. “Even the Second Elder of our sect doesn’t give off such a terrifying presence. This person is at least at the Spirit Severing stage—or possibly even a tribulation-crossing powerhouse!”
Xuan Yuan Che knew this as well. His expression shifted wildly. “It could even be the sect leader of one of the three great sects!”
Hearing this, Lord Xuan Yuan, Lady Xuan Yuan, and all the other guests in the hall were struck with sheer terror.
The three great sects were the most colossal powers in the cultivation world. Even someone as talented as Ye Yuan was nothing more than a small fry in the Xuan Yue Sect. The cultivation world was vast, and geniuses were a dime a dozen.
The number one prodigy of the Qian Yuan Sect had reached the Spirit Severing stage at just twenty years old and was already preparing for his tribulation.
Ye Yuan and the others held an elevated status within the city, but they all knew—in the grand scheme of the three sects, they were nothing.
The two of them extended their spiritual senses to probe the area, yet they couldn’t locate the terrifying presence anywhere.
“Which senior has graced us with their presence?” Xuan Yuan Che stood still, raising his hands in a respectful salute.
But inwardly, he was filled with dread.
How could he not be?
Someone on the level of the three sect leaders could destroy the entire city with a single wave of their hand, reverse the flow of rivers with a single thought!
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them mountain-toppling and sea-draining beings.
This was the pinnacle of power in the cultivation world!
“Are you from the Xuan Yue Sect?” A gray figure materialized abruptly in the middle of the hall, their twisted smile sweeping across the room. “Fifty-nine thousand seven hundred people in this city—perfect. Just enough to refine my Soul-Shifting Banner.”
Teleportation!
Xuan Yuan Che and Ye Yuan were terrified. This was definitely a tribulation-crossing cultivator!
At those ominous words, their faces turned ashen. “Demon cultivator Shi Heng!”
“So you recognize me. At least you won’t die in vain.” Shi Heng raised his black spiritual banner, glowing with a sinister aura.
“Yunchen, run!” At this point, the entire hall erupted into chaos—not just Ye Yuan and Xuan Yuan Che, but every single guest. They scrambled toward the exit in panic. Father Liu spotted Liu Yunchen, who had appeared at some point, and grabbed him desperately, trying to pull him along.
But no matter how hard he pulled, Liu Yunchen wouldn’t budge.
“Yunchen! Hurry home and take your mother out of the city!” Father Liu was frantic.
“Dad, go home first. Calm Mom down. I’ll handle this.” Liu Yunchen smiled, but his eyes were cold as ice.
“Yunchen, what can you possibly do right now!” Father Liu was on the verge of tears.
With his son refusing to leave, how could he dare to flee?
Liu Yunchen rose to his feet slowly, turning to face the cackling Shi Heng. His voice was low and clear, tinged with a biting coldness. “Shi Heng, what’s the fun in picking on ordinary people?”
Liu Yunchen: Bet you didn’t see this coming—you just ran straight into me, didn’t you?
