Behind her, a vast expanse of crimson afterglow framed her silhouette.
She still wore a smile on her face, but a deep wariness toward her surged in everyone’s hearts.
“I’m taking the Cangyan Sect’s leader with me,” Ye Shaohua said with a wave of her hand. The Cangyan Sect leader, like a puppet, was swept to her side. She glanced at the people from the Xuan Yue Sect. “I’m also taking the Annihilation Sky Spear. As for the Cangyan Sect—either choose a new leader, or come to the Ye family in Willow City. I’ll be waiting for you to come claim our family’s divine artifact and immortal artifact.”
“And as for the Xuan Yue Sect,” Ye Shaohua said, turning her gaze to the Xuan Yue Sect’s elders, “the elder of your alchemy peak has some ties with our Ye family. Out of respect for him, I’ll spare you. Of course, if you’re also thinking of scheming against the Ye family, then… you’re welcome to try.”
After she finished speaking, Ye Shaohua’s figure vanished from the spot.
Only after that overwhelming spiritual pressure disappeared did the members of the Xuan Yue Sect finally breathe a sigh of relief. They exchanged uneasy glances.
“The Cangyan Sect… just like that?” One of the Xuan Yue Sect’s elders wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
Where on earth had this Ye family produced such a formidable powerhouse?
All of them together hadn’t even been able to put up a fight against her!
One person had nearly wiped out half of the Cangyan Sect’s strength!
And she even wielded a divine artifact in her hands.
As for the Cangyan Sect wanting revenge?
When even their Annihilation Sky Spear had been taken from them, what was there left to talk about? Were they tired of living?
The Xuan Yue Sect’s elders all fell silent at that thought, but they all understood one thing clearly:
The three great sects of the cultivation world no longer existed.
From now on, there would only be the Xuan Yue Sect, the Qian Yuan Sect, and one more—
The Ye family of Willow City!
——-
The Ye family of Willow City shot to fame in a single battle.
Half a year later, the Ye family of Willow City re-emerged into the cultivation world.
On that day, the most powerful figures of the cultivation world all gathered in the small city of Willow City.
This threw the entire city into panic—especially Lord Xuan Yuan, the city lord, who trembled nervously as he greeted these big shots at the city gates.
In the past, these powerful figures would never have bothered to enter through the city gates politely. With their status, they would simply turn into a streak of light and fly in, or teleport directly.
But now, things were different.
The entire Willow City had been covered by a defensive formation set up by Ye Shaohua, and no one knew exactly what level this formation had reached.
Rumors in the cultivation world said that the formation’s eye was a top-grade immortal artifact!
With such a treasure as the formation’s core, even a cultivator at the Transcendance Tribulation stage would be unable to forcefully break through.
That day, the Xuan Yuan family, as the hosts, naturally also attended.
“Lady Liu, that hairpin you’re wearing is absolutely gorgeous. Where did you buy it? It looks so lifelike,” a group of noblewomen chattered eagerly in the outer courtyard, crowded around Liu Mu.
Upon hearing this, Liu Mu’s eyes lit up. “Oh, isn’t this something Shaohua gave me? Didn’t I mention she’s been into blacksmithing? She recently made me a whole new set, and this hairpin is one of them. I have to say, when I wear it, I feel like I play dominoes with so much more energy!”
Hearing Liu Mu’s words, the crowd was filled with mixed emotions.
These noblewomen had long heard Liu Mu talk about how Ye Shaohua had become obsessed with blacksmithing.
Back then, they had assumed she meant literal iron-forging, and while they nodded along politely to Liu Mu’s bragging, they secretly looked down on it.
I mean, what noble lady in Willow City would do something like that?
But now, they no longer felt that way at all.
Currently, there were no fewer than ten legends circulating in Willow City about Ye Shaohua alone.
This was someone who could forge divine artifacts!
Hadn’t they all seen those Mahayana and Transcendance Tribulation cultivators flying straight toward the Ye residence?
Back then, how were they supposed to know that what Liu Mu meant by “blacksmithing” was actually artifact refining?!
“This hairpin is so beautiful—is it a treasure artifact too?” Lady Xuan Yuan asked, eyeing Liu Mu with a hint of envy.
She was roughly the same age as Liu Mu. Before this, she had lived a life of luxury in the Xuan Yuan mansion, and since her son was a disciple of the Xuan Yue Sect, she had always looked down on Liu Mu and her circle of noblewomen, rarely socializing with them.
But now, in just half a year, anyone could see the change in Liu Mu.
Not only had she grown younger, but her figure had also improved, and she seemed to be shrouded in a faint layer of spiritual energy.
And most of all… she casually wore a hairpin that was a treasure artifact.
That was what truly stung Lady Xuan Yuan the most.
Their Xuan Yuan family, to this day, only had one mid-grade treasure artifact, which belonged to Xuan Yuan Che, and the whole family treasured it like gold.
And so, Lady Xuan Yuan finally realized that what the Ye family treated as nothing special—a mere treasure artifact—was seen as something incredibly precious in everyone else’s eyes.
Normally, if it were anyone else, Lady Xuan Yuan wouldn’t be this jealous.
But of all people…
The hairpin on Liu Mu’s head had been given to her by Ye Shaohua!
Because Ye Shaohua was Liu Mu’s daughter-in-law!
And before all this, the Ye family had actually been betrothed to their Xuan Yuan family. If it hadn’t been for Xuan Yuan Che and Ye Yuan’s scandal, Ye Shaohua would still be their daughter-in-law right now.
Now, the one being surrounded by all these noblewomen, the one being treated with such reverence by all those cultivators—shouldn’t that have been her?
There is no greater regret than realizing you had something within arm’s reach, only to have thrown it away yourself.
Lady Xuan Yuan had regretted it more times than she could count. Why had she encouraged Xuan Yuan Che to go break off the engagement with the Ye family? If she hadn’t meddled, Ye Shaohua would be her daughter-in-law now.
And the hairpin on her head would have been a treasure artifact that even Golden Core cultivators would envy.
Just as Lady Xuan Yuan was lost in these thoughts, she saw Liu Mu glance at her and say, with a gentle smile, “A treasure artifact? How could it be just a treasure artifact? The one she gave me half a year ago was already a treasure artifact. But this one now—Shaohua said that she and Yunchen have too many enemies, and she was worried about me, so she specially forged a top-grade immortal artifact for defense. It even carries the power of a Mahayana-stage expert’s strongest attack. This hairpin is that very artifact. I told her not to bother, but she insisted on going and forging it for me anyway. Honestly, these kids—don’t you find them exhausting?”
