After hearing Zixiao Saint Lord’s words, the Evil Consort’s expression darkened slightly. She was about to speak when Yan Zhen stopped her.
The Evil Consort let out a cold snort and held back her temper.
Chen Xi spoke flatly. “No need to waste words on useless talk. Since you can’t decide Zi Ji’s marriage, Zixiao, then have Zi Tianjun step in.”
Zixiao Saint Lord knew full well that since they had come specifically to propose marriage, a few words from her wouldn’t send them packing. So she agreed.
“The clan leader is still in secluded cultivation. Rest here for now, and I’ll convey the marriage proposal to him.”
With that, the purple-haired beauty produced four tokens out of thin air.
“These are the keys to your rooms. Channel mystic power into them, and you’ll know where your rooms are. You can also summon the purple gold puppets if you need anything.”
After giving her instructions, Zixiao Saint Lord turned to leave, but Yan Zhen called out to her.
“Wait, Zixiao Saint Lord. Where is Zi Ji right now? I’d like to go see her.”
Zixiao Saint Lord replied coolly, “I’m sorry, but Zi Ji is at a critical point in her cultivation and can’t be disturbed by outsiders. She won’t be informed until there’s a decision.”
The Evil Consort laughed coldly. “Is the Heavenly God Clan always this petty? No wonder your clan was always pinned down by my Evil God Clan back in the day—eternal runner-up.”
Zixiao Saint Lord took a deep breath, thinking to herself that she wouldn’t argue with a madwoman. She opened a space portal and left.
Chen Xi sighed softly. “It wasn’t going to be that easy… From the looks of it, they have no intention of letting Zi Ji meet Zhen’er.”
Jialan Fairy pondered. “I’m just worried the Nine Heavens Saint Lord might take matters into her own hands without even telling Zi Tianjun. That could get tricky.”
The Evil Consort said coldly, “If that’s the case, then your Jialan Holy Land might want to reconsider your alliance with the Heavenly God Clan.”
“Masters, Saint Lord Master, Evil Consort Master—no need to worry so much.” Yan Zhen looked optimistic. “Whether they agree or not won’t change the end result. Zi Ji is my wife, and Ling’er is my daughter. That’s already set in stone.”
“That’s the best way to think about it, Zhen’er,” Chen Xi said, pleased. “Even if it’s not possible now, once your cultivation advances further, you can come to the Heavenly God Clan and take Zi Ji away anytime.”
“No need to wait that long.”
“Eh?”
“Anyway, the three masters don’t need to worry about the Heavenly God Clan’s attitude. We’ve done all the proper courtesies. Leave the rest to me.”
“Alright, no matter what you decide to do, your master supports you.”
“Thanks, Master~”
Yan Zhen smiled and took the Evil Consort’s hand, comforting her. “Evil Consort Master, don’t be mad. It’s just social niceties.”
The Evil Consort flicked his forehead. “You don’t need to teach this palace about things like this. I’ve just had it in for the Heavenly God Clan for a long time.”
Yan Zhen turned to Jialan Fairy, who resembled a pure white holy mother.
“Saint Lord Master, if this affects relations between Jialan Holy Land and the Heavenly God Clan, would that trouble you?”
Jialan Fairy gently shook her head, her beautiful platinum hair swaying slightly.
“The basis of an alliance is mutual respect as equals. If the Heavenly God Clan can’t even manage that much, there’s no point in allying.”
Yan Zhen nodded in deep agreement.
In truth, the Heavenly God Clan did carry a bit of an air of superiority when facing Jialan Holy Land, and with good reason—their overall strength was far greater.
However, without Jialan Holy Land’s support back then, the Heavenly God Clan’s losses in the war would have been far more devastating. They might not have recovered so easily.
Just like the Star God Clan.
The Seven Great Sacred Lands had aided nine god clans, leaving two without support: the Star God Clan and the Dragon God Clan.
The Dragon God Clan had strong resilience, so they weren’t hit too hard. But the Star God Clan nearly collapsed entirely. To recover their former peak as quickly as possible after the war ended, they implemented a bloodline supremacy policy.
By having high-grade bloodline members breed with each other, they aimed to produce more offspring with superior bloodlines.
It started with good intentions, but the results fell short. It even indirectly led to prodigies like Chen Xi—those with lower bloodline grades—leaving the clan.
All in all, for all their lofty status and innate superiority, the god clans had no shortage of problems.
“Let’s head back to our rooms first.”
Yan Zhen called out, picked up a token from the table, and channeled mystic power into it. A spatial rift opened up.
He stepped inside. The room’s furnishings and decor screamed opulence—every casual item was a Tier 4 or higher Mystic artifact, perfectly matching the Heavenly God Clan’s image.
But when Yan Zhen turned around, he saw his three beautiful masters had followed him in. He said, “Masters, your rooms should be right next door or across the hall.”
Chen Xi smiled warmly. “It’s safer to stay together when traveling. Besides, there’s plenty of space here.”
Yan Zhen scratched his cheek. “But people might talk.”
“What’s there to talk about? It’s perfectly normal for master and disciple to seclude together for long-term cultivation in the same room.”
“Ah, well…”
It did make a certain sense.
Most master-disciple pairs were same-sex, though. Opposite-sex ones were rarer, which was why it felt normal.
Yan Zhen thought for a moment and said, “They went out of their way to prepare four rooms for us. Wouldn’t it be better for each to have their own?”
Jialan Fairy gazed warmly at her disciple. “Yan’er, are you planning to sneak off to see Zi Ji?”
Yan Zhen flushed as his intentions were seen through.
“You’ve got me.”
The Evil Consort frowned. “Do you even know where the God Maiden is?”
Yan Zhen nodded. “Zi Ji and I are god soul resonators, and I’ve cultivated the Divine Intercourse Chapter. As long as we’re within range, I can sense her.”
“Go if you want to,” Chen Xi said with a laugh. “With your skills, Zhen’er, you shouldn’t get caught. And if you do, just hide in the Fire Refining Starry Sky.”
“Heh heh, you get me, Master.” Yan Zhen had planned exactly that. “That’s what I was thinking. I’ll head out then.”
“Go on. Be careful.”
“See you~”
Yan Zhen tore open a spatial rift, waved to his three beautiful masters, and dove inside.
His mastery of space had reached the Supreme level. As long as he could sense the target, he could tear through space to reach them.
Provided there were no spatial restraints.
But Zi Xunyi’s residence in the Celestial God Palace clearly had them—and powerful ones at that.
Yan Zhen ignited his Xuan Huang Dual Qi Flame and burned a hole through the restraint, finally slipping past.
The Celestial God Palace stood at the heart of the Heavenly God Clan’s main city, the tallest building there, and it was the clan leader’s family residence.
Zi Xunyi hadn’t yet been officially granted the title of God Maiden, so she still lived in the Purple Robe Hall to the west, as before. Once she formally took the position, she would move to the Goddess Palace.
The Celestial God Palace teemed with experts. The strongest, of course, was Zi Xunyi’s father and clan leader Zi Tianjun—a Nine Star Great Saint like the Demon Domain Lord Mo Tianjue, one of the pinnacle powerhouses of the age.
Yan Zhen was still wary of being spotted by him, but Zixiao Saint Lord had said Zi Tianjun was in seclusion, so it should be fine.
Outside Purple Cloud Hall, space ripped open with a sharp tear. Yan Zhen leaped out. He couldn’t go any farther in—as the Heavenly God Clan’s God Maiden candidate, Zi Xunyi was well protected.
But he could sense Zi Ji, and naturally, she could sense him.
Sure enough, moments later, a beautiful figure with purple hair and purple eyes, dressed in a light purple gown, floated gracefully out.
