Cloud Heaven Palace towered atop the mountain peaks amid the clouds, resembling a celestial palace straight out of myth and legend.
The palace spanned eight mountain peaks, each crowned with its own grand hall. The lords of these halls were none other than the “Eight Immortals in the Clouds,” renowned throughout the Garo Kingdom.
The Grand Palace Lord served as the sect master, wielding the ultimate authority.
And the Grand Palace Lord’s personal disciple held the title of Young Sect Master of Cloud Heaven Palace.
Huangfu Wenqing, in her role as Young Sect Master, shared a peak with her master Yun Xiu. Their residences were close enough that she could seek guidance on cultivation matters at any time.
Of course, Yun Xiu was not presently in the palace.
Inside a secret chamber, Huangfu Wenqing sat cross-legged on a cushion. She slowly withdrew her cultivation technique and opened her eyes.
Her morning practice complete, she rose and stepped out of the chamber. With a glance toward her master’s dwelling, she let out a soft sigh.
“Around this time, it must be the day Master and that fake martial uncle first encounter Yan Zhen. I wonder if they’ve met yet.”
Huangfu Wenqing didn’t know all the details of the tangled bond between her master and Yan Zhen. She had only gleaned fragments from her master’s own words in her previous life.
But there was no doubt that her master loved Yan Zhen deeply, and Yan Zhen harbored Mystic affection for her master in return. Huangfu Wenqing had even walked in on them during an intimate moment.
However, Yan Zhen had discovered that his father’s disappearance was tied to the family of an outer sect elder from Cloud Heaven Palace. In retaliation, he wiped out that family, prompting the elder to strike back.
Cloud Heaven Palace’s outer sect elders all possessed Mystic General cultivation, yet for some reason, this one still fell short against Yan Zhen and was slain by him.
The battle footage was blurry, obscuring the killer’s face, but those three Extreme Flames were unmistakable: one entwined in gold and silver, another a dull gray, and the third a vivid blood-red.
Later, when Yan Zhen honored their two-year battle pact and clashed with Huangfu Wenqing atop Cloud Heaven Summit, he unleashed those same three Extreme Flames, exposing his identity.
Had it been anyone else, there might have been room for negotiation. But Yan Zhen had publicly defeated Huangfu Wenqing—the Young Sect Master herself—slapping Cloud Heaven Palace’s face in the process.
The Second Palace Lord and the others wasted no time, moving to capture Yan Zhen without mercy.
Yet Yan Zhen had his own master to back him up, along with secret arts tied to the Extreme Flames. He slipped through their grasp with ease.
Cloud Heaven Palace issued an official warrant for his arrest.
By then, Yan Zhen was a student at Holy Land Academy. Hiding there, he was beyond their reach.
So someone took a ruthless approach, disguising themselves as members of another faction to storm the Yan Family in Martial Tang City. They seized Yan Zhen’s grandfather as leverage.
Yan Zhen rushed to the meeting to save him, only to be surrounded by Cloud Heaven Palace forces. In the crisis, Yan Lie stepped in and took a blow from a Mystic King on his behalf, dying right before Yan Zhen’s eyes.
Yan Zhen snapped. He slaughtered every Cloud Heaven Palace member present.
From that point on, the hatred between them was irreconcilable.
“Sigh.”
Memories of those past events filled Huangfu Wenqing’s heart with tangled emotions.
To be fair, her conflict with Yan Zhen hadn’t sparked the chain of events—it had merely accelerated them.
Without her breaking off the engagement and issuing that two-year battle pact, things might not have spiraled to their worst.
Now reborn, she was determined to change it all.
For her own sake. For her master’s. For Cloud Heaven Palace.
“With my experience from reaching Mystic Ancestor in my last life, I’ll definitely defeat Yan Zhen in our two-year battle pact this time. Once I win, he’ll join Cloud Heaven Palace as a consort.”
He’d be one of them then—no more headaches down the line.
And with Yan Zhen in Cloud Heaven Palace, the three of them—herself, her master, and him—could indulge shamelessly together… basking in bliss!
The thought sent a little thrill through her.
“Heh heh.”
…
Deep in the Demonic Dragon Mountain Range, inside a cave behind a waterfall.
“Chen Zhen, do you have someone special?” Yun Xiu asked casually, as if the question had just popped into her head mid-conversation.
But Jiu Youyue knew her senior sister cared deeply about the answer—because she felt the same curiosity. Who was this person who had claimed her first taste? So she chimed in:
“Yeah, exactly! You’ve been turning down all us sisters offering ourselves to you. Gotta be someone already, right? Spill it~”
Someone special? The question put Yan Zhen in a tough spot. In the script, his first love was Yun Xiu—a love at first sight.
Even ignoring the script, the real Yan Zhen had plenty of women he felt responsible for.
His fiancée Huangfu Wenqing, Meng’er and Cousin Ruyu, Mentor Yu Xuan, Good Big Sister, Xian’er… plus his future two official wives… and the beautiful master herself.
But he couldn’t say any of that. According to the script, he’d only just fallen for Yun Xiu now—no one before her.
After a brief hesitation, Yan Zhen replied:
“I don’t have anyone special.”
Yun Xiu’s eyes flickered, as if hope had reignited.
“No one?” Jiu Youyue asked skeptically. “For real? Don’t lie to us.”
“For real. I’d be a puppy if I was~”
Yan Zhen put on his most sincere face, though inwardly he let out a couple of playful barks.
Yun Xiu’s lovely eyes sparkled. A faint smile tugged at her lips once more, and her scrubbing grew lighter, more cheerful.
Jiu Youyue wasn’t buying it. She pressed on:
“Little Zhen Zhen, with your cultivation at your age, you’d be a hot commodity in any family, academy, or sect. No pretty little sisters or big sisters confessing to you?”
“There have been some, but I turned them all down,” Yan Zhen said earnestly. “My heart’s set on cultivation—ah!”
Ah?
Yun Xiu glanced down and sure enough saw Jiu Youyue’s small hands slipping around to the front, taking firm hold of Yan Zhen.
A blush crept over her cheeks again. Somewhat annoyed, Yun Xiu said:
“Jiuyou, what are you doing?”
“Hmph, Little Zhen Zhen, let me ask you this: If you don’t have anyone special, how’d you lose your Primal Yang? And so thoroughly—not just once, either. Don’t tell me you were hitting the brothels?”
At the question, Yun Xiu didn’t scold Jiu Youyue anymore. Instead, she looked at Yan Zhen too, eager for the answer.
Yan Zhen froze. Could guys tell that easily? He thought for a moment, then said:
“I’ve never been to brothels. It happened during Extreme Flame refinement… through dual cultivation with someone.”
Jiu Youyue’s delicate brows furrowed in confusion.
“Does refining Extreme Flame require dual cultivation? I never heard that. Who was it?”
“That… I can’t say.”
“Why not? I don’t even know her. Come on, tell us. Who got the honor of taking Little Zhen Zhen’s first time~”
“No.”
Yan Zhen shook his head firmly.
Jiu Youyue pouted, displeased.
“Are you gonna tell me?”
“No.”
“Fine, Little Zhen Zhen. Not gonna talk, huh? Then—”
Jiu Youyue picked up her pace just a bit, making Yan Zhen gasp repeatedly. Strain gradually showed on his face.
Yun Xiu’s movements halted. Her gaze dropped, fixed motionlessly on Jiu Youyue’s hands—shocked into a daze, or perhaps studying intently.
Jiu Youyue leaned in and nipped lightly at Yan Zhen’s small earlobe, humming:
“Gonna talk now?”
Yan Zhen furrowed his brow.
“I’m not telling. Give it up—ow ow ow!”
A touch more defiance earned him Jiu Youyue’s fierce retaliation. Yan Zhen crumbled in no time.
