Yan Zhen naturally hadn’t done anything untoward to Zi Xunyi. He had merely seized the opportunity for some intimate skin-to-skin contact, helping her gradually accept the special dual cultivation that lay ahead.
The two of them lingered in the bath barrel, their ears and temples brushing close, for nearly half a shichen. At last, they rose together, dried their bodies, slipped into sleepwear, and tidied themselves up.
“Are you ready, Zi Ji?” Yan Zhen took Zi Xunyi’s hand. “We’re heading in.”
Zi Xunyi felt a touch of nervousness. She checked her reflection in the full-length mirror one more time, confirming that her appearance was beyond reproach, then gave a slight nod.
“Mm. Take me to see Master.”
Yan Zhen activated the Star Shifting Fire Seal. A twist of spatial power whisked him and the hand he held—Zi Xunyi’s—straight into the crystal pendant dangling from his neck.
A brief haze clouded Zi Xunyi’s vision, then it cleared. Towering before her was a colossal Heavenly Pillar that dwarfed even the Firmament Nine-Story Tower. Massive chains linked pillar to pillar, enclosing a vast plaza.
Beyond the pillars stretched a dim starry expanse, dotted with blazing stars—some of them shining with exceptional brilliance.
At the plaza’s heart rose a five-colored altar, and she and Yan Zhen now stood at its edge. Not far off, at the center, sat a stunning immortal figure clad in a black skirt, her white hair cascading down as she meditated in the lotus position.
Zi Xunyi’s gaze sharpened.
She needed no reminder from Yan Zhen. That was his master—the renowned female Technique Saint of Mystic Heaven Continent, the legendary powerhouse who, before Yan Zhen, had been the only one to command two Extreme Flames!
“Come on, let’s go over.”
Yan Zhen led his youthful future wife to the beautiful master. Chen Xi had sensed their arrival and opened her eyes, her gaze meeting theirs precisely.
“Master, I’ve brought Zi Ji.”
Zi Xunyi overlapped her hands over her abdomen, lowered her head slightly, and bowed with elegant grace.
“This junior, Zi Xunyi, pays her respects to Senior Technique Saint.”
Seeing this youthful version of Zi Xunyi brought back memories of their first meeting in her past life, filling Chen Xi with quiet emotion.
“No need for such formality. You’re Zhen’er’s future wife, which makes you my disciple-in-law. Just call me ‘Master’ like he does.”
Zi Xunyi was mildly surprised. She had imagined the Technique Saint Lord as aloof and distant, yet here she was, surprisingly gentle. Was it because of her status as the “disciple-in-law”?
—This title feels so embarrassing.
“Yes, Master Chen Xi. Feel free to call me ‘Zi Ji,’ Master.”
Chen Xi gave a light nod of her head, though inwardly she preferred “Purple Consort.”
“It seems the two of you are prepared?”
Blushing faintly, Zi Xunyi ventured:
“Master Chen Xi, that dual cultivation secret method… can it truly guarantee conception?”
“Naturally.” Chen Xi smiled softly. “You’ve likely heard of it before. This is an additional chapter of the Heavenly Sovereign Earthly Queen Yin-Yang Miraculous Method—the Procreation Chapter.”
The Heavenly Sovereign Earthly Queen Yin-Yang Miraculous Method was a Saint-rank dual cultivation secret art, divided into the Body Union Chapter, the Qi Exchange Chapter, and the Divine Intercourse Chapter.
The Body Union Chapter concerned the physical union of yin and yang between man and woman. The Qi Exchange Chapter involved the interplay of qi mechanisms. The Divine Intercourse Chapter demanded divine soul resonance.
Zi Xunyi herself possessed the Divine Intercourse Chapter; it was through cultivating it that she had first encountered Yan Zhen in her dreams.
Mi Xue’er and Xiao Xinyan had relied on the Qi Exchange Chapter to advance their cultivation previously.
As for the Body Union Chapter, the script had mentioned only that Jiu Youyue knew it. She had learned it specifically to trade with Yan Zhen. Later, to combat a shared foe, the two had dual cultivated using it and both broken through.
Zi Xunyi had heard of the three main chapters but knew nothing of this Procreation Chapter.
Chen Xi explained:
“In ancient times, the God Race struggled with low fertility rates. To ensure the continuation of their kind, the sages devised numerous exclusive techniques to boost conception, including this Procreation Chapter. It is the safest and most reliable method for inducing pregnancy—virtually guaranteed on the first try. It has only two drawbacks: its complexity makes it difficult to perform even after comprehension, and it can be used only once, with the mother needing to be a virgin who has never carried a child before. Neither poses a problem here. Zi Ji, you remain untouched, and I will guide you both through the process.”
Truth be told, the Procreation Chapter was intended solely for couplings between God Race members. In her previous life, Chen Xi had adapted it for dual cultivation between human and god. As for why… she couldn’t quite say. There had been some unshakeable obsession driving her at the time.
“No time like the present. Let us begin.”
With a gentle lift of her slender hand, Chen Xi summoned a lavish stone bed from the altar. Pink gauze curtains draped its four sides, while soft bedding, two pillows, and a cozy quilt adorned the top—everything perfectly prepared.
Aside from the stone platform beneath, every furnishing was a manifestation of Chen Xi’s spiritual power, yet they looked and felt utterly real.
To manifest the illusory as substantial with spiritual power—that was the prowess of the Divine Soul True Realm. Zi Xunyi couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
“Very well, you two. Disrobe and get onto the bed… I will withdraw for the moment and return when needed.”
With that, Chen Xi dissolved into a ethereal shadow and gradually faded away.
Yet Zi Xunyi still sensed Master Chen Xi’s gaze lingering upon them. Clearly, this “withdrawal” was merely a concession to her modesty, not a true departure.
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Yan Zhen suddenly swept her up into a horizontal embrace. Startled, she flung her arms around her beloved’s neck.
“Yan Zhen…”
He laid Zi Xunyi gently upon the stone bed and climbed up after her, pressing his body over hers.
“It’s time, Zi Ji.”
Her hands pushed lightly against Yan Zhen’s chest in a posture of half-hearted resistance, her delicate allure stirring the heart. Those noble purple-red eyes gleamed moist and radiant, her crimson lips plump and inviting. Her slightly parted collar revealed glimpses of flawless snow-white skin, while her knee-length skirt had somehow ridden up to her hips, baring a pair of dazzlingly long, pale legs. Her dainty jade feet, tense with anticipation, curled their toes tightly.
The purple-haired, purple-eyed maiden in purple robes—the Inner Academy’s undisputed campus belle—now lay upon the bed like a fully bloomed flower, awaiting her future husband’s tender plucking.
“Yan Zhen… will you be good to me from here on out?”
He brushed aside strands of her pale purple hair and spoke tenderly:
“I will. I’ll love you from start to finish, weather every storm by your side, never to part or abandon.”
“Really? What about ‘Sister Cai Lian,’ then?”
“Cai Lian is Cai Lian, and you are you. Each of you holds a unique place in my heart.”
Zi Xunyi wasn’t satisfied with the answer. She gazed at him with a hint of resentment and asked:
“Then what am I to you, in your heart?”
Yan Zhen smiled faintly.
“Silly girl… ‘You are the only one in my heart, my beautiful myth.'”
Her heart quivered at his words. That hauntingly beautiful melody seemed to echo in her mind, mist gathering in her lovely eyes. She reached up, cupping the young man’s face, and offered her lips to him of her own accord.
—You are the only one I’ve chosen in my heart, my husband.
Yan Zhen seemed to hear the whisper of Zi Xunyi’s innermost thoughts. He responded all the more earnestly.
