The white lotuses that Jialan Fairy had planted in her Bitter Sea Cave-Heaven could almost be called saintly medicines. The pastries made from them were naturally no ordinary treats. Even Mentor Yu Xuan, whose cultivation realm was the lowest among them, advanced straight from One-Star Mystic King to Two-Star Mystic King after eating just a single slice of lotus root. She had only recently broken through to Mystic King, after all.
After the other girls—and matrons—partook, their mystic power began to boil within them. Some even burst right out of their clothes on the spot. Clouds and rosy mists billowed around them for a moment, nearly dazzling Yan Zhen’s titanium-alloy dog eyes.
Seeing their exaggerated reactions, Yan Zhen grew intensely curious about the pastries’ flavor and desperately wanted to sample one. Unfortunately, his Holy Lord Teacher was still upset with him and refused to let him have any.
“In a few days, once this commotion settles, I’ll announce that I’m formally taking you as my disciple,” she said. “After that, Yan’er, you’ll need to devote yourself heart and soul to cultivating under me. Once you advance to the Mystic Lord Realm, you can challenge the Seven Peaks Chiefs. Pass the Seven Peaks Trials, and you’ll be able to bypass the Heavenly Selection Saint Canon altogether, becoming the Saint Son in truth.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Before then, handle any loose ends you have. Once our training begins, you won’t be free to leave here at will.”
“Understood, Holy Lord Teacher.”
A faint gentleness returned to Jialan Fairy’s eyes. She picked up a piece of lotus seed crisp and held it out to Yan Zhen.
“Here, have some pastry.”
Yan Zhen felt strangely embarrassed, as though he were some little glutton like Long Ying. Truth be told, he was merely curious about the taste.
Once everyone had enjoyed the pastries, Jialan Fairy sent them all out of the Bitter Sea Cave-Heaven. They returned to Rain God Peak.
At almost the same moment, the Seven Peaks Supremes each received a transmission from Jialan Fairy, summoning them to convene in the main hall atop Jialan Peak for an urgent discussion.
Back on Rain God Peak, the group returned to their cave abode halfway up the mountainside and heaved a collective sigh of relief.
The storm had finally blown over—no more living on tenterhooks. And with Jialan Fairy being a reincarnator herself, their cultivation within the holy land would be far smoother sailing from here on out.
To celebrate, Mentor Yu Xuan prepared a lavish spread that evening. Everyone gathered for a hearty meal.
After dinner, Little Aunt Yu Qing announced that it was time for her to return to the academy.
“I’ll head back with you at noon tomorrow,” Yan Zhen said after a moment’s thought. “It’ll be a good chance to treat Big Aunt’s illness on the way, and I can check in on Meng’er and the others too.”
He still worried about those four women. Reincarnators or not, their cultivation bases were on the lower side, leaving them vulnerable to mishaps.
Once he claimed the title of Saint Son, he’d bring all four of them here to the holy land for proper training.
The holy land’s entry bar was the Mystic General Realm, but it also accepted Mystic Master Realm disciples as laborers. Even those roles were scarce, snapped up almost exclusively by the heirs of great clans. For anyone who fell short of the bar, scraping by in the holy land still beat anywhere else by miles.
Naturally, Yan Zhen only needed the pretense to get them inside. As laborers on Saint Son Peak, their arrangements would be entirely at his discretion.
—No matter what, becoming the Saint Son came first!
Late that night, with Little Aunt Yu Qing departing the next day, Mentor Yu Xuan and Aunt Shui Bailan joined her for a three-way slumber party.
After tucking Long Ying in, Yan Zhen quietly made his way to Cai Lian’s cave abode.
Cai Lian lounged against her headboard in a deep crimson silk camisole nightgown, absorbed in a secret manual titled Women’s Bedroom Insights.
Sensing her husband’s presence, the tsundere Sovereign Lady swiftly tucked the book into her storage ring. A faint blush lingered alone on her lovely face.
“What are you doing here?”
Yan Zhen clambered onto the bed and wrapped his arms around his Wife Lady’s sinuous water-snake waist. He planted a kiss on her flushed cheek.
Cai Lian made a show of shoving him away, though her hands exerted no real force.
“Don’t get frisky. Aren’t you supposed to be conserving your essence?”
Yan Zhen blinked thoughtfully.
“I’ll be training under Holy Lord Teacher from now on, so her regimen might scrap Teacher’s original plan entirely.”
“You can’t break through to Mystic Lord anytime soon regardless, and your divine soul only just hit the sixth layer. Body refining’s your only option left.”
“Holy Lord Teacher’s body refining might not demand abstinence… Lately, I’ve been feeling backed up. The two recent battles vented some of it, thank goodness.”
Cai Lian slipped her slender hand into her husband’s collar, her fingers lightly tracing his sculpted chest. She could feel the vigorous thrum of his heart.
He was powerful to begin with, blessed with both dragon and snake divine bloodlines, further tempered by the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame and the Great Crimson Heaven Flame. He was no ordinary man; seven or eight partners at once would hardly tax him.
In her previous life, she and Zi Xunyi had needed to give their all, every time, just to sate him. That’s why they’d contemplated welcoming another sister to ease the burden. If only Yun Xiu hadn’t been so obtuse!
Shoving the sour memory aside, Cai Lian leaned in and offered her heated lips.
She’d chosen this teasingly sheer nightgown expressly to delight her husband, after all.
This blockhead might still be young, with cultivation trailing hers, but he already possessed more than enough strength to safeguard her and their daughter.
“Your vital energies are indeed running a bit too hot,” the Sovereign Lady murmured, her cheeks pink. “This Sovereign shall dual cultivate with you, then.”
Yan Zhen pouted, less than enthused.
“Dual cultivation splits your focus on the techniques. It never feels fully satisfying.”
The Sovereign Lady shot him a glare.
“This Sovereign will take the lead. You needn’t lift a finger.”
Yan Zhen opened his mouth again.
“Eh~ But I want to—”
“One more word, and it’s over.”
“Fine, then. Please take pity on this one, my Wife—Mm!”
To forestall any further mood-killers from this oaf, Cai Lian sealed Yan Zhen’s lips with her own. Drawing on past-life know-how and her fresh insights from the manual, she set to work pleasing him.
Yan Zhen reclined on the bed, relishing his pregnant wife’s ministrations while drinking in the magnificent display before him. The moment he reached out, however, she seized his wrists and pinned them beside his head.
“No moving.”
“Erk.”
With her so fired up, Yan Zhen surrendered to letting Wife Lady indulge herself.
After two bouts, she flagged. Yan Zhen rolled them over, taking command in wolfish fashion.
Their passions were cresting when a prodigious yawn shattered Cai Lian’s rhythmic moans—and brought Yan Zhen’s motions to a screeching halt.
“Yawwww~~~ Why’s the house thumping again? Mother Concubine, no rough stuff while you’re carrying Little Yan Yan, okay? It keeps this baby from sleeping soundly. So annoying~”
The pair went rigid with mortification, not daring to twitch.
“Huh? That’s Father Emperor’s aura, isn’t it? Is Mother Concubine training with Father Emperor? Father Emperor works so hard~ Then Little Yan Yan can’t slack off either. Gotta power up fast, protect that klutz Ling’er someday, be the best big sis ever…”
The mental pulses from her womb settled. Faint ripples of mystic qi emanated outward as Yan Yan truly began to cultivate.
Cai Lian’s motivational tactics really delivered—even without their prompting, their daughter cultivated diligently of her own accord.
Yan Zhen chuckled wryly to himself. My daughter Yan Yan has the makings of a grind king!
Cai Lian, for her part, broke out in a cold sweat.
Yan Zhen scooped up Wife Lady, letting her drape over him as he murmured soft reassurances.
By the fifth watch of the night, Cai Lian—thoroughly spent—pillowed her head on Yan Zhen’s arm. Amid his tender strokes and whispers, she slipped into deep slumber.
Ere long, Yan Zhen joined her in sleep.
It was nearing noon by the time the couple stirred. They shared a languid mandarin duck bath, dressed, and roused the lazybones Long Ying next door before heading to Little Aunt Yu Qing’s cave abode.
After a simple farewell meal, Yan Zhen summoned his flying skiff. With Little Aunt Yu Qing aboard, they departed Jialan Holy Land, bound for Holy Land Academy.
