On a bright, sunny morning, the upper echelons of the Yu Family gathered to see off His Highness the Holy Son as he departed from the island.
Yan Zhen summoned the luxury speedboat and settled into the driver’s seat. He called out to the group outside, “No need for everyone to see me off—go on back home. Family Head, Mother-in-law, I’m heading out. I’ll come back during the New Year holidays with Mentor Yu Xuan, Aunt Bailan, Big Aunt Yu Yan, Little Aunt Yu Qing, and the others to visit you~”
The Family Head Yu Lu let out a faint hum of acknowledgment. She watched as the speedboat lifted off into the sky before transforming into a black streak that sped away, vanishing into the curtain of rain beyond the island.
A warm breeze lifted her hair and the hem of her skirt in a gentle dance. Beneath her wide sleeves, the Rain Bracelet shimmered with watery light, flickering in and out of view.
…
Several hours later, Yan Zhen returned to the Jialan Holy Land and descended onto his Holy Son Peak.
The four women of the Yu Family, who had been waiting patiently, hurried out to greet him.
In the living room of Jia Flame Cave, Yan Zhen savored a shoulder rub from Aunt Shui Bailan and a leg massage from Mentor Yu Xuan. He took a gulp of tea before announcing the results. “Thanks to the power of my silver tongue, Mother-in-law has finally agreed to let Big Aunt and Little Aunt do as they please!”
The four women’s eyes lit up with delight, smiles blooming across their faces. Little Aunt Yu Qing even patted her ample bosom and let out a huge sigh of relief.
Mentor Yu Xuan happily planted a kiss on her husband’s cheek. “I knew you could convince Mother, so I went ahead and prepared rooms for Big Aunt and Little Aunt.”
Yan Zhen praised her. “Mentor, you’ve got real foresight. Now Big Aunt and Little Aunt can come stay whenever they like.”
Big Aunt Yu Yan asked curiously, “So what exactly did Little Lu say?”
Yan Zhen scratched his cheek, offering a half-truth. “Mother-in-law wasn’t on board at first, but after I wore her down with a mix of sweet talk and persistence—er, persistence and sweet talk—she reluctantly gave in.”
“Heh heh, looks like Little Lu really can’t handle Little Yan Zhen after all~”
“After all, someone’s just like a total rogue.”
Little Aunt Yu Qing had muttered that last bit without a shred of conscience. Yan Zhen shot her a sideways glare and shot back, “Mother-in-law was just being nice to me. You should be the one reflecting on yourself, Little Aunt!”
“Am I not nice to you?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Yan Zhen just grinned without saying a word.
Little Aunt Yu Qing huffed and turned her face away, ignoring him.
From her vantage point above, Shui Bailan studied Yan Zhen’s expression intently. Something felt off to her. Based on her understanding of her sister-in-law, things shouldn’t have been that straightforward.
Mentor Yu Xuan spoke up again. “Oh, right—Yan Zhen, the Honored One came looking for you yesterday.”
Yan Zhen nodded. “It must be about the dual cultivation. I’ll go see her tomorrow.”
They were originally supposed to do it three times a month until it was complete in three months, but now it had dragged on to just once a month. He felt a bit guilty toward Yu Shizun—she had helped him out so much.
Still, today was for spending time with Big Aunt and Little Aunt. After finishing their final treatment session, he would send them back.
Cai Lian was meditating quietly in her room. Long Ying was fast asleep as usual. Meng’er, Cousin Ruyu, Senior Sister Xue’er, and Senior Sister Xin Yan had received their pills and were diligently breaking through to the Mystic General Realm… Yan Zhen left them undisturbed. Instead, he led the four women on a tour of Holy Son Peak. He demonstrated how to use the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire to reshape the landscape, then commanded some of the mountain’s mystic beasts with the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame to put on a show for them. As night fell, he lit up the sky with fireworks conjured from Gold-Silver Fire.
Only after making sure they were all in high spirits did he escort them back to Rain Flower Cave for Big Aunt Yu Yan’s final treatment.
This time, even Mentor Yu Xuan pitched in to help. Together with Aunt Shui Bailan and Little Aunt Yu Qing, they devoted themselves fully to warming Yan Zhen up. Once he was ready, they administered the Palace-Nourishing Pill to Big Aunt Yu Yan.
By the end, Big Aunt Yu Yan’s belly was slightly swollen. She lay limp on the bed, utterly spent, her legs trembling and barely able to close.
Yan Zhen, who had been working hard throughout, let out a weary sigh. As Little Aunt Yu Qing and Aunt Shui Bailan cleaned him up, he reached out to stroke their heads, a deep sense of satisfaction filling his heart.
Smack~ Mentor Yu Xuan hugged him from behind and kissed his cheek. “You worked hard, Yan Zhen.”
Yan Zhen turned and returned the kiss with a laugh. “Something like this? Hardly.”
If anything, he was more than satisfied.
Mentor Yu Xuan nuzzled his cheek affectionately, then whispered coquettishly in his ear, “You might think you got the better end of the deal now, but you better not neglect us later.”
“I won’t. Not in a lifetime.” Yan Zhen’s voice was warm. “You’re the blessing I earned in my past life. In this one, I’ll hold on tight. I won’t let any of you go.”
“Yan Zhen…”
As emotions deepened, tender moans filled the air.
That night, Yan Zhen truly lived up to the name Dragon Proud Heaven, leapfrogging realms to crush four opponents at once!
The next day at noon, Yan Zhen finally stirred awake—having been pranked yet again, as expected. It wasn’t until after a shared bath that the antics finally ceased.
In the afternoon, Yan Zhen, Mentor Yu Xuan, and Aunt Shui Bailan saw Big Aunt Yu Yan and Little Aunt Yu Qing off. He then headed alone to Rain God Peak’s Rain Master Cave to meet Yu Shizun. Together, they entered the Fire Refining Starry Sky.
Though Yan Zhen had now advanced to the Mystic Lord Realm, dual cultivating with Yu Shizun still required the power of the Fire Refining Starry Sky.
That said, the breakthrough had brought changes. At least this time, when the session ended, Yan Zhen didn’t pass out like he’d been drained dry by a succubus.
As he moved to get up, Yu Shizun instinctively pulled him into her embrace. Treating him like an invalid patient, she fed him a pill, then massaged his stomach with mystic power to help dissolve the medicine.
The whole routine left Yan Zhen stunned. He wanted to tell her he was fine but couldn’t quite bring himself to speak, falling silent.
After a while, once Yu Shizun sensed he had recovered enough, she finally let him go.
What was that saying again? There’s a kind of hunger called “Grandma thinks you’re hungry”…
Chen Xi said nothing, merely watching the scene with a smile the whole time. It was only after Yu Shizun took her leave from the Fire Refining Starry Sky that she covered her mouth and chuckled.
Yan Zhen scratched his head awkwardly and forcibly changed the subject. “Master, I’d like to upgrade the Extreme Tyrant Sword.”
Amusement still danced in Chen Xi’s eyes. “Of course, Zhen’er. You’ve still got that Phosphorus Fire left over. Refining it into the sword will take its power to the next level. But fusing extreme flames isn’t easy—you know that.”
Yan Zhen did know. Though he could merge the three extreme flames, that state was unstable. Refining the fire into the sword would make it permanent, a fundamentally similar process but worlds apart in difficulty.
Even so, his current realm had caught up to the Gold-Silver Fire and surpassed the Phosphorus Fire. That made it possible!
Once he was back to full strength, Yan Zhen attempted to fuse the Phosphorus Fire into the Extreme Tyrant Sword under his beautiful master’s guidance.
…
Meanwhile, as Yan Zhen secluded himself, a small fleet arrived at Myriad Merchants Ancient City. A massive flag emblazoned with the words “Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce” fluttered proudly at the lead.
At the forefront was a seductive matron in a striking red qipao, a fluffy shawl draped over her arm. Her fox-spirit allure and demeanor captivated most onlookers, but the shrewd ones could tell at a glance that this woman was a cunning and ruthless business rival.
Trailing behind her were a Mystic-Robed Beauty at the Mystic Lord Realm and a pair of twin girls at the Mystic General Realm.
Ji Ya had arrived at the battlefield first, accompanied by Aunt Mu, Jin Tong, and Yu Nu!
