Deep within the Yun Yin Mountain Range—
A cave dwelling concealed by a hidden formation.
Even if a Nascent Soul cultivator were to fly directly overhead, they would detect nothing.
Inside, the spiritual qi was so dense it had nearly condensed into a liquid spiritual spring, flowing slowly within an ancient and profound Spirit Gathering Formation, converging at the center upon a Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Jade Platform.
Su Wan’er sat upright in meditation.
She wore a light, white gauze dress over a delicate, sheer, patterned inner garment as thin as a cicada’s wing.
Her ink-black hair cascaded down, her brows and eyes like a painting.
Her beauty was such that it seemed to dim all else in the world.
As if all the beauty of the world had coalesced onto that one, utterly captivating face.
At this moment, her eyes were closed, and spiritual power surged around her like a tide.
That spiritual power circulated within her body, cycle after cycle, repetition after repetition, each cycle refining it further.
It surged through her meridians like rivers flowing into the sea, finally converging into her dantian—
Boom!
Her Nascent Soul shone with dazzling radiance!
Its resonance with the heaven and earth’s spiritual qi reached its peak.
A violent wave of spiritual power erupted within the stone chamber.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Within their depths, galaxies seemed to form and fade, time to flow and turn.
The spiritual pressure of the Mid-Nascent Soul realm was stable and restrained, faintly resonating with this patch of heaven and earth.
“It’s done.” Her red lips parted slightly, her tone satisfied.
Seven years in seclusion, sitting in stillness to comprehend the Dao, enduring the trials of inner demons, she had finally pushed the sect’s secret transmission, the Jiao Yue Ning Hua Jue, to its great completion.
Moreover, during her long, quiet contemplation, she had fortuitously grasped the faintest embryonic form of a profound and mysterious Time Dao Intent.
She raised her hand, a wisp of extremely faint light condensed at her fingertip.
The light was very weak, yet the space around it seemed subtly distorted.
Though it was just the merest hint, this hint was already enough to make her undefeatable among cultivators of the same rank.
The corner of Su Wan’er’s lips curved up ever so slightly.
This achievement was enough to secure her a place among the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Yun Yin Sect, and even the entire cultivation world.
Seven years.
It was worth it.
But just as this joy arose in her heart, her chest suddenly gave a violent throb.
It wasn’t a sign of qi deviation, nor a warning of cultivation method backlash.
It was a more subtle, more indescribable feeling. Like a thread tied to a distant place, gently plucked by the hand of fate, sending back an echo.
Su Wan’er furrowed her delicate brows, pressing a hand to her chest.
There, a piece felt empty.
In her mind, the image of a gentle, handsome man’s face surfaced—a face that always carried a hint of forbearance.
Shen Mo.
Her… husband.
Her heart clenched.
This beat was forceful.
So forceful it almost took her breath away.
An inexplicable sense of unease rose in her heart. She couldn’t quite define it, only feeling that something was making her restless.
She frowned.
A cultivator’s premonitions were never groundless.
She closed her eyes, concentrating, trying to capture that fleeting sensation.
But it was too fast, too fast for her to grasp.
Only a vague feeling remained—
Something terrible had happened…
Su Wan’er opened her eyes, looking up at the stone chamber’s vaulted ceiling.
Beyond the ceiling were layers of rock. Beyond the rock was that desolate mountain.
Beyond the mountain were thousands of miles of cloud sea. Beyond the cloud sea—
Was the direction of Jiaoyue Peak.
“Mo’er.”
She murmured the name to herself.
She remembered the day he married into her family.
He wore grand red wedding robes, sitting alone in the bridal chamber, waiting for her the entire night.
The next day, she went to see him. He lifted his head, meeting her gaze. There was no resentment, no anger. He simply called out softly, “Matriarch.”
That one look, she had remembered it for seven years.
Now, he had guarded that peak for her for seven years.
Seven years… perhaps not long for a cultivator, but for a man with difficult cultivation and a heaven’s path that was lacking, it was the most precious youth.
Guarding an empty peak alone, managing mundane affairs, dealing with social obligations… the hardships involved, she wasn’t completely unaware.
So before entering seclusion, worried, she had specifically gone to plead with her Honored Teacher, Lady Yunhe, to look after him a little.
Her teacher, though of a cold and aloof nature, had always been generous to her, her direct disciple.
With a Deity Transformation mighty one secretly watching over him, ordinary villains would never dare to cause trouble.
Besides, calculating the time, her first disciple, Lin Jingzhe, should have returned from her travels by now.
She understood that child Jingzhe—proud in nature, but her cultivation was solid, her handling of affairs steady.
And she was utterly loyal to her, her teacher.
With her stationed at the peak, handling mundane affairs and ensuring security, there should be no issues.
And there was Chao’er.
That little disciple she accepted just before seclusion must have grown up by now.
That child had a pure and kind nature, and was extremely respectful and dependent on Mo’er.
With her attending to him, serving tea and water, caring for his needs, Shen Mo shouldn’t be overly burdened.
With the Honored Teacher’s protection from above, the first disciple’s safeguarding, and the little disciple’s service—three layers of care, multiple levels of protection.
He, at Jiaoyue Peak, was absolutely safe and secure.
It must be her own overthinking…
Perhaps it was just due to the recent breakthrough, her realm not yet stable, causing fluctuations in her heart?
Thinking these thoughts, the unease in Su Wan’er’s heart gradually settled.
A person who cultivates the Dao should prioritize the Great Dao. How could she be shaken by a moment of baseless emotion?
She slowly exhaled a turbid breath.
She buried the image of that lingering face deep within her heart.
Her gaze regained its firmness and clarity, like two pools of unfathomably deep, cold water.
“The priority now is to consolidate my cultivation and completely master this wisp of Time Dao Intent,” she admonished herself in a low voice.
“It is not too late to see Mo’er after I emerge from seclusion completely. Then, I will properly compensate him for these seven years of waiting.”
Su Wan’er closed her eyes again, her hands forming a seal.
Spiritual power began to circulate once more, cycle after cycle, repetition after repetition.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Jade Platform glowed with flowing light, resonating with the ancient formations in the secret chamber.
Locking all aura and fluctuations firmly within, completely isolating it from the outside world.
Those distracting thoughts were suppressed, that unease ignored. Only pure cultivation flowed quietly within the stone chamber.
She did not see it.
The light formed from that wisp of Time Dao Intent trembled slightly the moment she closed her eyes.
As if foretelling something.
Reminding of something.
But she remained unaware.
……
“You see, Master’s Husband’s body is much more honest than his mouth.”
Chao’er, sensing Shen Mo gradually shifting from a limp collapse to a rigid stiffness in his body, a flash of triumphant cunning flickered in her eyes.
“Even though you’re cursing me in your heart, this… is already prepared to accept your disciple, isn’t it?”
“No… that’s instinct… not…”
Before he could finish speaking.
Everything still happened.
Chao’er gazed infatuatedly at the exquisite sight before her, her expression thick with greed, desire seemingly about to overflow.
“Master’s Husband, at this moment, do you know how happy I am?”
She asked softly, as if sharing the sweetest secret in the world. “All the obstacles, all the boundaries, all the ‘should nots’ and ‘impossibles’… now, they’ve all become reality.”
“I no longer have to hide behind the identity of a disciple to steal glances at you. I no longer have to fear the gazes of others. I no longer have to… watch helplessly as others approach you, without even having the right to be jealous.”
“I’ve finally… got you.”
She gently stroked Shen Mo’s trembling shoulder with a tenderness that bordered on reverence.
“What exactly your love for me is, does it really matter?”
“What matters is, now, I can finally, unreservedly, give all of my love to you.”
“And you… can never escape again.”
“This is… my happiness.”
With the Demon Abyss as the pact, with my soul as the offering… the only path, straight to you.