Yin Tingxue imdiately said, "That's exactly the problem. He doesn't respond well to force but listens to softness. Speak gently, and he'll probably pay attention."
?
Zhou Yitang finally understood. This King Xiang's daughter thought she wasn't gentle enough. She couldn't help furrowing her brows.
But those two words didn't suit her at all.
From childhood, she ascended the mountain to practice Daoism, requiring a pure and desireless heart, untouched by worldly dust, and avoiding extre joy or sorrow. Later, she entered the Sword Tomb to choose a sword, encountering the reclusive Sword Demon, Wu Buxu, and severed her Three Corpses. Since then, she had no joy, no sorrow, rarely smiled, and always held herself back. Once she tied up her hair as a crown, she had beco a Third Rank Sword Armor of Yin Sword Mountain. Standing so high, seeing the world's mundane affairs from a distance, how could her emotions still fluctuate?
Zhou Yitang lowered her eyelids, pondering carefully about how to deal with this.
Since she's being accused of not being gentle enough...
Zhou Yitang widened her eyes and forced the corners of her thin lips to pull upward until she managed to form an awkward smile.
"Woof?"
The maid Huang-niang trembled as if facing a great enemy.
Beautiful as she was, this kind of forced smile was too bizarre. Even Yin Tingxue felt a chill crawling over her scalp and shook her head furiously at Zhou Yitang.
The one-ard woman's face darkened as she slowly said, "This is what you wanted."
Yin Tingxue, sensing the frost in her tone, felt an inexplicable stab of fear and quickly said,
"But what he wants... certainly isn't this."
Zhou Yitang found that to be reasonable as well. The two of them had been husband and wife for two lifetis now, and though there were endless barriers between them, she had always understood Chen Yi's nature. Both of them were exceedingly stubborn.
In truth, she wasn't entirely unaware of the root cause of her current ntal unrest. She faintly realized what was bothering her.
Chen Yi had defeated Wu Buxu, whereas back then, she had only managed a draw. Though their realms were different, their Sword Dao was evidently worlds apart. Witnessing this transformation with her own eyes, how could Zhou Yitang's ntal state remain unchanged? The disciple surpassing the master should have been a cause for gratification, yet Zhou Yitang found herself overco with complicated feelings.
Perhaps in this lifeti, he wouldn't perish repairing the heavens. But was her sword truly outdated?
Yin Tingxue vaguely grasped Zhou Yitang's emotions but didn't know how to respond. The young girl found herself both hoping Chen Yi would arrive soon and dreading his arrival.
As if to change the subject, Yin Tingxue sighed slightly and said, "When will he co see ?"
Zhou Yitang's train of thought was abruptly interrupted. She glanced briefly at her and responded coldly: "Not for a long while yet."
Judging from her tone, she wasn't joking. Yin Tingxue couldn't help but ask, "...Doesn't he miss ?"
"No," Zhou Yitang said plainly.
"Oh, oh," Yin Tingxue nodded solemnly and then added, "He misses you the most, though."
Zhou Yitang was left montarily speechless, unsure of what to say.
Yin Tingxue fixated on her and tentatively offered, "Can I at least be the second person he misses most?"
The one-ard woman fell silent for a mont, then stood up and walked away, leaving behind only two words in the hall:
"So boring."
...
Atop Taihua Mountain.
After days of anticipation, Wan'er finally laid eyes on the fad Chen Qianhu. Carrying both sword and blade, he was indeed formidable, but he did not match the fantastical rumors. He wasn't three-headed or six-ard; in fact, he seed rather ordinary. Upon closer inspection, there was a faintly discernible aura of killing intent emanating from him.
This kind of killing intent seed wildly out of place amidst Taihua Mountain's blessed and serene atmosphere.
As such, throughout the entire day, Wan'er kept a respectful distance from Chen Qianhu, as if fearing he might open his mouth and swallow her whole. Thinking about how Yin Weiyin had taken him as her cultivation partner, her admiration for Yin Weiyin grew even deeper.
As her thoughts wandered further, Wan'er began to picture Yin Weiyin mounted on Chen Yi like the Lord Laozi riding a green ox—truly divine and ethereal. She figured no future Taichua Goddess could ever be as awe-inspiring.
Wan'er's juvenile imagination probably represented just the tip of the iceberg of what the Taihua Mountain Daoists thought. Compared to her innocent ideas, the Daoists' perception of Chen Yi was far more grounded. To have reached Third Rank at such an age, barring any unforeseen accidents, he was destined for the top ten of the Martial Rankings. Though Taihua Mountain was known as a secluded sanctuary, the top ten of the Martial Rankings was still a na that thundered in the ears. Its association with the Princess of Jing, Yin Weiyin, only added to the Daoists' high hopes for her. They had already begun to see her as half a saint.
After three days of fasting, ritual purification, and incense burning, and after reciting scriptures a hundred tis alongside Yin Weiyin, Chen Yi's na was finally inscribed upon Taihua Mountain's jade registers. From this mont onward, the title of the "golden boy and jade girl" for the two of them beca firmly established.
The pair spent a few days living in Yin Weiyin's small pavilion.
It was a minor milestone by any asure, but Chen Yi was in a good mood and didn't care about the scrutinizing eyes or whispers of the Taihua Mountain residents. He exhaled a long breath of relief, while Yin Weiyin remained calm and composed, saying little. In her eyes, this was nothing more than what was expected.
Fate was a trickster. Perhaps from their very first encounter, her chosen "golden boy" had already been destined to be Chen Yi—and only Chen Yi.
Thinking back to those tis of tension and hostility between them, Yin Weiyin couldn't help but sigh at how things had changed.
So at that mont, she sighed deeply and then let out another.
Chen Yi pressed a hand to the back of her head and drew a sharp breath.
After a while...
In the bedroom, incense smoke flowed lightly. The silken bed curtains swayed in the faint breeze. On the carved phoenix bed of sandalwood, Yin Weiyin lay weakly atop his broad chest, panting softly. The curves of the two figures were faintly outlined beneath the draped quilt.
The female crown trailed her fingers across his chest in lazy circles.
She always did this. Chen Yi half-closed his eyes, ripples stirring in his Heart Lake, as fleeting images of other won flitted through his mind. Compared to Min Ning, whose actions were brisk and final, Zhou Yitang, who kept a frosty distance, reserved and terse—there was a peculiar similarity between the two. As for Qin Qingluo, all his mories of her involved angry eyes. Yin Tingxue, however, always curled up in his arms awkwardly. Occasionally, she'd try to paint. Zhu E painted constantly, giggling absentmindedly. And Dong Guifei… she was always so proper and decorous... Chen Yi realized he had almost forgotten about that long-haired nun.
Yin Weiyin noticed his distant gaze and knew he was thinking of other won. She let out a dissatisfied grunt.
Chen Yi glanced down at her and raised an eyebrow. "What is it now?"
"You... always think about others when you're with ," Yin Weiyin pouted.
"And what if I do?" Chen Yi pinched her waist lightly. "Yin Weiyin, you're starting to ddle too much."
Noticing the teasing tone in his voice, Yin Weiyin furrowed her brows slightly. If it were the past, she might have let it slide. But now, as his main wife and Daoist companion, what else should she care about if not matters like this?
Chen Yi understood her overreaching tendencies all too well. There were tis when he even found himself longing for how she used to be as a re cultivation partner—she wouldn't dare act this way back then. Yet, precisely because of this, Yin Weiyin was who she was, the one and only Yin Weiyin—the one who embodied his Great Yin.
His wandering fingers lightly grazed the woman's body, and as they reached her abdon, Chen Yi suddenly thought of his daughter.
By now, she should have been born. He wondered what na they would give her.
Separated by great distances, Chen Yi felt a pang of longing. Before, he had always felt like he had no roots in this world, like there was no ground beneath his feet. But now, he had his own bloodline—a child of his own blood.
"What are you thinking about?" the female crown asked softly.
Snapping back from his reverie, Chen Yi's tone turned warm. "Luanhuang, what do you think of us having a child?"
A child?
Yin Weiyin was startled. She hadn't expected Chen Yi to bring up such a topic. She took a mont to ponder.
It was already difficult for Daoists to have children, as their practices often required refining the essence of Yin and Yang. Yin Weiyin certainly had no desire to bear offspring—she already bore deep mortal entanglents, and adding more karmic ties would make achieving immortality even harder. Even if she could achieve immortality, she might still fail to transcend the secular world.
What's more, if they had a child, wouldn't that dilute his affection for her?
Seeing her shake her head, Chen Yi felt a brief flicker of disappointnt, but it was fleeting. He understood just how unshakable her determination to ascend to immortality was. Even back when she was reduced to little more than a concubine being used for cultivation, her immortal heart remained unyielding.
Co to think of it, now that his understanding of the Sword Dao had reached the point of creating heavens and earth, if he continued progressing along this path, would he one day beco the embodint of the Heavenly Dao—or even its master?
When Yin Weiyin finally ascended to immortality and looked up, only to find him as the ruler of the heavens, what would her reaction be?
Chen Yi couldn't suppress a smile at the thought.
Driven by this realization, he found himself yearning to return to Yin Sword Mountain sooner, to resolve things with Zhou Yitang once and for all.
"In a few days, on the eighth of September, I'll be leaving," Chen Yi said aloud.
Yin Weiyin's eyes betrayed a flicker of sadness. This departure would likely an another long separation, uncertain of when they'd et again.
She wished she could accompany him, but Taihua Mountain's cultivation thods required her to seclude herself in ditation.
Even so, the female crown gathered her thoughts, reminding herself that as the main wife, she needed to be understanding and magnanimous. Besides, the Taichua Goddess should not behave like a lovesick woman.
In a clear voice, she replied, "Leave early, and return early."
"Will you miss ?" Chen Yi clasped her hand, asking earnestly.
"How much could I miss you?"
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow slightly.
Yin Weiyin hesitated for a mont. She initially wanted to retort with sothing like, "I won't think of you at all," just to make him understand her priorities. But as a Daoist, she couldn't lie frivolously, and that statent would also be untrue.
Noticing his displeased expression, Yin Weiyin's fingers trembled slightly. Suddenly, her eyes sparkled with a sly idea. In a clear voice, she said, "Even Min Ning doesn't think of you as much as I do."
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