I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.When morning came, I woke to find Luo Xinaling gone. Rising from the bed, I dressed and made my way towards the door, but before I could step through, someone blocked my path.
It was that man again — one of her favourite husbands. The one who had split space with a single stroke and escorted us back to the Luo Clan's home, Liúshuǐ Shénchéng, the Flowing Water Divine City.He regarded me in silence for a moment before extending a set of ceremonial robes.
"Wear these," he said. "Your wedding day is today. You haven't forgotten, have you?"His tone made it clear he thought I might have.
"I haven't forgotten," I replied coldly. "Is that where she is now?"
"Yes. She is waiting for you. And you know she does not like being kept waiting."I dressed in the wedding robes. An interesting design, I thought — a blend of dark blue and pale blue, patterned with a great crashing tsunami and various mythical creatures woven into the fabric.
We walked in silence until the hall opened before us, and I saw Luo Xinaling standing there in her wedding robes, staring directly at me with those same cold, dead eyes.
I approached her slowly, taking in the details of her attire — newly made, finely crafted, and strikingly similar in design to my own. The colours, the patterns, the aura… all unmistakably hers.
My gaze drifted to the gathered crowd. I spotted Nagini among them, watching with barely concealed annoyance. Displeasure, jealousy — she made no effort to hide either.
Countless guests came to congratulate us, while the Luo clan members drank, laughed, and clustered together in their own little groups. I had no interest in the festivities, so I turned to leave. A servant — a quiet man — led me through the winding halls without a word.
We hadn't gone far before space rippled in front of me.
Luo Xinaling stepped out of the distortion, appearing with her usual cold, composed air.
"Husband," she said, her voice calm, almost lazy, "you may as well take my two children with you. It seems they wish to return home."
I looked past her and saw them:
Luo Yeling — her eldest daughter.Luo Zhenhai — her youngest son.
Both stood rigid, eyes downcast, discomfort written plainly across their faces. Not fear — simply unease. But they truly wanted to leave the endless noise of the wedding celebration.
I didn't refuse her. I only nodded.
Luo Xinaling slipped her arms around mine — possessive, deliberate, claiming. I didn't bother asking her reasons. I already knew.
We continued on until we reached my new residence.
It was vast. Refined. Newly constructed — completed today.
The stone walls were untouched by time, their surfaces smooth and cool. The wooden beams still carried the scent of fresh carving, and the formation lines etched across the structure pulsed faintly with newborn energy.
High above the entrance, carved in massive ancient characters, was my full name:
SHEN WUYIN
Bold. Unmistakable. For the entire clan — and every guest — to see.
Two colossal black-dragon statues guarded the front, coiled on either side of the doorway. Their scales were carved with near-divine precision, each detail sharp enough to look alive. Their eyes glimmered faintly, following every step we took.
A silent warning.A declaration of power.A home built for someone who stood above mortals and immortals alike.
Luo Xinaling's gaze slid toward me, cool and unreadable.
"How do you find it, Shen Wuyin?" she asked. "Is it to your taste?"
Her eyes drifted upward toward the massive dragon statues, then back to me.
"I thought two Black Dragon statues would suit you perfectly," she continued. "After all, your ancestor — Emperor Genesis — rode a Black Dragon so vast no one in history has ever been able to measure its true size."A faint smile touched her lips. "And, of course, because of your Black Dragon Blade."
"I've also placed the finest formations my Luo Family possesses throughout this estate. Just in case anything happens — which is unlikely, but one can never be too certain."
"I appreciate it," I replied calmly. "It is to my taste. Thank you."
"That's good to hear," she said, smiling again — that quiet, cold smile only she could make look natural.
We stepped inside together.
The interior was vast and meticulously crafted. A long dining table carved from ancient spiritwood stretched across the main hall. Elegant arrangements of rare flowers filled the air with a faint, refreshing fragrance. Beyond the open doors at the back lay a serene courtyard.
There was a pond, its water clear as polished glass, filled with shimmering fish that darted beneath the surface. Cranes
wandered calmly along the garden paths, and even a few small mythical beasts lounged beneath the shade — creatures rare and difficult to tame, yet here they moved as if this place had always been their home.
It was expansive. Peaceful. Luxurious.
A residence built not merely for comfort —but for someone who commanded respect simply by existing.
Her two children quietly slipped away to their assigned rooms, both of them avoiding my gaze as they went. I stepped into my own chambers, Luo Xinaling still beside me, her arm looped possessively through mine.
The room was vast.
Black and red dominated the space — deep, rich colours that gave the chamber a sharp, commanding presence. A private dressing room lay to the side, filled with robes of varying styles and materials. A sunken hot pool steamed gently in the corner, its surface reflecting the soft glow of spirit lamps. And at the centre rested an enormous bed, every bit as grand and expansive as the one in Luo Xinaling's personal chambers.
I turned — and found the doorway filled.
Countless servants stood gathered there. Men, women, elderly attendants, even children. Some were mortals, others cultivators with restrained auras. All of them waited silently, heads bowed, ready to serve.
Luo Xinaling snapped her fingers lightly, and one of the servants rushed forward at once.
"Bring me something to drink. And food," she said, her tone lazy but absolute as she stretched out across my bed as though it already belonged to her.
The servant bowed quickly and fled the room.Moments later he returned with a tray of delicacies — spirit fruits, fine pastries, and an assortment of rare beverages. Luo Xinaling accepted them with a content, almost languid smile.
"Good. Now leave," she ordered.
Every servant bowed and withdrew immediately, the room falling into silence.
I turned away from the bed, walking toward the far end of the chamber. From the balcony windows, I could see the training grounds built directly behind the residence — wide, open, and fortified with formation pillars. Even from here, the place radiated purpose.
My bedroom… had its own battlefield.
"I can already sense them," Luo Xinaling murmured, one hand resting lightly on her stomach as she lounged across my bed. "Our four children. Growing quickly. I'm pleased… to have four so soon — children of your bloodline and mine."
I didn't answer her comment directly. Instead, a question slipped from my lips without warning.
"What happened to Empress Lingxi?"
Luo Xinaling's expression shifted instantly — her eyes sharpening, the air growing cold around us.
"…Why mention that out of nowhere?" she asked, her voice flat.
"I'm curious," I replied calmly. "I could read about her. I could listen to stories from others. But why should I, when I can speak to my new wife — the one who was closest to her?"
Silence lingered for a moment. Luo Xinaling studied me, weighing the intent behind my words.
Then she spoke.
"She left," she said quietly. "She disappeared. That is all we know. The eight of us have been searching for her ever since… because the Genesis Empire cannot be rebuilt without her."
I absorbed her words, letting the weight of them settle.
"Yunfei told me her preferred element was the moon," I said.
Luo Xinaling's gaze drifted toward the window, following the direction I had been looking — toward the distant moon.
"Yes," she said softly. "It was."Then she narrowed her eyes slightly. "Do you think she has been residing on that moon all this time?"
Xinaling exhaled,
"We searched it," she replied. "But Mìngjiè Xiānlù is vast — far too vast. There are countless little realms, hidden worlds, ancient sealed domains scattered throughout this realm. Even if she had been on the moon once… her trail could vanish in an instant."
Her voice dipped lower, edged with a rare frustration.
"Even with all our power… finding Lingxi is not simple. And why should she make it simple?" Luo Xinaling's eyes narrowed faintly. "If she does not wish to be found, then she will not be."
Silence settled briefly.
I changed the subject.
"Have you heard of the Legendary Six — the ones who primarily govern and rule the heavens of this realm?"
She let out a quiet scoff.
"Of course I have. They lived during the Era of Great Chaos. Only six cultivators survived to shape the remnants of that age. Impressive, certainly… though far younger than I." Her expression turned cool, tinged with pride. "In truth, I am older than those six combined."
She reclined slightly, gaze unfocusing as old memories surfaced.
"Their human race, in the tiny corner of Mìngjiè Xiānlù where they originated, nearly vanished during that era. They were on the brink of extinction. Yet those six still rose high enough to carve their names into legend."
She paused, then added with a faint smirk:
"Humans are fragile… yet endlessly troublesome. Those six proved that much."
She shifted slightly, then spoke with a calm, almost casual certainty.
"Have you heard of the Thirteen Rulers of Hell? They govern and rule that domain much like the Six govern the heavens."
"I have," I replied with a slow nod.
"What about the countless ancient clans?" I asked next.
She let out a light, cold laugh. "Of course I've heard of them. They stood beside your ancestor — worshipped him as their god, their Emperor, their Creator. He forged everything we know and live within. Even now, their devotion to him has not faded."
She opened her mouth to continue, then stopped abruptly.
"And speaking of Nagini… you know what? Never mind." She smirked faintly. "She already warned me to mind my own business."
"So you know about the Nether Realm as well?" I asked her.
"Yes," she replied smoothly. "I do. But what's with all these questions?"
"I'm curious," I said simply. "Interested in what you know — and what you don't."
Her lips curved into a faint smile — warm at first glance, cold underneath.
"Well," she murmured, stepping close enough for her breath to brush my skin, "I'll be staying here tonight. We are newly married, after all."
As she moved closer to settle in, one last question formed on my tongue — sharp and deliberate.
"If I asked you to kill a few of your clan members… would you?"
Luo Xinaling froze for a moment. Her eyes turned cold, glacial — then a slow, dangerous smile curved her lips.
"That depends," she said softly. "On who you want dead. If they've outlived their usefulness, I don't mind. Those who still benefit me — or my clan — won't be touched. And the ones I care for?" Her voice lowered. "Absolutely not."
"I see." My tone matched hers — icy, unbothered. "Then I suppose I should choose carefully who I want to kill."
She stared at me for a heartbeat… then burst into a cold, elegant laugh.
"Your arrogance knows no bounds," she said, amusement curling through her voice. "To speak so casually of killing members of my clan — those who descend from me, who worship me…" Her eyes glimmered with a dangerous light. "You're fortunate I like you."
Before I could answer, she slid behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. Her embrace was warm, yet her presence carried the quiet threat of a blade at the throat.
"If I didn't," she whispered against my ear, breath soft and chilling, "I would have killed you in an instant."
Then she drew back just enough for me to see her face — smiling beautifully, gently… yet not a trace of warmth reached her eyes.
I ignored her threat entirely and slipped into the bed, settling back against the pillows as my gaze drifted toward the moon hanging outside the window. Its pale light cut through the darkness, silver and still.
"You should search that moon again," I said quietly, not looking at her. "Trust me."
A faint smirk tugged at my lips.
Luo Xinaling rose from where she sat, her movements slow, deliberate. When I finally glanced her way, she was standing beside the bed, staring down at me with those cold, dead eyes of hers.
"…And why," she asked, voice like frost, "should I listen to you?"
I didn't bother answering.
I simply closed my eyes—calm, unbothered, refusing to give her even the satisfaction of a reaction.
Behind my eyelids, I could still feel her gaze lingering… sharp, unreadable… weighing whether to question me further, or to simply crawl into bed beside me.
A woman sat alone beneath the soft glow of lunar light. Her guqin rested across her lap, each string shimmering with a faint silver-white radiance as she played. The melody was ethereal—gentle, distant, yet filled with a quiet longing.
But suddenly, her fingers froze above the strings.
The music stopped.
Her eyes—cold, serene, and ancient—narrowed slightly.
"Someone…" she whispered to the empty chamber, "knows I am residing here."
She closed her eyes and extended her spiritual sense outward, letting it drift across the silent expanse of the moon. A faint pulse… a whisper of intention… touched her consciousness.
"That feeling…" she murmured. "Who is it? It feels… familiar. Somewhere… from long ago."
She rose gracefully from her seat, her silver robes rippling like moonlight given form. With a small gesture—just a snap of her fingers—the lanterns in the room brightened, illuminating a massive portrait on the wall.
She turned toward it.
The portrait depicted a man towering and imposing, his eyes a deep wine-red, sharp as blades. His eyebrows cut like sword strokes, and his long red-wine hair hung loosely behind him in a wild cascade. In one hand, he held a colossal blade.
The woman's expression softened—an emotion she rarely allowed to surface—touched with something fragile and almost forgotten: nostalgia.
"So… you have finally returned, Emperor Genesis."
Her voice wavered just faintly, not with fear, but with a carefully restrained emotion that trembled beneath the surface.
"To think… after all this time," she breathed, "that I might finally see you in person—truly see you—for the first time."
She moved toward the portrait hanging nearby, her steps light as drifting moonlight. Her fingers brushed its frame with a reverence that bordered on yearning.
"The man who possessed no cultivation," she whispered, "and yet created our world—Mìngjiè Xiānlù."
A small, haunting smile curved her lips—beautiful, melancholy, filled with a longing she seldom admitted even to herself.
"I wish to know," she murmured softly, "whether the strength I've attained… is enough. Enough for me to stand before you as an equal. Enough to cross blades with the one who shaped our existence."
Slowly, the smile faded.
"But not yet," she said. "Even now… I am not ready to return."
She lowered her head for a moment, letting silence fill the cold lunar chamber.
Moonlight poured across her form as she turned away from the portrait.
"But soon," she whispered, almost to herself, "perhaps very soon… our paths will cross."