Back in Luoshui Commandery, the person Gu Chengyin protected was Luo Zhao, and crossing the Luo River four times was also for Luo Zhao.
Returning to the Divine Capital, whether it was the political games in the imperial court or bringing down the Xiao clan.
The ultimate beneficiary was always Luo Zhao.
And Lin Qingyan, from beginning to end, was just a stranger watching from afar.
It wasn't until Gu Chengyin asked Emperor Luo for personnel for a sect inspection.
That she finally found the opportunity to appear openly and honorably before Gu Chengyin.
So...
Did this count as stealing her niece's man?
Lin Qingyan's eyelashes fluttered slightly.
This thought made her feel a little uneasy.
Even when she and Gu Chengyin were sneaking kisses behind Luo Zhao's back, she hadn't felt as uneasy as she did now.
However, Lin Qingyan did not regret it, and she would absolutely never let go.
Gu Chengyin was too smart, so smart that it was terrifying.
He strategized brilliantly in the imperial court and navigated political maneuvers with ease.
Even when facing Golden Core experts, he remained unhurried, using open schemes to force his opponents to retreat step by step.
Lin Qingyan often wondered, could Luo Zhao really handle a man like this?
Although she was the Crown Princess, although she had begun to awaken her political mindset, and although she was weaving her own network of power.
She was still too young, too immature, and lacked experience.
Ultimately, Lin Qingyan came to a conclusion.
In front of Gu Chengyin, Luo Zhao would only be deceived and run around in circles, before hiding in a corner to cry secretly.
Therefore, she could not stand idly by and watch her sister's daughter be bullied like this.
The man Luo Zhao couldn't handle, she, Lin Qingyan, could.
Because she was Jingzhe of the Celestial Master Mansion, an invincible Golden Core mid-stage cultivator.
Although in terms of methods and schemes, she, like Luo Zhao, was no match for Gu Chengyin.
But if Gu Chengyin dared to lie to her or play her for a fool.
Lin Qingyan narrowed her eyes slightly, a trace of golden light flashing in their depths.
She would not hide in a corner and cry secretly, nor would she throw a tantrum.
Instead, she would use the Nine Heavens Thunder Incantation, utilizing the purest power of thunder.
To shock Gu Chengyin into behaving obediently, not daring to play any little tricks.
This was her greatest confidence.
Liking someone was one thing, but being able to handle them was another.
So what if Luo Zhao liked Gu Chengyin?
She couldn't handle him.
But Lin Qingyan could.
Burying her face in Gu Chengyin's chest, Lin Qingyan murmured softly in a voice only she could hear:
Sorry, Zhao'er, even though you were here first.
But since you can't handle him, your aunt will just have to do it for you.
Her voice was extremely light, like a wisp of breath that dissipated into the air the moment it left her lips.
Although Gu Chengyin didn't hear it clearly, he still noticed it.
He looked down at the fairy in his arms, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.
Auntie, what did you say?
Lin Qingyan's expression changed, instantly returning to its usual coldness.
But the coldness was only on the surface; deep in her eyes, there was clearly a hint of slyness.
Lin Qingyan looked up, meeting Gu Chengyin's gaze with a hint of a smile on her face:
Nothing.
She paused, her voice softening a bit:
I just feel... I've been too mean to you.
Gu Chengyin was slightly taken aback and was about to say something.
Suddenly, he stopped and sharply turned his head to look toward the horizon.
Lin Qingyan noticed it too and quietly slipped out of Gu Chengyin's embrace.
The gentleness on her face vanished without a trace, leaving only a bone-chilling, frosty coldness.
The frost covered her face like a mask, enveloping her entire being.
As if the woman who had just been acting coquettishly in Gu Chengyin's arms had never existed.
Lin Qingyan's gaze stared coldly at the distant horizon.
Around her body, golden lightning began to faintly emerge.
That lightning was as thin as a hair, yet densely packed, flowing and wandering around her like a layer of golden light.
Every strand of lightning contained terrifying pressure, the unique power of thunder from the Nine Heavens Thunder Incantation.
Gu Chengyin narrowed his eyes, looking carefully toward the horizon.
He could barely see a few small dots rapidly approaching.
Gu Chengyin counted them.
Three.
Three Golden Core cultivators were flying toward Green Sword Mountain at an extremely fast speed.
Gu Chengyin's pupils shrank slightly.
Were they people from the Celestial Master Mansion?
Or people from other immortal cultivation sects?
His thoughts raced, but his face remained impassive as he quietly watched the three dots get closer and closer.
In the blink of an eye, they had already flown overhead.
Only then did Gu Chengyin clearly see the three figures.
All three looked middle-aged, wearing black Daoist robes with golden cloud patterns embroidered on the hems.
Gu Chengyin recognized the style of the cloud patterns; it was the symbol of the Celestial Master Mansion.
The three hovered in mid-air, scanning the entirety of Green Sword Mountain.
Their gazes carried the unique pressure of the Golden Core stage, sweeping over the mountains and halls as if they were tangible.
Finally, their eyes landed on Lin Qingyan, who was radiating golden lightning.
After confirming the location, the three immediately flew toward them.
Gu Chengyin stood in place, calmly watching the three figures approach.
He noticed that although the gazes of these three enshrinements saw Lin Qingyan, they did not linger.
Instead, all their attention was focused on him.
Was this...
Coming for him?
Gu Chengyin's thoughts churned, but his face remained as calm as water.
The three figures landed.
They were two men and one woman, all of middle-aged appearance, their auras restrained.
But their eyes held a hidden brilliance, showing at a glance that their cultivation was profound.
With a slight sense, Gu Chengyin knew that these three were all at the Golden Core mid-stage.
Although not as powerful as Lin Qingyan, they were by no means comparable to ordinary enshrinements.
Upon seeing Lin Qingyan clearly, the expressions on their faces noticeably relaxed a bit.
They stepped forward and first cupped their hands in greeting to Lin Qingyan:
Lord Jingzhe.
Their voices were respectful, carrying the etiquette a subordinate should have toward a superior.
Lin Qingyan nodded slightly. The golden lightning around her had disappeared, but her eyes remained cold and indifferent.
She swept a glance over the three of them, her brows furrowing slightly.
She had seen these three faces before and knew them all.
The Celestial Master Mansion had many enshrinements, mainly distributed in the Divine Capital and Luodu.
Those she hadn't seen were mostly the ones in Luodu, after all, she oversaw the Celestial Master Mansion in the Divine Capital year-round.
So these three... were from the Divine Capital.
Lin Qingyan understood in her heart.
The Celestial Master Mansion in the Divine Capital had many Golden Core cultivators.
But why would they suddenly appear at the Green Sword Sect?
And three Golden Cores coming all at once.
This was no small lineup.
Lin Qingyan's thoughts turned, but her face remained impassive as she spoke lightly:
What is the matter?
The middle-aged man leading the three took out an object from his sleeve.
It was a bright yellow scroll.
The scroll was about a foot long, wrapped in bright yellow brocade, embroidered with golden dragon patterns that faintly gleamed in the sunlight.
One end of the scroll was tied with a vermilion silk ribbon, and at the end of the ribbon hung a small jade seal.
That color, those patterns, that jade seal...
Gu Chengyin's pupils shrank slightly.
An imperial edict.
The leading enshrinement raised the imperial edict high, his voice loud and clear, echoing throughout the entire courtyard:
His Majesty has issued a decree!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
