(Thanks to “Yizhi Dongdong Mie” for the generous tip)
Yun Zheng returned to the Nine Heavens Palace in an instant. He sat upon the gilded throne atop the jade steps, resting his head on one hand.
Tomorrow was the wedding day. Although he had announced the marriage to the world, he had not sent out a single invitation to anyone.
However, some people would always invite themselves.
For instance, there was already a figure outside the hall, bowing and requesting an audience.
This was Si Chen, the Yaoguang Star Lord, one of the Seven Divine Officials.
In the past, the Immortal Alliance had gathered various immortal families and sects of all sizes, but because they lacked a central leader, they were nothing more than scattered sand.
Now, through Yun Zheng’s consolidation, they had all become his chess pieces.
The major pieces who led these small ones were the Divine Officials.
There were seven Divine Officials in total, most of whom were heads of prestigious families or leaders of major immortal sects.
Only this Si Chen, who belonged to no faction and was a rogue cultivator, had thus become his trusted confidant.
The attendant outside the hall opened the doors for Si Chen. Si Chen entered with a bowed back and knelt at the foot of the jade steps.
“My Lord,” Si Chen called out respectfully.
Yun Zheng responded coldly, “Mm.”
“My Lord, are you truly taking a consort tomorrow?”
Si Chen dared not look directly at Yun Zheng, his words laced with trepidation.
Yun Zheng remained indifferent: “Mm.”
As he spoke, an attendant brought him a cup of freshly brewed cold tea, steeped with plum blossoms from the first morning of spring.
Pressing the lid against the cup, Yun Zheng took a sip. Without looking at Si Chen, he waved his hand to dismiss the attendant.
Once the room was clear, Si Chen spoke again: “The one you are marrying is a fox demon?”
Yun Zheng asked in a suppressed tone: “And what of it?”
Beads of sweat formed on Si Chen’s forehead, but for the sake of the greater good, he continued: “My Lord, you cannot be so reckless.”
“Why?”
“Because his status is vastly inferior to yours. Furthermore, relations between the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm have always been extremely tense; even more so than with the Devil Realm.”
“The Demon Emperor, Lin Jie, has long been unwilling to remain dormant in the Lower Spirit Realm. He has coveted the resources of our Upper Spirit Realm for a long time and often provokes conflict between the two realms. It is only because you have presided over the Immortal Realm in recent years that he has been deterred by your presence and dared not make any moves.”
The distinction between the Upper and Lower Spirit Realms was based on the abundance of spiritual energy and mineral deposits.
The regions with more were naturally the Upper Spirit Realm, occupied by the Cloud Palace and the immortal clans under its rule. The Devil Realm was also located there, though it had long been driven to the borderlands.
The regions with less were the Lower Spirit Realm, which was primarily the dwelling place of ordinary mortals who did not require spiritual energy to cultivate; this, of course, also included the Demon Realm.
The Upper Spirit Realm consisted of four provinces, while the Lower Spirit Realm had five.
Seeing that Yun Zheng remained unresponsive, Si Chen grew bolder and continued.
“But if you marry a fox demon at this time, he will likely think that you are afraid, and it is very possible he will strike at the Immortal Realm again. Moreover, the other Immortals do not approve of this marriage, and at the forefront of this opposition are the other six Divine Officials.”
With these words, Si Chen made sure to distance himself from the dissenters.
Yun Zheng listened for a long time. Even after Si Chen stopped speaking, he remained silent.
Only when the tea in his cup was nearly gone did he slowly raise his eyes. “Are you finished?”
“Yes.”
Si Chen could not discern Yun Zheng’s emotions and dared not say more.
He had followed Yun Zheng for over three hundred years, yet in all that time, he had never been able to fathom Yun Zheng’s thoughts.
Because Yun Zheng always spoke without emotion; his tone was always flat.
It was as if to him, everyone and everything in this world was as calm and stagnant as still water.
He wondered what was going on with that fox demon who had suddenly appeared. Even if he were as beautiful as a celestial, Yun Zheng’s detached, otherworldly nature should not be so easily swayed.
“Since you are finished, you may leave.” Yun Zheng issued a direct order.
Si Chen, still kneeling on the ground, dared not disobey. He bowed to Yun Zheng, stood up, and prepared to depart.
But just as he rose, Yun Zheng spoke again.
Si Chen was forced to kneel back down.
Yun Zheng said: “I am having my grand wedding tomorrow. No one is required to attend. If they do not wish to come, they need not force themselves.”
After pondering for a moment, Si Chen replied honestly: “That is unlikely. Even if they do not support this marriage in their hearts, they will certainly come. With your status, who would dare not to?”
“Then relay my command.”
A golden light suddenly flickered from Yun Zheng’s fingertip, forming golden characters in the air: “Tomorrow, everyone is to remain in seclusion in their respective residences for the day.”
The golden characters flashed once before sinking into the jade tablet hanging at Si Chen’s waist.
The words were instantly branded onto the jade tablet in shimmering gold.
Si Chen acknowledged the order and, without another word, retreated.
After Si Chen left, the attendant returned.
The head attendant knelt respectfully at the foot of the jade steps and reported: “Reporting to My Lord, the Consort has put on the wedding attire you prepared for him.”
Yun Zheng paused for a moment upon hearing this news.
He had expected that Sheng Muxue would refuse to wear them and throw the clothes away.
He had not expected him to be so obedient.
He was so obedient that it did not even seem like him.
“And the food?” Yun Zheng asked.
“He ate it; he did not throw it away.”
Such a docile Sheng Muxue did not lower Yun Zheng’s guard in the slightest.
On the contrary, he frowned.
Elsewhere, after leaving the Nine Heavens Palace, Si Chen wandered around the Cloud Palace.
Because of his special status, he had free access to the palace.
The reason he was wandering was that he wanted to see for himself which vixen could bewitch Yun Zheng, who had been indifferent to romance for five hundred years, to the point of losing his mind.
Since he had to remain in seclusion at home tomorrow, today was the best opportunity to see for himself.
In truth, it was not difficult to find someone in the Cloud Palace, as there were almost no living people there; the only living beings were Yun Zheng and the fox demon he was about to marry.
But the Cloud Palace was simply too large, with over a dozen identical palaces.
It was not until nightfall that Si Chen detected the presence of a living person near a palace with a golden plum tree planted in front of its doors.
A Nine Heavens Origin Array had been set up around this palace, but the array was one-way.
Realizing he had found his target, Si Chen cast an invisibility spell and snuck into the palace.
Passing the golden plum tree, he stopped outside the main room.
He peeked inside through the window.
In the room, Sheng Muxue was furiously devouring a plate of sweet and sour pork, his mouth smeared with dark brown sauce, looking completely unrefined.
As he ate, he was talking to himself: “Eat your fill. Only then will you have the strength to escape.”
Although he was speaking to his System, Si Chen could not see it.
He simply felt that this fox demon was nothing special, other than being somewhat good-looking.
And his intelligence did not seem quite normal.
He wanted to run away?
The entire cultivation world was falling over itself in its eagerness to marry their Divine Lord.
After all, Yun Zheng was impeccable in terms of appearance, cultivation, and status; an existence beyond reproach in the entire world of cultivation.
He, a lowly fox demon, was probably not even welcomed by his own kind in the Demon Realm. Did he even understand what it meant to become a Divine Consort?
It was not just climbing a branch to become a phoenix.
He would likely be met with bows and deep respect from everyone in the Immortal Realm from now on.
If he were given the chance to dual-cultivate with Yun Zheng, his future would be immeasurable.
No one with a normal level of intelligence would ever utter the word “run.”
However, the other party was indeed not human.
He was just a beast.
No wonder his eating manners looked so foolish.
In the eyes of their human race, the Demon race were all beasts, which was precisely why they were unworthy of enjoying the resources of the Upper Spirit Realm.