Before dawn, Sheng Muxue was roused from bed by a large group of attendants.
Still half-asleep, he was pressed into a chair before the dressing table as they fussed over his hairstyle and headpiece. He slumped on the chair, swaying to and fro, and simply went back to sleep no matter what they did.
Not even an apocalypse could stop him from sleeping in, let alone this; what kind of normal person gets up before dawn to have their hair combed and makeup applied?
A wedding?
Screw that.
Fortunately, the attendants were efficient, and in just one hour, they were finished.
Yet, Sheng Muxue was still sound asleep. He could not be woken up.
In the end, he was carried to the ceremonial hall by a group of attendants, his arms supported as if he were a severely paralyzed patient.
There were countless opportunities to escape on the way, as they had already left the range of the formation.
However, Sheng Muxue just could not wake up.
Even though the System screamed until its non-existent throat grew sore, it was all in vain.
The System gave up and could not help but secretly grumble: It seems Yun Zheng’s choice to hold the wedding at dawn was the right one.
He must understand this person too well.
Upon arriving at the destination, Sheng Muxue finally woke up slowly.
He had expected to see many guests there for the feast, but the ceremonial hall was empty. There was no one except Yun Zheng.
If one could consider Yun Zheng a person.
Yun Zheng’s attire today was no different from yesterday. He wore the same earth-white robe, with golden cloud patterns embroidered on the wide sleeves, and his golden hair was tied up meticulously.
His own wedding attire was gold, which barely matched Yun Zheng’s clothes.
Forget it. In the past, Yun Zheng did not like to change clothes; he could wear one set for a hundred years.
If it got dirty, he would wash it. If it tore, he would mend it.
Perhaps he was just sensible and could not bear to spend money to change.
After all, every cent he earned was handed over to him.
Sheng Muxue walked toward Yun Zheng consciously, his palm hiding the Xilong Eye the entire time.
When he reached Yun Zheng, he extended his hand with the back of his palm facing upward.
He was waiting for Yun Zheng to take his hand so he could crush the Xilong Eye and drip the poison onto his skin.
But Yun Zheng did not take it at all.
Instead, he used a hand adorned with a pinky ring to seize Sheng Muxue’s wrist, pulling him into his embrace with a forceful tug.
Sheng Muxue was slightly startled; why were you not following the script?
Forget it. Plan A had failed, but there was still Plan B.
In any case, ancient wedding etiquette was complex and tedious, and he would have plenty of opportunities to poison him.
However, Yun Zheng kept holding him and refused to let go. The palm pressed against the small of his back felt like a piece of burning hot iron, scorching him painfully through the wedding garments.
Sheng Muxue’s nose brushed against the man’s Adam’s apple. The skin there was glowing with an abnormal flush, trembling slightly with every breath.
“Your heart is beating very fast.”
Yun Zheng’s breath swept past his ear, his teeth almost grazing that thin, reddened earlobe. “It is beating even faster than when I kissed you yesterday.”
Nonsense! I am trying to poison you; how could my heart not be fast!
Sheng Muxue gritted his teeth, struggling to keep himself calm.
He used to be someone who would not get nervous when doing bad deeds.
Who would have expected that before he could settle down, Yun Zheng’s fingertips would climb up his spine vertebrae by vertebrae, until they reached his shoulder blades, at which point he suddenly pushed Sheng Muxue backward onto the jade table behind him.
In that instant, the candles on the table shook violently, and wax splashed onto the back of Sheng Muxue’s hand, burning him until he shivered.
Are you serious, brother?
Sheng Muxue felt the weight of Yun Zheng pressing against him and suddenly panicked.
Who holds a wedding and gets straight to business without completing any of the proper ceremonies?
Is he actually just that starved and thirsty?
Or is this pure retaliation?
Sheng Muxue pushed Yun Zheng away in resistance. “Is this not against the rules?”
“Rules?”
Yun Zheng did not care about Sheng Muxue’s resistance, but he did not continue any further actions either. “In the Cloud Palace, I am the rules.”
“So, the so-called wedding of the Divine Lord is just to justify the defilement of a fox demon who has no way to deal with you?”
In any case, Sheng Muxue would not admit he was the Demon Lord. Even if he were recognized, he would not admit it; not even if he died!
He had even planned it out: as long as Yun Zheng dared to take off his clothes, he would dare to crush the Xilong Eye and drip it onto his skin.
But Yun Zheng clearly did not follow his plan at any step.
He suddenly released Sheng Muxue.
“We shall proceed with the rites first.”
Yun Zheng was a person who understood etiquette and self-control, yet he had lost his composure just by looking at Sheng Muxue a moment ago.
It had nothing to do with appearance.
Yun Zheng pulled Sheng Muxue off the jade table and turned to face forward.
Sheng Muxue also turned to face forward.
The two stood side by side, and only then did Sheng Muxue notice two tall statues standing before them.
One was the Primordial Ancestor, the Father God Hongmeng, who opened the heavens and became the spirit of all things.
The other was the Ancestor of All Cultivators, the Nine Heavens God Emperor, the first Lord of Heaven and Earth who governed the spirits of the world.
Sheng Muxue knew a little about these two, as the book had mentioned them.
Father God Hongmeng opened the heavens and earth, turning chaos into spiritual energy to create all things; he was comparable to Pangu, giving the world life, the sun, and the moon.
The Nine Heavens God Emperor educated all living things, turning spiritual energy into cultivation to create immortals; he was comparable to Yuanshi Tianzun, giving the world faith and order.
In any case, these two were the ultimate big shots; without them, this world would not exist.
However, there was one thing Sheng Muxue could not understand.
Why did the Nine Heavens God Emperor also have a slender, golden, diamond-shaped carving on his forehead, exactly the same as the one on Yun Zheng’s forehead?
Even their appearances were somewhat similar.
It was hardly likely to be cosplay.
He had mainly read the book in a general, skimming manner, ignoring many details.
But at this moment, he could not ask the System.
Moreover, the System seemed to hide far away the moment it saw Yun Zheng. It was the same last time; it did not dare to come even a little bit closer, acting as if it had seen a ghost, which left him unable to query the System with his eyes.
Yun Zheng raised his hands until they were level with his chest, his left hand holding his right, observing the Yin and Yang, and bowed forward while holding the Zi-Wu seal.
Under the influence of some unknown force, Sheng Muxue’s body also learned Yun Zheng’s movements and bowed forward with him.
The two of them had essentially completed the ritual of bowing to Heaven and Earth.
As for bowing to their parents, that was omitted.
After all, Yun Zheng had no parents, and given his current status, no one dared to stand in for them to receive the bow.
Then, it was time for the couple to bow to each other.
Although Sheng Muxue was reluctant, under the influence of that same unknown force, he voluntarily stood face-to-face with Yun Zheng and performed the bow.
After the ceremony was complete, Yun Zheng picked up a wine pot from the jade table and manifested two wine cups out of thin air.
The two cups were connected by a red string.
Seeing Yun Zheng’s posturing, Sheng Muxue gathered that they had reached the stage of drinking the nuptial wine.
This was the moment Sheng Muxue had been waiting for.
It was obvious that this stage was the best opportunity to administer the poison.
Yun Zheng handed one of the cups to Sheng Muxue, the red string winding into an intricate knot between their wrists.
Sheng Muxue lowered his eyes to receive the cup, his fingertips trembling slightly, the Xilong Eye rolling halfway around in his palm.
The nuptial wine meant drinking with arms intertwined, so Sheng Muxue only had a single fleeting moment to administer the poison.
That was the moment when Yun Zheng handed him the cup and their arms had to overlap.
Sheng Muxue seized the opportunity and gently crushed the Xilong Eye.
The poison seeped through the cracks into Yun Zheng’s cup, creating tiny ripples on the surface of the clear wine.
Fearing that Yun Zheng would notice these insignificant ripples, Sheng Muxue pulled back before Yun Zheng could even retract his arm.
Their arms were now intertwined, and Sheng Muxue’s tug caused Yun Zheng’s arm to sway.
There were more ripples in the cup now.
But more was actually better.
Yun Zheng frowned slightly at Sheng Muxue’s behavior.
Sheng Muxue was no longer panicked; he suddenly spoke up: “Only with a mind free of shackles can one reach the end.”
“A congratulatory message for the Divine Lord.”
Having said that, Sheng Muxue was the first to bring the cup to his lips and downed it in one gulp.
The winding trail of wine slid down his long, white neck, staining the collar embroidered with courting luan birds.
Yun Zheng followed suit without a word and downed his cup as well.
Sheng Muxue watched from the corner of his eye as Yun Zheng drank the poisoned wine; the heavy stone in his heart finally fell.
The majority of his plan had succeeded.
The remaining small part was a gamble on whether the toxicity of the Xilong Eye would affect Yun Zheng.
Even if it were not enough to make him pass out, it would be enough if it could numb him for even half a moment.