Wen Shubai keenly sensed something amiss in the atmosphere beside him. He turned his head and chided, “Blockhead?”
The slight curve at the corner of Chu Weiliang’s lips instantly vanished as she turned her head with a sweet smile. “I’m going to check on our precious one.”
After speaking, she circled behind the crowd of guests, her figure weaving through layers of drapes before skipping out cheerfully.
Wen Shubai was momentarily stunned: …
Fang Jixue, immersed in entertaining the hall full of guests and drowning in tidal waves of congratulations, suddenly felt an intuition.
But scanning his surroundings, he couldn’t see that familiar figure anywhere.
She’s back?!
For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether his emotions were shock, wild joy, or the feeling of regaining something lost.
All of it was completely masked by a superficial smile, undetectable to anyone else.
Fang Jixue had always maintained calm composure even with mountains collapsing before him.
Whether it was personally executing his beloved disciple back then or marrying a new bride today, nothing ever moved him.
Outside, Chu Weiliang followed Wen Mian from a distance. Passing through a deserted area, she condensed a wisp of demon mist on her fingertip into a tiny translucent green butterfly.
Speaking in a mosquito-like whisper, she said, “What are your orders, Grandmother?”
Chu Weiliang playfully poked it with her fingertip. “This place will become unsafe soon. Lead Mian’er to play in Butterfly Valley to the south. Don’t leave her side until you see the Sword Sovereign, and make sure to protect her thoroughly.”
“Yes, Grandmother.” The butterfly obediently acknowledged the command, fluttered its wings, and flew off.
Throughout the vast territory of the Thousand Machines Sect, all birds, beasts, flowers, and plants—anything with spiritual awareness—carried a memory in their bloodline:
Never offend the Grandmother surnamed Chu.
Therefore, the moment Chu Weiliang returned, every spiritually aware being waited cautiously for her instructions.
Chu Weiliang casually plucked a camellia from the garden.
It had been transplanted by An Nan Chan from the Galan Imperial Palace.
What was once just a small cluster had now spread everywhere.
“Little wench, really thinks of herself as the mistress of Thousand Machines Sect now.”
Playing with the flower, she wandered to the foot of the Demon Suppression Tower, easily passing through the Myriad Forms Demon Subduing Array filled with purple thunderbolts that ordinary people couldn’t traverse freely.
Outside, ten thousand Purple-Gold Bells remained completely silent, silently welcoming their former master.
But inside the great array, it was noisy.
“Who’s there!”
“Who’s come to die! Eat them!”
“Let me out! Awooo—!!!”
“Come here, come here, I have everything you desire…”
“Ah! I’ll kill all you Northern Xuan dogs!!!Inside the tower, the resentment, temptation, shrieks, and fury of the monsters came crashing in overwhelmingly—a cacophony of grating, discordant sounds.
Disciples of Thousand Machines Sect never casually approached this place.
Not to mention being unable to withstand the purple lightning bolts, even exposure to the roars and temptations of these monsters could drive those with weaker minds insane.
Yet Chu Weiliang strolled in casually, stopping before the tower door and lightly knocking with her knuckles.
“Quiet, all of you. It’s me.”
With those words, the entire tower that had been cursing and clamoring for a thousand years instantly fell silent.
Chu Weiliang: …
Truthfully, she hadn’t meant to be so intimidating.
So she cleared her throat and coaxed them like children:
“Want to come out and play?”
Inside, another stretch of silence followed.
After a long while, the monsters began discussing cautiously among themselves.
“She’s not here to beat us up?”
“Don’t believe her, better trust ghosts than her!”
“She’s already doing us a favor if she doesn’t find new ways to torment us.”
“If it weren’t for her, why would we be here?”
“She’s a villain! She’s worse than everyone in Northern Xuan combined!”
A monster whispered timidly, “Um, how about… we trust her just this once?”
“Have you lost your mind?!”
Inside, chaos erupted as they all ganged up to beat it.
Chu Weiliang stood outside the door, rubbing her temples.
Just how severe had her past actions been to leave such deep trauma in these children, lingering for a thousand years?
But there was no time to waste on these mindless creatures.
With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the camellia blossom into the formation’s core.
The formation continued operating undisturbed, unnoticed by anyone.
The flower was instantly crushed, scattering petals across the ground.
In that brief moment when the formation was jammed by the flower, Chu Weiliang seized the opportunity to yank the recently beaten little demon out of the tower.
“Spare me, mistress! Spare me!”
The little demon splattered on the ground with a splat, turning into a puddle of transparent sludge, only its eyeballs rolling around and its teeth chattering open and shut.
It was a Shape-shifting Demon.
With weak malice and low demonic aura, it could mimic anyone it had touched—a useful tool.
Chu Weiliang stood with hands behind her back, leaning down slightly with her head tilted, watching it:
“You get one chance. Either return to the Venomous Basin to be eaten as a snack by the others, or follow me from now on to dominate and do as you please. Your choice.”
The Shape-shifting Demon immediately mimicked her clear, clean voice with a hint of coyness:
“May the mistress enjoy boundless blessings and eternal life! Whatever you command, this humble servant dare not disobey!”
“Heh… good.”
Satisfied, Chu Weiliang bent down and lightly touched the transparent sludge with her fingertip.
A mung bean-sized Demon Core within the Shape-shifting Demon became visible, flashing briefly as a crescent moon mark in deep purple was imprinted upon it, forming a master-servant contract.
Then, it obediently spread up from her fingertip, gradually enveloping her entire body before seeping into her skin and disappearing.
Afterward, Chu Weiliang cast a cold smile at the tightly shut Demon Suppression Tower, her features slowly shifting to resemble Zhuang Yanxin’s as she pressed her palm against the tower door.
The monsters inside gasped in terror, clinging to each other!
“What are you going to do—!!!”
…
Before the Moon Shade Hall, An Nan Chan’s White Rhinoceros Carriage had slowly come to a stop.
Fang Jixue stood at the high hall entrance to welcome her, dressed in luxurious crimson brocade, tall and graceful as jade. His face remained as calm as moonlight, gazing down upon all beings without a ripple of emotion.
An Nan Chan held a ceremonial fan before her face, unable to conceal her shy joy as she stepped down from the White Rhinoceros Carriage. Dragging her long wedding gown, she gracefully ascended the steps toward Fang Jixue.
She had admired him for a thousand years, loved him for a thousand years, pleaded with him for a thousand years.
For him, she had schemed to join his sect; for him, she had not hesitated to kill; for him, she had even sacrificed her own Life Essence.
To possess him, she had done everything—what should be done and what should not.
Now, she could finally fulfill her wish.
She reached the high platform, standing before the Moon Shade Hall, waiting for Fang Jixue to take her hand.
Fang Jixue’s gaze held no emotion, cold as a frozen lake in deep winter, fixed solely on the fan, unblinking.
Delicate and pitiable, a beauty easily shattered…
If this fan were never lowered, perhaps who stood behind it wouldn’t matter so much.
He gave a faint, self-mocking smile inwardly.
The presiding elder, noticing something amiss, cautiously reminded him:
“Sect Leader, the princess is waiting for you.”
Fang Jixue remained motionless, his mind seemingly wandering elsewhere.
Only when a gentle breeze swept past, rustling the wedding robes of both, and the guests gathered before Moon Shade Hall began to sense the awkward tension, did Fang Jixue finally extend his hand toward An Nan Chan.
Yet they remained three steps apart.
He would never, ever take even a single step forward for her.
An Nan Chan had no choice but to yield.
After all, she was the one who had begged heaven and earth to marry him.
But just as her embroidered slippers reluctantly shifted that inch forward, the skies above Thousand Machines Sect suddenly erupted with deafening clangs of the Purple-Gold Bell, plunging the world into darkness and chaos!
Someone had activated the Myriad Forms Demon Subduing Array and opened the Demon Suppression Tower!
Thousands of Monsters suppressed within the tower for millennia swarmed out in an instant. Black clouds blotted out the sky, fierce winds howled, and between heaven and earth, nothing was visible beyond an outstretched hand—only the overwhelming roars and mad laughter of Monsters filled the air.
Sudden calamity!