The clan lands of the Zhang family in Yuyang had become a wasteland, and Lin Yan was the sole survivor.
Her blue ceremonial dress bore scorch marks, and she walked step by step through the ruins of the Zhang family estate. She didn't fly on her sword or use spiritual energy, just walked through the devastation. All the Zhang family members who had been in this area had turned to dust, while the rest were trapped within the Red Dust Immortal Realm, also known as the "Universe Seal" space.
Those people would become lost in illusions, their souls becoming residents of the "Universe Seal," and their bodies left behind in this world would perish. She had initially intended to spare some lives, but she hadn't expected the Grand Elder to directly trigger a heavenly tribulation.
The thunderclouds in the sky had dispersed, and Zi Che Shao Hao and Ting Xue had returned. Zi Che Shao Hao, hovering in mid-air, immediately swooped down the moment he saw Lin Yan. Seeing Zi Che Shao Hao appear before her, Lin Yan offered him a relieved smile before collapsing forward. Zi Che Shao Hao quickly caught her, examined her body, and let out a sigh of relief upon finding that she was merely exhausted.
"Shao Hao, let's leave here first," she suggested, as this scene of desolation was no place to stay. Ting Xue, however, looked at Lin Yan with astonishment, unable to comprehend how the young madam had emerged unscathed from such a tribulation. But this was not his concern; the priority was to get them away. Ting Xue summoned a flying boat, and Zi Che Shao Hao, carrying Lin Yan, boarded it with him.
The disappearance of the Yuyang Zhang family shocked many sects in the southeastern region. This was a family with an ancestor in the Tribulation Stage; how could they vanish so silently? It wasn't entirely silent, though; they had all witnessed the thunderclouds that had covered half the sky that day. They couldn't fathom what madness had possessed the Zhang family ancestor to undergo tribulation in his own ancestral lands.
The Ling Xiao Sword Sect also heard the news, but they didn't suspect Lin Yan. After all, her demonstrated cultivation was only at the Golden Core stage; how could she be involved in such a monumental event?
When Lin Yan awoke again, she saw Zi Che Shao Hao sitting by the table, keeping vigil. "Shao Hao, the three-year deadline is fast approaching. Should we start discussing the details of our alliance ceremony?" she asked with a smile, looking at the Nascent Soul cultivator who nearly dropped his tea cup at her words. Her current life had not been easy, and she was grateful for his continued companionship, so she didn't want to waste any more time.
Before Lin Yan and Zi Che Shao Hao's alliance ceremony, Wan Si Rui was also preparing to marry Cheng Ying. After Wan Si Rui brought back the ten-thousand-year-old Earth Essence, Elder Cheng exchanged it with a Dan cultivator for a Spirit Cleansing Pill, added some other items, and obtained several Core Formation Pills. Upon his return, he confined Cheng Ying to seclusion for rigorous cultivation, with Wan Si Rui accompanying her.
She soon reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage but couldn't find the opportunity to form a core. Elder Cheng then spoke frankly with Wan Si Rui for an entire night, and the next day, their marriage was announced. Their union was not unexpected, and shortly after their wedding, Cheng Ying successfully overcame the heavenly tribulation for Golden Core formation, becoming a Golden Core cultivator. While her Golden Core phenomenon wasn't particularly spectacular, she had achieved Golden Core and could now live for several more centuries.
However, Wan Si Rui, who had been at the late Golden Core stage, inexplicably regressed to the middle Golden Core stage. Despite this, Elder Cheng became even closer to him, even opening one of his private treasuries for Wan Si Rui to choose from. Wan Si Rui didn't mind; his cultivation had been progressing rapidly, and he felt it was worthwhile to be able to help Cheng Ying. Moreover, the private treasury of a Soul Fusion stage cultivator was enough to compensate for any losses.
The engagement procession from the Zi Che family astonished everyone who witnessed it, and the wedding procession was even more grand. This time, they were more ostentatious, scattering spiritual stones along the way. Wherever there were people, they threw spiritual stones and spirit pearls. Many mortals followed the wedding procession, hoping to gain some spiritual stones.
When the wedding procession arrived at the Ling Xiao Sword Sect, Lin Yan had already changed into the ceremonial attire sent by Zi Che Shao Hao. For the first time, Lin Yan revealed her true cultivation level to her elders. This was a grand event for the entire southeastern region, with all its sects sending representatives. The small town below the Ling Xiao Sword Sect buzzed with activity, with numerous stalls set up. The Ling Xiao Sword Sect also hosted a banquet; since the alliance ceremony would be held on the central continent, they held several days of open feasting. Initially, it was just for their own sect members, but they couldn't turn away other sects from the southeastern region who came to offer congratulations, so they shared the banquet.
On the wedding day, Lin Yan, dressed in a vibrant red gown, bid farewell to her masters and then departed with Zi Che Shao Hao. Though Lin Yan left, the stir she created did not subside with her departure. After hosting the guests, the high-ranking members of the Ling Xiao Sword Sect entrusted affairs to the junior disciples and left for the central continent to attend Lin Yan's alliance ceremony. Although the Ling Xiao Sword Sect was not as powerful as the Zi Che family, they still needed to show support for their disciple.
Xu Yi watched his elders pack up and leave, then looked at the tasks that needed to be handled. He too wished he could be as carefree and attend his senior sister's alliance ceremony. The masters had left, the senior disciples had left, and even Yang Cong, his junior disciple, had left. But he couldn't. The thought made Xu Yi want to throw it all away.
There were many times Xu Yi wished he could "usurp the throne," but if he truly did, his cheap master would likely be overjoyed and even help him with the ceremonial handover of the sect leader's seal. Originally, the sect leaders had intended for his senior sister to be the sect leader, and he strongly agreed. However, his senior sister's cultivation advanced too rapidly, far surpassing theirs and even most elders. She declined the position, citing her need to focus entirely on cultivation for ascension. The sect leader position thus fell to him. But in his opinion, ascension was merely an excuse. His senior sister was simply a "love-struck fool." With Zi Che Shao Hao by her side, she had no interest in serious matters, only in being with him. Truly, "a handsome man can be a woman's downfall"! If not for him, his senior sister would surely have become the sect leader of the Ling Xiao Sword Sect, and these responsibilities wouldn't have fallen upon him. With so many trivial matters, and not being a genius like his senior sister, when would he ever shatter his core and form an infant soul?