Time flew by, and more than half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Liucheng remained calm and peaceful. The incident involving the Daoist of the Gourd gradually faded, having long since become local gossip among the townspeople over their tea, as if the Hehuan Sect cared nothing for the life and death of a Golden Core Stage mighty cultivator.
Yet, careful observers still noticed that compared to the past, patrols in Liucheng were now much tighter. Fully equipped soldiers shuttled back and forth through the main streets and small alleys unceasingly, and even in midair, several genuine Qi Condensation cultivators patrolled day and night without rest.
On the main street.
A six-bearer sedan chair led the way, followed by a massive welcoming procession. Amid the beating of gongs and drums, the grand and impressive spectacle made its way toward the Zhang Estate.
Before long, having successfully received the bride, the wedding procession began its return journey to the Xia Estate.
The mile-long stretch of red decorations exuded festivity and good fortune, winding along in an imposing and mighty formation like a red-robed golden dragon all the way to the gates of the Xia Estate.
"It has only been half a year since the head of the Xia Estate took a wife, and now he is already taking a concubine so quickly!"
"I heard the concubine this time is the second young miss of the Zhang Estate in the west of the city. At the tender age of twenty, she is exquisitely beautiful—a rare beauty in our Liucheng."
"The Zhang Estate in the west of the city? Could it be the family of Chief Manager Zhang of the Fortune Pavilion?"
"That's right, it's none other than the exceptionally talented young lady from Chief Manager Zhang's household who possesses a ninth-grade Spiritual Root."
"Chief Manager Zhang dotes on his talented daughter above all else. Last year, when Taixuan Mountain came to select disciples, he simply couldn't bear to let her suffer the hardships of cultivation in a sect, which was why he was unwilling to send her to Taixuan Mountain. Who would have thought he would actually agree to let her marry into the Xia Estate this time, and as a concubine at that?"
"According to the grapevine, the talented Miss Zhang seems to be on very close terms with the mistress of the Xia Estate."
On both sides of the street, many passersby couldn't help discussing animatedly as they watched this grand spectacle.
Meanwhile, inside and outside the Xia Estate, everything was adorned in red. The coming and going guests all wore beaming smiles and were immersed in a harmonious atmosphere.
The Xia Estate was located in the southern part of the city. Although it had been established for less than a year and could only be considered a newcomer among Liucheng's upper crust, it still held considerable prestige in this corner of the south side. After all, the Xia Estate openly displayed the presence of two Qi Condensation cultivators holding down the fort.
Liucheng was vast, with a population of a million, yet families with genuine cultivators holding down the fort were few and far number.
This concubine-taking ceremony was staged with utmost extravagance, giving the bride's family plenty of face. It was conducted entirely according to the standards of taking a principal wife, and numerous guests had been invited—mostly senior members and direct descendants of families near the Xia Estate, along with quite a few wealthy merchants in Liucheng who maintained good relations with the Zhang family.
Inside the main hall.
Xia Changsheng wore a warm smile as he chatted and laughed with the guests who had come to offer their congratulations.
At this moment, his mood was quite pleasant.
More than half a year ago, he and Liu Qingyue had selected a sprawling, spacious mansion and established the Xia Estate, thus planting their roots in Liucheng.
Immediately afterward, they recruited some maidservants and attendants and prepared for marriage.
Since both of them were completely alone in the world without any relatives, things weren't all that troublesome. At Liu Qingyue's insistence, the two selected an auspicious day and held a simple wedding ceremony.
Host: Xia Changsheng
Rank: Tier 1 Elemental Apostle
Elements: 20/100
Law: Law of Wind I
Wife: Liu Qingyue
Talent: Eighth-grade Wind Spiritual Root 40/500
The translucent interface flashed and vanished. Compared to ten months ago, the elements column had only increased by 10 points.
During these days, he and Liu Qingyue had engaged in discoursing on the Dao day and night without rest. At times of intense passion, they even sealed the doors and cultivated in seclusion for several days, yet the results were minimal. Aside from the very first time back at Taixuan Mountain, it now basically only increased by 1 point per month.
Naturally, Xia Changsheng was unsatisfied with this speed. What brought him solace, however, was that he had finally acquired a second wind-type spell—Levitation. Just days ago, the moment he mastered it, he couldn't suppress his excitement and tested it out on the spot. The effect was astonishing, completely comparable to the flight of genuine Qi Condensation cultivators.
On the other hand, Liu Qingyue's cultivation had also progressed considerably, and she was now at the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer—an elevation that could hardly be called small. As everyone knew, after entering the Qi Condensation Stage, advancing each minor realm was exceptionally difficult. Ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators with a ninth-grade Spiritual Root might not progress a single layer in several months or even years. Even with Liu Qingyue's eighth-grade Spiritual Root, it was absolutely impossible for her to reach the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer in a mere ten months.
And the greatest improvement among all this belonged to Liu Qingyue's Spiritual Root aptitude itself, which had increased by a full 40 progress points. Xia Changsheng felt that given time, it was entirely possible for Liu Qingyue's innate aptitude to rise to the seventh grade.
Clearly, this was the merit of those frequent "matters" during these days.
However, the clever Liu Qingyue never questioned him. Everyone had their own secrets, and the fact that her husband possessed a dual cultivation technique was by no means a bad thing. On the contrary, she had even gone through a great deal of trouble to persuade her good friend Zhang Yuwei—the second young miss of the Zhang Estate—to marry her husband.
The two women had met several years ago at a poetry gathering in Liucheng. Because they admired each other's talents, they frequently corresponded by letter, and over time, they often addressed one another as sisters.
In the past, Liu Qingyue stayed at Taixuan Mountain to cultivate bitterly, while Zhang Yuwei stayed in her family to help manage their businesses, so they rarely interacted. But after moving to Liucheng to settle down permanently, the exchanges between the two women became frequent, and whenever they had free time, they often visited each other's homes.
Xia Changsheng had met her a few times, leaving a very deep impression on him. Not only was this woman movingly beautiful, but she also possessed a tranquil, composed, and scholarly air that was in no way inferior to Liu Qingyue.
Xia Changsheng was deeply moved by Liu Qingyue's open-mindedness and magnanimity. Having already harbored such intentions himself, he had been searching for a suitable candidate. However, the strength he displayed to the outside world was only at the Qi Condensation Stage, making it slightly difficult to secure a woman with a ninth-grade Spiritual Root as a bride. After all, with a ninth-grade Spiritual Root, as long as there were sufficient resources to support them, their upper limit would still be the Qi Condensation Stage.
He firmly believed that if he possessed the strength of a Golden Core Stage mighty cultivator, the families of women with ninth-grade Spiritual Roots would undoubtedly be more than willing.
Their original intention was to wed Zhang Yuwei with the treatment of an equal wife, but Zhang Yuwei had politely declined.
"Finally, there's going to be a new growth point."
Joy bloomed in Xia Changsheng's heart, and the smile on his face grew increasingly radiant.
After the wedding, hosts and guests enjoyed themselves to the fullest, and the crowd soon dispersed. Xia Changsheng first went to spend a little time accompanying Liu Qingyue before rushing off with a heart full of anticipation to the bridal chamber not far away, urged along continuously by his blushing bride.
Inside the bridal chamber.
Xia Changsheng reached out and lifted the red veil from the bride's head, revealing Zhang Yuwei's breathtakingly beautiful face, which looked all the more moving against the backdrop of the red candles in the room.
Her eyes were tightly closed, and her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, revealing the restlessness in her heart.
"Yuwei, open your eyes."
Looking at the nervous newlywed bride before him, Xia Changsheng couldn't help teasing her. The two had met several times previously; who would have thought that the talented lady who usually spoke so eloquently before him would also have such an endearing side?
Although he was already forty, his preferences—whether in his past life on Blue Star or in this present world—had never changed. Who doesn't love a youthful and beautiful maiden?
"Hus—Husband, please extinguish the candlelight first..."
Zhang Yuwei's delicate hands were tightly intertwined, her head lowered as if she didn't dare meet her husband's gaze directly.
Seeing how truly nervous she was, Xia Changsheng dismissed the thought of continuing to tease her. With a flick of his finger, the oil lamps in the bridal chamber all went out.
A single moment of the spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold!