In the third and fourth months of spring, a gentle breeze blew while a fine, hair-like drizzle fell from the sky. In the outskirts, orioles sang, swallows twittered, pear blossoms bloomed white, and fresh greenery filled the eyes, with flowers blossoming everywhere.
Despite the light rain, the streets inside the city remained bustling with a steady stream of pedestrians. Some carried burdens and delivered goods, some hurried along their way, while others held oiled-paper umbrellas and paused to admire the scenery along the Shantang River.
Amidst the noisy street, a carriage procession slowly drove in from the city gate.
A carriage formed the center, preceded and followed by several guards in black armor with sabers strapped across their waists, exuding a stern, murderous aura.
This procession clearly came from an extraordinary background, and many onlookers glanced sideways, secretly guessing its origins.
Those who were well-traveled and knowledgeable immediately realized that the procession before them came from the prefecture city—Yangcheng.
Yangcheng.
The capital of Pingyang Prefecture and its largest city, with a population exceeding three million, it was undoubtedly the central hub.
Under the watchful eyes of the pedestrians, the carriages moved forward slowly, soon entering the inner city and heading toward the City Lord's Estate.
Some people who constantly kept an eye on the movements of the City Lord's Estate quickly received the news, and even Xia Changsheng, who had been lying flat and taking it easy at home, learned of it almost simultaneously.
"People from the prefecture city..."
Xia Changsheng narrowed his eyes slightly. At that moment, he was comfortably lying on a red sandalwood recliner, still savoring the romantic indulgence of the previous night with his two wives.
Through long and unremitting efforts, whereas last year the two women would stubbornly refuse to share the same bed and serve him together, by now they had finally let go of their inner reserve. Under their husband's gentle cajoling, they no longer resisted.
Therefore, over the past half year, Xia Changsheng could be said to have enjoyed boundless blessings.
Not only could he help his beloved wives and concubines advance their cultivation, but he could also increase his own progress points—why not?
Host: Xia Changsheng
Rank: Tier 1 Elemental Apostle
Elements: 39/100
Laws: Law of Wind I, Law of Water I
Wife: Liu Qingyue — Talent: Grade 8 Wind Spiritual Root (76/500)
Concubine: Zhang Yuwei — Talent: Grade 9 Water Spiritual Root (18/100)
The character panel flashed past, having increased by 9 points, of which 6 points came from Liu Qingyue and the remaining 3 from Zhang Yuwei.
"Just 1 point short; surely I'll have a fourth spell soon."
Xia Changsheng muttered to himself. Every 10 progress points would grant him a new spell, and he couldn't help feeling expectant.
Being able to increase one's strength simply by lying flat and relaxing—why bother with fighting and killing?
Right now, he only hoped the world would be a bit more peaceful.
As long as he was given enough time to develop, the future... well, that was too far away.
Xia Changsheng shook his head and began to ponder the intentions of the visitors from Yangcheng, but after thinking for a long time without any clues, he could only hope that nothing would happen to disrupt the stability.
"Husband."
A refreshing, subtle fragrance drifted into his nostrils, followed by a sweet and soft voice.
The newcomer was Zhang Yuwei.
"Why didn't you rest a bit longer? Were you out managing the estate's affairs again?"
Naturally, Xia Changsheng pulled her into his arms, feeling a pang of heartache as he looked at the beads of fine sweat on his beauty's snow-white forehead.
"I'm fine."
Zhang Yuwei felt deeply touched. Resting against her husband's broad, powerful chest, her nose filled with that familiar scent, she felt completely at ease.
The two embraced quietly for a moment before Xia Changsheng began to stir, unable to help lowering his head to capture the exquisite red lips of the soft and fragrant beauty in his arms.
Faced with her husband's offensive, Zhang Yuwei did not resist in the least, cooperating fully as they embraced passionately.
For over a year now, she had grown accustomed to being like this with him. The two would nuzzle affectionately, sticking together like glue just like a pair of immortal companions.
This place was the inner courtyard of the Xia Estate, strictly forbidden to servants, and so the two of them quickly found themselves losing control.
Fortunately, Xia Changsheng remembered that his beloved wife was already pregnant, and managed to restrain himself just in time.
Zhang Yuwei had been pregnant for over a month and was carrying Xia Changsheng's first child. Although Liu Qingyue had been intimate with him first, once a woman broke through Xiantian to reach the Qi Condensation true cultivation stage, it became very difficult to conceive easily. Therefore, it was actually Zhang Yuwei, who had married into the Xia Estate later, who took the lead and fell pregnant first."My sister said a relative of ours has returned from the outer city, and she went to meet them," Zhang Yuwei said, smoothing down her slightly wrinkled dress and casting a playful, reproachful glance at her husband.
"A relative?"
Xia Changsheng was momentarily stunned. He remembered that when they married last year, Liu Qingyue had indeed mentioned having an elder sister who had been away studying the arts under a master for more than a decade.
"Where is she?"
"She has already gone out."
Hearing this, Xia Changsheng fell silent.
"Husband, play a game of chess with me for a while."
Being considerate and noticing that her husband seemed a bit distracted, Zhang Yuwei pulled him over to a stone table nearby.
A chessboard was set up on the stone table.
Playing chess was a leisure activity the trio usually enjoyed at home to pass the time and dispel boredom.
Ever since Xia Changsheng had taught them how to play Gomoku, Liu Qingyue remained relatively indifferent, but Zhang Yuwei—being a talented young woman with a particular passion for the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting—would frequently drag her husband or sister into a few matches.
Of course, it wasn't that the worse she was, the more she loved to play.
It was simply that she was too good at winning, and always liked to show off a little.
Especially now that Zhang Yuwei was pregnant and could no longer easily practice cultivation, both Xia Changsheng and Liu Qingyue would humor her, accompanying her in chess so she could fully satisfy her urge to play.
Time slipped away second by second.
It wasn't until the sun sank in the west, casting a golden afterglow, that the two of them finally stopped.
Because Liu Qingyue had returned.
However, Liu Qingyue did not return alone; two unfamiliar women followed behind her.
The two women bore a striking resemblance to each other, looking much like twin sisters in their early thirties. They were dressed identically in green robes and white skirts, and possessed notable charms—only slightly inferior to Liu Qingyue and Zhang Yuwei, making them rare beauties in their own right.
As they followed Liu Qingyue inside, Xia Changsheng had already noticed them. Although their auras were restrained and made them seem like ordinary people, the faint, elusive pressure they emitted was already directed at him, putting him on guard.
"Sister, who are they...?"
Zhang Yuwei linked arms with Liu Qingyue, looking curiously at the two strangers.
With her sharp mind, she had clearly sensed her husband's attention and took the initiative to ask.
"They are my sister's maids. My sister won't be staying long in the city this time—she's only here to catch up with me before leaving again, so she left them behind," Liu Qingyue said, seemingly explaining to Zhang Yuwei, though her gaze remained fixed on Xia Changsheng without a blink.
"Are you two Foundation Establishment Cultivators?"
Xia Changsheng looked thoughtfully at the two women.
At his words, the two women exchanged a glance, a trace of surprise flashing in each other's eyes. Then, they stepped forward in unison, executed a graceful bow, and spoke together:
"Qingmei greets the master."
"Qingzhu greets the master."
"Sister, are they really Foundation Establishment Cultivators?" Zhang Yuwei asked curiously.
A trace of surprise inevitably crossed Liu Qingyue's face as well. Not expecting her husband to see through it so quickly, she could only explain with a helpless smile, "They are indeed Foundation Establishment Cultivators. But as my husband must have noticed, they are different from those who break through to Foundation Establishment through normal means."
At this, Liu Qingyue paused briefly before continuing, "They both possess ninth-grade Spiritual Roots and originally had no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. They were forcibly elevated through a secret technique by my sister's master."
"I see."
Xia Changsheng nodded slightly. No wonder he had felt their auras were so chaotic, fluctuating up and down like the aftereffects of a forced breakthrough with an unstable foundation.
Such cultivators who achieved forced breakthroughs were not uncommon. They were practically unheard of within major sects, but among influential aristocratic families, in order to protect their direct descendants, they would often use secret techniques to forcibly elevate the cultivation of certain bodyguards—at the cost of rendering those guards unable to advance any further for the rest of their lives.
This naturally made him curious about the identity of the eldest sister he had never met.
Clearly, anyone capable of forcibly boosting a ninth-grade Spiritual Root cultivator to the Foundation Establishment Stage was most likely a powerful master at the Nascent Soul Stage or above.
Nascent Soul Stage or above...
Such figures were exceedingly rare throughout the entire Pingyang Prefecture.