An ancient pavilion with a sloping roof stands as a gentle breeze blows, chased by colorful clouds. Falling petals drift and tap against the window, the cold wind gradually seeping in, and a growing chill spreads through Liuxang Pavilion.
A pair of figures, a man and a woman, stand outside Liuxang Pavilion. Their dark and white immortal robes flutter in the wind, creating an exceptionally picturesque scene.
Her name is Chen Liushang.
She was once the ruler of a realm. Her entire being was famous across Wanzhong Heaven for her glazed immortal bones, and everyone respectfully addressed her as the "Spirit Lord."
She was born with a natural, translucent glow of glazed light, possessing an ice-pure heart and jade bones, and a pair of glazed eyes that were otherworldly, like an orchid blooming in a tranquil valley.
Yet because of her formidable cultivation and inborn glazed bones, her body naturally radiated a unique celestial glow, which made her the target of betrayal and a conspiracy by a trusted confidant who sought to seize her divine talent. The only loyal friend who tried to protect her, Liuxian, perished in body and spirit as a result.
Consumed by the grief of losing her dearest friend, she drank to numb the pain every day, searching through the hundred thousand mountains to find her, only to stumble and accidentally spill her glazed wine, thereby creating an entirely new realm.
Pursued by old enemies, her once-trusted companion eventually became a millennium-long mortal foe.
To protect the living creatures of the realm she had inadvertently created with her spilled wine, and alongside the residual consciousness of her departed friend, she scattered her immortal body and obliterated her primordial spirit, trading it all for a single thread of survival for those countless living souls.
Now, she has returned once more. Her shattered glazed immortal bones have recondensed and transformed into a mortal vessel. Gone are her glazed celestial light and divine talents; she wears only the appearance of an ordinary mortal. Though she retains a graceful and spirited charm, the old glory is entirely gone.
When lost in wine-soaked sorrow, her favorite phrase was always, "Fine wine, truly fine wine."
Yet her seemingly lazy, decadent drunkenness was merely a mask for her reluctance to let go of her departed friend. For a thousand years, she had sought solace in wine alone, swallowing her heartache in solitude.
And his name is Ming Xuan.
He is a noble deity of profound cultivation, blessed with a divine visage—strikingly handsome and exuding an extraordinary celestial aura. Not only is he an immortal, but he is also the young master of Qianchen Pavilion in the Xiuxian Continent, born to a noble lineage and an extraordinary background.
Furthermore, he is one of the living beings born within the realm created by the glazed wine Chen Liushang once spilled.
From the first moment he laid eyes on her glazed celestial light and divine posture, he fell hopelessly in love, plunging into a doom from which there was no return. Now that she has returned, even though she is reduced to a mortal shell, his gaze remains filled with a burning, tender devotion. It dances like a vibrant red butterfly in flight, and he cherishes her beyond measure.
***
Prologue
"Go on inside."
A look of puzzlement crossed Chen Liushang's delicate, pretty mortal face as she gazed doubtfully at Ming Xuan, the young master of the Xiuxian Continent's Qianchen Pavilion, who stood half a head taller than her and had guarded her for eight hundred years.
"What are you doing?"
Muttering in annoyance, Ming Xuan gave her a gentle shove, pushing her into her bedchamber.
Step by step, he pressed forward, backing her against the edge of the bed. His gaze locked fiercely onto her eyes, and Chen Liushang's cheeks flushed as she curled up against the bedside.
*Is this it?* she thought to herself. *Is it finally time for this?*
With a blushing face and eyes fixed on the grim, striking divine visage right in front of her, she forced out a shy and brazen question.
"I'm willing..."
Uttering those brazen words made her feel torn and bashful inside, but when she thought of how they had known each other for hundreds of years, and how they had been married for a full century now while still sleeping in separate rooms, and remembered all the times Ming Xuan had guarded and protected her over the centuries, she realized she had finally waited for this day. She had long desired to consummate their marriage.
Without hesitation, she spoke the bold words she had pondered for so long.
Seeing her shy expression, Ming Xuan felt a stir in his heart. He involuntarily clenched his fists and brushed a hand across her cheek. Looking at her like this stirred a nameless fire deep within him.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he conjured a golden dress, looked tenderly down at her flushed, huddled form, and smiled faintly.
"Change into this."
"This is so ugly!"
She pulled a reluctant, disgruntled face.
"Change first. I'll step outside."
Clutching the dark fabric of his sleeve, Ming Xuan fought to suppress the surging turbulence within his heart and body. His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily as a wave of intense heat rushed through him.
He stood at the entrance of the main hall of Liuxang Pavilion, his fists slightly clenched as he gazed out at the withered, fluttering ancient tree, forcing the fire in his heart back down.
"Shang'er... it's not that I don't want to. It won't be much longer. Shang'er... what I want with you is not just a mere few thousand years, but lifetime after lifetime."
"That you became a mortal now is all my fault. If only my primordial spirit had awakened a bit sooner, you wouldn't have..."
Ming Xuan clenched his fists, holding back the tears welling in his eyes, refusing to let his mind wander back to the tragic past of the Xiuxian Continent.
"All done!"
With a light skip and a bright, joyful smile on her face, Chen Liushang bounded out of the Liuxang Palace on dainty feet.
Suppressing his inner sorrow and blinking away the tears, Ming Xuan closed his hands tightly around her small hand, which rested at his side.
He spoke gently to the delicate Chen Liushang, who stood before him in her mortal guise:
"Let's go then. This time, we mustn't miss the Grand Assembly where the elders of the Cultivation Hall teach Immortal Techniques."
***
Inside the Cultivation Hall.
"Next, the first level of the secret cultivation techniques: the Mirror-Image and Flower-in-Water Barrier. The second level: the Skin-Shifting Barrier. The third level: the Bone-Tempering Barrier."
The Great Elder sat at the front of the Chen Immortal Hall, speaking in a resounding voice as he instructed the disciples seated below.
Half-listening with utter boredom to the dry, monotonous lecture on immortal techniques, Chen Liushang twirled a small braid of her hair, a look of impatience etched across her delicate, pretty face.
"When is this ever going to end?"
She blinked her pure eyes wide and whispered the question to Ming Xuan beside her.
"Shang'er, these are top-tier secret cultivation techniques of the Xiuxian Continent. I went to great lengths to beg Master to find this shortcut method for you. You must listen carefully."
"Isn't having you enough?"
Chen Liushang twirled her braid, gazed at the frowning Ming Xuan, and gave him a look that clearly said, *Having you is more than enough.*
A look of helpless indulgence crossed Ming Xuan's face. Raising his right hand, he channeled his magic to engrave all the cultivation methods directly onto the sword he had long prepared as a gift for Chen Liushang.
"The list of required materials for the final level—Nirvana Rebirth—will be distributed to each of you individually. The materials are rare and precious, so I will not elaborate on them here."
The Great Elder's expression darkened. He swept his gaze across the hall, lingering for a moment on Ming Xuan seated in the corner, and added cautiously:
"Dismissed. That is all for today."
"Finally free!"
Chen Liushang grabbed Ming Xuan's hand and skipped joyfully out of the tedious, dry assembly on secret cultivation shortcuts, running down the dragon-carved steps in front of the main hall.
"Just a stray mortal woman, and she thinks she's worthy of listening to our Xiuxian Continent's ascension secrets? She made us sit through the Great Elder wasting most of the lecture on mortal cultivation nonsense. What right does she have? She's a complete disgrace to us."
"Look at her—wearing such an ugly flower wreath, and her face is so plain! Not a shred of celestial light about her. Though the man beside her seems to have quite an extraordinary background."
"Indeed, indeed."
"She must be that mortal woman the young master of Qianchen Pavilion picked up all those years ago, the one everyone's been whispering about."
"I can't imagine what he sees in her. Senior Sister, you look a hundred times better than her!" A woman standing on the left side of the hall, carrying an ethereal aura of immortality, said with sparkling eyes to Leng Liuyue, who possessed the highest cultivation among those in the Cultivation Hall.
"How could a mere mortal ever hope to compare to me?" Leng Liuyue replied coldly, wearing an air of haughty detachment.
"You? You're not even as good as that glazed enchantress who ruined our Xiuxian Continent! Hahaha... Liuyue, you really are a joke," another woman nearby scoffed, staring mockingly at her ordinary appearance.
"You! You're saying I don't even look as good as that glazed enchantress? She's the fiend who destroyed our Xiuxian Continent! She's a criminal!" Furious, Leng Liuyue retorted while stamping her feet in agitation. Thinking of the world-destroying glazed fiend from years past, her cheeks puffed up in anger.
"Even if she destroyed our Xiuxian Continent, she had the face of a 'vixen'—capable of captivating the world and making every woman envious. Your face? You ought to go look in the spirit spring stream more often. Hahaha..." The first woman twirled her own braid, put on a look of utter adoration, cast a critical glance over Leng Liuyue's utterly unremarkable figure, and then let out a derisive snort.
"Leng Liuyue, just because you have Immortal Biluo and the entire Moxuan Pavilion backing you up doesn't mean you can push your luck!"
"Ahem!"
The Great Elder let out a light, deliberate cough. The crowd instantly stopped their mockery, their expressions shifting in a flash as they respectfully called out:
"Great Elder."
"Great Elder."
"Master."
Leng Liuyue lowered herself into a half-curtsy, addressing the Great Elder with utmost respect.
"Young Master Ming, please stay a moment."
The Great Elder hurried after Ming Xuan, calling out in a loud voice.
Chen Liushang turned her head, looking back in puzzlement at the distant Great Elder as she stood in place, holding onto Ming Xuan's large hand.
"Young Master, here is the list."
The Great Elder handed the list of rare medicinal ingredients required for the final level of the secret cultivation techniques directly to Ming Xuan.
"Thank you, Master," Ming Xuan said, his expression filled with respectful gratitude.
Chen Liushang also offered the Great Elder a polite and grateful look.
"Let's go home."
Holding onto the warmth of Ming Xuan's hand, Chen Liushang walked cheerfully along the expansive paths of the Xiuxian Continent, heading back toward their home in Qianchen Pavilion.
"Let's not fly back today. I want to walk back slowly," Chen Liushang said, pouting her lips as her flushed face turned up to his with an eager expression, resisting the notion of taking to the skies.