Li family spiritual dimension.
A large group of children gathered beneath an ancient spirit peach tree heavy with glowing fruit.
Nine boys and girls sat or stood in loose circles.
Some practiced rudimentary sword forms, others meditated on floating jade slips, while a few younger ones chased spirit butterflies that left trails of rainbow light.
At the center was Li Ah and Li Bei.
They were almost ten years old.
They knelt over a formation diagram etched into the soft spirit grass with a stick.
Li Bei's brow furrowed as he traced the lines of a complex sword array.
"If we shift the third node here, the qi flow becomes smoother, but the defensive layer thins too much. Big Brother Ah, what do you think?"
Li Ah yawned widely, stretching like a lazy cat.
"Who cares? These formations are boring anyway."
Li Bei shot him a glare.
"They're not boring! If Father were here, he could probably perfect this in one glance. Mother says he's a monster with sword dao and better than anyone in the entire Eastern Reaches!"
Li Ah snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Father? Puhaha! That useless man wants nothing to do with us. Why bother dreaming about him? He dumped us here like unwanted baggage and ran off to play house with that Zhen woman."
"That's not true!"
Li Bei's small fists clenched.
"Father is still our father! He left us this entire spiritual dimension, endless resources and everything we need to become strong! He's important!"
Li Ah's face twisted in contempt.
"Important? The same father who keeps twenty-six concubines? A shameless, skirt-chasing pervert who can't keep his pants tied! He probably has twice as many bastards scattered across the continent by now. Disgusting."
"You take that back!"
Li Bei shouted, jumping to his feet.
"Make me!"
Li Ah stood too.
The two were nearly nose-to-nose.
Both whirled toward the calm figure seated nearby in perfect lotus position.
Li Er.
He was several years younger, yet already the most striking among the boys.
Truly as handsome as his father.
"Third Brother!"
Li Ah barked.
"Tell this idiot that Father's a worthless dog!"
"Third Brother, tell him Father's still great!"
Li Bei countered.
Li Er's tranquil eyes opened slowly.
His voice was soft, yet it cut through their shouting like a cool breeze.
"There's no point arguing. Father left us cultivation resources that elders in the outside world would slaughter for. This spiritual dimension alone elevates our talents to heavenly grades. We lack for nothing. What more do you want from a man you've never truly met?"
Li Ah's face reddened with disgust.
"Boot-licker! You're just as spineless as he is and happy to be abandoned!"
Li Er didn't respond.
He rose gracefully as his robes fluttered and walked away without a backward glance.
Li Bei scratched his head.
"Third Brother can be so scary…"
Then he burst into awkward laughter.
"He's always so calm."
As Li Er strolled deeper into the peach grove, he spotted a tiny figure crouched behind a boulder.
It was little Li Zimo stuffing folded children's robes into a small embroidered bag.
Li Er stopped, tilting his head.
"Little Thirteenth Sister, what are you doing?"
Li Zimo shrieked like a startled rat and nearly toppled over.
"N-, Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"
Li Er narrowed his beautiful eyes.
She deflated with a sigh as her cheeks puffed out.
"Fine… I overheard our mothers talking. They finally mentioned where Father is right now. I… I want to go meet him. Just once."
Li Er raised a delicate brow.
Li Zimo jabbed a tiny finger at his chest and scowled quite fiercely for a child so cute.
"And you better not try to stop me! I'm already at the third level of Qi Condensation!"
Li Er tilted his head and lifted a brow at her.
He was the strongest of his twenty-six siblings.
There was no way Li Zimo would dare to challenge him if he took her warning seriously.
He tilted his head again and observed the little girl while he thoughtfully stroked his chin.
"I wasn't planning to stop you. Actually… I was thinking of coming along."
Li Zimo blinked. Then her eyes sparkled like stars.
══════
In the weeks following the explosive revelation in the bedroom, Li Qingmu's life had turned into a storm of cold shoulders and slammed doors.
Patriarch Zhen had nearly coughed blood on the spot.
The two ancestors had stared as though he'd sprouted a second head.
And his gentle, devoted Rou'er had gone deathly pale before tears of betrayal welled in her eyes.
She begged with tears in her eyes for her father and ancestors not to kill him on the spot. In the end, they relented but Rou'er herself had declared she needed time alone to "think things through" and left the palace the very next day.
Li Qingmu refused to chase after her.
"I don't trust my fertility. I might still do it again so I'd rather not beg her to forgive me."
He gave her space.
He wouldn't return until she forgave him of her own will.
He could have asked Song Yan to mediate.
She held sway with both Patriarch Zhen and Rou'er.
But Song Yan had not spoken a single warm word to him in over a year. His pride refused to beg, and her silence told him any plea would fall on icy ears.
So he left quietly.
Ever the practical one, Su Liyue suggested Fragrant Flower Peak to him.
A minor peak of the Golden Sun Pavilion specializing in rare spiritual plant cultivation.
The method was gentle and deeply yin-natured so it was perfectly suited for female cultivators.
Fully eighty percent of its disciples were women.
The few men who endured this path were usually gentle and sensitive. Because of that, they were very popular with the women of this peak who preferred men that were obedient and easy to control.
The peak earned two nicknames across the sect.
"Peak of Delicate Flowers"
For its breathtaking female disciples, beauties that could topple cities.
And "Man-Subduing Peak"
Because its proud women delighted in taming any male bold enough to live here.
Most men in the sect dreamed of being invited there.
Yet few ever received the honor.
Thanks to Su Liyue's reputation as a spiritual plant grandmaster, the madam of Fragrant Flower Peak personally granted Li Qingmu a small, secluded abode on the outskirts.
The madam was Chen Yuxuan.
One of the acknowledged great beauties of the Golden Sun Pavilion.
Widowed decades ago when her mortal husband failed a breakthrough and perished, she had three greatly talented daughters but no man since.
It was also she who had pioneered the peak's unique plant-based cultivation method.
Chen Yuxuan rarely appeared at sect gatherings.
She spoke little to fellow elders, male or female.
Rumor claimed she believed her beauty was simply too dangerous to handle casually.
Elders wouldn't stop looking at her chest.
And women wouldn't stop being jealous.
And so she secluded herself out of lingering fidelity to her late husband.
Thus the weeks passed for Li Qingmu in cultivation.
Regretfully quiet cultivation.
『I haven't impregnated a woman in almost two years now and my fertility is boiling…』
He tried to cultivate but got distracted again.
『I seriously need to impregnate a woman…』
Otherwise he wouldn't be able to focus.
This morning in his tiny abode.
Li Qingmu sat cross-legged on a jade mat as he cycled chaos qi through his meridians.
『A little more, and the sword organ will stabilize…』
BANG!
The wooden gate exploded inward.
Three figures in flowing emerald robes of Fragrant Flower Peak stormed inside.
Li Qingmu opened one eye and sighed.
The leader was Fang Zichun.
The most talented male disciple on the entire peak who was adored by countless female juniors and seniors alike for his femininity and exceptional aptitude.
Li Qingmu arrived a few weeks ago.
And now Fang Zichun had taken an instant, burning dislike to him.
One of the lackeys whispered loudly.
"Senior Brother Fang, I don't get why you hate Chief Li so much. Is it because he's more handsome and talented than you are? Or is it—"
Fang Zichun's pretty face darkened.
"Shut your mouth!"
He applied some light lipstick.
"It has nothing to do with that!"
He applied some more lipstick.
"I simply… cannot abide an infamous infidel defiling our sacred peak with his presence!"
He walked forward with his chin high and opened his mouth to speak.
Li Qingmu beat him to it.
"What do you want? Make it quick."
Fang Zichun's eyelid twitched.
"Madam Chen requests your presence. And let me be perfectly clear—being summoned by the Madam is never a good thing for men like you."
He spat delicately to the side and missed Li Qingmu's mat by an inch then whirled and stalked out as his robes fluttered like flowing petals.
Li Qingmu rubbed his temple.
He had heard the rumors.
Madam Chen despised unfaithful men above all else.
No doubt she intended to lecture him, humiliate him.
Perhaps even drive him from the peak.
"I don't have the patience for proud, noisy women first thing in the morning…"
Minutes later.
He stood before the grand, flower-wreathed abode of Madam Chen.
It was a well-scented place.
He expected a wall of protective female disciples.
But all he found was silence.
"Huh?"
The massive double doors swung open on their own.
Chen Yuxuan stepped out.
She wore only a thin silk nightdress of pale moon-white as the fabric clung softly to mature, motherly curves that time had ripened rather than withered. Her long hair tumbled unbound over her shoulders, and the morning light painted her skin in soft gold.
Li Qingmu froze as one brow slowly climbed.
He never expected Madam Chen to look so soft.
Unless all this… was for him?
He shook his head and laughed inwardly.
Until Chen Yuxuan's cheeks turned pink.
"Li Qingmu… I wish to cheat with you."
Li Qingmu blinked.
"Eh?"
Something is missing here.