The Cloudsoaring Peak was finally living up to its name. High above the rest of the Azure Sword Sect, surrounded by a sea of white clouds, it was the picture of absolute tranquility.
Yan Shuo sat in a comfortable bamboo recliner beneath a sprawling peach tree, his eyes closed, enjoying the warm morning breeze.
"Ah."
He opened his mouth slightly.
A moment later, a peeled, perfectly chilled piece of spiritual jade-grape was gently placed onto his tongue. He chewed it slowly, savoring the burst of sweet, refined spiritual energy that rushed down his throat.
"Is it sweet enough, Husband?" Tantai Zhi asked.
She was sitting on the edge of his recliner, completely ignoring the luxurious jade stools nearby just so she could be closer to him. Her flawless face was resting against his shoulder, and she was carefully peeling another grape with her pale, slender fingers.
"It's perfect, Wife," Yan Shuo said, swallowing the fruit. He reached over and stroked her incredibly soft black hair.
Tantai Zhi let out a soft, contented sigh, leaning into his touch like a domesticated cat. If the terrified elders of the sect could see the world-ending Saintess happily peeling grapes for an outer sect disciple, they would probably all cough up blood and die of Qi deviation.
Yan Shuo closed his eyes again and checked his internal cultivation base.
The Ninth Level of the Qi Condensation Realm.
His repaired dantian was currently a swirling pool of dense, glowing spiritual energy. It was completely full. He had hit the ceiling of his current realm. The next step was Foundation Establishment—the true starting point for any cultivator. It was the process of compressing that pool of gaseous Qi into a solid, liquid foundation.
In his past life, breaking through this specific bottleneck had been a nightmare. He had been a rogue cultivator with zero backing. He had to hunt a terrifying, venomous swamp python for three days straight just to trade its core for a low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill. He had nearly died from the python's poison before he even swallowed the pill.
He let out a small, nostalgic sigh.
"What's wrong?" Tantai Zhi asked instantly. Her golden eyes snapped up, her body tensing. The sweet, docile wife vanished in a fraction of a second, replaced by a cold, calculating killer. "Did a bug get into the courtyard? Did the wind blow too harshly? I can set up an isolation array. I can burn the forest down."
"No, no, the forest is fine," Yan Shuo chuckled, quickly patting her arm to turn off her murder instincts. "I was just thinking about my cultivation. My dantian is full. I'm ready to step into the Foundation Establishment Realm."
Tantai Zhi blinked, her terrifying aura melting away just as fast as it appeared. "Oh! That's wonderful news, Husband! Your meridians recovered so quickly."
"They did, thanks to you," he smiled. "But a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment requires a catalyst. I need a Foundation Pill to help compress the Qi, otherwise there's a risk my newly repaired dantian might crack under the pressure."
He was just stating a fact. He was planning to ask her if she had a spare low-grade pill in her storage ring.
Instead, Tantai Zhi stood up, her crimson silk robes billowing gently around her. A deeply serious, determined look crossed her beautiful face.
"A Foundation Pill," she repeated, her eyes gleaming. "Of course. My husband deserves only the absolute best. I will go to the Sect Treasury right now."
Yan Shuo raised an eyebrow. "The Sect Treasury? Wife, I just need a standard pill. You don't need to empty out their entire vault."
"Nonsense," Tantai Zhi said, leaning down to press a soft, lingering kiss to his forehead. "You are my husband. The foundation of your cultivation must be flawless. The Sect Master has been hoarding a Supreme-Grade Heavenly Cloud Pill for ten years. I will go fetch it for you."
Yan Shuo knew exactly what that pill was. A Supreme-Grade Heavenly Cloud Pill was a legendary treasure in a small place like the Azure Sword Sect. It was usually reserved for the absolute top genius of the generation, practically guaranteeing a perfect foundation without any impurities. Cultivators would slaughter entire families for a chance to even smell it.
"Are you sure they'll just hand it over?" Yan Shuo asked, amused.
Tantai Zhi smiled. It was that breathtakingly gorgeous, deeply unhinged smile.
"I will be very polite," she promised.
She turned around, formed a cloud of crimson Qi beneath her bare feet, and shot into the sky toward the Main Peak, leaving a trail of terrifying spiritual pressure in her wake.
Yan Shuo watched her go, reached into the bowl, and popped another grape into his own mouth.
"Polite," Yan Shuo chuckled. "Right. I should probably pray for the Sect Master."
---
Meanwhile, in the newly repaired Sect Master's Hall on the Main Peak.
Sect Master Zhao was rubbing his temples, feeling like he had aged five hundred years in a single morning. Sitting around him were the three surviving Core Elders, all of them looking pale and exhausted.
"The Righteous Alliance envoy is gone," Elder Sun reported, his voice trembling slightly. "He ran off the mountain without looking back. He looked like he had seen a ghost."
Sect Master Zhao let out a long, heavy breath. "Good. If he stayed any longer, the Saintess would have undoubtedly killed him, and the Alliance would have marched their grand army to our doorstep."
"Sect Master," Elder Li spoke up, his face twisted in a mixture of anger and disbelief. "What are we going to do about... that boy? Yan Shuo. He was the biggest piece of trash in the Outer Sect! He couldn't even wash clothes properly! Now, he is living in the Grand Elder's estate, ordering the Saintess around like she's his personal bodyguard!"
"What do you want me to do?!" Sect Master Zhao snapped, his nerves completely fried. "Did you see her eyes this morning?! She bound her soul to his! If he gets a papercut, she will probably butcher the entire inner sect! He is completely untouchable!"
The elders fell silent. It was a bitter, humiliating pill to swallow. The entire sect was essentially being held hostage by a fifteen-year-old boy who had hit the ultimate jackpot in life.
"We just have to endure it," Sect Master Zhao sighed, sounding defeated. "Keep all disciples away from the Cloudsoaring Peak. Do not offend him. Treat him like the Sect Ancestor. Eventually, the Saintess's obsession might fade, or..."
BOOM!
The heavy, enchanted bronze doors of the Sect Master's Hall didn't just open. They completely exploded inward, reduced to a shower of flying metal shrapnel that embedded into the stone walls.
The Sect Master and the elders shrieked, instantly diving under the heavy oak table for cover.
Through the settling dust and smoke, a figure walked into the hall.
Tantai Zhi looked completely serene. Her crimson robes were pristine. Her hands were clasped elegantly in front of her. She looked like a flawless, descending goddess, completely at odds with the violently destroyed doors behind her.
"Good morning, Sect Master Zhao," Tantai Zhi said, her voice soft and pleasant. "I hope I am not interrupting your meeting."
Sect Master Zhao slowly peeked out from under the table, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. "S-Saintess! No! Not at all! Please, come in! The door was... it was getting old anyway!"
He quickly scrambled to his feet, forcefully kicking Elder Li in the shin to make him stand up too. They bowed so fast they nearly gave themselves whiplash.
"How may this humble Sect Master serve you?" Zhao asked, sweating bullets. He desperately hoped Yan Shuo hadn't complained about the tea leaves.
"My husband is preparing to step into the Foundation Establishment Realm," Tantai Zhi announced, her voice echoing through the ruined hall. "He requires a catalyst."
Sect Master Zhao blinked, genuinely surprised. "Foundation Establishment? But... but wasn't Yan Shuo's dantian completely crippled? He was only at the first level of Qi Condensation yesterday."
The temperature in the room instantly dropped. Frost began to form on the edges of the oak table.
"Are you questioning my husband's talent?" Tantai Zhi asked. Her golden eyes narrowed, locking onto the Sect Master.
"No! Heavens, no!" Sect Master Zhao screamed, waving his hands frantically. "Lord Yan is a peerless genius! A hidden dragon! A late bloomer! Breaking through to Foundation Establishment in a single day is completely natural for a man of his incredible stature!"
Tantai Zhi's terrifying aura vanished, and she smiled brightly. She liked it when people praised her husband.
"Good," she nodded. "He needs a Foundation Pill. I am here to collect the Supreme-Grade Heavenly Cloud Pill from the treasury."
The hall fell dead silent.
Elder Li couldn't hold back his gasp. "The Heavenly Cloud Pill?! Saintess, please reconsider! That pill was forged over five years by the Alchemy Pavilion! It is specifically reserved for young master Ye Chen, the top genius of the Inner Sect! He is planning to use it next month!"
Sect Master Zhao's face drained of all color. He tried to grab Elder Li's sleeve to shut him up, but it was too late.
Tantai Zhi slowly turned her head to look at Elder Li.
She didn't summon her spiritual pressure this time. She just looked at him with a gaze of pure, utter incomprehension.
"Ye Chen?" Tantai Zhi tilted her head slightly. "Who is that?"
"H-He is the number one disciple," Elder Li stammered, shrinking under her dead gaze. "He has a flawless sword physique..."
"Does this Ye Chen belong to me?" she asked softly.
"No, Saintess."
"Is his life tied to my soul?"
"N-No."
Tantai Zhi took a step forward. The frost on the table suddenly turned into black ice.
"Then why," she whispered, her voice carrying a demonic, terrifying resonance that made the elders' blood run cold, "would I care about some random bug when my husband needs a pill?"
She didn't wait for an answer. She extended her pale hand toward the Sect Master.
"The treasury key. Now. Or I will simply cut the mountain open and take it myself."
Sect Master Zhao didn't even hesitate for a fraction of a second. He practically ripped the glowing jade key off his belt and slapped it into Tantai Zhi's open palm.
"Take it!" Sect Master Zhao cried out, tears actually pooling in his eyes. "Take the Heavenly Cloud Pill! Take two! Take whatever Lord Yan needs! Tell him the Sect wishes him a smooth and glorious breakthrough!"
"Thank you, Sect Master," Tantai Zhi said sweetly, instantly reverting to her polite, radiant persona. "You are very generous. My husband will be pleased."
She turned around and floated out of the ruined hall, leaving the elders trembling in the dust.
Elder Li slumped against the table, his legs giving out. "Sect Master... Ye Chen is going to be furious when he finds out his pill was stolen."
Sect Master Zhao slumped into his chair, covering his face with his hands. "Let him be furious. I'd rather deal with an angry inner disciple than a Saintess who wants to turn us into ghost feed. Just... get someone to fix the door."
---
Ten minutes later, Tantai Zhi landed back in the courtyard of the Cloudsoaring Peak.
Yan Shuo was exactly where she left him, sipping a fresh cup of tea.
She happily walked over and placed a beautifully carved, glowing wooden box onto the small table next to him. When she opened it, a rich, incredibly pure medicinal fragrance filled the entire courtyard, forming a faint mist in the shape of a cloud.
Inside sat a perfectly round, flawless white pill. The Supreme-Grade Heavenly Cloud Pill.
"Did you have any trouble, Wife?" Yan Shuo asked, picking up the box and examining the pill with an appreciative eye. It was genuinely top-tier work.
"None at all," Tantai Zhi beamed, kneeling beside his chair and resting her chin on his arm. "The Sect Master was very eager to offer it to you. He even wished you a smooth breakthrough."
Yan Shuo chuckled. He could only imagine the amount of sweating and groveling that had taken place. He reached out and gently patted her head, running his fingers through her silk-like hair.
"Good wife," he praised her softly.
Tantai Zhi's eyes fluttered shut, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks as she leaned deeply into his touch. She lived entirely for those words.
Yan Shuo looked at the pill, his pragmatic mind already calculating the best way to absorb it. With his veteran experience and this flawless catalyst, breaking through would be as easy as breathing.
He swallowed the Supreme-Grade pill.
It was time to remind this new body what true power felt like.