The two divine-grade cultivation manuals left behind by the Grand Elder Taixuan were not, for the time being, suitable for the disciples of the Wangu Sect — because from the very beginning, they had been cultivating the Five Elements Heaven-Reading Art.

So when Ye Xingchen voluntarily brought them forward, Jun Changxiao had no intention of promoting them on a wide scale. After all, when it came to cultivation manuals, what mattered was not how many one practiced, but whether one specialized deeply in a single path.

That the once-haughty young man who had refused to acknowledge his sect would now voluntarily offer up his own martial arts — this genuinely warmed Jun Changxiao’s heart.

“By the way.”

Before Ye Xingchen departed, Jun Changxiao asked: “Do you remember the Grand Formation for Seizing Heaven and Earth’s Fortune that was recorded in the Taixuan True Scripture?”

Whether or not to study the manual was a secondary matter — but if the formation could be found, that would be ideal.

“There is a formation recorded in it,” Ye Xingchen replied. “But this disciple did not commit it to memory.”

At the time, after obtaining the Taixuan True Scripture, he had only memorized the incantation and skimmed through it briefly — he had not even begun cultivating from it before he was betrayed.

Very well.

Without the formation diagrams from that other manual, Jun Changxiao had no choice but to keep his focus on the second half of the Taixuan Ice-Heart Art, and he began throwing himself into research, forgetting both sleep and food.

The sect’s disciples trained as they always had. Tiegu Town grew ever more lively and bustling, but none of it had anything to do with him — he had truly achieved the state of hearing nothing beyond his window, his mind devoted solely to the study of the sages’ writings.

As for the mortal universe, news concerning the Xingyun Continent and the Sect Leader of the Wangu Sect continued to spread in a fermenting fashion, gradually reaching the various great planes one by one. Upon learning of it, they all came to understand that this was a supremely fearsome figure who had replaced the Starry Sky Fortress — someone who absolutely must not be offended!

· · · · ·

Xiaohan Village.

Children jostled to stand outside the courtyard wall, rising on their tiptoes to peer inside.

At that moment, the entire village had also been surrounded and protected by the powerful cultivators from sects including the Palace of Extreme Cold.

In the plain, unadorned courtyard, Li Qingyang gazed tenderly at the woman he loved and said: “I have come today to take you away.”

“Qingyang, I…”

Sister Qiao’er had barely opened her mouth before she was swept up into his arms.

“Whatever the reason, you must come with me today.” Li Qingyang wore the full air of a domineering, imperious man.

Su Xiaomo, standing outside the village, let a look of warm approval spread across her face, and thought to herself: “Second Senior Brother used to be far too rigid. Just sweep the woman you love straight into your arms and be done with it!”

Evidently, the usually steady and composed Li Qingyang being capable of such a bold act was almost certainly because he had been coached by someone.

Su Gousha — when you have time, do teach your own Jun Gousha a thing or two as well, won’t you?

“Whoosh!”

Watched by the villagers, Li Qingyang, cradling the woman he deeply loved, transformed into a streak of flowing light and soared toward the boundless sky.

“They flew!”

“Sister Qiao’er flew up!”

The children stared with wide eyes and cried out in excitement.

“Phew!”

The Palace Lord of the Palace of Extreme Cold let out a long breath and said: “Our mission can be considered complete — no more need to station heavy guards here every day.”

“Thank you for your trouble, everyone.”

Su Xiaomo walked over and offered a spatial ring, saying: “Inside are a hundred healing elixirs and a hundred body-forging elixirs.”

Because Sister Qiao’er was situated in the northeastern region of Luzhou, Jun Changxiao had been worried that something might go wrong, so she had entrusted the major sects with round-the-clock strict protection. Now that the person had left, she naturally had to offer compensation — because connections, once made, must never be discarded.

“Many thanks!”

The Palace Lord of the Palace of Extreme Cold and the others accepted the ring, their hearts overflowing with joy. Recently, powerful cultivators from various planes had been sailing into the Xingyun Continent aboard flying warships, and healing elixirs and body-forging elixirs had already skyrocketed to astronomical prices. For Sect Leader Jun to give out so many so directly — she was truly far too generous!

· · · · ·

Qingyang City.

Li Qingyang swept down through the air with Sister Qiao’er in his arms and landed before the inner courtyard of the Li Family estate. With great seriousness, he declared: “Father, I wish to formally betroth Qiao’er. I want the entire continent to know!”

The head of the Li Family, seated in his study, heaved a sigh and said: “You have grown up. You have the right to decide anything for yourself.”

In the past, he had not approved of this match — but now, his son possessed the cultivation of a Half-Sage and held the position of second disciple in the most powerful sect on the Xingyun Continent. Naturally, he could decide his own future path in life.

“Thank you, Father!”

Li Qingyang glanced at the bashful Qiao’er nestled in his arms, then said with deep emotion: “I will fulfill the vow I made back then — I will tell everyone in the world that it is only I, Li Qingyang, who is worthy or unworthy of you. Not the other way around!”

This was a man taking responsibility for his own.

You shameless scoundrel Gousha — come out and take your beating!

· · · · ·

The following day.

News of the imminent betrothal of the second disciple of the Wangu Sect spread across the entire Xingyun Continent. Great clans, powers, and organizations alike all received their invitations.

“Sect Leader!”

A senior figure from one sect broke down and cried: “The disciples of the Wangu Sect number at least a hundred thousand at minimum — every single person’s betrothal must be celebrated with grand ceremony. Just keeping up with the gift money alone is enough to bankrupt us!”

“What else can be done!” the great Sect Leader wailed on the verge of tears. “The invitations have already been delivered — not attending would certainly earn us a scolding!”

The one comfort for the various factions was that those who received invitations could travel by ultra-powered teleportation formation free of charge — no need for a long and arduous journey. They simply had to bring their congratulatory gifts.

· · · · ·

Not all clans and sects greeted the receipt of yet another invitation from the Wangu Sect with furrowed brows and troubled hearts. The Ai Family of Huyang City and the Song Family of Sunyang City were among those who were both delighted and proud.

One had long maintained a cooperative relationship with Jun Changxiao; the other had a son among the sect’s disciples. To have received an invitation represented nothing less than supreme honor.

Years hence, when these families produced their long-preserved invitations, they would naturally not fail to boast of it at length — drawing the envy of all who heard.

And yet.

None suffered a more wretched fate than the Xiao Family of Liyang City.

This clan, within the span of barely ten years, had already fallen from being a first-tier family in Qingyang Commandery to second and third-tier status — and was even now sliding toward the ranks of the unremarkable.

The reason for all of this lay in the sanctions imposed on their business dealings, and the years of mockery and ridicule from others.

Some might ask: who exactly had poisoned Xiao Zuiji? In truth, there was no longer any need to dig deeper into the matter — for it had been completely swept away and extinguished when the Grand Elder of the Xiao Family suddenly died several years ago.

· · · · ·

Three days later.

On the main peak’s martial training grounds of the Wangu Sect, witnessed by clan and sect leaders from every corner of the land — and watched by warriors across all cities beneath the projection light screens — Li Qingyang and Sister Qiao’er completed their betrothal ceremony.

That evening at the banquet, Ye Xingchen placed several jars of “Drunk into a Dream of Death” wine on the table and raised his eyebrows at Su Xiaomo, Li Fei, and the others, declaring with an arrogant air: “Nobody is leaving. We battle until dawn!”

“Afraid of you?”

Su Xiaomo, Li Fei, and the others rolled up their sleeves. By the time the banquet ended, all the men had been knocked flat under the tables — with only A’Niu still seated steadily as a fisherman on a quiet shore, finishing another bowl of wine and sneering with contempt: “A bunch of garbage!”

Li Qingyang’s betrothal ceremony, though Jun Changxiao was responsible for it, meant she did little more than show her face at the ceremony itself — all her time was poured into researching the Grand Formation for Seizing Heaven and Earth’s Fortune.

· · · · ·

One year later.

In a certain commandery, a mountain suddenly collapsed. Flowing light burst forth from the earth and merged into the body of a young man — but before it could even begin to beguile, a merciless rubber snout smacked it square in the face, and before it could even struggle, it was sucked into the dust collector.

“Caught another one.”

Jiang Xie tossed the vacuum into his spatial ring, his primordial spirit form continued to extend outward, then locked onto a certain region, and thought to himself: “Better not wait for them to awaken — just yank them out from inside directly.”

The subsequent Eighth Hall Master and Ninth Hall Master of the Soul Clan didn’t even get a single appearance on stage before they were ruthlessly dealt with.

At this point, all nine of the powerful Soul Clan members who had once plagued the Xingyun Continent had experienced the functions of the specially modified vacuum, and were thrown into the Tianyuan Prison Tower to be thoroughly re-educated by Er’ya in every conceivable way.

· · · · ·

Two years later.

With Tiegu Town’s presence, the Qingyang Commandery’s economy underwent rapid development — under the new tier evaluation system, it rose in one stride to become the most powerful commandery on the Xingyun Continent, and the overall hard strength of the southwestern Yanzhou region rose as well, lifted by the same tide.

Three years later.

The ultra-powered teleportation network system that the Wangu Sect had invested in and built opened in full across the Xingyun Continent. It can be said that full coverage of the entire continent was achieved — transmission to any location at will, with routes even extending directly to the three overseas provinces. Truly an engineering feat that would benefit generations upon generations for ten thousand years to come.

Four years later.

Five years later…

No matter how time passed, Jun Changxiao remained fixed in her research of the Grand Formation for Seizing Heaven and Earth’s Fortune. She rarely appeared in the sect, and even more rarely appeared in the outside world.

“Creak!”

Not until the ninth year after the new main storyline quest had appeared did the stone door — now thick with cobwebs — finally open. Jun Changxiao walked out from within, and in the reflection of sunlight, the top of her head gleamed bright and brilliant.

Researching formations consumed mental energy.

And so, over all these years, Gousha had truly gone bald!