Though the Bricks Are Hot, My Legs Don't Tremble

The disappearance of the bride and groom suddenly threw the guests into a panic.

Under the reminder of Ning Zhongzi's divine sense, the old master of ceremonies hurriedly took charge:

"Everyone, there is no need to be nervous. The bride and groom have simply headed to the bridal chamber early, but the wedding banquet is not over yet. Elder Ning Zhongzi has an important announcement to make to you all."

The guests held their breath and focused their attention.

Ning Zhongzi tidied her appearance, walked to the front with her hands behind her back, and, shedding her usual sternness, spoke in an approachable tone.

"On behalf of the Bamboo Spring Sect, I thank you all for your presence. I thank you for continuing to believe in the Bamboo Spring Sect and our Sect Master to this very day."

The guests wore solemn expressions.

Ning Zhongzi continued:

"For a long time, the Sect Master was mistaken for a witch due to the restrictions within her body, but this was a misunderstanding. As you all saw just now, Elder Lu Ya was able to become a dao companion with the Sect Master, and those of you carrying the bamboo slips personally crafted by Elder Lu Ya remained unharmed by the Sect Master. It is clear that as long as you carry the protective bamboo slip, you can live normally within the Bamboo Spring Sect."

Ning Zhongzi kept her attitude very humble, appearing not as an Immortal Master, but as an ordinary immortal citizen.

The local immortal citizens finally came to their senses.

They suddenly realized that even after seeing the Sect Master blush from being kissed, they had remained completely unscathed!

There wasn't even the slightest strange sensation...

One must know that this group included not only women but also a small number of elderly people and young boys; the chefs, musicians, and even the master of ceremonies on the bamboo stage were all men, and none of them had been affected in the slightest.

A plump woman asked:

"Is it because Elder Lu Ya shared his power of destiny with us?"

"That is exactly right. Elder Lu Ya is protecting everyone through the bamboo slips."

"Does this mean the sect is preparing to accept disciples again?"

Some local children chimed in excitedly.

"I want to cultivate immortality too!"

"I'm not afraid of the Sect Master!"

"The Sect Master is a good person!"

Ning Zhongzi shook her head with a rare smile.

"The Bamboo Spring Sect will not be expanding to accept disciples for the time being. Our plan is to build an immortal city on the Floating Mountain."

"An immortal city?"

"Yes, the name of the city has already been decided: Azure Phoenix City. Elder Lu Ya will serve as the new City Lord, and Wine Fox Immortal, an immortal sect deacon from the East Floating Immortal Court, will serve as the resident envoy."

Having said this, Ning Zhongzi added one more thing.

"Wine Fox Immortal was once the Sect Master's best friend; with her here, everyone's safety is guaranteed."

Wine Fox Immortal's notoriety was limited to a small circle of immortals, and the immortal citizens knew nothing about her.

Upon hearing that she was an immortal sect deacon and the Sect Master's best friend, the immortal citizens suddenly felt much more at ease.

"But East Floating City is very close and has a better location, plus it is guarded by the Immortal Court. How will Azure Phoenix City develop?"

Ning Zhongzi remained calm and unhurried.

"Elder Lu Ya plans to build Azure Phoenix City into the first gourmet city in the Colored Cloud Immortal Domain. Relying on the rich spiritual energy and soil of our Floating Mountain, we will focus on animal husbandry and farming to develop barbecue and brewing crafts."

"A gourmet city? Do immortals even need to eat?"

"Elder Lu Ya is a highly skilled God of Cooking. You have all tasted his immortal falcon and malt ale; these delicacies and fine wines are not only delicious but also highly beneficial to cultivation, with effects equal to medicinal pills."

"It's true, my lower abdomen feels like it's heating up..."

"Elder Lu Ya is amazing!"

"Elder Ning, can we drifters also join Azure Phoenix City?"

"As long as you are not unscrupulous rogue immortals, anyone can join. Even if you lack a trade, you can farm, herd, or work as a helper in the taverns."

"Really?"

"That's wonderful!"

"Local immortal citizens, you may have your husbands and children return home to develop. Outsiders, please return and make the truth of tonight known to the public, and spread the news of the Bamboo Spring Sect building a city."

Ning Zhongzi stood tall and imposing, her gaze earnest beneath her delicate, slender willow-leaf brows.

"Azure Phoenix City will begin construction tomorrow. Any immortal citizens who wish to join may go to Clear Spring Village at the foot of the mountain at any time to register."

Before she had even finished speaking, people were already seen running in the direction of Clear Spring Village.

Ning Zhongzi hurriedly said:

"There is no need to rush. The evening banquet is not over yet; everyone can continue to drink to their heart's content, and you may pack up whatever you cannot finish to take with you."

The guests' minds were no longer on eating or drinking.

With Lu Ya and Wine Fox Immortal involved, everyone felt an infinite longing for Azure Phoenix City.

"We are about to become city dwellers."

"Mommy, can you call Daddy and Brother back?"

"I want to eat and drink more to improve my talent so I can cultivate at the Bamboo Spring Sect in the future."

Some refugee children shouted excitedly:

"Mommy, we have a home now."

"Everyone here is a good person!"

"We will never go hungry again."

Ning Zhongzi stepped down from the stage, looking at the expectant immortal commoners with a heart full of gratification.

She had been somewhat pessimistic, never expecting that under Lu Ya's seemingly unreliable arrangements, things would go so smoothly.

Senior Brother Lu really is a magical man...

At this moment, she looked up and saw Muyu Feifei riding a giant gourd, flying around in the sky.

She walked over to the Wine Fox Immortal and, seeing her unrefined sleeping posture, could not help but shake her head.

She then took out a black pill and stuffed it into her mouth.

She left after the deed was done, hiding her merit and fame.

A quarter of an hour later, the Wine Fox Immortal woke up with a sneeze.

She scrambled to her feet, feeling an abnormal nausea in her mouth, and clutched her throat as she retched violently.

"What kind of medicine did that woman feed me?"

Looking at the guests around her, each one was beaming with smiles; there was no sign of the previous sorrow, no forced smiles, and certainly no confusion about the future.

After that kid forcibly kissed Liu Xuanye, what on earth happened?

She looked over to see Muyu Feifei riding her giant gourd, flying around everywhere.

The Wine Fox Immortal flashed, suddenly appearing on the giant gourd, and asked abruptly:

"Is your Elder Lu still alive?"

The two girls were startled.

They turned around abruptly, just in time to bump into the Great Snow Mountain covered in footprints.

They wiped it clean.

"The Sect Master went to the bridal chamber."

"Pfft—"

Bamboo Spring Sect.

The evening breeze was intoxicating, and the bamboo rustled softly.

The stars were like gems studded in the night sky, casting a crystalline and gentle radiance that made everything in the Bamboo Spring Sect appear exceptionally elegant and dreamily tranquil.

Standing with her hands behind her back on the eastern cliff of the Sword Terrace, Liu Xuanye's heart rate was somewhat chaotic, and her cold, beautiful cheeks were slightly burning; if it were daytime, a flush might have been visible.

But it was quickly suppressed by her sword intent.

Liu Xuanye stood like a bamboo sword, suspended with her hands behind her back, and soon regained her usual aura.

Looking at the distant, twinkling bonfires to the east of the Floating Mountain, she felt it was all very strange.

Even in the bold and unrestrained Immortal Realm, taking a partner is a sacred matter.

For three thousand years, she had never imagined that one day she would have a dao companion...

She had never imagined that her dao companion would be even more mysterious than she was.

She extended her slender, delicate hand.

A cyan-colored immortal sword appeared in her palm.

The sword had no scabbard; it was thin and long, and although the blade bore no engraved runes, it exuded an extraordinary, icy aura.

"This is the sword that has been with me for two thousand years, Xuanye; I am giving it to you now."

Lu Ya thought to himself that while he hadn't gifted a fine steed, giving a personal, famous sword was not bad either.

But observing Liu Xuanye's rare, solemn expression, the importance of this cyan sword might far exceed his imagination.

Taking the Xuanye Sword, Lu Ya asked:

"Why this sword?"

Liu Xuanye's sword-like eyes were like water, containing starlight, and she said very calmly:

"If one day I lose control, please use this sword to kill me."

Do I need a sword to kill someone?

Lu Ya thought to himself.

Wait, how could I, Lu Ya, ever kill my wife?

This was a death trap of a question!

Avoiding the pitfall, Lu Ya's expression softened as he said calmly:

"Perhaps the version of you after losing control is the real you; isn't that more interesting?"

"You find it interesting?"

Liu Xuanye turned abruptly serious.

"Our ultimate enemy is far stronger than that black arm from tonight. Perhaps you are the one destined by fate and won't be affected, but others cannot escape this catastrophe. When that time comes, killing me will be the only solution, and the only person capable of killing me is you, wielding the Xuanye Sword."

Lu Ya looked at her calmly.

It seemed this woman was not entirely ignorant of her own condition and had long since prepared for the worst.

What else could Lu Ya say?

He couldn't exactly tell her that her husband was maxed out in every profession and that she wouldn't have to die at all, could he?

"Fine."

Receiving Lu Ya's affirmative answer, Liu Xuanye breathed a slight sigh of relief. Her entire demeanor lightened, and a hint of wifely tenderness flickered in her clear, cold eyes.

"Are you getting used to the bamboo cottage Senior Sister built for you?"

Whenever Lu Ya caught a fleeting moment of tenderness from Liu Xuanye, he felt a ripple of emotion that made it hard to remain a slacker.

This was only human nature; he was invincible in the game, but in reality, he was still a virgin.

"Mm, the bed is a bit hard, but everything else is fine."

"You can stay with me."

"Hm?"

"Senior Sister said that dao companions are meant to practice dual cultivation."

"Hm?"

As expected, women become proactive once they get married!

Do you call this love?

You're just lusting after my body!

How shameless!

Lu Ya was quite indignant.

Liu Xuanye's voice was like a hanging moon, solemn yet tinged with a lazy, seductive quality.

"You ran away when I was undergoing my tribulation the night before last. Tonight is our wedding night; you won't run away again, will you?"

Although Lu Ya didn't particularly want things to progress to this stage, he was neither a eunuch nor a monk. Today was their wedding day, and whether for the sake of the sect or Liu Xuanye, he ought to go through with the full ceremony.

Perhaps this would lead to encountering the final boss ahead of schedule, but that was just a minor issue.

Resigned to his fate, Lu Ya nodded.

"It is only right."

Liu Xuanye suddenly took his hand.

"Come with me."

On the west side of Little Bamboo Spring Mountain.

Liu Xuanye's bedchamber.

Although Muyu Feifei desperately wanted to crash the bridal chamber and the Wine Fox Immortal wanted to sneak in to observe from the shadows, both were turned away at the door by Ning Zhongzi.

After one night.

The sky was bright.

Lu Ya opened his eyes, feeling dazed.

He discovered he was sitting within a sword formation on the second floor.

It was roughly the same spot as the night Liu Xuanye underwent her tribulation, only closer to her now, with barely a foot of distance between them.

Liu Xuanye was dressed in a neat white gauze robe.

Pure, slender, and soul-stirring.

She sat cross-legged, eyes closed, circulating her energy; the sea of qi within her Immortal Platform was exceptionally calm.

She had spent the entire night practicing just like this.

Lu Ya had practiced along with her all night...

By the end, he was so exhausted that he had simply fallen asleep while sitting up.

As dawn broke, he snapped his eyes open, his waist aching and his vision blurring.

The corner of Lu Ya's eye twitched as he asked directly:

"Is this what you call dual cultivation?"

Her picturesque brows and eyes bathed in the morning glow, Liu Xuanye closed her eyes and said softly, "Is there any other kind of dual cultivation?"

"There will be soon enough."

Seeing that Liu Xuanye was overly natural, without a trace of artifice, Lu Ya decided to postpone the service and rose to leave the bedchamber.

Because he had been sitting cross-legged for too long, his legs were sore, numb, and trembling subconsciously.

Lu Ya thought to himself...

If he had known it would be like this, he would have been better off laying bricks!

Although the bricks were hot to the touch, at least his legs wouldn't be shaking.

Stop asking, they will consummate the marriage before the book goes on sale; I'm not relying on that to drive subscriptions!