Yan Ruyu's gaze swept over the marriage contract. After pondering for a long while, she finally nodded. "Come back to Qingyun Sect with me first. After some time, we'll go find him."
Ye Yu had already left. Chasing after him now was no longer realistic.
Moreover, the blood poison in her body had only just flared up again. She needed to return to the sect and have its people suppress it first.
At this, Liu Ruyan was overjoyed. She had finally latched onto Yan Ruyu's thigh.
She then left Liu Manor with Yan Ruyu and headed for Qingyun Sect.
Great Yan Imperial Palace, Ye Qingxuan's residence.
Ye Qingshuang entered with a bitter expression, her gaze falling upon Ye Qingxuan lying on the bed.
Ye Qingxuan had already awakened. She knew she had been poisoned and that she could no longer wield any spiritual power. Her eyes were vacant as she stared at the ceiling.
"Second Sister..." Ye Qingshuang called softly.
Hearing Ye Qingshuang's voice, Ye Qingxuan's eyes immediately lit up. Cangyun had previously told her that Ye Qingshuang might bring someone capable of curing her poison.
"Where is he? Did you bring him?" Ye Qingxuan asked, trembling.
Ye Qingshuang shook her head bitterly. Ye Qingxuan's expression instantly dimmed completely, her face ashen as death.
Ye Qingshuang did not know what to say either. She could only stand silently at the side.
Before long, Cangyun walked in and looked at Ye Qingshuang. "What happened? I was refining pills just now and did not notice anything unusual with the jade talisman."
"Master, is there truly no way to cure my Second Sister's poison?" At the sight of Cangyun, Ye Qingshuang burst into tears. Seeing her Second Sister in such a state was truly unbearable for her.
Cangyun glanced around. Seeing that Ye Yu had not come, he ultimately let out a sigh. "He truly is unwilling to forgive you all. As for your Second Sister, have your imperial father think of something."
"Forgive? Master, you mean?" Ye Qingshuang froze, unable to understand what Cangyun meant.
"Of course I mean Ye Yu. Only he can cure this poison. After all, he is a Rank 7 alchemist." Cangyun sighed.
Yet Ye Qingshuang stood rooted to the spot at those words, her face filled with disbelief. "What did you say? Ye Yu is a Rank 7 alchemist? Didn't you mean that Ye Yu was the one who poisoned her?"
"When did I ever say that Ye Yu poisoned her? What exactly happened just now?" Cangyun frowned, realizing that the matter was likely far from simple, and immediately pressed for answers.
Ye Qingshuang then recounted everything that had happened at Liu Manor.
The more she spoke, the more helpless Cangyun's expression became. In the end, he could only give a bitter laugh.
Ye Qingxuan, lying in bed, went limp all over. Yet she soon struggled to rise from the bed. "I'm going to find Little Yu. Little Yu can save me. He'll definitely save me—he used to like me so much!"
Ye Qingshuang said nothing more. She stepped forward to support Ye Qingxuan, and under Cangyun's watchful gaze, the two staggered out of the bedchamber.
As for Ye Qingwan, after being brought back to the imperial palace, she had remained kneeling in Fengtian Hall.
Ye Fan now sat upon the Imperial Throne. He looked at Ye Xuan beside him with a benevolent expression. "Not bad, not bad. You are already at Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and you are not far from the Golden Core realm. Before the War of a Hundred Dynasties, I will help you reach late Golden Core Stage. Do not disappoint me."
With that, Ye Fan swept his hand, and countless heavenly treasures and rare materials suddenly appeared across the floor of Fengtian Hall. The entire hall became thick with spiritual energy.
Ye Qingwan stared at the sight in utter shock. These resources were likely worth more than the entire treasury of the Great Yan Dynasty combined.
"Imperial Father, are these all for me?!" Ye Xuan widened his eyes and asked in delighted surprise.
With these treasures, combined with the Blood Demon Race's cultivation methods, he was confident he could catch up to Ye Yu in a short time—perhaps even surpass him.
"Correct. These are the betrothal gifts from the Great Zhou Dynasty," Ye Fan said.
"Betrothal gifts?" Ye Qingwan caught the key phrase and blurted it out instinctively.
Ye Fan cast Ye Qingwan an indifferent glance. "Yes. After the War of a Hundred Dynasties ends, you and Qingxuan will marry into Great Zhou and form a marriage alliance with Great Zhou's Fourth Prince."
"W-What? Great Zhou's Fourth Prince? Zhou Li?!" Ye Qingwan's face instantly turned deathly pale.
What kind of person was Zhou Li? If Ye Yu had once become famous throughout Azure Prefecture for his talent, then Zhou Li had carved a shadow into everyone's hearts through his brutality.
It was said that Zhou Li possessed heaven-defying cultivation talent. Only Ye Yu, before he lost his spiritual roots, could compare to him. Even Ye Qingxuan fell far short of Zhou Li.
Yet he was bloodthirsty by nature. Great Zhou had arranged marriages for him before, but not a single Imperial Consort had survived the first night.
Every one of them was carried out the next day as a dried corpse.
"You have objections?" Ye Fan's face darkened as he coldly glanced at Ye Qingwan.
To the vast majority of royal families, princesses were merely tools for marriage alliances, objects used to bind interests together.
"Imperial Father... I..." Ye Qingwan began tremblingly, but in the end, she could not say anything. She could only look pleadingly toward Ye Xuan beside her.
Noticing Ye Qingwan's gaze, Ye Xuan secretly glanced at Ye Fan's expression before immediately speaking. "Eldest Sister, Imperial Father has already accepted the betrothal gifts, so this matter is settled. Didn't you always say that preserving the royal family's dignity was paramount? How could you let Imperial Father break his word to others?"
Ye Qingwan trembled all over at those words, suddenly speechless. They sounded exceedingly familiar.
Were these not precisely the words she had once used against Ye Yu?
Her expression immediately dimmed, and she collapsed weakly onto the floor.
Elsewhere, under the lead of Qin Wushuang, a Nascent Soul Late Stage powerhouse, Ye Yu and the others soon arrived at the Great Qin Capital.
Without any reservations, Qin Wushuang directly brought the three of them into the bedchamber. He then swept his hand, releasing an invisible ripple that sealed the entire chamber shut.
"Is what Situ said true? Can you truly refine Rank 7 Pills?" Once everything was done, Qin Wushuang fixed his gaze firmly on Ye Yu and asked.
At those words, Ye Yu looked toward Situ Guang beside him.
Situ Guang understood Ye Yu's meaning. With a flip of his hand, the Life Profound Origin Pill—a Rank 7 Pill brimming with the breath of life—appeared before Qin Wushuang.
No matter how flowery one's words were, before an emperor like this, seeing it with his own eyes was the most practical proof.
After confirming that it was indeed the Life Profound Origin Pill, Qin Wushuang drew a deep breath. Stars practically began shining in his eyes as he looked at Ye Yu. He stepped forward, grabbed Ye Yu by the shoulders, and asked, "You have nowhere to go for the time being anyway. How about staying in Great Qin and becoming my Ninth Imperial Son-in-law?"
Qin Ruoxian's face instantly flushed crimson. With an embarrassed, annoyed look, she stepped forward and yanked Qin Wushuang's beard. "Say another word of nonsense, and I'll pull every last hair from your beard!"
After saying that, Qin Ruoxian secretly glanced at Ye Yu. Yet there was no embarrassment or annoyance in her eyes—only anticipation, anticipation for Ye Yu's answer.
Ye Yu smiled at this but did not answer. With a flip of his hand, he instead took out a long sword that was icy blue from hilt to tip.
The expressions of Qin Wushuang and the others instantly changed at the sight.
Before you continue