Halt! Demon Empress, Let Go of My Brother-in-Law!

The twenty-second day of the twelfth lunar month was auspicious for marriage.

Today was the wedding day of the royal family's most favored Third Princess. Gongs and drums resounded throughout the Bian Kingdom's Capital City, and red silk fluttered everywhere in the cold wind, brimming with festive cheer.

But that was only judging by the sounds. Anyone who actually stepped outside would discover just how eerie the atmosphere in the Capital City was.

At that moment, the streets of both the Inner City and the outer city were utterly deserted, yet gongs and drums rang out everywhere along those empty avenues.

The Third Princess's Residence.

Zhang Yuan woke on the bed in his guest room. Opening his eyes, he saw the crimson wedding garment beside the bed. He sighed and could only resign himself to putting it on.

After changing into the wedding garment, Zhang Yuan moved around a little.

He had to admit that the wedding garment Dongfang Caibai had prepared fit him quite well. It did not hamper his movements in the slightest.

"Heavenly Vision."

Zhang Yuan opened the [Heavenly Vision] panel, intending to confirm the course of the future once more and check whether anything had changed.

Had he not looked, he would never have known. Opening [Heavenly Vision] again after two days, he found that the three original futures—two deaths and one survival—really had undergone a quiet change.

[Heavenly Vision]

[3. The Li Clan Daughter learns that you are to become the Third Princess's Consort of the Bian Kingdom and comes to steal you away from the wedding.]

"What was going on?"

Zhang Yuan was bewildered.

The third future as the princess's consort had vanished, replaced by one in which the Li Clan Daughter came to steal him away from the wedding.

The change in the future was entirely unexpected.

But the problem was, why did this future have no outcome?

It neither said he would die nor stated that he would live.

A cause without an outcome—this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Zhang Yuan's brows furrowed slightly.

The Li Clan Daughter was once betrothed to me. She came to the Capital City and heard about my marriage to Dongfang Caibai. That must be what triggered the change in the third future.

Never mind that he had never met this Li Clan Daughter; even if they had met, the Eastern Bian Li Clan had abandoned him first. What was the meaning of coming to snatch him back now?

No, thinking about it carefully, I might actually have met this Li Clan Daughter.

Zhang Yuan suddenly recalled the Li Descendant he had seen before, cloaked so that her face was hidden, with the [Li Patriarch's Illegitimate Daughter] label above her head.

Li Houcheng's illegitimate daughter also had two golden labels, [True Lord's Transmission of the Law] and [True Lord Potential]. If she truly was the one betrothed to him, she might indeed be capable of changing the future.

Now that Zhang Yuan had reached fifth-turn qi refinement, his own Dao status had already transcended that of ordinary mortals, and he had formed a few guesses about what could rewrite the future established by [Heavenly Vision].

Xiao Yuanjun could rewrite a future of certain death with a single sentence because she possessed the Dao status of a half-step Foundation-Building Heavenly Being. Her weight in Heaven and Earth, and in the future, was immense. Even a thought or an offhand remark from her was more effective than a hundred actions from Zhang Yuan.

Following that reasoning, even if this Li Clan Daughter's cultivation fell short of Xiao Yuanjun's tenth-turn qi refinement, she had to be at least at ninth-turn qi refinement.

At this point, he could only take one step at a time.

He had already done everything he could to the best of his ability.

If the Bian Kingdom's Demon Empress could contend against the two Golden Core cultivators from the Li and Chu clans, he would have no need to turn against her as Dongfang Caibai would.

If she could not, he had already met True Lord Xuanqing Tianhua yesterday and could surrender directly to Western Bian Chu when the time came.

If further unforeseen changes arose on top of that, he would simply accept them.

Zhang Yuan steadied his mind and walked out of the guest room, only to find Xiao Yuanjun squatting idly by the doorway with a skewer of candied hawthorn in her hand.

Xiao Yuanjun looked very different today. Instead of her patched and mended Gray Daoist Robe, she had changed into a sky-blue Glazed Robe.

Seeing Zhang Yuan emerge, Xiao Yuanjun stood and asked with a smile, "The Third Princess sent this over. How does your master look in it?"

She showed not the slightest sign of tension and was even in the mood to ask whether her clothes looked good.

"Yes, very nice." Zhang Yuan nodded, sounding somewhat perfunctory.

Xiao Yuanjun raised a brow in displeasure. "Such a halfhearted answer. Are you forgetting how good your master has been to you now that you're starting a family?"

I don't even know whether I'll live through today, and she's talking about starting a family.

The corner of Zhang Yuan's mouth twitched, and he offered a compliment.

"In that Glazed Robe, Master, you are as graceful as a startled swan, your bearing untouched by worldly dust. Your disciple was so awestruck by your celestial beauty that I thought a True Immortal had descended from heaven."

Xiao Yuanjun nodded in satisfaction.

That's more like it.

"All right, let's go to the Main Hall and find the Third Princess. The [Shared-Lifeforce Baleful Force] will manifest then," Xiao Yuanjun said.

The title of princess's consort sounded glorious, but if the consort lacked sufficient standing, he was effectively just a live-in son-in-law marrying into the royal family.

Thus, Zhang Yuan, who had been staying at the Third Princess's Residence all along, only needed to walk from his guest room to the residence's Main Hall to marry Dongfang Caibai. There was no need for a bridal-fetching procession.

The Main Hall.

Dongfang Caibai wore a gold-embellished bridal gown and a ceremonial cape, her head covered by a red veil. Poised and dignified, she stood in the center of the Main Hall, waiting for Zhang Yuan to arrive.

Besides Dongfang Caibai, two other people were in the Main Hall: a man and a woman.

The woman wore a phoenix crown and ceremonial cape, her bearing graceful and regal. Her face bore a strong resemblance to Dongfang Caibai's, and she sat upright in a chair, inspiring awe at a glance. The man wore a nine-clawed Dragon Robe and an Imperial Crown.

Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun entered the Main Hall just then. Upon seeing the pair, they immediately recognized their identities.

The Bian Emperor and the Bian Empress.

"Zhang Yuan, why does this Bian Emperor look so witless?" Xiao Yuanjun asked through a secret voice transmission.

Zhang Yuan lifted his gaze slightly.

Clad in his Dragon Robe and Imperial Crown, the Bian Emperor was reasonably handsome, though not as handsome as Zhang Yuan. Had he furrowed his brows, he would have exuded authority without needing to show anger.

Yet the Bian Emperor's eyes were unfocused, without the slightest gleam of awareness. Sitting beside the Bian Empress, he resembled a puppet on strings.

"Zhang Yuan pays his respects to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress." Zhang Yuan cupped his hands and bowed.

"Mm, a fine-looking young man indeed, worthy of my daughter. You may complete the wedding now," the Bian Empress said softly, her tone gentle.

Not daring to hesitate, Zhang Yuan silently walked over to Dongfang Caibai's side.

"Heaven possesses the nine virtues, divides Yin-Yang, transforms the five elements, and gives birth to all things. In receiving Heaven's virtue, first bow to Heaven and Earth."

A booming, solemn voice resounded in his ears.

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan was just about to move when he discovered that his body had begun moving of its own accord, preparing to bow to Heaven and Earth.

Dongfang Caibai beside him was no different. Even with her Foundation Establishment cultivation in the Gang Sha Path and the Dao status of a Heavenly Being, she lost control of her physical body at that moment.

The corners of the Bian Empress's lips lifted, her face radiant with a smile.

Just as the two were about to bow reverently to Heaven and Earth—

An ill-timed voice suddenly came from outside the residence.

"Western Bian Chu heard of the Third Princess's wedding and has come bearing lavish gifts!"

Li Houjin and Chu Miaofu, the two Foundation-Building Heavenly Beings, approached at the head of members of both clans, including Li Jiejian, Li Zhongshuang, Chu Xiyin, and Chu Xiwen.

The difference was that Western Bian Chu carried lavish gifts, while every member of the Eastern Bian Li Clan held a weapon, their faces expressionless, looking ready to demand an accounting.

They entered the Main Hall.

With a miserable expression, Li Jiejian quietly asked his fifth uncle, Li Houxuan, "Fifth Uncle, do I really have to do this?"

"Go on, Jiejian. Don't disgrace our Eastern Bian Li Clan," Li Houxuan said, patting his shoulder.

Li Jiejian could only nod. He strode forward, his brows drawn fiercely together, and pointed in fury.

"Halt! Demon Empress, release my brother-in-law at once, or don't blame our Eastern Bian Li Clan for abandoning courtesy!"