He crossed the courtyard, where buildings stood in orderly tiers, one behind another. The Xu Household ranked quite highly in Canglan City as one of its four great lineages. Though its foundations were not as deep as those of the other three, it was far from weak.
Xu Yilin had long since reached the peak of the Spirit Cleansing Realm and was one of Canglan City's ten greatest experts.
The room was a complete mess, its stench reaching the heavens. Dirty clothes were piled in a corner, with several pairs of foul socks tossed beside them.
"Interesting. I'm already married to the Xu Household's eldest young lady, yet I'm still living in this shabby courtyard."
Liu Wuxie rubbed his nose. Yesterday's wedding banquet had not been a lavish affair. They had invited a few lineage elders and hastily concluded the proceedings. As for the bridal chamber?
Bridal chamber, his ass. He had been beaten back out before he could even enter, without so much as seeing his wife's face.
In a fit of anger, he had gone to a brothel with a few disreputable friends to take his mind off things.
He opened the wardrobe, found a blue robe, put it on, and left the room.
Passing through the main hall, he entered the inner quarters, where the head of the Xu Household lived. Ordinary people could not enter here.
In the reception hall, three people sat at a table: his father-in-law, Xu Yilin, his mother-in-law, Yang Zi, and his wife, Xu Lingxue.
Xu Lingxue was beautiful, breathtakingly so. She exuded a quiet, noble presence, with long eyelashes, a high nose bridge, and lovely red lips. Her figure curved in all the right places, its undulating lines outlining a perfect body that was intensely alluring.
As an Immortal Emperor who had lived for several thousand years, Liu Wuxie had seen countless beauties.
The one who had left the deepest impression on him was Immortal Emperor Shui Yao, the greatest beauty of the Immortal Realm. Compared with her, Xu Lingxue yielded nothing.
This woman is my wife?
With looks like these, with such grace and beauty, would she not turn the mortal world upside down? Calling her a beauty who brought calamity would be no exaggeration. Yet a woman like her had actually married such a good-for-nothing.
Xu Lingxue glanced at him, her delicate brows creasing slightly before her expression immediately returned to its impassive state. Last night's incident had affected the Xu Household far too greatly. Her cold eyes no longer looked at him.
There is no sorrow greater than a dead heart. She's utterly disappointed in me, Liu Wuxie sighed inwardly. He shifted his gaze away from Xu Lingxue and stepped into the reception hall.
Liu Wuxie did not sit, but stood to one side. His mother-in-law, Yang Zi, wore an ugly expression, wishing she could beat him out of the room. His father-in-law, Xu Yilin, took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger.
"Aren't you going to give us an explanation for what happened last night?"
Xu Yilin spoke first, a hint of interrogation in his voice. He had watched Liu Wuxie grow up and had long treated him as his own son. He had no sons himself, and Liu Wuxie was the only child of an old friend who had shared life and death with him. Though the boy had been a wastrel these past few years, he had endured it.
But last night's events had filled him with righteous indignation. After speaking, his chest heaved violently as he suppressed his anger.
"There's nothing to explain. It's already happened. Any explanation would be superfluous."
Liu Wuxie's calm reply enraged Xu Yilin. He raised his hand, then quickly lowered it. Had Liu Wuxie admitted his mistake, he would have felt somewhat better. What was he trying to say with those words-that even an explanation was superfluous?
What he did not know was that last night's Liu Wuxie had already breathed his last, his life taken by someone's palm strike.
Xu Yilin's reaction let Liu Wuxie feel a family's concern. In his previous life, he had always been alone, rising step by step with a blood saber in hand. Now that he had a family in this life, he felt an inexplicable urge to protect them. This feeling was good.
As for yesterday's incident, he would investigate it himself and find out exactly who had wanted to kill him.
"Brother Liu was an upright man who stood tall between heaven and earth. How could he have fathered a useless wretch like you? You've utterly disgraced the Liu Household. What you did yesterday was worse than a beast!"
Yang Zi stood, finally erupting. This incident had left the Xu Household unable to hold its head high throughout Canglan City, and even the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty. From now on, they would have to lower themselves before everyone they met.
Liu Wuxie did not argue. His memories of his parents had long since grown hazy. They had mysteriously disappeared when he was young.
"This has nothing to do with my parents. I caused this, and I'll bear full responsibility."
Liu Wuxie was somewhat displeased. In the entire Xu Household, aside from Xu Yilin, who treated him reasonably well, he could say little good about the others. As for Xu Lingxue, she had always remained high above him. Though they had grown up together, they rarely interacted.
"Bear full responsibility? What can you bear it with? People outside are saying our Xu Household failed to discipline you and demanding that we hand you over to be beaten to death with clubs!"
Yang Zi sneered. If her husband did not have some standing, would Liu Wuxie still be standing here unharmed? He would have been beaten to death long ago.
All manner of ugly words poured from her mouth. Liu Wuxie remained unmoved, listening quietly. He owed the Xu Household far too much over these years. A few words of abuse did no real harm.
"Enough!"
Xu Yilin interrupted Yang Zi. What propriety would remain if she went on? However worthless Liu Wuxie was, he was still Brother Liu's only son. Without Brother Liu, their Xu Household would have been destroyed long ago. He remembered that kindness deeply.
"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
Liu Wuxie bowed in salute. Regardless of whether they agreed, he headed out of the reception hall once he finished speaking. From beginning to end, he remained very calm.
Usually, when Yang Zi scolded him, he would sometimes grin cheekily and argue back a little. His attitude today was far too unusual. Could yesterday's incident have dealt him too great a blow?
"If you have nothing to do, don't go out. Stay home and cultivate properly."
Just as Liu Wuxie was about to leave the hall, Xu Yilin's voice reached him, warming his heart. His steps paused, and he nodded slightly before returning to his residence.
He cleaned the room and washed some dirty clothes, then sat cross-legged. He had yet to examine the mysterious characters that had appeared in his mind.
His consciousness entered his soul sea, and his entire body shuddered. "This is the long-lost Primordial Desolation Script!"
Liu Wuxie was utterly shaken. The Primordial Desolation Script had long since vanished. No one in the mortal realm would recognize it, and even in the Immortal Realm, no more than five people knew it. He was one of them.
The Primordial Desolation World had been born at the beginning of the universe. It had long since perished, disappearing into the long river of history.
He spent an incense stick's worth of time organizing all the Primordial Desolation Script. Every word was a pearl, reaching straight to the heart of the Great Dao. Most terrifying was the final passage: of all things beneath heaven, there was nothing it could not devour, nothing it could not refine, and nothing it could not transform.
"Grand Desolation Heaven-Devouring Instruction!"
Five large characters floated before him, magnificent and majestic, stirring the soul. A primordial presence burst from his body.
"What a terrifying method formula. The Primordial Immortal Dao Instruction I cultivated in my previous life isn't even on the same level."
In the Soaring Cloud Immortal Realm, the Primordial Immortal Dao Instruction was unquestionably among the very finest method formulas. In his previous life, he had relied on it to cultivate to the Immortal Emperor Realm. Could this Grand Desolation Heaven-Devouring Instruction break through the shackles of heaven and earth and reach a higher level?
Liu Wuxie dared not think further. What lay beyond Immortal Emperor? No one knew.
"I hope the Grand Desolation Heaven-Devouring Instruction isn't like the other cultivation methods of the Immortal Realm, impossible for mortals to cultivate."
He said this inwardly. He had just tested several cultivation methods, but could not cultivate a single one. With apprehension in his heart, he followed the instructions of the Grand Desolation Heaven-Devouring Instruction and began cultivating it for the first time.
The moment he circulated it, the entire courtyard grew exceedingly restless. Spiritual Qi drifting through the air hissed, surging madly through the cracks in the door and into his body.
Vast quantities of spiritual Qi turned to liquid. After entering his Dantian, more than half was drawn away by the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron. This sight shocked Liu Wuxie even further.
"It absorbs spiritual Qi on its own?"
Regardless, being able to cultivate the Grand Desolation Heaven-Devouring Instruction was a good thing. As for the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron taking more than half, he did not particularly mind.
Having confirmed he could cultivate it, he let loose completely, driving the Grand Desolation Heaven-Devouring Instruction with all his strength. Terrifying spiritual Qi took on a liquid-like form and battered his meridians.
Nourished by spiritual Qi, his frail meridians gave off a faint luster. Large amounts of black filth seeped from his pores, filling the entire room with a foul stench.
He circulated the method formula, repelling the foul-smelling air and revealing fresh skin, smooth as jade. The skin over his entire body seemed reborn, like that of a newborn infant.
"Marrow cleansing and bone tempering!"
After cultivating for only a cup of tea's worth of time, more than half the impurities in his body had been cleared away. If he continued cultivating, how incredible would the results be?
The body was the foundation. The more firmly it was laid, the greater his future achievements could be. Liu Wuxie understood this very well and would certainly not stint on it. He diverted the excess spiritual Qi to temper his flesh, in no hurry to break through his cultivation realm for now.
Two hours slipped quietly by...
He opened his eyes, and a cold gleam shot out, forming two streams of frigid force.
"Not bad. After two hours of cultivation, ten drops of mysterious liquid have appeared inside the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron."
He poured out the liquid, letting it flow into his body to continue remolding it. Powerful vortices brewed around him, and his meridians sounded like war drums, like ten thousand galloping horses.
Acquired Second Layer!
Third Layer of the Houtian Realm!
Acquired Fourth Layer!
In just a few breaths, he went from a good-for-nothing at the acquired first layer to breaking through several layers in succession, reaching the acquired fourth layer before the process slowly stopped.
He exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling comfortable all over. He was like someone reborn through fire, his entire body exuding an otherworldly presence.
He left the room and stood beneath the banyan tree, his head lowered in thought.
"Cultivation cannot do without wealth, companions, methods, and land. If I want to raise my cultivation quickly, I'll need plenty of money to support it. The Grand Desolation Heaven-Devouring Instruction alone still isn't enough. My first priority is to refine a Meridian-Restoring Pill and buy the medicinal ingredients for Body-Tempering Liquid. The acquired realm requires repeatedly tempering the body."
He rubbed his smooth chin and spoke inwardly.
Taking out paper and a brush, he wrote down all the ingredients needed to refine the Meridian-Restoring Pill. After a moment's hesitation, he wrote out another pill formula, folded it, and tucked it into his robes.
It was already midmorning, and the entire Xu Household had grown busy.
He shut the courtyard gate and passed through the corridor. Along the way, he encountered several Xu Household servants, their faces full of contempt. They had never held any fondness for this live-in son-in-law.
"Disgraceful, utterly disgraceful. Our Xu Household will have a hard time holding its head high in Canglan City from now on."
Before Liu Wuxie had even left, quiet discussions reached him from behind. Several maids pointed at him and whispered.
"The young lady must be the most heartbroken. On the very first day of their marriage, this good-for-nothing actually ran off to visit a brothel. Visiting was one thing, but he even let his beastly nature run wild. Now look-everyone in Canglan City knows about it."
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