A Jade Incense Burner, a Cool Bamboo Mat and Mandarin Duck Brocade; Powder Melts as Fragrant Sweat Runs onto the Mountain Pillow (Please Keep Reading)

Li Yuankai stepped forward and respectfully presented a Jade Slip and a Storage Bag with both hands.

"My lord, everything has proceeded in an orderly fashion over the past three months. Please allow me to report each matter in turn."

"First, the collection of Frozen Water spiritual materials has begun to bear fruit."

He paused to gather his thoughts.

"The first group of Spirit Root children and all the outer-sect Martial Dao Grandmasters searched the waterways throughout Jade Wave Island and gathered materials without resting for a moment, relying on their mortal bodies. In just three months, they collected enough spiritual materials for more than thirty Frozen Water cultivators to practice breathing cultivation for a full year. All the materials have been sorted and arranged by grade, then placed in this Storage Bag."

Frozen Water spiritual materials were the most urgently needed supplies at present. Several hundred disciples were waiting for them in the Yuyu Realm.

Li Zhengjun accepted the Storage Bag and swept his Divine Sense through it, nodding in satisfaction.

"Well done. By the Yuyu Realm's reckoning, only nine days have passed. In a mere nine days, you gathered a year's supply for thirty people, and that was only what mortals could gather with their bare hands. Once the first group of Spirit Root children enters Fetal Breath, both the speed and range of their search for spiritual materials will increase many times over. The Lineage will not need people for another three months, which gives us a full nine hundred days to prepare in the Great Scarlet Realm. Nearly three years will be enough for us to send a batch of Qi Ingestion disciples capable of great service to the Radiant Bright Blessed Land."

Three months for the Lineage meant nine hundred days here.

Nearly three years was more than enough.

Li Yuankai's expression grew a little solemn as he continued.

"Second, the investigation of Gold-Bearing Mountain is complete. The concentration of spiritual essence in the mountain is at least twice that of the capital. There are more than ten gently sloping valleys suitable for reclaiming as spirit fields, and the water in the mountain streams and underground rivers is also quite suitable for growing Frozen Water spiritual materials. However, a tiger demon at Peak Qi Refinement has made its lair there. Its movements are unpredictable, and despite repeated investigations, we have had difficulty finding its den."

He paused briefly, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.

"In addition, the scouts this disciple sent out sensed a rather peculiar presence deep within Gold-Bearing Mountain. It was scorching but not fierce, yang but not parching. It could never have come from an ordinary fire vein, and it closely resembles the Three Yang spiritual materials described in the Lineage's records."

Li Zhengjun's eyes shot up, and he asked earnestly,

"Truly?"

He cultivated Bright Yang, and Bright Yang spiritual materials were growing scarce in the Yuyu Realm. Whether he could attain the Purple Mansion depended in no small part on the spiritual materials of the Great Scarlet Realm.

Besides, his second uncle Li Chenwei was still waiting for Bright Yang spiritual materials to save his life.

Since Bright Yang could be cultivated in this realm, there had to be Bright Yang spiritual materials here.

"Now that we have a fairly complete picture, we can set about killing it while I've made a breakthrough and am on par with Peak Qi Refinement. Then we can also cultivate spirit fields and grow Spirit Plants nearby, instead of relying solely on gathering."

Li Yuankai nodded and continued.

"Third, Ye Xiufan has entered Fetal Breath and is cultivating extremely quickly. He is currently hunting Demon Beasts and gathering spiritual materials everywhere. It seems he is not doing so merely to improve his cultivation. He has exchanged the vast majority of the spiritual materials for Contribution Points."

Li Zhengjun looked over Ye Xiufan's information item by item and laughed.

"What a follower of the Dao of staying hidden. He really has kept himself well concealed. He's working so desperately because he must have realized how formidable our Cultivation Method is and wants to exchange his points for the rest of the Dao Path."

Li Yuankai laughed too and shook his head.

"This lad does have some genuine skill. His three Spirit Roots aren't a particularly good aptitude, yet his cultivation speed is hardly inferior to someone with a single Spirit Root. He has both talent and diligence. At this rate, it won't take him more than a few years to reach the threshold of Qi Ingestion. In this subordinate's humble opinion, the boy most likely has another thought in mind: he wants to use our Cultivation Method to quickly raise his realm first, then seek a fortuitous opportunity to change his Dao Path later. After all, as he sees it, our Li Household is nothing more than a stepping stone on his path of cultivation."

Li Zhengjun's smile deepened, but his eyes grew cold.

"He is still in Fetal Breath and has yet to enter Qi Ingestion. Once he attains Qi Ingestion, there will be no question of changing his Dao Path. By then, he will have become a pawn of the Li Household through and through. This Ye Xiufan is no creature destined to remain in a pond. Unless we control him, he will surely leave someday. As for what method he should cultivate and how far he should cultivate it, I must return and consult the True Person."

He paused and brought the discussion to a close.

"Is there anything else? If not, I'll return to the Lineage now."

The businesslike expression on Li Yuankai's face suddenly relaxed, replaced by a look that suggested he wanted both to smile and to speak, yet held back.

"My lord, there is one more very important matter."

Li Zhengjun was taken aback.

"What is it?"

Li Yuankai produced a marriage contract.

"My lord, the True Person personally ordered us to seek out suitable matches far and wide and carry on the family line. While you have been in seclusion these past three months, we subordinates have not been idle."

"All ten of the younger clansmen have taken wives and concubines. Even granduncle Chenxuan applied himself and took four wives in one go. Most of their family members are now pregnant. Those who conceived early are already showing, while the others have only just had their pregnancies confirmed."

"You haven't even married. I'm afraid it would be improper to return and see the True Person empty-handed."

Li Zhengjun had not forgotten about Fang Qing, but his thoughts had been on the Lineage's affairs, and he had intended to deal with it after his return. Reminded by Li Yuankai, he said,

"Then I'll marry first."

As head of the Li Household and the true ruler of the Ning Kingdom in the Great Scarlet Realm, Li Zhengjun could hardly have a hastily arranged wedding.

When word spread, the entire Ning Kingdom rejoiced.

From the capital to every commandery and county, households hung red lanterns outside their doors, and people spontaneously laid out open feasts in the streets and alleys.

The common people who had suffered under the Devil Cultivators and seen daylight again after the Li Household swept them away expressed their feelings in the simplest ways they knew.

That night.

The clamor gradually died down, and moonlight flowed like water.

After a full day of activity, Li Zhengjun finally pushed open the door bearing a bright red character for double happiness.

Inside, candlelight flickered throughout the room, and red gauze hung low.

Fang Qing sat primly on the edge of the bed, her wedding robes like fire and a red veil covering her head. Her hands were folded in her lap, twisting the hem of her clothes.

At the sound of the door opening, her shoulders trembled slightly, and she said softly,

"My lord."

The red candles cast a somewhat intimate glow. Li Zhengjun answered softly and came to her side.

Li Zhengjun caught the enticing fragrance on Qing'er. It was not the scent of rouge, but seemed to be the natural fragrance she had been born with, the same scent he had noticed when she reached out to save him on the river.

He reached out and slowly lifted her red veil, and the candlelight illuminated her face at once.

Fang Qing wore no makeup today, save for a thin layer of lip color.

The two patches of crimson on her face stood out vividly, spreading from her cheekbones to the roots of her ears, like sunset clouds fallen upon fresh snow.

Li Zhengjun swore that even the most expensive rouge in the world could not paint a beauty like hers.

Holding the red veil, he looked down at her, a smile in his voice.

"Still calling me 'my lord'?"

Fang Qing looked up at him. In her almond-shaped eyes were shyness and joy, as well as a trace of her usual boldness and candor.

At last, she could no longer keep the corners of her mouth from turning up. Her eyelashes fluttered twice, and she called softly,

"Husband."

Rather than shyly lowering her head as an ordinary bride might, she carefully leaned over and gently rested her head on Li Zhengjun's shoulder.

The instant they touched, each felt a slight tremor pass through the other's body.

Li Zhengjun felt as though he had been struck by a Law Technique. His blood rushed to his head, and his breathing had already grown rapid.

"Have you mastered that dual cultivation method?"

Fang Qing said nothing, merely giving a soft murmur of assent.

Suddenly, her body went rigid.

Through their clothes, she felt something enormous pressing squarely against her lower abdomen.

Fang Qing's cheeks visibly burned from crimson to deep red, and even her neck took on that blush. Then, with a hint of reproach and uncertainty, she said,

"Husband, it's late... we should rest..."

The two fell back together, and the warmth within the bed curtains grew. Only increasingly hurried breaths and murmured whispers could be heard.

As the saying went:

A jade incense burner, a cool bamboo mat and mandarin duck brocade; powder melted as fragrant sweat ran onto the mountain pillow.

A lifetime must be staked, to grant you all your pleasure today.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, Fang Qing still had not recovered. Her whole body felt as soft and limp as cotton, and she could not muster the strength to lift a hand.

In a daze, she sensed the person beside her rising. She struggled to prop herself up and attend to him, but Li Zhengjun gently pressed a hand to her shoulder.

"Have a good rest. There are still matters to attend to in the Lineage, so I must go and see to them."

Fang Qing obediently retreated beneath the quilt, leaving only her two bright eyes exposed as she watched him leave.

Only after the door gently closed did she bury her face in the pillow, still warm, and hug the quilt, secretly letting out a smile.