After the gift-giving concluded, Shen Xian calmly returned to his seat.

“Are you that unpopular?” Ye Qingxian suddenly asked from her seat.

Today, she wore a gown of cloud-patterns threaded with gold, her hair elegantly pinned up to reveal a breathtaking, picture-perfect face. A string of gold and red beads adorned her fair neck, presenting an image of graceful poise.

Although the root of Ye Mingyuan’s targeting lay with her, she could also see that there were people on the Shen Family side who wanted to embarrass Shen Xian as well.

Whether it was the Shen Family’s gift or the two previous assassination attempts, this Empress detected a whiff of conspiracy.

Under normal circumstances, she would not have cared.

But since she had said she could save his life once, she needed to understand the situation clearly—even if he had not asked for her help.

“It’s fine. It’ll be sorted once I’m back,” Shen Xian replied with a faint smile, the sharp glint in his eyes vanishing in an instant.

He had already guessed that behind this Fourth Young Master of the Ye Family, there was likely the shadow of his own second brother, Shen Li.

He hadn’t expected Second Brother to be so impatient. To go to such lengths over a mere Spirit Gathering Array—sabotaging in secret and arranging public humiliation—such methods were far too crude.

I wonder… is he connected to those assassinations?

Shen Xian remembered that the other party had been able to break the Heart-Protecting Jade’s array in an extremely short time, which meant they must have been very familiar with it.

All of this would only become clear after he returned.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Shen Xian suddenly pushed the jade ring toward Ye Qingxian.

“Here, you wear it,” he said in a casual tone.

Ye Qingxian lowered her gaze to sweep over the ring, her pupils contracting slightly.

A life-extending treasure like this, and he was giving it away so easily?

“You want me to take action?” she asked with an indifferent expression.

This item would indeed be useful for her current stage of breaking through to Foundation Establishment. His choice to gift it now made it hard for her not to think this was an attempt to curry favor.

Shen Xian hadn’t thought that far ahead.

But to smoothly give the gift away, he went along with her words. “Consider it preparation in advance. Didn’t you promise to save my life once anyway?”

Ye Qingxian studied Shen Xian’s casual demeanor, her gaze deep and unreadable.

After a long moment, she took the Evergreen Ring and said softly, “I never go back on my word!”

She had realized he wanted the debt of gratitude to grow larger and larger, likely to deal with more powerful enemies in the future.

But Ye Qingxian did not care.

In her eyes, everyone else was nothing but an ant!

[Host has gifted Dao Companion a high-grade magic treasure, Evergreen Ring. Received tenfold blessing return. Reward: low-grade spirit treasure, Void Reflecting Spirit Mirror. Claim?]

Seeing the prompt appear, Shen Xian felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Another spirit treasure!

He then looked at its description.

This item belonged to the auxiliary category of treasures. It could enhance the holder’s spiritual sense, granting them Deity Transformation Realm-level spiritual sense power for a short period without any physical side effects. Additionally, it could record sounds and trace shadows, replaying events from a certain period in the past within an area, and automatically warning the user when subjected to spiritual sense probing.

Overall, it was an extremely powerful treasure.

It would be especially effective against prying eyes from others.

With this treasure, he wouldn’t have to worry about being spied on or ambushed by spiritual sense probes anymore.

By now, the main event of the birthday celebration had concluded.

Twelve dancers clad in moonlight-flowing immortal gowns arrived gracefully. Their wide sleeves fluttered like clouds, stirring wisps of spiritual mist with each movement.

They danced on tiptoe across the white jade floor, their steps sending out ripples of spiritual light like circles on water. This perfectly complemented the “Nine Heavens Summoning Phoenix Melody” that suddenly rose around them.

The hall instantly became a scene of lively music and clinking cups. Even the hanging glazed palace lanterns flickered in time with the revelry.

The Matriarch had already left her seat with the Glazed Lamp of Retrospection, presumably to reminisce about years gone by.

The atmosphere at the banquet grew even more animated.

Cultivators who usually spent their days in secluded cultivation now moved about, holding cups of spirit wine.

Especially the outstanding talents from various collateral branches—their eyes gleamed with ambition. An occasion where they could simultaneously interact with members of the main direct lineage was nothing less than a feast of opportunities for them.

“Young Master Shen Three! I’ve long heard of your reputation!”

From among the seats, a woman with fair features and noble attire approached Shen Xian. Holding a cup of spirit wine, she came before where Ye Qingxian had been sitting.

Ye Qingxian had already departed shortly after the Matriarch left.

Cultivation was paramount; she did not wish to waste any time.

Thus, only Shen Xian remained at their table now.

“Young Lady Ye Two,” Shen Xian did not rise to greet her but merely called out her title calmly.

He had seen the true faces of the Ye Family members clearly earlier and naturally saw no need for excessive courtesy now.

Had it been half an hour ago, such an attitude would have earned him criticism for being “arrogant.” But now, everyone present simply took it as the natural bearing expected of a young master from a great family.

Far from being annoyed, Ye Wanying raised her cup another inch higher and offered a shallow smile. “I never imagined Young Master Shen Three would win the Matriarch’s favor alone this time. It truly is enviable.”

The Matriarch held an extraordinary position within the Ye Family. For juniors like them who wished to gain more influence or resources, her favor was indispensable.

They just hadn’t expected that all their carefully selected gifts would lose out to Shen Xian alone.

Now, this Second Young Lady wanted to befriend this direct-line son of the Shen Family as a way to please the Matriarch.

“I merely got lucky,” Shen Xian said flatly.

“It was not mere luck.” At that moment, a deep voice sounded as a middle-aged man also arrived on the scene. He smiled at Shen Xian. “Young Master Shen Three’s gift showed exceptional thoughtfulness. It is truly admirable. Here, let me toast you.”

Shen Xian’s brow twitched slightly.

This man was named Ye Shouli. He was the second brother of the current Ye Family head and was addressed as Second Master by others.

This very same Second Master Ye had worn a very different expression in the birthday hall earlier.

Shen Xian sneered inwardly but outwardly raised his white jade wine cup and clinked it against Ye Shouli’s from across the table. “You flatter me too much, Uncle.”

Ye Shouli drained his cup of spirit wine in one go and poured another. “This cup is my apology for our Ye Family’s earlier discourtesy. We were all blinded by certain individuals with ulterior motives!”

He deliberately emphasized those last four words: “ulterior motives.”

It was well known that Second Master Ye and Fourth Master Ye had never gotten along and were often at odds with each other.

Ye Shouli naturally enjoyed seeing his rival suffer embarrassment.

“Uncle is right,” Ye Wanying chimed in with a smile. “Young Master Shen Three must not take it to heart.”

“Naturally,” Shen Xian clinked cups with each of them in turn.

Then, those Ye Family disciples who had been watching from afar earlier now surged forward like a tide.

There were young ladies from collateral branches holding mermaid-silk handkerchiefs, wanting to wipe his hands; sons of stewards carrying spirit fruits, insisting he try them; even several elders who usually looked down their noses at everyone were now “coincidentally” discussing his father’s heroic deeds from years past just three zhang away.

Having pleased the Matriarch this time around meant that, as members of her family, they naturally centered themselves around her wishes, showing enthusiastic friendliness toward him without any trace of their previous disdain.

This left Ye Mingyuan, who stood off to one side, feeling thoroughly awkward.

He stood rooted, unsure whether he should leave indignantly or step forward to apologize.

In the end, unable to save face, he quietly slipped away.