I Was Forced to Marry a “Trash” Cultivator, But She Turned Out to Be a Reborn Empress!

Chapter 297: Turning the Tables, Swift and Decisive Execution

Shen Xian had never been a man to swallow insults gracefully. Years ago, when Shen Li targeted him at every turn within the family, his silence wasn’t born of patience, but of necessity. He had simply lacked the strength to retaliate.

But things were different now.

Here in the Northern Region, having established the Duobao Sect and secured authority over half of Black Profound City, his influence had skyrocketed. His dual identity as a Tier-5 Artifact Refiner and a Tier-5 Formation Master alone was enough to compel any top-tier faction to treat him as an esteemed guest.

Operating from such a position of power, why should he tolerate anyone harboring murderous intent toward him?

Especially when that person carried an ancient treasure from the era of antiquity.

*If I can get my hands on that…*

A plan had already crystallized in his mind.

However, he could not strike personally. While his current strength was sufficient to suppress the target, the process would be messy. The enemy was a Sect Holy Son, undoubtedly armed with numerous life-saving trump cards and desperate countermeasures.

Shen Xian’s gaze drifted toward the adjacent room.

It was time to make use of his Celestial Venerable background.

He immediately sent a divine transmission to Venerable Zi Yun.

“Master Wang, you intend to wage war against the Cold Moon Palace?” Venerable Zi Yun appeared before him moments later, a flicker of genuine surprise on his face.

As a veteran Void Refinement expert, he knew exactly how formidable the Cold Moon Palace was. Their Palace Master was a terrifying existence that even he could not easily contend with.

“You jest, Celestial Venerable. I am merely giving him a taste of his own medicine,” Shen Xian replied with a faint, unbothered smile.

His target was Bai Liuqing. Or, to be more precise, the ancient artifact hanging around the man’s neck.

Venerable Zi Yun’s expression shifted with uncertainty. He had sworn to protect this man for a thousand years, so resolving threats was part of the contract. However, if this matter wasn’t handled with absolute discretion, the political fallout would be catastrophic.

Shen Xian read the hesitation in the old monster’s eyes. “Rest assured, Celestial Venerable. I once obtained an ancient formation capable of completely isolating aura and karmic ties.”

The “ancient” part was a lie, but the formation’s efficacy was very real.

As a Tier-5 Formation Master, Shen Xian had the technical prowess to ensure this death would never be traced back to them. Even if the world suspected them, there would be zero evidence to prove it.

Venerable Zi Yun looked deeply at him. He knew “Master Wang” was a man who did things with watertight precision. He asked no further questions.

“When the time comes, I will act.”

Shen Xian nodded slightly.

That was all he needed to hear. Only a strike from a Celestial Venerable could deliver the kind of thunderous, overwhelming destruction required to kill the target instantly, denying him even a split second to react or detonate a soul talisman.

“I am in your debt, Celestial Venerable.” Shen Xian cupped his hands and departed to prepare the formation arrays. Simultaneously, he utilized the Shadow Guard’s communication channels to send a misleading message to Bai Liuqing, lulling the prey into a false sense of security.

***

Two days later.

Bai Liuqing reclined on a rosewood divan within a secluded courtyard of the Cold Moon Palace’s outpost. A lamp burned with a ghostly blue flame, casting dancing, macabre shadows across his sinister features.

“Holy Son, an urgent report from the Shadow Guard,” a black-clad attendant whispered, kneeling silently. “That refiner surnamed Wang has left the city alone. He is heading toward Cold Crystal Valley to harvest materials, accompanied only by three Nascent Soul cultivators.”

A cold, predatory glint erupted in Bai Liuqing’s eyes. The blue flame in his hand surged three inches higher in response to his excitement. “The fool courts death.”

He had been agonizing over how to breach the man’s defenses within the city, and now the idiot had served himself up on a silver platter.

He rose slowly, the Cold Moon Token at his waist pulsing with a frigid, dark luminescence. “Where are the Shadow Guards?”

Over a dozen silhouettes peeled themselves from the darkness in the corners of the hall, kneeling on one knee. These were his personal elites, every single one a Nascent Soul cultivator, led by experts at the Soul Formation stage.

“Come with this Holy Son.” Bai Liuqing flicked his wrist, and nine translucent ice needles appeared between his fingers. A cruel, twisted smile curled his lips. “Today, I will teach this ignorant ant the price of offending the Cold Moon Palace.”

With this squad of Shadow Guards, he was confident he could slaughter the target without leaving a wisp of evidence.

The attendant seemed on the verge of speaking but withered under Bai Liuqing’s icy glare, daring not to utter a word of caution.

***

Thirty miles outside Snowstorm City, deep within Cold Crystal Valley.

Shen Xian stood with hands clasped behind his back atop a natural ice platform. Beneath the snow at his feet, dark silver formation runes pulsed faintly, weaving into the ley lines of the earth.

“They have arrived,” Venerable Zi Yun’s voice transmission echoed in his mind.

Shen Xian flicked a finger. A wisp of spectral blue fire sank soundlessly into the ice.

*Hum.*

Instantly, an invisible barrier expanded to encompass the entire valley. The howling wind and driving snow vanished, replaced by an eerie, unnatural silence. The trap was set; the cage was locked.

On the horizon, a streak of frigid light tore through the sky.

Bai Liuqing stood atop a flying sword forged of glacial crystal, trailed by over a dozen black shadows that clung to him like maggots on rotting bone—the Cold Moon Palace’s elite killers.

“Right on time.” The corner of Shen Xian’s mouth hooked upward as his physical form began to blur and fade.

The real killing game was about to begin.

High above, Bai Liuqing looked down at the solitary figure in the valley, his eyes boiling with sadistic intent. “Today, your soul scatters to the winds!”

But in the next heartbeat, the world changed.

Before Bai Liuqing could even channel spiritual energy into his ice needles, the entire valley solidified.

It wasn’t just the air; space itself seemed to congeal into amber. Time stagnated. The falling snowflakes hung suspended in mid-air, motionless.

“This is…” Bai Liuqing’s pupils constricted to pinpricks. A terror unlike anything he had ever known washed over him, drowning his consciousness.

He instinctively tried to trigger the protective talisman in his Cold Moon Token, but his spiritual energy was inert, frozen solid within his meridians. He couldn’t twitch a finger. He couldn’t even blink.

The crushing weight of a higher dimension descended upon him.

Venerable Zi Yun materialized directly in front of Bai Liuqing, silent as a ghost. There was no fanfare, no shouting of techniques. The old monster simply reached out a withered, skeletal hand and placed it gently on the Holy Son’s crown.

“Void… Refinement…”

Bai Liuqing only managed to force the thought through his paralyzing fear, his eyes wide with disbelief.

In his wildest nightmares, he never imagined that behind this obscure, arrogant artifact refiner stood a Void Refinement Celestial Venerable.

*Pop.*

It was a soft sound, like a bubble bursting.

Bai Liuqing’s body shattered. Flesh and bone transmuted into fine ice crystals that dissolved instantly into the biting wind.

The dozen Shadow Guards behind him didn’t even have time to process their master’s death. An invisible spatial force swept over them, grinding them into subatomic dust.

The entire process took less than a breath. No screams. No resistance.

It was a dimensional strike from a Celestial Venerable—absolute, overwhelming suppression.

“Let’s go.” Shen Xian waved a hand, casually collecting the falling Storage Bags and Rings before they hit the ground.

Venerable Zi Yun nodded. With a sweep of his sleeve, the residual formation runes in the valley disintegrated. The lingering spiritual fluctuations in the air were wiped clean, smoothed over until the valley returned to its pristine, natural state.

It was as if no one had ever been here.

***

Not long after their departure, the Palace Master of the Cold Moon Palace felt the soul jade of his son shatter. Enraged, he stormed out of his sect, tearing through the sky to investigate personally.

But what could he find?

A Void Refinement expert had struck, and a Tier-5 Formation Master had scrubbed the scene.

As for the loose ends—those few who knew Bai Liuqing intended to target Shen Xian—they were quietly and efficiently silenced by Shen Xian and Venerable Zi Yun in the hours that followed.

They uprooted the grass and eliminated the roots.

Even a powerhouse at the late stage of Void Refinement like the Palace Master could only rage helplessly at the heavens. The murder was watertight.

If there was anyone to blame, it was Bai Liuqing himself. Of all the people in the Northern Region, he had chosen to provoke Shen Xian.

***

Back at the Heaven-Reaching Chamber of Commerce.

After confirming Bai Liuqing’s demise, Shen Xian retreated to his private chambers. He carefully laid down a series of isolation restrictions before retrieving the Holy Son’s Storage Ring.

Inside, the wealth was staggering.

But Shen Xian ignored the mountains of spirit stones and pills. His attention focused solely on the item that had started this entire chain of events—the ancient treasure from the auction.

It was a pendant shaped like a teardrop, deep blue and mesmerizing. Natural water patterns flowed across its surface as if liquid, and it felt warm and jade-like to the touch. A faint, aquatic luminescence pulsed from within.

Even after endless eons, the artifact still radiated a terrifyingly potent energy fluctuation.

*I wonder what secrets you hold…*

With a flicker of anticipation, Shen Xian extended his Divine Sense, submerging his consciousness into the ancient relic.