The thousandth birthday celebration of the Ye Family Matriarch was fast approaching. The entire main estate had already begun to be festooned with lanterns and colored banners, painting a scene of joyous festivity.

Such a grand spectacle clearly demonstrated the Matriarch’s paramount standing within the Ye clan.

Looking back to the early days, the entire Ye Family had teetered on the brink of collapse, plagued by internal strife and external threats. Had this Matriarch not stepped forward in their hour of crisis, enacting swift reforms and ruling with an iron fist, the glorious and unrivaled Ye Family of today would not exist.

This was precisely why, despite not being the family head, she controlled half of the clan’s authority.

However, the hustle and bustle of the preparations did not reach a certain quiet, chilly courtyard in the eastern sector of the estate.

Inside the courtyard, Shen Xian lay on a reclining chair, idly snacking on osmanthus cakes. A cup of fruit juice, a concoction of his own making, sat on the table beside him.

Even as a cultivator, he retained a particular fondness for these mortal delicacies. If one focused solely on bitter cultivation, life would be dreadfully dull.

At that moment, Shen Xian sensed a disturbance. He paused and turned to look.

The door behind him creaked open. Ye Qingxian stepped out, clad in a long gown of red and gold embroidered with cloud patterns. Her exquisitely painted, peerless beauty was breathtaking, no matter how many times one saw it.

She lowered her gaze, glancing at the osmanthus cakes, her eyes calm and unruffled.

“Finished cultivating?” Shen Xian asked.

Ye Qingxian’s voice was cool. “Just getting some air.”

“Perfect timing.” Shen Xian suddenly pulled the tattered cloth doll he had acquired earlier from his robes. “I picked this up from a street stall yesterday. It looks ragged, but the texture feels a bit odd.”

He took a bite of his osmanthus cake and added casually, “But with my level of cultivation, I can’t see anything special about it. If you’re interested, take a look.”

Given her identity as an Empress Reborn, she would naturally recognize its extraordinary nature.

Sure enough, the moment she laid eyes on the doll, Ye Qingxian discerned its secrets.

It was a curse-type puppet. Though damaged, if repaired, it could exert influence even on a Venerable of the Deity Transformation Realm.

However… Ye Qingxian did not accept it.

She remained silent for a moment before speaking with a solemn expression. “Shen Xian. You should have known from the very first day that what exists between us is a mistake. There can be no connection whatsoever.”

“Therefore, there is no need for you to make these meaningless gestures. The reason I accepted your gifts before was merely to avoid mutual embarrassment.”

She stared at Shen Xian and added one final point. “There is no room for any romantic sentiment between you and me.”

Having lived a second life, Ye Qingxian’s mind was filled solely with thoughts of attaining the Dao and achieving immortality. Believing Shen Xian had taken a fancy to her, she spoke decisively to force him to abandon any such hopes.

A faint smile tugged at Shen Xian’s lips.

As expected, this Empress was extremely pragmatic. Things she couldn’t use were categorically rejected. His reason for presenting this item first had been solely to test her attitude.

Now that he had his answer, he understood the situation clearly.

But… the gift still had to be given.

Shen Xian then pulled the gold-red necklace from his robes. “What about this one?”

Ye Qingxian’s gaze sharpened abruptly the moment it fell upon the necklace. Her slender fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.

“This is…”

At that moment, she felt all the blood in her body suddenly grow restless, as if yearning for the object intensely.

This item… would be of immense use to her cultivation!

The wind in the courtyard seemed to still for an instant.

Shen Xian watched her with an amused smile. Even that fleeting change in expression had been caught by him.

“If you like it, then take it.” He gave it a slight toss. It landed precisely in the palm of her outstretched jade-white hand.

This time, Ye Qingxian did not refuse.

However, her voice softened slightly as she said, “I, Ye Qingxian, never take things from others without compensation. Since you insist on giving it…”

She paused and lifted her chin. “…Then consider that I owe you a favor. If you ever face mortal danger in the future, you may use this promise to ask me to save you once.”

After saying this, her gaze fell upon the necklace in her palm. The gold-red light flowed around her fingertips, softening her coldly beautiful features.

“Remember. Only once,” Ye Qingxian added forcefully with feigned indifference, unable to completely hide the flicker of delight in her eyes. “And… do not think this changes anything.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

At that moment, Shen Xian’s full attention was on the system prompt before him.

【Host has gifted Dao Companion lower-grade spirit treasure ‘Phoenix Tears’. Received tenfold blessing return. Reward: Upper-grade spirit treasure ‘Glazed Lamp of Retrospection’. Claim?】

At the spirit treasure level, the quality improvement from a tenfold blessing return was clearly not as terrifying as with lower-tier items. This was normal; the more powerful a treasure became, the greater the gap between each grade—just like cultivation realms.

Shen Xian examined the description of this upper-grade spirit treasure.

This object was originally an inheritance token of the ancient sect ‘Mystic Dream Pavilion,’ a tool specifically used to record secret sect affairs.

The holder only needed to inject a trace of spiritual power into its wick while silently recalling a specific memory. The glazed lamp would then recreate scenes from that memory, allowing the user to immerse themselves in it and relive that time. Additionally, it could soothe one’s mind and spirit, preventing mental damage even if one became lost in the illusions.

“That’s all it does?” Shen Xian frowned as he read the description.

This treasure… was practically useless!

At least for him personally, it held almost no value. Who wanted to recall those dark years where no amount of effort yielded any results? As for memories from his previous life… did he really need to re-experience that 996 corporate workhorse existence?

However… perhaps the Ye Family Matriarch would like it.

Old people loved reminiscing most of all!

A thought stirred in Shen Xian’s mind. Wasn’t his treasure-hunting intended to prepare a decent congratulatory gift?

But this also proved once again how unreliable this Marriage Blessing System could be. It seemed he’d have to wash his face for good luck before giving gifts in the future—he needed to try and get something suitable for himself next time.

Shen Xian wasn’t in a hurry to claim the reward. He glanced at the tattered doll again. “A pity. I’ll find an opportunity to give you away later.”

Saying so, he placed it into the storage ring within his robes.

Just then, two men arrived outside the courtyard. Without knocking or asking permission, they barged directly into the yard.

“Third Young Master Shen! My master wishes to invite you for a visit!”

The speaker was a middle-aged man who looked at Shen Xian with an expressionless face. He exuded a faint aura of Golden Core Realm authority. Though he did not deliberately unleash his full power, the pressure was suffocatingly oppressive.

Shen Xian frowned slightly but quickly regained the noble bearing befitting the heir of a top-tier clan. He spoke in a deep voice:

“Who is your master? And what business does he have with me?”

“My master is known within the Ye Family as Fourth Master Ye,” said another man who stood beside him. He spoke up to add more details, further clarifying and elaborating on what had just been mentioned.