Li Yunmian’s fingertip traced the smooth rim of her jade cup. Her gaze was deep and unfocused, as if the clear tea reflected a future she could see all too clearly—a dead end.

Two hundred and ninety years old. Golden Core fourth layer.

These numbers were like two massive mountains pressing down on her shoulders, suffocating her.

A Golden Core cultivator could live up to five hundred years. Those with profound Mana or specialized life-extending techniques might stretch it to six hundred.

But no matter who you were, once the three-hundred-and-fifty-year mark passed, your vital blood would begin to decay. Forget Nascent Soul; even reaching the late Golden Core stage would become a pipe dream.

She had seen them before—those old monsters whose lifespans were flickering out. They struggled bitterly, clinging to life with desperate claws, only to inevitably turn into a handful of yellow earth, leaving nothing behind.

“Haa…”

A sigh, barely audible, escaped her crimson lips.

She was no prodigy. Whatever pride she once held had long been ground to dust by centuries of hopeless cultivation.

That was exactly why, when the Creation Spirit Yang Body appeared before her eyes, Li Yunmian felt a desperate urge to seize it.

Her eldest brother, Li Juefeng—the high and mighty Patriarch—was no longer the kind older brother from centuries ago. His thoughts were deep, his schemes endless. He had likely been plotting for years to marry off his “useless” younger sister in exchange for clan benefits.

Marry? Hah.

Even if the other family was equal in status to the Li family, how many resources would they waste on an outsider like her? Could it possibly be more than what she scraped together here?

Thinking of Li Youci, Li Yunmian’s gaze grew complicated.

That girl claimed to be in Secluded Cultivation, but she was actually using the alias “Xia Min” to cling to Zhou Kai every single day.

If anyone claimed she didn’t have feelings for Zhou Kai, not even a ghost would believe it. And the rumors about Zhou Kai’s Creation Spirit Yang Body were no longer a secret in the upper echelons.

“Creation Spirit Yang Body…” Li Yunmian murmured, a feverish heat igniting in her eyes.

She didn’t seek eternity. She only wanted a lifeline.

Even a slight improvement in cultivation, a few more decades of youth and life—that would be enough. That kid Zhou Kai was young, a Third-Rank Alchemist, and notoriously generous to his women.

If she could just…

Once the thought took root, it spread like wildfire, consuming her rationality.

Zhou Kai was doing his own calculations.

Whether he knew exactly what Li Yunmian was thinking or not, he didn’t want any more complications before Li Youci’s [Affection] hit the max.

Currently, her Affection score was stable at 50 points—lower than before, and refusing to budge.

Zhou Kai had tried everything: gifts, heroism, teasing. Nothing worked.

He figured the problem lay in the dual identity of “Li Youci” and “Xia Min.”

That tsundere young miss was probably tying herself into mental knots. Unless he pierced through that thin layer of window paper and called her bluff, her Affection wouldn’t advance an inch.

“One month,” Zhou Kai narrowed his eyes. “I have one month of downtime in Crouching Tiger City. I need to settle this.”

As for Li Yunmian wanting him to steal the beauty pill recipe from the Desire Wonder Palace?

Zhou Kai sneered. Dream on.

What kind of place was the Desire Wonder Palace?

It was a Demonic Sect specializing in hardcore dual cultivation! The cultivators there had zero restraint. Swapping Cultivation Vessels and sharing Dao Companions was as common as eating breakfast.

He had run into their disciples more than once. It was always either a man leading a leash of glassy-eyed female cultivators, or a woman surrounded by a harem of simpering men.

Their Mana wasn’t necessarily strong, but they all specialized in charm arts. When a group of them gathered, the resonance of their decadent moans created a zone of pure mental pollution.

Even though his Divine Sense was touching the Golden Core threshold, he had to be on high alert around them. One slip-up, and his Dao Heart would crumble—he’d end up mentally deep-frying himself.

Moreover, his Creation Spirit Yang Body wasn’t a secret anymore.

In the eyes of those sex-crazed maniacs, Zhou Kai was a walking, talking jackpot.

One group looked at him with eyes spitting fire, wanting to drag him back to be their “Holy Son” or “Young Palace Master” to breed an army. The other group was even more ruthless; they saw him as a top-tier disposable battery, plotting to drain him dry and discard the husk.

So, whenever he saw the Desire Wonder Palace, Zhou Kai’s strategy was simple: Run.

Get a pill formula for Li Yunmian? absolutely not. He wasn’t going to risk getting tainted by that filth.

Night fell, and the lanterns of Crouching Tiger City were lit.

Gao Feiyang barged into Zhou Kai’s quarters, grinning broadly and holding two jars of premium wine. “Come on! Let’s drink!”

This had become a ritual.

Whenever Zhou Kai, Qin Jue, Xie Zhifei, and the Gao brothers returned from the front lines, they would gather to knock back a few cups, brag about their kills, and curse the enemy.

Su Xuan, being a Golden Core senior, naturally didn’t join these rowdy sessions.

After three rounds of wine and five courses of food, the atmosphere loosened up.

Qin Jue, Gao Feihuang, and Xie Zhifei, arms draped over each other’s shoulders, started clamoring about going to the Exploring Spring Flower Boat to listen to music and find some “comfort.” They roared off into the night, leaving a trail of dust.

Only Zhou Kai and Gao Feiyang remained.

“Junior Brother Gao,” Zhou Kai sipped his wine, eyeing the remaining man. “They all went to have fun. Why didn’t you go?”

Gao Feiyang’s face, flushed with alcohol, instantly collapsed into a mask of misery.

“Senior Brother, don’t mock me. I want to go! I really do! But my fiancée… she has a temper like a volcano. She told me if I dare step half a foot onto that Flower Boat, she’ll be waiting with shears to cut my ‘little brother’ off when I get back!”

Zhou Kai’s eye twitched. Solidarity, brother.

Shen Hanyi was the silent type, but her glare was sharp enough to flay skin.

And “Xia Min”? She wielded Li Youci’s authority like an Imperial Sword. She claimed he couldn’t waste his “Creation Qi” on random women, guarding his chastity tighter than a dragon guarding gold.

“Oh? Which family’s fairy is your fiancée? To be so… uh, forceful?” Zhou Kai asked, genuinely curious.

Gao Feiyang downed a massive gulp of wine and lowered his voice. “Who else could it be? Someone from the Li family, of course!”

Seeing Zhou Kai’s surprise, Gao Feiyang chuckled bitterly.

“Senior Brother might not know. For vassal families like ours—the Qin, Xie, Gao, Yu, and Su clans—the direct descendants inevitably form marriage alliances with the Li family. Men marry Li women; women marry into the Li clan. It consolidates power. You get it. Take my family; I have two older sisters serving the Young Master right now.”

Zhou Kai nodded in understanding. He pointed in the direction Qin Jue had left. “Then those guys going to the brothel… aren’t they afraid their wives will burn the house down?”

“Hah!” Gao Feiyang waved his hand dismissively, giving Zhou Kai a look that said ‘You’re too naive.’

“Those alliances are purely for family interests. What true feelings are there? As long as they keep up appearances, nobody cares. But me? My partner and I actually… well, we actually like each other. The feelings run deep.”

A goofy, sweet smile appeared on his face, only to be replaced by sorrow a second later.

“But she manages me too strictly! It’s suffocating!”

Gao Feiyang chugged another bowl of wine. His eyes grew hazy as he leaned in close to Zhou Kai, a lecherous grin spreading across his face.

“Senior Brother Zhou, you’re a prodigy. A true genius. You’re definitely destined to marry a direct lineage Li young lady as your principal wife. While nothing is set in stone yet, you should start scouting. I know a few absolute stunners in the main family…”

Zhou Kai’s heart stirred. His hand paused mid-air, wine cup trembling slightly.

He looked at the drunk Gao Feiyang and asked, trying to sound casual:

“What if… it’s the Eldest Miss?”