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

Chapter 211: Return to the Clan & The Fourth Rank Evasion Art

It was late spring when Shen Xian brought Wei Zhaoli back to the Shen family estate.

The sprawling compounds of the city were nestled deep within a forest of blooming peach trees, their upturned eaves and tiled corners playing hide-and-seek amidst the sea of pink petals.

Their spirit boat descended from the clouds, touching down softly in the central plaza of the main family district.

The clan had already received news of their return. The plaza was lined with Elders and stewards waiting to welcome them. Even a few Nascent Soul Elders, who rarely deigned to show their faces, stood by the grand staircase. Their gazes were intense, burning with scrutiny as they sized up the returning Young Master.

“Mid-Foundation Establishment… no, wait.” A white-haired Elder drew a sharp breath, shock flashing through his eyes. “He’s already a Half-step Golden Core!”

Shen Xian maintained a calm expression. To secure more resources and freedom within the family, he had deliberately suppressed his aura to the Half-step Golden Core stage.

He had just returned from an Ancient Ruin; it was only natural that he had encountered some significant Fated Chances.

However, revealing his true cultivation—Golden Core Perfection—was unnecessary.

Too many eyes watched from the shadows. Concealing his true limits was a basic survival strategy.

“How long has it been?” another Elder muttered, his tone heavy with disbelief. “When he left, he was merely in the Qi Refining Realm. To have reached this step so quickly…”

At the forefront of the crowd stood his father, Shen Xiong, and his mother, Nangong Wan. Both wore expressions of profound relief and pride.

As Shen Xian and Wei Zhaoli approached, Nangong Wan didn’t stand on ceremony. She stepped forward immediately, taking Wei Zhaoli’s hands in hers.

“Good child,” she said warmly. “You’ve worked hard on this journey. I’ve already had the servants prepare your residence. Go and rest first.”

Wei Zhaoli looked overwhelmed by the affection. “Thank you, Aunt.”

“Still calling me Aunt?” Nangong Wan feigned displeasure, though her eyes were smiling. “It is time to change how you address me.”

Wei Zhaoli’s pretty face flushed a deep crimson. She lowered her head and whispered softly, “Mother.”

“There we go!” Nangong Wan laughed, delighted. She pulled Wei Zhaoli toward the inner courts. “Come, let me show you to your courtyard.”

Nangong Wan was quite fond of this daughter-in-law. She saw the potential for a virtuous wife and a good mother in her, someone who would stabilize her son’s life.

Shen Xian made to follow them, but a deep voice halted him.

“Xian’er, come to the study.”

It was his father. Shen Xiong, a man who usually exuded a natural, crushing authority without needing to raise his voice, seemed much gentler today.

Inside the study.

Shen Xiong gestured for his son to sit and personally poured him a cup of high-grade spirit tea.

“I heard your harvest in the Ancient Ruins was substantial?” Shen Xiong asked, cutting straight to the point.

The Clan Head had already received intelligence that his third son had obtained significant opportunities and was on the verge of breaking through to the Golden Core Realm. The boy showed immense potential.

This satisfied him greatly.

It seemed the blessing from the founding ancestor was effective after all.

Shen Xian nodded and gave a brief, curated summary of the events in the ruins.

“Shen Zhimo and the others sacrificed themselves for a worthy cause,” Shen Xiong said, his voice dropping to a solemn register. “The family will ensure their descendants are well cared for. As for the legacies and items they left behind… whether you choose to distribute them to others is entirely up to you.”

The Clan Head felt little regret over the deaths of several Golden Core Elders.

Dead men hold no value.

The only things that mattered were the legacies they left behind.

However, Shen Xiong did not force Shen Xian to hand anything over. His son’s performance had proven he was capable of shouldering the burden of the heir apparent. Naturally, Shen Xiong was willing to grant him more autonomy.

“Thank you, Father,” Shen Xian said, cupping his hands respectfully.

Shen Xiong lifted his teacup, took a slow sip, and asked, “What are your plans now?”

It was rare for his son to be home. As a father, he felt obliged to show some concern for his future.

“Cultivate,” Shen Xian replied, his answer watertight. “I need to consolidate my realm.”

Shen Xiong glanced at him, then set the cup down. “You are now a Half-step Golden Core. If you have needs, you may enter the Scripture Repository to select a cultivation technique.”

He paused, then added meaningfully, “After all, the techniques of a Sect always come with limitations.”

The advantage of a clan over a Sect was the freedom of choice. And a massive clan like the Shen Family possessed archives that rivaled even the Divine Wood Sect.

Shen Xian’s heart stirred. He seized the opening. “Father, does the family possess any high-grade evasion arts?”

If there was one thing he lacked during the expedition, it was speed.

While he could rely on the System to return random rewards, that was a gamble. He needed certainty.

With time pressing, obtaining a top-tier evasion art immediately would be a massive boon.

“An evasion art?” Shen Xiong frowned slightly. “Why this sudden interest in running away?”

He had expected his son to ask for a powerful offensive manual or a defensive divine ability.

Evasion arts were useful, but they were not the path of a conqueror.

“One can never have too many life-preserving methods,” Shen Xian smiled faintly, offering no further explanation.

Shen Xiong pondered for a moment, then nodded. “On the fifth floor of the Scripture Repository, there is a technique called the Soaring Cloud Evasion Art. You may go and study it.”

As he spoke, his tone hardened slightly. “Preserving your life is important, but as the future head of the Shen Family, you must demonstrate boldness and vision!”

He did not want a son who was obsessed with fleeing. If word got out that the Shen heir was a coward who specialized in running away, it would make them a laughingstock.

As the number one clan in the Azure Province, they had an image to maintain.

“Understood. Thank you, Father.”

Shen Xiong waved his hand, clearly not intending to probe further. “Go.”

Shen Xian bowed, turned, and left the study.

His destination was the Scripture Repository. While he was there, he could also search for information regarding the three materials needed for the Turtle-Snake Lamp.

Shen Xian walked slowly along the bluestone path.

The late spring breeze carried the heavy scent of peach blossoms, brushing past his robes and leaving a faint trail of spiritual light in his wake.

He kept his aura carefully restrained, maintaining the spiritual pressure appropriate for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The Scripture Repository was located in the forbidden grounds of the family’s rear mountain—a magnificent seven-story octagonal pagoda.

Bronze bells hung from the upturned eaves, chiming softly in the wind. Each chime sent visible ripples of pale cyan light through the air—the manifestation of powerful restrictive formations.

Shen Xian stopped before the pavilion. He produced his identity jade token and swiped it through the empty air.

“Young Master Third, please enter.”

The voice of the Guarding Elder echoed from within, and the heavy vermilion doors swung open silently.

His status had shifted dramatically. As the confirmed heir with Half-step Golden Core strength, places like the Scripture Repository were now open to him without question.

Stepping onto the first floor, he was greeted by the rich scent of ancient ink and spirit wood.

Shen Xian did not linger. He ascended the spiral staircase directly.

With each floor he climbed, the pressure of the restrictive formations grew heavier. By the fourth floor, pale golden Dao patterns were visible, floating in the air like dust motes.

The fifth floor was different.

The layout here abandoned the open shelves of the lower levels. The entire space was divided into nine independent stone chambers. Before each stone door, a different runic symbol floated in suspension.

Shen Xian located the symbol for “Evasion” and approached the easternmost chamber. As he drew near, a spiritual seal manifested on the stone surface.

He pressed his identity token against the seal.

Rumble.

The stone door ground open.

The chamber was sparse, containing only a single jade platform. Hovering above it was a jade slip, crackling with cyan and purple lightning—the Soaring Cloud Evasion Art.

“So this is the Fourth Rank Top Grade evasion art Father mentioned…”

Shen Xian reached out.

Zap!

The moment his skin made contact, fine arcs of lightning danced across his fingertips and shot through his arm, spreading instantly across his entire body.

It wasn’t an attack. The jade slip was testing him, checking if the cultivator possessed the necessary affinity for Wind and Thunder.

Although Shen Xian lacked a Wind spiritual root, his affinity for Thunder was potent. The technique accepted him.

As he pushed a trace of his spiritual energy into the slip, the aggressive lightning turned docile. It transformed into a stream of liquid light that shot straight into the space between his eyebrows.

Boom.

A torrent of information exploded within his Sea of Consciousness.

The Soaring Cloud Evasion Art was divided into nine layers.

The first three layers allowed the user to borrow the power of wind and thunder, traveling 10,000 miles in a single day.

The middle three layers allowed the user to transform their body into a streak of lightning, enabling brief bursts of spatial traversal.

The final three layers were terrifying—they allowed one to summon the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, granting movement speeds comparable to actual Teleportation.

“Truly extraordinary,” Shen Xian praised inwardly.

With his current comprehension, he could likely master the first three layers immediately. Once he reached the Nascent Soul realm, he could unlock the later stages. It would be more than enough to handle the journey to the Northern Region.

He turned to leave, but his eyes caught a line of small, archaic text carved into the base of the jade platform.

“Wind and lightning complement each other; one may glimpse the Great Void.”

Shen Xian paused, his mind racing.

Could this imply that the Soaring Cloud Evasion Art was merely a component of an even higher-grade technique?