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

Chapter 218: A New Dao Companion, The Death of Zhao Wuji

Shen Xian’s interest in Qiu Ruoli had little to do with romance and everything to do with the Turtle-Snake Lamp.

During their time inside the artifact’s Yin-Yang Union Formation, he had not only plundered her pure Guishui Essence, but he had also discovered a startling anomaly: whenever he fed his own Lihuo Spiritual Qi back into her, her cultivation base experienced a violent, explosive surge.

This discovery set his mind racing.

Shen Xian opened his palm. A wisp of Renshui Spiritual Qi danced at his fingertips, faintly laced with Qiu Ruoli’s unique aura.

A slow, calculating smile spread across his face. This was clearly a golden opportunity for dual cultivation.

“When I plunder her, I stabilize my Renshui Spirit Root. When I feed energy back to her, I help her break through…”

He mentally calculated the account. It was a perfect loop of mutual benefit.

If he played his cards right, his own cultivation would soar alongside hers. More importantly, the woman was already at the Half-Step Nascent Soul stage. With his assistance, she could bridge the gap to the true Nascent Soul Realm in record time.

And according to the System’s laws, a major realm breakthrough from a target always resulted in a qualitative change in the reward multiplier.

Moreover…

Shen Xian’s expression turned cold, his eyes hardening into flint.

“Even if she dies in the Northern Region, I simply lose a furnace.”

She had tried to kill him multiple times. Sparing her life was already an act of extreme mercy. Now, it was time for her to repay that debt with interest.

He narrowed his eyes, a glint of icy, predatory light flashing through his pupils.

On the day Wei Zhaoli emerged from her secluded cultivation, Shen Xian was in the courtyard, testing the intricacies of his newly acquired Soaring Cloud Evasion Art.

Suddenly, spiritual light flickered in the distance. A graceful figure stepped through the morning mist, her movements light and airy.

“Husband,” Wei Zhaoli called out softly. She raised a hand, and a crystalline ice lotus bloomed at her fingertip. “Thanks to that drop of Spirit Milk, I’ve successfully reached the late Golden Core stage.”

Her heart swelled with joy. Having witnessed Shen Xian’s terrifying power in the ruins, she had been desperate to catch up, afraid of being left behind. This breakthrough was a massive relief.

Shen Xian’s gaze shifted slightly. He produced a box containing a Dharma Treasure he had prepared earlier. “Perfect timing. Your husband just acquired a little trinket for you.”

Inside the box lay a pair of silver bells, their surfaces etched with dense, microscopic Daoist patterns.

These were the Phantom Sound Bells, a sound-attribute sonic weapon he had looted from Lin Lang’s Storage Ring.

Wei Zhaoli accepted the bells, her eyes shining. Suddenly, she rose on her tiptoes.

The kiss came out of nowhere, soft and fleeting, like a butterfly brushing past a flower petal.

By the time Shen Xian registered the sensation, all he caught was the fluttering hem of her skirt as she turned to run, and a breathless whisper drifting on the wind:

“That counts as interest… I’ll collect the principal tonight…”

The warmth lingered on his lips. Shen Xian watched her fleeing figure, a rare, genuine smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

The System prompt arrived right on schedule.

[Host gifted high-grade Spirit Treasure “Phantom Sound Bells” to Dao Companion. Triggering 50x Blessing Return.]

[Reward: Low-Grade True Spirit Treasure — Soul-Binding Silk. Claim?]

Another True Spirit Treasure!

Shen Xian’s heart leaped.

He now held four True Spirit Treasures in his arsenal. Coupled with his Nascent Soul cultivation, the danger rating of the Northern Region expedition had just dropped significantly.

“Claim.”

A seven-foot length of dark red silk materialized before him. It drifted in the air, embroidered with fine golden talisman scripts. To the touch, it was as smooth as flowing water, yet Shen Xian could sense that with a thought, it would become harder than divine steel.

[Soul-Binding Silk] Effect: When activated, it emits zero Spiritual Qi fluctuations. It can silently entangle a target, evading even Nascent Soul perception. Once bound, the target’s Spiritual Qi turns sluggish, as if trapped in a quagmire. The golden scripts also inflict a soul-confusing illusion, stripping the victim of the will to resist.

“A perfect tool for assassinations,” Shen Xian murmured, stroking the fabric.

Just as he was analyzing the silk, the communication jade in his Blood Jade Ring vibrated.

It was a message from Wang Yu, his mole within the Divine Wood Sect.

“Zhao Wuji has exited seclusion.”

The old scoundrel had stabilized at the late Nascent Soul stage. As a Supreme Elder of the sect, his combat prowess would be formidable.

Shen Xian fell silent, calculating the odds.

With four True Spirit Treasures, he could definitely kill Zhao Wuji. But the cost would be high, and fighting a Supreme Elder on his home turf was risky.

“Tricky,” he muttered.

But time waited for no one. If no better opportunity arose, he would have to force one.

Suddenly, another System prompt flashed across his vision.

[Host’s Dao Companion, Ye Qingxian, has broken through from early Golden Core to mid-Golden Core stage.]

[Blessing Triggered: Returning 50x the cultivation gained from the Dao Companion’s breakthrough.]

Shen Xian froze.

Boom!

A torrential flood of Spiritual Qi erupted within his meridians, violent and unstoppable. In his Dantian, his Nascent Soul snapped its eyes open.

The Profound Origin Qi swirling around the infant form churned like a storm, spiraling outward and creating a visible vortex of energy around Shen Xian’s physical body.

CRACK!

The pressure was so intense that the artificial stone mountain in the courtyard fractured, spiderweb cracks spreading from base to tip.

When the tide of energy finally receded, Shen Xian’s aura had settled firmly at the Mid-Nascent Soul Stage.

He clenched his fist, feeling the raw power coursing through his veins. The air itself seemed to tremble around his grip.

“Now… I can properly play with Old Dog Zhao.”

This breakthrough tipped the scales. He was no longer gambling; he was hunting.

That night, after a “warm” evening with Wei Zhaoli to celebrate her success, Shen Xian used the excuse of entering secluded cultivation.

By dawn the next day, wearing the Breath-Concealing Mask, he had quietly slipped out of the Shen family compound, heading straight for the Divine Wood Sect.

He arrived at the Divine Wood Sect under the cover of night.

Using a disciple’s token he had procured earlier, he bypassed the outer perimeter. Guided by Wang Yu’s detailed intelligence, he ghosted his way toward the forbidden back mountains of the main peak.

Because of his transcendent status, Supreme Elder Zhao Wuji lived in isolation, far removed from the bustling disciple quarters.

It was the perfect killing ground.

The night was as dark as ink. Shen Xian moved through the shadows like a wraith.

The Heavenly Mechanism Disk hovered above his palm, emitting a faint, ghostly blue light that revealed the hidden ley lines of the sect’s defensive arrays.

“Kan position, three inches. Li position, seven fen…”

Shen Xian tapped the air with his finger. The formidable Mountain Protection Array silently split open, revealing a gap just wide enough for a human.

A cold sneer played on his lips. Inside his sleeve, the Soul-Binding Silk coiled like a viper waiting to strike.

Zhao Wuji’s cave dwelling was brightly lit.

Inside, the Supreme Elder sat on a prayer mat, surrounded by a bone-chilling aura of Profound Yin Qi. But something was wrong. The air reeked of blood and resentment.

“Treating his own disciples as furnaces… what kind of ‘Righteous Cultivator’ is this?”

Shen Xian realized instantly that Zhao Wuji was secretly a demonic cultivator. He lived in isolation not for peace, but to hide his depravity.

But against Shen Xian and the Heavenly Mechanism Disk, no secret was safe.

Shen Xian stepped into the cave.

Zhao Wuji’s eyes snapped open instantly. “Who goes there?! You petty thief—”

Thwip!

The dark red silk shot out from the shadows like a striking cobra.

Zhao Wuji reacted with the reflexes of a veteran, instantly slapping a defensive talisman onto his chest.

But Shen Xian was faster.

While the silk drew attention, the Nine Orifices Exquisite Needle attacked from the blind spot. The silver needle, coated in bone-rotting poison, was a silent reaper.

Zhao Wuji twisted to parry the needle.

In that split second of distraction, Shen Xian slashed his finger through the air. A beam of Sword Qi shattered the defensive talisman before it could even activate.

Snap!

The Soul-Binding Silk wrapped around Zhao Wuji’s neck and tightened.

The golden runes flared. The late Nascent Soul cultivator’s eyes widened in horror as he felt his cultivation—three hundred years of hard work—turn as sluggish as frozen mud.

“I never expected the Supreme Elder of the Divine Wood Sect to be practicing demonic arts,” Shen Xian drawled, stepping out of the shadows. beneath the mask, his eyes glowed with a blood-red light.

Zhao Wuji’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He clawed at his throat, making wet, gurgling sounds. “Heuh… heuh…”

With a desperate roar, he forced his Dantian to ignite, launching his Life-Bound Flying Sword—a blade of pure Profound Yin.

CLANG!

The Burning Heaven Cauldron materialized out of thin air, slamming down like a falling mountain. It swallowed the flying sword whole, trapping it within a prison of thunder and fire.

The sword wailed as the lightning refined it into scrap.

Shen Xian didn’t let up. He summoned the Mountain-Suppressing Chaotic Sky Bell, the chime freezing the surrounding space and locking down the area completely.

Then, he pointed two fingers like a sword.

The Traceless Sword, wreathed in tri-colored light, pierced through the air.

Pfft—!

Blood blossomed. Zhao Wuji’s protective Dharma robes shattered like glass, and the sword buried itself in his chest.

Terror flooded the old man’s face. He couldn’t understand it. The assassin’s aura was clearly only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, yet he was being dismantled with effortless ease.

Realizing his end was near, Zhao Wuji’s eyes went mad.

BOOM!

He self-destructed his left arm.

Using the explosive force of the blood mist, he shot a Life-Bound Talisman into the sky—a blood-red flare designed to alert the entire sect.

“You… can’t escape…” Zhao Wuji coughed up bloody foam, grinning through stained teeth. “The entire Divine Wood Sect will…”

His words died in his throat.

Shen Xian stood over him, a blood-colored lotus blooming in his palm. His aura shifted, becoming sinister, ancient, and terrifyingly evil.

The Blood God Scripture.

Countless blood-red threads erupted from Shen Xian, drilling into Zhao Wuji’s open wounds like living worms.

“Demonic… Cultivator!” Zhao Wuji shrieked, his body convulsing as his essence blood was violently ripped from his veins.

The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was Shen Xian using the blood threads to carve a symbol onto the cave wall.

A sinister, eerie blood lotus.

The energy fluctuations from the battle finally drew the attention of the sect’s hierarchy.

By the time the Headmaster and the Elders rushed into the cave, only a desiccated corpse remained.

Fragments of the Profound Yin sword littered the ground. On the wall, the blood lotus seemed to drip with malice.

“It’s a Demonic Cultivator!” the Divine Wood Sect Headmaster said, his voice dropping to absolute zero.

“Lock down the sect!” the Grand Elder roared, his fury shaking the mountain.

Chaos erupted throughout the Divine Wood Sect.

Meanwhile, Shen Xian, guided by the Heavenly Mechanism Disk, slipped through the panicked patrol nets like a phantom. He deliberately left faint traces of the Blood God Scripture near the perimeter to lead them astray before vanishing into the night.

From a mountain peak a hundred miles away, the distant alarm fires rose and fell, calmly taking stock of his spoils.