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

Chapter 236: The Saintess’s Resolve, The Art of Tempering

The night deepened, and silence settled over the Listening Bamboo Pavilion.

Shen Xian returned to the master bedroom, intent on delivering the Infant Transformation Pill he had extorted from Ai Xiao earlier that day.

Inside, Qiu Ruoli sat cross-legged on the meditation dais, her form wreathed in a soft, azure spiritual glow. Moonlight filtered through the intricate lattice of the window, painting silver highlights across her porcelain-white skin and making the vermilion mark between her brows burn with vivid intensity.

Her raven hair cascaded to her waist, rising and falling rhythmically with her breath. The ends of her locks, heavy with spiritual mist, shimmered like black pearls in the candlelight. She looked like a statue carved from ice and jade—cold, ethereal, yet possessed of a breathtaking, quiet vitality.

Since their arrival, they had shared this room. Qiu Ruoli had protested initially, but her objections were frail against Shen Xian’s domineering will.

Sensing his presence, her long lashes fluttered open.

“How goes the progress?” Shen Xian asked, his voice calm.

After countless sessions of dual cultivation, her Golden Core had been pushed to its absolute limit. The breakthrough was imminent. Shen Xian was invested; once she broke through to the Nascent Soul realm, the feedback loop from the system would grant him a massive surge in cultivation base and increase the reward multiplier.

“I need more time,” Qiu Ruoli replied honestly.

She could attempt the breakthrough now, but prudence dictated she stabilize her foundation further. Failure was not an option.

Shen Xian nodded. With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the jade box Ai Xiao had delivered toward her.

“This is useless to me. Take it.”

The box landed gently in her palm. Qiu Ruoli opened it and froze.

Inside lay a pill the size of a dragon’s eye. The pill patterns on its surface writhed like living clouds, and the medicinal fragrance that wafted out made her spiritual energy boil in anticipation.

A High-Grade Infant Transformation Pill?

Qiu Ruoli’s fingertips trembled.

This evil cultivator… he is willing to give me such a priceless treasure?

The purity of this pill surpassed even the secret reserves of the Tianyao Sect. Combined with the pill her Master had bestowed upon her before she was captured, her chances of successfully forming a Nascent Soul would increase by at least thirty percent.

She looked up, meeting Shen Xian’s clear, indifferent gaze. Her lips parted, but the refusal died in her throat.

Reason screamed that she should reject the charity of her captor. She should draw a line in the sand.

But could she truly turn away power?

It was just like their dual cultivation sessions. No matter how much she resisted in her heart, how much she clung to her pride, did she not ultimately sink into the pleasure and the power it brought?

Qiu Ruoli’s eyes dimmed with a complex mix of shame and resignation.

Perhaps this is simply who I am now.

Fine.

It is all for the sake of cultivation. He kidnapped me, he used me… surely he owes me this much compensation.

With that thought anchoring her, the hesitation in her eyes cleared. Her gaze turned frank, transactional.

“I will accept it.”

She closed her fingers around the box.

[System: Host gifts Dao Companion a Rank 4 High-Grade Infant Transformation Pill. Triggering 50x Rebate Blessing.] [Reward: Rank 5 Low-Grade Heart-Calming Pill. Would you like to claim it?]

Shen Xian’s eyes flashed with amusement at the notification.

She’s becoming less resistant. Good. Saves me the trouble of coercing her.

Dismissing the system prompt, Shen Xian stretched lazily, his joints popping. He walked behind the folding screen and casually draped his outer robe over the frame.

“Forging all day takes a toll,” he muttered. “Time for sleep.”

He walked to the bed and lifted a corner of the brocade quilt. Suddenly, the rustle of silk sliding against skin caught his ear.

He turned.

Qiu Ruoli sat on the edge of the bed. She had already untied her sash. Her moon-white outer robe was gliding down her shoulders, pooling at her waist to reveal a pale pink dudou embroidered with green lotuses. The garment clung to her, highlighting the curve of her waist and the swell of her chest.

Realizing he was watching, the tips of her ears flushed a brilliant red, but she forced herself to maintain a stoic expression, turning her face away to hide the tremor in her eyes.

Shen Xian raised an eyebrow.

Does she think I gave her the pill as payment for sex?

He looked at her trembling eyelashes, the tension in her shoulders. A wicked urge to tease her bubbled up.

Slowly, deliberately, Shen Xian lay down on the bed. He propped his head on one hand, looking at her with half-lidded eyes.

“I’m quite tired today,” he drawled. “Let’s just sleep.”

Qiu Ruoli’s hands froze on her undergarments.

“Did I… misunderstand?”

Her face exploded into heat, the blush spreading down her neck.

He gave me such a precious pill, and I just assumed…

She felt like a fool. She sat there, half-naked, unsure whether to pull her robes back up or crawl into a hole and die.

Shen Xian watched her squirm for a moment, the corners of his lips twitching. Then, with a sudden burst of Spiritual Energy, he reached out and yanked her towards him.

“Y-you—!”

She tumbled onto the mattress, landing against his chest.

“Changing your mind?” Shen Xian looked down at her, his eyes dancing with amusement.

Qiu Ruoli buried her face in the pillow, humiliated beyond words.

“Too late,” he whispered.

A large hand swept down, tearing away the last of her defenses.

Another night of springtime delights ensued.

The next morning.

Ai Xiao arrived at the Listening Bamboo Pavilion half an hour early.

He pushed open the heavy bronze doors of the refining chamber with reverent care, only to find Shen Xian already inside, sorting through the leftover materials from the previous day.

“Master Wang! Please, let this junior handle the menial work!”

Ai Xiao rushed forward, practically snatching a chunk of Mystic Iron Essence Ore from Shen Xian’s hand. He moved with the frantic energy of a man trying to prove his worth.

He deftly sorted the ores by purity, tossing the slag-heavy pieces into a separate pile. “These need purification first. I will prep the furnace immediately.”

Shen Xian leaned back, watching with interest.

Ai Xiao’s sorting was impeccable. He could judge the optimal smelting temperature of a rock just by weighing it in his palm.

A Rank 4 Refiner really is a useful convenience, Shen Xian mused. I should have gotten an assistant sooner.

“You do the refining today,” Shen Xian announced suddenly.

“Me?” Ai Xiao paused, then nodded vigorously. “Understood!”

He didn’t ask questions. He moved to the main furnace and began the smelting process.

As a Rank 4 veteran, his technique was solid. He manipulated the flames with precision, flipping the materials at the perfect angles to ensure even heating.

“Cold Iron and Star Pattern Steel cannot be smelted in the same batch,” Shen Xian’s voice cut through the roar of the fire.

Ai Xiao froze. He wiped sweat from his brow and turned, looking pained. “Master Wang has sharp eyes. I have always used the ‘Water-Fire Balance Method’ to handle these two incompatible materials, but… I always suffer a thirty percent loss in material integrity.”

“That is because your Spiritual Energy conversion is half a breath too slow.”

Shen Xian walked over and picked up a cold, dark ingot of Star Pattern Steel.

“Watch closely.”

A wisp of azure flame ignited in Shen Xian’s palm. He didn’t blast the metal; he caressed it. Under the gentle flame, the hard steel began to soften, melting not like metal, but like ice dissolving in the spring sun.

Ai Xiao’s eyes widened.

Usually, melting this steel blurred the star-like patterns on its surface, ruining its conductive properties. But under Shen Xian’s flame, the star patterns became sharper, more distinct, glowing with an inner light.

“The Nurturing Patterns Technique…” Ai Xiao whispered, his voice trembling. “I’ve only seen this described in ancient texts.”

He leaned forward, forgetting to breathe.

“Route your Spiritual Energy through the Hand Lesser Yang Meridian,” Shen Xian instructed, his voice clinical. “When passing the Triple Burner, cycle the energy three times to strip the heat of its aggression. Every time the temperature rises by ten degrees, use your Divine Sense to comb the patterns once.”

Ai Xiao, a man in his forties, stood there like a wide-eyed schoolboy, absorbing every word.

He tried to replicate the flow in his own body. He realized instantly that the technique was deceptively simple—it required a terrifying level of dual-tasking between Spiritual Energy control and Divine Sense manipulation.

But the path was clear.

Ai Xiao clenched his fists, a surge of gratitude swelling in his chest.

My choice was right.