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

Shen Xian immediately recognized the man as one of Shen Li’s trusted cronies, yet he showed no hint of fear.

First, fighting was forbidden here. Second, even if they were to clash, the outcome would be far from certain.

So he simply ignored the man, found a spot on the ground, and sat down cross-legged to wait for the trial to begin.

Shen Xiao let out a cold laugh. He glanced around and, finding no trace of Ye Qingxian, felt his confidence surge.

Without her, there was no one left to stand in his way.

A sinister smile curled his lips. He suddenly turned to the Shen clan members gathering in the square, his voice, laced with spiritual energy, booming across the entire area.

“Fellow clansmen, the Separation Fire is treacherous. Why don’t we join forces to face it together?” Ice spread from beneath Shen Xiao’s feet, creating a cool oasis on the scorching ground. “I, Shen Xiao, am willing to protect you all with my Frost Technique.”

His intention was obvious: to isolate his target, leaving him utterly alone.

The moment Shen Xiao finished speaking, more than a dozen Shen clan members flocked to his side as if they had found their savior.

In this fiery hellscape, the frost-covered ground was an oasis in the desert, an irresistible sanctuary.

“Thank you, Executor Shen Xiao!”

“As expected of the Executor! You’re the only one who truly cares for us collateral branches!”

A chorus of sycophantic praise erupted as everyone scrambled to get inside the frost barrier. A few weaker cultivators were so moved they even shed tears, clinging to this lifeline as if it were their last hope.

On the edge of the crowd, a few members from a collateral branch, who had been given specific instructions by Nangong Wan, stood with uneasy expressions.

One of them murmured, “The Mistress told us to look after the Third Young Master…”

“Look after him?” someone nearby sneered. “Why should we risk our necks for a direct heir who’s doomed to fail anyway?”

After all, whatever happened within the ancestral grounds was a secret to the outside world. Though they had received their orders, if they simply stood by and did nothing, Nangong Wan would never know.

They had long grown tired of this useless direct descendant. Now was the perfect chance to vent.

They exchanged a few knowing glances and tacitly squeezed toward the center of the barrier, deliberately increasing the distance between themselves and Shen Xian.

Just then, a man stepped out from the crowd, feigning surprise. “Oh? Why hasn’t the Third Young Master joined us?”

This man was Shen Qing, another of Shen Li’s most trusted men. His plan was to deliberately incite conflict between the direct and collateral branches, ensuring Shen Xian had absolutely no allies.

He raised his voice intentionally. “Could it be that you look down on the meager skills of us collateral branches?”

A freckle-faced youth immediately chimed in with a sarcastic tone, “He’s a direct descendant! Why would he need help from lowly folk like us? I heard the Third Young Master receives a monthly stipend of pills that’s worth half a year of our rations!”

“That’s right!” Shen Qing feigned a pained expression. “Last year, my younger brother failed his Foundation Establishment breakthrough because he was short just one Solidifying Origin Pill. Meanwhile, some people…”

He shot a meaningful look at Shen Xian. “…are a complete waste of space, yet they continue to occupy that share.”

The words were like a torch to dry tinder, instantly igniting the long-suppressed resentment in the crowd.

“My sister has been stuck at the peak of Qi Refining for three years!”

“We aren’t even allowed past the third level of the Scripture Repository, but he treats it like his own backyard!”

A volley of malicious glares, sharp as arrows, shot toward Shen Xian. Even the few clan members who had been hesitant before were swept up in the mob mentality, taking several steps back and creating a clear line between themselves and him.

Shen Xiao watched this unfold with satisfaction, pretending to sigh with helplessness. “Since the Third Young Master disdains our company, then… I suppose we’ll have to let him fend for himself.”

With a flick of his fingers, the frost barrier expanded to three times its size, deliberately leaving a ring of scorching heat around Shen Xian’s solitary figure.

How boring, Shen Xian thought. This whole isolation tactic was as childish as the bullying he’d seen in his schoolyard days.

He calmed his mind and waited.

What did it matter if he was alone?

Solitude is the domain of beasts; only cattle and sheep huddle in herds.

Shen Qing frowned, a flicker of murderous intent in his eyes. “Just wait until the Heavenly Fire descends. We’ll see how you die then.”

“He’s just putting on an act!” someone spat.

“Let’s see him cry for help later!”

The mocking voices rang out, completely unrestrained.

BOOM!

Suddenly, the ground shook violently.

Eight pillars of fire erupted from the earth, their towering flames intertwining in mid-air to form a colossal, fiery net.

The first stage of the Separation Trial: Body Forged in Separation Fire.

Participants had to endure the refining power of the Separation Fire, allowing it to temper and transform their physical bodies to pass the stage.

The trial had begun.

Shen Xiao immediately formed a series of hand seals, and the frost barrier flared brightly, shielding everyone within its protective embrace. The others quickly activated their own defensive measures as well.

But Shen Xian, standing alone, was instantly engulfed by waves of crimson fire.

The heat warped the air, making the entire world seem to blur and shimmer.

Everyone else was protected by a formation. Shen Xian had prepared nothing.

But what could a good-for-nothing at the second level of Qi Refining possibly prepare?

Everyone watched with expressions of pure contempt.

“Hahaha! Look at that waste!” Shen Qing pointed at Shen Xian’s silhouette in the sea of fire, roaring with laughter. “He’s not even trying to dodge! Did the shock scare him witless?”

“Serves him right!” shrieked a mid-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, her face twisted with hatred. “If it weren’t for the Mistress’s protection, a parasite like him would have been kicked out of the clan ages ago!”

“That’s right!” someone immediately echoed.

A cacophony of vicious curses filled the air as everyone craned their necks, eager to witness Shen Xian being burned to a crisp. The loudest shouts came from several clan members who had once received favors from his mother, as if they were desperate to purge themselves of all the resentment they had accumulated over the years.

Although the intensity of the Separation Fire was adjusted according to one’s cultivation level, in their eyes, there was no way Shen Xian’s frail body could withstand the agony of body tempering.

…

Amidst the sea of fire, Shen Xian’s figure wavered in and out of sight.

At that moment, under the profound influence of his sixth-grade mental technique, his mind was a placid lake. He allowed the raging Separation Fire to invade every inch of his flesh and blood.

The instant the first wisp of fire entered his body, Shen Xian gasped.

The flames were like millions of white-hot needles, piercing his pores and coursing through his veins.

He could feel every muscle fiber being torn apart and rewoven, the excruciating pain causing his body to tremble uncontrollably.

His skin blackened and peeled away, revealing new flesh underneath that glowed with a reddish-gold luster, as tough as refined iron.

Next, the flames seeped into his bones, which emitted faint cracking sounds.

His marrow was smelted, its impurities burned away, until it gradually became as translucent as jade.

Shen Xian felt his strength surge.

The Separation Fire continued to scour his meridians, forcibly blasting through blockages and multiplying the speed of his spiritual energy circulation.

His organs were tempered in the inferno. His heart pounded like a war drum, and his blood grew ever purer.

When the final wisp of Separation Fire completed its work, Shen Xian slowly opened his eyes.

The golden flames flickering deep within his pupils gradually faded, replaced by a profound, soul-captivating light.

He shifted his body slightly, and his joints let out a series of crisp cracks. His physical strength had reached an astonishing new height.

His bones were now like jade, his meridians flowed like mighty rivers, and his organs pulsed with a radiant light. Every movement he made was imbued with a deep, resonant power.

His physical prowess was now on par with a Golden Core Immortal!

Truly worthy of the foundation that made the Shen Clan the foremost power in the Azure Province.