107: Chapter 107 Frosty Evening, Let's Get Married

"It was my master, very formidable. Later... later, something seemed to happen, I don't remember clearly."

You did not press further.

For the next half hour, you asked every question you could think of: the Sect system of the Cultivation World, the influence of Spiritual Qi concentration on Cultivation, the specific gap between the Opening Aperture Realm and the Qi Refining Realm... The artifact spirit's answers were fragmented. In some places, it spoke quite logically, while in others, it would get stuck halfway, stammering, "I don't remember clearly."

You organized and archived this information in your mind point by point.

The conclusion was clear: the red emperor heart pendant was useless to you.

You were a woman, without a Pure Yang Physique. Forcing a Fusion would result in your body exploding and death. Moreover, those four paths to obtaining a Spiritual Root all pointed toward the core resources of the Cultivation World. In this land of Great Li, where Spiritual Qi was so thin it was almost non-existent, let alone any Nascent Soul Cultivator or the creation of a Blue Lotus.

A dead end.

You clutched the pendant in your palm, rubbed it for a moment, and after turning the matter over in your mind a few times, your thoughts landed on another person.

Wei Feisen.

A man, having practiced martial arts for over thirty years, his Physique... you were unsure if it was Pure Yang, but at least he passed the gender requirement.

Furthermore, even if he could truly achieve Fusion with the red emperor heart pendant and develop a Spiritual Root, what could he do in Great Li?

You recalled the description in the qingling notes: Opening Aperture Realm, clearing the spiritual apertures, first sensing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

First sensing.

It meant only being able to sense Spiritual Qi, not truly manipulate it. In the early stages of the Opening Aperture Realm, one was not even as capable in a fight as an Innate Martial Artist. Only upon reaching the Qi Refining Realm, with the nine apertures united and Qi gathered into the meridians, would an Immortal Cultivator begin to display overwhelming advantages over a Mortal Martial Artist.

And from Aperture Opening to Qi Refining, a vast amount of Spiritual Qi was required.

Did Great Li have Spiritual Qi?

Almost none.

In the core of the Puppet in Wei Feisen's hands, there were a few Spirit Stones brought from the Cultivation World—just those few. At most, they were enough for one person to barely reach a Breakthrough to the Opening Aperture Realm. Want to go from Aperture Opening to Qi Refining? Unless he could find a Spiritual Vein or go to the Cultivation World.

And the Cultivation World was west of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Could he go there?

You put the pendant away, leaned back in your chair, and made your decision.

Three days later.

In the Imperial Study.

Wei Feisen entered the hall upon being summoned.

When he entered, his footsteps were half a beat faster than usual. His gaze swept over you, then over the desk, and finally landed on the small empty space on the table in front of you. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

He was waiting.

Three days; he had waited long enough.

You did not look up.

Beside your hand was a tax memorial submitted by the Ministry of Revenue. You flipped to the third page, casually took out the blood-colored teardrop pendant from your collar, and placed it on the desk with a "clack." The crisp sound of metal hitting wood was exceptionally clear in the quiet hall.

"This is for you."

Wei Feisen's gaze was nailed to that pendant.

You raised your head and looked at him: "This item is named the red emperor heart pendant. Its effect is to allow those without a Spiritual Root to develop one. The condition is that the host must possess a Pure Yang Physique, and after the Fusion, their Lifespan will be permanently halved."

You paused, then continued.

"Whether it is suitable or not, tell me in a few days."

Wei Feisen stood in place, staring at the pendant for a long time.

The blood-colored teardrop shimmered eerily under the candlelight, beautiful yet sinister, its aura identical to that of the "Immortal" he had seen thirty years ago.

His fingers trembled slightly.

But he did not immediately reach for it.

He first glanced at you, his expression somewhat complex.

Immediately after, Wei Feisen withdrew his gaze, reached out, and clasped the pendant into his palm.

The moment his fingertips touched the cold jade surface, his fingers tightened.

"Very well," he said.

His voice was very soft, and he turned and left.

You listened to his footsteps fading into the distance, followed by the "click" of the hall door closing.

——

Twelve days later.

Wei Feisen entered the hall again, the expression on his face even harder to decipher than when he arrived.

He walked to the desk and gently placed the red emperor heart pendant back on the tabletop.

"I am also not of the Pure Yang Physique."

The artifact spirit inside the pendant did not make a sound, its red light completely extinguished, as if it were playing dead.

You pondered for a moment, silently thinking, "It seems it is not just any man who will do, but rather the so-called Pure Yang Physique." You then reached out, picked up the pendant, and tucked it back into your robes.

Wei Feisen saw you put away the red emperor heart pendant.

"Since the Immortal's relic is useless to both you and me," he began, his voice half a tone lower than before.

"Emperor Shuang Wan, let us marry."

The candlelight in the Imperial Study flickered gently.

Your fingers paused on the edge of the desk.

You looked at his eager eyes.

You immediately felt a headache coming on.

Your mind raced.

You had already confirmed the direction of the Cultivation World: head northwest, pass through the Ten Thousand Mountains, and you could reach the Luoyun Sect. Therefore, your plan was now very clear: achieve a Breakthrough to the Earthly Immortal Realm, then set off alone to the Ten Thousand Mountains to scout the path and see if you could find a way through. This was something you had to do; there was no turning back.

And Wei Feisen...

Not to mention whether you were willing, if you married him...

When the time came and he knew you were leaving, leaving him, going to a place he could never follow...

You knew this man too well; he would go mad.

He still had the Black Tiger Division in his hands, as well as his remaining connections. Although the Puppet was under your control, the soldiers of the Black Tiger Division were not. If he were to cause trouble at the critical moment of your Breakthrough, he didn't need to win—he only needed to disrupt things, and that would be enough to cause you immense trouble.

Therefore, you could not fall out with him.

Not now.

You raised your head, looked into his eyes, and your expression softened slightly.

"Feisen." It was the first time you had called his name in such a setting, your voice very soft. "I understand the urgency in your heart."

Wei Feisen's breathing hitched.

"But think about it," you stood up, walked around the long desk, came before him, and looked up at him. "I am the Emperor of Great Li. If I marry, the Ministry of Rites must draft the imperial edict, the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs must register it, and the Six Ministries must discuss the succession. If I marry you, the Grand Commander of the Black Tiger Division, how will the people of the world view it?"

You reached out and gently tapped his chest with your fingertip.

"They will say the Empress is blinded by lust, marrying a powerful minister. They will say Wei Feisen is holding the Emperor hostage to command the feudal lords. All the territory you worked so hard to conquer, all the blades you blocked for me—in the end, will you be cursed by the world as a traitorous sycophant?"

You withdrew your hand, stepped back half a step, your tone sincere.

"I do not wish for you to suffer such grievances."

"Give me some time. Wait until the Northern Frontier is pacified, wait until the new laws are fully implemented, wait until the hearts of the people are completely won over... By then, you can marry me in grand style, and no one will be able to say a single word against it."

Wei Feisen stared into your eyes.

He stared for a long time.

Then he nodded.

That nod came too slowly.

So slowly that a sliver of keen alertness rose in your heart.

But you suppressed it.

"Very well," he said.

You smiled slightly, turned, and ordered the palace attendants to serve tea.