41: A demon is born, and the empress is terrified.

Tianyan City, Su Family back mountain, a secluded side hall.

This was Su Xuanchen's usual place for secluded cultivation, heavily protected by Formations so that not even a fly could enter.

Su Zining stood uneasily in the center of the hall, her hands tightly twisting the corners of her clothes.

She looked at the man before her, who stood with his hands behind his back like a god; her breathing was rapid, and her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.

The Old Ancestor had brought her back.

It wasn't a dream.

"Sit."

Su Xuanchen turned around and pointed casually at a nearby futon.

Su Zining didn't dare sit; with a thud, she knelt on the ground, her forehead pressed against the cold stone floor.

"Old Ancestor... Zining is dirty, I'm afraid of staining your futon..."

Humble.

Cautious.

She was like a stray dog that had been kicked and beaten for a long time; even if taken home, she wouldn't dare sit on the couch, only daring to huddle in a corner and tremble.

Su Xuanchen frowned slightly.

He didn't like this servility.

"Stand up."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

Su Zining's body jolted as if struck by lightning; she scrambled up in a panic, keeping her head low, not daring to look at him.

"Su Zining, do you think you're a waste?"

Su Xuanchen got straight to the point without any preamble.

Su Zining bit her lip, her face pale.

"Yes... I've cultivated for three years and consumed countless Family resources, yet my cultivation has plummeted to the bottom..."

"That's because they are blind."

Su Xuanchen sneered, interrupting her self-pity.

He took a step forward and instantly arrived in front of the girl.

Two fingers reached out without warning and tapped the center of her brow.

Hum!

A vast amount of Saint power surged dominantly into her Sea of Consciousness, traveling through her Meridians and throughout her body.

Su Zining's entire body went stiff, not daring to move an inch.

A moment later.

Su Xuanchen withdrew his fingers, looking at her with eyes that seemed to be observing a peerless piece of unpolished jade.

"Listen well."

"You are not a waste."

"You are a peerless Prodigy the likes of which has never appeared in the Sacred Ruins Continent, or even the entire Yongyao Heaven Realm."

Su Zining snapped her head up, her pupils shrinking violently, her face filled with disbelief.

"Prodigy?"

"Me?"

"Within your body are hidden two Treasure Troves."

Su Xuanchen held up two fingers.

"First, the Innate Primordial Dao Embryo."

"This Physique is naturally close to the Great Dao; for you, Spiritual Qi is not absorbed, it is plundered. Your previous cultivation regression was because your Physique had not yet undergone Awakening, and your body's instinct was frantically devouring Spiritual Qi for a self-Foundation Establishment."

"Just like a young Dragon, it needs a massive amount of energy before breaking its shell."

"Second."

Su Xuanchen's voice became low, carrying a hint of admiration that even he found stunning.

"The Samsara Dao Pupil."

"One eye for life, one eye for death. It sees through all falsehoods and points directly to the Origin."

"Either of these things, if taken out alone, would be enough to make those so-called Holy Land Saints kill themselves in shame."

"And you have both in one body."

Dead silence.

Su Zining listened blankly, her mind feeling like it was stuffed with mush, unable to process it at all.

Innate Primordial Dao Embryo?

Samsara Dao Pupil?

Did these terrifying-sounding names really belong to a 'waste' like her who couldn't even maintain her Qi Sea Realm?

"Don't believe me?"

Su Xuanchen's lips curled into a playful smile.

"One day."

"Give me one day, and I will help you activate your Physique."

"At that time, you will understand what it truly means to—Cultivate as easily as drinking water."

Su Zining's breathing instantly became heavy.

She looked at Su Xuanchen, and in those previously dead eyes, a flame named 'ambition' ignited.

It was the madness of hitting rock bottom after being suppressed and humiliated for three years.

"Old Ancestor..."

Her voice was raspy, yet it carried a fierce edge.

"If... if I can really become strong..."

"Can I kill people?"

Su Xuanchen laughed.

He laughed very happily.

He wasn't afraid of a woman having ambition; he was only afraid of a woman being a 'Holy Mother'.

In this dog-eat-dog world of cultivation, 'Holy Mothers' died the fastest.

"As long as you have the ability."

"If you poke a hole in the sky, I'll patch it for you."

"If you kill everyone, I'll bury them for you."

Dominant.

Protective.

No bottom line.

Su Zining's tears suddenly streamed down.

She kowtowed heavily.

"Zining... thanks the Old Ancestor for the grace of remaking me!"

"Don't be in such a hurry to thank me."

Su Xuanchen waved his hand, his gaze becoming deep.

"There is no such thing as a free lunch."

"I, Su Xuanchen, never make a losing deal."

"If you want me to help you activate your Physique and take back your dignity, you must agree to one condition."

Su Zining looked up, her gaze firm.

"Please speak, Old Ancestor! Even if it costs Zining's life..."

"What would I want your life for?"

Su Xuanchen rolled his eyes.

"What I want is—first place."

He pointed outside the hall, in the direction of the Family's martial arts arena.

"The Family Great Competition in one week."

"I want you to take first place."

"Tread upon all those who have stepped on you, insulted you, and looked down on you."

"Tell the entire Su Family, tell the entire Sacred Ruins Continent."

"That you, Su Zining, are not a waste, but a future Empress."

"Can you do it?"

Su Zining clenched her fists so hard her nails pierced her palms, and blood dripped down.

The pain kept her clear-headed, yet also drove her mad.

"I can!"

She almost roared it out.

"If I don't take first place, Zining will bring you her own head!"

"Good!"

Su Xuanchen nodded with satisfaction.

"Go wait in the side hall and adjust your state."

"At this time tomorrow, I will change your fate against the heavens."

...After settling Su Zining.

Su Xuanchen was in a great mood, humming an unknown little tune as he sauntered back to his sleeping quarters.

Just as he pushed open the door.

A fragrant breeze rushed toward him.

"Husband~!"

Immediately after, a soft, fragrant body clung to him like a koala.

Bai Lingxi.

Since the grand wedding, this girl had completely let herself go.

Whenever no outsiders were around, she wanted nothing more than to glue herself to Su Xuanchen.

"Whoa, slow down, slow down."

Su Xuanchen caught her firm backside and gave her tender cheek a kiss.

"So enthusiastic? Do you want to 'Cultivate' again?"

"You're terrible~"

Bai Lingxi's face turned red, and she buried her head in the crook of his neck, rubbing against him like a kitten.

"I just missed you."

"Traitor."

A cold and somewhat lazy voice drifted from a nearby soft couch.

Gu Lingshuang was reclining on a fox fur rug, holding an ancient book in one hand while the other gently stroked her slightly bulging belly.

She glanced at Bai Lingxi hanging off Su Xuanchen, a hint of disdain appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"It's only been half an hour since you were apart, and you already miss him?"

"Can't you have a little dignity?"

Bai Lingxi made a face at her; not only did she not get down, she hugged him even tighter.

"Sister is just jealous!"

"Bleh bleh bleh!"

Su Xuanchen laughed as he walked over, sitting down on the edge of the couch with the 'attachment' still on him.

He reached out and naturally pulled Gu Lingshuang's waist into his arm.

"What? Did my wife miss me too?"

Gu Lingshuang rolled her eyes and slapped his hand away.

"Don't be so full of yourself."

"I just heard the servants say you brought a woman back from outside?"

Her tone was flat.

But Su Xuanchen could smell the sourness of jealousy from miles away.

"And she's a waste of a girl from a Branch Lineage?"

Gu Lingshuang narrowed her phoenix eyes, scrutinizing Su Xuanchen.

"Su Xuanchen, your tastes are becoming more and more unique."

"You can even lay a hand on a little girl who hasn't even fully developed?"

"I'm being framed!"

Su Xuanchen set Bai Lingxi down, looking righteous.

"Am I that kind of person?"

"I'm just cherishing talent!"

"Cherishing talent?"

Gu Lingshuang scoffed.

"What talent is there to cherish in a waste at the first level of the Qi Sea Realm?"

"If she's a Genius, then the dogs running all over the streets are Divine Beasts."

As a former Empress, her vision was incredibly sharp.

She had heard of Su Zining's situation; blocked Meridians and a leaking Dantian—a typical waste body.

In the world of Cultivation, such a person was an ant, not even qualified to be cannon fodder.

Su Xuanchen didn't argue.

He picked up a spiritual fruit from the table, took a bite, and said indistinctly:

"Innate Primordial Dao Embryo."

"What?"

Gu Lingshuang froze for a moment, thinking she had misheard.

Su Xuanchen swallowed the fruit and casually uttered four more words:

"Samsara Dao Pupil."

Clang!

The ancient book in Gu Lingshuang's hand fell to the floor.

She suddenly sat up straight, her phoenix eyes, which were always somewhat lazy and proud, were now wide and round.

Her pupils shrank to the size of needlepoints.

Even her breathing stopped for an instant.

"You... what did you say?!"

Her voice rose an octave, even cracking slightly.

"Innate Primordial Dao Embryo?!"

"Samsara Dao Pupil?!"

"In... the same person?!"

Su Xuanchen shrugged.

"Yeah."

"That 'waste girl' you were talking about."

Gu Lingshuang was completely dumbfounded.

Who was she?

The Myriad Tribulations Empress!

In her past life, she had ruled over the heavens and seen Prodigies as numerous as carp in a river.

Divine Physiques and Saint Physiques were nothing special in her eyes.

But these two Physiques were different!

The Innate Primordial Dao Embryo was a supreme Physique from legends that could lead directly to the Great Dao, known as the 'Daughter of the Heavenly Dao'.

The Samsara Dao Pupil was even more involved with the most mysterious and taboo Samsara Laws!

If either of these appeared, it would be enough to trigger a bloodbath in the Central Heaven Realm, with Immortal Imperial Clans fighting to the death to claim them.

And now.

You're telling me these two Heaven-Defying things appeared in the tiny Sacred Ruins Continent?

And on a Branch Lineage girl who everyone despised?

"This is crazy..."

Gu Lingshuang murmured to herself, her chest heaving violently.

"Is the Su Family's ancestral grave smoking with good fortune?"

"No, for this kind of Luck, the ancestral grave must have exploded!"

She turned to look at Su Xuanchen with an extremely complex gaze.

Shock.

Doubt.

And a deep sense of... wariness.

This man.

Not only was he a freak himself, but his Luck was also absurdly good.

He could just pick up a random person and find a peerless Prodigy?

"Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

Gu Lingshuang still couldn't quite believe it.

"When has this Seat's eyes ever been wrong?"

Su Xuanchen pointed to his own eyes with a proud face.

"Besides, I've already promised to help her activate her Physique."

"As long as there are enough resources, she'll be able to teach those little brats a lesson in the Family competition in a week."

Gu Lingshuang fell silent.

She picked up the ancient book from the floor, brushed off the dust, and took a deep breath to force down the waves of shock in her heart.

"If it's true..."

She looked at Su Xuanchen, her expression more serious than ever before.

"Su Xuanchen, you've found a real treasure."

"A Prodigy like this, never mind in the Sacred Ruins Continent."

"Even in the Central Heaven Realm, those Great Emperors would be fighting to take her as their personal Disciple."

"As long as she doesn't die young."

"The Su Family will surely produce an Empress in the future!"

Saying this, she subconsciously touched her own belly.

A competitive light flashed in her eyes.

"However..."

"She definitely won't be as powerful as my son."

Su Xuanchen couldn't help but laugh out loud at her proud 'my son is number one in the world' look.

He pulled both women into his arms, one on each side, full of heroic spirit.

"I don't care about Empresses or Emperors."

"Since she's in my Su Family, she's one of my Su Family's people."

"Even a Dragon must coil up, and a Tiger must lie down before me."

"This Sacred Ruins Continent is too small."

Su Xuanchen looked out the window toward the distant firmament, his eyes flashing with ambition.

"With you two, and with Su Zining."

"This Yongyao Heaven Realm..."

"Will eventually have its surname changed to Su!"

Although Bai Lingxi didn't quite understand things like Dao Embryos or Dao Pupils, she could feel her husband's current dominance.

She looked up at Su Xuanchen's profile with a face full of infatuation.

"Husband is so handsome!"

Gu Lingshuang curled her lips in disdain.

But in those beautiful eyes, she couldn't hide a hint of... pride in sharing his glory.

This man.

Though he was a bit arrogant and a bit lecherous.

Following him... it seemed she really could see a magnificent future that she had never imagined before.

"Alright, stop bragging."

Gu Lingshuang gave him a push, returning to her usual cold and aloof self.

"Since she's a peerless Prodigy, the resources needed to activate her Physique will surely be astronomical."

"Is your little bit of savings enough?"

Su Xuanchen gave a mysterious smile.

"Not enough?"

"Then I'll go rob... oh no, go borrow some."

"There are plenty of rich people in this Sacred Ruins Continent."