285: Fellow villagers get married

Qin Zixuan and Wang Wantang listened to Qin Dong's affectionate words, tears of emotion shimmering in their eyes.

Their red lips parted slightly, their voices soft yet firm: "We are willing to seek the Great Dao with our husband, in life and in death."

Many people came to the wedding: Zhang Yizhi, Bai Mengdie, Lin Ce, Qin Su, Wen Yajun, the Prince of Jingjiang, Wang Yao, Ji Lingyu... "Junior Brother Lingyu, why didn't Junior Sister Lingshuang come?"

"Senior Brother... Lingshuang she... she didn't make it back from the Heavenly Demon Battlefield."

Qin Dong was silent for a long time before slowly saying, "My condolences."

"Senior Brother Qin, I must trouble you to pass a letter to Junior Brother Lin Hong."

"Mm, I'll give it to him."

The "Lin Hong" Ji Lingyu spoke of was, naturally, the one who had once impersonated Lin Hong—Qin Dong himself.

Thus, Qin Dong turned and checked the letter; it contained only a single line of elegant handwriting.

"I only wish to accompany you in the next life..." Now that his Fellow Countryman was getting married, how could Li Jinian stay indifferent?

After all, Qin Dong was his employee and partner; it wouldn't do to not give some wedding gift money.

Li Jinian then moved his will, manifesting a scene of heavenly auspiciousness.

With a "rip" sound, the sky above the entire New Imperial Capital of Western Yan churned as if stirred by an invisible giant hand.

Clouds gathered and surged rapidly, forming a massive Spiritual Qi vortex.

At the center of the vortex, golden light poured out like a fountain, dyeing the surrounding clouds in magnificent colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple—spreading out in layers.

These golden lights and multicolored clouds were all composed of pure Spiritual Qi; if a Cultivator could absorb even a sliver, it would be worth twenty days of bitter cultivation!

On this day, a heavenly phenomenon descended, blessing the grand wedding.

"Is this heavenly auspiciousness?!"

"Impossible! He's just getting married, not advancing to Soul Transformation. Why would there be such auspicious signs?"

"It's from the direction of the palace! It's Her Majesty the Empress's grand wedding!"

At this moment, countless citizens of Western Yan in the city were shocked, and the Cultivators from various forces at the scene were shaken.

The auspicious signs drifted down, bringing opportunities to everyone in the New Imperial Capital of Western Yan; those with low cultivation even achieved a Breakthrough on the spot, taking another step forward.

Even ordinary mortals felt refreshed and their Lifespan increased upon touching the auspicious signs.

With this move, the wedding atmosphere was pushed to its absolute peak.

There's no need to say more about what followed—the wedding ceremony, the banquet, and the bridal chamber session that Qin Dong looked forward to most.

Although he was already well-acquainted with the process, it was the first time for this marriage, after all. It held extraordinary significance and required his full effort.

"Mhm, here, the neck, thank you."

"Hey, you're pinching her, don't pinch me."

"Sorry, sorry, I accidentally pinched the wrong person."

In the gentle embrace of his wives, Qin Dong didn't pay attention and ten full days had passed... While Qin Dong was working hard, the news of the wedding day quickly spread throughout Donglin Prefecture, becoming a hot topic for everyone.

After all, triggering heavenly auspiciousness because of a wedding made Qin Dong the first person in the history of Donglin Prefecture to do so.

As the news continued to spread, it naturally reached Black Blood Mountain City.

Upon receiving the scout's report, Jiang Ning's expression remained calm, showing neither joy nor sorrow.

Instead, he fell into deep thought, carefully weighing the potential pros and cons of this matter.

A year had passed since the end of the invasion by the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons.

During the invasion, Black Blood Mountain City had obtained a massive amount of remains and blood from high-level Cultivators through secret deals with the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons.

One must know that when the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons invaded, it caused the fall of over a hundred thousand Cultivators, and almost all of them were at the Foundation Establishment level or Golden Core and above.

The remains and blood of Advanced Cultivators were great supplements for evil and demonic Cultivators.

Black Blood Mountain City traded for them, and relying on those things, four half-step Nascent Soul experts had successfully Advanced.

The number of experts at other levels also showed a leap-forward growth trend.

Looking at the current Donglin Prefecture, the Nine Sects had all undergone strategic contraction, while Black Blood Mountain City had risen abruptly. Its strength could already be called the tenth Sect of Donglin Prefecture.

However, the situation was still unclear.

The news that many Nascent Soul True Lords of the Nine Sects were heavily injured had not yet been confirmed; for the sake of safety, it was better to be more cautious.

After thinking it over, Jiang Ning immediately summoned his trusted subordinates and whispered, "Prepare a gift and send it to the Western Yan Dynasty."

"Also, hurry up with contacting the demonic Sects in other prefectures!"

"Yes! Young City Lord!"

...In the far south of Donglin Prefecture, in a barren mountain range.

Many black-robed figures were hidden in the mountain streams and secluded valleys. They all wore pitch-black masks and were praying fervently.

"Praise the Heavenly Abyss! Sing of the Heavenly Abyss!"

After the battle against the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons' invasion, the entire Heavenly Abyss organization in Donglin Prefecture suffered heavy losses; the higher-ups either fled or were killed.

This was normal, because those Heavenly Abyss higher-ups had obtained what they needed and then ran away.

The remaining few hundred black-robed members of "Heavenly Abyss" gathered together under the leadership of an Advanced Apostle.

"Everyone, do not give up! This is the test given to us by the Heavenly Abyss, by the 'Gate'!!"

The Advanced Apostle stood atop a giant rock, hands raised high, his voice becoming increasingly passionate.

"They are not dead; they have achieved eternal life!"

"The Heavenly Abyss will surely rule the world, and then, we will all become the Dominators of the new world! Achieving eternal life!"

"The current suffering is but the darkness before the dawn."

"Soon, Heavenly Abyss followers from other prefectures will arrive. We will surely pass the test!"

Those black-robed figures seemed brainwashed, prostrating themselves one after another, their mouths repeating words of praise for the Heavenly Abyss. Their fanatical shouts echoed through the valley, making one's skin crawl.

In a corner of the mountain stream, a slightly thin black-robed figure trembled slightly.

His name was Mu Chi. He was originally a Cultivator from a small Sect who had been tricked into joining the Heavenly Abyss organization by sweet talk. After joining, he gradually saw the evil nature of this so-called "Heavenly Abyss."

Listening to the fanatical shouts of the people around him, his heart was full of fear and confusion.

"Is this really the right path?" he asked himself inwardly.

"No! I have to escape!"

Mu Chi observed the terrain, found an Opportunity, and quietly moved backward.

However, his abnormality was quickly noticed by the black-robed person beside him.

"What are you doing? Why are you trembling like this? Do you have second thoughts about the Heavenly Abyss?!"

In an instant, the people who were still piously shouting gathered around, each holding a Sharp Weapon high, and stabbed viciously at Mu Chi... The scene shifted back to the New Imperial Capital of Western Yan.

"Well now, Qin Dong, you were serious for only a short while before returning to your old self?"

Li Jinian raised an eyebrow and switched to the next surveillance feed.

The second perspective: in the underground palace, a figure was as steady as a mountain.

There wasn't much to say about Luo Batian; he continued to perform steadily.

The third perspective was similar. Yao Yian was sitting in a cultivation room with a large pile of Spirit Stones in front of him. As he repeatedly muttered "Collect," those Spirit Stones lost their spirituality one after another.

Time passed slowly, and two months went by. Suddenly, an abnormal fluctuation came through.

"Is this an emergency transmission? Has something urgent happened?"

He put away the spirit stones he hadn't yet absorbed.， Yao Yi'an quickly walked out of the cultivation room。

"Greetings, Senior Brother Hua!"

"Greetings, Senior Brother Wallace!"

Seeing Yao Yian walk out of the cultivation room, a group of male and female Disciples from the Misty Holy Land immediately stepped forward, their eyes looking at him with fervor.

This Senior Brother called "Wallace" was a super Prodigy who had emerged out of nowhere in the Misty Holy Land in recent years.

Over these past few years, he had overcome all obstacles, defeating many Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters in countless fierce competitions, rising strongly with an aggressive momentum.

In the end, he successfully ranked tenth on the Spirit Manifestation Realm Disciple list, becoming the most dazzling new star of their Misty Holy Land in recent years!

Before Yao Yian could even ask, one of the Disciples hurriedly stepped forward, looking panicked and speaking rapidly: "Senior Brother Hua, something terrible has happened!"

"The younger generation of the evil and demonic paths has suddenly attacked and killed many fellow Disciples in the Spirit Manifestation Realm. They are currently in the Sect, talking big and provocatively!"

"Senior Sister Chu, ranked eleventh on the Spirit Manifestation Realm Disciple list, and Senior Brother Song, ranked fifteenth, have both died in battle."

"They also said... they also said... they want to capture a hundred Spirit Manifestation Realm female Disciples to take back as Cauldrons for their lust!"

"The strongest Spirit Manifestation Realm Cultivator currently in the Sect is you, Senior Brother."

"Senior Brother Wallace! Please, take action quickly..."