As the heavy Warm Jade Palace Gate slowly slid open to either side, ethereal mist lingered, and the palace maids filed out, leaving one to wonder what revered figure might emerge next.

The maids, dressed in simple white palace attire embroidered with flowing cloud golden threads, were divided into two rows. With their heads bowed and eyes lowered, they stepped gracefully as though treading on clouds. Their movements were uniform, their posture extremely deferential, every step they took silent as if holding their breath to avoid disturbing the soon-to-appear master.

Chen Yi’s heart rose along with them, his eyes fixed intently.

Finally, the last figure to capture his gaze was a woman he knew all too well.

However, Yin Weiyin now seemed different from before,

She was adorned in a gown of sky-blue silk, woven with patterns of Cloud Mountains and rain, the long palace dress trailing on the floor, shimmering like waves, her brows and eyes full of celestial charm.

Her stride was composed; though amidst the palace maids, she stood out prominently, exuding an otherworldly elegance without any trace of mundane coarseness. Her calm, unperturbed gaze swept over the maids standing before the palace, as though glancing at roadside vegetation, leaving him momentarily awestruck as if she were a Heavenly Person.

After calming his thoughts, Chen Yi looked around this Immortal Palace, so majestic and magnificent that even the Heavenly Court paled in comparison. Was Yin Weiyin truly the lord of this Immortal Palace?

It was hard not to be suspicious...

Chen Yi narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head.

There was really nothing to be suspicious of,

His family, Great Yin, was always prone to imaginings.

After years of companionship, how could Chen Yi not understand this bond tied wife of his, whose pride and ambition allowed her brief moments of tenderness, only to leverage them further? Surrendering readily was never her way; she employed all kinds of ’immortal calculations,’ never admitting defeat until she hit the southern wall, and even if she did turn back, it was fleeting. At heart, she never truly wished to bow her head low; sometimes he regretted marrying her, perhaps it would have been better to treat her as a lifelong concubine.

However, saying it this way, Great Yin can be extremely charming when she wants, teasing the places that itch the most deeply. Although Xiao Yin was adept at such matters, his nature limited him to a mere taste, while Zhou Yitang ignored them altogether, offering no response or even the slightest accommodation...in essence, none could compare to Great Yin.

Reflecting on this, Chen Yi felt his emotions stir restlessly and desire rise.

Though concealed within shadows, Chen Yi yearned to step forward and reveal himself, yet impulsive actions remained unwise, besides, contemplating this matter further may unveil some peculiarity.

Once Yin Weiyin’s figure had been surrounded and escorted away from that place by the maids, Chen Yi’s mind lit with intention.

He traversed through the shadows, holding his breath, and slipped in just before the palace gate could close.

It was truly strange; it wasn’t unexpected for Yin Weiyin to manifest an Immortal Palace with a mere thought... But how could she be here when she was supposed to be waiting at Gaoliang Mountain...

Could there be some mystery hidden within this palace?

By the dim glow cast by the Everlasting Lamps on both sides, Chen Yi wandered within the palace. This palace was deeper and more vacant than he had imagined, the gigantic dragon-gold columns supporting the vaulted ceiling, the floors of which gleamed enough to reflect his blurred image below, as he was about to delve further for exploration.

"Someone there?"

Suddenly, a calm, ethereal voice startled him near his ear.

Almost instinctively, Chen Yi raised his sword to his chest and turned to find Yin Weiyin’s silhouette.

Near the entrance he had just slipped in through, amidst the interplay of light and shadow, Yin Weiyin’s figure stood quietly.

He didn’t know when she had returned, or perhaps she had never really left.

Yin Weiyin smiled and said, "You’ve come."

The moment the words reached his ears, the romantic affection that had surfaced upon reunion was instantly suppressed by vigilance.

This tone... doesn’t seem right.

"Luan Huang? How come you..." He was just about to explain why he was here and ask why she appeared in this Immortal Palace.

Before he could finish,

The hand Yin Weiyin had tucked within her wide cloud sleeves casually waved outward.

The motion was effortless, like brushing away a speck of dust.

"Seize him."

Buzz!

The gentle light within the hall suddenly turned cold and sinister; from the shadowed recesses of the columns, behind the screens, even among the soft flowing draperies descending from the ceiling, emerged silently more figures of maids dressed in simple white palace attire!

Their faces remained beautiful, yet now their hands unexpectedly held various strange blades and Magic Treasures, some radiant yet chilling Jade Ruyi, some anciently styled bronze short spears with flowing inscriptions, even strands laden with fragmented electric sparks.

At once, like a tide, they surged towards Chen Yi.

"Damn!" Chen Yi could only manage to curse as the Hou Kang Sword transformed into a faint green sword shield to protect his body.

Clang, clang, clang! 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The sound of metal clashing explosively resonated in the spacious palace hall, exceedingly piercing.

The Jade Ruyi smashed onto the sword’s edge, sparking a burst of starlight; a bronze short spear craftily stabbed towards his ribs, narrowly parried by Chen Yi; and the electrically charged golden thread, like a serpent, wound along the ground towards his feet.

Chen Yi’s sword danced like a dragon, his movement technique at its peak, fending off attacks from the surrounding palace maids, as his sword edge cut through their bodies with an incredibly strange sensation: no resistance from flesh tearing, nor the crisp sound of bones breaking, but rather akin to slicing through tough, thick paper.

Ssssh!

A maid wielding a Jade Ruyi was cleaved diagonally at the shoulder by Chen Yi’s sword.

No screams, no blood splattering; instead, the maid’s body unraveled like a torn painting, disintegrating into countless weightless scraps of paper, fluttering down.

Indeed, they are paper figures!

Chen Yi’s heart tightened, his sword momentum grew more urgent.

The Hou Kang Sword emitted a piercing sound as it cleaved through the advancing paper figure maids, with scraps of paper swirling around the hall like falling snowflakes.

However, the attacking paper figures seemed endless; after slicing one, two more emerged from the shadows. What startled Chen Yi even more was the growing heaviness of his sword and the increasingly sluggish rotation of his Sword Intent.

Each time he struck, the direction of his sword seemed to be invisibly diverted—aiming for the throat, it always skewed a fraction off, stabbing the air or missing vital points; even when trying to block incoming attacks, his sword momentum lagged by half a beat, narrowly avoiding danger several times purely through instinct and experience.

It was as though the entire Immortal Palace was rejecting him, suppressing him.

Suddenly ambushed, Chen Yi’s temper flared, his eyes swept towards the serene and detached master of the Immortal Palace, shouting:

"Yin Weiyin! Is your ass itchy?!"

This crude curse was like a stone thrown into a calm lake.

The paper figure maids’ movements collectively paused, as if pulled by invisible strings.

From the Goddess Taichua, who had been calmly observing, her tranquil gaze finally rippled slightly.

Familiar emotions mixed with embarrassment and a hint of dread flickered across her eyes like surfacing sediment, but were swiftly masked by deeper indifference.

She stepped lightly, and the paper figure maids retreated like a tide, forming a clear path.

Yin Weiyin slowly approached, stopping a distance away from Chen Yi, ignoring the cold glimmer of the Hou Kang Sword in his grip, she raised a hand, fingers splayed, aiming towards Chen Yi and pressed slightly.

Buzz!

Chen Yi’s Sword Intent World instantly contracted, as though the sky were collapsing, the sword intent flowing around him dimmed rapidly, and the Hou Kang Sword emitted a mournful tremor.

Chen Yi stood firm, his face remained as calm as water, staring coldly at the familiar yet distant wife before him, he asked icily: "What exactly are you doing?"

Yin Weiyin looked at his stubborn demeanor and was reminded of their first encounter.

Even then, despite not knowing her background, he never kowtowed, ultimately, it was he who... Recalling this, a slow smile spread across Yin Weiyin’s exquisitely beautiful face.

That smile still carried an ethereal air, yet it was frigid enough to chill the heart.

"Doing what?" Her voice was gentle, her tone carried a hint of indifference of wishes fulfilled, "Chen Yi, can’t you see?"

"Yin Weiyin, I really can’t see." Chen Yi stared directly at her, sneering: "Ha, if your ass is itchy then just say so."

His words were vulgar, to which the Taichua Goddess seemed unaware, instead she slightly raised her chin, speaking pensively to herself: "I have become an immortal."

Chen Yi’s pupils shrank slightly, realizing something.

"Even though you tried everything to trap me in that mundane world, keep me by your side, thwart my path, break my immortal destiny... Yet, the heavens go on unchanging, not for Yao, not for Jie, and I Yin Weiyin have ultimately soared to immortality, reaching this realm."

She shook her head with a bitter smile and then murmured softly,

"Having become an immortal, fully attaining the long path."

Chen Yi’s gaze grew deeper, still holding his sword before him.

Yin Weiyin angled her head slightly, her gaze fell on Chen Yi, it wasn’t the look of a wife towards a husband, but rather a celestial being looking down upon a mere Golden Boy.

"Today," she slowly raised the hand she used to suppress Chen Yi’s Sword Intent, at her fingertips lingered strands of Immortal Light, pointing distantly to Chen Yi’s Dantian Qi Sea, "I shall use you, this heartless, faithless scoundrel, as a cauldron, and extract your life’s essence and Tao Foundation to assist my... immortal path to everlasting glory....."