The riverbank of Plum Blossom City was a sea of warm, golden light. Thousands of paper lotus lanterns floated gently down the dark water, carrying the wishes of mortal families and wandering cultivators alike.
Away from the noisy central plaza, the stone path along the river was much quieter. Weeping willow trees draped their long, green branches over the water, creating small, private shadows for couples to walk through.
Yan Shuo and Tantai Zhi strolled closely together, their shoulders brushing with almost every step.
In her hands, Tantai Zhi held a delicate, glowing paper lantern shaped like a fat little rabbit. Yan Shuo had bought it for two copper coins from a mortal vendor. To anyone else, it was a cheap festival toy that would burn out in an hour.
To Tantai Zhi, it was a supreme divine artifact that needed to be protected at all costs.
She held the little wooden stick with both hands, her golden eyes fixed on the glowing paper rabbit as if it held the secrets of the Heavenly Dao. She had already secretly infused a microscopic layer of her pure Yin Qi around the paper to ensure it would never catch fire, never tear, and never fade.
"Do you like it, Zhi’er?" Yan Shuo asked softly, highly amused by how seriously she was treating a piece of folded paper.
Tantai Zhi looked up, her eyes curving into beautiful, happy crescents above her white silk veil.
"I love it, Husband," she murmured, her voice entirely melted and sweet. "It is the most precious treasure I have ever received. I am going to build a special glass display case for it when we get back to the sect. I will place it right next to our bed."
Yan Shuo let out a soft laugh. The greatest, most terrifying powerhouse in the mortal realm, entirely bought over by a two-copper toy. The soft-rice lifestyle was truly a profound and mystical path.
"I am glad you like it," Yan Shuo smiled, reaching out to gently tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "The night air is pleasant. Shall we rent a small boat and float down the river for a while?"
Tantai Zhi’s breath hitched. A private boat ride? Just the two of them on the water, surrounded by glowing lanterns? The cheap romance novels she secretly hoarded in her spatial ring had thoroughly prepared her for this exact scenario.
"Yes!" she agreed instantly, her heart hammering against her ribs. "A boat ride sounds perfect! I will paddle! Husband can just sit back and rest his meridians!"
Before she could excitedly drag him toward the wooden docks, a harsh, furious voice shattered the romantic atmosphere.
"There they are! Elder! That’s the country bumpkin!"
The crowd of festival-goers suddenly gasped and scrambled out of the way, practically tripping over themselves to clear the stone path.
Marching down the riverbank was the same arrogant young master from the plaza. His luxurious blue robes were covered in dirt and crushed steamed buns, and the left side of his face was swollen like a ripe peach.
But he wasn’t alone this time.
Walking right beside him was an old man wearing the silver-trimmed robes of a Righteous Alliance inner sect elder. The old man’s face was dark, and he radiated the sharp, aggressive aura of a Late Core Formation expert. Behind them marched a dozen elite enforcers, their hands resting menacingly on the hilts of their spiritual swords.
They completely blocked the path, trapping Yan Shuo and Tantai Zhi by the river’s edge.
"You dare to sneak away after using a demonic trick on me?" the young master sneered, pointing a trembling, furious finger at Yan Shuo. "Do you know who we are? We are the Soaring Crane Sect! This city is under our protection!"
Tantai Zhi stopped looking at her rabbit lantern.
She slowly lowered the toy to her side. The warm, blushing maiden completely vanished. The air around the riverbank instantly dropped below freezing. Frost began to form on the weeping willow branches.
He pointed at Husband again, Tantai Zhi’s mind calculated with absolute, chilling clarity. He interrupted our boat ride. He brought more bugs to ruin my date. I will sever their heads. I will turn their souls into lantern fuel. She took a slow half-step forward, a microscopic thread of supreme sword intent condensing at her fingertips. She didn’t even need to draw her crimson sword. A single wave of her hand would turn the entire Soaring Crane patrol into a fine red mist.
But just as she prepared to slaughter them, Yan Shuo’s hand gently wrapped around her wrist.
"Zhi’er," Yan Shuo whispered softly, his tone completely calm. "Remember what we talked about. No massacres on our date."
Tantai Zhi froze. She looked back at him, her golden eyes pleading. But Husband, they are courting death! They are ruining our romantic night! Yan Shuo simply smiled, giving her wrist a reassuring squeeze. He didn’t want the Saintess to reveal herself here. If a Righteous sect was slaughtered in the middle of a crowded city, Bai Chen would instantly know they were in Plum Blossom City. The Faceless Scholar would realize his leyline nodes were being targeted before Yan Shuo could finish breaking them.
No, this needed to be handled quietly. Or at least, with a bit of plausible deniability.
"Elder," Yan Shuo said politely, turning his attention to the furious old man. "Your disciple tripped and fell into a food stall. My wife and I had nothing to do with his clumsiness. We are just simple travelers enjoying the lanterns."
The Late Core Formation Elder sneered, his eyes sweeping over Yan Shuo’s pristine white robes. He couldn’t sense any profound cultivation from the youth. Yan Shuo’s Nascent Soul aura was hidden so flawlessly beneath his Abyssal Core that he truly looked like a weak, wealthy mortal.
"Simple travelers?" the Elder scoffed loudly, making sure the surrounding crowd could hear him. "My disciple is a Foundation Establishment genius! He does not simply trip! You clearly used some foul, hidden weapon or demonic talisman to ambush him!"
The Elder took a heavy, threatening step forward, letting his Late Core Formation aura completely unfurl. A heavy, suffocating pressure crashed down on the stone path, making the mortal onlookers cry out and fall to their knees in fear.
"Kneel down and cripple your own cultivation, boy!" the Elder barked, his eyes flashing with cruel arrogance. "Hand over your storage rings as compensation for insulting the Soaring Crane Sect, and leave the woman behind for questioning! If you refuse, I will personally shatter your meridians!"
Tantai Zhi’s golden eyes turned completely, utterly dead. Leave me behind? The killing intent she was holding back nearly cracked the stone beneath her boots.
Yan Shuo didn’t look afraid. He just sighed softly.
He didn’t draw a weapon. He didn’t summon a massive wave of Qi. He simply looked the Elder directly in the eyes.
Deep within Yan Shuo’s dantian, the dark, gravity-devouring Nascent Soul briefly opened its eyes.
Yan Shuo took a single, casual step forward.
He didn’t unleash his gravity in all directions. He focused it with the surgical precision of an ancient sovereign. He created a localized gravitational field, focused precisely one inch above their knees of the Elder, the young master, and the dozen enforcers.
CRACK. "AGH!"
It happened simultaneously.
The Late Core Formation Elder, who had just been puffing his chest out in supreme arrogance, suddenly felt an invisible mountain slam directly onto his shoulders.
His knees buckled instantly. The heavy stone pavers beneath him shattered as he crashed to his knees with a sickening thud.
Right beside him, the arrogant young master and the dozen elite enforcers also violently collapsed, slamming their knees into the dirt as if they had been struck by a massive hammer.
The entire Soaring Crane patrol was now kneeling perfectly in a row, bowing deeply toward Yan Shuo and Tantai Zhi.
The crowd of onlookers gasped in absolute shock. They hadn’t seen a flash of light. They hadn’t felt a clash of spiritual energy. The mighty Righteous Alliance cultivators had simply marched up, yelled a threat, and then immediately dropped to their knees in unison.
"W-What?!" the Elder gasped, his face turning purple as he desperately tried to circulate his Qi to stand up.
But it was useless. The pitch-black gravity pinning him down was so infinitely heavy that it felt like the sky itself was pressing on his spine. His Core Formation Qi was completely smothered. He couldn’t even lift his head to look Yan Shuo in the eye.
"Elder, what are you doing?!" the arrogant young master shrieked from the dirt, his face pressed against the cobblestones. "Stand up! Kill him!"
"Shut up, you fool!" the Elder choked out, sweat pouring down his wrinkled face as true, mind-shattering terror finally set in. He realized he couldn’t move a single muscle. This isn’t a hidden weapon... this is domain suppression! Who is this boy?!
Yan Shuo stood over the kneeling group, perfectly relaxed. He gently snapped his paper fan open and fanned himself, looking down at the groveling cultivators with a look of mild, polite surprise.
"My goodness, Elder," Yan Shuo said smoothly, his voice carrying clearly over the silent, staring crowd. "There is no need for such a grand apology. You are far too courteous. We are just simple travelers, after all."
The crowd immediately started whispering.
"Look at the Soaring Crane Sect! They realized they were bullying a noble young master and fell to their knees to beg for mercy!"
"They must have recognized him! He must be from a hidden ancient family!"
"How embarrassing for the Righteous Alliance! Kneeling in the middle of the street!"
Hearing the whispers of the mortals, the Elder coughed up a mouthful of blood from sheer humiliation and fury, but the invisible gravity kept his face firmly planted near Yan Shuo’s pristine white boots.
"You are too polite, Elder of the Soaring Crane Sect," Yan Shuo smiled, turning his back on the groveling old man. "But we accept your apology. Please, remain kneeling and reflect on your Dao heart for a while."
Yan Shuo offered his arm to Tantai Zhi.
The terrifying Saintess was currently staring at her husband with absolute, starry-eyed worship. He hadn’t broken his promise. He hadn’t massacred anyone. He had just elegantly, effortlessly forced an entire sect patrol to bow to them without lifting a finger.
My husband is so incredibly handsome when he forces people to grovel, she thought happily.
She happily looped her arm through his, holding her paper rabbit lantern tightly in her other hand.
"Shall we get that boat now, Zhi’er?" Yan Shuo asked lazily, completely ignoring the struggling cultivators behind them.
"Yes, Husband!" she beamed, stepping gracefully onto a small wooden boat tied to the nearby dock.
Yan Shuo tossed a silver tael to the stunned boatman on the dock, casually stepping onto the boat beside his wife. With a gentle push of spiritual energy, the small wooden vessel glided smoothly away from the riverbank, drifting down the lantern-lit water.
Back on the shore, the Elder and his disciples remained perfectly pinned to the cobblestones. It would take at least two hours for Yan Shuo’s residual gravity to fade away, leaving them kneeling in the dirt for the entire city to mock.
Sitting on the soft cushions of the boat, Yan Shuo looked back toward the center of Plum Blossom City.
The invisible drop of demonic Qi he had planted in the ancient plum tree was already working. He could feel the golden leyline beneath the city slowly beginning to rot and fracture.
"One anchor snapped," Yan Shuo murmured softly to himself, pouring a cup of warm tea from the small table on the boat. "Three more to go. I hope you are having a sleepless night, Bai Chen."
He leaned back, enjoying the gentle rocking of the boat and the stunning view of his beautiful wife happily watching the floating lanterns pass by. The shadow war for the Central Continent was turning out to be a remarkably relaxing vacation.