Chapter 229: Chapter 254: Red Halls

Tianyi opened his eyes once Mengfei's sermon ended again. It was a short, specialized sermon preached just for him and him alone. Mengfei had been doing this several times, even after Tianyi defeated Xia Yushan in their duel. "Thank you, Mother."

Mengfei nodded. "How much confidence do you have?"

Tianyi paused to consider before arriving at his answer. "I don't know."

"You have no confidence?"

"I have confidence in passing most of Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, but not Inner Devil Tribulation," Tianyi said while frowning. He worried that his worry for his mom from Earth would become his inner devil. He feared that he would never be able to discover her.

"That is a problem. Right now, you can't temper your willpower at all due to your unique cultivation method." Mengfei's expression stayed the same, but she held the sofa's armrest hard enough that it started to crack. "When do you plan to initiate the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation."

"Not long. In two or three years, maybe even sooner."

"So soon?" Mengfei asked, shock coloring her voice. 

Tianyi shrugged. "What's the point of delaying it? Didn't you say that cultivators have to bravely take a step forward? If I delay my heavenly tribulation just because I'm scared, wouldn't that decrease my chances more?"

Mengfei stayed silent. "Yi'er is right. Mother was too worried."

"Mother, what should I do about the Kunlun Mirror?" Tianyi asked as he brought up the divine artifact.

"Since you found it, you should keep it," Mengfei said without missing a beat.

"I can't even use it. Plus, the Kunlun Mirror was the original Xi Wangmu's lifebound connate artifact. As the inheritor of Xi Wangmu, I feel like you should keep it." Tianyi said as he pushed the mirror into Mengfei's hand. "It's more suited than the Longevity Oracle Mirror that she later refined."

Xi Wangmu, like many of the divinities of the past, had directly been born a god, mastering one of the myriad worldly laws at the divine level such as Daoist Redcloud, Emperor Jun, and Xihe, and could be considered an early peer of the Three Pure Ones. She was more fortunate than most since she was born with a lifebound artifact. Such artifacts were known as lifebound connate artifacts.

"You should keep it, the Law of Time contained within will aid you more," Mengfei said, pushing the artifact back to Tianyi's hand.

"I can't even use it, and staring at it won't allow me to comprehend the Law of Time. If I could actually use my qi, then it would be another story. You should keep it."

"It is useless to me, I don't cultivate the Law of Time. It's better for you to keep it for use when you become an immortal."

"Let's talk about it after I become an immortal."

Like this, the two continued to push the divine artifact back and forth as if it was a random object that could be found anywhere. Luckily, there was no one else present, or else they might puke blood in envy at this mother-son duo.

In the end, Mengfei took the mirror and dropped a sword in Tianyi's hand. Tianyi looked at the sword. Honestly, even for a sword, it was very plain and was in dire need of embellishment. "What's this?"

"The Immortal Confining Sword," Mengfei curtly said.

"Oh," Tianyi said with a nod as he tried swinging. He found that it was the perfect length and weight. His head snapped back to his mother with mouth agape. "What, say that again?!"

"The Immortal Confining Sword."

"THE Immortal Confining Sword? One of the Four Immortal Extermination Swords, THAT sword?" 

Mengfei nodded. "Since you gave me the Kunlun Mirror, I should reciprocate in kind."

"No, no, no, NO!" Tianyi said as he tried to hand the sword back, but Mengfei moved out of the way. "Mother, you're the Sword Empress. I mean, Sword Sovereign. This is more suited for you than the Kunlun Mirror."

"You and I both know that the Heartless Sword Art's foundation is in formations and not swordplay. So it doesn't matter if I have it or not." 

"Still. This is one of the Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasure's divine artifacts, he's far more powerful than Xi Wangmu. You should keep it." Tianyi tried to follow after his mother, but she simply stepped out of the room.

"Even so, it is not the sword most suited for me. You should keep it." With those words, Mengfei's body disappeared from the room, leaving Tianyi helpless. 

"Yi'er, join me for dinner tonight."

Tianyi forced a chuckle out of his mouth. He scratched his head and returned to his room. 

Inside, he held the Immortal Confining Sword in front of him. Honestly speaking, Tianyi loved it. He had always loved swords, but he had never gone far on the path of cultivating sword intent. Hell, he hadn't even formed fist or hand qi yet. 

Still, that did not prevent him from collecting swords. The previous aesthetic defects he saw on the sword immediately became features instead. The plain appearance he ridiculed before? That's called streamlining. It's the perfect representation of a sword.

And...actually, Tianyi's only gripe had been the appearance. 

Tianyi closed his eyes and recalled Bao Ling's Immortal Slaying Sword and how it absorbed his eye beam. His eyes narrowed, and he observed the Immortal Confining Sword in his hand.

After the duel with Xia Yushan, his Truth-Seeking Eye was no longer a secret, and everyone already knew of it. He only had himself to blame for that. Thanks to the Xiyinet, someone had recorded it and uploaded it, causing people to question what he did at the last juncture, hence the reveal of his third eye.

Tianyi stood up and left for the Jade Lotus Clear Pond. He wasn't going to experiment inside Jade Peak Palace. What if he exploded and destroyed it like his past mansions?

Once he sat on his lotus throne, he opened his third eye and sent beam after beam to the Immortal Confining Sword. The sword didn't change in any way, but Tianyi could see tiny invisible runes glowing on it with his third eye.

The Immortal Confining Sword released an invisible light that Tianyi observed. He didn't know what it was for, but it should be beneficial for him. He felt his teeth ache, recalling how much Bao Ling also benefited from him.

In the Numinous Sword Sect, Bao Ling sneezed, causing Emperor Yanxu to look at him in worry. "Are you alright?"

Bao Ling shook his head. "It's nothing. I didn't expect to sneeze as a venerable."

"Will it affect your Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation?"

"No."

"Then, let's begin."

Emperor Yanxu disappeared into the distance as black tribulation clouds gathered above Bao Ling's head. 

Back in the Buzhou Immortal Sect, Tianyi had spent months nurturing the Immortal Confining Sword, but recently it had entered a dormant state. According to Mengfei, it might be evolving, or rather, regaining its former strength.

After that, Tianyi's progress halted, and he couldn't discover another way to progress or accumulate. Even Mengfei's sermons were no longer effective for him. 

All that was left was to initiate the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, but before that, he had a bucket list to fulfill. At the top of the list was not dying a virgin.

'Eh, this sounds scummy. If I die, wouldn't it mean that my girlfriend would have to have a stigma following her for the rest of her life? And I don't think Mother would let her form another relationship with how old-fashioned she is.' Tianyi scratched his head. 'Plus, in the first place, I don't know that many women.'

'What can I do? Place an ad on the Xiyinet?'

Looking for a single beautiful woman

I am offering rich rewards to anyone willing to date me.

From, 

Xi Tianyi

'Yeah, that's not going to go well. Plus, that sounds like compensated dating. Not to mention how desperate I sound.' Tianyi thought. He could already imagine the hordes of gold diggers coming after him, and his mother selecting them to become his mistress, concubine, or something along those veins. 'Actually, I am desperate.'

'Maybe Jian Wuyan?' Tianyi smacked himself in the face for that thought. First of all, she looked way too young despite being older than him. Second, Jian Wuyan would likely do everything he said without question, even morally dubious requests.

Relationships were a two-way street. One side shouldn't be offering everything while the other side only takes. 

'Who else do I know?' Tianyi thought. He began to list them on his fingers. 

'Su Wanyu? Nope, I don't even know her. Only saw her from afar and talked once or twice. Most of what I know is from Su Bojing. Next.'

'Emperor-Uncle's daughters? Cousin marrying is not taboo here, but I just can't get over the genetics problem. Will genetics even be a problem in a cultivation world like this? Anyways, rejected. Next!'

'Rousui, the girl that had been harassed by that elder's scion. Even worse than Jian Wuyan. I only spoke to her once, and it might seem that I'm forcing her in order to gain my protection. That sounds like something Xi Longyi would do. Rejected'

At the thought of Xi Longyi, Tianyi grew even more frustrated. If there was one thing he envied of the Dragon Emperor, it was his sheer confidence towards women, not that he wanted to emulate such a bastard. The Dragon Emperor's confidence towards women was closer to arrogance and disregard than any self-confidence.

'Maybe I should ask Daoyi if she knows anyone?' Tianyi thought. It was not that he hadn't thought of asking Daoyi. She actually ticked off most of Tianyi's wants in a girlfriend, pretty—yes, he's vain like that—nice, at least towards him, and they got along well. More importantly, both of them were from Earth, so they had fewer barriers toward each other.

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"I'll go visit Daoyi," Tianyi said aloud and went to look for her. He found her playing the guqin in the garden.

He stood there, dazed for a few moments. She was sitting in a pagoda with her side facing him. A few locks draped against the instrument as her fingers strummed the strings. The pond filled with lotuses only seemed to enhance her beauty.

Tianyi forced himself to stop staring and greeted her.

"What's up? Shouldn't you be preparing for your heavenly tribulation?" Daoyi asked as her fingers stopped. "Have you thought about what you are going to do when you become an immortal?"

"When I become an immortal? Are you that confident in me?" Tianyi joked.

"Of course, I never had any doubt," Daoyi said with a straight face.

Tianyi felt his cheeks flushing, so he quickly diverted the topic. "Have you visited Xi Ri? He seems really unlike himself. He even said his goal of creating a utopia is foolish and that he had abandoned it."

Daoyi sighed. "It feels like he reverted to the state of constant alertness when we were still surviving at that place."

"Oh, that place," Tianyi said. "What about you? Were you like that?"

Daoyi stayed silent for a full five minutes before speaking. "I was probably even worse. I don't want to get into details, but I used everything I could to survive. I lied, stole, and even betrayed my companions once, just for a bite of food. Can you understand our feelings during those days? Struggling to survive while hope constantly dwindles?"

At Daoyi's gaze, Tianyi couldn't help but sit there, stunned. Daoyi and Xi Ri never mentioned what their life was like beyond the basics, but it seemed that it was far harder than he had imagined.

"Sorry, I got a bit too emotional. What did you come here for?" Daoyi said, trying to divert the heavy topic.

"Ah," Tianyi found himself tongued. He couldn’t say he came here to ask her to be his girlfriend after hearing that, could he? Love just sounded so childish after hearing Daoyi's somber words.

"What is it? You can tell me. I won't laugh," Daoyi said as she quirked her brows.

"Ah, ah," Tianyi opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out. Finally, he scrunched his eyes closed and decided to screw it. "I.came.to.ask.if.you.want.to.be.my.girlfriend.because.I.never.had.one.before.and.I.don't.want.to.die.without.never.having.a.girlfriend!"

Daoyi furrowed her brows and took a full minute to process what Tianyi said. Then, a smile appeared on her lips. She tried to hide it behind her sleeves, but the uproarious laughter sounded, accompanied by the shaking of her shoulders.

"Hey, you said you wouldn't laugh!" Tianyi cried out, face flushed with shame.

"I did, but I never promised, did I?" 

"You liar!"

"I did say I was a liar, didn't I?" Daoyi continued to laugh upon seeing Tianyi's stunned expression.

"Et Tu, Daoyi?" was Tianyi's only response.

She laughed even harder.

Her laughter was cut short when the flush on Tianyi's face receded, and an awkward expression appeared. 

"What's wrong?" Daoyi asked.

"Senior Brother Xia is here," Tianyi said. He still had control over the Jade Peak Formation, so he allowed Xia Yushan to enter.

Tianyi hadn't meant to defeat and nearly shatter Xia Yushan's lifebound artifact, but the circumstances forced him into it. Had Xia Yushan's last attack connected, he would have exploded. All the accumulated true qi of primordial chaos would have erupted and destroyed the mountain they had been on, not to mention killing a good majority of the mortals and perhaps a few immortals too.

All in all, he felt that he had reacted accordingly. There was also the fact that he didn't want to cultivate from the early stages of the Singularity Realm once again. Still, this made Tianyi not know how to face Xia Yushan. He did have Su Bojing deliver all sorts of precious materials and stuff to compensate Xia Yushan, but he still felt apologetic.

What he never expected was for Xia Yushan to confess to Daoyi, and on the same day that he had just asked her out too! 

Tianyi was surprised by how harshly Daoyi rejected Xia Yushan, and when he staggered away, Tianyi couldn't help but ask, "Is it really okay to reject him so harshly?"

"I told you before, I don't want to give people false hope. After I detected his feelings, I started to distance myself from him."

"For how long have you known?"

"Maybe a few decades?"

Tianyi showed a surprised expression. "That long? Weren't you only around twenty or so? Senior Brother Xia was over fifty by then too..."

Daoyi laughed. "Does age really matter to cultivators?"

"You're right. A grandmaster can live up to thirty-six hundred years. What're a few decades of age difference?" Tianyi then discreetly glanced at Daoyi. "Were those last words for real?

 Daoyi gave a teasing smile. "Which ones?"

"The one about me being one of the few people...you know."

"Yeah, but I never said I would agree."

Tianyi turned crestfallen. Upon seeing this, Daoyi laughed again. "I'm just joking."

"Then you'll be my girlfriend?" Tianyi asked, his imaginary heart thumping nonstop.

"Who said I'll be your girlfriend. We should at least have a date first." Daoyi said with a shrug.

Tianyi smiled. At least it was a step forward, but he quickly frowned. "Why? You aren't pitying me or anything, are you?"

Daoyi rolled her eyes. "Why wouldn't I agree?

Daoyi raised a finger. "First, you have a high prospect of achieving greatness."

She raised a second finger. "Second, I just said the reason to Senior Brother Xia. Third, among all the possible candidates, you're probably the most affluent of them all. Few can compare. Fourth, we have known each other for years, and I feel like we can get along."

She raised her pinkie. "And fifth, you're handsome enough for my taste."

"Why does the last one feel so arbitrary?" Tianyi couldn't help but complain. "Are you sure? It doesn't feel like you consider your own feelings at all. It's like you're listing the specs of an artifact or car."

Daoyi shrugged. "I've long given up on love. What is love worth? Can it fill your stomach? You couldn't survive on love in that place. Rather than risking everything for an impulse of emotion, I feel securing my future is better."

"Wow, so pragmatic." Tianyi could help but say.

"What, regretting your decision?" Daoyi asked, a teasing smile on her face.

"Nope. But I have to ask again, are you sure? If you do go on a date with me, even if we don't become dao companions, or even boyfriend and girlfriend, my mother probably wouldn't allow you to see another man for the rest of your life. And she's an immortal sovereign now, the only one in the Huang Realm." 

"I never planned on having a relationship in the first place," Daoyi glanced at Tianyi again. "I thought it wouldn't hurt, so I agreed."

"Okay, as long as you're sure," Tianyi said. Then he paused for a moment, "Now what?"

"You're supposed to think of a date."

Tianyi scratched his head. "Do you have an idea?"

"Guys are supposed to be the ones in charge of that. We girls are in charge of enjoying, that's all," Daoyi said.

"I feel like there's a distinct inequality here," Tianyi grumbled. He looked at Daoyi again, but couldn't help but have his face flush, so he averted his eyes.

The two talked until the sun had started to set and returned inside. Once inside, they were stunned by the red decorations filling the palace. They quickly reached the grand hall to see Mengfei decorating the pillar with red banners.

"Mother, what are you doing?" Tianyi asked.

Mengfei tilted her head, expressing her confusion despite her expressionless face. "I'm preparing for the wedding."

"What?!"

"Since you two have already determined your relationship, it's best to get married as soon as possible. You two are already past the prime age of marrying."