Chapter 101

The deathsworn were frozen in place. The banners stopped waving. The heavy gate, mid-fall, now hung motionless in the air. The whole world had come to a standstill.
King Lei Lie’s pupils dilated in disbelief.
Time Stop.
That was a divine technique—one known only to gods of the ancient era. After the Great Cataclysm and the Twin Extinctions, countless legacies had been lost to history. Divine arts suffered the greatest loss of all. Even the most basic summoning spells had long faded into myth.
But now, someone had not only inherited a god’s legacy—but had actually mastered temporal magic?
If such a divine relic truly resurfaced, why had the Demon Realm heard nothing? Was the ruin hidden in some desolate, forgotten corner of the world—or had the Celestials deliberately buried all traces?
Lei Lie was nearly certain it was the latter.
He no longer cared where this legacy came from. His entire focus was on the woman standing in the open wilderness. A woman in white. Stunning beyond reason. Surrounded by halted wind and stilled snow—everything was frozen...except her.
She alone pulsed with life.
Lei Lie could not look away.
He remembered her now. The woman Ling Qingxiao had brought from the Celestial Realm. Always quiet, rarely seen. When she had introduced herself, she claimed her parents were nameless, her lineage unremarkable—just a common, ordinary girl.
At the time, Lei Lie had inwardly mocked Ling Qingxiao for letting love blind him, for staging a grand romance with a lowborn maiden.
Now?
The fool was him.
Ordinary? Unremarkable?
Lei Lie even began to doubt her “nameless” parents—how could someone like her be born of nobodies?
If she had said from the start that she could manipulate time, Lei Lie would never have dared treat her lightly. He wouldn’t have minded if Ling Qingxiao had taken her as his main consort—but if she had so much as shown the slightest distaste for other women, Lei Lie would’ve gladly dismissed his entire harem.
Now, he regretted everything.
No wonder Ling Qingxiao dared walk alone into the Demon Realm.
No wonder he attacked in broad daylight at a wedding feast.
This woman—this trump card—was with him all along.
Lei Lie’s guts twisted with regret. If he could go back, he would never have believed her lies. He would have taken her seriously. He would’ve guarded against them from the start.
But there was no “next time.”
—
As soon as Ling Qingxiao saw Luo Han appear, his brows relaxed and the tension melted from his body. A smile flickered in his eyes.
With a tap of his foot, he carried Lei Lie up and over the frozen gate, landing gracefully outside the city walls.
“Everything alright on your end?” he asked.
“No surprises,” Luo Han replied casually. “I’ve only ever been the one creating accidents, not suffering from them.”
She pointed to the unconscious form slumped to one side. “Your cousin was being too loud. I put her to sleep—should be out for four hours. That okay?”
“No problem,” Ling Qingxiao said, glancing her over to make sure she was unharmed. He didn’t even spare a look for Su Yinyue. “As long as she makes it back to Linshan alive. Her parents said to return her—they didn’t specify dead or alive.”
As he spoke, he noticed Lei Lie staring dumbly at Luo Han like an idiot.
Unamused, Ling Qingxiao struck the back of Lei Lie’s head with a swift blow. The demon king let out a muffled grunt and collapsed.
Luo Han raised a brow. “What did you do to him? He looked like he lost half his wits.”
“Maybe he never had them,” Ling Qingxiao replied, kicking the unconscious body aside and binding it securely with an enchanted rope.
It all happened in an instant.
Inside the gate, the demons were still frozen in time, minds catching up. Luo Han gave a gentle reminder: “Hurry. I can’t hold this for long. If you don’t move now, you won’t make it.”
The others snapped out of their daze and leapt through the frozen gate. Once everyone had made it out, a butterfly hovering midair resumed fluttering, the banners whipped back into motion, and time surged forward once more.
Everyone had watched the entire thing unfold.
The Celestials stared at Luo Han as if seeing her for the first time, awe etched across every face.
So this was the Celestial Realm...hiding dragons in still waters.
A girl who looked like a mere ornament—silent, mild—yet could wield divine arts with a flick of her sleeve.
Back within the city walls, the demons resumed movement, only to find the enemies they were just fighting...were gone.
Their targets had vanished in the blink of an eye.
“What just happened?” someone muttered. “They were right here—weren’t we just exchanging blows?”
Ling Qingxiao looked up—and suddenly drew his sword.
Ye Zhongyu instantly realized what he was trying to do and roared in panic, “Raise the gate—now!”
But it was too late.
Ling Qingxiao’s blade slashed through the air, aimed precisely at the chain mechanism. Sword qi howled through the sky, sharp as a winter gale. Banners and guardrails snapped like twigs. The gust alone sent demon sentries toppling from the battlements, their screams fading as they crashed to the ground below.
The sword intent struck the city wall with devastating precision, leaving a clean fracture across the gate tower. The chains, locks, and security mechanisms controlling the black-iron gate were all severed in one blow.
With a deafening thud, the massive Xuan Gate dropped, crashing to the ground and sealing Lei Lie City completely.
The moment it fell, the city’s defense protocol activated. All gates and passages were sealed. Without deactivating the protection array, no one could enter or leave—from either side.
Lei Lie City had become an isolated fortress.
It wasn’t terrifying that a villain was strong. What was terrifying...was when the villain was also well-educated.
Ling Qingxiao, the ever-perfect cultivator, had even memorized where the control chains for the gate were located.
Luo Han raised a brow. “So...with the gate destroyed, how exactly are Ye Zhongyu, Yun Menghan, the Red Lotus Demon King, and Lord Youchi supposed to get out?”
“I don’t know,” Ling Qingxiao said, calmly sheathing his sword, his expression indifferent. “Let them figure it out themselves.”
Cold.
Luo Han gave him a silent thumbs-up, then turned to retreat with the others, completely unburdened.
Their original plan had been to fight their way out. Since Luo Han wasn’t suited for solo combat, she’d taken Su Yinyue out early and waited outside to provide backup. They had expected multiple battles along the escape route.
They hadn’t anticipated the existence of a massive Xuan Gate—let alone it falling halfway during their flight. But since it had, Ling Qingxiao had taken full advantage of it to trap their pursuers inside.
As a result, their escape was far smoother than expected. By the time Lei Lie’s distress signal reached nearby cities and reinforcements were mobilized, Ling Qingxiao’s party was long gone.
—
On the tenth day, the Demon Realm’s troops finally caught up.
By then, Ling Qingxiao was less than a thousand li from the border between realms.
Ye Zhongyu, having realized Su Yinyue was gone, had abandoned his new bride and pursued them relentlessly—no food, no rest—chasing them from the Demon Realm’s core to its very edge.
The demons had suspected the Celestials might try to crash the wedding. What they hadn’t expected was that the Celestials would abduct the cousin instead of the bride.
The Celestial Realm doesn’t play by the rules.
Ye Zhongyu stood atop a towering demon beast, confronting Ling Qingxiao at the edge of a wind-swept prairie. The dry desert had given way to lush grasslands, and the breeze now carried the fresh scent of the Milky River beyond.
He hadn’t slept in days. His eyes were bloodshot, face hollow with exhaustion. Whatever princely allure he once had was gone, replaced with grim desperation.
Holding his blade forward, Ye Zhongyu shouted, “Give her back to me.”
On its own, the words sounded heartfelt—like a lover’s plea. But considering that he’d just married another woman, whose bridal chambers still lay cold and untouched...the sweetness turned to poison.
Ling Qingxiao stood still amidst the waist-high grass, hands clasped behind him, utterly unmoved.
“And who is Su Yinyue to you?” he asked calmly. “What right do you have to make such a demand?”
Ye Zhongyu paused, then said with difficulty, “She once saved me. I can’t abandon her.”
“But you already married another.”
Ling Qingxiao’s voice was like ice.
“Ye Zhongyu, you’re no longer the golden boy worshipped by all. Can’t you show a shred of responsibility? If you truly loved her, then go to Linshan, kneel before Patriarch Su, and ask for her hand properly. See if they’ll still agree to marry their daughter to you.
And if you don’t love her...then stop clinging on. Su Yinyue doesn’t need your gratitude. In fact, she’ll only live better if you disappear from her life.”
“You don’t get to make that choice for her!” Ye Zhongyu shouted, finally losing his composure. “You’re just her cousin, not her father! What right do you have to decide where she goes? If she wants to stay, what gives you the right to take her away?”
Ling Qingxiao looked at him with a kind of pity.
“It was her parents who came to Zhongshan and begged me to bring her back. They offered eight hundred li of Cangrui land in exchange.”
Ye Zhongyu paled.
“They—my aunt and uncle—they went to you?”
Ling Qingxiao didn’t answer, but his silence said everything.
Clearly, to the Su family now, he was the favored nephew. And Ye Zhongyu?
They no longer acknowledged him.
A thousand years of affection, shattered in the face of politics and gain.
Ye Zhongyu threw his head back and howled in fury. “So this is how it is! Cold hearts and colder faces. I understand now. Since you treat me without honor, don’t blame me for repaying the same!”
“I won’t let you take her!”
Without warning, he launched himself from atop the beast, sword aimed downward like a falling comet. His move wasn’t proper—it was more ambush than duel.
Ling Qingxiao didn’t budge.
Ye Zhongyu’s strike tore through the grass, carving a deep line in the earth. Wind roared around them. Just as the blade reached within a zhang of Ling Qingxiao’s body, it stopped—frozen in place.
An invisible barrier of spiritual energy shimmered into view, and Ye Zhongyu’s blade could go no further.
Ling Qingxiao hadn’t even lifted a hand.
Just a passive shield of his qi alone was enough to halt Ye Zhongyu’s full-strength strike.
—
Back on the Celestial Realm’s military airship, Luo Han sat comfortably, peeling a bright orange.
“Want some?” she asked the nervous soldier beside her.
He was trembling, watching the fight unfold below. Her question caught him off guard.
“W-what?”
“Celestial orange,” she said. “Found it in the supply hold. You want one or not?”
He stared at her in disbelief. “But...they’re fighting down there! The Demon Realm sent an army, and we’ve only sent Ling Qingxiao! Don’t we need to help him?”
“Nope.”
Luo Han didn’t even glance at the battlefield.
“Forget drawing his sword—he doesn’t even want to raise a finger. I bet you anything—by the time I finish peeling this orange, he’ll be back.”
The young soldier had stayed hidden aboard the flying vessel the whole time, awaiting their return. He hadn’t seen either Ling Qingxiao or Luo Han take action before, but based on what little he had witnessed, he thought Luo Han was far too reckless.
Judging by his own life experience, what was happening outside the ship was enough to make his heart pound in terror. Meanwhile, inside the cabin, Su Yinyue had already cried herself into a mess, struggling several times to break free from her restraints. But with Luo Han there, she could have been given a head start of three minutes and still wouldn’t have made it out.
The other captive, however, was no weak and emotional girl. The Lord of Lei Lie was far more dangerous—both in scheming and cultivation. Neither Luo Han nor Ling Qingxiao dared let their guard down around him. For days now, they had kept him sedated with coma-inducing medicine, ensuring he was conscious for less than an hour a day.
And during that sliver of wakefulness, Ling Qingxiao always made sure to personally keep watch. But today, after hitting a minor snag on the road, he had gone out to clear the path, and Luo Han had taken over the watch instead.
Given the way things were arranged, even Lei Lie himself had to admit—he wasn’t getting out.
Still, his mind was clear, and it didn’t take him long to figure it out: Ling Qingxiao wouldn’t kill him. Not now. The Celestial Realm couldn’t afford to.
With his life secure, Lei Lie finally had the mental bandwidth to notice other things—like the woman before him.
He initiated conversation. “Last time, you introduced yourself humbly. I took it at face value and was discourteous. Forgive me. But with your cultivation...such depths would normally take tens of thousands of years. Yet you—your face, your gaze—they’re still so young. May I ask, how old are you truly?”
Luo Han slowly peeled her orange, not even bothering to glance at him. “A prisoner should act like a prisoner. You can’t even protect yourself—what gives you the right to ask questions?”
Lei Lie wasn’t deterred by her coldness. “Judging by the way you and Ling Qingxiao interact, you must be younger than him. He just turned one thousand this year—so that would make you...under a thousand?”
Even saying it aloud left Lei Lie shaken.
Ling Qingxiao, ascending to True-Immortal at a mere thousand years, was already a miracle. No one in recorded history had ever cultivated so fast. His existence alone had forced the Six Realms to revise their definitions of Heavenly Immortal and Ascended Immortal. Some places even rewrote their textbooks.
Like earlier, when Ye Zhongyu launched a full-strength attack—ugly as a sneak strike might be—and still failed to even dent Ling Qingxiao’s spiritual shield. Ye Zhongyu had always claimed his cultivation was on par with Ling Qingxiao’s. Technically, the realms were similar, but the substance...not even close.
Challenging Ling Qingxiao in public had only made Ye Zhongyu look like a fool.
And yet, the most terrifying part was—Ling Qingxiao wasn’t even the scariest one. The woman beside him...was worse.
Lei Lie glanced outside again. The battle had ended.
Or perhaps...it had never even begun.
Footsteps echoed from outside the room just as Luo Han peeled off the final bit of orange skin.
Ling Qingxiao entered—and was immediately greeted with Luo Han’s radiant smile. She held out the peeled fruit with a grin. “Want a celestial orange?”
Ling Qingxiao nodded instinctively. He noticed the young soldier staring at him with awe, and even Lei Lie seemed to be looking at him strangely.
“What happened?” Ling Qingxiao asked.
“Nothing,” Luo Han said, tearing off a piece of the orange and handing it to him. “How’d it go?”
“He’s wounded, but alive. Someone dragged him back.”
Hearing this, Su Yinyue let out a mournful sob, clutching her chest like she was experiencing a heart attack. But Ling Qingxiao and Luo Han weren’t her parents. They didn’t even look her way.
Instead, they calmly continued their discussion.
“Why would he challenge you?” Luo Han asked curiously.
Ling Qingxiao looked puzzled too. “No idea. Maybe he lost his mind.”
He had won the fight, yes—but it hadn’t felt like a victory. It felt more like...an insult.
Luo Han finished her half of the orange quickly, then noticed Ling Qingxiao still hadn’t eaten his.
“Why aren’t you eating?” she asked.
“I’m checking the protections in the room,” he replied. “And...it’s too sour.”
Luo Han clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed. “You don’t eat sour, don’t eat sweet, don’t eat bitter—what do you eat?”
“Food should be light and clean,” Ling Qingxiao replied. “Overly strong flavors are bad for health.”
“So basically,” Luo Han said, nodding seriously, “you have the palate of an old man.”
Ling Qingxiao shot her an offended look. “Don’t say nonsense.”
The soldier, who hadn’t even tasted the orange, somehow felt just as sour inside.
Ling Qingxiao checked the time and said, “It’s time.”
Time for the next sedative dose.
Before Lei Lie could resist, a pill was slipped into his mouth. The Demon Lord groaned once and passed out again.
With only Su Yinyue left, and her barely able to stir trouble, Ling Qingxiao gave the soldier a few final instructions before leaving the room with Luo Han.
The barrier was lifted. The vessel resumed its course.
Back in their cabin, Luo Han asked, “Where’s your half of the orange?”
Ling Qingxiao had quietly stored it away in his spatial ring. Hearing her question, he sighed. “You gave it away. Don’t tell me you want it back.”
“Of course I do!” she said, glaring at him like he’d committed a great betrayal. “You’re not going to eat it, and I personally peeled it!”
Ling Qingxiao hesitated. He’d already said he didn’t want it. But now...there was no way to take the words back. Regretfully, he retrieved the half-orange and handed it over.
Luo Han carefully removed the remaining white fibers, then suddenly stood on tiptoe and brought a slice to his lips.
“Open up,” she said. “I tasted it already—it’s not sour.”
Ling Qingxiao instinctively leaned back...then forcibly stopped himself.
He was still trying to overcome his reflexes. For a thousand years, he had cultivated in solitude, rejecting all contact. If someone got too close, he’d react with lethal instinct.
But things were different now.
If they were truly to walk this road together, he would have to unlearn everything.
He remembered reading a book from his new relationship reading list—it had said that physical intimacy between partners was both normal and essential. Feeding each other was a recommended gesture.
Ling Qingxiao opened his mouth and bit down on the offered slice. As he leaned forward, his lower lip seemed to brush against Luo Han’s fingertips.
A fleeting touch—barely there—yet impossible to ignore.
Ling Qingxiao seemed momentarily dazed. Luo Han looked at him expectantly and asked, “Well? Didn’t I tell you it wasn’t sour?”
Snapping back to himself, Ling Qingxiao gave a soft “mn.” But as soon as he responded, he realized—he hadn’t even registered the taste of the orange.
Luo Han, unaware of what he was thinking, didn’t press further. She turned and sat on the couch, peeling off the remaining strands of pith as she finished off the fruit. “The demons are closing in. What’s our next move?”
Ling Qingxiao sat across from her, casually flicking his sleeve as he replied, “One hundred thousand troops are stationed at the Celestial-Demon border. If the Demon Realm refuses to release us, the Celestial Emperor will finally have his reason to unleash the army. They moved too late. Had they intercepted us deeper in demon territory, perhaps the Emperor might have held back. But now, we’re only a thousand li from the border—there’s no longer any strategic value in holding us here.”
Now, with hostages in hand and legions at his back, the demon realm had lost every bargaining chip. Rather than dragging this out and embarrassing themselves further, the Demon Emperor might as well let them go and salvage what dignity he could.
As Ling Qingxiao spoke, his eyes kept drifting toward the opposite couch, hinting heavily.
But Luo Han, carefree as always, didn’t notice the signals at all—she’d already popped the last slice of orange into her mouth.
Ling Qingxiao’s expression darkened. “Didn’t you say we’d split it evenly? Where’s mine?”
Luo Han blinked, caught off guard. Didn’t he say he didn’t like it?
She hesitated. “I...I ate it all. How about next time?”
Ling Qingxiao’s gaze flickered toward her lips, his voice low: “Who says we have to wait?”
“Huh?”
Before she could react, Ling Qingxiao suddenly leaned in and brushed a kiss lightly against her lips.
The celestial orange was juicy, and Luo Han had just finished hers—her lips still carried a delicate sheen of citrus, like faint glaze.
Ling Qingxiao drew back almost immediately, sat upright again, and calmly assessed, “You’re right. Not sour.”
Luo Han sat frozen for a long moment, then finally stammered, “…Oh. Good. That’s good.”
—
Just as Ling Qingxiao predicted, things afterward went smoothly. The Demon King couldn’t take the hostages, and he couldn’t force them to stay. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as Ling Qingxiao swaggered out of demon territory and returned to the Celestial Realm.
What baffled the demons the most was this: the Demon Domain was vast. Ling Qingxiao had brought only a handful of people, infiltrated Lei Lie City alone, and not only walked away unscathed—he also abducted the city’s ruling lord and exited the realm without so much as a scratch?
Were the entire demon forces just...decoration?
Even Tianyu Star Lord, who had come to receive Ling Qingxiao and his party, was stunned. “Has the Demon Realm grown this useless over the years? We were braced for battle, but didn’t even get to fight a single round.”
Lei Lie King stood nearby, his face darkening by the second. He was starting to realize—these people...might not intend to let him go.
He had assumed the Celestial Realm would never risk tearing up the peace accords. He had thought, once they reached the border, they would release him unharmed. But now...it seemed the Celestials were far bolder than anyone had imagined.
Luo Han stepped off the ship and breathed in the long-lost air of the Celestial Realm. Upon entering the realm, they would need to switch transport. While Ling Qingxiao handled the military handover, she wandered over to the riverside for a breath of fresh air.
The scene was chaotic, and amidst the confusion, Su Yinyue made a break for it. With a burst of strength, she shoved aside the celestial guards and bolted toward the other bank of the Silver River.
“Cousin—!”
Across the river, Ye Zhongyu, pale and gravely injured, spotted her and his eyes went bloodshot. “Yinyue, careful—!”
But Su Yinyue had barely made it halfway. She hadn’t even touched the river before a glowing blue rope of spiritual energy snapped around her, binding her tightly.
No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free. She collapsed at the river’s edge, despair thick in her voice. “Cousin…”
At the other end of the rope stood Ling Qingxiao. He glanced at her coldly and retracted the cord with a flick. Su Yinyue refused to move, so Ling Qingxiao simply dragged her along the ground and tossed her back into the ship’s cabin.
Tianyu Star Lord watched this all unfold—watched a delicate, weeping beauty get dragged away like a sack of grain, even leaving a mark on the ground. He felt...conflicted.
He asked, “And she is…?”
“I was entrusted with her return,” Ling Qingxiao replied flatly. “Her parents paid me well. They said, even if I have to drag her back in chains, I must bring her home.”
The words were technically correct...but was this really the right interpretation?
What should have been a tragic farewell looked so absurd that Luo Han almost laughed. Somehow, Ling Qingxiao at this moment gave off the strong air of an old-school patriarch forcibly separating star-crossed lovers.
And amusingly enough—the river they were standing beside was indeed called the Silver River.