【First Trial of the Heavenly Marriage: Concentric Lock.】
【Within three days, the two must achieve a connection of minds to trigger the resonance of the marriage certificate.】
【Failure will result in a joint punishment of their souls, both suffering heart-devouring pain.】
“Concentric Lock? Joint punishment of souls? Heart-devouring pain?”
Looking at those glittering golden words, Zhang Mingyuan's face turned from green to white, then from white to blue, and finally became pitch-black.
He leaped up, pointing at the marriage certificate as he cursed, “Screw you, Heavenly Dao! You call this a Concentric Lock? This is clearly a death warrant! A connection of minds? Aside from wanting to kill each other, when have this crazy woman and I ever had a connection of minds?!”
This was simply the most vicious curse in the world!
Compared to Zhang Mingyuan's explosive rage, Su Jinxue's face was as dark as water, and she said nothing. But her jade-like hands, hidden beneath her wide sleeves, clenched unconsciously.
“Immortal Lord, Sacred Lord Zhang, we have arrived at the bedchamber.”
At the entrance of the hall, the two female disciples who had 'invited' Zhang Mingyuan here bowed tactfully and quickly withdrew, not daring to linger for even a second.
Zhang Mingyuan and Su Jinxue stepped into the hall, one after the other.
The moment they entered, the Heavenly Dao marriage certificate floating outside flew in with a whoosh, hanging high directly above the hall.
The golden light swirled endlessly like a giant eye, reminding them at every single moment—
Hurry up and connect your minds!
“This is so annoying!”
Zhang Mingyuan paced back and forth in the spacious and magnificent hall, making the floorboards creak beneath his steps.
He stopped abruptly, looked at Su Jinxue, and was the first to break the silence. “Hey! Connecting minds... how on earth does this stupid thing determine if we've connected? How about you tell me what you're thinking right now, and I'll do my best to cooperate with you?”
There was no helping it; his life was on the line. A real man knows when to yield and when to stand tall, so he had to get through this trial first.
Hearing this, Su Jinxue slowly raised her eyes. Her cold gaze fell upon him as if she were looking at an idiot. She parted her thin lips, her voice devoid of any warmth. “This Seat is thinking about how to completely erase all the filthy and whimsical thoughts in your head.”
“...”
A breath caught in Zhang Mingyuan's chest, nearly suffocating him.
Fine. Very well. The first round of communication had officially collapsed. But he refused to believe he couldn't beat this!
Zhang Mingyuan's eyes darted around as he came up with another 'genius' idea.
“I've got it!” he exclaimed, slapping his thigh. “Let's play charades! I'll use my magic to draw something in the air, and you guess what it is. That should prove we're in sync, right? Surely the Heavenly Dao will accept that?”
With that, he raised his hand, preparing to draw his incredibly flashy Zhanxue sword in the air. This idea was simply brilliant! He really was a little genius!
However, the moment his magic surged, before he could even outline the hilt...
Buzz—
A wave of cold air swept over, instantly scattering his gathered magic to pieces.
A blue vein on Su Jinxue's temple throbbed imperceptibly as she warned, “If you dare to fool around like this again, This Seat won't mind letting you experience a pain far more direct than heart-devouring pain.”
She was truly about to be angered by this bastard to the point of destabilizing her Dao Heart.
“This won't do, that won't do! Then you tell me what we should do! Just sit here and wait for the punishment? It's heart-devouring pain, and I certainly don't want that!”
While racking his brain for a solution, Zhang Mingyuan surveyed the interior of the hall.
As expected of a Red Dust Immortal's bedchamber, every corner exuded a cold, otherworldly elegance and luxury.
Wait...
Zhang Mingyuan's footsteps halted abruptly. His eyes locked onto the deepest part of the hall.
In the entire hall, there was only one massive master bedroom.
And inside that master bedroom, there was only one bed.
A cold jade bed that was ridiculously large, exquisitely beautiful, and obviously worth a fortune.
“Su... Su Jinxue!”
Zhang Mingyuan's voice cracked. He pointed a trembling finger at the bed. “You... don't tell me the two of us are going to sleep together!”
Su Jinxue glanced in the direction of his finger, her face remaining expressionless.
She lightly raised her jade finger, pointing toward a quiet room next to the master bedroom that was clearly meant for meditation. Even the single cushion inside looked exceptionally cold. “That place is yours.”
“Why?!” Zhang Mingyuan immediately protested. “I want to sleep on the bed!”
Su Jinxue said no more, merely sweeping a freezing glare over him.
Zhang Mingyuan shut his mouth instantly.
Forget it. A wise man doesn't fight against impossible odds.
The quiet room it is. It was still better than sharing a bed with this crazy woman.
...
Meanwhile, the Grand Elder of the Myriad Snow Palace acted with lightning speed, proclaiming the news of the "Heavenly Dao Marriage" to the entire world.
Instantly, the entire Xuanling Realm was shaken.
Qingyun Heaven Sacred Ground.
When the news reached the sacred ground, the entire place was instantly thrown into chaos, followed by an earth-shattering wave of ecstasy.
“Master... and the Myriad Snow Palace's Immortal Lord... granted a marriage by the Heavenly Dao?”
Holding the transmission jade slip, Chu Jinghong was completely dumbfounded, standing frozen in place.
He had expected his master and Master's Wife to progress quickly, but he hadn't expected it to be this fast!
Skipping all the steps, with the Heavenly Dao itself delivering the service?
Taixu Sacred Ground.
Lingxuzi had just taken a sip of his newly arrived immortal tea. Upon hearing the news, he spat out a mouthful of tea with a pffft, his elegant image instantly shattered.
Wiping his mouth, he stared at the contents of the jade slip, clicking his tongue in disbelief, “Holy crap... this is insanely fast! That kid Zhang Mingyuan made such a huge scene without a peep beforehand?”
Spring-Return Valley.
When Bai Lumian received the news, she was also stunned for a long while.
Her gorgeous face was filled with shock, but after the shock wore off, it was replaced by a natural, knowing smile.
“It's finally happened,” she sighed softly, then shook her head. “Though, this speed is indeed a bit ridiculously fast.”
...
Night fell.
The atmosphere inside the hall was so heavy it felt as if it could condense into water.
Zhang Mingyuan and Su Jinxue sat facing each other, one on the east side and one on the west. They stared at each other in speechless silence for an entire hour.
The Heavenly Dao marriage certificate still hung above their heads, its golden light undiminished, seemingly urging them on in silence.
“Sigh.”
In the end, Zhang Mingyuan was the first to break under this dead silence.
Sighing in self-abandonment, he spoke up, “Hey, ice-face, do you still remember the Ten Thousand Beasts Abyss secret realm from two thousand years ago?”
Su Jinxue's cold eyes flickered imperceptibly, clearly not expecting him to bring this up suddenly.
Without waiting for her reply, Zhang Mingyuan continued on his own, “Back then, we were chased by that damned nine-headed serpent for three whole days and nights, almost becoming its dinner. Thinking back now, it was actually quite thrilling.”
He wanted to see if reminiscing about shared experiences counted as a "connection of minds."
Su Jinxue also seemed to fall into reminiscence, and the chill in the hall seemed to dissipate slightly.
But when she spoke, her tone was still unfriendly:
“If you hadn't been so greedy and insisted on stealing its egg, why would we have ended up in such a miserable state?”
“I just didn't like the look of it! So what if it has nine heads? Is that supposed to be impressive?” Zhang Mingyuan retorted immediately, his voice rising. “Besides, if you hadn't completely enraged it, we would have escaped long ago! You have the nerve to blame me?”
“You were the one who attacked first.”
“You were the one who provoked it first!”
“You are being completely unreasonable!”
“You are the one who won't listen to reason!”
The two exchanged words, bickering once again over events from two thousand years ago.
Only this time, there was less genuine killing intent in their words, replaced instead by a sense of familiarity and tacit understanding that neither of them realized was there.
Just as their argument reached its peak and they were almost about to come to blows...
Buzz—
The Heavenly Dao marriage certificate hanging in midair suddenly let out an extremely faint buzz.
The golden light on the marriage certificate flared up for a brief instant, and a weak force of resonance flashed between them.
However, the two of them, completely blind to what was happening as they argued until their faces were red, failed to notice this subtle change.
They remained fully immersed in their debate of the century over "who was right and who was wrong," completely missing this crucial hint.
After a long while, the arguing gradually died down.
They were tired of bickering.
Surprisingly, a wave of drowsiness washed over both of them.
Logically speaking, with their level of cultivation, they had long ceased to need sleep.
Zhang Mingyuan yawned, stood up from his chair, and prepared to go sleep in that cold, quiet room.
With the first day passing like this, he had clearly given up hope on completing that bullshit task.
Whatever happens, happens. At worst, they would just suffer the pain together.
He turned and walked toward the quiet room.
Just as he was about to step over the threshold of the quiet room, Su Jinxue, who had her back turned to him the entire time, suddenly spoke in a soft voice.
Her voice sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet night.
“Zhang Mingyuan, why don't you... just sleep here.”
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