CHAPTER 484: CHAPTER 484: THE VILLAIN LIST_1

While Xu Lai and Ruan Tang were flirting in their room, snow began to fall outside the window.

As if trying to wash away the filth of the mortal world, the entirety of East Sea City was blanketed in an immaculate expanse of white. Many couples cheered, having snowball fights and frolicking in the snow.

Heavenly Dao sat upon a cloud, eating a candied hawthorn stick and watching the snowflakes fall upon the human realm.

Having experienced countless turbulent times, Heavenly Dao knew that no matter how the snow dressed up this city of over ten million people, it could not wash away the filth of certain people or the ugliness of their deeds.

Even in the first month of the year.

There were still ghostly processions at night and acts of disloyalty, unfilial piety, and injustice.

Yet, amidst the filth, there were also those full of passion and righteousness, fighting against all that was unfair and unjust.

Such is the human heart.

There is both evil and good.

Heavenly Dao yawned, bored, and glanced over at Mount Haitang.

The Supreme Emperor’s Haitang Court blocked all Divine Sense. Not just his, but even other cultivators who shared the Emperor Realm couldn’t probe the area with their Divine Sense without being noticed.

The moment anyone tried, they would most certainly be detected!

I wonder how The Supreme Emperor plans to find Jing Ke...

Heavenly Dao fell into contemplation but soon shook his head, ceasing to dwell on it. With The Supreme Emperor’s involvement, the matter concerning Jing Ke had gradually slipped out of his control.

Whatever will be, will be. After all, I don’t want much—just to live on.

...

...

「February 10th.」

With the wedding date set for the 29th of the month, less than twenty days remained.

No matter how laissez-faire Ruan Tang was, she couldn’t help but take the once-in-a-lifetime event of her marriage seriously.

That morning, after washing up, Ruan Tang asked, "Xu Lai, have you decided on the wedding venue?"

"No."

"Have you chosen your suit?"

"No."

"...Have you written the guest list for the banquet?"

"No."

"..."

Ruan Tang put down her toothbrush, smiled, and beckoned to Xu Lai. "Honey, come over here."

Xu Lai, who was cooking in the kitchen, subconsciously walked over without even putting down the kitchen knife in his hand. "What’s up?"

"Xu, what do you think you’re doing!?"

Ruan Lan had been studying chessboard Formation patterns for half the night. Still groggy, she came downstairs to wash up, only to see her cheap brother-in-law approaching her sister with a knife. She immediately panicked.

Ruan Lan leaped onto Xu Lai’s back like an octopus, snapping, "Put the knife down! If you dare hurt my sister, I’ll bite you to death!"

As she spoke, she bared her snow-white teeth as if she would really follow through on her threat.

Xu Lai glanced sideways at Ruan Lan.

My little sister-in-law has a terrible memory. It seems she’s forgotten the tragic experience of nearly shattering her teeth...

"You’re mistaken," Ruan Tang said with a helpless sigh. "Your brother-in-law was just in the middle of cooking."

"Sis, you have to be careful. Some men are nice before marriage, but they become abusive to their wives afterward."

Ruan Lan stared gravely at Xu Lai. "You rotten brother-in-law, if you have any tendencies like that, I’ll use the Starlight Array to obliterate you!"

Xu Lai massaged his forehead. "You should talk about that after you actually manage to set up the Formation."

"Hmph!"

Ruan Lan spun around and entered the bathroom, muttering, "What’s so hard about mastering a Formation? In the future, I’ll achieve the Dao through Formations and toss out dozens of Starlight Arrays with a flick of my wrist."

Xu Lai scoffed.

Toss out dozens of Starlight Arrays with a flick of your wrist... You must still be dreaming.

This Formation was not as complex as the Zhoutian Star Fighting Formation that Xu Lai personally set. Even so, there was no need for dozens; setting up just ten simultaneously would be enough to make even an Emperor Realm cultivator fall in defeat!

The Starlight Array didn’t require laying Array Patterns, but every material needed for setting it was exceedingly precious. The locations where most materials were found were so perilous that even a peak Quasi-Emperor would be lucky to escape with their life.

Therefore, Xu Lai simply dismissed his sister-in-law’s bragging as idle talk. It wasn’t the first time, after all. However, what he didn’t know at that moment was this:

Ruan Lan’s casual boast would not only be fulfilled in the future, but she would surpass it several times over.

Although her Boundary had not yet reached the point where she could crush all the prominent lords, she achieved a status where everyone in the Immortal Domain feared her. This landed her the second spot on the Immortal Domain’s list of villains.

The first spot was naturally held by the leader of the ’Empress Alliance,’ who had never shown her face. No one knew what she looked like, yet her notoriety was even more terrifying than Ruan Lan’s...

Who allowed the members of the Empress Alliance to sweep up the top one hundred prodigies and enchanting youths from the various clan rankings?

Unless you were one of the top three prodigies of your clan, you weren’t even eligible to join!

What? You don’t want to join?

A certain young woman from the Taotie Clan would say with a grin, "Our Empress Alliance is very democratic. Since you’re unwilling to join... beat him until he is."

Of course, all these were matters for a later time.

...

Urged on by Ruan Tang, Xu Lai began to arrange all the wedding details. Ruan Tang wanted to help, but Xu Lai insisted she didn’t.

"We’ll have one ceremony in East Sea City for friends and family, and then another one at the Sect."

Xu Lai asked, "How does that sound?"

"No problem," Ruan Tang nodded.

Xu Lai didn’t leave the house at all that day, spending his time conceptualizing the wedding details.

After much thought, he decided to hold the wedding banquet at Mount Haitang. The mountain held special significance for both him and Ruan Tang. After settling on the venue, he wrote out a large number of invitations.

By the time he finished with all this, it was already noon. After a cup of tea, Xu Lai got back to work.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Xu Lai had arranged everything for the wedding perfectly, and all the invitations had been sent out. However, aside from the venue, Ruan Tang knew nothing else!

「Saturday.」

On a sunny afternoon, the family of three was lying on wicker chairs in the backyard, basking in the sun.

Ruan Tang lay on her side, her stunning curves on full display.

Xu Lai cast an appreciative gaze her way, only to receive a massive eyeroll in return. "What’s the plan for the wedding? You have to tell me ahead of time."

"Lean in closer," Xu Lai said.

Ruan Tang leaned in to listen, only to hear two words: "It’s a secret."

Ruan Tang: ???

She said angrily, "I’m the bride, and you’re telling me it’s a secret? Believe it or not, I’m calling it off!"

"She won’t let me go out to play! She’s making me study... Who do you think? My sister, of course!"

Ruan Lan was on the phone in the living room, her aggrieved voice growing louder.

The words had barely left her lips when she felt the room grow cold. An inexplicable murderous aura washed over her, and she said cautiously, "Sis, I’m just on the phone with Xiaoxiao. Can I go back to studying in five minutes, please?"

Xu Lai stifled a laugh.

Ruan Tang, annoyed, gave him a light kick. "Do we need an emcee?"

"No need," Xu Lai said softly. "Honey, don’t worry about all this. Just let me surprise you."

Ruan Tang hesitated for a long while before finally humming in agreement.

Xu Lai sipped his tea contentedly and closed his eyes. A moment later, his brow suddenly furrowed.

He opened his eyes.

He saw dark clouds gathering, obscuring the bright sky. They hung so low they almost seemed to touch the peak of Mount Haitang.

The entire East Sea City—or rather, the entire Jiangnan region—was filled with a heavy, oppressive stillness, like the calm before a storm.

"ROAR!"

A ferocious cry echoed across the sky.

"Hm?"

Xu Yiyi’s big eyes were filled with confusion. "Daddy, I heard a dragon’s cry. It sounded like it was in a lot of pain."

"Did you?"

Ruan Tang, despite being perfectly attuned to the Emperor Qingfeng Scripture, had never actually practiced Cultivation. Lacking a Cultivation Level, she naturally couldn’t hear the dragon’s cry.

"It’s nothing. I’ll go take a look," Xu Lai said, standing up.

Ruan Lan hung up the phone and exclaimed excitedly, "Brother-in-law, are you going out? Take me with you! Take me with you!"