Volume One, Chapter One: The Celestial Empress and the God of Leaves
Wu Dynasty, Shengjing.
The gates of the Xu family were alive with excitement, the crowd surging like waves.
Word had spread: Xu Que, the young master of the family, had mistakenly entered the Deadland of Celestial Extinction. When he was found, his limbs had been crushed, his dantian and martial veins destroyed, his Divine Martial Bone extracted. His cultivation was lost, and he had been poisoned by the chilling Firebane toxin. The entire city was shaken, lamenting the fall of a peerless prodigy.
He had been carried home three days ago and had yet to awaken in the Xu family's medical pavilion.
“Ah, the Deadland of Celestial Extinction—a place where even immortals cannot find a grave.”
“To return alive from such a place is already a miracle. He truly deserves the title of number one prodigy of the martial youth.”
“Look, his fiancée, Zhu Yanran, has come to break off their engagement.”
“Firebane is one of the ten deadliest poisons; it is certain death. No wonder Zhu Yanran wants to end the betrothal.”
“I heard she has caught the eye of the seventh son of the Duanmu family, climbing to greater heights. Truly, beauty is fate.”
“If you ask me, she's just a shameless woman.”
...
Within the Xu family medical pavilion, Xu Que, though gravely injured, found his spirit wandering in a mysterious violet gourd space.
Three days prior, he had been chased by a mysterious master, stumbling into the Deadland of Celestial Extinction. His Divine Martial Bone was taken, his cultivation destroyed, and his soul was on the verge of annihilation. Then, a celestial gourd descended from the heavens and sheltered his spirit, saving him from disaster.
Inside, he encountered a breathtaking woman.
She called herself Ye Shen—a beauty so radiant she dazzled all realms. In her presence, all worldly charms paled.
Having survived calamity, Xu Que now faced this mysterious woman’s ultimatum.
“I give you two choices. First, become my Dao companion and cultivate with me.”
“Second—two, two, two!”
Pressed by her demand, Xu Que insisted, “I am deeply in love with my betrothed. Our wedding is imminent—how could I cultivate with you?”
“The second choice is to become my furnace, at my mercy. In return, I will restore your body, perhaps make you stronger than before.”
You—this is cheating!
Xu Que pleaded, “Senior, I truly love my fiancée. You may possess my body, but you cannot stain my heart.”
Ye Shen smiled coolly.
“You still pine for your fiancée? She is at your family this very moment, breaking off the engagement. Listen to what she says now.”
A ripple spread around them.
Xu Que then heard Zhu Yanran’s voice.
“Xu Que is a cripple now—he’s not worthy of me. The marriage alliance ends here.”
“I’m here to inform you, not to negotiate.”
“I do not care whether he lives or dies. I won’t even look at him.”
Xu Que was stunned.
He wasn’t dead yet, and Zhu Yanran was already breaking off their engagement?
---
What of the vows they once made, the promise to grow old hand in hand?
He had lavished her with priceless gifts, risked his life seeking treasures for her birthday. His earnest heart was fed to dogs.
“Do you hear that, lovesick fool? You have entrusted your heart to the wrong person.”
“Let me out—I want to confront her, that ingrate!” Xu Que clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.
“Hmph, you are a cripple now. Going out would only invite humiliation. I brought you here to shield your soul from Firebane’s poison—leave now, and you will die.”
Xu Que fell silent for a moment.
“Senior, why would someone of your stature choose me, an ordinary man?”
Ye Shen gestured to the vast starry space.
“This is the interior of the Heaven-Refining Gourd, born from the primordial chaos billions of years ago. It draws on chaos as its foundation, the original energy of the universe as its guide, with the sea of stars as its rampart, forging the World-Refining Violet Gourd. All realms, gods, and ages can be refined within.”
“So, you are trapped here?”
“Indeed. I too am on the verge of being refined. But I know the Taiji Dual Cultivation method—one body, two sources, undying yin and immortal yang. Yin persists as long as yang exists; yang endures as long as yin remains. When we cultivate together, Taiji’s power erupts, allowing temporary resistance to the refining force.”
Xu Que understood.
Senior Ye Shen’s desire to cultivate with him was her last means of self-preservation.
“A celestial empress such as yourself, surely of unmatched status and power—am I not gaining a great advantage?”
“Do not belittle yourself. Your loyal heart surpasses countless others.”
“Senior, I have decided. I wish to restore my strength. I want those who betrayed me to regret it.”
“Oh? Which option do you choose?”
“I want them all!”
“...”
As these words fell, an extraordinary phenomenon unfolded.
Centered on the two of them, ripples spread like remnants of a supernova, brilliance like snow flowers of stars, finally forming twin Taiji spirals of yin and yang, endlessly entwined.
...
Ye Shen was once the Empress of the Heavens, her cultivation spanning all realms, transcending time.
Facing a mysterious calamity, she was betrayed by her closest friend and beset by enemies, sealed with the Heaven-Refining Gourd.
Yet, Ye Shen severed the gourd’s connection to her persecutors and escaped alone to the lower realm.
The heavens spared her, allowing her to encounter Xu Que.
Time passed, and peace settled.
Xu Que noticed Ye Shen was surrounded by holy light, enough to resist the gourd’s refining force.
He asked, “How are you?”
“You shameless scoundrel! Do not ask what you should not.”
“I meant—have you gained enough power to resist the gourd’s force?”
“...”
After a pause, Ye Shen replied, “You and I are yin and yang, yet the Heaven-Refining Gourd grinds all to dust. Even Taiji’s duality will be worn away, so you must let me replenish myself from you regularly.”
“How will my body be restored?” Xu Que worried, fearing deception.
The more beautiful the woman, the more dangerous her lies—his fiancée had deceived him for years.
---
Ye Shen was even more enchanting, so his concern was justified.
“Rest assured, I have my methods. Next, I shall help you rebuild your body. Do you wish to regain your original talent, surpass it, or one day match my own heights?”
Xu Que declared, “I want the best.”
Ye Shen explained, “Observe the gourd’s interior—it’s filled with the primordial energy left from refining countless realms and treasures.
Chaos tempers your bones, the source of the universe forges your martial veins, ancient celestial and demonic essences reconstruct your body, fragments from all realms hone your soul.
This is the ultimate invincible physique, beyond even my own half.
But the process is arduous—should your mind falter, you will be obliterated. Can you endure?”
Xu Que replied, “I will not let my child go fatherless.”
Ye Shen said solemnly, “What you left in my body, I have already refined.”
Xu Que: “...”
“To be honest, with Supreme Bone, the Primordial Saint Physique, and ancient god-demon blood, you could still rule the world.”
“We cultivate Taiji Duality together, sharing life and death. If I cannot keep up with you, I am a burden. Ye Shen, I will persevere. Let us begin.”
Hearing this, Ye Shen couldn’t help but admire the young man.
She drifted beside Xu Que, her gentle voice whispering in his ear, “Do not disappoint me.”
No sooner had she spoken than Ye Shen pushed him away.
Then, she invoked the supreme arts, drawing upon chaos, primordial energy, myriad worlds, and celestial-demonic essence within the gourd to rebuild Xu Que’s body.
White mist shrouded Xu Que, his flesh enveloped in a layer of vital energy.
His shattered bones mended, only to break again—again and again, crushed and rebuilt.
To forge an invincible body from a ruined one required endless slicing, his form shattered into particles and reconstituted.
Xu Que remained conscious throughout!
“Ahhh!”
His cries echoed in agony, unmatched in their misery.
Countless times he wished for death, yet again and again he clenched his teeth and endured.
Dreamlike, illusory, even immortals could not withstand such torment.
He could bear it no longer; he was ready to give up.
“Ye Shen, I... can’t hold on...”
“Live. Stay with me.”
“Ahhh!”
Ye Shen’s encouragement injected him with renewed resolve, and he persevered again and again.
In a haze, Xu Que recited a crude verse:
“Forged a thousand times for immortality, chaos burns as if nothing; broken bones are no fear, for Ye Shen I claim my place.”
“...Hmph, little scoundrel. But you endured.”