The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Shen Yifei never imagined that Jing Ci would propose such a condition.

I originally thought that this trip to the Dragon Palace would not only yield dragon scales, but also provide assistance from the powerful Dragon Palace.

If I were to marry into the Dragon Palace, wouldn't that be tantamount to the Heavenly Evolution Sect being swallowed up by them?

Although he didn't mind being a live-in son-in-law, and he didn't care about making some sacrifices to marry Ao Ying, it wasn't a good reputation for the Tianyan Sect.

Shen Yifei hesitated, "Your Majesty, could you perhaps offer something different? If you want spirit stones, I'll earn them for you; if you want pills, I'll refine the finest ones for you; if you want to fight, I'll charge into battle for you. But this matter of marrying into the family is really a bit..."

"What is it?" Jing Ci glanced at him indifferently. "Countless cultivators in the world want to enter the gates of my Dragon Palace, but I don't even look at them."

Shen Yifei thought to himself, being underwater every day without seeing the sunlight, he could stay for a few days, but as a normal human, he really couldn't stand it.

But he wouldn't dare say that out loud.

"Your Majesty, you are right. Marrying into the Dragon Palace is indeed a great honor. However... I am, after all, the sect leader, and I have thousands of disciples to support."

"That's easy!" Jing Ci chuckled. "Move the Tianyan Sect to the East Sea. I'll allocate a piece of land for you on the East Coast and rebuild a larger Tianyan Sect. Anyway, that wretched place, Cangwu Mountain, doesn't even have a decent-sized place. It's better to move here."

Shen Yifei could tell that Jingci had already figured out his family's background.

However, no matter what, the Tianyan Sect cannot leave Cangwu Mountain. That is Father's place, and the rise of the Tianyan Sect must begin from Cangwu Mountain!

"Your Majesty, although Cangwu Mountain is a bit dilapidated, it was the foundation my father built. If I were to move away like this, I would be letting my father down in heaven."

"My father? You...you are Shen Changtian's son?"

Ao Ming, who had been struggling with the chessboard, stood up!

"You are Shen Changtian and Youlan's son?" Jingci also stood up!

Shen Yifei then realized that in his excitement, he had revealed his secret!

Judging from Ao Ming and Jing Ci's expressions, they didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse, so they could only bite the bullet and go for it.

"Your Majesty the Dragon Queen, do you... know my father?" Shen Yifei asked tentatively.

Jingci sighed softly, "It's more than just knowing them. Your father was quite the figure in the cultivation world back then. One man with one sword, who in the world could stand against him? Your mother, Youlan, was even more stunning. I saw them once back then, and I still can't forget them."

She paused, her gaze softening as she looked at Shen Yifei: "No wonder you could win Ying'er's heart; it turns out you're the child of those two men. Your father was the same kind of man back then, attracting women wherever he went."

Ao Ming sighed and sat back down. "It seems everything was predestined, truly predestined!"

After a moment, Jingci sat down again. "Sect Leader Shen, since you are the son of Shen Changtian and Youlan, then let's forget about the marriage proposal."

Upon hearing Jing Ci's words of resignation, Shen Yifei relaxed his tense body.

"However..." Jingci's tone changed.

Shen Yifei's heart leaped into his throat again, and he began to resent Shen Changtian in his heart.

"Shen Changtian, Shen Changtian, why are you not like me at all? Since you met such a stunningly beautiful woman back then, why didn't you take her as your wife? Look at all the trouble you've caused me now, one after another..."

The thought flashed through her mind, and then Jingci said, "However, if you have children in the future, you should send them to the Dragon Palace, and they must take their mother's surname, Ao..."

"My child's surname is Ao?" Shen Yifei felt that his mother-in-law was making things difficult for him at every turn, but this condition was much more lenient than marrying into the family.

He was already a half-human, half-demon, and if he had a child with Ao Ying, the child would be a mix of human, demon, and dragon blood—who knew what it would look like? The surname Ao would be fine; the child's name would be something like Ao something else, and the child would be Shen Ao when they grew up…

Shen Yifei made up his mind, "Then I will follow the Dragon Queen's arrangement and come to marry Ao Ying in a month."

Jingci waved his hand, "You may leave now. If you need anything, have Ao Ting get it for you. Just don't let Ying'er suffer there."

After bidding farewell to Ao Mingjingci, Shen Yifei breathed a sigh of relief; he had finally passed the test with his mother-in-law.

Jingci appeared gentle and dignified, but her words were sharp and incisive, each one hitting the nail on the head. If she hadn't invoked her father's name at the end to quell the situation, she would probably have been destined to become a live-in son-in-law today.

As soon as he returned to Wanghai Pavilion, he saw Ao Ying waiting for him. She looked a little haggard after not seeing him for a few days; reorganizing the Dragon Palace had taken a lot of her energy.

Upon seeing Shen Yifei, Ao Ying quickly approached him. "I heard you went to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager. Did she give you any trouble?"

Shen Yifei took her hand and led her back into the house, where he briefly explained what had happened.

When asked about her cultivation partners, Ao Ying remained calm, simply saying, "I know."

"You knew?" Shen Yifei was taken aback. "Who told you?"

"When you sent those people from the Heavenly Sword Sect into the furnace, I had my men investigate your background. The Heavenly Evolution Sect is led by Sect Master Shen Yifei, who commands forces such as the Joyful Union Sect, the Blood Soul Sect, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, and the Profound Ice Palace, and has numerous Daoist partners. Among them, the one with the highest cultivation is Leng Rushuang, the Palace Master of the Profound Ice Palace, who is at the mid-stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm."

Shen Yifei was startled. "You saw me refining pills?"

"I saw it, and I thought you were amazing..."

"My Daoist partners, you...you're not angry?" Shen Yifei asked cautiously.

"What's the use of getting angry?" Ao Ying rolled her eyes at him. "Don't you humans have a saying, 'A woman follows her husband wherever he goes, whether he's a chicken or a dog?' Since I've chosen a little beast, I'll accept you as my little beast."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yifei finally felt relieved.

He couldn't help but hug Ao Ying tightly. "Ying'er, don't worry, I, Shen Yifei, swear to God that I will never mistreat you in the future."

"Hmph, a man's mouth..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Yifei picked her up and said, "Ying'er, you're not allowed to use the dragon tail tonight!"

The next morning, Shen Yifei did not wake Ao Ying, who was still fast asleep, bid farewell to Ao Ting, and prepared to return to Yong'an City.

Ao Ting told him the contact address in Binhai City and gave him several access tokens for the East Sea Dragon Palace. If he wanted to return to the Dragon Palace, someone would pick him up and drop him off.

After leaving the East China Sea, Shen Yifei headed west all the way to Yong'an City.

As evening approached, we arrived at Zuixianlou. As soon as we entered, we saw Yun Zhonghe sitting in the main hall, among many drinkers, drinking and listening to the storyteller tell stories.

When Yun Zhonghe saw Shen Yifei enter, he hurriedly put down his wine glass and pulled him up to a private room on the third floor.

Shen Yifei recounted his trip to the Dragon Palace from beginning to end, explaining everything in great detail.

After listening, Yun Zhonghe was stunned for a long time, then slammed his hand on the table. "You brat, you're much better than your father! Where's Jing Ci's golden scale? Show it to me..."