Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

She walked to Su Mu's side, a hint of shyness in her eyes, and asked softly, "Do we... need to have a wedding?"

"I'll do whatever you say."

Su Mu responded and sat down on the edge of the flower bed, extending his palm toward her.

Xiao Yunshang stepped forward slightly and gently placed her slender, warm hand into his palm.

With a slight pull, Su Mu caused Xiao Yunshang, who was caught off guard, to lean forward and fall into his arms, settling steadily on his lap.

Her beautiful cheeks flushed crimson instantly, making her look shy and charming.

"Aren't you afraid of being seen?" Xiao Yunshang asked softly, her eyes lowered, her heart pounding.

"So what if we bump into each other? What's there to be afraid of?"

Su Mu's expression was frank and open, completely unconcerned with worldly etiquette: "We are both unmarried, and our feelings for each other are mutual and perfectly aboveboard. Why should we hide anything? No one here dares to approach rashly, and no one dares to recklessly probe with their divine sense."

Xiao Yunshang felt relieved and said softly, "Then let's have a wedding. Without a grand wedding, I'll always feel a sense of incompleteness, and I'll inevitably regret it in the future."

"Okay, whatever you say." Su Mu agreed without hesitation.

Xiao Yunshang's eyes flickered slightly, and she said seriously, "I want to use this wedding to lure those enemies out on their own. Are you really confident you can suppress them? If things aren't going well, the wedding can be postponed or even canceled."

"rest assured."

Su Mu's eyes were resolute, and his tone was forceful: "If they dare to come, we will make sure they never return and pay a heavy price."

I believe you.

Xiao Yunshang smiled faintly, then, recalling the past, she raised her eyes and asked, "You once said that if I could bear a child with you, it might avert the calamity of the Ghost Clan. You weren't just lying to me, were you?"

Every word is sincere; there is not a single lie.

Su Mu raised his hand and tightly embraced her waist, his fingertips gently stroking her flushed cheeks, his tone tender yet unwavering: "I will never let our child live in a chaotic world, helpless and alone."

"I don't know where your confidence comes from, but I completely trust you."

Xiao Yunshang gently grasped his mischievous right hand, her eyes filled with trust.

Su Mu leaned down and kissed her soft red lips.

Xiao Yunshang closed her eyes gently, embraced him openly, and let the tenderness spread.

Just then, Wen Qianzhu carried her young son Su Song to the second-floor balcony and immediately saw the two tenderly cuddling in the courtyard.

She glanced at it subconsciously, then immediately turned away and quickly retreated back into the room.

She had no intention of spying, and being in the library, she had never freely released her divine sense, so she was completely unaware that Xiao Yunshang had already arrived.

Looking down at the innocent infant in her arms, Wen Qianzhu couldn't help but recall the sweet times she had spent with Liang Song in the past. A pang of sadness welled up in her heart, and she sighed softly.

The next moment, she suddenly froze, her face full of astonishment.

"No... Miss Xiao is so devoted to him, so completely attached to him... Isn't he a eunuch who has already been castrated?"

"impossible!"

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, Wen Qianzhu's pupils contracted slightly, and an unbelievable guess arose in her heart: "Could it be... that Su Mu has already regained his true form and become a real man again?"

The Xiao imperial family officially issued an edict, giving them full authority to organize the grand wedding ceremony of Su Mu and Xiao Yunshang, determined to hold an unprecedented and extremely grand wedding.

Emperor Xiao Anxun and his royal relatives were overjoyed and full of anticipation.

The marriage between Su Mu and Xiao Yunshang is an unparalleled honor for the Xiao royal family, and a tremendous opportunity to consolidate their imperial power and deter all sides.

The news that Su Mu had reshaped his true form and regained his male identity also quietly spread within the palace.

No one was particularly surprised upon hearing this. The retired emperor possessed extraordinary combat power and countless opportunities, so it was only natural that he would reshape his physical body.

In order to lure Duan Jin, Song He, and other enemies into the scheme, Su Mu and Xiao Yunshang deliberately delayed their wedding and gradually spread the news of their marriage, waiting for their enemies to come knocking.

On May 19th, Jinzi, who had been asleep for many days, finally slowly awoke.

The familiar system notification sound rang in Su Mu's mind right on time.

[Congratulations, host! Your demon beast offspring "Gold" has successfully advanced to the early stage of Level 7 Divine Bird. The system reward has been deposited into your inventory. Please check it!]

An ordinary level seven demonic beast, its combat power is comparable to that of a human Martial King in the early stage.

However, Jinzi is an ancient divine bird with extraordinary bloodline and unparalleled foundation. Once it fights with all its might, even a late-stage Martial King might not be able to contend with it.

Although it cannot shake the power of a Martial Emperor for the time being, it can continuously bring Su Mu rich breakthrough rewards, which are of immeasurable value.

Previously, the price of gold skyrocketed from the early stage of level six to the late stage of level six, yielding several top-grade Earth-rank treasures. This time, with the breakthrough to the seventh level, the reward quality has been further upgraded, consisting entirely of low-grade Heaven-rank treasures!

It includes ten Grade 7 Dragon Essence Pills and ten Grade 7 Nirvana Pills, two types of high-level pills that can comprehensively enhance a cultivator's combat power and temper their physical foundation.

In addition, there is a low-grade Heavenly Rank Qian Silk Purple Patterned Treasure Robe and a low-grade Heavenly Rank Qian Spirit Strange Fire Talisman.

The Qian Silk Purple Pattern Robe offers extremely strong defense, capable of withstanding attacks from high-level magic weapons; the Qian Spirit Strange Fire Talisman can greatly amplify the power of the Xuan Fire, making it suitable for Su Mu's main cultivation technique.

Su Mu fed the awakened Jinzi until he was full, then used his divine sense to summon four powerful Martial Emperors from the palace.

Xiao Yunshang, Chai Min, Chang Wei, and Ding Chao each received one Grade 7 Dragon Essence Pill and one Grade 7 Nirvana Pill.

The seventh-grade Nirvana Pill can temper the Xuan Body and reshape the foundation of the physical body, laying a solid foundation for subsequent breakthroughs in realms; the seventh-grade Dragon Essence Pill has extremely strong explosive power and can instantly amplify combat power in battle, with endless wonderful uses.

Chai Min immediately advised Ding Chao to postpone taking the Nirvana Pill.

Ding Chaotian was of mediocre talent and needed to first break through to the mid-stage of Martial Emperor and condense a perfect Xuan Fire. He needed to repeatedly temper his physical body with the Xuan Fire in order to maximize the absorption of the medicinal power of the pills and not waste the effects of the precious medicine.

Xiao Yunshang possesses the Innate Profound Thunder Body, a uniquely gifted physique that allows her to directly refine pills and improve her foundation without needing to break through to the mid-stage.

As for Chang Wei, his talent is second only to Xiao Yunshang and superior to Ding Chao. He can take elixirs at the right time to steadily improve.

Compared to Ding Chao, whose foundation was already solid and whose cultivation was profound, Chang Wei was younger and whose physical body and blood energy were more vigorous and powerful.

Without Su Mu needing to expend additional resources to help him, he only needs to rely on the sect's resources to nourish him and refine the corresponding rare and precious materials to fully absorb the medicinal power of the seventh-grade Nirvana Pill. After all, Yunxiang Valley is a major sect with a long history and abundant resources, enough to support its disciples in achieving high-level cultivation breakthroughs.

Time passed, and on May 22nd, the long-awaited system notification finally rang in Su Mu's mind.

[Congratulations to my adopted son, Ding Chao, on successfully advancing to the mid-stage of the Martial Emperor realm! The system reward has been deposited into your inventory. Please check it!]

Su Mu immediately had an idea and opened the system warehouse to carefully check his harvest.

Previously, Chang Wei broke through from the late stage of Martial King to the early stage of Martial Emperor, which was a major transformation across realms. The system had gifted him the Heaven-Rank Top-Grade Secret Technique "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin". The "Many Children, Many Blessings" system has always valued rewards for children's major realm breakthroughs, while the rewards for ordinary minor realm advancements are of slightly lower quality.

However, when Ding Chao broke through to the mid-stage of Martial Emperor, the system still generously distributed two top-grade Heavenly Treasures, which were of unparalleled value!

One is the top-tier sword technique, "Ten Thousand Swords Thunder Prison True Technique." This technique is extremely unique, requiring profound mastery of both swordsmanship and thunder magic to activate, making it incredibly difficult to master. Su Mu possesses a deep foundation in swordsmanship and a pure understanding of thunder magic, fully meeting all the requirements for its cultivation and execution.

Secondly, there is the exclusive treasure, the Imperial Crown, an exquisitely crafted hair-binding crown. It can autonomously absorb the imperial energy of heaven and earth without expending any of its owner's power, and it also possesses top-tier soul defense, capable of withstanding all soul-based attacks. Even when subjected to physical attacks, the Imperial Crown will automatically generate a protective shield, firmly protecting the cultivator's head and vital organs, providing comprehensive and flawless defense.

Su Mu already possessed the talent to absorb the aura of the Emperor's Way on his own, and after wearing the Imperial Crown, his absorption speed increased dramatically, doubling in speed.

This was an incredible boost to his cultivation of the "Imperial Supreme Body Technique"!

The higher one's cultivation level, the slower the accumulation of power. Su Mu possesses top-tier cultivation techniques and countless resources, but the cultivation threshold of the "Imperial Supreme Body Technique" is extremely strict, relying heavily on a massive amount of Imperial Qi for nourishment. Moreover, Imperial Qi can only be absorbed from the outside, which greatly limits his advancement speed.

Now that he has cultivated the Imperial Profound Spirit, if he continues to absorb nutrients at the same rate as before, it will inevitably take a long time to transform and advance into a divine embryo.

"This Imperial Crown has arrived at the perfect time!"

A surge of joy welled up in Su Mu's eyes. This treasure not only accelerated his cultivation progress but also filled the gaps in his soul and head defenses, giving him a significant boost in his survival ability.

Aside from the two top-grade Heavenly Treasures, the rewards also include several other rare items: a high-grade Heavenly Enlightenment Pill, a ninth-grade Nirvana Pill, and a massive amount of Mystic Dew Nourishing Spirit Pills, making the resources extremely abundant.

After reviewing all the rewards, Su Mu became even more eager for Chai Min's breakthrough.

To be fair, his current combat strength is already enough to dominate the Tianyuan human race, and he fears no one of his peers or veteran powerhouses. However, if he were to delve deeper into the black mist territory of the Gui Clan and completely eradicate the Gui Clan's hidden dangers, this strength would still be far from sufficient.

However, looking at the enemies coming from the Wulong Continent, they were already no match for him.

"If these defeated generals dare to cause trouble again, I can crush them all with a wave of my hand!"

Su Mu was full of confidence, and then used his divine sense to summon Xiao Yunshang, Chang Wei and Ding Chao.

The three had not yet mastered the wonders of the Enlightenment Pill, but Su Mu had a sufficient reserve of pills and, without being stingy, bestowed one Enlightenment Pill upon each of them.

Xiao Yunshang and Chang Wei had already refined the seventh-grade Nirvana Pill, and their physical bodies had undergone a transformation. Now, with the help of the Enlightenment Pill, they could steadily improve their soul realm and solidify their martial arts foundation.