Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

Xu Xinlan was married when she was sixteen.

Her family was unremarkable. Her father, a cultivator who had reached Qi Cultivation Perfection, perished in the process of attempting to enter the Purple Mansion, which led to their family's decline. Consequently, under the arrangement of her elders, she was married off to a collateral member of the Chen family.

The Chen family was a merchant family in Wanling City. Though they did not possess much power, they had produced several outstanding descendants.

Although Xu Xinlan's husband was highly talented, he was unfortunate to have been secretly harmed by a Sorcerer Gu technique in his youth, which not only cut off his path of cultivation but also left him bedridden and frail for years.

Xu Xinlan's marriage to him was completely out of her control, leaving her with no choice.

However, her husband treated her very well, with mutual respect between them. He not only entrusted her with managing the family's shops and mines, but he also transferred the ownership of their residence into her name.

Three years after their marriage, Xu Xinlan became a widow, upholding the family in accordance with her late husband's wishes.

Even now.

But it was not an easy task. Over the years, she had faced countless dangers and difficulties. Thankfully, with enough vigilance, a bit of luck, and the help of her cousin Zuo Xiaomo, she managed to maintain the current situation.

Although she appeared glorious in the eyes of others, the hardships behind closed doors were unimaginable.

"Mistress is so tired,"

she leaned into Wang Chen's embrace and whispered softly, "So very tired."

No matter how strong she was, she was still just a woman. Her seventh-tier Qi cultivation level wasn't enough to scare off the covetous wolves, and even the deterrent effect of Zuo Xiaomo was very limited.

Not to mention, Zuo Xiaomo himself faced plenty of troubles.

Last night's drunken mess was both an impulse and a resolution from Xu Xinlan.

She had long desired a strong tree to which she could cling!

Wang Chen couldn't help but ask, "Why me?"

Wang Chen was quite self-aware. Although he was an Inner Sect Disciple of the West Sea Sect, his entry into the Mountain and Sea Realm's number one Immortal Gates was mainly due to luck.

Under normal circumstances, a Loose Cultivator from the Outer Domain who wanted to join the West Sea Sect would have to be an exceptionally talented cultivator of the Immortal path to even secure a place in the Outer Sect, let alone anything else.

How could someone like Wang Chen start off with an Inner Sect status?

Even within the Inner Sect of the West Sea Sect, amongst the lowest-ranked disciples, there were many whose cultivation realms were higher and who possessed greater talent than him.

Not to mention their backgrounds.

And given Xu Xinlan's beauty and status, finding a stronger backer would certainly not be a problem.

Why did Wang Chen end up being the lucky one?

To Wang Chen's query, the corners of Xu Xinlan's lips curved in a shallow arc: "Mistress has an innate talent for discerning the goodness and evil in people's hearts."

It was precisely because of this talent that she had been able to protect herself from the prying eyes of wolves and tigers.

"You are the purest-hearted Superior I have ever met," she said.

It was easy for her to find a backer, but as a widow, she could not enter into an official union and would at most be a concubine.

Once her charm faded and her wealth was depleted, or if someone else grew tired of her, the outcome was obvious.

Therefore, Xu Xinlan had to find someone truly reliable and trustworthy to shelter her from the storms.

It so happened that at this time, Zuo Xiaomo recommended Wang Chen to her.

At their first meeting, Xu Xinlan immediately noticed that Wang Chen was different from the others and decisively placed her bets on him.

Wang Chen came from the Outer Domain, with the simplest background and no family ties to hinder him.

He was still young but had already become a Purple Mansion cultivator and had also entered the Inner Sect of the West Sea Sect, with limitless prospects for the future.

Combined with the character that made Xu Xinlan feel secure and at peace, she wanted to hold on tightly!

For this reason, Xu Xinlan did not hesitate to bring out the family's secret recipe for Spiritual Wine.

And truly secured Wang Chen.

Understanding the reasons behind everything, Wang Chen felt a touch of sympathy in his heart.

Xu Xinlan was clearly not a simple and purely kind woman, but her schemes and methods were only for the sake of making a good life for herself, not for harming others to gain benefits.

Most importantly, she was now his woman!

Wang Chen was not the kind of man who ate his fill, wiped his mouth, and left without a trace of decency. He paused and said, "From now on, you'll follow me. As long as I am in West Sea Sect, I will find a way to protect you completely."

After a pause, Wang Chen continued, "You don't need to give me thirty percent of your family's business profits anymore."

Xu Xinlan pressed her face against his chest and murmured, "Everything I have belongs to my lord."

Wang Chen patted her most voluptuous part, "I can earn Spirit Stones on my own, but I need more Essence of the Five Elements."

Through his recent cultivation, Wang Chen found that the Essence of the Five Elements had an excellent supporting effect on the practice of Innate Five Elements Skill.

Normally, he could practice diligently for three to five days and might not even earn a single point of Cultivation Technique experience.

But by consuming Essence of the Five Elements while practicing, he could steadily gain one point a day.

The efficiency had increased by three to five times!

Wang Chen had previously checked with the Merit Department, and Essence of the Five Elements could indeed be exchanged for Merit Points.

The problem was that the required points were astonishingly high.

He couldn't afford it.

Since Xu Xinlan had a way to obtain Essence of the Five Elements, Wang Chen naturally wanted to save his precious Merit Points.

He wanted to accelerate his progress and break through to the mid-tier of the Purple Mansion!

This was not just for himself— the higher Wang Chen's cultivation strength, the better he could protect Xu Xinlan.

To prevent any misunderstandings from the beauty in his arms, he explained, "Essence of the Five Elements is very important for my cultivation!"

In fact, the Yin and Yang Reunion Secret Technique was also excellent, but that would be discussed slowly in the future.

"I said, everything I have belongs to my lord."

Xu Xinlan smiled sweetly, "Let me tell my lord a secret; all the Essence of the Five Elements I've given comes from a mine."

"What?"

Wang Chen was immediately astonished!

He knew that Xu Xinlan was running several businesses and owned a few shops, so he thought the Essence of the Five Elements she offered was acquired through certain channels.

He never would have guessed that her family owned a mine!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It's well known that Essence of the Five Elements is a rare material of heaven and earth. Even if the quality was average, a mine producing Essence of the Five Elements would definitely entice a Golden Core True Person.

"Only Uncle Zhong knows this secret."

Xu Xinlan explained, "The Essence of the Five Elements from the mine were all personally harvested by him, but to outsiders, he claims it's purchased from the Outer Domain."

"I once saved Uncle Zhong's life. He has no children and has always treated me as his daughter..."

Wang Chen nodded.

If this secret were to get out, he might not be able to protect Xu Xinlan. The only solution would be to hand over the precious mine to someone else in exchange for safety.

But given the great use Essence of the Five Elements had for him, Wang Chen certainly did not want to let others benefit without good reason!

"One of these days, I'll have Uncle Zhong take you to see the mine," Xu Xinlan said. "I feel much more at ease entrusting this secret to you, my lord. Uncle Zhong is also getting old."

Uncle Zhong was a cultivator who had reached Qi Cultivation Perfection, and his lifespan was nearing its end; he could not protect her for many more years.

This was one of the reasons Xu Xinlan placed all her bets on Wang Chen! Explore more at empire

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The first update is here.