Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!-Chapter 132: Spear

For Shangguan Mu’er and Ling Luochen, the transition from the Saint Burial Realm to the Prime Origin Realm was not merely a change in geography but more of an ontological shift that recalibrated the very essence of their souls.

In fact, the first few minutes of their arrival were spent in a state of sensory overload that bordered on spiritual paralysis.

At this moment, Ling Luochen was peeking through the crystalline window of the high-altitude transport, and felt as though her eyes were being washed in divine light.

Below and around them, the landscape was a dreamscape of impossible geometry that she can only find in paintings and books in the lower realm.

Towering architecture, built from materials that shimmered with a sentient luster, pierced the clouds like frozen lightning.

Unknown fauna, creatures wreathed in elemental mists and possessing a strange, ancient intelligence, glided between floating islands that defied every law of universe she had ever known.

And most importantly, there was the purity of the Qi.

If the Qi in the lower realm was like a sewage water, then the Qi here is like the purest, most refreshing spring!

Every breath felt like drinking a cup of liquid immortality.

Shangguan Mu’er, a woman who had stood at the absolute pinnacle of her world for nearly a hundred years, stared down at her own hands.

She watched as her pores greedily drank in the ambient energy, her meridians humming in a frantic, joyous vibration before she took a deep, shuddering breath, inhaling the essence of the world and exhaling the last remnants of the "muddy" air of the lower realm.

"I can’t believe people actually live here," she whispered, her voice trembling. "The Qi in this realm... it is so pure that even a common stone here would be considered a top tier treasure in our world. To breathe this every day... it’s no wonder the ’trash’ of this realm can suppress the geniuses of ours."

Indeed. Here, even a pig could fly if they live in a place with such a pure qi.

"The two of you should get used to this sooner rather than later," Qing’er said, turning back to face them, her expression was neutral, but her eyes held the weight of a guide leading children through a dragon’s hoard. "The Shen Clan is the strongest amongst the Nine Immortal Clans; they stood at the absolute pinnacle even in this vast, infinite realm. What you see now is merely one of the many places of the Shen Clan’s domain."

She paused, allowing them to process the scale of the power they had just entered. "In the Prime Origin Realm, the Shen Clan couldn’t be said to be strictly invincible, as there are always old monsters and hidden sects in the corners of the void, however, they are not afraid of offending anyone. Not the Imperial Family, not the Sacred Sects, and certainly not the other Immortal Clans."

Qing’er’s gaze sharpened, focusing on the two women. "As part of the Shen Clan, or rather, as part of the personal retinue of the Main Line of the Shen Clan, you have entered a tier of existence that exists above the law. With the exception of those from the main line themselves, you do not need to bow to anyone else. As long as it doesn’t harm the interests of the Clan, the two of you can do what you want with the branch lines. If a branch elder offends you, you have the right to demand their head."

Of course, the right to demand doesn’t mean that deman will be met. No matter how arrogant and egocentric Chu Xueyu was, she will not kill an elder for the sake of a servant.

Of course, she also wouldn’t allow her servants to bow to anyone else but them.

However , the two of them didn’t know that and were frozen in a state of profound shock.

Ling Luochen even felt a chill run down her spine. Does the main line truly have that much power? Back in the lower realm, although the hierarchy was strict, but blood was always sacred.

No servant or follower would dare to even look into the eyes of a branch member, let alone offend them.

In her view, blood was blood—even the most disgraceful member of a clan was protected by the collective prestige.

But here, the "Main Line" was like a godhood all its own.

Qing’er turned and continued walking, her footsteps silent on the jade floors. "Let us go. Once we prepare a suitable dress for you, we can begin your training in etiquette. We need to make sure you do not embarrass the main line by acting like a frightened deer."

The two snapped out of their shock, stumbling slightly as they hurried to follow her into the heart of the most powerful territory in existence.

*

*

*

Meanwhile, in the deeper sanctum of the Slaughter Empress’s palace, a very different kind of authority was being exerted.

"Out you go!" Chu Xueyu declared, her voice brooking no argument as she effectively kicked Leng Shuang and Feng Yuyan out of her private bedchamber.

"Hey!" Feng Yuyan shouted, her face flushed with indignation as she hammered a fist against the closing door. "I want to talk to my nephew too! I’ve been waiting a year for his return! Let me in, you greedy brat!"

Leng Shuang remained silent, standing like a pillar of cold ice. However, her furrowed brows, tightly thinned lips, and the way she crossed her arms over her chest showed a level of dissatisfaction that was rare for her.

She didn’t shout, but her silence was heavy with resentment that seem to cause the air to stagnate.

"I need to talk to him alone," Chu Xueyu’s voice muffled through the heavy, rune-encrusted wood of the door. "Now shoo. Go and play with your corpses or play pretend to be a queen of the world or something. My son needs his mother, not his nosy aunts."

With a final, heavy *thud*, the internal locks engaged.

Feng Yuyan felt her cheek twitch, her golden eyes flashing with a mix of amusement and irritation as she scratched the back of her head, her golden hair spilling over her shoulders. "Seriously. That girl is infuriating. She acts as if she’s the only one who missed Haoran. I was the one who taught him his first chaotic formation, for heaven’s sake!"

Leng Shuang nodded slowly at that. For the first time in centuries, she actually looked like she was pouting—or at least, the closest thing to a pout her near-emotionless, perfect face could manage, and the air around her even grew ten degrees colder.

"Why don’t we just break in?" Feng Yuyan suggested, a playful, wicked smile spreading across her lips as dhe began doing mock jabs in the air, her fists glowing with the light of her qi. "We can show her why she’s still the youngest sister. Two against one, we can definitely drag her out by her hair."

Leng Shuang paused, her eyes flickering toward the door, calculating the structural integrity of the Empress’s defenses and the likelihood of a localized civil war.

Eventually, she turned her gaze back to Feng Yuyan.

"If you want to die," she said in a flat, deadpan tone, "don’t take me with you. Xueyu is in a... ’possessive’ mood. I prefer my head to stay on my shoulders."

With that, Leng Shuang turned around and walked away, her footsteps echoing with a lonely, clinical precision.

"Well, it was worth a try," Feng Yuyan sighed, deflating as she took one last look at the door before following her sister. "I’ll just have to catch him when he’s not being smothered."

*

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*

Inside the room.

Chu Xueyu’s bedchamber was a sanctuary of luxury, draped in silks the color of dried blood and moonlight.

"Strip and lie down on my bed," Chu Xueyu commanded, her tone leaving no room for discussion.

Haoran didn’t hesitate, after all, he knew his mother’s whims better than anyone.

He immediately shed his outer robe and the thin inner tunic, tossing them onto a nearby chair before lying back against the silk pillows.

Chu Xueyu flicked her long, golden hair over her shoulder and moved with a feline grace as she climbed onto the bed and sat down on his waist, her weight light but her presence overwhelming.

She reached out, her cool and slender fingers tracing the intricate tattoo-like markings that symbolized the Infinity Dragon God Divine Physique on his body.

Then, she slowly traced her finger down the center of his torso, stopping right where his dantian was.

"Nascent Soul realm, huh," she muttered, her eyes half-lidded as she felt the rhythmic pulse of his power. Then, her brows raised in genuine surprise. "Wait... this resonance... is this the Unbreakable Diamond Sacred Technique? And it’s much more solid and much more refined than the crude versions those meatheads in the Diamond Titan Sect are practicing."

Haoran nodded, looking up at his mother’s beautiful face. "I found the bone finger of an ancient Saint that practiced the original, primordial version of the technique. I managed to replicate the circulation path from the marrow remnants. That Saint was probably one of the ancestor of the Diamond Titan Sect."

"It seems you have gained a lot more than I expected in that little garbage dump of a realm," Chu Xueyu said, her voice filled with pride.

She began to move her hands over him, her palms tracing the lines of his muscles, feeling the density of his skin and the heat of his blood.

She moved with the focus of a master admiring a piece of flawless art—or a predator assessing its prize.

She then traced his arms down to his hands, before interlocking her fingers with his as she leaned forward, her hair falling around them like a curtain.

"You’ve grown a lot, Haoran," she whispered, her breath warm against his ear. "Your frame is broader, your Qi is sharper... you’re becoming a man that even I might find dangerous."

Chu Xueyu sat up straight and looked down at him and saw that Haoran was getting uncomfortable—or rather, his body was reacting to her proximity.

His breath was coming in shallow, controlled bursts, and his eyes, usually so calm and calculating, looked dark and predatory, as if they were about to devour her whole.

She smirked, a look of supreme confidence and playful mischief on her face as she shifted her weight, moving her hips back and forth slowly over his waist.

She knew her son intimately. Despite the way he acted—cool, experienced, and world-weary—and despite the fact that he was the most sought-after man in the Prime Origin Realm, Chu Xueyu knew that the he number of women he had actually slept with could be counted on one hand.

It wasn’t because he lacked opportunities; he could have had any princess, saintess, or empress in the nine heavens with a single look.

But his standards were so impossibly high, his requirements for a woman’s beauty, talent, and "aura" were so extreme, that he found almost everyone lacking.

And Chu Xueyu precisely knew why that was.

Her.

By being the most beautiful, the most powerful, and the most ruthlessly devoted woman in his world, she had effectively ruined his taste for any other woman.

To him, the various women he had been with were just pale imitations of the woman currently sitting on his waist.

"Hmm. Is the Young Master feeling the strain?" she teased, her golden eyes sparkling. "After a year of dealing with trash, does it feel good to finally be home?"

Haoran gritted his teeth, his grip on her fingers tightening. "Mother... you’re playing with fire."

"Am I?" she whispered, leaning back down.

"Mother..." His voice was stern, barely holding on to his sanity.

Chu Xueyu chuckled and got up, allowing Seijirou to breath a sigh of relief.

Chu Xueyu stood beside the bed, staring at Haoran who was trying to calm herself down.

Truthfully, she doesn’t really mind whatever it is that Haoran wanted to do her, after all, he has been inside her for nine months, what’s there to feel about if he wanted to return?

However, she also knew that her cultivation was so unbelievably powerful, that if they went and did it now, his body wouldn’t be able to withstand the Qi that will unconsciously leak towards him from her, causing him to explode.

If he really wanted to push her down, he should at least reach Heavenly Saint Realm, or cultivate his physique to Major Completion.

However...

Her eyes trailed from his face, then between his legs, then back to his face, "Haoran..."

Haoran turned towards her, "Mother?"

"You know what my main weapon is?"

"A spear?"

Chu Xueyu smiled, "Yes. Which means, I’m great with my hands. Do you want me to help you?"

Haoran blinked.

Does he?

What is he, a eunuch? Of course he does!