Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Grand Wedding - III

Chapter 135: Grand Wedding - III

Rhain turned his attention back toward the palanquin.

Standing between him and the veiled sedan was a group of roughly a dozen young men and women, all dressed in extravagant robes.

They were clearly the best of the Graves family’s younger generation — handsome, beautiful, and radiating the dense auras of talented cultivators.

Leading them, standing at the very front was a familiar face.

Hale.

Rhain hadn’t met him since the Hollow Realm.

His cultivation had unexpectedly reached the second level of Essence Condensation Realm.

However, at this moment, these youths did not look like proud geniuses at all.

Every single one of the youths standing before the palanquin looked profoundly nervous, their eyes flickering between each other and then back toward Rhain.

Hale’s gaze silently swept over the group behind him, silently begging for backup.

The other boys and girls met his look and immediately averted their eyes, simultaneously shaking their heads in frantic refusal.

Nobody wanted to be the one to stand before the man who had singlehandedly destroyed two major factions.

Hale woodenly shook his head, but under the desperate gazes of his peers, he had no choice.

He took a single, slow step forward.

In his trembling hands he clutched a red silk scroll.

With exaggerated care, he unfurled it.

"A-Ahem!" Hale cleared his throat loudly, attempting to project authority despite the visible sweat beading on his forehead.

"According to our ancient and honorable customs, the groom must answer atleast three questions about his bride before he is permitted to take her away!" Hale announced, his voice echoing with practiced clarity.

He then added, pressing heavily on the final words: "Please remember, this is a custom! A sacred and unbreakable custom!"

A wave of lighthearted laughter rippled through the massive crowd.

Everyone was delighted by the sight of these youths trying to forcefully uphold the sacred customs in the face of such a terrifying existence.

Rhain did not get angry. Instead, his face eased into a smile.

He didn’t mind this at all. He had been with Seris for so long, how could he possibly not know the answers to a few questions about her?

If there was one person in this vast world who knew every single detail about her, it was him.

There was no way he would fail.

"Go ahead and ask," Rhain lightly said with his hands loosely behind his back.

Hale nodded nervously.

With his hands shaking, he looked down at the red silk scroll and read the first question.

"Ahem! The first question," Hale read aloud, his voice steadying. "What is the bride’s favorite food, and how exactly does she prefer to eat it?"

Rhain’s dark grey eyes softened as a fond memory surfaced in his mind.

"Sweet steamed buns," Rhain answered without a single second of thought. "But she never eats them whole. She always breaks them precisely in half, eating the plain, doughy edges first, just so she can save the sweetest part in the absolute center for last."

Inside the veiled palanquin, a soft, muffled gasp could be heard, followed by a quiet giggle.

The crowd murmured in awe.

It was such an incredibly small detail that only someone who had earnestly watched her for a long time would know.

Hale smiled, visibly relaxing. He looked back at the scroll.

"Correct! The second question," Hale’s tone grew slightly more solemn. "What is her deepest, most painful regret?"

Rhain’s expression also turned serious.

He looked directly at the red curtains of the palanquin, his voice lowering into a tone of profound gentleness.

"That she was so young when her mother passed away," Rhain said softly. "She can no longer clearly remember her mother’s face. All she has left is the fading memory of the sound of her voice."

A heavy, emotional silence descended upon the guests.

Many of the older women in the crowd felt their eyes mist over.

"Correct," Hale nodded heavily. "The third and final question."

He unrolled the scroll to its very end.

"When the other disciples mocked her silver hair, calling her a cursed omen... what did you tell her to make her stop crying?"

As Rhain heard the question, a memory flashed in Rhain’s mind.

It was a cold, rainy day.

A group of outer sect disciples had cornered her, pulling her hair and shoving her into the freezing mud.

She had curled into a small ball, sobbing, utterly convinced that she was cursed by the gods.

"What I told her?" Rhain murmured softly, his eyes reflecting a deep layer of tender affection. "I hugged her tight to stop her tears, and told her that her hair was not a curse, but something truly beautiful... like moonlight woven into threads."

Rhain took a slow step forward, "And that day, I had also made a foolish, impossible promise to her. I swore to her that one day, I would become so strong that no one in this world would ever dare to bully her again."

Everyone was utterly captivated

Many of the young female guests looked at Rhain’s handsome and confident posture with bright eyes, hoping that they would also have a man like him as their husband.

Hale slowly rolled up the red silk scroll, stepping respectfully to the side and bowing deeply.

"The groom has answered perfectly. The path is open!"

Rhain walked unhurriedly toward the palanquin.

The young men and women of the Graves family hastily moved out of his way.

Rhain stopped right before the crimson curtains.

"My wife," Rhain said, his voice incredibly deep and overflowing with affection. "I have come to take you with me."

A snow-white hand reached out from the interior, its soft fingers resting gently into Rhain’s waiting palm.

Slowly, the curtain was pushed aside entirely.

Rhain softly pulled her forward, and a pair of delicate feet, adorned with silver anklets stepped lightly out of the palanquin and touched the ground.

As Seris’s figure emerged, the sounds of drums and gongs suddenly quieted, and what left was the sound of irrepressible breathing overlapping against one another.

The girl that came into view was so beautiful that it was enough to steal souls.

She wore a magnificent, trailing bridal gown of deep crimson, embroidered with soaring golden phoenixes.

Her silver-blue hair had been elegantly was wrapped elegantly into a bun, topped with a dazzling phoenix coronet that swayed with fine golden hairpins, catching the light of floating lanterns like a halo of stars.

But all of those exquisite details paled in front of her beautiful face.

She wore only a light, delicate layer of makeup, but it was more than enough to elevate her already flawless features to a completely otherworldly realm.

Her pale purple eyes shimmered beneath long, dark lashes, and her lips were painted a soft, alluring crimson.

She looked entirely like a dreamy goddess who had inadvertently descended from the highest heavens.

"Am I caught in an illusion? Someone pinch my arm, this cannot possibly be real." a young cultivator murmured, his eyes entirely glazed over as if his soul had been stolen away.

"To think that such a peerless beauty actually exists in our world..."another youth gulped bitterly, his face completely flushed with an unconcealable infatuation. "This world is so unfair! If I could marry a girl even a tenth as beautiful, I would have no regrets in this lifetime!"

"Don’t stare too closely, you idiot! Do you want that man to dig your eyes out?"

"Then why are you still looking at her? Are you not afraid of dying?"

"If a goddess like that smiled at me even once, I would gladly die without regrets!"

It was not known how many men lost their hearts in that single instant.

It wasn’t just men, countless young women from various clans and sects, who had spent hours meticulously preparing their own makeup and dresses, suddenly felt an intense, crushing wave of inferiority.

"Compared to her, we cannot even measure up to the mud on the floor," spoke a wealthy merchant’s daughter, who had always been fiercely proud of her own appearance.

A unanimous realization flashed through every single mind present.

No wonder.

No wonder a terrifying monster capable of slaughtering Core Formation experts and annihilating two major sects would treat her with such unimaginable, delicate tenderness. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Only a peerless goddess of this caliber was truly worthy of standing beside a peerless existence like him.

Just like others, Rhain was also staring at Seris with a dazed expression.

He had always known she was stunningly beautiful.

Even back when she wore simple outer disciple robes with absolutely no makeup, she had a transcendent temperament.

But today... today she was so exceptionally, overwhelmingly breathtaking that Rhain found himself staring at her, utterly unable to move his eyes away from her enchanting face.

Seeing his dazed expression, a rosy blush spread across Seris’s flawless cheeks.

She shyly lowered her head, her delicate fingers giving his hand a light pull.

Rhain finally snapped out of his trance.

He let out a low, joyous chuckle, his eyes completely overflowing with affection.

"Come," he whispered gently.

With absolute care, Rhain guided her toward the towering snow-white stallion.

He placed his hands firmly around her slender waist and effortlessly, gently lifted her up, helping her settle comfortably onto the ornate red saddle.

He then swung himself up, sitting securely right behind her, his strong arms wrapping protectively around her to hold the reins.

But before leaving, he turned his head back toward the figure of Dorris.

"Family Head Dorris," Rhain spoke warmly, "I appreciate your family’s hospitality these past five days. Taking her in and ensuring everything was handled with such care... I would remember this favour!"

Hearing Rhain’s sincere gratitude, Dorris’s face beamed with overwhelming pride.

He laughed and dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "Hahaha! Think nothing of it, Rhain! Taking care of the bride was our Graves family’s greatest honor. Now go! Do not keep the auspicious hour waiting!"

With a slight pull on the reins, the towering snow-white stallion stepped forward.

DONG! DONG! DONG!

The deafening beats of the drums and golden gongs erupted once more, sounding ten times louder and more festive than before.

This time, the procession had grown to a truly colossal scale.

The entire Graves family—from the Spirit Manifestation patriarchs down to the youngest elite youths—fell in line behind the Azure Cloud Sect’s ranks.

The towering snow-white stallion stepped forward, leading the massive coalition.

As the colossal beast approached, the dense sea of guests parted like a receding tide, opening a wide, unobstructed path for the groom and his bride.

As the united procession marched back, the citizens, who had waited eagerly for the procession’s return, stretched their necks to get a glimpse of the newlywed couple.

But the moment their eyes landed on the bride resting gently within Rhain’s embrace, the cheering crowd was abruptly struck dumb.

It was as if they were looking at a literal goddess who had inadvertently strayed into the mortal realm.

Seris leaned back slightly against Rhain’s chest, the moon-like radiance of her silver-blue hair and her flawless, otherworldly features left the onlookers spellbound.

Rhain casually sighed, letting the sight of the awestruck crowd pass over him without much concern.

He tightened his arm protectively around Seris’s slender waist.

Eventually, the grand procession reached the towering mountain path and arrived before the main gates of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Waiting at the threshold was a massive group of female disciples.

In their hands, they held woven baskets overflowing with rare, fragrant petals.

"Welcome back, Groom! Welcome back, Bride!"

The female disciples called out in unison.

With graceful, synchronized movements, they tossed the petals high into the air, creating a fragrant rain of flowers that fell over the returning couple.

Rhain brought the snow-white stallion to a gentle halt right before the gates.

With a smooth swung of his legs, he dropped lightly on the ground.

He then turned back, reaching up with both hands.

Seris placed her small, delicate hands on his broad shoulders.

With absolute care, Rhain gripped her slender waist and lifted her down from the towering steed as easily as if she weighed no more than a feather.

He held her gently for a second before letting her feet touch the petal-covered stone of the sect gates.

He didn’t let go of her hand. Instead, his long fingers naturally intertwined with hers, holding her softly but firmly.

"Let’s go in," Rhain murmured, his dark grey eyes filled with endless affection.

Seris nodded obediently, her pale purple eyes reflecting a profound, overflowing happiness.

Together, hand-in-hand, under the showering rain of flower petals and the deafening, joyous cheers of tens of thousands of guests, they stepped through the doors of the Azure Cloud Sect.