Chapter 46: The Beginning of the Collapse of World Order

As the male lead in the arranged engagement with Xue Xi, Lan Zhao couldn’t care less whether Xue Xi was truly a vegetable or not. Just the sheer heritage of the Xue family, hardly any less than the Lan family’s, was enough. Even if Xue Xi’s face was covered in pockmarks and she had AIDS, he would marry her without hesitation. After all, these were all assets to leverage in his future struggle for the headship of the Lan family.

Looking at the woman lying beside him, Lan Zhao smiled, feeling his body stir once more. This woman, in both appearance and demeanor, bore an eighty percent resemblance to Xue Xi, yet she was the rare beauty he had searched for and coveted for so long.

Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupted Lan Zhao’s caress. He rose impatiently, throwing on a purple shirt. “Who is it?”

“Zhao, your father wants you to come out and greet some guests. They seem to be quite important figures,” came the voice of his stepmother.

Hearing her, Lan Zhao opened the door without concern for the compromising scene behind it.

“Tsk tsk, you’re about to get your hands on the real deal in a couple of days, yet you’re still so attached to this fake?” The woman entered, casting a glance at the woman on the bed, clutching the blanket with both hands, and said with a hint of jealousy.

“Not at all. That Xue Xi is already a lifeless husk, playing with her is dull. It’s just that not mounting the real thing feels like some kind of mental block. Consider her just an appetizer,” Lan Zhao replied as he swiftly dressed.

The woman crouched to help him zip his pants, her hand subtly propping his waist, chuckling, “At this rate, you might embarrass yourself out there. Dare you stand up straight?”

“Not in a hurry, am I?” Lan Zhao’s eyes narrowed mischievously.

“Your father will handle it. You’re just a kid — no need to get involved in the excitement,” she said with a watery smile.

Lan Zhao laughed heartily, quickly undone his belt, pulled down his pants, and pressed the woman’s head down. His speed of undressing was surprisingly faster than dressing.

The woman lying on the bed, the fake Xue Xi, seemed accustomed to this upside-down morality. She laughed softly as she rose, pressing against Lan Zhao’s back, massaging him like a mountain range.

Inside the room, the scene was one of boundless springtime indulgence—a collusion of lust and mischief. Outside, the atmosphere in the main hall was equally intense. Lan Zhao’s father, Lan Yangsheng, accompanied by Xiao Xin, kowtowed and served the important guests who had arrived early.

An elder with a youthful face took a deep breath over his teacup. The tea inside formed a slender stream and shot directly into his mouth without a drop falling.

He seemed immensely pleased with this skill, stroking his beard with a smile. “We’ve gathered here today to investigate the world beyond the Gate of Heaven. The boy surnamed Chen, since he came back, it means he’s already found a complete passage. The importance of this matter needs no further explanation — everyone understands. When the time comes, there must be no mercy.”

Lan Yangsheng was unimpressed by the old man’s floating tea trick. Many could do it; perhaps a skilled juggler or someone with a strong Qi valve could manage as well.

But the other three present wore grave expressions. They clearly sensed that the old man had subtly manipulated a trace of spiritual energy to envelop the tea before drawing it into his mouth, a display of effortless mastery at the Reversion to the Origin realm. His control over the minutiae was undoubtedly at a master level.

The three silently assessed themselves. They might be able to replicate the feat, but never with such ease. Regaining composure, they nodded in agreement. “Elder Kongtong speaks the truth. At some point, it has become exceedingly difficult for cultivators like us to break through to the realm of immortality. Those legendary gods, demons, and monsters now sound like mere jokes. It’s pitiful. If that boy surnamed Chen is not favored, then simply let those Miao shamans seize his mind and let him experience the soul-devouring torment of ten thousand insects.”

“My master shares this view,” said a pale, beardless man in green robes with a smile.

Though Lan Yangsheng had seen some things, the words from these men were truly uncanny. He rolled his eyes disdainfully, called over several maidservants at the door to attend to the guests, then excused himself to prepare the engagement ceremony. To him, these wandering spirits were far less important than the prestige of a great family.

Meanwhile, at the Kasuga Shrine in Japan, an elderly woman clad in Onmyōdō robes raised her sword to the sky, roaring fiercely, “This time, the stake is the hundred-year legacy of our shrine. A hundred years to gamble on ten thousand — it’s worth it no matter how you count.”

Behind her stood four ancient black Warring States armors, and before her, over three hundred disciples prostrated themselves. On her forehead flickered a faint lotus seal.

...

Three days later, the union between the northern Lan family and the southern aristocratic Xue family was held at a private club on the outskirts. Luxury cars and all sorts of demons and monsters poured in, their goal to trap the young man surnamed Chen. No one thought the gathering was excessive—after all, if they didn’t come in person, who knew if they would get any spoils afterward.

Suddenly, music played as a stretched Hongqi limousine slowly pulled in. The car stopped, the door opened, and a sharply dressed driver wearing deep black sunglasses stepped out. He opened the rear door and smoothly pulled out a small stretcher, joined by another man in the back seat to shoulder it.

The man in the back was visibly more sinister than the driver. Even without seeing the shadowed eyes beneath his baseball cap, the severed arm—cut clean by a sharp blade—sent chills down the spine.

If not for the many immortal figures hovering in the sky maintaining order, some of the noble guests might have screamed from the murderous aura emanating from the two men carrying the stretcher.

Lan Zhao, dressed in a dignified purple tailcoat, smiled as he stood by the hall’s entrance, awaiting his bride. He too was stunned by the immortals standing aloft—a first time cultivators had appeared so openly before the world.

However, these cultivators showed restraint; those appearing here were all individuals of status, somewhat knowledgeable of the cultivator realm. Now, their power was displayed more openly, but soon people would learn that many tales were mere rumors, not to be taken seriously.

The two men carrying the stretcher were Liu Yixian, whose strength had increased despite losing an arm, and another sinister man named Gu Jiesong, who served as the driver—a surprising revelation that surely held many stories.

With expressions of resolve, the two bore the sleeping princess on the stretcher step by step towards Lan Zhao.

Meanwhile, Fan Caobao sped through the outskirts in a Lamborghini, rushing to the scene. Though flying midair looked impressive, it consumed a great deal of spiritual energy. Now, with only the two of them facing a lifelong enemy, frugality was paramount; dying due to waste would be pointless.

In the passenger seat, Chen Hongxu’s eyes narrowed. He raised his hand, swelling the sleeve, and unleashed a purple-red Qi surge that shot through the window, smashing over a hundred cars blocking the way in half.

Fan Caobao’s eyes reddened as he seized the moment and charged through the gap.

Across the skies, gods and ghosts battled; below, demons swarmed. Who could have known that today would mark the beginning of the collapse of the world order, as later generations would recount...

Hidden Sage Chapter 46: The Beginning of the Collapse of World Order — Complete.