Chapter 79: Closing the Gap

Wedding ceremony. At those two words, Gu Yuan’s heart beat a little faster.

Maybe he really was looking forward to it? He thought, unable to stop the small curve at the corner of his mouth.

Noticing it, Ji Yue covered her lips and laughed lightly.

"Actually, I have already started preparing for the wedding ceremony. Everything should be ready by the time Gu Yuan breaks through to the Spiritual Core Realm."

The Spiritual Core Realm? The smile froze on Gu Yuan’s face.

Even by his most optimistic, reaching the Spiritual Core Realm would take at least ten years. No, to be realistic, probably fifteen.

So it wasn’t happening anytime soon?

The disappointment on Gu Yuan’s face was impossible to hide. Beside him, Ji Yan’s expression had also fallen.

Ji Yue seemed to find their reactions rather amusing.

"Don’t make those faces, you two." She took one treasure after another from her storage ring, each more precious than the previous one, and placed them on the table. "With these, Gu Yuan should be able to break through to the Spiritual Core Realm within two years at most."

"Don’t scare me like that again!" Ji Yan snapped, unable to keep the glare from her face.

"I’m sorry."

Ji Yue smiled brightly, making it very clear that she wasn’t sorry at all.

"Anyway, I also plan to modify this place a little. It will be the place where we live later, too." Ji Yue turned toward Gu Yuan. "You don’t mind, right?"

And if I did, would you have listened? Gu Yuan shook his head. "It’s fine."

"Good." Ji Yue nodded in satisfaction. "Then I’ll take my leave and continue with the preparations."

Ji Yan waved a hand. "Goodbye. I’ll be cultivating here."

Ji Yue stopped.

She turned back toward her sister, her expression becoming slightly more serious. "Please hold yourself back and don’t cross the line."

"I’ll try..."

The playful tone in Ji Yan’s voice made Ji Yue narrow her eyes. But she said nothing more and simply left.

Alone with Ji Yan, Gu Yuan thought that maybe he should say something, but before he could even open his mouth, Ji Yan was already sitting on his lap. Her arms slid around his neck, and her lips pressed firmly against his.

What about trying to hold yourself? It had only been a few seconds!

Despite the thought, Gu Yuan responded with equal passion. His hands settled on her waist as he kissed her back. Ji Yan made a soft sound against his mouth, shifting closer until the soft press of her breasts met his chest.

Her fingers slid into his hair, holding him in place as she tilted her head and tasted him without restraint. He could feel the warmth of her body through their clothes; every subtle shift of her hips seemed to test the limits of his control.

When she finally pulled back, it was only by a fraction.

Her forehead rested against his. Her breathing was uneven, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. The sharp, fierce light that usually lived in her eyes had deepened into something darker.

"...Just this much should still be fine," she murmured, though there was very little conviction in her voice.

Gu Yuan did not answer at once. His hand remained on her waist, fingers brushing lightly against her side as he looked at her.

The air between them felt heavy, charged with a tension that suggested even the smallest movement might shatter whatever fragile restraint remained.

Ji Yan’s gaze dropped to his lips once more, and a moment later, she leaned in again.

For a while neither of them spoke. Only the quiet sound of their breathing and the soft meeting of lips and tongues filled the room.

They were only teasing each other, carefully keeping to safe touches so they would not cross the line. Even so, neither Ji Yan nor Gu Yuan seemed particularly satisfied with stopping there. Fortunately, both of them had enough self-control to hold themselves back.

Still curled in his lap, Ji Yan lightly dragged a finger across his chest before asking, "What about my gift? Is it ready?"

"It’s ready."

He took a small box from his storage bracelet and placed it in her hands.

Ji Yan opened it slowly, and the moment she saw what was inside, she paused.

"A choker?" Her gaze turned playful as she looked at him. "The mark from the sacred ceremony isn’t enough? You want to put a visible mark on me too?"

"Yes. Am I not allowed to?" he asked, matching her teasing tone.

Ji Yan smiled and shook her head. "Naturally, you are allowed to. You’re the only man who is."

"Then that’s good," Gu Yuan smiled too.

Giving Ji Yan a choker had been a spur-of-the-moment idea. Yet once he had decided to make it, he had taken it quite seriously, spending five years polishing his skills specifically for this gift. Even so, a small amount of hesitation had remained.

After their earlier kisses, however, that hesitation had completely disappeared.

Now, watching Ji Yan put the choker around her neck without the slightest hesitation, Gu Yuan felt strangely... giddy.

She turned her head left and right, then looked at him. "How is it?"

The black choker, set with a gem the same fiery red color as her hair, suited her strikingly well.

"It’s beautiful," Gu Yuan said.

"Of course. The base is good, after all." Her lips curved upward with unmistakable pride.

"That’s true." Gu Yuan agreed completely.

Whether in his previous life among actresses and singers, or in this one among fairy-like cultivators, no one came close to the beauty of the twins.

"Anyway, I don’t mind you being possessive. But can you stop hiding your cultivation?" Ji Yan’s tone suddenly turned serious. "Your already low cultivation is now even lower!"

"Put yourself in my shoes. I’d be walking around with a choker given by a man three major realms below me!"

Gu Yuan’s displayed cultivation was still only at the Ninth Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. He had yet to reveal his breakthrough into the Golden Core Realm.

Ji Yan, on the other hand, was currently in the Embryo Realm.

But Gu Yuan wasn’t buying her complaint.

"And where is the problem with that? I’m younger by a few million years! So it’s only natural for my cultivation to be a little lower!"

Ji Yan had been prepared to laugh at whatever excuse he offered, but hearing those words made her blink.

"No way! Yue told you that?!"

She clearly found that hard to believe.

"What do you think?" Gu Yuan asked playfully.

There was a brief silence. Then Ji Yan burst into laughter, her body trembling slightly in his arms. "Hahaha~ Forget it."

"I was joking anyway. If anyone dares say something, it’ll be the last thing they ever say. Simple as that."

Ji Yan flashed a bright, proud smile, the kind that held a hint of dangerous mischief. She stole a quick kiss from him before standing up from his lap.

"I’ll cultivate. You should focus on cultivation too..." Her voice lowered slightly as she glanced back at him. "Even if it’s only a little sooner, I want to feel you inside me."

Embarrassed by her own bold words, Ji Yan didn’t wait for a reply. She walked to the side of the room, sat on a mat, and closed her eyes to cultivate.

Left alone, Gu Yuan could already feel her warmth leaving him. But he didn’t dwell on it. Instead he turned to the treasures Ji Yue had left on the table.

It was time to break through.

Three major realms apart?

He would make it one.