Chapter 84: The Wedding Preparations

In the Black Desolation Sect, inside a grand hall, all the higher-ups of the sect had gathered. At the head of the many Elders and eight Peak Masters sat the Deputy Sect Master, Luo Yunjin.

Her cultivation was far from the highest among those present, and under normal circumstances, some of them would usually show their dissatisfaction, even if subtly, especially the new peak masters. This time, though, no one seemed to have the mind for such things.

The Heavenly Twin Stars belonged to the Ji Clan of the Yunhai Continent... and they were getting married.

Everyone present was still trying to come to terms with that fact.

"How are the preparations going?" Luo Yunjin asked, snapping everyone’s attention back to the matter at hand.

"They’re going smoothly," one of the Elders answered. "Although, the Ji Clan is handling most of the preparations..."

"Is this the Ji Clan, or the Black Desolation Sect?" Luo Yunjin’s tone turned sharp. "Do you feel no shame?"

No one could answer. Seeing that, Luo Yunjin sighed. Her gaze swept over the four new Peak Masters before she continued, "For now, look after security within the sect. I don’t want any internal trouble occuring while so many guests are here."

"Notify the sects, clans, and other forces whose people are held in the Shadow Prison that the ransom for their release will be lowered. Increase the benefits for our disciples as well. A sect about to hold a celebration like none before should be generous."

"As for the spies who remained after the war, deal with the more problematic ones immediately and keep a close watch on the others. I don’t want anyone causing trouble while our attention is elsewhere."

Luo Yunjin continued issuing one instruction after another, keeping the sect’s affairs from descending into chaos.

Eventually, Shen Lian, who had been troubled by another matter, couldn’t help but ask, "Then what about the guests who have already arrived?"

The question immediately quieted the hall.

Indeed, those guests were currently the most pressing problem.

They weren’t from the Great Han Kingdom or even the Azure Plains Region. They weren’t from the Canglan Continent at all.

They were from the Yunhai Continent.

All of them represented forces countless times stronger than the Black Desolation Sect, and how to handle them was currently the most pressing matter.

"For now, take the help of the Ji Clan," Luo Yunjin said. "They are more familiar with these people than we are."

She knew it herself. For a backward sect like theirs, they couldn’t give such distinguished guests a proper reception.

The meeting continued for some time before finally coming to an end.

Once everyone had left, Luo Yunjin remained alone in the grand hall and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

The Peak Masters and Elders still hadn’t been informed of the groom’s identity.

But she knew.

The groom was none other than her own disciple, Gu Yuan.

Every time Luo Yunjin remembered the moment she had decided to take him as her disciple, she couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of regret.

Why? Why had she taken him as her disciple?

No, why did he have to go and become the Dao Companion of the Heavenly Twin Stars?

Luo Yunjin pressed a hand against her forehead.

She really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

-----

Far away from the distressed Luo Yunjin, her residence had become almost unrecognizable.

The Hall she normally lived in was now teeming with people from the Ji Clan, to the point that she didn’t dare return there for the time being.

In one of the rooms, Su Yulan stood with several maids beside her, inspecting two red dresses: the vermilion wedding gowns her daughters would wear.

They had actually been made many years ago. After her daughters had left home to search for their Dao Companions and the Ji Clan had failed to find them despite searching for years, Su Yulan had secretly commissioned the dresses while holding onto the hope that, one day, she would be invited to their wedding and be able to give them to her daughters herself.

After finally meeting them again and seeing the women they had grown into, she had only needed to make a few adjustments to the gowns so they would fit them perfectly.

Now, all that remained was for the twins to try them on.

Unfortunately, Ji Yue was currently secluded in her room, meditating as she is supposedly working out an auspicious date for the wedding.

And Ji Yan?

"Where did that girl run off to again at a time like this...?"

Su Yulan sighed in exasperation.

The wedding date was approaching, yet the two brides and the groom were nowhere to be found!

She sighed again before turning toward Ruxi.

"What about Ji Zhenyu? When did he say he would arrive?"

"Within a few days at most."

He better not start taking after his daughters... Su Yulan silently complained.

-----

From the mother to the daughter.

Ji Yue was in the room where Gu Yuan had spent countless years cultivating. His presence seemed to linger in every corner, and as she sat there meditating, golden power churned visibly around her.

While her twin sister had been rampaging outside, Ji Yue had done far more than simply oversee the renovation of the sect. She had established the teleportation array connecting the sect to the Yunhai Continent and prepared a concealment array that would allow her to use her Fate Dao without exposing herself.

To prepare for her wedding day, Ji Yue was going all out, even more than she had for the sacred ceremony.

Perhaps that was only natural.

The sacred ceremony had been a necessity, a means to link their fates and establish them formally as Dao Companions. This wedding, however, was different. It was something she simply wanted; an open, joyful celebration of her union with Gu Yuan, held for no reason other than her own satisfaction.

Just imagining the wedding night and everything that would happen afterward, Ji Yue’s cheeks gradually turned pink.

She was truly looking forward to it.