Intelligence so high, even the sky seems low.

Meanwhile,

Outside,

At the dawn, when dew still clung to the tips of jade leaves and cranes circled the distant peaks in pairs, a male and a female.

A figure arrived at Zhao Fan's courtyard, treading with care upon the mist-veiled steps.

Clad in soft blue robes and bearing the emblem of the Elder Wang's disciple robe, the youth bowed low before the gates without crossing the threshold.

His breath remained measured and spirit subdued.

"Zhao Gongzi," he intoned with a voice humble as falling snow.

"This lowly disciple, brings greetings on behalf of Elder Wang of the Alchemy Cloud Pavilion. The Elder extends a courtesy... an invitation to partake in morning tea, brewed from thousand-year snow buds picked from the northern slopes of Mount Lanxu hoping Young Master would join,"

The words were respectful, each one flowing like calligraphy on a scroll, yet within them curled unseen barbs.

Behind the curtain of sandalwood smoke, Zhao Fan remained silent for a breath, two, three, and ultimately four.

Then he laughed silently, not so loudly, nor mockingly, but like wind brushing against a stone tablet buried beneath time which happens to be ancient, unshaken, and cold.

Just a bone-chilling laugh.

"Tea!?" he murmured, brushing specks of ash from his sleeve.

"Ah… the great Elder Wang now offers civility? That old fox has grown impatience,"

The messenger remained still, not daring to raise his eyes.

Zhao Fan rose, his hair falling loose about his shoulders like night uncoiling across the heavens.

His gaze drifted toward the distant peak where the pines of Elder Wang's pavilion hid, unable to hold longer, perhaps the blow to face was too much, and Elder Wang want immediate vengeance.

Zhao Fan could already tell this pathetic Elder Wang, who has yet to witness the greatness of Mount. Tai is going to try something unfunny.

"I shall attend the tea ceremony, report it back to Elder," Zhao said calmly, his voice a blade wrapped in silk.

"Also notify your master to prepare three cups; One for pleasantries, one for truth, and the last for judgment,"

The youth trembled, bowed once more, and vanished into the morning fog.

Behind Zhao Fan,

Maid Yi silently approached him, her expression calm yet tinged with concern.

"Young Master," she whispered, "the talisman, the formation mentioned beforehand,… he may attempt to suppress you of your cultivation base,"

"Ooh, Growing concerns for me?..." Zhao Simply uttered pulling her close.

Maid Yi's cheeks flushed as she was drawn into Zhao's embrace, her heart pounding like the first rain of spring. She averted her eyes, her gaze falling on the intricate embroidered patterns of his sleeves.

The silk fabric, dyed a rich black, was adorned with clouds and mountain peaks, an elegant depiction of the landscape surrounding Mount Lanxu.

As her fingers traced the delicate stitches, her mind wandered to thoughts of the snow buds, each one a treasure plucked from the mountain's coldest peaks.

Of course, they weren't much to her immortal eyes yet, she could still know how valuable it rare are those in this lower world.

"Young Master..." Maid Yi mumbled, breaking the silence.

"Shouldn't a maid be worried about her Young Master, I fear, they are like a group of hungry wolves and only Buddha knows how many of them are there, I fear, Young Master would meet a bad fate," She said rubbing her face into his chest.

"May the spirits of the six directions surround and protect my Young Master," She incanted, her eyes gleaming with an ethereal light.

"May his path be lit by the wisdom of the ancients and guided by the unyielding spirit of the primordial Shun mountains,"

Zhao Fan's hands came to rest upon her head, his touch as warm as autumn sunbeams playing upon the rice fields.

A gentle, almost imperceptible smile warmed his lips, though his eyes remained grave, like the depths of a tranquil lake hiding the secrets of the subconscious.

"Such an exemplary maid, I can't help but love you even more.." Saying that, he leaned in and took her cherry lips.

Their lips met in a kiss both tender and searing, the softness of her mouth yielding like ripe plum blossom petals beneath the sun.

His tongue traced the seam of her lips, asking for entry like a wandering scholar seeking the secrets of an ancient wisdom.

She parted willingly, breath hitching as their tongues met in a dance, which was slow, deliberate, and intimate, like calligraphy strokes painting desire on a scroll of silk.

His hands slid down her slender neck to the curve of her shoulders, fingers trembling slightly with restrained power, while her arms wrapped around him, pulling him deeper into the shared warmth of their embrace.

The kiss deepened, merging their breaths into a symphony of quiet sighs and hidden yearnings, the world narrowing until only the beating of two hearts remained, echoing like distant thunder beneath a tranquil moon.

Mwaaaaaa* Ummmwaaaaa*

As their lips separated, the aftertaste of saliva kept coming like a spring breeze, again and again, and once again.

"Your affection is as steadfast as an old Bodhi tree, I wonder why..." He murmured, his voice a soothing balm on the surface of her tranquil soul.

( trying to symbolize Deeply rooted )

...

"Young Master, Do you want this maid to follow you too," She said coquettishly ignoring his words, after all, why shouldn't she love him.

It's not like she has someone else to love anyway.

"Even if we are in trouble, I can always use my Domain and protect the Young Master," She added.

Wooosh~

A small Phoenix whose body was covered in scared flames, slowly descended and turned into a tattoo near her mountain peak.

She was once an immortal, so, despite being merely a nascent soul realm cultivator at the moment, she could still use her domain.

And using her domain, it's not hard to beat anyone under the holy Emperor realm, as her sacred flames can burn anything to ashes, even a newly cultivated emperor, or even a great emperor realm powerhouse.

"Umm, This will be my first time using the domain, after my revival, can you please kiss my fellow divine pet too," She said shamelessly.

Her Domain is the Celestial judgment domain, overseen by her pet, a Royal blood primordial Phoenix.

Zhao Fan's gaze flickered toward the phoenix tattoo, it's sacred flames smoldering softly as though breathing with its mistress.

The phoenix's wings curled along the curve of her breast like a celestial sigil; proud, eternal, and fiercely protective.

A breath time passed.

"So even your soul-beast yearns for my kiss... Quite interesting pet you have," He said, voice low, laced with mirth and moonlight.

Yi Xin Yue flushed like a dusk-stained lotus, her lips trembling between mischief and modesty.

"My phoenix is loyal, but... it is jealous of your touch," she murmured, half-turning her body, as though inviting him to bless it with the same affection he gave her lips.

Zhao chuckled, not cruelly, but as a cultivator who had lived too long, seen too much, and still found novelty in the unspoken.

He bent his head slowly, his breath grazing her skin like the wind rustling through a canopy of pipal leaves.

The divine bird pulsed in her skin, glowing softly.

His lips brushed just beside it, a kiss as light as the falling of peach blossom petals, but laced with qi.

The phoenix responded, a ripple of warmth spreading through Yi Xin Yue's entire body, making her sigh like spring mist breaking over bamboo groves.

She clung to him, her breath sweet as plum nectar against his ear.

"Now… both mistress and beast are yours," she whispered.

Zhao Fan's smile deepened, yet his eyes sharpened like cold starlight behind drifting clouds.

"Good," he murmured, his voice now calm as a sealed sword. "Then let both of you witness what kind of wolves dare bare their fangs at the dragon."

He turned from her, robes flowing like rivers of ink unrolling across the heavens, "Follow me, This Young Master shall bless you with a magnificent display of power,"

"Umm," Like a sweet little wife, she followed her Young Master, far, far, FARRRR, better than Ye Chen.

As soon as they walked out... The space blurred and the very next instance, they were at the entrance of the Alchemy cloud Pavillion.

+---+

( You can now support the character, I have added a few of them, I will post them on discord soon. )