Their battle had lasted for over three days, and though both could have continued for another month, she had important matters to attend to.
"Did something happen, darling?" a naked woman asked with a lovely smile, her head resting on his bare chest.
"I realized I've been focusing too much on the sect's duties and cultivation… and forgot about you," Li Meng said, caressing her round hips.
"I feel like we're back in our youth. Do you remember our first time?"
"Yes," Li Meng chuckled. "It was in that cave. Back then, both of us were idiots. You were a princess, and I was just a wandering cultivator. Without you, I'd have dropped dead long ago."
"Are you… going to die?" The atmosphere turned heavy as the woman looked at her husband's face. Li Meng wasn't handsome by any standard, even now, he looked like a wise old man with long white hair and a slightly thin build. His looks were average, but his calm aura and unyielding spirit were what drew her to him. He was the type of man who never gave up, who could find a new path when all others failed. His ideas and perspectives were always new and very fancy to her.
"Yes and no.," Li Meng said softly, meeting her eyes as his hand gently brushed through her hair. His calm expression carried nothing but peace.
"I might live longer than you, so love should catch up to my cultivation and surpass me," he whispered, kissing her forehead.
"You don't believe me? Why would I lie to you? I've never been a fan of deception or violence. You know that part of me well."
She smiled faintly. Li Meng did lie sometimes, he was human, after all, but never to her. Not once. He preferred straightforwardness, even though his cultivation techniques were built upon illusion and deception.
She used to say, "He wasn't made for cultivation… yet he was born for it." He loved peace and avoided violence, but once he chose to fight, he would destroy his enemies to the root. She knew his nature too well. He was very cruel when he needed and he was peaceful when most of the time.
"I see. Hearing that makes me calm. After all, I don't want to become a widow at a young age." She smiled gracefully and stood up, taking out a new robe from her storage ring. She didn't ask why he was so certain he would survive. She knew his condition better than anyone, yet she trusted him completely. That trust didn't come from feelings or trust, it came from the bond they had built over decades.
"Are you leaving now? Why not cuddle a bit longer?" Li Meng asked with a grin.
"No, I have an important meeting to attend. Besides, we can cuddle later and you have a guest waiting for you."
"Alright, see you tonight," Li Meng said, kissing her cheek as he stood up.
The woman vanished into thin air, her clan was famous for their speed, and even Li Meng found it hard to follow her movements.
' Ah… the peak of beings from the great cultivation families.' Li Meng muttered to himself. Her family's techniques had been refined generation after generation,not flawless, but perfected through centuries of effort.
Li Meng stopped and looked at his reflection. This world didn't have polished mirrors like his previous one, but rich cultivators used pure jade for the same purpose. His fortune was vast, enough to last several lifetimes. In terms of wealth, he surpassed even the Sect Master's personal treasury. Though he couldn't compare to ancient families, he was still among the richest cultivators alive.
"My body still looks great," Li Meng muttered. He wasn't bulky like a bodybuilder, but despite his wrinkles, his pale skin was smooth and flawless.
"Meet me at MoonJade Restaurant," he sent through a mental message before leaving his home.
The sect was massive as large as a continent in his previous world. Maintaining it consumed endless resources every day. Over ten million disciples and staff lived within its walls. There were fewer than a hundred Outer Sect Elders, fewer than fifty Inner Elders, and less than ten Core Elders in total.
He used his speed technique known as "Bunny Steps." Though considered a low-rank cultivation technique, Li Meng had perfected it. A single step could cover a hundred kilometers. It took him only thirty-two steps to reach the nearby city known as "The Maiden's Tears."
Despite being called a city, it functioned more like a country as vast as the Australian continent from his past life. Four great families ruled over it, one of which was his wife's clan, the Len Family. Her full name was Len Feng Wei, only members of the main branch carried the 'Feng' in their names. She was, by birthright, a princess and he was a peasant by birthright.
The streets were lively and chaotic.
"Cheap pork belly! Two spirit coins for a slab!"
"Fresh spirit peaches! Picked from Cloud Valley this morning!" shouted a vendor proudly.
"Ha! Cloud Valley? Don't lie, old man,those are from the outer slopes!"
A young cultivator laughed, tossing him a single low-grade spirit coin.
"Hey! Don't block the path! My horse beast'll bite your leg off!"
A carriage driver yelled as his four-legged beast snorted flames onto the cobblestone.
The city was noisy but full of life, its security strong enough to attract talents from all over the province.
"It really is like the cultivation world's New York," Li Meng muttered as nostalgia washed over him.
He walked through the bustling streets, filled with youthful cultivators shouting, laughing, and chasing dreams. Eventually, he arrived at MoonJade Restaurant.
It was a gorgeous place, luxurious yet welcoming where even broke cultivators could drink and eat like there was no tomorrow. In a city the size of The Maiden's Tears, it was equivalent to a cheap street food restaurant. Indeed, it was very cheap for Cultivators but still extremely expensive for mortals.
"Do you still have private rooms?" Li Meng asked calmly at the counter.
The waitress, dressed in a revealing yet elegant robe that showed just enough skin, smiled sweetly.
"Of course, we do. But it'll cost ten low-grade spirit stones. Would you like to book one?"
"It's the same as before," Li Meng thought with a faint smile. Fifty-five years ago, he had visited this very restaurant. Back then, he couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful waitresses. The food was still the same and the beauty of waitress was still the same but he had changed tempered by time and experience.
Li Meng nodded, and the waitress guided him to a private room upstairs. The restaurant had two floors: the first, lively and loud, filled with mortals and cultivators drinking and shouting; and the second, reserved for private guests.
Li Meng glanced down at the bustling first floor from the railing above.
"What would you like to order, sir?" the waitress asked politely.
Li Meng didn't even look at her, his eyes were on the joyful crowd below.
"Bring me everything on the menu," he said simply.
The waitress blinked in surprise, then bowed respectfully before hurrying away.