Another month slipped by beneath the steady hum of formations and the tireless movements of my puppets. I rarely left the Harem Estate, its shortened name already taking root among merchants and builders, because there was simply too much to do. Stone was lifted, walls reshaped, courtyards cleared, and foundations reforged day after day. Dust hung in the air like incense, and the estate slowly shed its emptiness, replacing it with intention.
I worked from dawn until the moon rose, directing puppets with thought alone while overseeing the finer details myself. Cleaning, restructuring, laying channels for formations, this land was being taught how to breathe. Where qi once drifted lazily, it now flowed with purpose.
In the quiet hours of the night, when the estate settled and the lanterns dimmed, I tended to something else.
Over the course of the month, I completed dual cultivation with all twenty maids I had purchased. There was no rush, no indulgent excess, each session was measured, deliberate, and controlled. I guided my Thick Dao Tool into them with practiced precision, releasing dense Milky Dao Seeds inside of them, forging invisible bonds that anchored their loyalty and, more importantly, granted them a true foundation for cultivation.
To ensure absolute order and avoid needless complications, I personally oversaw the administration of Void Seal Pills to each of them, a potent anti-pregnancy elixir that sealed their womb essence for a month. Pleasure and power were allowed to flow, but consequences were restrained; everything remained exactly as I intended.
After a month of nonstop dual cultivation at night with all of them, they formed cores, resting at the 4th Stage of Body Tempering, yet that was more than sufficient. It strengthened their bodies, sharpened their senses, cleared lingering impurities from mind and meridians, and, most importantly, laid a stable foundation upon which true growth could begin.
They were no longer ordinary women.
They moved with more confidence now, eyes clearer, posture straighter. When they bowed, there was sincerity in the motion. When they spoke, there was steadiness behind their voices. The estate was shaping them just as much as they were shaping it.
I sent word back to Xuanlian City, informing my wives and concubines that the estate had been secured and that renovations were underway. Their reply came swiftly, warm and unhesitating. They trusted my judgment completely, entrusting the future of our family to the choices I made here. That trust sat heavier on my shoulders than any mountain of stone.
So I built accordingly.
At the heart of the estate, in the most secluded inner zone, I designed spaces meant only for family. The master room was expanded beyond conventional sense, its walls reinforced with formations, its floor etched with subtle patterns that encouraged qi circulation. The bed placed at its center was custom-made, vast enough to accommodate few dozens at once, layered with materials that enhanced harmony and absorption.
Adjacent to it, I commissioned a massive bathing chamber.
The bathtub itself was carved from spirit-infused stone, wide and deep, capable of holding at least sixty people comfortably. Fire-aspected tree trunks were integrated beneath the structure, paired with embedded fire stones that maintained warmth endlessly. With a simple infusion of qi, the temperature could be adjusted at will, gentle heat or scalding intensity, depending on desire. Steam would rise constantly, turning the space into a private clouded sanctuary.
Beyond the private inner sanctum, but still within the protected heart of the estate, entire buildings were raised for the future. Nursery halls bathed in gentle formations. Study halls designed for children not yet born. A private six-story library where knowledge would accumulate over generations. Five-story residential buildings for my wives and concubines, each room spacious, quiet, and connected by winding corridors. Separate quarters for maids, designed to be expandable.
Training halls were established, one for refined cultivation, another for martial practice. A gathering hall capable of seating a hundred people took shape nearby, meant for internal meetings and family ceremonies.
Further out, in the outer estate, the scale grew even larger. A grand gathering hall rose, able to host hundreds. Dormitories for future attendants and guards. Another training complex meant for mass instruction. This was where the estate would present its face to the world.
By the end of the month, not everything was complete, but the spine of the Harem Estate stood firm. It was no longer empty land. It was a living structure, waiting to be filled.
Today, however, I allowed myself rest.
I stood beneath a newly planted tree in one of the inner courtyards, watching leaves sway gently as qi flowed through the soil. According to my plans, it would take at least another month before everything was ready to receive my wives from Xuanlian City.
That was fine.
Growth, after all, was not meant to be rushed.
With the sun warm on my skin and the estate breathing quietly around me, I resolved to enjoy this rare pause, to savor a day without commands, without construction, without urgency.
Tomorrow, the work would continue.
But today… today was mine.
With the estate quiet and the puppets humming through their assigned routines, I changed into simple robes and stepped out, letting the city's current pull me along. My destination lay to the east of Jintian City, a district whispered about in taverns and spoken of openly only after enough wine, where restraint loosened and desire wore fewer disguises.
I boarded a small local flying boat, one of the light civilian crafts that skimmed above the city's regulated lanes. In less than an hour, the atmosphere shifted. The qi grew denser, heavier with emotion, greed, lust, ambition, indulgence, all tangled together. Lanterns burned brighter here, colors deeper, shadows thicker.
The eastern district was alive in a way the rest of the city only pretended to be.
Slave shops lined the main avenues, far more numerous and far less discreet. Men and women alike were displayed behind formations, some clothed, others deliberately bare to showcase physique, vitality, or "quality." Auctions rang out openly, voices shouting prices in spirit stones and pills, crowds packed shoulder to shoulder with buyers who didn't bother hiding their interest. Many faces weren't local, foreign accents, strange robes, unfamiliar cultivation paths. Jintian City truly drew everything in.
I walked calmly through it all, Perception Eyes open, sweeping past bodies and souls alike. I wasn't looking for flesh alone, I was looking for potential. Latent constitutions. Unstable qi patterns. The kind of raw material that could be refined under the right hand.
Between the markets rose pleasure houses, some elegant, others unapologetically vulgar. Music spilled into the streets. Dancers performed openly on balconies, sheer fabrics clinging to curves, movements slow and deliberate, inviting without a word spoken. Inside, cultivators drank, laughed, watched, and forgot themselves beneath layers of incense and sound.
I entered a few.
Sat.
Drank.
Let the performances wash over me. Watched hips sway, sleeves slide, eyes linger just a breath too long. Yin energy brushed against me like warm silk, stirring the Yin–Yang Supreme Body Constitution in subtle, satisfying ways. Even without touching, even without cultivation, my qi responded, slowly refining itself through exposure alone.
Further in, tucked away behind false walls and whispered passwords, were the truly vulgar establishments. Places where boundaries dissolved entirely, where practices twisted far beyond harmony into excess. I glanced inside one such place, long enough to understand, and then stepped back out.
Not for me.
I preferred clarity. Structure. One man, many women, bonds formed through intent and balance, not chaos. Desire refined, not degraded.
Still, the walk had its purpose.
I left the eastern district just as the sun began its slow descent, crimson light spilling between rooftops and painting the streets in gold. I didn't hurry. Tonight, I wanted to seeJintian City, to feel its rhythm as merchants closed their stalls, lanterns were lit one by one, and the day's heat softened into something gentler. With hands behind my back, I strolled toward the Harem Estate, content to let the city breathe around me.
Passing through a busy commercial avenue, my attention was drawn to a group of women approaching from the opposite side. There were seven of them, three who looked to be in their thirties, graceful and composed, and four younger women in their early twenties, bright-eyed and lively. They were chatting softly as they walked, laughter threading between their words.
Probably noble wives out for an evening walk with their daughters, I thought absently.
We were about to pass each other when a sharp, startled voice rang out.
"Brother Tianjian…? Is that you?"
Another voice followed immediately, trembling with disbelief.
"That is Brother Tianjian!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes—yes, I am!"
I stopped, turning with a puzzled frown. The group had halted as well, their calm shattered into sudden commotion. Eyes widened. Hands flew to mouths. One of them looked on the verge of tears as they stepped closer, searching my face as if afraid I might vanish.
I felt a strange tightening in my chest.
I cupped my fist and bowed slightly. "I apologize," I said honestly. "My memories are… hazy. I suffered some trauma in the past. I fear I don't remember much, nor all of you."
That was enough to break the dam.
Tears fell freely now.
"You really look exactly like Tianjian of the Wang Family…"
"More than a year ago, you went on a family mission with your uncles," another said shakily.
"News came back that all of you encountered a catastrophe. Everyone was presumed dead. Rescue teams searched for days… but your body was never found. We held a funeral."
The words struck something deep.
A sharp pain flared behind my eyes, fragmented images surfacing unbidden. A ship. Darkness. A violent impact. Something attacking from the void. Then nothing. Only cold and silence.
So that's it…
I exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry," I said again, more softly this time. "I truly can't remember much. But please, introduce yourselves. Perhaps something will return."
The eldest woman stepped forward, steadying herself. "I am Wang Juying, your aunt." She gestured beside her. "This is my daughter, Wanyue. These are your other aunts, Wang Junxin and Tang Shuyun… and their daughters, Lingwan, Tianxue, and Tianyu."
The names stirred faint echoes. Nothing clear, only the sense that I had known them once.
As they spoke, my Perception Eyes flickered open instinctively, sweeping over the group. I let my gaze linger a moment longer, letting the subtle currents of their qi brush against me, noting the vitality and latent cultivation in each of them.
Wang Juying stepped forward with a quiet grace, yet impossible to ignore, the sway of her hips, the fullness of her chest, the confident ease in the curve of her waist. Every movement suggested a woman who had lived fully, embraced herself and her power, and carried the kind of allure that drew the eyes without effort. Her aura radiated warmth, commanding, yet intimate, like a hearth ready to consume or comfort depending on your approach.
Wang Junxin mirrored the same intoxicating presence, her body ripe with sensual confidence, chest firm and prominent, her form sculpted with curves that made the air itself seem to pulse in response. Even standing still, her energy hinted at the slow, steady bloom of strength and desire intertwined.
Tang Shuyun, elegant and poised, carried the same arresting allure. The subtle dip of her collarbone, the sway of her shoulders, the gentle tension in her posture, it all spoke of experience, sensuality honed over the years, a warmth that drew your attention while never demanding it outright.
Then my eyes turned to the younger women.
Wanyue, barely into her twenties, held a delicate yet teasing energy, her movements fluid, almost feline, with the kind of innocent boldness that made even the air feel warmer around her.
Lingwan's gaze was direct and shimmering, the curve of her body lit with vitality and the faint thrill of awakening sensuality, a quiet fire hidden beneath her youth.
Tianxue carried herself with a slow, teasing rhythm, subtle sway, and the faint brush of curiosity in every gesture that hinted at unspoken desires.
Finally, Tianyu, eyes sparkling with mischief, cheeks faintly flushed, radiated a natural, unrefined allure, the kind of energy that made the pulse of the world itself seem to pause for just a moment.
Each of them, elder and younger alike, exuded a magnetic warmth, a combination of cultivated energy, natural beauty, and the silent invitation of possibility that only a master could perceive and, if willing, guide. In the dimming light of the city street, it was impossible not to feel the subtle pull, the call of latent qi and the whisper of futures intertwined.
The thought was sharp in my mind: more dual cultivation partners. Every face, every pulse of qi I had just sensed, each woman presented a potential wellspring of energy, growth, and Dao refinement.
In truth, they might recognize this body, but the mind behind it was someone else entirely: a 45-year-old jobless guy who had transmigrated here, unburdened by previous conscience, unrestrained by the norms of morality or hesitation. In my mind, I silently confirmed it: as long as it pushed my cultivation, every capable female was welcome.
I lowered my gaze, the polite mask back in place. "I… I'm really sorry," I said carefully, choosing words that might smooth over the tension. "I cannot fully remember… perhaps we can exchange contacts and meet again another time, it is getting late."
Before I could finish, their voices rose in near-perfect unison, urgent and insistent. "Come with us! We need to contact the other family members. We need to make sure if you truly are Tianjian."
"Come and stay with us," they pressed further.
I tried to protest gently, to pull back the offer with excuses. "I've already bought an estate in the western district, it's not convenient."
But their insistence didn't falter, their eyes glimmering with a mixture of hope, disbelief, and determination. They surrounded me with urgency, subtle pressure in every word and gesture, a tide I could not easily repel.
After a long back-and-forth, their persistence finally relented. They gave up on immediate insistence, but not without leaving a tether behind: a carefully spoken address, a promise to meet, a subtle plea lingering in the air. "Come visit us as soon as possible," they said, and I could feel the weight of expectation in every syllable.
I nodded, committing the address to memory, all while my mind silently cataloged the possibilities: allies, cultivation partners, and a future welling with untapped qi.
Today, I had resisted, but the potential, the pull, would linger, and I knew I would answer it soon.