Chapter 47 Northern Wilderness (Part Two) Is this all you're having for dinner? ...
Most days of the year are sunny on the Northern Wilderness Continent. As a result, the temperature difference between day and night is extreme. It is hot and sunny during the day, but cold enough to need three layers of quilts at night.
Although Jiu Qu Chen had the foresight to distribute cloaks to the people of Taihua Mountain in advance, their bodies were covered but their faces were exposed as they walked from the stilted building to Chang Le Hall, and they kept sneezing from the cold.
"Achoo!" Duanmu Tingzhu rubbed his nose, took off his cloak and hung it by the door, looked back at everyone, and exclaimed in surprise, "Where are my senior sister and Ninth Uncle?"
They clearly agreed to come together.
"Who knows?" Guda tossed its head nonchalantly, sitting cross-legged on Shen Wan's head, and said quietly, "My master is gone as soon as I wake up, and I don't know where he goes. He never takes me with him."
Shen Wan chuckled and said, "They don't want you anymore, so you got dumped!"
Gudako angrily waved her fist and threatened, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll..."
Shen Wan condensed a ball of water in her palm. "Hmm? What will you do then?"
Knowing it couldn't afford to offend her, Guda pouted, turned its head away, and ignored her.
Chen Mo had just finished collecting everyone's clothes when she handed Qingxing a communication talisman before saying, "Go inside."
They handed the red paper slips to the monk at the door, who examined them and then burned them all before opening the door.
The first thing they saw was a dazzling golden light. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was a mural hanging at the back of the hall. However, before they could recover from the pure gold mural, their attention was drawn to the nine red pillars in the hall.
Nine mythical beasts are carved on the red pillar. They are all different in shape, some with dragon heads and snake bodies, some like lions, some with mountains on their backs... Upon closer inspection, they look like the nine children of the dragon in legend.
They are all facing upwards, all looking towards the caisson ceiling.
Following their gaze upwards, they discovered a magnificent star map there, and judging from its shimmering material, it was probably made of spirit stones.
"Wow!" Guda craned her neck, her eyes filled with longing for spirit stones. "So rich!"
Duanmu Tingzhu glanced at it and said disdainfully, "What's so special about this? You've never seen anything like it."
He didn't lower his voice, and people nearby were already looking over. Wenren Xi quickly covered his mouth and whispered, "Be careful, young master, this is someone else's house."
"When will the elder arrive?" Xie Yuzhou ignored the two of them and asked Shen Wan instead.
Shen Wan raised her chin and pointed towards the door: "Look, they just came in. Ninth Martial Uncle and Senior Sister are following behind."
Xie Yuzhou looked over and indeed saw the three latecomers.
Qingxing's cheeks were unusually red, whether from the fur of the cloak or some other reason, it was hard to tell.
As soon as the gate opened, she saw several fellow disciples inside the hall. After quickly informing Jiu Quchen, she didn't even look at her master and almost instantly teleported to Shen Wan's side.
Jiu Qu Chen stood there, head tilted, looking completely bewildered.
What was his apprentice muttering just now?
"So you still know to come? I thought you didn't want me, your book spirit, anymore." Guda said coolly to Qingxing while perched on Xie Yuzhou's shoulder.
Qingxing picked it up with both hands, poked its cheek with her other hand, and whispered, "I don't want you anymore, I'm giving you to Chen Wan."
Gudako immediately smiled apologetically: "I was just kidding."
They arrived early, and apart from a group of Qiushan Sect disciples dressed in strange attire, there weren't many disciples from other sects in the hall.
Ji Kun, who had come to the teleportation array earlier to make the handover, was now standing in the center, exchanging something with the cultivators. Qingxing had heard people say that as the deputy deacon of the Qiushan Sect, Ji Kun's greatest skill was not swordsmanship, but his ability to "multitask".
For example, at this moment, he appeared to be listening intently to his disciples, but his peripheral vision was constantly scanning his surroundings. He had noticed this area when the gate opened, and now that he saw Xuan Ying arrive, he went up to greet him and exchanged a few pleasantries.
The junior brothers and sisters went to the side to study the decorations of the main hall. Qingxing, having nothing to do, stood by the pillar and quietly watched Xuanying and Jikun.
A moment later, she tugged at Chen Mo's sleeve, who was standing next to her, and asked cautiously, "Senior Sister, why do I feel... Elder Xuan Ying doesn't seem very happy?"
Although this elder, like Chen Mo, usually had a rather expressionless face and an imposing aura, making it seem as if those around her owed them a great debt when she stood in a crowd, at this moment her eyelids were drooping slightly more than usual. Qingxing wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the corners of the elder's mouth were also slightly downturned.
It doesn't seem like she owes eight hundred taels; it's more like Ji Kun across the street stole all her family's wealth, and she came here specifically to collect the debt.
Moreover, judging from her demeanor, Ji Kun was still seen as a scoundrel in her eyes.
“A little.” Chen Mo nodded and explained, “Master doesn’t like Ji Kun.”
Qingxing asked in surprise, "Really?"
Does Elder Xuan Ying have people he dislikes?
Chen Mo: "Ji Kun talks too much; Master prefers quiet."
Qingxing: "So that's how it is."
She couldn't help but find it a little funny: Ji Kun thought it was polite and considerate to keep the guests from being alone at all times, but he never expected that this approach would be completely ineffective for Elder Xuan Ying.
The expressions of the two were so amusing that Qingxing, not wanting to move, stayed put, wondering how long it would take Elder Xuanying to get impatient and interrupt the other person.
But only a short time had passed, and the palace doors opened and closed repeatedly as representatives from various sects from all over the world arrived one after another. The voices inside Chang Le Palace gradually increased, and before Xuan Ying could even become impatient, Ji Kun had already taken his leave to attend to the other guests.
Everyone who entered wore disciple robes bearing their own sect's insignia, and even their headdresses reflected the regional characteristics of their respective sects. Qingxing observed carefully and counted more than ten sects present in the hall so far.
For this banquet, the Qiushan Sect adopted a more casual approach, with no fixed seating, allowing guests to move around freely and fostering camaraderie among sects.
As the start time of the banquet drew closer and everyone had arrived, Ji Kun said "Excuse me" to the person in front of him, then walked to the center of the hall and snapped his fingers.
The movement was small, yet it was enough to attract everyone's attention. All eyes turned to the center, where Ji Kun smiled and raised his hands. He clapped his hands twice with his fingers together, the crisp sound echoing throughout the hall.
With a "click," the door was opened from the outside. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw four long tables floating in, enveloped in spiritual energy. They hovered and landed straight down in the positions that Ji Kun had marked out in advance.
"Welcome to our sect," Ji Kun said, clasping his hands in a fist salute as he spun around. "Autumn Mountain hasn't been this lively in a long time. The trial is approaching, and disciples from all sects will be rivals then. But before that, cultivators across the land fight demons and defend the righteous path, so we are all on the same side and friends. Since you have come from afar, our sect will certainly treat you well. The Northern Wilderness is vast and rich in resources, and I believe tonight's banquet will not disappoint you."
As soon as the words were spoken, a group of cultivators dressed in black and purple robes and adorned with silver accessories filed in. The ornaments in their hair jingled melodiously with their movements.
With smiles on their faces, they carried plates in one hand and performed acrobatics as they passed through the crowd, occasionally teasing the heretical cultivators, causing the young men to blush frequently.
As Qingxing was watching the commotion, a handsome young man with fair skin and bright eyes walked towards her carrying a plate and reached out to touch her face.
She slightly turned her head to avoid him. The young man was stunned for a moment, then gave her a wicked smile. He pointed his free hand into the air, and a purple butterfly flew out, fluttering its wings and landing on Qingxing's shoulder.
Qingxing: "?"
She looked up again, but the young man had already walked away.
"What is this?" Chen Mo asked curiously, pointing at the butterfly.
Qingxing waved her hand, scattering the butterflies: "I don't know."
"Hahahaha!" Wenren Xi returned at some point, having witnessed everything that had just happened. He now spoke in a mocking tone, "This is a spirit butterfly unique to Miao Poison Sword Technique. It was originally used for transmitting sound. But later, with the development of more convenient sound transmission talismans, the disciples developed new uses for the spirit butterfly."
Qingxing asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Wenren Xi smiled mysteriously: "Guess."
Chen Mo said expressionlessly, "To exchange affections?"
Qingxing turned her head and looked at her with Wenren Xi, both of them filled with shock.
Chen Mo silently looked away: "I guessed."
"Okay." Wenren Xi shrugged. "Congratulations, you guessed right."
He then turned to look at Qingxing: "Our junior sister is truly outstanding; that young man has a crush on you."
Qingxing glanced subconsciously at the pale purple figure not far away, who was pondering over the plates on the long table, and said calmly, "Senior brother, don't talk nonsense."
"Alright, alright, I was just talking nonsense. Just wait and see if that boy comes looking for you in the next month." Wenren Xi walked away indifferently. He went to the long table, wanting to get some food, but as soon as he got close, he was startled and cried out "Ouch!" and covered his nose in embarrassment.
"What's wrong?" Qingxing heard the commotion and came closer to look at the long table, but she was also stunned.
The reason is simple: this long table is covered with all sorts of densely packed insects.
There were bamboo shoot worms and cicada nymphs roasted black, centipedes and scorpions with terrifying shapes that made one's hair stand on end, and several bee pupae and bamboo worms tied together vertically in segments... In short, everything that Qingxing had ever seen, stepped on, or released could be found on the table.
The plate was set up by the group of boys who had just come in, covered with a layer of lush green banana leaves, which made the insects' shapes even clearer.
Qingxing glanced around briefly, then turned around at the same time as Chen Mo and Wenren Xi, slowly moving a little further away from the table.
Wenren Xi chuckled twice: "A cultivator shouldn't only care about their appetite. These foods look extremely turbid. For the sake of cultivation, I'd better not join in. Senior Sister, Junior Sister, if you like them, you can try them."
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