Losing three investors at once brought You You's sect-building progress to a standstill. Fortunately, the remaining Yuan family was quite generous; Ling Qi reported that the Yuan family patriarch had personally spoken, supporting any decision made by the Heavenly Maiden. At least this last remaining family member was saved, and You You became somewhat curious about this wise patriarch.
I had originally wanted to find an opportunity to meet her, but I was held up by other things and haven't been able to. Meanwhile, Ji Jianyu's three families have been coming to plead with her, both openly and secretly, hoping she would change her mind. After realizing there was no chance, they secretly started to sabotage things, spreading rumors in Fengtian Pavilion that she was difficult to get along with.
These rumors didn't really bother Youyou. After all, a family that genuinely wanted to choose a master wouldn't believe rumors without verification. Even if they were true, such a brainless family didn't deserve to be your kin.
Ling Qi took this matter very seriously and compiled a large amount of information on prominent families for You You to choose from. However, after looking through them, she couldn't find anyone suitable and couldn't decide on a replacement.
"The Chosen One Ceremony is tomorrow, Your Majesty needs to make a decision as soon as possible," Ling Qi reminded him anxiously.
"The Chosen One Ceremony?" You You was taken aback. "What's that?"
"The Heavenly Selection Ceremony is a grand event to worship the Heavenly Dao and formally select one's relatives," Ling Qi explained. "At that time, the Heavenly Maiden will announce her relatives in public, so Your Majesty's time is running out."
Youyou was stunned. So the Chosen One Ceremony was just a business recruitment and signing press conference? Was there another way to do this?
"Has Your Majesty already made a decision?" Ling Qi asked.
You You squeezed the documents in her hand for a while before answering, "Then I'll just choose the Yuan family?"
"Your Excellency!" Ling Qi exclaimed in surprise, his voice tinged with anxiety, "The Heavenly Maidens have always had at least three families as relatives. If Your Excellency chooses only the Yuan family, I fear it will be difficult to establish the Immortal Sect in the future!"
“It’s not that I don’t want to choose, it’s just that none of these families meet my requirements.” You You pointed to the information in her hand and said that these families were either too small or too large, or they were just there to try their luck and make up the numbers. “Rather than randomly choosing a few, I’d rather have less trouble and prefer quality over quantity.”
Seeing that she had made up her mind, Ling Qi didn't try to persuade her further. Indeed, among the remaining aristocratic families, although some were quite powerful, their backgrounds were extremely complicated. Even if they became relatives, they would likely face a lot of trouble later on, so the Heavenly Maiden's considerations were not unreasonable.
"By the way, where's Xun Rong, that frizzy-haired monster?" You You looked around but couldn't see the figure in red.
These past few days, he'd been popping up to her every now and then. Once his true nature was revealed, it became clear how sharp his tongue was. He looked down on everyone, his eyes filled with disdain, and he relentlessly mocked them. Almost everyone on Floating Peak had been insulted by him. Yet, he couldn't win an argument with her; a few words from her and he'd explode. Despite being thoroughly annoyed, he was still single-mindedly trying to get her to choose him as a relative.
Strangely, I haven't seen him all day.
“Your Excellency…” Ling Qi frowned and couldn’t help but remind him, “This Young Master Xun’s background is unknown. I have been reviewing the records of all the aristocratic families these past few days, but I still don’t know which family he comes from. Your Excellency should be careful.”
"I understand." She nodded. Xun Rong was indeed strange; he always appeared suddenly, and even she didn't know where he came from. But for some reason, she always felt that although he was cunning, he shouldn't be hostile. Otherwise, back in the ruins, he had clearly left, and there was no need for him to come back to save people.
Youyou didn't think much of it and continued to inquire about the Chosen One Ceremony.
The next morning, as expected, the entire Fengtian Pavilion bustled with activity. You You was invited to the main peak early on. A dense crowd had already gathered there; upon closer inspection, it seemed all the aristocratic families had arrived. Above the plaza, a high platform had been erected, upon which were placed incense burners and other items, resembling an altar, presumably for the upcoming worship of heaven!
Youyou glanced at the crowd and sure enough, to the right of the crowd stood an old man with white hair and beard. He looked older than the people around him, but he had a strong spiritual aura that no one else had, which set him apart from the others.
She glanced back at Ling Qi questioningly, and seeing him nod, she realized this must be the patriarch of the Yuan family. The other man seemed to notice her gaze and bowed to her from a distance, to which You You returned a friendly smile.
She arrived relatively early, but before long, the little celestial maiden from the Wu family also arrived. She seemed to have been dragged up, her face still sleepy, her steps unsteady, her mouth open as if she wanted to yawn. But when she saw You You in front of her, her little mouth closed instantly, stubbornly stopping the yawn, but her face turned red from holding it in, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
"Hmph!" She snorted, shook her head forcefully, and turned her little head to the side, deliberately refusing to look at her.
Youyou found it somewhat amusing and resisted the urge to pat her little head.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the high priest announced the start of the ceremony. What followed was a complete set of sacrificial rites, which were tedious and solemn. Youyou was getting a little annoyed. She turned to look at the little dwarf next to her and saw that she was indeed quietly shaking her little arms and legs, her whole body looking listless.
The short man turned around and met her gaze. His relaxed posture instantly straightened, as if he refused to admit defeat. He deliberately gave a light snort and gritted his teeth to continue.
Youyou chuckled and turned her gaze away.
The ceremony lasted for over two hours before all the procedures were completed, and then the main event of selecting relatives began. The high priest, who was in charge of the ceremony, gave a long opening speech before turning to the two and saying, "Two celestial maidens, you may begin announcing the candidates for relatives. Which celestial maiden would like to announce first?"
You nodded, but Wu Yue jumped off her chair first and said, "I'll go first!"
"Please, Heavenly Maiden." The High Priest stepped aside.
The little dwarf immediately looked like a child who had just snatched candy, glancing triumphantly at You You before stepping forward and loudly proclaiming, "I have decided to take the Cheng family of Qin'an, the Li family of Yangxiang, and the Chen family of Taizhang as my relatives! From now on, we will embark on the path to immortality together and sincerely seek the Great Dao."
After she finished listing the names, the heads of the three families in the crowd stepped forward one by one, knelt down, and began to swear allegiance to the Heavenly Maiden.
You You had also read the information on these three families, and they were indeed among the top families in the entire family. It was not surprising at all that the Wu family would choose them.
"And..." Wu Yue paused, then suddenly turned to look at You You, her expression becoming even more smug, as if eager to show off something. She then declared louder, "I wish to choose Long Xi of the Western Dragon Family as my first follower, and to forge a life-and-death bond with him."
As soon as she finished speaking, Long Xi, who was standing at the front of the group, hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward. She suddenly turned to look at You You beside her, her expression carrying a hint of apology.
Youyou was taken aback, somewhat puzzled.
What does "..." mean?
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