As Que Hanhai's birthday banquet approached, two rows of musicians stood in the sect's square and began to play music. Amidst the festive music, the guests entered one after another.
The invited guests found their seats, while those without seats stood in designated areas.
On the sect leader's birthday, the sect disciples naturally came to join in the fun. Apart from some disciples who were assigned tasks, most of the other disciples came to observe the ceremony.
As a fourth-level alchemist, Qi Zhiheng naturally had a seat. He wasn't the only one who got a seat; the entire Qi family received one. Originally, cultivators below the Golden Core stage didn't have seats, but some family members of higher-level cultivators had certain privileges and thus also received seats.
Qi Zhiheng led his family to their seats, holding a child in each hand. The children were too unruly, so he had to keep a close eye on them.
Qi Zhiwu and Qi Zhirui also arrived at the birthday banquet with their families. On the small table beside the chairs were fruits, snacks, and tea. Erbao reached out to take a piece of fruit to try, but Qi Zhiheng slapped his hand away.
Erbao looked at Qi Zhiheng with some resentment: "Father, why did you hit me?"
Qi Zhiheng said, "Eat pastries, not fruits. Fruits have too much spiritual energy, which is not suitable for your current cultivation level."
Erbao swallowed hard as he looked at the bright red fruit and said, "But I just want to eat fruit."
Qi Zhiheng took out a plate of lower-grade fruits and placed it in front of him, saying, "Eat these if you want to eat."
Erbao accepted the spiritual fruit Qi Zhiheng had given him with a reluctant air. He sat quietly to the side and ate the fruit.
Da Bao tugged at Qi Zhiheng's sleeve, indicating that he wanted fruit too.
Qi Zhiheng took out several more plates and gave one plate each to Da Bao, San Bao, Qi Zhirui, and Qi Zhiwu.
After receiving the fruits, Da Bao didn't eat any of them; instead, he put them into his storage bag.
Qi Zhiheng: "..."
Qi Zhiheng said, "Dabao, didn't you want some fruit? Why aren't you eating any?"
Da Bao's eyes darted around for a moment, then he said, "I'm going to keep this for later."
Qi Zhiheng: "...Alright, whatever makes you happy."
Then Da Bao stared at Er Bao, who was eating fruit, without moving.
Erbao felt uneasy under Erbao's gaze: "Dabao, why are you looking at me like that?"
Da Bao said, "I'll watch you eat the fruit."
"Oh." Erbao said, taking another bite. After finishing, he looked at Dabao, who was still staring straight at him.
Erbao: "..."
Erbao handed over the plate: "Why don't you have one too?"
Da Bao nodded in satisfaction, took one, and began to eat.
Qi Zhiheng, who witnessed the whole thing, couldn't quite understand what the two children were up to. He thought, perhaps it really is because I'm getting old...
As the strongest member of the sect, Que Hanhai rarely showed his face, and children like the triplets had never seen him before.
Compared to the younger triplets, Qi Zhirui and Qi Zhiwu were much more well-behaved, but they still couldn't resist their curiosity and looked around.
Erbao asked curiously, "Second Uncle, Third Uncle, what are you looking at?"
Qi Zhiwu said, "It seems none of my friends are here."
Hearing his question, Yang Yitian replied, "You mean Fatty and his group of kids?"
Qi Zhiwu nodded.
Yang Yitian said, "Even if they come to watch the excitement, they can only sit in the crowd outside. The seats here are fixed, and ordinary disciples are not qualified to sit here."
Qi Zhiwu and Qi Zhirui finally understood. Qi Zhiwu slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "No wonder I didn't see them! They weren't in the same place!" They had made plans to come to the birthday celebration a couple of days ago, but when they arrived, they didn't see his friends.
"The sect leader has arrived!" Qi Zhiheng heard someone in the crowd say.
At this moment, a carriage pulled by three white unicorns was approaching the center of the ceremony. Eight handsome cultivators surrounded the carriage; these cultivators were all personal disciples of Sect Master Que Hanhai. Behind them followed a long procession, flying on swords to escort the carriage.
Yang Yitian's mouth dropped open slightly. So the sect leader was such a flamboyant person? He even had such an air about him.
He directly transmitted his voice to Qi Zhiheng, saying, "I'm wondering if the sect leader should scatter flower petals again."
Qi Zhiheng chuckled and replied telepathically, "Sect Leader isn't usually like this, but today there are guests from other sects, so you have to put on a grand show to avoid losing face in front of them."
Yang Yitian then understood Que Hanhai's intention and replied telepathically, "So that's how it is. I was wondering why the sect leader didn't seem like such a flamboyant person usually."
As the carriage was about to land, everyone stood up to show their respect for Que Hanhai.
Qi Zhiheng, Yang Yitian, and the others also stood up, holding the children's hands to prevent any accidents.
Yang Yitian transmitted his voice, "The sect leader has quite a lot of influence."
Qi Zhiheng replied telepathically, "The sect leader has great influence. He is one of the top cultivators in the Southern Continent. Even the Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the Tianyuan Sect, which is ranked number one in the Southern Continent, are no match for our sect leader."
Two Nascent Soul stage cultivators from Tianyuan Sect also came to offer their congratulations. Apart from the sect leader who needed to guard the sect, the other two Nascent Soul stage cultivators also came to the scene to offer their congratulations.
Yang Yitian transmitted his voice, "I didn't expect our sect leader to be so amazing! I really couldn't tell from his usual demeanor."
Qi Zhiheng: "Of course. No matter how powerful the sect leader is, the Slaughter God Sect cannot become the second-ranked sect in the Southern Continent by relying on just one Nascent Soul stage cultivator."
Just as the two were exchanging words, the sedan chair was opened, and Que Hanhai stepped out. Today, Que Hanhai was exceptionally dashing, dressed in a red outfit with black trim, exuding both joy and composure.
He walked to his seat amidst the music and dance, flicked his long robe, and sat down.
Que Hanhai said to the crowd below the stage in a pretentious tone, "Please sit down, everyone."
Everyone then sat back down in their chairs.
As everyone took their seats, an elder stepped forward and said, "Congratulations on the Sect Master's two thousandth birthday!"
The people who had been seated stood up again and congratulated each other in unison: "Congratulations on Sect Master Que's two thousandth birthday!"
After the congratulatory greetings, the ceremony began.
The surroundings immediately fell silent, and the children, under the adults' orders, became well-behaved.
An elder, holding the gift list, began to chant the rites.
"Elder Lingyuan of the Tianyuan Sect presented me with a piece of ten-thousand-year-old warm jade."
Elder Xu You of the Tianyuan Sect presented a Pure Pearl.
"Shenmu Sect..."
The first gifts to be read were from the two Nascent Soul stage elders of the Tianyuan Sect, which ranked first. Then came the gifts from the Shenmu Sect, and so on, according to the status of those present. Of course, with so many people present, it was impossible for all of them to be read. Only the gift lists of some high-ranking cultivators were selected, and the rest did not even have the right to have their names read.
Qi Zhiheng's gift was shortlisted, but it was ranked low. When it was read aloud, it was only said to be one hundred top-grade level four pills, without the names of the pills being read in detail.
After the chanting ceremony, Que Hanhai addressed the crowd below, saying, "It is truly an honor for me that you all have come to attend my birthday banquet today. Now, please listen to your voices of enlightenment, which I will use as a token of my gratitude."
This segment was the most anticipated by all those who came to offer their congratulations, as it would greatly help the cultivators gain insights into the path of cultivation.
The Voice of Enlightenment and the Tree of Enlightenment are similar in principle, but the latter is much less effective. Whether one can benefit from them depends on one's own opportunities and understanding.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Que Hanhai took out a small bell.
Yang Yitian was dumbfounded: "This little bell is the sound of enlightenment?"
Qi Zhiheng had never heard of anything related to the Voice of Enlightenment: "Although the bell is small, it doesn't prevent it from being of a high grade. This should be a level five spiritual artifact."
Yang Yitian had never seen a level 5 spiritual weapon before, and judging from its appearance alone, he couldn't really tell anything about it.
The disciples without seats were also getting restless. Qi Zhiheng's group of disciples were among them. At this moment, many people in the crowd were talking. Rong Gu also saw Qi Zhiheng in his seat and excitedly grabbed Ye Hanyuan's shoulder, saying, "I see Master, and three junior brothers are here too."
Ye Hanyuan said, "Senior brother, you're being too excited. You've hurt my shoulder." Rong Gu's strength was indeed quite great.
Rong Gu paused, then chuckled dryly and said, "I'm sorry, junior brother, I got a little carried away."
Ye Hanyuan smiled faintly. Actually, it didn't hurt that much, since everyone was a cultivator and not so easily hurt. He looked in the direction Rong Gu pointed and saw Qi Zhiheng and the others. Looking up, he saw Ye Yunchuan on the stage.
Just then, Rong Gu's voice came again: "Second Junior Brother, why do I feel that alchemist from the Divine Wood Sect looks somewhat like you?"
As Ye Hanyuan is a descendant of Ye Yunchuan, the two share a resemblance of about 60%.
Upon hearing this, Ye Hanyuan looked at Ye Yunchuan, gave a self-deprecating smile, and then regained his composure: "Senior Brother, you have quite the imagination. If someone hears you say that, I'm afraid I'll be laughed to death."
Just then, Ye Yunchuan, who was sitting at the table, seemed to sense someone watching him and suddenly turned his head to look in the direction where Ye Hanyuan was.
Ye Hanyuan was startled and quickly looked away, lowering his head. Even so, he could feel that chilling gaze lingering on him for a moment before disappearing.
After a long while, Ye Hanyuan finally let out a breath, wiped his forehead, and was shocked to find himself covered in cold sweat.
Rong Gu wasn't exactly observant, but he noticed Ye Hanyuan's unusual behavior. He went over to support Ye Hanyuan, whose legs were a little weak, without asking any questions. With so many people around, this was clearly not the place to talk.
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