Chapter 208 The Octagonal Palace
"I, I don't need it!" Gu Qingqing shouted.
But it was too late; Ji Rong had already dragged her into the mess.
Ji Rong calmed herself down, drew a wisp of spiritual energy from her inner spiritual lake and placed it in a large wooden basin, saying, "Sister Qingqing, let's go together. You come with me."
"Me? I think I won't go!" Gu Qingqing was feeling comfortable from being immersed in that trace of the source, but upon hearing Ji Rong's words, she immediately felt the urge to back out.
She said, "Although I am Jue Jun's attendant, you are now to be recorded as Ling Xiao Zi's disciple, so I will just watch from below."
“What can you see from below? It’s all blocked by the heads of other cultivators. You’re also my godfather’s daughter. I’ll ride Uncle Shan Wu there, and you can stay by my godfather’s side and watch me from the front of the stage.”
Looking at Ji Rongming's bright and expectant eyes, Gu Qingqing could only nod and say, "Okay."
After soaking in the immortal spring, Ji Rong and Gu Qingqing were indeed radiant, but there was no longer a trace of spiritual energy in the water.
Jue Jun was right after all; there was something unusual in Ji Rong's body, so not a single bit was wasted.
After taking a bath, Gu Qingqing transformed into her half-beast form, took out a set of clothes that Ji Zhuang had made for her when he wasn't cultivating, and put them on.
She pinned the jeweled hairpin behind her beast ears, her eyes narrowed, and she wore the standard Dragon and Phoenix Palace smile. Six flowery tails swayed behind her, their red, white, and yellow colors blending naturally and evenly against her clothes.
With such a simple makeover, the three-colored fox spirit Gu Qingqing instantly appeared mysterious and noble.
It was still dark when the ceremonial guard arrived at the gate to greet Ji Rong.
On the ground stood a neat row of black tigers, a row of black bears, a row of gray wolves, and a row of gray dogs, all of the same color.
In the sky, a line of gray pheasants, a line of gray eagles, a line of black cranes, and a line of crows were flying around.
These cultivators varied in their cultivation levels. Standing together in a gray-black mass, Ji Rongyu's feathers shone brightly, dazzling with vibrant colors, making her appear like a divine bird.
Gu Qingqing sighed inwardly, "Jue Jun has guessed wrong this time. Although they did not prepare the Immortal Spring for Ji Rong to use for washing, the fact that they used such a grand procession to welcome her makes Ji Rong seem both majestic and beautiful to everyone."
This shows that the cultivators in Jade Void Palace who arranged the ceremony took Ji Rong's matter very seriously.
Shan Wu, Shan Zhongfeng, and Zhan Shi were already standing beside the honor guard, waiting. Ji Rong opened the door, spread her wings, and flew onto Shan Wu's back. She beckoned to Gu Qingqing and said, "Sister, let's go."
Gu Qingqing addressed Shan Zhongfeng as her godfather and slowly performed a standard salute befitting a member of a prominent family. Then, she quickly followed behind Shan Zhongfeng with short, quick steps. Shan Zhongfeng had never seen anyone perform such a grand salute for him before. He was stunned for a moment, and then said, "Fox girl, I'll carry you."
Then he bent down, cradled Gu Qingqing on his neck, and followed behind the honor guard.
Ji Rong sat on Shan Wu's back and saw that Shan Zhongfeng had already carried Gu Qingqing on his back, which pleased her.
She stood on the back of the mountain, spread her bright wings, and felt the colorless air currents rushing past her face, feeling extremely happy.
Today's apprenticeship ceremony will be held in the Octagonal Palace at the top of Danfeng Peak. The Octagonal Palace was the training ground of the previous Jade Void Palace Master, Ling Xiaozhi.
Yunya was once Lingxiaozi's viewing platform.
This octagonal palace is quite unique; it has five floors, with carved beams and painted rafters, and is covered with array patterns—needless to say, it's magnificent.
What makes this place special is that Ling Xiaozi herself possesses a hundred skills. She dislikes spirit beasts clinging to pillars, so all the movable decorations inside and outside the octagonal palace are made of puppet beasts.
The first floor was where Ling Xiaozi handled palace affairs, the second floor was where she honed her skills, and the top three floors housed her works.
After Lingxiaozi passed away, the Octagonal Palace became Qingpingzi's, but Qingpingzi preferred to stay alone on the Cloud Cliff.
Today, on the highest cliff of Jade Void Peak, there is a lifelike water-green jade statue. The statue has a human face and a snake's tail, and is dressed in a garment of flowers and plants carved from jade of the same color.
She possessed eight hands: one holding a knife, the other a pill furnace, one hand making a grasping motion, the other forming hand seals, the other drawing an array, and the remaining two hands hanging slightly at her sides. She was none other than Ling Xiaozhi, the previous Palace Master of Jade Void Palace.
The octagonal palace beside the cliff has also been prepared.
The old birds on guard at the summit saw Ji Rong and his party approaching the Cloud Cliff in the dim light of dawn and called out, "The time has come! Welcome Lord Lingxiao back to the palace!"
Qingpingzi then led his fellow disciples to stand at the foot of the cloud cliff and bowed to the jade statue on the cliff, saying, "Welcome back to the palace, Master."
Then, Qingpingzi transformed into a celestial being and led his fellow disciples up the Cloud Cliff. He and Qingqizi stood on either side of the statue, holding the jade hands hanging down on either side of the statue, and walked forward through the air.
With each step they took, a giant cloud ladder would automatically emerge from the cloud cliff, carrying them step by step toward the Octagonal Palace.
Upon reaching the palace, the cloud ladder slowly returned to the cliff.
In front of the palace gate, a huge incense burner was burning with the finest fragrant wood, and torches were burning on the stone pillars on both sides of the palace gate.
The cultivators who had been standing on both sides, resembling Gu Lin and his generation, shouted in unison, "Welcome back to the palace, Grandmaster!"
After Qingpingzi and Qingqizi helped the statue to its seat, Ji Rong and her entourage arrived at the octagonal palace beside Yunya Cliff.
Qingpingzi, standing respectfully before Lingxiaozi's statue, recounted Ji Rong's origins, cultivation level, and the reason why he had accepted Ji Rong as his disciple on behalf of his master.
He said, “Master, I have never forgotten your instructions. Therefore, on the day I received the seal, I made a vow of cause and effect.”
Ji Rong brought her teachings to us, which made the Hundred Techniques Seal of my Jade Void Palace self-sufficient. I should have taken her as my disciple.
But Master, Ping was destined to be alone, having lost all nine of his disciples, so he dared not take on any more.
"Master, you are blessed with great fortune and have many disciples. Today, I, Ping, shamelessly accept Ji Rong as your disciple, with the Daoist name Qing Ji Zi. We have chosen Shoudao Mountain, formerly known as Goudao Mountain, as our Daoist practice site. Ping and all our fellow disciples will treat her well and help her establish her own peak." After Qing Pingzi finished speaking, Qing Qizi cast a divination, which read, "Very auspicious."
Upon seeing the divination result, Qingqizi immediately activated his magical power and shouted outwards, "Great fortune! Welcome Junior Sister Ji to the palace to pay her respects!"
The sound burst out of the palace and immediately transformed into blue-green characters that hung in the air for a long time.
Upon hearing this, the cultivators standing on both sides of the palace bowed in unison to Ji Rong and her group, saying, "Welcome, Martial Uncle Ji."
Seeing the welcoming procession ahead, all of whom were celestial beings, Ji Rong also transformed into a celestial being.
Gu Lin bowed and stepped forward. He quickly glanced at Ji Rong and nodded slightly to her.
Ji Rong then dismounted from Shan Wu's back and walked into the palace with her head held high.
Gulin followed closely behind.
As soon as Ji Rong stepped through the palace gate, the stone Pixiu on either side of the gate called out, "A guest has arrived!"
Suddenly, a group of wooden snake puppets appeared on the beam. They hung upside down one by one, looking at Ji Rong and making a "hissing" sound.
As Ji Rong entered the inner room, the iron monkey boys on both sides of the door scurried over from the shadows, some holding fans and others carrying cloths. They rushed forward to wipe Ji Rong's feet and dust her off, as if to sweep away the wind and frost outside.
The warm welcome from the Iron Monkey Boys almost brought tears to Ji Rong's eyes, because these Iron Monkey Boys were quite strong, and their movements made her feet sting.
The fan in the monkey boy's paw was probably a magic weapon. With a gentle wave, the wind swirled and blew towards Ji Rong. Luckily, Ji Rong had stayed in the desolate sea for so many years, otherwise her colorful feathered robes would have been torn to shreds by the wind.
Ji Rong passed the iron monkey children and entered the hall. Suddenly, the twenty-four dragons and phoenixes circling on the eight giant pillars in the hall exuded the aura of the Holy Realm and stared straight at Ji Rong. This startled the bird feathers that had turned into hair on Ji Rong's head, causing them to stand on end. Fortunately, she quickly reacted and hurriedly circulated her spiritual energy to calm the feathers back down.
When Gu Lin saw this from behind, he felt much more at ease.
He released his hand, which was about to form a hand seal, and respectfully stepped back, returning to his own group.
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