Chapter 330 Nighttime Banquet (4)
Standing by the water, Ji Rong watched in disbelief as the multi-headed giant cultivator jumped straight in, and exclaimed, "Brother, why did this multi-headed cultivator suddenly jump in?"
Jiao Jue shook his head, indicating he didn't know, then squinted and said, "Silly bird, do you want those lotus seeds?"
Ji Rong held her lotus leaf to her chest, her eyes darting around. She then twisted her body, tilted her head back, widened her eyes, and struck a cute pose, saying, "I want to see you, big brother, dear big brother, but I don't have twenty Dream Pearls."
Jiao Jue was so amused by Ji Rong's ugly appearance that he squinted his eyes and burst into laughter.
He took the golden lotus leaf from Ji Rong's claws with satisfaction and poured it into the bowl held by the white dragon above his head, saying, "Go there and exchange it for a dream lotus seed."
The little white dragon then steadily gripped the bowl and flew towards the still smug little figure on the water's surface.
He handed the bowl to the little man, and then said loudly, "Young friend on the water, take twenty Dream Pearls and put the Dream Lotus Seeds in the bowl."
The glowing little man looked into the bowl that the white dragon handed him, touched it, and then exclaimed happily, "Please wait a moment." It flew to the water's surface and quickly touched the water with its limbs.
As soon as a ripple appeared on the water, nineteen more six-winged little figures emerged from the water.
They gathered around the bowl held up by the little white dragon, each eating a grain, and then fluttered their wings, holding hands and huddled together head to head, like a radiant lotus flower.
Then, a large, milky-white lotus seed appeared from the lotus stamen formed by the tendrils.
They sang around the large lotus seed for a while, and when the light on the lotus seed disappeared, they joined together to hug the lotus seed and put it into the lotus leaf bowl held by the little white dragon.
The lotus seeds were too big, and the remaining dream pearls in the bowl were constantly being squeezed out.
Seeing this, the little creatures quickly released the lotus seeds, each vying to hold onto a dream pearl that had not yet fallen, and then swiftly flapped their wings and disappeared into the golden lotus leaves.
The little white dragon carefully flew over, holding the golden lotus leaf bowl. It gave the bowl to Ji Rong, then flew back to the top of Jiao Jue's head and hung on Jiao Jue's single horn.
Ji Rong examined the lotus seeds and found that apart from being larger, they were quite ordinary in appearance and there was nothing different about them.
Seeing the lotus seeds on Ji Rong's claws, many cultivators gathered around to look. The multi-headed giant cultivator also crawled out of the water and squeezed over, saying, "Excuse me... this cultivator, may I take a look at you?"
Ji Rong nodded and handed the enormous lotus seed to the multi-headed giant cultivator.
The multi-headed giant cultivator exclaimed in surprise, "What a huge lotus seed..." As soon as its claw touched the lotus seed, white mist was seen to emanate from it, and this mist followed its outstretched claw and disappeared into its face.
Then, the multi-headed giant cultivator fell straight backward and into the water again.
Ji Rong saw that there was only one Dream Pearl left in the lotus leaf bowl, so she reached out her claws to grab it, but the Dream Pearl also scattered as soon as she touched it.
Ji Rong frowned in distress and said to Jiao Jue, "Brother, these lotus seeds are fake. They'll be gone in a moment."
Standing next to Ji Rong, a cultivator with a large face and only a big mouth opened his mouth wide and exclaimed, "Fellow Daoist, those were lotus seeds from a dream, and now they're gone."
"Alas," Ji Rong sighed, spreading her wings and saying, "The lotus seeds have just dissolved like that. I wonder if they'll taste good or not."
Jiao Jue wrapped the sleeping little fox Feng Qing around Ji Rong's neck and said, "If it's a dream, it shouldn't have any smell."
Just as Ji Rong and Jiao Jue finished speaking, the little figures flew out from the golden lotus leaves once again.
This time, they had more musical instruments made from lotus root sections, stems, and fibers.
An old, six-winged little figure flew into the air, bowed to Jiao Jue, and said, "Honored guest, our servants have been impolite and taken too many of your lotus seeds. I will have them sing a song and dance for you, and perform some incense music to repay you. Is that alright?"
Jiao Jue nodded slightly, and then saw the little figures singing and dancing.
As they chanted ethereally, pools of blurry, plate-sized moon-shaped rime appeared in the pond.
Golden lotus flowers and leaves swayed in the moonlight, opening and closing on their own.
In an instant, the fragrance of lotus blossoms wafted to the shore. Upon smelling this scent, Ji Rong felt her mind become stable and her spirit at peace.
This singing, dancing, and playing of instruments was performed in three waves.
The old man bowed to the jade pendant once more, then led the trembling little people into the pool.
The little figures had just disappeared into the water when they reappeared on the surface, flapping their wings and gritting their teeth.
A voice from within them cried out, "It's this poor wretch!"
This poor wretch has too many ideas. He couldn't even get the Dream Pearl, yet he jumped in and tried to beat me up just because I told him a few truths. He's incredibly audacious!
I will definitely tell my lord to drive it out!
"My lord will not listen to you."
"Then strip away the moonlight from it and let it show itself! It keeps coming down into the water and ruining our house."
"That makes sense."
"Absolutely."
As they spoke, the little creatures struggled to push it to the shore. Each of them grabbed a sliver of pale white flesh from the spot before chirping and flying back into the golden lotus leaves, disappearing from sight.
Out of curiosity, Ji Rong pulled Jiao Jue closer to examine him, only to discover that this fellow was actually the big-headed cultivator - the Thousand-Faced Great Sage You He.
At this moment, it was as if its whole body was shrouded in a layer of dim light. Although the moonlight could not shine on it, it could still clearly show its protruding head and seventeen claws.
A monk nearby remarked, "It's really ugly."
"Shh, don't talk nonsense. It has a big appetite. You don't mean to live on its head and make a little face out of it, do you?"
......
Amidst the murmurs of the outside world, Youhe slowly awoke, her eyes still glazed over, momentarily disoriented and unaware of her surroundings.
It looked around blankly, finally fixing its gaze on Ji Rong, before slowly coming to its senses and saying, "Qing... I... used your lotus seeds, I'm really sorry."
After the banquet, I will certainly send you some gifts as compensation.
Ji Rong stretched out a wing and flapped it in the air, saying nonchalantly, "Fellow Daoist, there's no need for that."
"This pool, and all these luminous creatures, belong to the Primordial Sovereign. The Primordial Sovereign is generous, allowing us to enjoy them; it's only right that we return some."
As soon as they finished speaking, a line of large firefly cultivators flapped their wings and came to the front of the pool. They bowed respectfully to Youhe and said, "Great Sage with a Thousand Faces, the Yuanjun invites you to go to the front to admire the moon."
Youhe nodded and left with the line of firefly cultivators.
As the cultivators below ate, drank, and made merry, the large crescent moon hanging at the junction of the sky and water gradually grew fatter with the shimmering light of the waves, eventually becoming a huge half-moon.
Ji Rong felt that the surroundings were getting brighter and brighter, and everything around her seemed to be covered with a thin layer of white silk.
Jiao Jue led Ji Rong along the Jade Liquid Pool, past the lotus field, and to a place where aquatic plants grew lushly.
Many eagles and herons were busy by the water, and whenever they saw a cultivator coming, they would let them pick out spiritual herbs.
Ji Rong also picked some spiritual herbs from a little night hawk. Having received the benefits, Ji Rong, who considered herself a bird of great wealth, thought of giving a reward.
She finally managed to extract some spirit crystals from the bird, but the red-eyed night hawk cultivator repeatedly flapped its wings to indicate that it didn't want them, yet looked expectantly at the golden lotus leaf that Ji Rong was holding.
Ji Rong shook the golden lotus leaf and said, "Do you want this?" Then she handed the lotus leaf over.
That night, Eagle Xiaoxiu's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. He happily grabbed all the spiritual herbs on his back and put them into Ji Rong's plate. Then, as if he had struck it rich, he used his beak to grab a golden lotus leaf and flew away.
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