Chapter 262: Engagement Banquet

Three days passed in a flash.

On the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month, Dongshan Academy, located in the east city, was the ancestral home of the Zuoqiu clan.

Night fell, and the festive lanterns were lit.

The vast and imposing nine-courtyard ancient residence, permeated with a scholarly atmosphere, was adorned with lanterns and high-hanging red silk streamers, creating a joyful and auspicious scene.

In the courtyard, some direct descendants of the Zuoqiu clan, along with members of the Jiuli tribe summoned by Lord Yin to lend support, gathered in their elaborate attire, chatting and laughing cheerfully.

Lord Yin's identity for the night was Li Songgu, the patriarch of the Cangli tribe.

Although everything had been simplified, the event remained extraordinarily lively, with intricate and very formal ceremonies.

The Zuoqiu clan governed their household based on Confucian principles, placing great importance on etiquette.

Li Songgu prepared eighty-one dowry chests, each bearing the emblem of one of the nine great tribes. This openly declared to everyone that the engagement was a marriage alliance between the Jiuli tribe and the Zuoqiu clan.

"Snow Sword Tangting offers two boxes of thousand-year snow marrow as congratulations."

"The Wanyan clan of Yingzhou presents a pair of Golden Spirit Gu Kings."

"Leixiao Sect offers a coral treasure tree from the East Sea."

"Lingxiao Palace... offers a copy of the Daoist art 'Maha Karuna Heart Sutra Mantra'!"

Representing the imperial court were not only junior members of the younger generation, such as Ge Xiantong, but also two centenarian grand masters from the palace.

Li Weiyi wore a white brocade robe embroidered with cloud patterns and Qilin motifs on the chest, topped with a matching sheer gauze outer robe. Unlike his usual simple attire, he now exuded a dignified and refined aura.

Yin Twenty-Four and Yao Yin, who accompanied him, were both pure immortal bodies of supreme beauty, yet they seemed like mere maidservants in comparison.

They bustled about without any complaints.

They understood it was merely a performance.

"Brother Weiyi, I specifically chose this 'Maha Karuna Heart Sutra Mantra' for you on behalf of Jiang Ning," Ge Xiantong said, smiling gracefully as he bowed and stepped forward.

His surrounding domain power was formidable, and his eyes were unfathomable; he had already broken through to the Dao Seed realm.

The invisible aura he emitted was like ascending to a higher plane.

In martial arts cultivation, each realm truly represents a new world.

When facing Qi Xiao, Li Weiyi felt capable of fighting him; the difference in major realms did not seem insurmountable.

However, when confronted with Ge Xiantong now, Li Weiyi felt a strong sense of urgency. The phrase "move forward or fall behind" was deeply imprinted in his mind at that moment.

Unaffected by the opponent's Dao Seed realm domain, Li Weiyi responded calmly, "Don't cause trouble. Lord Jiang and I have long since drawn a clear line between us. Aren't you afraid my fiancée will come looking for a fight if you keep spouting such nonsense and acting so recklessly?"

Thinking of the ancient lamp on Zuoqiu Hongting's forehead, Ge Xiantong quickly sobered his smile. "Who would dare cause trouble in Qiuzhou City? Daoist arts aren't cheap, and this 'Maha Karuna Heart Sutra Mantra' is absolutely priceless. When you have time, bring Li Jiao to Lingxiao City, and I'll host you!"

After seeing off the imperial representatives, Tang Wanqiu approached him.

Watching Ge Xiantong's retreating figure, he first offered congratulations, then whispered, "Brother Weiyi, whatever you do, don't go to Lingxiao City. Under Commander Xiao Tian, no one is perfect."

Accompanying Tang Wanqiu was an extremely handsome young man, a pure immortal body.

Li Weiyi could not discern his features, only perceiving him as "exquisitely handsome." A misty aura surrounded him, as if he stood in a self-created independent space-time.

The young master showed no interest in conversing with the younger generation and walked directly towards Lord Yin and Commander Zuoqiu, the space around him warping with his movement.

Outsiders could not hear what the three were discussing.

Li Weiyi sensed an unusual aura. "Who is this?" he asked.

"My elder sister, Tang Wanzhou," Tang Wanqiu replied.

"What terrifying cultivation," Li Weiyi remarked.

Tang Wanqiu smiled proudly. "My sister is just over thirty, and her cultivation is too high, so she didn't make it in time. If she had participated in the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, Snow Sword Tangting would never have lost. Luan Sheng and Lin You would have achieved nothing significant."

Tang Wanqiu's talent was only surpassed by Luan Sheng, Lin You, Ge Xiantong, and Zuoqiu Hongting. His immense confidence in his sister indicated that Tang Wanzhou must possess genuine skill and knowledge.

Li Weiyi remembered this person.

"The north wind knows not spring arrives late, snow blankets the fourteen southern provinces. Tang Wanzhou, the youngest peak on the 'Jiazi Register,' is not an immortal, yet she can fight an immortal to a standstill. She is truly the first person in a thousand years to achieve this, quite formidable. Li boy, we're here to get some celebratory wine too!"

Shi Liuyu, Shi Jiuzhai, Shi Shishi, Bai Shu, and others from the Earth Wolf King's army arrived together.

"Clang!"

With a crisp gong strike, the engagement ceremony officially began.

Zuoqiu Hongting appeared, dressed neither in men's attire nor in a Daoist robe.

For the first time, she presented herself before everyone in magnificent female attire.

She wore a crimson robe of iridescent silk, her long hair styled into a high bun adorned with a gold, gem-encrusted 'bubuyao' (hairpin that sways with movement). Her waist was slender and graceful, and her skirt trailed to the ground, giving the illusion of lotuses blossoming with each step.

Though veiled, her peerlessly ethereal beauty was faintly visible, with eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like clear autumn water.

Zuoqiu Hongting, alongside Li Weiyi, walked towards the center of the courtyard under the gaze of many eyes.

Exclamations of awe rose ceaselessly!

Many had not expected that Zuoqiu Hongting possessed not only unparalleled cultivation talent but also a beauty and figure that outshone all others.

"How envious I am," Shi Liuyu exclaimed, draining his cup. "That Li boy, a mere country bumpkin, step by step, watched him rise to fame across the land and marry the peerless noblewoman of the Zuoqiu clan. It's more painful than killing me!"

Ge Xiantong sighed deeply, "Zuoqiu Hongting is even more stunning than that night. Her beauty is utterly comparable to Lord Jiang's, leaving no room for competition. No wonder he became the Zuoqiu clan's son-in-law."

The murmurs gradually subsided, leaving only the lingering, melodious sounds of strings and flutes.

Li Songgu and Commander Zuoqiu each held a length of red silk, with one end tied to Li Weiyi's wrist and the other to Zuoqiu Hongting's.

At the master of ceremonies' loud announcement, the two exchanged tokens.

Li Weiyi, of course, had not prepared a token, but Li Ling brought one forward on a tray; it was something Li Songgu had prepared long ago.

Upon seeing the treasure on the tray, someone exclaimed, "It's the Wind-Fire Dragon and Phoenix Jade! Divided, they are the Wind Dragon Jade and the Fire Phoenix Jade, both first-rank Thousand-Character artifacts. When combined, they form a third-rank Thousand-Character artifact."

Li Weiyi took the Fire Phoenix Jade and, with both hands, presented it to Zuoqiu Hongting.

Both knew this was merely a formality and did not take it to heart.

However, with so many eyes watching, the performance had to be complete.

Zuoqiu Hongting, her eyes full of tender affection, received the phoenix jade. With her slender jade fingers, she then produced the token prepared by the Zuoqiu clan.

These were two handwritten scrolls from the transcendent master of the Zuoqiu clan's Confucian-Daoist lineage. One was handed to Li Weiyi.

The scroll contained felicitations.

Each character contained powerful psychic energy.

"If this scroll is worn, it can ward off a fatal calamity once, even against a great enemy in the Longevity realm," Commander Zuoqiu transmitted to Li Weiyi's ear.

"The ceremony is complete!"

The master of ceremonies announced loudly.

"Boom!"

Fireworks shot into the sky, and the atmosphere grew lively once more.

Zuoqiu Hongting withdrew, but Li Weiyi was held back as people eagerly came forward to toast him with the Zuoqiu clan's thousand-year-old aged wine.

Li Weiyi, who had never touched alcohol, felt a little tipsy after drinking dozens of cups.

Shi Jiuzhai and Shi Shishi rescued him, pulling him to the table of the Earth Wolf King's army martial cultivators.

Li Weiyi, still feeling lingering fear, quickly clasped his hands in thanks, then looked at Shi Shishi. "Where's Old Qi? Why haven't I seen him?"

"He's now a human overlord in the Dao Seed realm! Just a few days ago, he invited me to his Dao Seed banquet. It's certainly unusual; today is your big day, so how could he not come?" Shi Shishi replied.

Bai Shu chuckled, "Perhaps he's already gone to Fuzhou."

Li Weiyi didn't think of Yang Qingxi; after all, for a trivial matter like finding someone, the Qi family's influence in Qiuzhou City meant they could just send a subordinate to handle it.

However, Li Weiyi didn't realize that because his engagement with Zuoqiu Hongting was imminent, Qi Xiao was concerned that the news might be detrimental to him, so he went in person.

Li Weiyi recalled Qi Xiao's fervent excitement days earlier upon hearing about the underground discovery in Fuzhou and nodded slightly. "That's certainly possible! He's someone who risks everything desperately for longevity. By the way, what's the situation like in Fuzhou now?"

Shi Liuyu chuckled, "Fuzhou is the Jiang family's territory. Why don't you go ask that Feather Immortal? Their Jiang family definitely knows more about the underground situation in Fuzhou than anyone else."

Because Jiang Ning could control seven Phoenix-Wing Moth Emperors and Li Weiyi had fought extensively with dual swords during the Lantern Festival, busybodies linked the two, spreading many true and false romantic stories.

Shi Jiuzhai said, "Definite news has returned: it is indeed an underground entrance. However, the so-called underground immortal abode seems to have been opened tens of thousands of years ago and transformed into a labyrinthine ancestral training ground of an ancient sect."

"Only a dozen li (approx. 6 km) of the entrance have been explored so far, revealing numerous ancient cultivator buildings, hundreds of passages, cave dwellings, sculptures, stone beasts, martial arts training grounds, altars..."

"Venturing deeper, however, presents extremely terrifying dangers."

"Innumerable Five Seas realm masters have died or been injured, and even veteran Dao Seed realm experts have perished."

"It is said that some have found ancient relics and Daoist art stone tablets belonging to a great sect from tens of thousands of years ago. Others have unearthed thousand-year spirit herbs, some even five thousand years old, incredibly rare and of inestimable value."

Bai Shu was moved, exclaiming, "Even thousand-year spirit herbs are extremely rare; apart from the medicinal fields of the great millionaire sects, they can only be found in the Wraith's Netherworld or certain perilous secret realms. Five-thousand-year spirit herbs aren't even found in the millionaire sects, are they?"

Shi Liuyu's interest was piqued, and he seemed eager to try. "To build a sect in a vast 'Wind Abode' world like Fuzhou, and then for the entire sect to sink underground due to some unknown calamity, buried for tens of thousands of years, and now finally see the light of day—the treasures within are simply unimaginable."

"What great sect was it, exactly?" Li Weiyi asked. "Is there any explanation?"

Shi Jiuzhai replied, "It's hard to say. That was tens of thousands of years ago, and the rulers of this land have changed countless times since then. We can only wait for more exploration reports to come back, then cross-reference them with ancient records to make deductions. It must be related to a great sect that once produced ancient immortals..."

"Boom!"

Outside the ancestral residence, lightning erupted, and the earth trembled.

Over a dozen gold-lacquered boxes containing celebratory gifts exploded, releasing overflowing energy that was, surprisingly, lightning-infused profound ice.

The sudden turn of events alarmed the various masters in the courtyard, who swiftly deployed their movement techniques and rushed towards the gate.

"Who dares to cause trouble at the Zuoqiu ancestral residence?"

Shi Jiuzhai and Shi Liuyu had just risen, intending to go out and observe the commotion.

Suddenly...

A dangerous power, so potent it numbed their entire bodies with cold, erupted several feet to their right.

A black-clad figure, previously invisible, materialized out of thin air, flashed forward, and swung a sword towards Li Weiyi's head.

Killing intent filled the garden, and the aura was formidable and terrifying.

"Rumble!"

Shi Jiuzhai and Shi Liuyu, whose strength was enough to earn them a place in the 'Jiazi Register,' released their Dao Heart manifestations. The sound of wolf howls rose within them, breaking through the opponent's mental suppression, and they each struck out with their palms.

But it was too slow!

The two of them seemed frozen in mid-air, only able to watch helplessly as the battle sword cleaved down towards Li Weiyi's head.

Both were terrified out of their wits, their pupils constricting as they realized the assassin's cultivation was extremely terrifying, possibly that of a Longevity realm expert.