After Wine and Feast
How dare they attack the disciples of Fu Xian Island? The five Nascent Soul stage disciples looked at them coldly, their expressions full of disdain. This was the pride of the number one sect in the world. This immediately put immense pressure on the Qingguang Sect members; once they made a move, their fate was unimaginable.
Although the competition among the disciples of Fu Xian Island is fierce, those who have stood out and come here naturally understand the mission they bear. When facing external threats together, how can they tarnish the prestige of Fu Xian Island?
Lu Wanqian, supporting the unconscious Liu Zhengguang whose face was covered in blood, said indignantly, "Elder Quan, Fu Xian Island is going too far!"
Quan Deming also felt that things were getting out of hand. On the very first day of the Cultivation Alliance's operation, such a mess had occurred. If things escalated further, he wouldn't be able to explain himself when he returned. He immediately shouted in a deep voice, "All of you, come back here!"
"Elder Quan, he attacked me first, we can't let him get away with this." Yue Qianchou pointed at the unconscious Liu Zhengguang, showing no sign that he wouldn't let go until he was dead.
"Shut up!" Quan Deming was really having a headache. No matter where this kid went, he seemed to be able to cause some kind of shocking incident, but there was nothing that could be done about him.
Seeing Quan Deming get angry, Yue Qianchou and the five Nascent Soul Realm disciples sheepishly returned to his side. Quan Deming cupped his hands to Lu Wanqian and said, "Elder Lu, it is because of the lax discipline of Fu Xian Island. I hope that for my sake, this matter will be let go and not be taken to heart."
Lu Wanqian gave a cold "snort," his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty, and said nothing more. There was really no point in saying anything. Although the other side's disciples had started the incident, it was their own disciples who had attacked first. Ultimately, their strength was inferior to the other side's; otherwise, they wouldn't have let it go so easily. In the Cultivation World, the strong always yield to the weak. Besides, Quan Deming had already personally apologized; they couldn't afford to ignore that.
Seeing that the situation had calmed down, Yan Zhuixing at the entrance of Hundred Flower Inn, waved his hand, and several people went to the Qingguang Sect to carry the unconscious Liu Zhengguang to receive treatment. Qingguang Sect also sent two disciples to accompany them. If anyone were to question why the people of the Hundred Flower Palace didn't step in to mediate when the incident first occurred, they would be truly wronging them. As long as they weren't provoked, Hundred Flower Palace never interfered in the disputes between any sects; this was the foundation of the Hundred Flower Palace's standing in the Cultivation World.
This incident made Yue Qianchou infamous throughout the Cultivation World. Rumors spread that Yue Qianchou, a disciple of Fu Xian Island, had severely beaten the grandson of the Qingguang Sect Master, and that this would begin to circulate throughout the entire Cultivation World from this day forward.
Yan Zhuixing acted as if he had never witnessed what had just happened, smiling and cupping his hands to the crowd, saying, "The Hundred Flower Palace has prepared wine and drinks in the backyard of the Hundred Flower Inn to welcome our distinguished guests who have come from afar. Please!"
After expressing their gratitude, the various sects, guided by disciples of the Hundred Flower Palace, passed through the hall and arrived at the flower-filled backyard of the Hundred Flower Inn Residence. A banquet had already been prepared there, the fine wine mingling with the fragrance of flowers—truly befitting the Hundred Flowers Hundred Flower Palace's reputation. The leading elders of the Ten Great Sects were seated at one table, nine of them smiling, except for Lu Wanqian, whose expression was sour. Anyone in such a situation would be displeased.
The disciples from the other sects found their seats, and Yue Qianchou and his nine other Core Formation stage disciples sat down at a table. Yan Zhuixing, who was greeting guests, glanced over, paused slightly, and then thoughtfully returned to continue greeting guests. A small detail caught his attention: when Yue Qianchou and Yue Qianchou nine companions sat down at the table, the other nine seemed to wait for Yue Qianchou before sitting down themselves. It was easy to miss if you weren't paying close attention.
Although the Palace Master of the Hundred Flower Palace didn't come in person, she showed no lack of courtesy, with the two siblings personally toasting each table. When they reached Yue Qianchou's table, Yue Qianchou quickly glanced at Yan Zixia, seeing her calm demeanor, and simply pretended to be nonchalant as well. The fact that Yan Zixia was cultivating on Fu Xian Island was actually known to very few people on the entire Fu Xian Island; besides Yue Qianchou, even Quan Deming didn't know, let alone the others.
During the meal, the host provided warm hospitality, and the atmosphere was pleasant with toasts and laughter. Although many people had reached the stage of Grain Avoidance and could survive without food, relying solely on the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, everyone is still bound to follow ancient customs, and the desire for food is hard to resist; after all, we are not immortals.
After the feast, the group, having eaten and drunk their fill, arrived at a relatively secluded spot in Hundred Flower Valley, where a large mansion stood. Above the main gate was a jade plaque engraved with the four characters "Cultivation Alliance." The interior had clearly been renovated, divided into numerous smaller courtyards.
After the various factions settled into their lodgings, their respective elders gathered together to pay their respects to the Hundred Flower Palace Master of Hundred Flower Palace, expressing their gratitude for the hospitality. In any other situation, this might not have been necessary; the Ten Great Sects being treated to a meal was already a great honor. But what kind of background did Hundred Flower Palace possess? Everyone knew perfectly well—it was a place that Righteous and Demonic paths had to show respect to. Moreover, they would be operating on her territory from now on; how could they not pay their respects to the master?
However, it has nothing to do with Yue Qianchou and his disciples. They're not going to seize someone else's territory, so why send so many people? They're not qualified to meet the Palace Master of Hundred Flower Palace.
Of the group from Fu Xian Island, after Quan Deming left, a Nascent Soul Realm disciple named Cui Siping was in charge of looking after everyone. Yue Qianchou wandered around the garden a couple of times, feeling bored, and asked Cui Siping for leave to go for a walk in Hundred Flower Valley. But Cui Siping simply said "No." While Core Formation stage disciples were afraid of him, Cui Siping, a late-stage Nascent Soul, didn't care about him. Yue Qianchou was at a loss and had no choice but to sit in the garden with everyone, staring at each other and counting hairs.
After waiting for quite some time, Quan Deming finally returned. Yue Qianchou was overjoyed, finally able to ask for leave to go out for a walk. However, he was surprised when Quan Deming threw out a huge pile of jade tokens, demanding that each person deposit a True Essence into them. Yue Qianchou was immediately dumbfounded. Hundreds of jade tokens, each requiring a wisp of True Essence—that added up to quite a lot! One must understand how difficult it is to refine Spiritual Qi into a wisp of True Essence that one can skillfully control at this level of cultivation!
Everyone's expression changed. How much spiritual energy would it take to recover from such a depletion of vital Spiritual Qi? The higher one's cultivation level, the more Spiritual Qi is needed for recovery. This wasn't the energy consumed during combat, which could be replenished with a few Qi Replenishing Pill and time; it was a complete severing from the Dantian. It's like a withered seedling that can regrow after being watered, but if you uproot it, no amount of water will help.
Yue Qianchou was relatively fortunate, as he had enough Spirit Stone to support him. However, it was truly difficult to refine the spirit stones to a level of proficiency and control. Otherwise, with so many supreme-grade Spirit Stones, his cultivation would have been blown to the late Tribulation Transcendence stage long ago, and he would still be hovering around the Core Formation stage.
A group of people formed a circle, and starting with Quan Deming, they passed the plaques around, taking turns entering the information. After one round, all the plaques returned to him. By this time, it was already getting dark, so he took the plaques and went outside, instructing everyone not to leave.
Actually, no explanation was needed; everyone's spirits were already low. A few here, a few there, all sat cross-legged in the garden, each taking out an Origin Qi Pill to replenish their Spiritual Qi. Suddenly, everyone felt a faint light in the garden and looked towards the light. They saw Yue Qianchou's hand shrouded in a faint, Bai Meng, holding a handful of Origin Qi Pill —probably a dozen or so. Judging from their quality alone, they were clearly far superior to what the others had taken. Everyone secretly sighed; no wonder he was the personal disciple of the head elder of the Alchemy Pavilion, even the pills he took were rarely seen by ordinary disciples. No wonder his cultivation had improved so quickly.
Just as everyone was feeling envious, they suddenly saw Yue Qianchou staring at the elixir in his palm, sighing and muttering, "Damn it! I hate eating this stuff the most. I don't even know how much I've eaten over the years, sigh!" With a miserable expression, he swallowed a few mouthfuls, then pulled out another handful and gulped it down.
He hadn't eaten this kind of thing in a long time; it was really unpleasant to swallow something so hard. Supreme-grade Spirit Stones were what he preferred—they were rich in Spiritual Qi and very convenient. But he couldn't very well take them out and use them in front of everyone! That would scare them half to death. The disciples looked at the pills in their hands, their faces twitching uncontrollably; they all felt like throwing them away.
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