Each level of the Water-Control Pavilion had strict requirements for cultivation.
Starting from the second floor, one had to be at least in the Late Qi Refining stage.
As for the third floor, one had to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Xu Changqing and Li Sancai were both Formal Disciples with Wood Spirit Roots, and neither had reached Foundation Establishment. By all rights, they should not have been able to come up.
But the person holding the birthday banquet on the third floor was Li Lingbi.
A genius with Threefold Mutual-Generating Spiritual Roots.
Not only was he preparing to charge toward an Earth-Grade Golden Core at such a young age,
his master was also a Nascent Soul True Lord.
And, naturally, one of the highest-ranking managers of the Water-Control Pavilion.
Thus, Li Lingbi had the qualifications to bring Xu Changqing up here.
By the time they reached the third floor, quite a few people were already waiting.
There were all sorts of Spiritual Roots.
Every one of them was an unfamiliar face.
And Li Lingbi, the guest of honor, had yet to arrive.
Li Sancai brought Xu Changqing to sit down off to one side. "Rest for a while first."
Xu Changqing nodded, then sat down with him.
They happened to be near a window.
Xu Changqing glanced outside.
He could see many people traveling on flying artifacts.
Suddenly, a red carp swam over.
It was extremely plump.
Its belly was round and bulging.
One look told him it had eaten its fill.
Xu Changqing raised his brows and tentatively reached out his hand.
The moment he touched the water wall, he felt a rather obvious resistance.
But with a slight push, he still poked his finger through.
Then came his whole hand.
Before long, he caught the large red carp.
Just as he was about to pull it out, Li Sancai beside him jumped in fright and hurriedly stopped him. "Don't mess around. Some of these fish are raised by immortal elders. If you get one killed, I won't be able to protect you."
Xu Changqing smiled awkwardly at that and hastily pulled his hand back.
After swimming around for a while, the large red carp turned and left.
As time continued to pass, the sky grew darker and darker.
More and more people arrived for Li Lingbi's birthday banquet.
There were not many in the Qi Refining Realm; they could even be considered a minority.
And aside from Li Sancai, all of them were marginal figures.
Foundation Establishment cultivators, on the other hand, made up the majority.
They were not all handsome men and beautiful women, but each possessed an exceptional bearing.
The female Wood Spirit Root Foundation Establishment cultivator Xu Changqing had seen outside the Farmer's Heart Society at Red Maple Valley Market was among them.
If Xu Changqing remembered correctly, she seemed to be called Lu Yuanyuan.
This time, she had brought only one male Dao companion to the birthday banquet.
He was still a handsome fellow.
Tall and slender, with refined features.
In his previous life, he would have been a certified male idol.
Quite a few female Foundation Establishment cultivators looked at him with open predatory intent.
Xu Changqing inwardly mocked, They're cultivating immortality, and they still care about looks.
At that moment, a familiar yet unfamiliar face caught his attention.
A bald head.
A centipede-like scar across his face.
A white crane embroidered on his chest.
This time, he had no weapon on his back.
"You know him?" Li Sancai's voice sounded beside him.
Xu Changqing nodded lightly. "I saw him before at Red Maple Valley Market."
Li Sancai introduced him. "His name is Pei Mo. What a pity.
He originally had Dual Spiritual Roots, but they were Dual-Conflicting Spiritual Roots.
Because metal overcame wood, both his cultivation speed and the power of his spells were cut in half.
Yet his comprehension was exceptionally high. He forcibly cultivated his way to Foundation Establishment through sheer strength of insight."
His words were filled with regret.
It was clear that he thought highly of Pei Mo.
If Pei Mo had Mutual-Generating Dual Spiritual Roots rather than conflicting ones,
then with his formidable comprehension, he should not have been inferior to the current Li Lingbi.
But fate had played a colossal joke on him.
He clearly possessed extraordinary comprehension.
Yet he had conflicting Dual Spiritual Roots.
As a result, his position within the Dongting Immortal Sect was somewhat awkward.
He had started out in the Spirit Fields, later joined Foundry Peak,
and was eventually kicked over to Beast Spirit Valley, drifting from place to place all these years.
Because of this, traces of many different places could be seen on Pei Mo.
They would not let him cultivate Sword Pellets?
Then he would train with a saber!
Spirit Farmers had long hair?
Then he would simply shave his head!
Thus, Pei Mo gave everyone the impression of being both rebellious and stubborn.
Perhaps sensing someone watching him,
Pei Mo looked over instinctively and could not help freezing.
Xu Changqing's face was unfamiliar one moment, yet familiar the next.
It even made him feel "thirsty."
At once, Pei Mo strode over excitedly.
Li Sancai's expression shifted slightly at the sight, and he immediately became wary.
Though he admired Pei Mo greatly,
the man's reputation these past years had not been good.
Once he got drunk, he would inevitably start a fight.
At first, he sought out people to fight.
Later, he simply fought spirit beasts instead.
The scar on his face had been left by some powerful spirit beast.
"It's you?" Yet Pei Mo ignored Li Sancai completely, his eyes fixed straight on Xu Changqing.
"Long time no see." Xu Changqing smiled faintly.
Li Sancai was shocked. "You really know each other?"
He had thought Xu Changqing meant that he had merely seen Pei Mo before.
He had not expected these two to genuinely know one another.
It truly came as a surprise.
Pei Mo ran his tongue over his thick lips and asked, "Did you bring it?"
Xu Changqing shook his head. "I didn't have time this spring."
Pei Mo revealed a regretful expression and unwillingly pressed on. "Then when will you make it?"
Xu Changqing thought carefully before musing, "Summer."
During spring, his focus had been entirely on cultivating Spirit Rice.
Yield trumped everything.
Therefore, he had not brewed any Spirit Rice Wine.
But things would be different starting in summer.
Pei Mo nodded slightly. "Fine. Once it's ready, remember to let me know."
"No problem." Xu Changqing readily agreed.
Afterward, Pei Mo walked off to the other side.
He stayed by himself.
After quite a while, Li Sancai asked in a low voice, "What were you two talking about?"
Xu Changqing explained, "I know how to brew wine."
Li Sancai suddenly understood. "So that was it."
Seeing Pei Mo so thirsty for it,
and hearing them speak so mysteriously,
he had mistaken them for having some unspeakable secret.
He truly had not expected Junior Brother Xu to know how to brew wine.
Pei Mo was a famously heavy drinker. For him to chase after someone to buy their wine, it absolutely could not be ordinary.
Xu Changqing smiled. "Once I brew it, I'll give Senior Brother some to try."
"Alright." Li Sancai was indeed curious just how good the wine Pei Mo was chasing after could be.
"Li Lingbi is here!"
"The Rong Family is here too?"
"This birthday banquet has quite the grand lineup!"
At that moment, voices rose from the entrance.
Xu Changqing and the others all looked over.
They saw Li Lingbi in a purple robe, surrounded by a crowd of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
With an unhurried, self-assured air, he appeared before everyone on the third floor.
And the people beside him were no simple figures either.
Every single one was an outstanding Foundation Establishment genius.
"Come, let's go see my cousin." Li Sancai stood and called out.
Xu Changqing hurriedly rose with him.
Before long, the two reached the front.
The moment Li Lingbi saw Li Sancai, his eyes lit up. "Cousin!"
Li Sancai smiled as he introduced him. "Lingbi, this is Xu Changqing."
Li Lingbi shifted his gaze and could not help looking Xu Changqing up and down. Though the other man's appearance was ordinary, he did not underestimate him. Instead, he said with a solemn expression, "Junior Brother Xu, I'll be relying on you for Spirit Rice from now on."
To be honest, when his cousin had first recommended him, he had not cared much.
He had merely regarded Xu Changqing as an ordinary Spirit Farmer who could share some of his cousin's burden, nothing more.
Yet he had not expected the other man to submit Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice, filled with rich spiritual qi.
That point alone meant he could not look down on him; if anything, he had to take him especially seriously.
Xu Changqing hurriedly said, "I will certainly do my utmost!"
In truth, this was mutually beneficial.
He gave the other man Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice.
The other man became his backer.
A win-win arrangement.
"Isn't that... Junior Brother Xu?" someone beside the Rong Family asked in astonishment.
Who was it?
Zhang Su!
This time, he had spent a great sum just to follow the Rong Family members into Li Lingbi's birthday banquet.
His purpose, naturally, was to meet more outstanding young people.
To see whether he could build connections and cultivate more rare spirit plants.
Yet he had not expected that Junior Brother Xu, whom he had cast aside, would be here as well.
And at this moment, he was standing very close to Li Lingbi.
The two were chatting and laughing.
One glance was enough to show their relationship was far from simple.
Meanwhile, Zhang Su followed behind the Rong Family like a mere lackey.
Though he too was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, he did not have the qualifications to approach Li Lingbi at all!
Before you continue