Two days later.
Qingjiang Flat, on the banks of the Lingyang River.
Dusk closed in, daylight gradually faded, and shimmering ripples rose across the river, reflecting the bright moon that had quietly risen at the edge of the sky.
The River and Sky Night Banquet was about to begin. The broad, quiet riverside flat had now become quite lively.
Green jade tables stood in staggered rows. Around the perimeter, the Nangong Aristocratic Clan had laid a Spirit-Gathering Soundproofing Formation, gathering the riverside Spiritual Qi while turning the river wind and surging water into harmonious sounds.
They did not disturb the refined pleasure of conversation at the banquet in the slightest.
Each young talent participating in the banquet's Sword Debate had a seat to themselves, with a slightly larger table positioned closer to the center of Qingjiang Flat.
The many Chu Kingdom cultivators invited to observe sat three to a table, surrounding the Sword Debate seats.
Spiritual Qi wreathed the flat, but voices did not rise into a clamor. Conversation spread in overlapping layers like gentle waves along the riverbank.
"The Nangong Aristocratic Clan certainly knows how to put on a show. Just what you'd expect of a cultivation lineage with a thousand years of heritage."
"I used to hear that the Nangong Aristocratic Clan had no promising successors and was surviving entirely on its accumulated reserves. But looking at this, things probably aren't that simple."
"And these are only the spectators' seats. Look at those thirty-six fellow Daoists who'll be taking part in the Sword Debate."
Near the center of Qingjiang Flat stood thirty-six individual seats.
The Dragon Pool Mountain Gathering was originally supposed to conclude with the Nine Veins Grand Competition, but the invasion from the Demon Ruins had interrupted it.
Since the Nangong Aristocratic Clan had used the