Daoist Competition

Zhang Yan glanced at her, nodded, and said, "Miss Shang is indeed not easy, Luo Daoist, I have given you hundreds of cultivation techniques, choose one and teach it to her."

Luo Xiao chuckled, gently pushed Shang Shang, and said, "Sister, aren’t you going to thank the master?"

Shang Shang was infinitely delighted, tears welled up as she knelt down, and said, "The maid thanks the master."

Zhang Yan smiled and nodded, "No need to thank me, you should thank Luo Daoist. Go prepare a banquet, we shall celebrate for her today."

Following the instructions, Shang Shang stood up, took out a handkerchief, wiped away her tears, and said, "Let the master laugh at me, the maid will go and prepare."

Just as she was about to move, suddenly, a long call was heard from the northeast corner, it was unclear which level of the building it came from, sounding like a long cry of a goose, a melodious phoenix call, followed by a loud tremor, stirring the spiritual energy within the cave mansion, causing an unusual sensation in everyone’s heart and spirit.

Luo Xiao seemed thoughtful, looked up at Zhang Yan, and exclaimed: "Could this be...?"

Zhang Yan waved his sleeve and laughed, "It should be, we’ll see soon."

Seeing the two of them speaking in riddles, many were puzzled, but those with spiritual wisdom, familiar with the situation in the mansion, like the Wang sisters, with a turn of clever thought, guessed the reason.

At this time, a harmonious aura flowed into the hall, everyone looked toward the entrance and saw a long-haired woman in white walking in, she was like a pure white lotus, her aura clear and peaceful, returning to simplicity and truth, until she reached the center of the hall, where she bowed gracefully towards Zhang Yan and said, "I greet the Pavilion Master."

Zhang Yan didn’t act presumptuous as usual, but returned the greeting solemnly, saying, "True Master Lu, no need for formality."

This woman was Lu Mei Niang, she had crossed the gate and achieved the Nascent Soul Realm, a feat beyond the reach of many demon cultivators.

Even she felt melancholic, although achieving Nascent Soul was a matter worth celebrating, her lifespan nearly six hundred, entering the Phenomenon Realm would be extremely elusive in this life.

Zhang Yan laughed heartily and said, "Unexpectedly, even Luo Daoist has broken through, we should certainly celebrate greatly."

With a Nascent Soul True Master overseeing the array formation restriction in the Zhao You Heavenly Pond, it was vastly different from before. From now on, there would no longer be fear of enemies arriving at their doorstep. In the future, when he ventures out, he can do so with peace of mind.

Following Zhang Yan’s command, Shang Shang immediately went to arrange, mobilizing all the maids within the mansion for the banquet.

In just a quarter of an hour, the maids were like butterflies fluttering amongst flowers, moving through the hall, continuously serving exquisite delicacies.

With the myriad of rare fish, exotic beasts, precious fruits, and delightful wines in the Zhao You Heavenly Pool, external guests were usually few. The mansion mostly consisted of Daoist cultivators, rarely using them for food. Taking this opportunity today, they were all brought forth, filling the tables before the hall.

Wang Caiting, being of a prestigious family and fond of lively affairs, mumbled at this moment, "Wine without song, so dull, so dull."

Luo Xiao’s ears caught her words, glanced at her, and said with a playful smile, "Miss Wang speaks rightly, Sister Shang’s clan members are indeed skilled in singing and dancing, but they need to dance in water to showcase their wonders."

The Fish Maid Beauty was renowned for her singing and dancing, especially the dance itself, unparalleled, but as it was a dance performed in water, few in the world had seen it.

Lu Mei Niang smiled softly and said, "There’s nothing difficult about this, watch as I perform a little trick."

She raised her hand, pinched her fingers, capturing an aura, muttered incantations, and pointed downward.

Suddenly, the sound of flowing water was heard, drawing a clear spring from the water basin in the corner of the hall, falling onto the ground, with countless water vapor coming from all directions, gradually gathering into a pool, spanning a hundred feet, sufficient for dozens of Fish Maids to dance within.

Zhang Yan had never seen the Fish Maid’s dance, just about to observe carefully, when the Mirror Spirit came from an unknown place, whispering by his ear, "Master, Xiao Yi seeks audience, claiming to have something important to convey."

Zhang Yan’s expression remained unchanged, using the pretext of drinking, said, "Bring him to the rear hall to wait, I shall see him shortly."

During the grand competition, Zhang Yan promised Xiao Ti to return Xiao He to the clan, but Xiao Yi had long seized the body, and taken it away, a pawn Zhang Yan casually laid, without much concern. This person was bold, ruthless, and wise to some degree, wouldn’t come here without reason, thus decided to meet him.

Xiao Yi was led to wait in the rear hall, without the slightest impatience, he calmly waited for an hour, before seeing Zhang Yan stride in, immediately rose, bowed deeply, and respectfully said, "Greetings to the Pavilion Master."

Zhang Yan gestured for him to sit down, seated himself in the main seat, and asked solemnly, "If you seek me, there must be a reason, is there something important?"

Xiao Yi paused, then whispered, "Not something particularly critical, just someone suspicious, who might be a threat to the Pavilion Master, I had a rare chance to leave the mansion today, thus came specifically to report to you."

He said this and looked up, seeing Zhang Yan listening, continued, "Half a year ago, in the Xiao Clan, a new clan member arrived, named Xiao Ao, also possessing Xuan Guang Cultivation, though claiming to be a Xiao Clan person, said to have cultivated for over thirty years, strangely, I had never heard of him before."

He laughed at himself, saying, "Heh, don’t mind me if you laugh, but it’s a habit of mine to be suspicious and overthink, so sent trusted friends to investigate, found nothing, don’t even know who he cultivated with all these years. If he’s an ordinary disciple, why keep himself so hidden? Thus, I boldly speculate, there must be a problem with his origin."

...

...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)