nucmednet Chapter 144 Mahayana Ritual 2
Chapter 144 Mahayana Ritual 2
A powerful eagle swept in from afar, carrying a middle-aged man on its back. The man was handsome and upright. The rushing wind whipped his robes wildly, exuding an aura of great power.
Before the jade platform, the giant eagle slowly folded its wings. Its sharp claws and teeth seemed capable of easily piercing a hole in the jade platform, yet its descent was completely silent, demonstrating its control over itself.
His master slowly stepped down from the giant eagle, his clothes neat and tidy, his hair meticulously tied into a hair ornament, and a long sword strapped to his back. The sword was sheathed, but the exposed hilt was enough to tell that the sword was extraordinary.
His eyes held a sharp glint, so deep that one dared not look directly at them, yet his aura was ancient and solemn. His gaze slowly turned to the five people who were welcoming guests to the side.
Cheng Jiu took a deep breath and stepped forward, saying, "Greetings, Senior Uncle Qianming."
The other person scrutinized Cheng Jiu closely, making Cheng Jiu unconsciously nervous: "You're very good!"
Hearing the other party's affirmation, Cheng Jiu felt somewhat relaxed and smug for some reason.
"Nice to meet you, here's a little gift." The other person took out a ring and stuffed it into Cheng Jiu's arms.
"Thank you, Uncle Master!" Cheng Jiu put the ring into his pocket and thanked him obediently.
"Very good." Immortal Lord Qianming looked down at her hair, unconsciously reaching out to ruffle it, his eyes full of affection. He saw Cheng Jiu look up in surprise, her eyes filled with confusion. His gaze shifted slightly, but his expression remained unchanged: "Where is your master?"
"Master is entertaining guests at Canglan Peak," Cheng Jiu replied respectfully and obediently.
"Alright!" Immortal Lord Qianming took out an invitation from his robes and handed it to Cheng Jiu: "I'm going to find your master!"
"Please, Senior Uncle!" Cheng Jiu didn't even glance at the invitation, but instead put it in his pocket and watched as the other person boarded the giant eagle again and flew towards Canglan Peak.
Cheng Jiu breathed a long sigh of relief after the other person left. It was too serious. Facing the other person, she felt extremely uncomfortable, as if she were facing her former head teacher.
"That must be Immortal Lord Qianming from Giant Eagle Mountain! I didn't expect him to actually come!" Qin Che's tone was filled with excitement and exhilaration.
"Didn't I see it on the banquet guest list before?" Cheng Jiu asked with a hint of doubt. At that time, it was mentioned that the person was a friend of his master.
"That's a Mahayana Immortal Lord, with the potential to ascend! You're talking about him like he's nothing!" Qin Che was taken aback by Cheng Jiu's words.
The next second, she was met with a beating from her senior sister's iron fist: "What cabbage? I see you have no respect at all."
"I was wrong, Senior Sister!"
"Many powerful figures will be arriving soon. If you say that, be careful they don't blame you. Even Master can't protect you!" Chang Yue warned, knowing her junior brother's character.
Cheng Jiu suddenly realized that the Great Ascension Immortal Lord was already the pinnacle of the cultivation world. Every Great Ascension Immortal Lord had fought their way out of a bloodbath, and none of them were easy to defeat.
So it's no wonder that Senior Brother Qin Che was so excited. She's the one who's not excited at all, okay?
She carefully examined whether she had been disrespectful to Immortal Lord Qianming just now. Her attitude was respectful and her manners were impeccable. Hmm, very good. Immortal Lord Qianming was also very satisfied with her attitude.
"As expected of Immortal Lord Qianming, I could feel the aura of swordsmanship emanating from him just by getting close. It's all thanks to you, Junior Sister, that you were able to calmly receive him!" Qin Che's tone became excited again. Immortal Lord Qianming was also a sword cultivator.
“I heard from my father that the other party seems to have been raised by a giant eagle.” Seeing that no guests had arrived, the two brothers, Gong Cheng and Gong Yu, also joined the discussion.
“Yes, Immortal Lord Qianming has rarely left Giant Eagle Mountain since his birth. I didn’t expect Immortal Lord Qingxu to know him. The two seem to be quite close.” Qin Che said with surprise.
Speaking of Immortal Lord Qianming, he is also a great figure in the cultivation world. It is said that he was abandoned by his parents at Giant Eagle Mountain when he was young. Fortunately, the heavens took pity on him and he was raised by a spirit eagle that had lost its offspring on Giant Eagle Mountain. He did not receive any cultivation education and stumbled and explored his way into the Dao on his own.
Fortunately, he was exceptionally talented and figured out the path of cultivation that returned to simplicity on his own. From then on, his cultivation improved as easily as drinking water.
Five hundred years ago, a family of cultivators coveted the offspring of a giant eagle at the Dao Integration Realm that inhabited Giant Eagle Mountain. They sent people to exterminate the spirit eagles on the mountain and seize their spirit eggs.
Immortal Lord Qianming emerged out of nowhere at that time, and his fame resounded throughout the cultivation world.
This family never expected that there would be a Tribulation Transcending stage expert on the mountain. All the people who attacked Juying Mountain were killed by Qianming Immortal Lord's sword.
The family was extremely unwilling to accept being humiliated by a wild man from the mountains, and they also thought that there was some treasure on the mountain that could enable a wild man to break through the Tribulation Transcending stage.
Therefore, they joined forces with many families to attack Thousand Cry Mountain, including four powerful cultivators at the Great Ascension Realm.
The group marched up the mountain with great momentum, resulting in the deaths of two of the four powerful figures and serious injuries to one.
The remaining one escaped, but even today, the mere mention of Qianming Immortal Lord's name sends shivers down his spine. His spirit is damaged, his Dao heart shattered, and to this day, his cultivation has stalled, leaving him only to await his death.
Meanwhile, Immortal Lord Qianming is trying to make a name for himself in the cultivation world, and no one with any sense dares to provoke this evil god.
Because the other party was raised by a giant eagle and had no affection for humans, he did not take on any disciples and lived in Giant Eagle Mountain to cultivate and raise eagles.
The giant eagle that the other party was riding was not to be underestimated, as it was the offspring of the giant eagle that raised Immortal Lord Qianming.
He was carefully raised by Immortal Lord Qianming from the moment he hatched and was regarded as his younger brother. If you offend Immortal Lord Qianming, he may not care, but if you provoke that giant eagle, no one would want to try the wrath of a brother-obsessed man.
That's why Qin Che was so surprised. This immortal lord, who so disliked humans, never expected that Immortal Lord Qingxu would be on good terms with him. He even expected the immortal lord to come to Guiyuan Sect to participate in Immortal Lord Qingxu's Mahayana ceremony.
Cheng Jiu thought about it carefully for a moment, then said hesitantly, "Perhaps people with outstanding talent like to get together."
"Is Junior Sister talking about herself?" Qin Che nodded in agreement, looking at Cheng Jiu with a teasing tone.
"Isn't Senior Brother also praising himself?" Cheng Jiu didn't follow his words, her tone was disdainful. Geniuses like to hang out together, so isn't Qin Che, who is with her, a genius?
Qin Che said proudly, "Junior sister, you flatter me! Junior sister, you flatter me!"
The person next to him rolled their eyes. Senior Brother Qin Che is so shameless!
"Stop fooling around, junior brother, someone else is coming!" Chang Yue looked at the second guest flying in from afar.
This guest was very characteristic of the Longyuan Sect; he flew over on a sword, and his disciple behind him held him tightly around the waist, his eyes closed, saying something unintelligible.
Ah! Who is it? Isn't that her nemesis, the melon-spoiled brat?
Cheng Jiu recognized Qianli Immortal Lord at a glance, and it wasn't hard to guess that the young man behind him was her gossip boyfriend.
The sword was faster than the giant eagle; it was just a distance away a moment ago, but now it was right next to him.
Immortal Lord Qianli jumped off the sword with his disciple in his arms. The sword spun once in mid-air before landing in its scabbard behind Immortal Lord Qianli.
It was dazzling and imposing, leaving everyone around in awe.
It wasn't until Immortal Lord Qianli spoke that everyone snapped out of their reverie. He pulled out an invitation from his robes and handed it to the five of them: "Here you go!"
"Greetings, Immortal Lord Qianli!" The five bowed in unison. Unlike Immortal Lord Qianming from before, who was a good friend of Immortal Lord Qingxu, Cheng Jiu was the only one who needed to receive him.
But Immortal Lord Qianli arrived too quickly, and the five of them hadn't decided who would receive him yet, so they simply went to receive him last, since there were no other guests anyway.
"Master, you're being so unrefined! Look at my hair, I finally managed to style it this morning!" Li Weixin touched her messy hair, her tone tinged with resentment. "Lei Long is free! Can't you at least have a bit of the grandeur of a Great Ascension Immortal Lord?"
"It's all because you urged me to come over this morning!" Immortal Lord Qianli said calmly, glancing at his disciple: "Thunder Dragon doesn't like carrying people. We should be more accommodating and respectful to our ancestor."
"Ah, my hair!" Li Weixin took out a mirror and looked at herself carefully, her tone filled with resentment and wailing, as well as an undisguised sense of defiance: "It's not pretty at all anymore."
Haha, you're lying, lying to my disciple! Did you forget again because you were in such a hurry to come to Guiyuan Sect?
If you ask me, since you, as the master, always seem to forget about the Thunder Dragon, you might as well have passed it on to me beforehand; you won't need it anyway.
Upon hearing this, Immortal Lord Qianli mercilessly refuted his disciple: "Don't daydream. You are completely incapable of controlling the Thunder Dragon right now. If you were stronger, you could protect your hair."
Li Weixin's rebellious thoughts were instantly extinguished: "...That's too much! That's too much, Master! You've hurt my feelings! I'm going to complain to Grandmaster that you're bullying your disciple."
"Kid." Immortal Lord Qianli glanced at him disdainfully.
The five people standing to the side accepted the invitations handed to them and watched the master and disciple clash. It was clear that Immortal Lord Qianli had the upper hand.
Li Weixin was furious with his master, but there was nothing he could do. Ever since his master became a Mahayana Immortal Lord and turned monstrous, he had never been able to gain the upper hand.
Qianli Immortal Lord ignored Li Weixin's tantrums and pushed him in front of the five people: "I'm leaving him to you. No need to entertain me. I'm going to Lefeng."
Then, without any hesitation, he rode his sword and left the Jade Platform.
Theoretically speaking, the Guiyuan Sect does not allow sword flight, but this is only in theory. What kind of restriction could a Mahayana-stage sword cultivator possibly have to stop him?
Qin Che's eyes were filled with admiration: "Sword cultivator, so cool!"
Li Weixin stared incredulously at his master, who had left without a backward glance, and said to the melon vendor, "He... he just left like that? He abandoned his disciple and just left like that?"
"It looks like that. Would you like to come and sit down?"
Cheng Jiu thought that although Li Weixin was her closest and dearest friend, it was still inappropriate for a guest to stand with them to greet guests, so she took out a set of tables and chairs.
"How's it going with Master Lefeng?" Cheng Jiu pulled Li Weixin to sit down, his tone full of curiosity. Judging from the other's tone, the two seemed to have a very close relationship, and going to Lefeng was like going home.
"I don't know." Li Weixin took a swig from the teapot on the table, his agitation from his master's tea brewing subsiding slowly. Hearing Cheng Jiu's question, he said gently, "I'll serve you tea when you two become Daoist partners. That's when I'll find out."
You know my master is very tight-lipped. As his apprentice, even though I'm curious, I can't pry too much into his love life.
"So, it means that Immortal Lord Qianli and Peak Master Lefeng are together?" The two people from the Sect Master Peak next to them lit up when they heard this interesting gossip.
"It seems that many people in the cultivation world are about to have their dreams shattered."
Chang Yue sighed. One of them was a beauty on the beauty list with a high cultivation level and was also the peak master of the Guiyuan Sect. The other was a great genius who was famous in the cultivation world. Both of them were top figures in the cultivation world and the dream lovers of countless people. In the end, the two of them actually got together. Wasn't that a dream shattered?
"Junior sister, you look really good today." Li Weixin said admiringly, looking at Cheng Jiu's gorgeous outfit.
At first, he didn't recognize her. If it weren't for the fact that her tone was so familiar, he wouldn't have thought that his short and chubby junior sister had grown up to be so beautiful. But it's not surprising, Cheng Jiu was cute and pretty when she was a child.
"Right? Right? I picked this outfit myself. I have good taste, don't I?" Chang Yue said with pride. She was almost captivated by Cheng Jiu's outfit. As expected of her, she had excellent taste.
"Both of my junior brothers look exceptionally handsome today!" Li Weixin didn't forget the Gong brothers, Gong Cheng and Gong Yu, who were standing next to him, praising them equally.
The three of them couldn't help but smile, unable to hide their joy and delight: "Senior brother looks quite handsome today too."
Li Weixin touched her messy hair, her tone tinged with resentment: "Let's stop praising each other for now, let me fix my hair first."
Cheng Jiu understood Li Weixin very well. After all, he was very arrogant when he was young, and he was very concerned about his image when eating melons together. Today, judging from his outfit, he had taken great care of himself. Although he is no longer arrogant now, he still cares about his image.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Jiu and the other two, along with Qin Che and Chang Yue, greeted each other and led Li Weixin to the guest hall next door, where they found a guest room and allowed her to properly groom herself.
Li Weixin chatted with Cheng Jiu and the other two while combing her hair. They hadn't seen each other for many years and had so much to talk about.
This is also a way for them to exchange gossip information.
In no time, Li Weixin had tidied himself up perfectly, looking every bit the handsome young man.
Gongcheng and Li Weixin got along very well, mainly because they were very compatible in some aspects, such as liking fans, caring about their image, and even sharing a love for playing chess.
Watching the two exchange their fans, Cheng Jiu and Gong Yu exchanged a glance and dragged the two outside, saying, "Senior brother, don't forget we have to entertain guests. Senior brother Qin Che and senior sister Chang Yue will be waiting anxiously."
"Hey, hey, I'm a disciple of the Dragon Abyss Sect, why are you pulling me along too!" Li Weixin said, but he did not resist Cheng Jiu's actions.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Cheng Jiu looked towards the reception hall. If the other party refused, he would be the first guest in the reception hall.
"Hey, we're the closest and dearest of friends. I'd go to great lengths for a friend, so I'll go with you to greet them!"
Li Weixin also saw through Cheng Jiu's thoughts. Without waiting for Cheng Jiu to drag her along, she quickened her pace and headed towards Yutai. What was the point of staying alone in the empty store? It would be better to accompany the three of them to Yutai to receive guests.
With Li Weixin joining the team, the wait wasn't so boring anymore.
Unfortunately, the third guest didn't arrive until noon.
A crane flew towards the jade platform from afar, and everyone immediately perked up, waiting to welcome the third guest. The crane descended onto the platform, but the person on it was not a guest, but Mao Hongsheng, an acquaintance of several of them.
He carried a large food box in his hand, walked up to the six people, and placed the food box on the table.
"I heard from my senior sister that you've been welcoming guests since this morning, so I brought some food with me." When Mao Hongsheng said this, he seemed to be bathed in golden light in the eyes of the six people, as if a god had descended to earth!
Brother Mao, what a good person!
As one delicious dish after another was placed on the table, Li Weixin's eyes widened in amazement: "Does your Guiyuan Sect eat this well?"
"There's a special canteen at Tifeng. You only need to pay a little spirit stone," Cheng Jiu explained. He then brought out chairs, and the group sat down around the table. Fortunately, the table was big enough to hold all the food.
Mao Hongsheng, as expected of a body cultivator, prepared a large and plentiful amount of food, enough to satisfy everyone.
Li Weixin ate without even looking up. After finishing, he lay back in his chair and said, "Our sect only has one canteen in the elementary school. I don't know what the sect was thinking."
Every day, I ate big white steamed buns. Back then, I hadn't even started practicing, so I ate the big white steamed buns my master brought me every day. If I had known the Guiyuan Sect's food was this good, I should have come to the Guiyuan Sect in the first place.
His tone was filled with regret and envy, clearly indicating that he had long been dissatisfied with the canteen of his own sect.
Those present couldn't help but look at him with sympathy. Guiyuan Sect also had a primary school canteen, which might not be comparable to Tifeng, but the chefs there were quite skilled.
None of them had experienced Li Weixin's life of eating only white steamed buns every day.
Instead, Li Wei waved his hand dismissively, "Anyway, I haven't been eating it for many years." As he spoke, there was a hint of schadenfreude in his tone, "When I first entered the academy, they provided large white steamed buns for every meal, and they still provide large white steamed buns for every meal now."
"Why is your sect so fond of white steamed buns?!" The people on the side were dumbfounded. More than ten years have passed, and it seems that nothing has changed. Even if white steamed buns are delicious, they can't stay the same forever.
"Of course it's because it's cheap!" Li Weixin didn't understand at first, but then she did: "The sect only provides so much subsidy to its disciples, and they are sword cultivators, who knows how much they need to maintain their swords."
If the food rations increase, then there will be less resources available for swordsmanship. Therefore, most senior students would rather cut back on food rations than save money on swordsmanship.
There's nothing wrong with plain white steamed buns; as long as they fill you up, that's fine, isn't it?
The others nodded in understanding, especially Cheng Jiu, who had a deep understanding of it. A sword, especially a good one, is no different from raising a gold-devouring beast. Fortunately, he had a wealthy master.