Chapter 359 349: Gift-bearing Guests at the Xie Banquet

A mansion appearing abruptly in the vast darkness of night, a group of strange people materializing from thin air, and a wedding feast held in the deep of the night.

Anyone who witnessed this scene from afar would surely be filled with a sense of eerie dread.

This was despite the wedding feast ahead seeming peaceful and lively, with no hint of danger.

The Big White Goose had been honking "GAK GAK" beside Song Ciwan, trading calls with her in a pleasant atmosphere. Everything had seemed just right.

But the moment it saw the feast ahead, it suddenly clamped its wings shut and retracted its neck. The entire goose froze on the spot, as if struck dumb.

This wasn't because of any flaw in the Big White Goose's temperament; it was simply that the aura emanating from the Xizhai ahead was too terrifying.

The Big White Goose was of the Demon Race and possessed the keen senses of its kind. When encountering a being it was powerless against, its animal instincts compelled it to subconsciously reduce its presence.

In truth, however, the Big White Goose's action was completely useless…

Song Ciwan immediately raised her hand and put the Big White Goose into her Spirit Beast Bag. Then, turning on her heel, she headed in the opposite direction.

She executed a Space Crossing, intending to put as much distance as possible between herself and the Xizhai.

But she never expected that one step would, in the next moment, bring her face-to-face with a smiling face!

It was the smiling face of the Welcoming Child at the Xizhai's entrance. The Child was beaming, full of festive cheer, and announced exuberantly, "A Celestial Pride of the Nine Provinces, tenth on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, the Song Family of Yongzhou, has arrived—"

Song Ciwan was both shocked and horrified as a thousand emotions surged through her in an instant.

'What did I just hear?'

'A Celestial Pride of the Nine Provinces? Tenth on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List?'

'The Song Family of Yong State?'

'Me?'

'Song Ciwan?'

…

But this flood of information was nothing compared to the sheer horror of one terrifying fact: she had performed a Space Crossing in the opposite direction, yet had ended up right at the Xizhai's entrance.

Song Ciwan suppressed the storm of emotions raging within her. Composing herself, she immediately copied the people who had materialized beside her, politely clasping her hands in a salute to the Welcoming Child before stepping through the main gate of the Xizhai.

She was horrified by many things, but not afraid.

The Song Ciwan of today was a far cry from the person she once was. She had many trump cards up her sleeve and a solid foundation of self-confidence, giving her a fearless composure.

Or perhaps, even if she were stripped of everything at this very moment, she would never again feel the hesitation and confusion of her past.

It wasn't because she was already invincible—

Of course, in reality, she was still a million miles away from that!

It was because she had experienced so much along her path. She had struggled through the mud, and she had also strode forward with her head held high, buoyed by fortuitous encounters.

She had seen sights that most people could never dream of, experienced all manner of bizarre and wondrous events, and witnessed the joys and sorrows of the Mortal World, demonic hearts and devilish thoughts, gods and ghosts…

By now, no matter what else she might experience or what future she might have to face, Song Ciwan felt she could meet it all with composure.

She would simply do her best—to survive, to live with a clear conscience, to pursue the distant Dao, and to walk the path before her feet.

As for the outcome? What did it matter?

That was no longer the point. The point was that she was walking her own Dao. As long as she could look back without regret, that was enough.

As Song Ciwan stepped over the threshold of the Xizhai, she also crossed a threshold in her own heart.

Such was the path of a Seeker. The saying "examine oneself thrice daily" was no exaggeration. At any given moment, a myriad of thoughts could flash through one's mind, and it was no wonder if a single one strayed onto a divergent path.

Thus, on their journey, a Seeker must not only correct one divergent road after another but also cross one threshold after another.

Each threshold crossed solidified their path and advanced their Cultivation by another layer.

As she crossed the threshold, the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting flowed gently within her, and for a fleeting moment, it felt as if she had touched the threshold of Divinity Transformation.

This threshold of Divinity Transformation mainly referred to the Second Layer of her Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting; her Cultivation had reached a level of Mastery and was on the verge of overflowing.

To advance any further, she would need to circulate the Third Layer of the Heart Method.

Unfortunately, now was not a good time for a breakthrough.

First, she was in a strange and unpredictable place, which made a breakthrough inconvenient. Second, her Dantian, as vast as an ocean, was not yet full of True Qi. Even if breaking through now didn't destabilize her foundation, the losses would be immense. It was not a wise move.

Third, and more importantly, she still had a great deal of Demon Spirit Malice stored in her Heaven and Earth Scale that she had yet to sell.

She had to sell off all this Demon Spirit Malice before reaching Divinity Transformation. Only then, with a buffer of several hundred thousand years of Lifespan, could she truly roam the world without fear.

If she broke through to Divinity Transformation too early, the amount of Lifespan she could trade the Demon Spirit Malice for would be drastically reduced. What could have been worth hundreds of thousands of years of Lifespan might only fetch tens of thousands. Who would she cry to then?

'One can face unknown dangers with composure, but one must absolutely never accept a bad deal.'

Song Ciwan followed the crowd around a spirit screen, and the view suddenly opened up before her. She found herself in a lively garden, adorned everywhere with festive lanterns and colorful streamers.

In a corner of the garden stood a pavilion, and a long line of people was queued up beside it.

All those people—the Bingzhou Li Family, the Chuzhou Zhang Family, and the like—were lining up by the pavilion to present gifts.

Rows of handmaidens stood in attendance on either side of the pavilion. In the center was a table, and behind it sat the Chanting Officer—a woman dressed in red, her hair piled high and adorned with pearls and jade, her face wreathed in a radiant smile.

It was the same female voice Song Ciwan had heard outside the Xizhai. Each time someone came forward with a gift, the woman would call out in a loud voice, "The Youzhou Liu Family presents two liang of Divine Wood Essence and two Coiling Dragon Fruits…"

Her voice was incredibly piercing, seeming to echo throughout the entire mansion. The very space nearby, and perhaps even the space farther beyond in the Void, seemed to tremble faintly in response.

A stir went through the already bustling garden.

People gasped. "The Youzhou Liu Family? How extravagant!"

"Divine Wood Essence... it can revive any Spirit Medicine in the world, even Celestial Level ones! Two liang of it is enough to grow an entire garden of Spirit Medicine!"

"And aren't the Coiling Dragon Fruits even more incredible? A single fruit can grant five hundred years of Lifespan! How many life-extending treasures of that caliber even exist in this world?"

…

Standing at the back of the line and listening to the murmurs, Song Ciwan felt a tremor in her own heart.

Although she had gained Lifespan with relative ease, she understood perfectly well how difficult it was for most beings in the world to extend their lives.

It was no exaggeration to say that a Coiling Dragon Fruit, capable of granting five hundred years of life, was worth a kingdom.

'If you don't believe it, just try trading a Coiling Dragon Fruit to the Emperor of Great Zhou for one of his cities.'

…

Song Ciwan became ever more convinced that this wedding feast was unfathomably mysterious.

'Just what kind of beings could be getting married to warrant a feast of this magnitude?'

'And all those guests—the Chuzhou Zhang Family, the Youzhou Liu Family... just where on earth did they all come from?'