Chapter 230: Chapter 182: The Wedding Ceremony, the Divine Mysterious Drum Sounds
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In the deep and serene grand hall of the Profound City Central Palace.
The big, chubby girl, who was busy at work, suddenly looked up and saw the graceful figure seated upon the Jade Platform.
Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but she felt that Lady Xuan’nv’s form seemed more solid, having lost some of its ethereal, illusory quality.
"Your Ladyship, the wedding venue is all set up. Do you find it suitable?"
The big, chubby girl asked with a chuckle.
"It is merely for the pomp and ceremony of the Yang Marriage. There is no need to place too much importance on it."
Lady Xuan’nv folded her hands and pressed them gently against her lower abdomen, speaking in a soft voice.
"Gui’er, bring the Phoenix Coronet and robes of rosy clouds. Have Xiaoqiao try them on for me."
Confusion appeared on the big, chubby girl’s nine heads. ’Her Ladyship previously said that the ritual of bowing to Heaven and Earth must not be taken lightly, or it could easily cause the Yang Marriage to fail.’
’Why the sudden change of tune?’
"The Phoenix Coronet and robes of rosy clouds have long been ready. The robes are made from seventy-two bolts of Cloud-Woven Brocade from Mount Xia, specially woven with a set of Cyan Jade shuttles that are also Magical Artifacts."
"The Phoenix Coronet is the ’Twin Phoenixes Flanking a Dragon’ model, adorned with ’Nine Golden Pheasants and Four Phoenixes,’ all made to the highest specifications."
The big, chubby girl strode forward and quickly brought the Phoenix Coronet and robes of rosy clouds from the rack to the front of the hall.
"Have Xiaoqiao put them on and complete the ’Bowing to Heaven and Earth’ ceremony in my stead,"
Lady Xuan’nv said faintly.
"Oh."
The big, chubby girl shrank back, not daring to ask if this would jeopardize the Yang Marriage.
After Gui’er hurried away, Lady Xuan’nv lowered her head and closed her eyes. ’Having obtained this bit of True Yang, all preparations are complete.’
’Only the final step, "Bowing to Heaven and Earth," remains. Then I can reconstruct a physical body for the Mortal World and escape Fengdu, where I have not seen the light of day for tens of millions of years.’
’This karmic entanglement has bound us together, you in me and I in you. It will be exceedingly difficult to separate myself from the Shao Yang in the future.’
Lady Xuan’nv sighed softly. Young Monarch Jiang was a fine man, but he was ultimately Xiaoqiao’s fine man.
Although she had Xiaoqiao’s tacit approval, it was still highly improper for her to have secretly taken his True Yang for the sake of her own Dao Path.
’Just this once...’
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There was no sun or moon to mark the time in the Profound City Central Palace. Jiang Yi could only calculate the passage of time by the internal rhythm of his own body. About two days had passed since his "spiritual communion" with Lady Xuan’nv.
"Groom! The auspicious time has arrived! Please follow Gui’er to change your clothes..."
The big, chubby girl’s voice rang out from outside the side hall. Jiang Yi stood up, holding the Cat Master, and walked out the door.
He rounded two corridors and arrived at a simply furnished Warm Pavilion. Inside, a set of groom’s wedding attire was hanging on a clothing rack.
In two lifetimes, this was his first time getting married.
Jiang Yi found the experience quite novel. He declined the big, chubby girl’s offer to help and changed into the wedding clothes himself. After a quick adjustment in front of the Copper Mirror, the originally serene-looking youth gained a festive air, making him appear even more dashing.
"The Groom looks so sharp!"
The big, chubby girl chuckled and turned to lead the way.
"The ceremony will take place on the Moon Terrace outside the main hall of the Central Palace. Her Ladyship has already given the instructions."
Jiang Yi put down the Cat Master, nodded, and followed. Along the way, he saw large red silk ribbons wrapped around the pillars and beams. Dragon-and-phoenix wedding candles were already lit, their flickering flames diluting some of the Profound City Central Palace’s deep, somber Qi Mechanism.
In the center of the Moon Terrace stood the Heaven and Earth Altar, covered with a large red cloth embroidered with gold. Five items—a measuring cup, a scale, a mirror, a pair of scissors, and an abacus—were arranged neatly upon it.
The Wooden Envelope Appointment Letter was placed in the very center, with fragrant smoke curling up and lingering before the altar.
On either side, there seemed to be many figures standing. They were dressed differently; some were chatting and laughing pleasantly, while others exuded a stern, sharp aura.
The one thing they had in common was that every single one of them wore a sword.
"Who are they?"
Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow.
"The original purpose for establishing the Ghost Dao was actually to shelter the lonely souls of Sword Cultivators who perished in the western campaign to exterminate the Buddha... Many of the resentful spirits in the River of Oblivion are formed from the unresolved grievances of Sword Cultivators, accumulated over tens of millions of years,"
the big, chubby girl whispered.
’So that’s how it is.’
Jiang Yi thought of Qiao Yu boating on the River of Oblivion, using a fishing rod to catch resentful souls and taking them to be buried under the divine peach wood of Mount Shuo.
’The ones floating in the River of Oblivion are all Sword Cultivators, all our predecessors. Miss Xiaoqiao is acting as a ferryman for the Pavilion of Sword Discourse.’
Jiang Yi’s gaze swept across the area, and he soon spotted the figure on the eastern side of the Moon Terrace. The woman was dressed in a Phoenix Coronet and robes of rosy clouds. Her charming, lively face now wore a dignified expression, though a hint of imperceptible shyness and unease was hidden in her features.
It was none other than Qiao Yu.
"My sister... she couldn’t get away, so she asked me to..."
"To be joined in marriage with you, Miss Xiaoqiao, was my wish to begin with."
Jiang Yi stepped forward and said softly.
Just then, the big, chubby girl walked to the center of the Moon Terrace, cleared her throat, and, mimicking a mortal world master of ceremonies, shouted at the top of her lungs:
"The auspicious time has arrived—let the wedding ceremony begin!"
As her voice fell, the deep Qi Mechanism that pervaded the Profound City Central Palace suddenly stirred. The fragrant smoke before the Heaven and Earth Altar became more orderly, rising as a single, thin column.
Jiang Yi and Qiao Yu stood side by side, bowing to the Heaven and Earth Altar.
"First bow, to Heaven and Earth—"
The two of them bent at the waist in unison.
Jiang Yi could clearly feel several Qi Mechanisms resonating with him from the unseen world. One was the Shao Yang, originating from above the Great Void. Another was the Ghost Dao, emanating from the Netherworld below.
There was a third, but it was too faint to identify.
"Second bow, to the Elders—"
Jiang Yi’s parents had passed away long ago, and neither Lady Xuan’nv nor Qiao Yu had any living relatives. Only the lonely souls of the Sword Cultivators were present to witness the ceremony.
The pair bowed again, paying respects to the memorial tablets placed beside the Heaven and Earth Altar. The candle flames leaped violently with a soft CRACKLE, as if in response.
"Third bow, to each other—"
At this cry, Qiao Yu’s cheeks flushed an even deeper red. She lowered her head slightly, not daring to meet Jiang Yi’s gaze.
Jiang Yi’s expression was calm as he bowed to Qiao Yu.
Their figures overlapped in the candlelight. As they bowed, a certain Qi Mechanism seemed to flow silently between them.
The red strings tied around their wrists became more distinct.
"The ceremony is complete—"
The big, chubby girl cheered loudly. The figures on both sides began to disperse. As Jiang Yi straightened up, he finally perceived what the third Qi Mechanism was.
It was the Sword Dao, which had been annihilated for 120,000 years!
Somehow, this wedding ceremony had caused it to pour a weighty measure of its destiny into them!
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A great rumbling sound echoed between heaven and earth, as if a mountain range were collapsing.
The cultivators hurriedly withdrew from Fengdu, Liu Huan among them.
He was filled with regret, his eyes revealing a lingering reluctance to leave.
His Sleeve Pouch was stuffed to the brim, mostly with Yin Fungi and Yin Horses useful for cultivation. There were even a few stalks of exceptionally old "Xuan Yin Grass," which was the Main Material for refining the Muscle Regeneration Pill.
’I’ll be a Loose Cultivator from now on. I must prepare more Spiritual Materials and Resources.’
Liu Huan sighed to himself. A "remnant of a Daoist Lineage" like Fengdu—not claimed by any Ancestral Sect or Grand Sect and completely open to Lower Cultivators—was a rare find in the entire Nanzhan Continent.
Unless they had a use for Lower Cultivators, Upper Cultivators rarely showed them any mercy.
Opportunities like Grotto-Heavens falling to earth, Blessed Lands manifesting in the world, or even the hidden treasures of a True Monarch or the private manors of a True Master were all located long in advance by the Daoist Monarchs and Great Powers of the Ancestral Sects using their Great Magical Power. When would a Lower Cultivator ever get a chance to touch them?
"Old Yang, what a pity about your god-grandson."
Liu Huan clasped his hands behind his back, feigning sympathy.
"He went down into the bottomless abyss and was abducted by a ’ghostly creature,’ forced to become its bandit-chief husband."
In reality, he was only lamenting that he hadn’t managed to get the letter for the North and South Dipper Sword back.
Now it was completely wasted.
Yang Xun hung his head in silence, muttering something under his breath.
Liu Huan was used to it. Old Yang had been like this ever since he came up from the bottomless abyss, like a monk from the Ximizhou Continent, always chanting some blasted scripture every day.
Considering the merit Yang Xun had earned by offering him the Yin Fungi and Yin Horses, Liu Huan didn’t press the matter and simply said,
"I am a Sect Leader of my word. Since I promised Jiang Yi I would make you an Elder of Observing Fate Peak, I will not go back on it."
Then, he sighed again.
’The haul from this trip wasn’t small... I’m just curious, how much of that business with the lady of the Daoist Lineage recruiting a husband was real, and how much was fake?’
’And that person who condensed a destiny pattern in the Kitchen God Temple, which Ancestral Sect do they belong to?’
’A Lower Cultivator’s perspective is like looking at flowers in a fog. It’s truly hard to see things clearly.’
Nearby, Han Li, who had suffered two major setbacks in a row, was thoroughly demoralized. Having lost all the spirited enthusiasm he’d had before descending the mountain, he secretly made a resolution:
’When I return to the Qianji Sect this time, I will not leave my seclusion until I reach the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer!’
Liu Huan then looked up at the Exquisite Magic Tower hovering high in the sky, a trace of yearning flashing in his eyes.
’If I could achieve a Flying Foundation Establishment, succeed in entering the Dao, and earn the title of a True Master, I wonder if I might be fortunate enough to enter the Lower Courtyard of an Ancestral Sect and become an Outer Sect Steward?’
"Why haven’t we seen the Innate Sect’s Daoist?"
Fu Lizi craned his neck, looking around expectantly. This grand scheme involved countless karmic threads and was pushed forward by many powerful hands. Yet in the end, it was a mere Qi Cultivation Junior Cultivator who had climbed step by step, plucked the golden nature of the Shao Yang, and obtained the great position of the Innate Sect’s Daoist.
He even won the hand of the Profound Law Nvqing True Monarch, a powerful figure in the Ghost Dao.
"As the dignified Daoist of a great sect, he will surely be welcomed from all four corners."
Lou Zhenxiao said slowly.
"Senior Brother Fu just needs to wait patiently."
His words had barely faded when the deep thud of drums rolled in from the distance. The tremendous booming sound even drowned out the astonishing noise of Fengdu sinking into the Netherworld.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—
There were seven beats in total, their power magnificent and fierce, shaking the very mountains and rivers.
"The Great Kui Profound Drum?"
Fu Lizi shot to his feet and looked in the direction of the sound.
"Is the Innate Sect putting on such a grand display?!"
