Chapter 232: Chapter 121: Seeing an Old Friend Again
Dongxu Island.
Dongxu Island was located to the southwest of Lishui Prefecture. It served as a crucial transit point on the shipping route from northern Zhongzhou to the Central Island. There were three main cities on the island: two were port cities, and the third was built against Dongxu Mountain in the center. This third city originally had no name, but people gradually started calling it Dongxu City, and the name stuck.
On Dongxu Mountain, there was a Dao Field perpetually shrouded in clouds and mist. Those at the foot of the mountain could only see it emerge from the clouds for a very brief period each year, but there were no roads leading up the mountain from below.
In a luxurious palace on the mountain, hundreds of Qi Cultivators bustled about, decorating the palace to be even more magnificent. Two Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage removed the cloud bed at the head of the main hall, replacing it with a Go board. To the left and right of the board, they placed four simple rush cushions.
Deep within a palace on the mountaintop, nestled among clusters of flowers, Xia Yao, with the help of her maids, shed her magnificent palace robes and jewelry. She changed into a set of blue Daoist Robes. A Taoist Jade Crown on her head held her hair in place, revealing her forehead and entire face, while her jet-black hair cascaded down to her heels.
Behind her, a handsome young man was sizing her up with a smile. The young man wore ornate, jet-black robes, with a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon embroidered on the chest and collar.
He was the ninth son of the Dragon Monarch, named Jiangcun. The Dragon Monarch had personally given him the name, and it was quite a casual choice. His sons had inherited this casual nature, naming their own children just as whimsically.
He was not ugly like Liu Chang. After transforming, his features were almost indistinguishable from a human’s, except that his eyes were a deep, mystical blue and there were a few scales at their corners. He also had a pair of gills on either side of his neck for breathing underwater. Furthermore, his hair was deep red, exceptionally smooth, and very long. It was held back by a golden coronet, giving him an exotic and bewitching beauty.
"My lady, that outfit looks wonderful on you. You should dress like this from now on," Jiangcun said with a smile on his face.
"Today, I am meeting a friend from my cultivation journey. Wearing this is a matter of courtesy. Normally, I am the Ninth Lady of this Dragon Palace, and wearing palace robes is also a matter of courtesy. One must not be careless with etiquette."
Xia Yao turned her head, and her brow furrowed slightly when she saw Jiangcun’s posture. Noticing his wife’s frown, Jiangcun immediately sat up straight, then stood to adjust his collar. He smiled and said, "I look quite presentable today too, don’t I?"
"You must not breach etiquette. Do you understand?"
Hearing this, Jiangcun nodded with a smile.
As they spoke, a Kun Cultivator in a Daoist Robe entered the room, holding a formal calling card. She stopped before the twenty-foot-high doors and reported, "Your Highness, Your Ladyship, Daoist Changqing has arrived at the palace gate. This is the calling card he presented."
...
「On the eastern face of Dongxu Mountain.」
At the edge of a cliff, there was an Ascension Platform made of white jade. Directly north of the platform stood a palace gate a hundred feet tall. More than ten Qi Cultivators guarded either side of the gate. The gate was built into the mountainsides, seeming to merge with them as a single entity. It looked both majestic and natural.
"This place feels so comfortable."
Yu Lian slipped out of his sleeve, riding her cloud to circle around Wang Ping. The Scale Armor all over her body relaxed and spread open as she sensed the Water Spirit Qi in the air.
Hearing this, Wang Ping extended his hand, feeling the mist in the air—which was so thick it was visible to the naked eye—and the Spiritual Qi within it. ’The grand array here must be quite impressive,’ he thought. ’It’s a shame I can’t rise into the air to get a better look, or I would definitely take the time to observe it.’
Just then, a Kun Dao walked briskly out from the palace gate. She stopped about thirty feet from Wang Ping and respectfully presented Xia Yao’s reply.
After reading the reply, Wang Ping presented another calling card. Then, led by two Kun Cultivators, he walked through the palace gate.
Once past the palace gate, the first thing he felt was the dense Spiritual Qi. At the same time, in the world of spiritual sense, he couldn’t find a single distorted Spirit Body, which couldn’t help but lift one’s mood.
’However, if the people who cultivate here were to leave for an extended period without sufficient real-world experience, they would likely be tainted by the mortal world and eventually give birth to a Heart Demon.’
After walking along a smooth, stone-paved mountain path, Wang Ping saw a massive palace looming in and out of view within the mountain mist.
As he drew closer to the palace, Wang Ping finally sensed the sunlight descending from the sky. The light was gentle and felt warm.
’This place is truly an Immortal Realm on earth,’ he mused. ’The Cultivators here are likely ignorant of the world’s hardships. Their emotions are extremely stable, but that stability comes with a condition.’
When he reached the plaza in front of the palace, Wang Ping finally got a clear look at its appearance. It was built against the mountain, looking orderly and conventional with its red bricks and blue tiles. In front, a grand flight of white jade stairs led up.
Xia Yao and Jiangcun were standing at the top of the white jade stairs. When Wang Ping and Xia Yao’s eyes met, they both clasped their hands in a formal greeting at the same time.
Afterward, a disciple accompanying Xia Yao bowed her head and walked down the stairs.
’This must be one of Xia Yao’s Direct Disciples. She was the one who delivered a letter to me before.’ She walked in front of Wang Ping, turned to the side, and said respectfully, "Daoist Changqing, if you please..."
’The Dragon Palace is sometimes so formal, and other times so casual.’
He ascended the stairs.
Xia Yao spoke first. "It has been a hundred years, yet Fellow Daoist’s grace remains unchanged."
"I have merely managed to survive," Wang Ping replied humbly, before turning to Jiangcun and bowing solemnly. "Greetings, Ninth Prince."
"You and I may simply address each other as Fellow Daoist," Jiangcun returned the gesture magnanimously.
"Fellow Daoist Yu Lian," Xia Yao said, clasping her hands in greeting toward Yu Lian.
"Uh... Fellow Daoist Xia Yao, you don’t seem to have changed much." The "unchanged" Yu Lian mentioned was likely referring to Xia Yao’s stance.
"I dare not change!"
After the tedious formalities were concluded, Wang Ping followed the couple, Xia Yao and Jiangcun, into the palace. The space inside was immense; being within it felt like an ant standing before a giant, naturally inspiring a sense of awe.
When he saw the Go board at the far end of the palace, Wang Ping was taken aback for a moment, as it seemed completely out of place in such a hall.
’Xia Yao is the same as ever—orderly, proper, and leaning toward order,’ Yu Lian suddenly communicated to Wang Ping in his Spirit Sea. ’But occasionally, she gives off a hint of extreme consciousness.’
’Humans are inherently contradictory. You’ve observed so many of them, don’t you understand that by now?’ Wang Ping replied.
’That’s true.’
By the time their exchange ended, the couple had already led Wang Ping to the side of the Go board.
"You sit here. Let’s play a round first." Jiangcun’s tone had lost its earlier formality. He casually pointed to the left side of the board, inviting Wang Ping to sit.
After Wang Ping sat down, Jiangcun immediately sat across from him, while Xia Yao took a seat beside Jiangcun.
For the first game, the three of them focused on the board. In the end, Wang Ping lost by two points. The second game was a draw. By the third game, the atmosphere between them had become quite harmonious, so Wang Ping, as the guest, took the initiative to bring up the matter of his Second Martial Brother.
"I would like to know how the Imperial Family intends to handle my Second Martial Brother’s posthumous affairs."
Wang Ping asked very tactfully.
Jiangcun continued to play with a cheerful smile, only looking toward Xia Yao after placing a stone.
"This matter is complicated. Your Second Martial Brother’s situation is a double-edged sword. If handled well, it could resolve the conflicts in the Shangjing Region. If handled poorly, it could shake the very foundations of their faith."
Xia Yao did not avoid the topic. Her direct answer confirmed the suspicions Wang Ping had held all along.
