“9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond’s Shui Yueke greets all seniors.” A woman wearing a light yellow robe walked into the hall and bowed to the guests.
Holy Emperor Qing Yi finally felt some slight relief when Shui Yueke walked into the hall.
But without waiting for Holy Emperor Qing Yi to speak, Shui Yueke quickly continued. “Many thanks, Senior Apprentice Brother Ying of the 7-Star Sacred Sect, for taking an interest in this lowly disciple. It’s just that this Yueke doesn’t feel that it is appropriate to form such a relationship with Senior Apprentice Brother Ying…..”
The guests were seated, and the big shots from both sides had arrived and given their blessings. But now, Shui Yueke had suddenly made such inappropriate remarks. Therefore, the moment Shui Yueke spoke those words, the guests in the hall froze in mid-cheer.
Wasn’t this a blatant slap to the face of the 7-Star Sacred Sect? One had to know that the 7-Star Sacred Sect was one of the three sacred sects, the same as the 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond. Moreover, the two sects had even invited distinguished guests for the grand ceremony. So why, in the world, would you even say such things at this time?
Shi Tianhe’s face turned gloomy and ugly to look at. Even the expressions of 7-Star Sacred Sect’s Deputy Sect Master, Mu Yuankong, had also turned ugly.
Ying Yongxuan, who currently stood in the middle of the ceremonial hall, clenched his fists. He had never faced such humiliation as today. With his talent and appearance, how could he not be worthy of a mere Shui Yueke? If you, Shui Yueke, hadn’t been to the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring, would I, Ying Yongxuan, have come all the way to the 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond to propose? Whether it was Yan Xishuang of his 7-Star Sacred Sect or Shan Yaocen of River Luo Sacred Sect, which one of them was not prettier than you, Shui Yueke?
“Reason?” Shi Tianhe spoke up with a deep voice but without any expression. In the 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond, even a woman surnamed Shi cannot defy the sect’s collective decision. What’s more, the sect had even informed Shui Yueke of this matter before she entered the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring. Even if you want to oppose it, you can’t just stand up and do it at this time and in this place.
Shui Yueke bowed and spoke up with a respectful voice. “In reply to the sacred pond’s vice-matriarch, this disciple is far inferior to Senior Apprentice Brother Ying, in both looks and qualifications. Suppose I were to form a daoist pair with senior Apprentice Brother Ying. In that case, I’m afraid that it would only delay Senior Apprentice Brother Ying’s future.”
Ying Yongxuan spoke up in a somewhat calm voice, “It doesn’t matter, I don’t mind it at all. Since I’m willing to form a daoist pair with Senior Apprentice Sister Yueke, I will even step in to help you.”
After speaking these words, he finally felt a little more comfortable in his heart. He had always been the only one to reject women. When was it the turn of a mere woman to reject him?
If Shui Yueke hadn’t refused the marriage in front of many people, Ying Yongxuan wouldn’t have spoken like this. But Shui Yueke had actually rejected him without mercy in front of so many guests. Wouldn’t this be tantamount to kicking him in the face? How could he step down? If he lowered his stance, others would invariably think that he, Ying Yongxuan, was nothing more than a piece of trash that anyone could kick around. Unfortunately, since he had to come to the 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond, he needed to bow to Shui Yueke for the time being.
Once he got this woman back to 7-Star Sacred Sect, he would let her know that some words shouldn’t be spoken casually.
However, Shui Yueke’s respectful tone suddenly turned flat. “Many thanks, Senior Apprentice Brother Ying, for your generosity. Ever since this Yueke had been to the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring, she realised something profound. There were always people beyond people, heavens beyond heavens. Even the Grand Essence’s 12 Sacred Children couldn’t necessarily occupy the upper hand. Yet, a nameless person like me managed to occupy the sixth spring by a fluke. All thanks to a fight between experts.”
Ying Yongxuan’s fists had already turned blue by now. How could he not understand Shui Yueke’s intent behind her words? It meant that he was neither one of the Grand Essence’s 12 Sacred Children, nor had he ever been to the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring. To put it plainly, he was just a nameless person. While she, Shui Yueke, at least had been to the sixth spring of the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring. To put it mildly, her words indirectly stated that she was even better than him, Ying Yingxuan. Since that was the case, what qualifications did he have to mention helping her?
At this moment, everyone understood what was going on. That is, Shui Yueke wasn’t satisfied with Ying Yongxuan and felt that Ying Yongxuan’s name didn’t live up to his reputation.
It was inappropriate for either Mu Yuankong or Shi Tianhe to speak when things came to this point. In fact, it was a situation that only Ying Yongxuan and Shui Yueke could resolve.
Ying Yongxuan laughed in anger and said aloud, “I wonder which genius Senior Apprentice Sister Yueke is talking about? Although I, Ying Yongxuan, have never been to the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring, nor am I one of the Grand Essence’s 12 Sacred Children. But I’m not afraid of any opponent of the same realm.”
Shui Yueke replied with a soft voice, “So, does Senior Apprentice Brother Ying not put even Ji He, who occupied the premier spring, in your eyes?”
Ying Yongxuan gave a cold snort, “How can an ant who doesn’t even dare to show his true face be worthy of being my opponent? I only hope that he is lucky enough to not meet me.”
Ning Cheng laughed coldly in his heart. He could easily take out a mere Ying Yongxuan without even expending any effort. This fellow was truly a shameless person, daring to say such things.
“Brother Ying truly has the courage. Even this little brother was unable to beat Ji He. Now that I’ve heard Brother Ying speak such words, this junior brother would like to see what Brother Ying can do.” A voice full of disdain emerged.
When Ying Yingxuan saw the person who spoke, he immediately frowned. It was Lu Yixian, the number one among the Grand Essence’s 12 Sacred Children. Ying Yongxuan naturally knew how powerful Lu Yixian was and knew he couldn’t even last a few moves against Lu Yixian. He might love to brag, but he knew about the limits of his strength.
It’s just that he never expected Lu Yixian to come out and say this, making it difficult for him to step down. If Lu Yixian truly demanded a fight, Ying Yongxuan would lose the battle and lose all face.
Ning Cheng couldn’t wait for Lu Yixian to go down and teach Ying Yongxuan a lesson. He had tasted Lu Yixian’s strength before. Therefore, he understood that Ying Yongxuan truly couldn’t last even a single move against Lu Yixian.
“Haha, Senior Apprentice Brother Lu, why would you even deem it necessary to fight such a person? This little brother is more than enough to take him on.” A chubby cultivator with a baby-like face flew up and landed in the middle of the main hall.
As soon as this chubby-looking cultivator landed in the middle of the main hall, Ning Cheng knew who it was. Peng Shan, the chubby and fair-skinned cultivator he had met in the Grand Essence Ruins. Only at this time, his cultivation level had grown much higher than it was back then. Ning Cheng estimated that Peng Shan had already reached the half-step Dao Sculpting Realm. Moreover, he also looked a great deal more mature than back then. At the very least, he now looked a bit more manly.
However, Ning Cheng felt that Peng Shan wasn’t a match for Ying Yongxuan. Even though Peng Shan’s strength had risen a few notches, he was still a sliver short of Ying Yongxuan.
“Peng Shan, it’s better for you to not embarrass yourself.” Ying Yongxuan’s anger finally erupted when he saw that even Peng Shan dared to challenge him. Peng Shan’s status in Flaming Feather Spirit Mountain was much higher than his in 7-Star Sacred Sect. But if Peng Shan thought he could win against him, it would be nothing more than a dream.
Peng Shan simply ignored Yongxuan and instead said to Shui Yueke. “Senior Apprentice Sister Yueke, if I defeat this brat, I wonder if I can ask for your hand in marriage?”
Shui Yueke showed a sweet smile, “It would be an honour for this Yueke to be proposed to by Senior Apprentice Brother Peng.”
All the people felt a little baffled by such a response. Shui Yueke refused Ying Yongxuan but agreed to Peng Shan? Even if they all knew that Peng Shan wasn’t a match against Ying Yongxuan, the crowd still felt a little puzzled.
Ning Cheng, however, had some suspicions if the Law Soil that Peng Shan got back then was for Shui Yueke.
As things developed to this point, if the 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond didn’t stop it, it would offend too many people. At the same time, the 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond would become a laughing stock for everyone. Shi Tianhe finally spoke up with a somewhat cold tone, “Today is the day where my 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond invited all the Daoists to come and observe the ceremony. We naturally don’t want it to become a battle of swords.”
After saying that, she waved her hand, and Ying Yongxuan and Peng Shan got swept up by invisible forces and landed on their seats. Then, Shi Tianhe spoke up with an even colder voice, “Shui Yueke, go down.”
Shui Yueke lowered her head, bowed and retreated. When Ning Cheng saw a female cultivator beside Shi Tianhe following Shui Yueke down with her, he knew it wouldn’t end well for Shui Yueke.
A supposedly auspicious marriage ceremony had now turned into a farce.
Holy Emperor Qing Yi stood up in time to change the subject. “I believe that many of you here are aware of another equally important matter today. That is the trade fair within the sect. Many of the treasures here will not appear in the merchant halls or auctions. Moreover, this trade fair will start with spirit union, with the 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond as the host. Let’s all wait for 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond to start with the proceedings.”
The atmosphere, which had just become somewhat dull, came alive once again. Many people here had come not for the grand ceremony but for the trade fair. Of course, a majority of them came here for the spirit union. After all, the 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond’s proficiency in spirit union was the best within the entire Grand Essence Domain.
It was because replacing intact spirit roots in cultivators wasn’t the only thing they could do. They could also graft additional spirit roots to your original spirit roots, making your spirit root qualifications even purer and more promising.
A young woman beside Shi Tianhe stood up. “My 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond has prepared two white spirit roots and one colourless spirit root for the spirit union. My 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond vows that as long as both parties agree on the spirit unions’ terms, we would charge only 30% from the receiving party. The first one is a female cultivator with a pure white metal spirit root. She’s willing to engage in spirit union with any cultivator.”
After saying this, the young woman raised her hand and brought out a crystal screen. The image of a beautiful young woman appeared on the crystal screen. Although this female cultivator had a smile on her lips, the sadness in her eyes couldn’t be erased no matter what.
“The second is a pure white water spirit root.”
Another crystal screen emerged, and again a clear image of a beautiful woman appeared on it.
The scene once again dredged up a conversation about the qualifications for a cultivator. Spirit roots, bloodlines, dantian, meridians…….
Among them, the most crucial one everyone focussed on were high-quality spirit roots. Cultivators with high-quality spirit roots would potentially have a higher level of comprehension and a more substantial cultivation potential.
Many experts would pay any cost for the opportunity to graft a spirit root on top of their original spirit roots. Or even get better spiritual roots.
Ning Cheng shook his head as he looked at the empty seat beside him. Ruo Xi had still not returned, so he couldn’t leave even if he wanted to.
“The third one is a colourless fire spirit root…..”
When the words ‘colourless fire spirit root’ came out, it created a minor uproar inside the hall. It was a much higher spirit root qualification than a pure white spirit root. With this spirit root, even without appropriate cultivation resources, one’s cultivation speed would far exceed their peers.
Ning Cheng invariantly looked at the new crystal screen. But when he saw the woman on the crystal screen, he froze, and his head started to buzz with an indescribable rage.
The female cultivator on the crystal screen was none other than Yan Ji. The same Yan Ji he was looking for. Yan Ji currently wore a light-green robe, and her gaze was somewhat vacant. Although she clearly was looking ahead of her, her gaze was devoid of any energy. This pair of spirit-less eyes, the stunningly beautiful and peerless face, made Ning Cheng’s heart bleed.
“I’ll take this female cultivator’s spirit roots.” A voice suddenly rang out.
The young woman from 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond showed a faint smile. “This female cultivator’s spirit roots are the most outstanding spirit roots within my 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond. If you want her for the spirit union, you will need to fulfil two more conditions.”
