Chapter 341

Chapter 342: Welcome Banquet

Immortal Yuan Ling hosted a rich feast in the Immortal Dining Hall at Parted Clouds Palace to welcome the honored guest from the Borderland, though for Yu Sheng it was not really far. The table was small, with only people Yu Sheng knew like Xuan Che and Immortal Yuan Ling, plus a few Inner Disciples to keep them company, so the awkward scene Yu Sheng had feared, a crowd of strangers staring at him eat, did not happen.

As the dishes came out, Yu Sheng was amazed; strictly speaking, he recognized almost none of them, even though Xuan Che had promised everything was cooked for Borderland tastes.

Yu Sheng admired the spread, saying: “I thought once you reach a certain level of cultivation you all live on wind and dew, drawing Earth Spirit to survive. I didn’t expect you to care this much about food.”

Immortal Yuan Ling laughed, looking more like a cheerful old man than a lofty leader, and he did not put on airs at the table, saying: “Some do live on wind and dew, and some draw Earth Spirit, but there are also those who love good food and can grasp the Dao through every bite and sip. Cultivation is about clearing the heart and following it, not blind suffering. The Dao lives in all things, and it is not bound to one form.”

Xuan Che leaned in and asked with curiosity: “I remember Elder Senior Uncle once tried a fasting method, but later he said it did not work, so he stopped?”

Immortal Yuan Ling’s eyes widened at once as his grace vanished, and he barked: “Fasting my foot! He asked me to refine two hundred Fasting Pills so he could fast for ten years, then he ate them all in one night. The next day he claimed he had realized a ‘compressed fasting method,’ that one day equals ten years of fasting, and told me to refine two hundred more in white cake flavor. Do not believe his boasting. You cannot succeed at cultivation by being hard headed alone.”

Yu Sheng listened without cutting in, and he realized that master and disciple grumbling together about some “odd fellow” was normal here. Even the Inner Disciples at the table kept their heads down and shoveled food without changing their faces.

He looked around again and spotted Zheng Zhi at his side. To be honest, Yu Sheng had worried about him; the poor kid had been dragged here without warning, still dazed even as they walked into Parted Clouds Palace. Yu Sheng had even thought about opening The Door to send him back, but now he felt he had worried too much.

Zheng Zhi also kept his head down and ate hard, showing the fine attitude of someone who follows the boss out to improve the menu and eats first, asks later. It was clear that his long term “high sensitivity, low stability” condition had given this young man a tough mind. He adapted fast.

The fiercest eater at the scene was Foxy; her head barely came up as she shoveled whatever landed in her bowl into her mouth. The two Irenes stood on the table with plates, tipping food into her bowl for fun, but they still could not keep up with her speed.

Yu Sheng had brought three with him, not counting Zheng Zhi. Two of them were Dolls who did not eat normal food, so they could not enjoy the feast, but Foxy made up for that alone, and even went beyond.

All around, the Inner Disciples bowed over their bowls. At least half of their motivation came from the huge survival pressure Foxy the Fox Maiden placed on them.

Immortal Yuan Ling finally noticed the mood, glanced around, and saw the disciples burying their heads in their meals. He shook his head, then smiled and offered Yu Sheng an apology, saying: “These disciples of mine are strictly taught, but they do not know much about polite company. Please forgive them.”

Yu Sheng waved both hands, answering: “Not a problem. I actually prefer this. If you had arranged a circle of very proper people around me, where setting down my chopsticks required eighteen steps and raising a cup meant five minutes of toast from each person, I could not eat at all. I would be too busy keeping up.”

Immortal Yuan Ling clapped and laughed, clearly very pleased, saying: “Then it is perfect. I am glad you do not blame us for poor hospitality.”

Xuan Che glanced around and asked quietly: “Why didn’t Senior Uncle Yuan He come?”

Immortal Yuan Ling sighed and answered, then turned to explain to Yu Sheng: “Yuan He is my junior brother. He leads the Beast Taming branch of Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain. Since an honored guest arrived at our sect, he should have come to welcome you, but my senior brother met with disaster and only just escaped. Someone had to fetch him, so Yuan He went.”

He paused, then added: “The schedule should have fit. Xuan Che’s return from the Borderland should have taken three to five days. Who knew he would arrive today?”

Yu Sheng scratched his head with an awkward smile and said: “I made a sudden decision and messed up your plans. I did not plan that far ahead.”

Immortal Yuan Ling waved it off with a helpless look and said: “Do not say that. It is my senior brother’s fault again, and we have made you laugh at us. To be frank, I know you came for my senior brother’s strange adventures from years ago and want to ask him many things. But my senior brother, Yuan Hao, is carefree and unruly. He truly has countless encounters, but he often exaggerates when telling them. You can take his stories as reference, just do not treat them as fact.”

Yu Sheng’s expression turned a little odd as he said: “It may not be that bad. I heard some of Elder Senior Uncle’s stories from Xuan Che. They are wild, but as an adventurer, he is impressive. Ordinary people do not have his courage and luck.”

Immortal Yuan Ling sighed and said: “Adventurer is a nice title. It would be even better if he stayed put as the sect master.”

Yu Sheng stared at the white haired, Dao-boned Immortal Yuan Ling who looked every bit the leader of a sect, and asked in surprise: “Isn’t the sect master of Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain you?”

Immortal Yuan Ling shook his head and said with a bitter face: “No, I am the acting vice sect master.”

He lifted his cup and drained it, as if compressing hundreds of years of resentment into that one drink, then muttered: “I should never have accepted his seal, and I should not have let him talk me into taking this job. I was young and foolish. I thought my senior brother would not harm me.”

Xuan Che hurried to cut in: “Master, you have had enough to drink.”

Immortal Yuan Ling glared and said: “Too little. If I had drunk enough, I would Sword Flight off the mountain right now to find your senior uncle.”

Xuan Che lowered his head at once and murmured: “You cannot Sword Flight after drinking.”

Immortal Yuan Ling stared at him, held it in for a while, then sighed and said: “You honest child, just like I was back then.”

Yu Sheng did not dare add to that topic. He laughed dryly, then quickly changed the subject: “Right, about the recent Hermitage Order activity…”

Immortal Yuan Ling’s face grew serious at once at the mention of Holy Revere Hermitage, and he said in a steady tone: “Director Bai Li has already told me. I have sent our outpost disciples at the border to revisit several lairs where the Hermitage Order was seen before, to check for any missed clues. I also ordered people to review the old files for gaps. In addition, I contacted the other major sects of the Grand Void Spiritual Axis and asked them to take this seriously and watch their lands for signs of those heretical paths.”

Seeing Yu Sheng’s curious look, Immortal Yuan Ling explained further: “The Featherwing star region is not like your Borderland. The capital, the Grand Void Spiritual Axis, is not ruled by one sect. Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain is honored as leader among the immortals, but there are also great sects like Yaolan, Hengxu, Nethergloom Valley, and Reclining Cloud Ten Halls. Each is not weaker than us. The five great sects share the Grand Void Spiritual Axis and hold power across Featherwing. We are friendly neighbors, but I cannot command them.”

Yu Sheng listened closely to this new knowledge from beyond the Borderland. While he listened, Irene, who was feeding Foxy, suddenly blurted: “So you don’t fight each other?”

Yu Sheng shot the rash little Doll a look, then turned to Immortal Yuan Ling and repeated with a straight face: “So you don’t fight each other?”

Immortal Yuan Ling did not mind and chuckled, answering: “We fought in the past, but that is an ‘ancient story’ in the books now. In the Borderland’s words, it is ‘old world history’.”

Yu Sheng raised his brows, surprised to hear that term from an “immortal” in a land ruled by cultivators, and he said: “Old world history?”

Immortal Yuan Ling stroked his beard with a sigh and said: “Yes, the old world. The second singularity was like an invisible chasm across the river of time. There are many cultivators and many ancient texts on the Grand Void Spiritual Axis, so we kept more records of the old world and know more about the recreation of heaven and earth than most. Even so, the old world is now a blur. But some things are sure. Featherwing once had many wars among Immortal Sects. It seems that, up to the last moment of the old world, this realm was not peaceful. Even after the heavens reopened and the world was remade, the Grand Void Spiritual Axis kept fighting for a time from sheer habit. But that is all in the past. Now people have fought enough, and after the great remaking, even the fiercest ancestors seem to have understood something and have hidden away. They left this reopened world in peace, and we have enjoyed calm days up to now.”