Chapter 263

Three days passed in a flash.

The twenty-fifth of the first lunar month, the Dongshan Academy in the East City, was the ancestral home of the Zuoqiu Sect.

The night curtain hung low, and the lanterns were lit.

The vast and towering ancient mansion with nine courtyards, full of scholarly atmosphere, was decorated with lanterns and colorful ribbons, a scene of joy and harmony.

In the courtyard, some of the direct descendants of the Zuoqiu Sect, and the Jiuli clan members summoned by the Hidden Lord to help support the scene, were all dressed in gorgeous clothes, gathered together, talking and laughing.

The Hidden Lord's identity tonight was the head of the Cang Li tribe—Li Songgu.

Although everything had been simplified, it was still very lively, the ceremony was cumbersome, and it was very formal.

The Zuoqiu Sect governed the family with Confucianism and took etiquette very seriously.

Li Songgu prepared eighty-one dowry gifts, each with the signs of the nine major tribes, thereby telling the world in a grand manner that this engagement was a marriage alliance between the Jiuli clan and the Zuoqiu Sect.

"Snow Sword Tang Ting, sent two boxes of thousand-year snow marrow to pay respects."

"Yingzhou Wanyan clan, sent a pair of Gu King golden bells."

"Lei Xiao Sect, sent a coral treasure tree from the East Sea."

"Lingxiao Palace... sent a volume of 'Great Compassion Heart Sutra' Daoist arts!"

Representing the imperial court, in addition to the younger generation such as Ge Xiantong, there were also two great internal experts over a hundred years old.

Li Youyi wore a white brocade robe, with a cloud-patterned Qilin pattern embroidered on his chest, and a thin gauze cover of the same color on the outside. Unlike his usual simplicity, he actually had a sense of nobility.

Hidden Twenty-Four and Yao Yin, who followed him, were both pure immortal bodies, stunningly beautiful, but they were set off like two little maids.

They were busy, but they had no complaints.

They knew this was just a show!

"Brother Youyi, this 'Great Compassion Heart Sutra' was specially picked by me for Jiang Ning to send to you." Ge Xiantong, a handsome young man, smiled and bowed forward.

The field force around his body was powerful, and his eyes were unfathomable; he had already broken through to the Dao Seed Realm.

The aura revealed invisibly was like ascending to a higher level.

Martial arts cultivation, one realm, one heaven, is not a lie.

Facing Qi Xiao, Li Youyi felt he had the power to fight; the gap in the major realm was not so untouchable.

But facing the current Ge Xiantong, Li Youyi felt a strong sense of urgency in his heart; the four words "not advancing is retreating" were deeply written in his mind at this moment.

Not suppressed by the other party's Dao Seed Realm field, Li Youyi's expression was calm: "Don't make trouble; Lord Jiang and I have long since drawn a line. You are talking nonsense and acting recklessly like this; aren't you afraid that my fiancée will find you to fight?"

Ge Xiantong thought of the ancient lamp between Zuoqiu Hongting's brows and hurriedly restrained his smile: "Who dares to make trouble in Qiuzhouzhou City? Daoist arts are not cheap; this 'Great Compassion Heart Sutra' is absolutely worth a fortune. When you have time, come to Lingxiao City with Li Jiao; I'll be the host!"

After sending away the people from the imperial court, Tang Wanqiu greeted him.

Looking at Ge Xiantong's back, he first congratulated him, then whispered: "Brother Youyi, never go to Lingxiao City; no one is perfect under the Small Field Order."

Accompanying Tang Wanqiu was a young master with a pure immortal body who was handsome to the extreme.

Li Youyi couldn't see his features clearly, only a feeling of "handsomeness," and the mist around his body was like standing in an independent space-time he had created himself.

The young master had no interest in communicating with the younger generation and walked straight toward the Hidden Lord and Zuoqiu Ling, the space distorting as he moved.

What the three were talking about, outsiders could not hear.

Li Youyi felt an unusual aura: "Who is this?"

"My elder sister, Tang Wanzhou," Tang Wanqiu said.

Li Youyi said: "What a terrifying cultivation."

Tang Wanqiu showed a proud and triumphant smile: "My sister is just over thirty, and her cultivation is too high, so she didn't catch up. If she participated in the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, the Snow Sword Tang Ting would never have been defeated, and Luan Sheng Lin You would have had little to do."

Tang Wanqiu's aptitude was second only to Luan Sheng Lin You, Ge Xiantong, and Zuoqiu Hongting; his confidence in his sister showed that Tang Wanzhou must have real talent and learning.

Li Youyi remembered this person.

"The north wind doesn't know that spring is late, snow presses on the fourteen states of the Southern Region. Tang Wanzhou, the youngest peak on the 'Sixty-Year Book', is not in the Longevity Realm, but can fight to a draw with the Longevity Realm; she is the first person in a thousand years, and it is indeed daunting. Little Li, we are also here to have a cup of wedding wine!"

Shi Liuyu, Shi Jiuzhai, Shi Shishi, Bai Shu, and other people from the Earth Wolf King Army all came forward.

"Clang!"

With a crisp gong sound, the engagement ceremony officially began.

Zuoqiu Hongting appeared, not in men's clothing, nor in a Daoist robe.

For the first time, she appeared in front of everyone in a woman's gorgeous attire.

She wore a scarlet neon dress, her long hair tied into a high bun, inserted with a golden dangling hairpin inlaid with gems, her waist was graceful, her skirt dragged on the ground, and every step gave birth to a lotus.

Although wearing a veil, one could still see the stunning immortal face, eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like autumn water.

Zuoqiu Hongting, together with Li Youyi, walked toward the center of the courtyard under the gaze of many eyes.

Exclamations were endless!

Many people didn't expect that Zuoqiu Hongting not only had top-notch cultivation aptitude, but her beauty and figure were also the best in the world.

"I'm so envious; Little Li, a mud-legged person, step by step, watching him become famous in the world and marry the stunning noble girl of the Zuoqiu Sect. It's really more uncomfortable than killing me!" Shi Liuyu drank a cup.

Ge Xiantong sighed: "Zuoqiu Hongting is even more stunning than that night; her appearance is not lost at all, Lord Jiang has no competitiveness, no wonder others became the son-in-law of the Zuoqiu Sect."

The discussion gradually subsided, leaving only the melodious sound of silk and bamboo echoing.

Li Songgu and Zuoqiu Ling each held red silk, and one end of the red silk was tied to the wrists of Li Youyi and Zuoqiu Hongting.

Under the loud shout of the master of ceremonies, both sides exchanged tokens.

Li Youyi naturally didn't prepare a token, but Li Ling held a tray and sent it up; it was prepared by Li Songgu long ago.

Seeing the treasure in the tray, someone exclaimed: "It's the Wind and Fire Dragon and Phoenix Pendant! Split into the Wind Dragon Pendant and the Fire Phoenix Pendant, both are first-grade thousand-character artifacts. Together, they are third-grade thousand-character artifacts."

Li Youyi took off the Fire Phoenix Pendant and handed it to Zuoqiu Hongting with both hands.

Both of them knew that this was just going through the motions, and they didn't take it seriously in their hearts.

But in full view of everyone, the play still had to be performed.

Zuoqiu Hongting's eyes were full of affection; after receiving the Phoenix Pendant, her slender fingers took out the token prepared by the Zuoqiu Sect.

It was two letters written personally by the transcendent of the Confucian line of the Zuoqiu Sect. One of them was handed to Li Youyi.

The letter contained blessings.

Every word contained powerful mental power energy.

"Wearing this letter on your body, even if you encounter a giant enemy in the Longevity Realm, you can block a death disaster once." Zuoqiu Ling transmitted this into Li Youyi's ears.

"Ceremony complete!"

The master of ceremonies shouted loudly.

"Boom!"

Fireworks soared into the sky, and the atmosphere became lively again.

Zuoqiu Hongting stepped back, but Li Youyi was pulled and toasted one after another, drinking the thousand-year aged wine of the Zuoqiu Sect.

After drinking dozens of cups, Li Youyi, who had never touched alcohol, was a little drunk.

Shi Jiuzhai and Shi Shishi rescued him and dragged him to the table of the Earth Wolf King Army martial cultivators.

Li Youyi had lingering fears, hurriedly clasped his fists to thank them, and then looked at Shi Shishi: "Where is Old Qi, why didn't I see him?"

"He is now a human hegemon in the Dao Seed Realm; a few days ago, he even notified me to attend his Dao Seed Banquet. It is indeed a bit abnormal; today is your big day, how could he not come?" Shi Shishi said.

Bai Shu smiled: "Maybe he has already gone to the Fuzhou side."

Li Youyi didn't think about Yang Qingxi; after all, finding someone was a trivial matter, and with the Qi family's energy in Qiuzhouzhou City, any subordinate could handle it.

It's just that Li Youyi didn't expect that because his engagement to Zuoqiu Hongting was imminent, Qi Xiao was worried that the news would leak and be unfavorable to him, so he went there personally.

Li Youyi recalled the fanaticism and excitement of Qi Xiao when he learned the news of the Fuzhou underground a few days ago, and nodded lightly: "It's really possible! He is a person who is extremely desperate and adventurous for longevity. By the way, what is the situation in Fuzhou now?"

Shi Liuyu joked: "Fuzhou is Jiang's territory; why don't you ask Fairy Yu? Their Jiang family definitely knows the situation underground in Fuzhou better than anyone else."

Because Jiang Ning could control the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, and because Li Youyi fought in all directions with double swords on the night of the Lantern Festival, the two were bound together by those who liked to gossip, and many true and false love stories were spread.

Shi Jiuzhai said: "The exact news has been sent back; it is indeed an underground entrance. But the so-called underground immortal mansion seems to have been opened tens of thousands of years ago and built into a labyrinth-like ancient teaching ancestral court."

"Currently, only a dozen miles of the entrance have been explored, and a large number of ancient buildings have been discovered, with hundreds of passages, caves, sculptures, stone beasts, martial arts fields, altars..."

"Continuing to go deeper, there are extremely terrifying dangers."

"Countless Five Seas Realm experts have been killed or injured, and there are even older Dao Seed Realm powerhouses who have fallen."

"It is said that some people found ancient relics and Daoist stone walls, belonging to a major sect from tens of thousands of years ago. Some people also dug up thousand-year essence medicine, which is five thousand years old, rare in the world, and of inestimable value."

Bai Shu was moved and exclaimed: "Essence medicine with a thousand-year age is already very rare; except for the medicine fields of major thousand-sect gates, one can only search for it in the Nether Realm of the Dead and some dangerous secret realms. Even thousand-sect gates don't have five-thousand-year-old essence medicine, right?"

Shi Liuyu was very interested and eager to try: "Building a teaching court in a wind mansion world as huge as Fuzhou, and then due to some unknown catastrophe, the whole teaching sank underground and was buried for tens of thousands of years, and now it finally sees the light of day again; the treasures inside are simply unimaginable."

Li Youyi said: "What kind of major sect is it, is there any statement?"

Shi Jiuzhai said: "It's hard to say; that was tens of thousands of years ago, and the rulers of this land don't know how many times they have changed. We can only wait slowly for more exploration news to be sent back before we can verify it with the records in ancient books and then infer. It must be related to a major sect that has given birth to ancient immortals..."

"Boom!"

Outside the ancestral home, thunder and lightning sprayed, and the earth shook.

More than a dozen golden lacquer boxes containing gifts exploded, energy overflowed, and it was thunder magic black ice.

The sudden change startled the various experts in the courtyard, who performed their movement techniques one after another and rushed to the door.

"Who is so bold to dare to make trouble at the Zuoqiu ancestral home?"

Shi Jiuzhai and Shi Liuyu just stood up, wanting to go out to watch the fun.

Suddenly...

A dangerous force that made the two of them numb all over exploded a few feet to the right.

A black-clothed man in a stealth state appeared out of thin air, flashed forward, and slashed a sword at Li Youyi's head.

The killing intent filled the garden, and the aura was thick and terrifying.

"Boom!"

Shi Jiuzhai and Shi Liuyu, whose strength was enough to be on the "Sixty-Year Book", released their Dao heart external images, the sound of wolf howling in their bodies was high, breaking through the other party's intent suppression, and each hit with a palm.

But it was too slow!

The two of them were like being immobilized in mid-air, only able to watch helplessly as the battle sword slashed at the top of Li Youyi's head.

The two were scared out of their wits, their pupils contracted, realizing that the assassin's cultivation was extremely terrifying, possibly a Longevity person.

(End of chapter)