Chapter 451: The Grand Banquet
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Lord Xunye spoke as if to himself, finishing his monologue before departing.
Not a single fool among the five master-disciple pairings.
That "no regrets" clearly foresaw her death. As she said, she had already found her answer.
In the blink of an eye, they were back in the vault chamber. Over the past year, Lord Gu Ai had restored the Void Blueprint, upgraded and reinforced it, increasing its stability severalfold.
Xiao Ai and Chu Youwei simultaneously bowed slightly.
"Xiao Ai greets the Lord and welcomes the three young ladies."
Chu Youwei merely bowed without speaking—this was not her young mistress.
"Master! Master! Shiyu's tummy is rumbling!"
Trapped in the projection space for an entire year, Shi Yao had occasionally eaten something, but consuming projected food offered no sense of fullness whatsoever!
Li Shiyu had been starving for a year!
"Alright, alright, alright! Order whatever you like. I'll head back and cook it for you right away!"
The scene shifted to Lingxian Hall, now bustling with activity.
Yu Lan was deeply moved upon seeing the three young ladies: "Qinghan, you have no idea what the city was like while you were gone!"
Ye Qinghan rolled her eyes. "With me gone, Elder Yu Lan must've had free rein. Probably partying every night~"
Yu Lan looked utterly helpless as he explained, "Master Su missed you all so much that he didn't even touch me once this entire year. I'm practically becoming a celibate dragon king!"
Just as they were chatting, Li Shiyu let out a startled cry, drawing everyone's attention to the side!
"Ah! Shiyu's egg!"
Dongfang Jue frowned in confusion. "Egg? What's wrong with the egg?"
The spirit plants had all sprouted, and the eggs seemed perfectly fine, hadn't they?
"Shiyao's egg is losing its color!"
Li Shiyu knelt before her egg, frozen in shock!
Her egg was clearly red!
She had planned to hatch a top-tier Fire Dog!
She'd tended to this egg daily with utmost care, even building a shelter beside her spirit plants and enlisting several hens to help incubate it!
But now, the hens were gone, and her egg had changed from its original red to a mottled red and black!
"Master! Master! Please save Shiyu's egg!"
Hearing Li Shiyu's frantic shouts, Su Cheng rushed out of the kitchen hall in a panic.
"What's wrong, Shiyu? What happened?"
Li Shiyu pointed tearfully at her eggs and wailed, "Master, my eggs have faded!"
[It was painted with pigment to begin with. After a year, of course it would fade!]
"That's normal. Divine beast eggs are like that."
"Master, you're not lying to me, are you? My senior and junior sisters' eggs are perfectly fine! Why is only mine fading?"
"Hey hey hey, Shiyu, don't blame your master! Your senior sister can vouch for it—this egg was chosen by Shiyu herself!"
Li Shiyu looked at her egg, then glanced at her master…
"Shiyao feels something's off, but she can't quite put her finger on it…"
Dongfang Jue and Ye Qinghan chuckled quietly nearby: "Knowing Shiyu's temperament, if she saw a turtle hatch from that egg, who knows how much she'd cry!"
Ye Qinghan chuckled, "Heh, Shiyu is just that fortunate. It's a pity she doesn't realize it herself."
The Chaos Bell combined with the divine beast Xuanwu—Master had arranged it all long ago. Even if Shiyu truly were a fool, she would still ascend to immortality.
"Master! Qinghan wants stir-fried pork slices with chunks!"
"Master! Jue'er wants stir-fried celery with pork!"
"Master! Shiyu wants to swap eggs…"
Su Cheng laughed uncontrollably, ignoring Shi Yao's request to swap eggs as he strode into the kitchen hall with a hearty laugh.
At that very moment, Xiao Ai arrived with a group of Valkyries to join the feast. They needed no Jade Pendant to enter freely; with spatial authority leading the way, there was nowhere in this world they couldn't go.
"Master! Xiao Ai wants braised fish!"
Before long, Cangjue and Xu Zhanfeng arrived too, followed by Miaomiao and Baitao, drawn by the commotion.
The Lingxian Hall was now bustling with activity. The courtyard was filled with lively chatter, yet Su Cheng felt a deep sense of peace within.
In the kitchen hall, Su Cheng's wok was practically smoking from constant use. He'd already stir-fried over thirty dishes, not counting the cold plates and desserts…
With so many guests, they filled three tables! Each table boasted over ten dishes!
"Miaomiao, Shiyu heard from the elders that you opened a medical clinic halfway up the mountain?"
Miaomiao nodded. "Yes. With Elders Cangjue and Yulan helping out, things have been going quite smoothly."
"Miaomiao, you're so talented~ Shiyu wants to do something too, but I don't know what."
Miaomiao was ever the sweet talker: "Second Young Miss is so talented, I'm sure you could succeed at anything you set your mind to."
No one could have guessed that while Li Shiyu nodded, she inwardly thought this was far from the truth!
Like, say, drugging her master—now that was no easy feat!
That Cangjue seemed to have some kind of cheat code—he always appeared right next to the tea cup with the poison, as if he could smell it!
Upon returning this time, Li Shiyue felt that when it came to having children, it was better to act sooner rather than later!
Life was unpredictable—who could foresee everything with such certainty?
Li Shiyao had only asked casually, but Su Cheng was genuinely curious about Miaomiao's clinic.
"Miaomiao, is your clinic located halfway up the mountain?"
Miaomiao nodded. Seeing Su Cheng's stern expression, she thought he might object and quickly added,
"Miaomiao… maybe we could find another location…"
"Ah, Miao Miao, don't overthink it. I'm just curious. I'll definitely come visit your clinic another day."
Miaomiao was stunned. Master Su himself coming to visit?
What's so interesting about a clinic?
"Huh? Well…"
【A clinic? Not bad. As long as this guy isn't running around killing people, he can do whatever he wants.】
【I wonder if the clinic needs help. She's penniless—how could she possibly open a clinic?】
"What? Miao Miao doesn't want me to come?"
"No, Master Su is a great benefactor to Miao Miao and her mother. How could Miao Miao not welcome such a benefactor…"
【Compared to back then, Miao Miao has changed completely. She's clean and bright now, quite pretty actually. Compared to when I first met her, it's like she's a different person~】
Miaomiao blushed all the way to her neck upon hearing this…
【Huh? Just said she was fair and clean, why did she turn red?】
And it wasn't just a little red—from a distance, you'd swear she was a demon…
Miaomiao was mortified, burying her head in her food and falling silent…
"Speaking of which, Elder Yu Lan, it's been a year, and you've already reached the peak of the Great Perfection stage!"
Although Dongfang Jue knew his master's cultivation method allowed for rapid advancement, it hadn't been this obvious before!
After just one year apart, Yu Lan was on the verge of ascending to the Upper Realm!
"Er… no need to panic. I have no interest in the Immortal Realm. I won't abandon you all~"
As the Dragon King, Yu Lan's current power meant the periodic heavenly tribulation couldn't harm her.
As for immortality? As long as she wasn't hunted down by other powerful beings, living for millions of years was a piece of cake. She couldn't care less about so-called ascension.
Besides, Lingxian Hall provided room and board, plus a top-tier dual cultivation divine physique for her enjoyment!
Ascension?
If the immortals heard of such a thing, they'd likely flee back down to the mortal realm…
"Elder Yu Lan, Qinghan thinks you needn't hold back. Ascend when the time is right~"
"No, I won't go."
"Go on, go on~"
"No, I cannot leave…"
Ye Qinghan thought to herself, Yulan speaks with such noble pretenses, but deep down, he just can't bear to part with his master—he's such a glutton for punishment!
"Xiao Ai has brought some fine wine. Would you care to have some, Master?"
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