In the following days, Li Yan moved into the "Qing A Wang" Manor. This residence was located amidst picturesque green mountains and clear waters. Its scope was so vast that it surprised even Li Yan.
In the back garden of the entire manor, there was actually a thousand-zhang-high giant peak. And on the west side of the manor, there was a green lake covering more than thirty acres. Amidst the sparkling waves, there was even a painted pleasure boat moored on the lake.
The entire courtyard stretched from south to north, a series of deep and winding courtyards. Green cypresses were like a carpet, spirit birds danced in the air, and small flowing water bridges were surrounded by clusters of tender green banana trees. A misty vapor floated and churned above the flowing water below.
In the central courtyard, there was a huge platform. The platform was paved with smooth, green giant stones, like a grand martial arts arena, covering about twenty acres.
The platform was surrounded by giant, ancient trees that reached for the sky, their green foliage providing shade. Their huge crowns shot up into the sky, displaying vigor and strength.
Among these ancient trees, arranged according to the eight trigrams, were eight paths extending from the forest, each leading to the central platform.
On the platform, for the past few days, groups of people had been busy arranging tables and chairs, and a high stage had been temporarily erected on the platform.
And Li Yan's daily life was in the main hall of the manor in the back, where he helplessly underwent day after day of various tedious etiquette practices.
...
On this day, the time for the "Qing A Wang" Manor opening ceremony had finally arrived. Early in the morning, with the manor gates wide open, a string of firecrackers went off first, and the main gates opened to the left and right.
The manor gates were decorated with lanterns and colored banners. Groups of children had gathered at the gate early in the morning, playing and laughing, eagerly waiting for the gates to open.
As strings of firecrackers shot into the sky, pieces of candy were scattered out. They ran and chased after them with even more laughter.
The area around the "Qing A Wang" Manor was already filled with Tianli Clan members, old and young. Many people had even put on their festive attire, which they only wore on harvest days and at the end of the year.
The young women of the Tianli Clan looked even more charming and attractive. Many young men took this opportunity to confess their feelings to the young women they admired, singing mountain songs.
The main gates opened to the left and right. Under the gaze of countless eyes, the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Elders led a procession of over a hundred people, winding their way out of the village at the foot of the slope. Cheers erupted from the surroundings.
"Damn it all! After today, we'll go over there and snatch all the pretty girls back, hahaha!"
"Don't sing duets, just snatch the bride directly is the best!"
"The 'Qing A Wang' Manor also needs more maids. We... also need them, hehehe!"
A group of young men were jeering from the side, and those who were older would occasionally chime in with a few words amidst bursts of laughter.
According to their customs, the normal process included blocking the road, singing duets, and tying up the groom. At the same time, the groom's side also had the custom of snatching the bride. After snatching the bride back, a few days later, they would prepare a grand gift and go to the door to apologize!
At the front of the wedding procession was a group of young men and women, namely Qian Ji, Zi Kun, A Ling, A Yuan, and the others.
What they had been busy with these past few days was the duty of the vanguard. They had to build bridges over water and open paths through mountains, blocking all attempts by the bride's family to obstruct the wedding procession.
Whether or not they could successfully bring the bride back depended heavily on these vanguards. They had rehearsed countless times. And the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Elders were in charge of the central command, responsible for answering all the difficult questions raised by the bride's family.
Li Yan was walking in the middle and back section of the procession. He was dressed in red and adorned with festive decorations, walking beside an eight-person-carried grand sedan chair. He had lost all the demeanor of a Nascent Soul cultivator, looking just like a wealthy country bumpkin from the mortal world.
Although Li Yan didn't particularly like this kind of clamorous scene, after setting off with the procession and looking at the crowds on both sides and hearing their excited cheers, he was momentarily in a daze.
Although he had never personally experienced this kind of noisy wedding procession, some similar scenes were very similar to what he had seen in the mountain village in his childhood.
A long-lost, somewhat familiar atmosphere rushed towards him. Those were simple, and joyous, rustic smiling faces.
For a moment, Li Yan seemed to see the faces of his parents in the crowd. And his third brother was holding a baby, grinning at him...
And his fourth sister was standing on tiptoe in the crowd, constantly dodging the heads blocking her view, with tears of happiness in the corners of her eyes...
The laughter and noise in his ears gradually faded away. For a moment, Li Yan's thoughts traveled across thousands of mountains and rivers, back to that small mountain village, the small mountain village with the green stones and old locust tree still there...
"Father, Mother... Brother, Sister, in all the cycles of reincarnation, may you no longer suffer, may you not..."
The events on the road ahead pulled Li Yan's thoughts back. After entering the Gong clan's village, from time to time, people would extend bamboo poles to block the way.
Then, Li Yan saw A Ling and the others go forward to sing duets with the people who came out. The songs soared up, as if they could not be interrupted...
And what surprised Li Yan was that even Qian Ji and Zi Kun could sing mountain songs, and they sang them quite well. They also spoke some of the Tianli Clan's slang and local dialect fluently.
Although Li Yan, in the back, didn't quite understand, he saw that on his side of the procession, many people were cheering for the two demons. Li Yan even saw that Qian Ji, in his excitement, was sensuously swaying his waist. This left Li Yan somewhat dumbfounded...
And what Li Yan didn't know was that, thankfully, his strength was already known to the mortals of the Tianli Clan. Otherwise, what awaited him would be more than just this. Things like having his face smeared with soot, being covered with a basket...
And what surprised Li Yan the most was that after all the "fighting" and "clashing of swords and sabers" to finally reach the mountain top village, there was another obstacle in front of Gong Chenying's room.
And there, Su Hong's figure had appeared. She was looking at Li Yan with a cunning expression, holding a bowl of rice in her hand.
Li Yan's divine sense swept over it and found that the rice was grain by grain, not sticky at all, and not cooked through. Su Hong raised a jade hand and beckoned for Li Yan to come forward and eat that bowl of half-cooked rice...
In a daze for half a day, it was not until after noon that Li Yan's procession, amidst the sound of firecrackers, suonas, and drums, finally returned to the "Qing A Wang" Manor.
At this time, Li Yan, a mighty Nascent Soul expert, could no longer tell north from south. The moment his foot stepped into the manor, he felt his steps were a little unsteady. He finally let out a long breath and sighed towards the sky.
The grand wedding of the Tianli Clan was held on the night of that day. Not only would the bride's family come, but also relatives and friends from various villages would come.
Li Yan's reputation was so great that the entire Tianli Clan was mobilized. This time, even the twenty-odd-acre large platform in the courtyard could not accommodate everyone.
In the end, the banquet had to be held in the nearby villages. The "Qing A Wang" Manor was only open to those with status in the Tianli Clan.
Among these "people of status," not all were cultivators. There were many mortal old soldiers with outstanding military achievements. Many of them came with crippled bodies, either supported by others or carried by others.
'Stable app that has been running for many years, comparable to the old version of the book chasing artifact. It's used by old bookworms.'
clans, did not dare to leave too many people behind, for fear of being attacked by the local Wind Beasts.
After these people arrived, they all came forward to congratulate him with smiles on their faces. However, their gazes towards Li Yan held a certain inexplicable strange light.
Because, although they had long received the news that the Tianli Clan had reconciled with the surrounding Wind Beasts, they were still somewhat disbelieving.
However, when the Tianli Clan sent out the invitations, the person who went also specifically mentioned this point, which was why there were Golden Core stage cultivators coming.
Otherwise, there might only be a few Nascent Soul cultivators coming, and they would be people with very good personal relationships with a certain elder. Otherwise, they would not be willing to take the risk to come.
For this reason, ten days ago, the Tianli Clan had sent people to the outer border of the three clans of Wind Beasts, specifically to welcome the guests who came to congratulate them.
They were afraid that if they came from a direction that passed through the territory of the three clans of Wind Beasts, they would not dare to enter at all, for fear of being ambushed and killed by the Wind Beasts.
When those who came to congratulate arrived in this area, they saw something they had never experienced in their entire lives.
When they followed the Tianli Clan cultivators and began to fly over the Wind Beast territory, especially those whose highest cultivation was only at the Golden Core stage, they were all extremely vigilant.
In their senses, the auras of many powerful Wind Beasts had already appeared. Some people had even thought of turning back, and were somewhat suspicious of whether the Tianli Clan cultivators in front of them were actually Wind Beasts in disguise.
In a state of tension and vigilance, they encountered some Wind Beasts flying back and forth. This made them even more like facing a great enemy, and they were all ready to strike at any time.
But those Wind Beasts, after seeing them, although a fierce light flashed in their eyes, in the end, not a single one attacked. After staring at them for a few glances, they flew far away.
On the other hand, the leading Tianli Clan cultivators in front looked as if it were nothing unusual. Their auras were still relaxed, and sometimes they even waved at some of the Wind Beasts not far away. The Wind Beasts on that side would also let out a low roar and shake their heads.
This was completely different from what these outside cultivators had experienced. Usually, whenever they encountered Wind Beasts, those Wind Beasts would be like jackals smelling blood, swarming up. What followed would be a life-and-death battle between the two sides.
On the road ahead, the same scene happened again and again, repeatedly appearing in their sight. This made the cultivators who came begin to believe what they saw, and begin to feel amazed by what they saw.
Until the end, they had all entered the territory under the jurisdiction of the Tianli Clan without being attacked by a single Wind Beast.
This made all the cultivators who came here look at each other and start talking via voice transmission.
The appearance of this situation was simply a fantasy on the Wind God Continent. They would never have dreamed that they would experience such a journey.
And from the news they had received, all of this seemed to be inseparable from this cultivator named Li Yan.
The way the Tianli Clan reconciled with the Wind Beasts would not be spread outside. After all, with the existence of a fifth-rank Wind Beast, who knew what others were thinking? Whether it was good or bad, or if they were secretly thinking of destroying the seal?
But just such an amazing result was absolutely eye-opening for these cultivators. Some people were already filled with yearning. They were cultivators, and they also wanted to cultivate properly, not to fight endlessly year after year.
Inside the "Qing A Wang" Manor, just as everyone was coming forward to congratulate him, several Nascent Soul cultivators suddenly looked up at the distant sky. There, a ball of golden light was flying towards here.
The moment their divine sense scanned it, it was still on the horizon. The other party had obviously also sensed the aura of a group of powerful experts. The next moment, it flew straight towards here. In just a few breaths, it had already flown above the "Qing A Wang" Manor.
"Amitabha, Fellow Daoist Li, my master and I have come together. I hope we are not being too presumptuous."
As the voice fell, the golden light had already dissipated, revealing two figures within. Both were wearing cloud boots and white socks, and a gray monk's robe, looking very simple and clean.
And beside them, there were no Tianli Clan cultivators to welcome them.
"It's Divine Monk Kong Hai and Chan Master Xuji from the 'Sand Gate Temple'!"
Among the Nascent Soul cultivators, someone recognized the newcomers and couldn't help but show a look of surprise.
The "Sand Gate Temple" was already very famous, and now, apart from their lay disciples, very few monks appeared in public.
Especially a temple-protecting divine monk like Kong Hai, apart from his own training, he would not go out without reason. And today, two Nascent Soul realm Arhats had appeared at once. This made people feel a little surprised.
"Master knew that you had reached an agreement with the Wind Beasts and had since ceased hostilities, so he wanted to come and take a look. My Buddha is merciful. If we can avoid killing, it is naturally for the best!"
Zhuo Lingfeng in the air, with his palms together, secretly sent a voice transmission to Li Yan below.
The moment Li Yan saw Divine Monk Kong Hai, he also felt strange. He had only invited Zhuo Lingfeng. But with the other party's voice transmission, he understood the meaning of Divine Monk Kong Hai's visit. He was here to "learn from their experience"!
Li Yan had already stood up from the high stage. He spoke with a smile.
"For the two eminent monks to come here, this place is bathed in the light of Buddha. Welcome, welcome!"
As he spoke, he had already gestured to an empty seat at the side.
"Greetings, fellow Daoists. I am a little late!"
Divine Monk Kong Hai and the other man had already stepped down from the air. With their hands together, they greeted the several Nascent Soul cultivators. As cultivators of the Wind God Continent, they had known each other before.
He and Zhuo Lingfeng had set out after arranging some matters in the sect, so they were a little late in arriving.
So when they encountered the welcoming cultivators of the Tianli Clan on the outskirts, Zhuo Lingfeng trusted Li Yan very much. Moreover, they were two Nascent Soul cultivators, so the two of them hurried here on their own.
"I also represent my master, to first congratulate Fellow Daoist Li on your great joy!"
Just as Divine Monk Kong Hai was still greeting the others, Zhuo Lingfeng had already landed in front of Li Yan first. Then, a storage ring had appeared in his hand, which he handed to Li Yan.
Li Yan did not refuse. After taking it with his hand, he also cupped his hands towards Zhuo Lingfeng.
"I am very grateful that you could come!"
He also did not address the other party by his lay surname anymore. It was enough for the two of them to know the past.
Afterward, Divine Monk Kong Hai also came over and exchanged a few pleasantries with Li Yan. Both sides knew that this was not the time for a detailed conversation, so they each returned to their seats.
Gong Chenying, since being welcomed, had entered the inner chamber and had not come out again. She would come out to offer toasts during the later bonfire feast.
Su Hong and the two black-robed, masked elders were also on the high stage at this time.
This made those Nascent Soul cultivators feel a burst of surprise at first. All the other Golden Core cultivators were on the platform below the temporarily erected high stage.