Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Returning to Your Hometown Gloriously, You Are the Hope of the Whole Village
Mo Ying stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the receding figures of Li Jiaojiao and Jia Yulan, feeling inexplicably worried.
Ye Feng stood by her side, gently waving his Banana Fan, and said, “With Brother Flathead there, as long as they don’t encounter anyone above the third layer of the Element Gathering Realm, there shouldn’t be any problems. That puts my mind at ease.”
“Sect Master Uncle, I wish to leave the mountain to gain experience,” Huo Yunjie, with the Cold Light Sword on his back, came over and requested.
“We’re going to the Divine Wind Sword Sect in ten days. Do you have enough time if you go out for training now?” Ye Feng was a bit concerned.
“Don’t worry, Sect Leader. I’ll head south for my training journey and will definitely arrive on time in the area where the Divine Wind Sword Sect is located,” Huo Yunjie assured.
“Alright then,” Ye Feng nodded.
Soon after, Huo Yunjie took some Healing Pills and filled a large bottle with Spirit Spring Water, then left Misty Peak on his Flying Sword.
Mo Ying sat cross-legged beside the Spiritual Spring, continuously accumulating her cultivation level, preparing to attempt to break through to the Element Gathering Realm after some time.
Qiao Jiaxi was still enduring the grueling task of carrying a massive rock on his back and performing frog jumps around the peak’s summit. He had to persist for more than three thousand times before he could break through to the fourth layer of Body Refinement.
Because Qiao Jiaxi was shouldering the weight of the rock, every dozen jumps would leave his whole body aching from the pressure, requiring breaks now and then to continue his cultivation.
Looking at his disciples, who were all diligently training, Ye Feng scanned around once more, making sure no one would come to disturb him, and then comfortably lay down.
On the back of the Iron Claw Dragon Eagle.
Jia Yulan and Li Jiaojiao looked at the rivers and mountains below, once again appreciating the allure of nature.
“Jiaojiao, is your home very far away?” Jia Yulan asked.
“It’s more than a hundred miles southwest of Whitefloat City, a full two hundred miles from Misty Peak. It’s quite far,” Li Jiaojiao said.
“Two hundred miles… that is pretty far. How did you get to Misty Peak before?” Jia Yulan was a bit curious.
“A few years ago, the Old Sect Leader found me and took me back to Misty Peak on the Xuan Ye Flying Sword.” Mentioning the Old Sect Leader made Li Jiaojiao’s expression turn somber.
Jia Yulan noticed Li Jiaojiao’s mood and quickly changed the topic: “Speaking of which, how could your family bear to let a girl like you take the path of cultivation?”
Li Jiaojiao’s bright, clear eyes seemed to sparkle as if she were lost in her memories, proudly saying:
“That year, a crazed wild beast appeared near our mountain village, hurting many innocent villagers. It was the Old Sect Leader who came from the west with a single sword strike, slaying the beast. He was revered by all the villagers as a Divine Spirit, so they all supported me in following the Old Sect Leader up the mountain to cultivate.”
Hearing about Li Jiaojiao’s past, Jia Yulan nodded slightly.
“Senior Sister Jiaojiao, now that you’ve reached the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, you’ll definitely make everyone in the village proud,” Jia Yulan said, clenching her fist.
“Mm-hmm,” Li Jiaojiao nodded, gazing into the distance at the range of mountains hundreds of miles away, her emotions gradually becoming excited.
It’s been three years since I’ve been home!
Villagers, do you know what these three years have been like for me?
Li Jiaojiao, filled with anticipation, nervously clenched her fists.
The Little White Fox curled up in Li Jiaojiao’s arms, deeply asleep, while Brother Flathead stood on the back of the Iron Claw Dragon Eagle, making an embrace with his arms, his red embroidered bellyband cloak flapping in the wind.
Jia Yulan caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye and nearly burst out laughing.
An hour later.
Li Jiaojiao pointed excitedly at a valley with beautiful mountains and clear waters below, “We’re here, this is my hometown, Qingling Village!”
“It’s actually situated on the fringes of the Taiyue Mountain Range. The people in your village have big hearts!” Jia Yulan’s expression changed slightly.
The Taiyue Mountain Range extended from north to south, located a hundred miles west of Whitefloat City, far larger than the Nanlu Mountain Range. It was rumored to be overseen by a Demon General, although even Jia Yulan wasn’t sure if it was true.
Qingling Village was built on the eastern fringe of the Taiyue Mountain Range, and the fact that it had survived to the present made Jia Yulan wonder whether it was luck or simply astonishing.
At that moment, at the entrance to Qingling Village.
An amiable grandma was washing clothes by the creek, and when she looked up, she suddenly saw a giant eagle plummeting from the sky, bearing two delicate young women on its back. Her eyes widened in astonishment.
“Ah, the King of Hell has sent little immortal fairies to fetch me!”
Having said that, Granny collapsed to the ground, but after a moment, she realized she was still conscious. She quickly stood up and saw that the two fairy-like young women were already standing across the creek.
“Granny Wang!”
Li Jiaojiao shouted excitedly and rushed over.
“It’s Jiaojiao, isn’t it!” Granny Wang’s eyes moistened, and she quickly sized up Li Jiaojiao. “Oh my, it’s been over a dozen years, and Jiaojiao is still as young and beautiful as ever, truly worthy of being an immortal fairy!”
Li Jiaojiao’s cheeks turned red: “Granny Wang, you’ve got it wrong again. It’s only been three years since I left home.”
“I’ve become forgetful in my old age!” Granny Wang smacked her forehead, then turned to gaze at Jia Yulan, whom she found as stunning as the legendary immortal fairies. After her astonishment, she noticed the huge Iron Claw Dragon Eagle, and her eyes lit up, “Jiaojiao, if you’ve come back, why bring such a big rooster with you? It’s enough to feed the whole village for several days!”
The Iron Claw Dragon Eagle, mistakingly considered a giant rooster, cried out indignantly, drawing the attention of the entire village.
“The beast is attacking, get your bows and arrows!”
“Little Wu, fetch me my axe!”
The villagers of Qingling Village were all very fierce. In no time at all, they came charging out, each bearing “weapons” like axes, sickles, manure shovels, and hoes, much to Jia Yulan’s astonishment.
“Dad, Mom, fellow villagers, it’s me!”
Li Jiaojiao waved her hands and shouted loudly. The hundreds of people from Qingling Village who were rushing over immediately stopped in their tracks and stared at Li Jiaojiao, dressed in white and with an ethereal aura. They all stood there dumbfounded.
“The immortal fairy has returned!”
“Our village’s only immortal fairy has come back!”
“What? Jiaojiao has become an immortal? Quick, set up a feast, eight people to a table, I’ll sit at the children’s table!”
The news spread, becoming more and more preposterous.
The villagers of Qingling Village held their axes, manure shovels, and hoes, cheering and dancing joyfully, celebrating the return of Li Jiaojiao to her hometown with song and dance.
“Jiaojiao, you’ve finally come back!” A kind-hearted woman embraced Li Jiaojiao, with a robust man standing beside her, smiling broadly to reveal two rows of big white teeth.
These were Li Jiaojiao’s parents.
“Dad, Mom, this is my… Senior Sister, Jia Yulan. This is Little White Fox, that one is Brother Flathead, and this largest one is not a rooster, but our Flying Spirit Beast, the Iron Claw Dragon Eagle, quite formidable indeed!”
Li Jiaojiao quickly introduced everyone to the villagers of Qingling Village, intentionally calling the older Jia Yulan her Senior Sister.
“Quick, quick, give the immortal fairies the best seats!” An elderly man with a spirited look, leaning on a walking stick, approached, waving his arms. The villagers immediately obeyed, showing great respect.
“Village Chief Grandpa!” Li Jiaojiao immediately took the old man’s hand and led Jia Yulan and the group into the village, where they sat inside a stone house.
Hundreds of villagers gathered outside, marveling at the majestic Iron Claw Dragon Eagle. They all looked amazed, secretly thinking that this must be what a divine beast looked like.
However, when they saw Brother Flathead draped in a red embroidered apron, everyone felt as if the artistic style had collapsed.
“Come on, it’s about to start!”
The old village chief, supporting himself with his walking stick, stood in front of the stone house waving his hand. The villagers hastened their actions, and soon, they had prepared many steaming dishes.
Jia Yulan stepped out of the stone house, her garments fluttering, her aura ethereal, giving people the feeling of an immortal descending to earth. The villagers all looked on with envy.
“What a long table!”
Jia Yulan noticed that on the stone path in front of the stone house, dozens of natural wood-colored square tables had been joined together to form a long table dozens of meters in length, covered with an array of dishes. She quietly appreciated how high the quality of life in Qingling Village must be, no wonder Li Jiaojiao was so lovely.
“Ready, everyone, come and see!”
Just then, several stonemasons from the village carried a stone stele and placed it in front of the stone house, drawing everyone’s attention.