Chapter 153: Chapter 153: The Banquet of Families, the Immortal Fairy Also Needs to Eat
Li Jiaojiao, holding Little White Fox, stepped out of the stone house, standing shoulder to shoulder with Jia Yulan in front of the heavy commemorative stone tablet.
Upon seeing the title of the stone tablet, Li Jiaojiao’s face flushed red with embarrassment.
Jia Yulan, on the other hand, was pursing her lips, holding back her laughter.
The title on the stone tablet read as follows:
The Hope of Qingling Village, Immortal Fairy Li Jiaojiao!
Several more lines followed, detailing Li Jiaojiao’s life story, including the year she was born, her family background, the time she joined an immortal sect, and how she returned to her hometown gloriously with a magical beast and another immortal fairy.
After reading, Li Jiaojiao felt extremely overwhelmed.
It seemed that the entire population of Qingling Village had deified her, seeing her as the hope of the whole village; they had even erected a commemorative stone tablet for her, which made Li Jiaojiao feel quite embarrassed.
The elderly village chief, leaning on a cane, approached with a joyful face, “Jiaojiao, this stone tablet is the village’s gesture of remembrance for you. Having heard that you’ve become an immortal fairy, why not cast a spell and leave a mark on the tablet?”
“I only know some simple, minor spells, I dare not embarrass myself,” said Li Jiaojiao coyly.
Jia Yulan whispered, “Just cast a spell, something like ‘Fire Cloud Palm’ or similar, and leave a mark on the tablet.”
Li Jiaojiao, looking embarrassed: “Is that really alright?”
“Fire Cloud… Palm?”
The surrounding villagers overheard the two women’s murmur and were so astonished that they spread the news, causing Li Jiaojiao to become even more embarrassed.
“Then I’ll just randomly cast a spell and leave a mark on the tablet!” Unable to resist the expectant faces of her fellow villagers, Li Jiaojiao formed hand seals and cast the ‘Fire Cloud Palm’ at the Perfect Stage.
Poof!
A fierce flame ignited in the palm of Li Jiaojiao’s hand, the temperature around them surged suddenly, and the villagers immediately stared wide-eyed, filled with amazement.
“This is divine fire!”
“My goodness, Jiaojiao has really become an immortal!”
The villagers discussed animatedly.
Li Jiaojiao wanted to clarify to the villagers that this was just the lowest First Grade Spell, not divine fire, but after a moment’s thought, she quickly placed her hand on the stone tablet, leaving behind a palm print.
“It’s melting the stone!”
“A miracle!”
The villagers stood up, looking at Li Jiaojiao and Jia Yulan with even more respect in their eyes.
“Alright, sit down and let’s eat!”
The village chief led Li Jiaojiao and Jia Yulan to the head table, asking them to take a seat. Li Jiaojiao’s parents sat at the lower end, and the village chief sat opposite them.
Others began to find their seats as well.
The village chief, looking at Jia Yulan, asked respectfully, “Immortal fairy, will our Qingling Village’s simple food suit your taste?”
“This is my first time sitting at such a long joined table for a meal; it’s quite novel,” said Jia Yulan with a smile, dazzling all the villagers.
Li Jiaojiao explained, “This is called ‘The Feast of a Hundred Families’; it’s a custom during the Lantern Festival, and is considered the highest-standard hospitality in our Qingling Village.”
“I see, I’ve learned something new,” said Jia Yulan with a look of surprise.
“Let us toast to the two immortal fairies!” The village chief gathered the cups, and everyone, young and old, raised their glasses in a toast, drinking up.
Jia Yulan muttered, “The children are still young; drinking isn’t good, is it?”
The village chief explained, “This is a special kind of sweet wine, even small children can drink it without issue.”
“I see,” Jia Yulan took a sip and found it to be quite nice indeed, flavored like wine but not intoxicating, “By the way, our Sect Leader had us bring a jar of Spiritual Spring Water for everyone to try. It can nourish the body and cure common ailments.”
Having said that, Jia Yulan took out a jar from her Storage Belt filled with Spirit Spring Water that had been purified by the Purifying Green Lotus.
“There it is, magic!” a simple and honest man exclaimed, pointing at the jar that appeared out of nowhere, and the other villagers echoed his amazement.
Jia Yulan covered her face with her hand, wanting to say that this was called a Storage Space, but after a moment’s thought, she decided against explaining.
“Folks, come and have a drink,” the village chief beckoned the villagers.
The villagers of Qingling Village, with their simple and honest customs, did not scramble for it: each one filled a bowl with Spirit Spring Water. After taking a sip, they first tasted the refreshing sweetness, and then felt relaxed and comfortable under the nourishment of Spiritual Energy.
“What wonderful water!”
“This must be Jade Liquor!”
“I feel like I’m about to fly.”
The villagers of Qingling Village were overjoyed, quickly finishing the Spirit Spring Water in their bowls and returning to their seats with satisfied expressions.
“Jiaojiao, do you drink immortal water every day now?” Li Jiaojiao’s mother asked with concern.
“This is called Spirit Spring Water, not the water of immortals, but we in the sect use it for making tea, cooking, and even bathing,” Li Jiaojiao hurriedly said.
“Immortal fairies need to eat and bathe too?” The old village chief was very curious.
Li Jiaojiao was at a loss for words for a moment.
Jia Yulan patted Li Jiaojiao on the shoulder and said to everyone, “Of course we need to eat.”
“Oh!”
The villagers all showed a look of realization.
The village banquet was very enjoyable, Li Jiaojiao and Jia Yulan had their fill, and even the Iron Claw Dragon Eagle, Little White Fox, and Brother Flathead ate quite a lot of dishes.
In the blink of an eye, it was night.
Li Jiaojiao and Jia Yulan were not practicing Qi Refinement at the moment, but rather sat by the bonfire at the entrance of the village, listening to the old people in the village tell stories, seeking inspiration.
“It is said that the Taiyue Mountain Range next door is both vast and dangerous, and it’s inhabited by many ferocious demonic beasts, not even immortals are a match for them.”
“But somehow, whenever those ferocious beasts approach this valley near Qingling Village, they automatically avoid it.”
“Aside from the wild beast that went mad three years ago, no other ferocious beast has come into the village.”
“Many people say that this is a pure land, and that’s why our ancestors chose to settle here. It’s been several hundred years, and there’s never been an incident of demonic beasts attacking anyone.”
“But the ancestors said that when night falls, you must not leave the valley, else you will encounter unknown dangers.”
“Of course, you can leave during the day, but you must not venture deep into the Taiyue Mountain Range.”
The old village chief, leaning on his cane, kept telling the stories.
A group of children surrounded the area, full of enthusiasm.
The old village chief looked at the vast Taiyue Mountain Range and felt as if it were a slumbering ancient giant beast, filled with endless might, subduing the small fry in this region and revered as a mountain god.
“Is this valley really so magical?” Jia Yulan looked around and felt very strange.
In her opinion, the immortals mentioned by the old village chief must be cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm, and the demonic beasts that even they could not defeat are probably the Demon Generals lurking deep in the Taiyue Mountain Range.
“It’s terrible, my child is missing!” At this moment, a woman knelt at the entrance of the village, crying and shouting.
“What happened?”
People quickly gathered around.
“Oh no! My child has run off somewhere, I remember they were playing hide-and-seek just before,” the man who spoke looked towards the Taiyue Mountain Range as if he had fallen into an ice pit, “they couldn’t have run into the mountains, could they?”
“Don’t panic, let me help you search for them.”
Jia Yulan formed a hand-seal and cast the Second-Grade Spell “Falling Blooms in Profusion”, creating a pink bird with a wingspan of three meters from overlapping petals, stepped onto it, and flew high into the sky, employing her Spirit Eyes to scout the area.
“She’s flying!”
“As expected of an immortal fairy, that’s amazing!”
“The bird she’s standing on, could it be the legendary Phoenix?”
The villagers of Qingling Village, watching Jia Yulan fly, all exclaimed in amazement.
Li Jiaojiao, hearing these words, felt embarrassed and at a loss for words. She quickly cast the First Grade Spell “Light Body Technique” and also soared into the air, causing another sensation in the village.
In the air.
Jia Yulan and Li Jiaojiao used their Spirit Eyes, meticulously observing from above, and finally spotted five children on a mountain a few miles away from Qingling Village.
“Found them!”
“Thankfully they drank Spirit Spring Water; there’s a spiritual light on them. With the Spirit Eyes, it was easy to spot them,” Li Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go and bring them back,” Jia Yulan flew towards the children, with Li Jiaojiao following closely behind.
Learning that the children had been found, the villagers grew excited, standing by the bonfire, eagerly anticipating the return.
At the village entrance.
Brother Flathead stood in front of a stone tablet erected specially for Li Jiaojiao, gazing into the depths of the Taiyue Mountain Range, sensing a powerful aura, eyes flickering with excitement.
Whoosh!
It leaped up and stealthily flew towards the mountains.
“My immortals, Brother Flathead can actually fly, could it be a divine beast?” The people of Qingling Village were taken aback.
A few miles away.
Li Jiaojiao and Jia Yulan landed on the mountain and saw the children walking up the mountain. Just as they were about to call out.
“There’s a situation!” Jia Yulan pointed at the children’s eyes, her expression growing increasingly solemn.