Building a sect from scratch.

Chapter 350 Dragon Girl's Birthday
Taishui Dragon Palace, as its name suggests, is located at the bottom of the Taishui River.

The Dragon King of Taishui chose the best section of the long Taishui River and created a special little world there, where he built the Dragon Palace, which is known as the Taishui Dragon Palace.

What makes this small world special is that it is not a complete cave world, but rather a "mirage" where space has been expanded many times over. It is located at the bottom of the Taishui River, but there is a threshold to enter this "mirage". Therefore, normal fish, cultivators, and strange beasts cannot enter. So it is tentatively classified as a "small world" and called "Taishui Dragon Palace".

Of course, since the Taishui Dragon Palace is the home of the Taishui Dragon King, it naturally has a "doorbell". Although the Taishui Dragon King is a homebody, he is not completely isolated from the outside world.

And this "doorbell"—Fang Xianyu, who had delivered goods to the Water Dragon King in the first playthrough, actually knew about it—

The Taishui River was powerful and its current was fierce. After Baili Shuangfei arrived at the section of the river that he remembered as being near the Taishui Dragon Palace, he carefully observed the surrounding environment.

This section of Taishui is flanked by steep cliffs, dotted with lush green trees, resembling a sliced ​​cheesecake sprayed with matcha powder.

After finding a stone platform that was barely big enough to stand on, Baili Shuang took out a large jar of yellow wine from her Qiankun bag and poured it into the Tai Shui water.

Not long after, the waves surged in the distance, and a huge gray-black figure swam down from the surface. It swam back and forth in the water where Baili Shuang had poured the wine for a long time, seemingly having drunk to its heart's content, before finally popping its head out of the water and looking at Baili Shuang.

This is the "doorbell" of the Tai Shui Dragon King, an old fish that has been a demon cultivator for a thousand years.

It is grayish-black all over with black spots, has a long, thick tail, and four limbs with distinct fingers and no webbed feet, making it look nothing like an aquatic animal.

If it were on Earth, it might be mistaken for another Chinese Class II protected animal—the giant salamander. The only difference is that this "giant salamander" is exceptionally large; with its tail included, its body length is probably at least two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters).

"Master Wine, the Taiyin Sect has come to pay a visit to the Taishui Dragon King. Please inform him of our arrival!"

As she spoke, Baili Shuang took out two baskets of glass handicrafts that she had prepared in advance from her Qiankun bag, pushed them in front of the fish demon, and added, "These are to offer to the Tai Shui Dragon King. They are just a small gift and not worth mentioning!"

The fish demon nodded, opened its mouth, swallowed the two baskets, and then quickly disappeared into the water.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the fish demon returned, speaking in human language: "Does Your Majesty possess a method to avoid water? The Dragon King invites you to the palace for a banquet!"

“My cultivation is low, but I can still move freely in the water,” Baili Shuang replied, then asked, somewhat puzzled, “May I ask, Master Jiu, why does the Dragon King of the Waters invite me to a banquet? I am truly apprehensive.”

She didn't believe that a mere human cultivator like herself could elicit such awe and reverence from the powerful and unfathomable Tai Shui Dragon King, who had attained enlightenment long ago. To then treat her as an honored guest was utterly absurd. As for the claim that she was exceptionally polite because he liked the glass artifacts she had given him, that was even more ridiculous. Not only were the two baskets she used to hold those artifacts ordinary, but the artifacts themselves were just simple decorative items, nothing special. What hadn't this river god seen? Even if he liked sparkly things, would he be so easily impressed by something as simple as a decorative item?
The fish demon's words, "enter the palace for the banquet," did indeed leave her somewhat bewildered.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing Baili Shuang's question, the fish demon was even more shocked than she was: "Eh? Could it be... you didn't come to celebrate the Dragon Girl's birthday?" "To, to celebrate the Dragon Girl's birthday!?"

Bai Li Shuang was greatly surprised.

Seeing that Baili Shuang's expression did not seem to be feigned, the fish demon immediately became wary. It drew upon its spiritual energy, creating a violent vortex, before transforming into human form and asking again, "If you did not come to celebrate the Dragon Girl's birthday, then what is it for?"

"Well... I do indeed have a request to make of the Dragon King. I wish to go to Kunlun Hill to find the Yinglong King, but the heavenly lightning outside Kunlun Hill never stops, and I really cannot avoid it. Moreover, even if I manage to break in, I will have no way to find him. After much thought, I have no choice but to come and pay my respects to the Taishui Dragon King..."

Baili Shuang didn't hesitate for long before speaking.

The fish demon seemed to emit a barely perceptible whistling sound through its nostrils when it heard "King Yinglong," but its expression remained unchanged. Only after Baili Shuang finished speaking did it press further, "And why are you looking for King Yinglong? Do you know him?"

This time, Baili Shuang did not explain the reason again. She simply looked at the fish demon sincerely and replied, "There are many hidden reasons involved, involving many sects. Please forgive me for not being able to tell you."

"It's alright. Since it's your private matter, it's perfectly normal not to talk about it."

The fish demon didn't seem to want to pry, and its tone wasn't as tense as before. It simply turned around and cast a spell, parting the river water to both sides to reveal a long passage. It gestured for the passage to open, and continued, "Fellow Daoist, please come this way. Today happens to be the Dragon Maiden's 520th birthday. Although it's not a grand birthday, it's still a small one. There are quite a few dragons coming to congratulate you from Kunlun Hill. Fellow Daoist, you might just meet one who will take you to Kunlun Hill. You won't need to ask our Dragon King for help."

"If no agreement has been reached, please wait until after the birthday banquet to discuss this matter with the Dragon King in detail."

"I see, I didn't expect my timing to be so perfect!"

Baili Shuang sighed, then hurriedly rummaged through her Qiankun bag and took out a pair of earrings she had just made, which she had originally intended to give to the sect merchant as top-tier equipment. She then opened a jade box containing a bunch of miscellaneous items that she had somehow stored in her Qiankun bag, put the earrings into the jade box, and handed it to the fish demon, saying apologetically, "I really didn't know it was the Dragon Girl's birthday, and I left in a hurry. I don't have any treasures on me, only these earrings, which are quite good spiritual artifacts. Consider them a birthday gift!"

This action, done without concealing it from the fish demon, further confirmed her complete ignorance of the Dragon Girl's birthday celebration. While the earrings' function remained unclear, the material was exceptionally fine. They were made of extremely rare black marble, with two thumb-sized gemstones displaying a dazzling array of colors and shifting halos of light. The fish demon could easily guess that this gift would perfectly suit the Dragon Girl's taste; even if its original purpose as a magical artifact was deemed inappropriate, it would undoubtedly be repurposed and become the Dragon Girl's new favorite.

"Fellow Daoist, you are too kind. Then I will thank you on behalf of the Dragon Girl." The fish demon's tone became even more polite as he spoke, and he even took the initiative to ask about Baili Shuang's name: "By the way, may I ask your name?"

Baili Shuang replied, "I dare not accept this title. I am a disciple of the Taiyin Sect, a physician named Baili Shuang. I have not yet adopted any pseudonym."

The fish demon nodded and introduced himself in return: "Oh, so you are Fellow Daoist Baili. I am Yingxi, the gatekeeper of the Dragon King, also known as the Wine Master."

Ugh... I missed the deadline... So tired QAQ
(End of this chapter)