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Chapter 227 Gathering Immortals
As dusk fell, Ji You followed the group from Tianshu Academy out of Rusheng Garden, walked along the white marble path, bypassed the island in the middle of the lake, and arrived at Yongqing Garden.

It wasn't dark yet, but the huge courtyard was already brightly lit.

Through the gate, Ji You saw a scene of many figures moving about.

Ponds, arched bridges, pavilions, and gardens are filled with cultivators coming and going, chatting and laughing with each other.

Because of the cultivators' breathing exercises, the spiritual energy around the Sage Garden is now gathering in the sky above, shimmering with a silvery-blue hue under the reflection of the twilight sky.

In this environment, factionalism becomes exceptionally clear.

Some people were clearly gathered in groups, standing out from the others, while others were connected with various factions and kept offering toasts.

Ji You followed the crowd through the moon gate and into the noisy environment. After taking a few glances, she noticed that He Lingxiu, Shi Junhao, and the others beside her were dispersing one by one.

They all have their own families, and their families have connections with each other. Naturally, they are attending this banquet together.

Ji You walked through the front yard and saw that there were often old people leading young people to greet each other by the pond. She also saw men and women dressed in different family costumes walking among the elegant bamboo groves and fragrant gardens.

Only he, like an out-of-place tourist, wandered aimlessly.

This wasn't just his own feeling; in fact, the way people around him looked at him was also like that, with suspicion mixed with scrutiny.

"Who...is this person?"

"I've never seen him before, he looks completely unfamiliar."

"He seems to resemble the second son of the Zhao family somewhat."

"The second son of the Zhao family is already thirty-five years old. Old Huang is joking a bit, hahaha."

"Thirty-five? I never imagined that in the time I went into seclusion, the world would have changed so drastically..."

Cultivators rely on their family elders for introductions and connections.

If a family has outstanding descendants who are brought to such a banquet, they will be remembered by other prominent families, and either they will be related by marriage or they will be used as a basis for comparison.

Ji You, being an outcast and an oddball, naturally couldn't fit in.

However, this did not frustrate him. What frustrated him was that there were no single customers around, and the opportunity to develop clients was extremely limited.

Ji You doesn't like groups of people, fearing they won't provide good service.

He passed through the archway in the front garden and entered the right garden to continue searching for potential clients, but unexpectedly bumped into two familiar figures.

Princess Zhao Yunyue of Changle, Wei Rui, Kuang Cheng's sweetheart, and two other women, judging from their attire, should also be members of the royal family.

"Young Master Ji, over here!" Wei Rui suddenly raised her hand.

Upon seeing this, Ji You walked over and asked, "Miss Wei, what are you doing here? Where is my sworn brother, Scholar Kuang?"

"The Immortal Gathering Banquet is overseen by the Immortal Administration Bureau. He is the Director of the Reception Office and is currently busy coordinating things, so he will probably arrive later. Oh, by the way, let me introduce you to him."

Wei Rui looked at the two women beside her: "This is Princess Jiaren, and this is Princess Changjing."

Jiaren and Changjing were the two daughters of the late emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, but they did not belong to the imperial lineage. Strictly speaking, they were idle princesses who lived off the emperor's salary, and their cultivation level was only at the Micro-Illumination stage.

Zhao Yunyue, the only one who already knew Ji You, looked at him and couldn't help but ask, "Young Master Ji, are you wandering around alone because you can't find anyone you know?"

"Isn't it?"

Ji You replied softly, thinking to herself that there wasn't a single person left alone; they really weren't giving her a chance.

Zhao Yunyue actually noticed Ji You earlier than Wei Rui, taking in his silence, loneliness, sadness, and solitary wandering.

Having defeated Chu He, established his own clan, and served as an envoy to the snowy region, Ji You was indeed famous. He even refused the request to become his Daoist partner, seemingly standing proudly above the world and considering himself extraordinary.

But what happened at this banquet where so many powerful immortal families gathered? His true nature as a rural cultivator was completely exposed.

No one knew him, and he had no way to fit in, as if he were an outsider who had accidentally wandered in.

Just like how he was lucky enough to be admitted to the Heavenly Academy through private cultivation, he was out of place with his surroundings.

In fact, Zhao Yunyue's situation here, although slightly better than Ji You's, is not much better.

She was indeed a princess, but among aristocratic families, that was not enough to make her stand out.

Furthermore, since the Chong King can no longer interfere with tax collection, and the Yunzhou spirit stones are no longer the first choice for cultivators due to the impact of the Snow Region Demon Stones, the influence of their Chong King's Mansion has become even weaker.

However, she also has another identity: a disciple of Lingjian Mountain.

However, because he was a foreigner and had never entered the mountain to cultivate, he was not very familiar with the people of Lingjian Mountain.

The only familiar faces were Liu Junchi and his group, who had previously come to Shengjing to intercept the reserve pills. The two had agreed to meet here, but they had not yet arrived.

But in Zhao Yunyue's view, she was ultimately better than him.

Seeing this, Wei Rui couldn't help but ask, "Would Young Master Ji like to stroll around with us?"

What she really wanted to ask was when Young Master Ji would go to see Sister Yan, because she wanted to go with him, but she knew she couldn't say that.

After thinking for a moment, Ji You looked at Wei Rui and said, "Forget it, I'll go wander around first and come back to find you later. If I run into Kuang Cheng, remember to tell him to wait for me."

He still needs to develop clients, and it's not convenient for him to make a move while he's with a woman.

Especially since the two princesses were only at the Micro-Illumination Realm, while Wei Rui had no cultivation at all, it would be dangerous for her to stand by and clap her hands.

Princess Jiaren watched him leave and couldn't help but look at Zhao Yunyue: "This Ji You is famous throughout Shengjing, you could say that everyone knows him, so why can't he even meet a friend now?"

Zhao Yunyue came to her senses and patiently explained, "Qingyun Tianxia has always valued aristocratic families. No matter how much trouble he can cause or how famous he is, he will ultimately be disregarded here."

"Just like the maids in my household, no matter how well they do needlework, they can only ever be maids?"

"Your analogy... is quite apt."

At this moment, Ji You was unaware that she had been compared to a maid. Instead, she continued to walk deeper into the Right Garden. Although she did not find anyone alone, she did encounter some familiar faces.

First were the disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect, about thirty in number, all dressed in indigo-blue immortal robes. When they saw Ji You, their eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Ji You killed many of their fellow disciples in Qiling, and many people still remember this old grudge.

Min Cheng, who had tried to lure Ji You with silver but was nearly killed by Ji You, was also among them.

Too many people, poor service, forget it.

Ji You avoided their provocative gazes and continued westward, discovering that she actually knew quite a few people, such as Jiang Chenfeng, Jiang Yan, Jiang Yuerou, and Huo Hong, the younger brother of the Holy Son of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion.

Ji You and the others had all been on missions to the snowy region together, and could be considered to have gone through life and death together. Upon meeting, they couldn't help but chat for a few minutes.

"Is Young Master Ji's arm healed?"

"It's all better now, thank you for your concern, fairy."

Jiang Yan and Jiang Yuerou still remembered his heroic figure in the wilderness and had a good impression of him, so their attitude towards him was excellent.

Jiang Chenfeng, Huo Hong, and the others felt somewhat relieved to see that he was still in the Tongxuan Realm.

Ji You's combat prowess during his mission to the Snow Region was truly terrifying. For them, if his cultivation speed were as exaggerated as his combat power, his Dao heart would actually be affected.

Fortunately, he was still a master of metaphysics.

In fact, many people who know Ji You probably have this idea, even the people within the Heavenly Academy themselves.

He's only at the Tongxuan level, that's really great.

Besides these people, Ji You also met members of the Lu family from Yunzhou.

The Lu family is considered a large and powerful family in Yunzhou, but in a place where cultivators from all over the world gather, they are not actually among the top.

Lu Xiong, the head of the Lu family, took the initiative to greet Ji You. He did not mention the Snowfield Demon Stone, but expressed his gratitude to Ji You for teaching Lu Hanyan the swordsmanship.

Ji You had no good feelings towards these spirit stone families because of the foster care pavilion incident, but she did not embarrass Lu Xiong in this situation and responded with a few simple words.

However, what puzzled Ji You was that the lady standing next to the head of the Lu family was looking at her with a very strange gaze.

The strange thing about her gaze was that she was scrutinizing and appraising him with a condescending attitude, like an elder meeting a junior. She picked and chose him, seemingly looking at something. "Young Master!"

"?"

As they walked to the edge of a clear lake, Ji You heard a call and turned around to see Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu.

One of them was wearing a moon-white daffodil dress, and the other was wearing a ruyi cloud patterned shirt. They bowed to Ji You, and then Zhuo Wanqiu added in a low voice, "son-in-law."

Ji You turned to look at them: "Where is your little appraiser?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Wanqiu spoke up: "The Master of Appraisal met with several aristocratic families in the back garden whom we didn't have a chance to meet on the day we arrived. We had some free time, so we thought we'd come out for a stroll."

They didn't know where to go after leaving the back garden, so they just wandered around along the paths they could see. When they saw Ji You, they suddenly felt like they had found their pillar of support.

The appraiser is the master, and the son-in-law is also the master.

This is actually a very subtle feeling, especially for Ding Yao.

She had served Yan Shuyi since childhood and had never lowered herself to serve others. Even in Lingjian Mountain, she was the one who ordered others around.

But as her master and Ji You grew closer and closer, even biting each other's lips like that, she developed a subconscious obedience to Ji You.

Conversely, there is her relationship with the Daoist Sect.

Many disciples of the Daoist Sect attended the banquet.

Under normal circumstances, Ding Yao would definitely hang out with them, but with the Master of Appraisal making his stance clear, she knew that there was probably no chance for a relationship between Spirit Sword Mountain and the Dao Seeking Sect.

Therefore, continuing to cultivate the relationship with the Daoist Sect would no longer be of much significance.

Ding Yao suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but ask, "The Master of Appraisal told us before that if we met you when we came out, he would introduce you to some people. Do you have any free time now?"

"Do you know any people?"

"This is the opponent you need to be wary of this time."

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu then took him around and pointed out some Tongxuan Realm experts.

One of them is Zhu Yao, a newly promoted Daoist genius from the Daoist Path Sect. He is one of the participants in this competition and is said to have fought against a senior brother in the Dao Integration Realm of the sect without being at a disadvantage.

There was also a scion of a noble family who was not a disciple of the Immortal Sect, named Wei Bo. He had been hidden away by the Wei family of Yongzhou for many years, and when he made his move, he defeated all the disciples in his clan.

In addition, Zhuang Zixin, the younger brother of Zhuang You, the chief disciple of Tianjian Peak, is also on the list of people to be paid special attention to.

Next came Wei Yingmeng, the daughter of the branch master of Shan Hai Ge, Murong Yu, the daughter of the Murong family in Yuzhou, and Li Yunlang from the Li family, the former royal family of Zhongzhou.

These people are all quite influential, each backed by a powerful force, and their very existence inspires awe.

Because of their powerful backgrounds, these people are all formidable fighters.

So it wasn't just Ji You and his two companions who were watching them; many other people were also secretly observing this person as they passed by, especially some other contestants who were also at the Tongxuan Realm.

These contestants also had sources of information. Although they didn't know as much as the young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain, who could even find out what kind of Dao techniques these people usually used, they at least knew that these people were the favorites in the Tongxuan Realm competition of this Heavenly Dao Assembly.

As for Ji You, she received less attention.

After all, many of them had just come out of the long-term confinement, and as mentioned before, very few people knew what he looked like.

Ji You then looked at Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu: "Is there anything to worry about regarding the Tongxuan Realm cultivators of my Heavenly Academy?"

Zhuo Wanqiu opened her mouth: "These Tongxuan Realm cultivators from the Heavenly Academy are all very strong, but there are no outstanding ones. Young Master is a disciple of the Heavenly Academy, so naturally you know more about them than we do."

"The Heavenly Academy really has no prestige..."

"Well, young master is certainly outspoken..."

The three then moved towards the southwest side of the right garden, where they met their last opponent, whom they needed to be wary of, at the foot of a tall artificial mountain with thousands of stones piled up.

It was a young man standing under a crabapple tree, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe embroidered with auspicious beast patterns. He wore a wide black jade belt around his waist, and as the hem of his robe fluttered in the wind, his inner shirt embroidered with cliff patterns was faintly visible.

Ding Yao hesitated for a moment when pointing him out, but finally spoke up: "This person is named Yan Hao, the grandson of the peak master of Tianjian Peak, a master of the upper level of the Tongxuan realm, skilled in using a heavy sword, and his talent in swordsmanship is also extraordinary..."

Ji You carefully examined Yan Hao and nodded slightly.

Seeing this scene, Ding Yao felt somewhat conflicted, because no matter what, Yan Hao's participation in this battle represented the reputation of Lingjian Mountain.

In her opinion, it was a bit too much for the family patriarch to sell Yan Hao out for his lover. This was not something the patriarch who had always planned and strategized should have done, since the former patriarch had always prioritized Lingjian Mountain.

This was also the reason for her previous hesitation, but she had no choice but to obey the Emperor's command.

Ji Youci stared at Yan Hao for a long time before speaking: "Go back and tell Yan Shuyi that I will take care of this matter."

Ding Yao was startled by the voice: "Give it to the young master... what?"

"What this arrogant devil wants most right now is to weaken the influence of Tianjian Peak within your sect. This is what happened when he forcibly took 20% of the pills during the Xinyuan era. So if Yan Hao loses, and loses badly, it will probably shake a large number of Tianjian Peak disciples."

Ji You rolled up his sleeves: "If even the peak master's own grandson is so weak, then what's the point of them staying at Tianjian Peak if their resources are even worse than his? Don't worry, leave this matter to me. This is all I can do now."

As Ding Yao listened, her eyes gradually widened in surprise.

After thinking for a moment, she opened her mouth again and looked at Yan Hao, who was chatting and laughing with his friends.

How could it be understood this way?
She never imagined that the appraiser meant this.

But after Ji You said that, she suddenly realized that compared to the appearance of Lingjian Mountain, the most pressing issue in their sect was actually the internal strife between Tianjian Peak and Xuanjian Peak.

The Master of Appraisal has only been in power for a short time, and the foundation of Tianjian Peak is still the deepest.

Every year, the disciples who enter the mountain choose Tianjian Peak first, because Tianjian Peak has many elders, which means more opportunities.

However, if the peak master's grandson really loses, and loses in a somewhat undignified way, it will definitely affect the disciples' thoughts when choosing a mountain.

But most people wouldn't think that way, right? Ding Yao turned to look at Ji You. If it were someone else, they might just think that having a wife in a high position is too comfortable...

Unlike Ding Yao, Zhuo Wanqiu paid more attention to the second half of the sentence: "Young master, Yan Hao is not to be underestimated. We must not be careless and must treat him with caution."

Ding Yao also came to her senses at this moment: "Junior Sister Zhuo is right, Yan Hao's strength is indeed very strong."

In fact, apart from a few disciples of the Heavenly Academy, few people knew that Ji You's spot was earned by defeating two opponents of the same realm with four sword strikes, forcing the Elders' Council to give up the spot.

This is different from when he broke through the sword forest of Tianjian Peak and went on a mission to the Snow Region. Those things were publicized and made the Heavenly Academy look good, but this thing will damage the reputation of the Heavenly Academy's elders.

Therefore, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu were not very clear about Ji You's current strength and had no concept of it, so they were prone to worry.

Ji You nodded upon hearing this: "I will go and watch a few matches first. I won't be presumptuous. You two should go back first. If others see the two of you with me, your little appraiser and I will have trouble explaining ourselves."

Zhuo Wanqiu couldn't help but cough, thinking to herself, "Haven't we already made things unclear?"

Tsundere...

A chill ran down her spine. She thought to herself, "Besides you, who else in the world would dare to address the appraiser like that?"

"Will the young master go to the back garden to see the appraiser later?"

"Is the backyard a place anyone can go?"

“The disciples of each clan are all in the backyard, so we need to send invitations. But of course, young master, you don’t need to. Just call us.”

After listening, Ji You thought for a moment and said, "If we can find a suitable reason, we'll go. If not, then forget it. After all, the relationship between the Heavenly Academy and the Spirit Sword Mountain is not good."

After hearing this, Zhuo Wanqiu bowed and bid farewell to Ji You.

Ding Yao followed her away, but her expression was still somewhat complicated. After walking halfway, she couldn't help but speak up: "I thought the Master of Appraisal valued Young Master more than Spirit Sword Mountain..."

Zhuo Wanqiu looked at Ding Yao: "Spirit Sword Mountain will always be the most important in the heart of the appraiser. We should not question it. However, we should be glad that our son-in-law thinks so too."

"But... how did the appraiser know that the young master would understand so easily?"

"Maybe the appraiser really just wants her lover to win? Maybe the son-in-law really wants to do something for her."

(End of this chapter)