Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 127: True Dragons Birthday Banquet

It looked like Ji Yuan no longer needed to answer Ying Ruoli’s question. The Green Vine Sword’s independent reaction was enough to illustrate the point.

Ji Yuan looked at the Dragon Goddess and replied politely.

“It is indeed an immortal sword.”

Ji Yuan was not surprised by the Dragon Daughter’s question. Monsters rarely paid attention to material objects. Moreover, it was very difficult to make an immortal spirit weapon arise. Having spiritual energy and developing a spirit were two different things. Even with a Taoist cultivator, it was extremely difficult to come in contact with the principles of the Tao, let alone without one. Even the Dragon Daughter had never seen a true immortal weapon.

“How did my father and Uncle Ji meet? It’s rare that he insisted on inviting you here without hesitation. With so many aquatic monsters and other creatures, it must be a little uncomfortable for Uncle as a cultivator, right?”

The Dragon Daughter was no different from ordinary monsters, but as the main deity of the Tongtian River, she held a sacred position of worship. Perhaps this was the reason why she was arranged to sit at the table next to Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan listened to what the Dragon Daughter, glanced around at the people in the hall who were paying attention to him, and nodded in agreement:

“It’s true that I feel uncomfortable, but it is not disgust, but rather pressure. By coming here, I feel that I have taken away nearly half of the attention that should be given to your father, the birthday host. How could I not feel uncomfortable when people are staring at me while eating?”

The concept of “attention” was rather novel, but it wasn’t difficult to understand. This “Uncle Ji” managed to relate the truth in such a humorous fashion. When the Dragon Daughter thought about it and realized the truth of his words, she too found it a little funny.

“As for how we know each other, we just happened to meet in the rain, chatted for a bit, and shared a few jujubes.”

“It’s that simple?”

The Dragon Daughter looked at Ji Yuan in surprise, and the latter smiled.

“It’s that simple!”

After finishing his sentence, Ji Yuan concentrated on the delicacies he was eating. It was the first time in both of Ji Yuan’s lives that he had eaten food in the water. As soon as his chopsticks touched a meatball floating towards him, the bubble of air immediately wrapped around it.

When he picked it up and put it in his mouth, the bubble broke away into smaller bubbles and rose along with the water currents, making it look like Ji Yuan was blowing a steram of bubbles in the water. The meatballs themselves were hat, soft to chew, and tasty, and the surreal scene only added to the experience, making the whole event both delicious and fun.

The same thing happened when he poured himself another glass of wine from the jug. Although upon careful tasting he could detect a hint of spiritual energy contained in the alcohol, Ji Yuan still felt that in terms of the fundamental taste, it was not as delicious as Qianrichun. Of course, it was definitely still better than ordinary wine.

The music in the underwater palace was all formed from all water bells.¹ The melodious chiming was accompanied by singing and dancing at the center of the hall. The beauty of both the dancers and their movements was enchanting, and the dance itself was very rhythmic.

Several of the performance pieces greatly stunned Ji Yuan, just like that time he had watched a “pas de deux”² on the Internet for the first time and realized that classical dance could be truly stunning.

It was this combination of strength, softness, and beauty, with every dance move precise and on beat, that prevented the banquet from being boring. As they enjoyed the performance, the aquatic creatures around him toasted and chatted with each other.

Some people also raised their glass and bravely came to the main seat to toast and congratulate the Old Dragon. The Old Dragon did not refuse anyone who approached him, accepting their glasses and laughing with anyone who flattered him.

To the side, the Dragon Girl quietly named each person who came to toast her father for Ji Yuan. The gathering included the gods of various rivers and lakes in Dazhen, as well as water spirits and monsters from other countries.

All the while, various large fish swam around the dancers, delivering new dishes or empty plates.

The Dragon Son Ying Feng descended on behalf of his father to give a toast to the various underwater creatures and ease the atmosphere. When he passed by the table where the Dragon of Tianshui Lake was sitting, there were already four or five water spirits and creatures gathered there, drinking and chatting. When they saw Ying Feng, they quickly called him over.

“His Royal Highness Ying Feng came down just in time! Come over, come quickly!”

The Flood Dragon of Tianshui Lake transformed into a middle-aged man with a luxurious beard and pulled Ying Feng to sit down next to him. Several monsters formed a semicircle around the two tables that they had shoved together.

“Your Royal Highness, we don’t dare to ask the Lord Dragon directly, so please tell us quickly, who is the person sitting next to the River Goddess?”

Ying Feng subconsciously turned his head and glanced at Ji Yuan, who was drinking contentedly and picking up food in the distance. He seemed out of place, separate from the singing and dancing in the hall. He only responded when Ying Feng’s sister spoke with him occasionally.

Ying Feng glanced at his father again; he was staring at the central dancer, Man Wu, and nodding in appreciation. Then he turned back around and spoke to these friends, whom he knew well:

“This person’s name is Ji Yuan. I don’t know where he learned to cultivate. He a close friend my father has made in recent years. However, his whereabouts are extremely erratic. In order to find him and invite him to this banquet, my father spent three years looking for him!”

The monsters looked at each other in disbelief.

“The Lord Dragon personally went looking for him for three years?”

The Flood Dragon of Tianshui Lake was named Gao Tianming. He looked over at Ji Yuan and asked another question.

“Your Highness, do you know what this person’s cultivation level is?”

Ying Feng looked at the six or seven faces around him, and took a sip of some of the wine in his glass.

“My father asked my little sister and I to call him ‘Uncle Ji’, what do you think?”

Those present found themselves speechless. As they did nothing but look at Ji Yuan over on the other side of the hall, although he still appeared to be an ordinary man, the more they looked the more unfathomable he became.

Ying Feng had probably drank a bit too much today; he quietly waved to a few people and motioned for them to come over.

“You guys, concentrate on on keeping your mind clear, then look carefully at the space behind that person’s back!”

Hearing the Dragon Son’s instructions, a couple of the water spirits calmed themselves and looked carefully in Ji Yuan’s direction. Upon closer inspection, they could see a vague outline floating in the water. As they continued looking over the space of a few more breaths, a green sheathed sword appeared.

What was even more peculiar was that the hilt of the longsword appeared to be a wrapped green vine, lush and verdant.

Crucially, this sword had no point of contact with Ji Yuan, but would rotate on its own from time to time, as if observing this bizarre birthday banquet.

“This is… an immortal sword?”

Ying Feng nodded and said:

“Its sword intent is nearly invisible, and it is able to disappear under its own power. On the eve of the banquet, my father said in private that once this sword is unsheathed, its power would be astounding.”

With his words, it seemed there was no need to further explain the cultivation level of the only guest at this banquet who wasn’t a monster.

Moreover, since he could remain such a close friend of the Dragon Lord and was invited to the banquet, he must be a true cultivator who did not discriminate against the monster races. This prompted several of the monsters present to get an idea.

Looking at how some of the monsters around him had flickering eyes, Dragon Son Ying Feng seemed to understand what they were thinking.

“Hehehe… Do you guys want to ask for ‘immortal guidance’?”

The so-called “immortal guidance” referred to the fact that, when monsters, ghosts, humans, gods, and other cultivators encountered a true immortal, they could ask to “discuss the way of the Tao” and receive guidance. If successful, it would greatly benefit their future practice.

In fact, the more experienced an immortal was, the easier they would be to “talk to.” If they were in a good mood, it was even possible for them to give you some advice. The biggest issue was encountering them.³

The transformation stage was not the end of a monster’s cultivation, but rather the beginning. It could be regarded as forming a better foundation for cultivation practice, but it did not automatically mean that the road ahead would be smooth.

Therefore, even if a monster had a high level of cultivation, they would still take the chance to ask an immortal for advice. However, just as the cultivation levels of monsters varied, so too did the levels of “immortals” in their perception. An “immortal” in the eyes of an untransformed spirit might be nothing special to more powerful monsters.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Ying Feng addressed them with a serious tone.

“I advise you to give up these thoughts for now. If you meet each other in the future, that will be your business. After all, this is my father’s birthday banquet, so it’s not appropriate…”

“Haha, His Highness is right!”

“Yes, that’s right, His Highness Ying Feng is correct!”

“How could we be so abrupt? Hahaha…”

“Drink, let’s drink!”

“Let’s watch the dance. Look at the movement, this dancer is beautiful!”

……

The birthday banquet had gone on for a long time, and Ji Yuan had already relaxed. Fortunately, there were no idiots jumping out and asking things like, “What qualifications does this human have to sit there?” The power of a True Dragon was no joke.

However, Ji Yuan was a little curious: he still had not caught a glimpse of the Dragon Mother. However, he wouldn’t ask about such things unless someone brought it up.

Apart from eating and appreciating the singing and dancing, most of Ji Yuan’s attention actually fell on a person in the corner of the main hall. He sat there with a despondent look on his, drinking alone, not bothering to touch any of the food or speak with anyone around him. Even if someone spoke to him, he didn’t react much, and would just respond with once sentence at most.

Ji Yuan’s attention fell on him not because he was unique, but because Ji Yuan recognized this person. He was Bai Qi, the River God of Chunmu River.

This old flood dragon’s cultivation level was doubtless one of the highest in the main hall, save the True Dragon himself. His depression stemmed from his two failed attempts to transform into a True Dragon, and was particularly obvious at the True Dragon’s birthday banquet. He seemed to have immediately closed himself off.

Combining the content from “A Historical Account from Outside the Tao” and the events that had previously occurred in Chunhui Prefecture, Ji Yuan had developed his own evaluation of the old flood dragon.

The Dragon Daughter’s task today was to look after Ji Yuan, so she naturally paid very close attention to this “Uncle Ji.” She followed his gaze to where the white dragon was sitting.

“Mr. Ji knows the God of Chunmu River?”

When the Dragon Daughter asked her question, Ji Yuan considered his answer for a moment. Chunmu River was large, and there were quite a few River God Temples with statues of various river gods. There didn’t seem to be a problem in saying that he knew him, so he nodded without any hesitation.

“It is difficult and dangerous to transform into a true dragon. This white dragon serves as a lesson for us flood dragons. If I were to end up like him, it would be a fate more painful than death…”

The Dragon Daughter spoke from the heart. As her cultivation level improved, she even developed a subconscious fear of the true dragon transformation.

Ji Yuan opened his eyes wide and watched the changes in the Dragon Daughter’s aura. This state of mind was not quite right. After all, she was the daughter of his friend, so some words of encouragement were necessary.

“Haha, everyone knows it is difficult to transform into a true dragon, yet everyone covets that freedom. It is difficult to have both in this world. The same is true for cultivating immortality in the mortal world; if you don’t have the courage to forge ahead and risk your life, how can you talk about coveting the body of a true dragon…

Ji Yuan looked at the white dragon as he spoke.

“This white dragon’s heart is full of vitality and ambition, but he just used the wrong method. In my opinion, even now it is not irreversible. If the Lady River Goddess can’t even muster the heart to face this challenge, how can she be worthy of being the daughter of a true dragon?”

Dragon Daughter Ying Ruoli looked at Ji Yuan in surprise, not because of how shocking his words were, but rather because this “Uncle Ji” seemed to think that the old white flood dragon still had a chance!

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T/n: STILL ALIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!! I’m super behind on like, everything, but mental health breaks are very nice. Hugs to everyone here!

1. 水 (shuǐ): water, 钟 (zhōng): a bell. Probably just like a special underwater gong
2. 玉人舞 (shuāngrénwǔ): pas de deux (2-person ballet), or 玉 (shuāng): jade, 人 (rén): person, 舞 (wǔ): dance. I wasn’t sure whether it was a traditional Chinese dance or literally the pas-de-deux, but I was leaning towards pas de deux
3. In short: immortals are considered a kind of beneficial cognitohazard. They’re so steeped in the Tao that even just talking with them can improve your practice.