Chapter 138 Chen Family Foundation Building Banquet

Qingfeng Mountain was clear and bright today, with a gentle, pleasant breeze.

The path to the mountain gate was very smooth, and many of the buildings were decorated with joyous adornments.

A section of the road leading into the mountain was covered with a red carpet to show solemnity.

The Non-Clan Cultivators all came to help today, serving tea and water to the guests.

The Guest Welcoming Pavilion was divided into two floors for reception, matching the reception specifications of other Foundation Establishment Families.

The first floor was for Qi Refining Cultivators, and the second floor was for Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Chen Songxuan had prepared the pre-made spiritual dishes over the past six months; they were all pre-prepared banquets stored in the Ice Fresh Pavilion, needing only reheating today.

The Chen Family organized everything very standardly, without cutting corners. Outsiders could tell this was a Foundation Establishment Immortal Banquet.

The Chen Family invited all the Qi Refining Families in the Prefecture, as well as the Lu and Zhu Families.

Qi Refining Immortal Clans that received invitations would generally send representatives to attend, though not the entire clan; they sent some representatives or those willing to go.

Lu Xilou and Zhu Zelin were certainly going to attend. Chen Li did not invite Foundation Establishment Cultivators from other prefectures.

However, one month after the Chen Family announced the news of the Foundation Establishment Immortal Banquet, the Wu Family from Yunan Prefecture sent someone to deliver an invitation to the feast.

The Wu Family of Yunan Prefecture was the one Zhang An was attending a banquet at when Chen Li and the others killed him.

Thirty years ago, the Wu Family had three Foundation Establishment members; now they have four, making them one of the top three Foundation Establishment Families in the Nanwu Kingdom.

Over the years, despite Yao Beast disasters, schemes of entrapment, and infiltration by demonic Cultivators, their Wu Family had not lost a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator and had only become more glorious. This Wu Family truly had some depth.

When a Foundation Establishment Immortal Banquet is not held in one's own prefecture and an invitation hasn't been received, it is common practice for Foundation Establishment Families in neighboring prefectures to try and attend the feast of a newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivator from another prefecture. This is an attempt to get acquainted and network.

The main Family generally would not refuse an invitation delivered in person, as the attendees would be Foundation Establishment Cultivators, which could liven things up and boost their prestige. Why refuse?

In the first month after the news was released, no one sent invitations, but after Chen Li subdued an established Loose Cultivator Foundation Establishment Cultivator in Maan Prefecture, four neighboring Foundation Establishment Families successively sent invitations to the feast.

They were all Foundation Establishment Families from neighboring prefectures. The Chen Family accepted all these feast invitations; they refused no one who came.

Zhu Lingyue was hosting the Qi Refining Cultivators on the first floor. Zhu Lingyue's apparent cultivation level at this time was the Eighth Level of Qi Refining.

Chen Songxuan's apparent cultivation level was the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, and he was also busy hosting and serving hot food and drinks on Qingfeng Mountain.

Chen Songxiao, Brother Ox, and the Three-Flower Cat were stationed at Black Magpie Mountain, while Chen Songli was still in seclusion.

Chen Songyan was stationed at Dongbai Mountain, protecting the pregnant Xu Yunqiu and the young Chen Baizhao. It was reasonable for her not to attend the banquet due to her pregnancy.

Chen Songmei came to the first floor. Her apparent cultivation was the First Level of Qi Refining, and her Spiritual Root Aptitude was Four Spiritual Roots. Under the blessing of Chen Li's Golden Core Qi concealment Spell, she would not be discovered by anyone below the Golden Core Cultivator level.

Over the years, quite a few perceptive people noticed that the first generation of Cultivators in the Chen Family all possessed Spiritual Roots, but after learning that only one had Three Spiritual Roots and the rest had Four Spiritual Roots, they lost all interest.

Chen Songmei publicly claimed to have Four Spiritual Roots.

This situation had occurred in families in the Southern Border before. In one case, where both parents had Spiritual Roots, they had seven or eight children, and five of them had Spiritual Roots, but they were all mixed Spiritual Roots. That Family felt Heaven was unfair upon realizing they had birthed so many mixed Spiritual Roots, and the second generation of that Family declined.

If Chen Li had given birth to a few more children, it was likely that individuals without Spiritual Roots would also appear. Furthermore, with so many pseudo spirit roots, they didn't think it was a good thing; rather, they considered it misfortune and bad luck for the Family.

In this world, many Cultivators believed that being born without Spiritual Roots meant having none at all. Therefore, they attributed the situation of having so many children with Spiritual Roots to the parents simply having a slightly higher probability than others.

...Guests continuously entered the mountain. Li Chun shouted out to the Cultivators attending the banquet and presenting gifts in front of the Guest Welcoming Pavilion.

The representatives sent by each Family would more or less present some gifts.

Although the Chen Family did not care about these meager offerings, they still had to maintain appearances.

Chen Li was monitoring the entire scene with his Divine Sense, occasionally overhearing some news.

"Little friend, how many Spirit Chickens does this mountain raise?"

An attendant, a Fourth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivator from an unknown Family, naturally struck up a conversation with Meng Chong.

Meng Chong replied, "Esteemed Guest, I am not clear about that."

"Oh, how many Spirit Stones does your Formation shop sell in a year?"

"Esteemed Guest, I am also unclear about that."

"What do you do?"

"Esteemed Guest, I am here to serve tea and pour water. Do you require tea?"

The attendant glanced at Meng Chong, his expression turning unpleasant. He said two words, "Uninteresting," and walked away.

Chen Li observed this person. A few minutes later, from his conversations, he discovered that the attendant was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Li Family of Yunan Prefecture. Chen Li made a mental note; it seemed someone was keeping tabs on his Family.

The Li Family of Yunan Prefecture had no connection whatsoever with his Family. For them to come here and immediately inquire about their affairs was a bit unusual. Chen Li planned to find an opportunity to observe this Li Family.

Actively nipping potential trouble in the bud was the cultivation of every cautious Daoist.

Soon, all the Families had arrived, and the banquet for the Qi Refining Families began on the first floor.

On the second floor, there were six true Foundation Establishment Cultivators at the tables, plus one who had already achieved Foundation Establishment. The Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Li Family of Yunan Prefecture was seated at one of the tables, his expression completely calm.

Chen Li drank with these six true Foundation Establishment Cultivators, not the spiritual wine made from drunken dragon bamboo, but an ordinary spiritual wine, presenting himself as a newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivator—high-spirited and triumphant.

The scene was one of clinking glasses and exchanging pleasantries. Everyone spoke nicely, engaging in superficial social interaction, drinking heartily, and eating heartily.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Chen, on advancing to Foundation Establishment! I heard you subdued the Loose Cultivator Fellow Daoist Li in Maan Prefecture! We admire you!"

"Just a stroke of luck, luck!"

The wine table was filled with flattering words; you praised me, and I praised you, everyone smiling.

On the first floor, Zhu Lingyue and Chen Songmei sat at a table. At this table was Zhu Lingyu, the Three Spiritual Roots member from the Zhu Family, who was also Zhu Lingyue's cousin.

She was the cousin who introduced Chen Li to her at the Luo Family.

A few years ago at the wedding banquet celebrating the alliance between the Lu and Zhu Families, Zhu Lingyu was at the Seventh Level of Qi Refining; now she had reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

"The Songmei child seems more lively than Songli, eating so heartily!"

Chen Songmei said with a full mouth, "Auntie, my appetite is very good. You should eat more too."

Zhu Lingyu patted Chen Songmei's head and laughed, "Haha, this child is so cute, I like her very much."

Zhu Lingyue rolled her eyes at Zhu Lingyu and said, "Still haven't found a man who suits you after all these years?"

"I did find one I liked, but I crippled him!"

"Ah? You, you are just too strong-willed!"

Zhu Lingyu cursed, "That person didn't know what was good for him, so I could only cripple him."

Zhu Lingyue didn't ask why he didn't know what was good for him and said, "Find someone else after you reach Foundation Establishment. I see you are at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining; is the Family preparing for your Foundation Establishment?"

"Mm, I can only focus on Foundation Establishment first. I will achieve Foundation Establishment within the next three to five years. You are doing well too; your man treats you too well, you are already at the Eighth Level of Qi Refining!"

The information Zhu Lingyue released publicly was that she was at the Eighth Level of Qi Refining. With the Chen Family's two Qi concealment Spells cast by her current Middle Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, almost no one present could detect that she was hiding her true level.

"I am truly envious of you now!"

Zhu Lingyue smiled without responding to Zhu Lingyu's words. Only she knew the happiness in her heart.