Offering Salted Fish to Master - C2
Chapter 2
An Excess of Beauties.
On the third day, the young master, who appeared quite youthful despite being over three hundred years old, arrived to escort her to the selection venue. As Liao Tingyan traveled, she was awed by the vastness of Gengchen Immortal Mansion. Their journey was made aboard a swift magical vehicle that took at least two hours to arrive, and they only covered a small area of the mansion.
"We're approaching Qu Dong Thirty-Six Immortal Mountain, which stretches for eight thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight miles, all within the Gengchen Immortal Mansion's boundaries," Master Dong Yang explained as if reading her thoughts. "Indeed, our sect is quite expansive; many lower-level disciples live in these affiliated cities their entire lives, much like citizens of a mortal country."
Liao Tingyan reflected on her newfound knowledge with astonishment.
In the distance, she spotted a massive square that resembled a plain, flanked by dozens of jade pillars. A grand palace rose majestically in the center, resembling a phoenix. Many disciples were already gathered there, with a steady stream of newcomers arriving. The sight was magnificent, and it filled Liao Tingyan with a sense of trepidation.
True Person Dong Yang was like a parent sending a child into an examination room. After escorting her, he offered her an encouraging look filled with warmth before stepping away to wait, leaving Liao Tingyan among a gathering of beautiful disciples.
Standing in the corner, Liao Tingyan looked up and felt as if he had stumbled into a beauty pageant. If it were a beauty pageant, it would surely be a competition, as everyone around her was as beautiful as a fairy. Choosing a champion would be challenging, and after a while, Liao Tingyan began to experience a bit of aesthetic fatigue from all the beauty surrounding her.
Eventually, she yawned, cracked her neck to the left and right, and decided to do some eye exercises to relieve the strain. There were at least 10,000 people gathered in the venue, and the stunning individuals in various dresses were chatting softly among themselves. Some of them noticed Liao Tingyan standing there.
“Who is this Junior Sister?” one of them remarked.
Liao Tingyan, adept at navigating social situations, introduced herself politely as a disciple of the renowned Qinggu Tiandongyang. The beauty who had spoken to her laughed, covering her mouth, with a hint of arrogance in her eyes. Although her hand gesture was meant to be elegant, it came across as haughty and mean. "Oh, she’s not a sister; she’s a niece," she replied dismissively before turning away, clearly uninterested in her. Liao Tingyan, unfazed, ignored her and turned her head, much to the frustration of the girl who thought she could belittle her.
Liao Tingyan overheard snippets of their conversation and realized that the beauties around her were either single spiritual roots, mutated single spiritual roots, or top-level double spiritual roots. In the cultivation world, a genius was born every ten years, while truly exceptional geniuses gathered only once every hundred years. They were here, clustered together like a pile of Chinese cabbage.
Moreover, many of them belonged to the same generation as the true Dongyang and held high statuses, which naturally led them to look down on Liao Tingyan, this unassuming disciple. Perhaps if she had been strikingly beautiful, they would have taken the initiative to talk to her.
Liao Tingyan thought to himself, “Who cares! It seems that what the leader said is true. I’m just here for the experience.”
━━━━༻❁༺━━━━
“Five people have arrived!” someone exclaimed.
“Yes, there was a great evil demon event a few years ago, and at that time, there were only four palace owners. Why have five come today to select disciples? It seems the higher-ups are very serious about this matter,” another replied.
Liao Tingyan listened intently as the women around her whispered, their tones filled with surprise and excitement.
On the high steps, an old man began to speak. “Today, we will select a hundred people from all the disciples present here, who will serve Taoist Cizang.”
The old man spoke briefly before allowing several people beside him to release their auras. The energy enveloped everyone in the field, including Liao Tingyan. After a moment, the rays of light diminished, revealing only a hundred individuals who remained bathed in the glow. These were the ones chosen by the palace masters.
Liao Tingyan frowned, still bathed in rays of light, and wondered, “Why was I chosen when I only came to observe?”
“Since I have been selected, there’s no other way. Don’t worry,” Dong Yang thought. “Although I have never met the Taoist Zizang, just hearing that name is probably a blessing. The elders are wise; if I go, just take care of my duties and stay in my corner.”
"Oh, there’s no way to avoid it when challenges and unexpected events come crashing into our lives. They arrive uninvited, often catching us off guard and pushing us to confront situations we’d rather sidestep." Liao Tingyan adopted the mindset of a modern social being, slowing down and looking past any stress. She believed that there were no hurdles in life. If there were, she would simply lie down and take it easy. After all, it’s about lying down at the finish line, no matter the starting point.
Once she adopted this perspective, nothing seemed like a problem anymore.
━━━━༻❁༺━━━━
Many people were puzzled about how Liao Tingyan had been selected. Normally, with so many female disciples eligible, there were others who seemed more qualified than her. Even Liao Tingyan herself couldn't explain why she had been chosen, which left many senior and junior disciples puzzled as they came to inquire about the news.
"I heard that both Baidi Mountain and Chishuiyuan sent representatives to participate in the ceremony of Taoist Cizang," one disciple mentioned.
"It's not just Baidi Mountain and Chishuiyuan; various big and small sects are showing interest. However, it seems that participation requires certain qualifications. This time, the exit ceremony won't allow outsiders to join. Instead, they can go to the Three Sacred Mountains to welcome him in person. Only disciples from our Gengchen Immortal Mansion, along with the masters of various palaces, caves, and lineages, will be allowed close. Others must remain at the foot of the mountain, and people from other factions cannot approach."
"Senior Sister Liao should be able to attend, as she was chosen as one of the hundred disciples to serve Taoist Daojun Cizang." The young men spoke with envy as they glanced at Liao Tingyan.
Nodding in response to their eager gazes, Liao Tingyan confirmed, "Yes, I should be able to see it."
"I really want to know what kind of person Daojun Cizang is! Unfortunately, we juniors can only greet and send him off from outside; we aren't qualified to meet him in person."
"Junior Sister Liao, if you get the chance to meet him, would you tell us about it later?"
"Of course." Liao Tingyan agreed. To be honest, she had imagined the ancestor as an elderly, fat man with white, flowing hair and a long beard, typical of his age. She envisioned him as having kind features, a broad forehead, and thick ears resembling those of a bodhisattva, perhaps with a red mole on his brow.
As she pondered this, she felt a growing sense of anticipation, akin to preparing for a meeting with a national celebrity. In this cultivation world filled with demons, ghosts, and immortals, the influence of Daojun Cizang was substantial. The day he finally emerged from his retreat, the entire Gengchen Immortal Mansion seemed to come alive with excitement.
|
|
|
 |