Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 789: Grand Gift

Although the Vast Sea Daoist Lord possessed a Space Incipient Dao Fruit and could be considered formidable among half-immortals, Meng Jingzhou felt that once he cultivated to the half-immortal stage, he might very well be able to challenge the Vast Sea Daoist Lord in combat. In particular, when he saw Ao Ya and the Vast Sea Daoist Lord exchanging flirtatious glances, he was certain the Vast Sea Daoist Lord was enjoying himself.

Meng Jingzhou was convinced that when the Vast Sea Daoist Lord was dragged into the side chamber to be “exploited” under the demands and pressure, it was voluntary. Otherwise, he would have used his Space Incipient Dao Fruit to escape long ago!

So you envy my Single’s Spirit Root, huh? Wait till I become a half-immortal—I’ll show you what a half-immortal’s Single’s Spirit Root is like!

Finally, the Old Dragon Emperor made his entrance.

With the appearance of the birthday star, the entire hall rose in unison, congratulating the Old Dragon Emperor on his grand birthday. Their voices were thunderous, like mountains and seas roaring. All the East Sea’s high-level cultivators had gathered here to offer their congratulations. In the East Sea, only the Dragon Emperor could command such a treatment.

Ao Ya and the Vast Sea Daoist Lord were exceptions. Their seniority was higher than the Old Dragon Emperor’s, so they did not need to follow the crowd.

“Alright, that’s enough. No need to be so reverent to this old man.” The Old Dragon Emperor sat on the palace leader’s seat with a benevolent smile on his face, gesturing for everyone not to stand on formality. The most important thing when celebrating a birthday was to be at ease.

Clam maidens and members of the Jiao-Folk Tribe danced gracefully in the center of the main hall, their beautiful movements enchanting the audience.

Dancing was also a form of cultivation. There were quite a few cultivators who entered the Dao through dance, though few chose this particular cultivation method. To date, the individual with the highest attainment on this path was Zhu Tian. Since Zhu Tian emerged and established the Demon Kingdom, the number of cultivators entering the Dao through dance had begun to increase.

~~~

“I can’t find any other way to leave this damn bead. We might as well just break it.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy laughed triumphantly. It seems that we still have to rely on the method I’d thought of from the start.

Lu Yang had no other choice but to agree to the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s idea.

~~~

The birthday banquet proceeded smoothly. Aside from the underwater dances, Conch tribesmen were playing immortal-like music, while aquatic scholarly talents composed and recited poems extolling the Old Dragon Emperor’s majesty and benevolence. Dragon Tribe elders transformed into their original forms to showcase magical arts and theatrical performances depicting the glorious achievements of the Old Dragon Emperor in his youth.

Seeing this, the Old Dragon Emperor raised his wine cup high, laughing heartily as if he had become two thousand years younger.

The Black Feather Venerable Lord was suffocating below. Behind each of these glorious achievements hid stories known to few. He yearned to reveal them, but considering this was a birthday banquet, he figured it wouldn’t be appropriate to stage a performance of the birthday star brandishing a cane to beat someone.

The Mystic Water Daoist Lord was similarly suffocating.

After the theatrical performances concluded, the gift-presenting segment commenced.

In the Old Dragon Emperor’s youth, he had been a rake, unrestrained and licentious, fathering over thirty children.

One must know that the higher a cultivator’s cultivation, the more difficult it was to produce offspring. The Dragon Tribe was not an exception to this. With Ao Ya as an example, back when Ao Ya and the Vast Sea Daoist Lord were like lovers inseparably joined at the hip and not leaving their room for a full month, Ao Ya still did not get pregnant.

“Emperor Father, this is a Nine-Cycle Spirit Pill I commissioned a Great Xia pill-concocting grandmaster to refine. It can regulate the body and nurture vital energy.” The Dragon Palace’s First Prince opened a box, revealing a spirit pill with nine pill marks. The moment it was opened, a rich fragrance assailed the nostrils. It was clearly a marvelous pill. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

“Emperor Father, this is a Five-Colored Evergreen Flower I retrieved from the depths of the Netherworld Abyss. It will never wither.”

The Five-Colored Evergreen Flower symbolized longevity, for it never withered—a fitting gift. However, this flower grew in the Netherworld Abyss, which teemed with countless Fusion stage demon beasts and was fraught with danger. The fact that the Second Prince could pluck it under such circumstances demonstrated his filial piety.

Over thirty princes and princesses presented their gifts in succession. Some emphasized efficacy, others sincerity, but the commonality was that all these items were extremely difficult to obtain. Every reveal elicited gasps from the crowd. It was truly befitting of the tremendously wealthy Dragon Palace; even the gifts were so precious. Most of the gifts from the Fusion cultivators couldn’t compare.

“The Five-Colored Evergreen Flower is quite pretty,” the Vast Sea Daoist Lord muttered, chewing on a Nine-Cycle Spirit Pill to restore his yang energy.

Meng Jingzhou cast a strange look at the Vast Sea Daoist Lord. Founding Ancestor, why are you carrying that thing around?

The Vast Sea Daoist Lord was inwardly annoyed and transmitted an auditory message to explain. “I just used my Space Incipient Dao Fruit to retrieve this from our sect a moment ago!”

Meng Jingzhou simply uttered, “Oh.”

Then, he saw the Vast Sea Daoist Lord reach under the table, secretly activating his Space Incipient Dao Fruit to open a small spatial portal directly to the Netherworld Abyss and pluck a Five-Colored Evergreen Flower.

“I’ll give this to Little Ya after the banquet is over,” the Vast Sea Daoist Lord murmured cheerfully.

After the princes, princesses, Dragon Tribe elders, and Fusion cultivators presented their gifts, it was the Transcendent Tribulation cultivators’ turn to showcase their sincerity.

Among all the gifts presented so far, the one the Old Dragon Emperor liked most was the Ancestral Dragon Grass given by Ao Ran. He directly beckoned Ao Ran to bring it up for closer inspection.

The Old Dragon Emperor greatly revered the Dragon Ancient Ancestor—Ancient Ancestor Ao Ling, who could be termed the strongest half-immortal. As such, he also liked anything related to Ao Ling.

He carefully examined the dragon-claw-shaped Ancestral Dragon Grass, and a scene from ancient times seemed to unfold before his eyes—the Dragon Ancient Ancestor tenderly caring for the Ancestral Dragon Grass and watching it grow robustly.

“Senior Dragon Emperor, this junior has an item here that is also related to the Dragon Ancient Ancestor.” The Three Mountains Daoist Priest held a wooden box aloft with both hands, displaying respect to the Old Dragon Emperor.

Although the Vast Sea Daoist Lord’s arrival had made him nervous for a while, he felt relieved upon remembering that the Great Void Immortal Grass would also be effective against a half-immortal.

“Oh, something related to the Dragon Ancient Ancestor? What is inside the box?” The Old Dragon Emperor grew interested. Although seafolk and humans often clashed in the East Sea, as the leader of the sea tribes, he still admired the Three Mountains Daoist Priest, who was the leader of the humans.

The Dragon Ancient Ancestor was a legendary figure in the East Sea, her influence no less than that of Jiang Lianyi in the Demon Region.

Everyone’s gaze converged on the Three Mountains Daoist Priest, curious to know what the box contained.

The Sea-Listening Teacher and the Six Directions Venerable Lord still lacked experience. As soon as they thought of what was about to happen, they broke out in a slight cold sweat.

The Three Mountains Daoist Priest smiled faintly, appearing calm and composed as he said unhurriedly, “The most important aspect of a gift is the element of surprise. Why don’t you open it personally, Senior Dragon Emperor?”

“That works too.”

Ao Gu’er, who stood by the side, took the wooden box and delivered it to the Old Dragon Emperor’s hands.

Seeing this, the Three Mountains Daoist Priest was assured that his plan was more than halfway to success.

In truth, the wooden box didn’t contain anything related to the Dragon Ancient Ancestor. This was merely a pretext to trick the Old Dragon Emperor into opening the box himself and coming into close contact with the Great Void Immortal Grass’ poison.

The Old Dragon Emperor eagerly opened the wooden box.

A loud sound pierced the air, as if something had shattered. Thick smoke billowed from the wooden box, obscuring one’s view.

Two figures suddenly appeared. When the Old Dragon Emperor saw one of them, he was tongue-tied, his eyes visibly widening in shock. He was so overwhelmed with emotions that he couldn’t speak for a long time. Clutching his chest, his eyes rolled back, and he nearly fainted.

The Three Mountains Daoist Priest circulated his cultivation technique to resist the Great Void Immortal Grass’ poison. I didn’t expect it to be so potent, dense enough to block even spiritual consciousness and line of vision.

The corner of his lips curled into a cold smile as he casually stepped forward. “Senior Dragon Emperor, how do you like this grand gift I’ve presented?”

“I...I like it.”

“Do you currently feel your senses blurring and your soul unstable, as if you’re experiencing hallucinations?”

“Yes.”

The Three Mountains Daoist Priest wore a smug expression of someone whose scheme had succeeded. When he walked over to the Old Dragon Emperor and saw the two figures within the smoke, he froze.

The smoke dispersed, revealing the figures of Ao Ling and Lu Yang.

The Three Mountains Daoist Priest stood rooted to the spot, dumbstruck.

Why is the Dragon Ancient Ancestor here?

Did I get poisoned too?