Chapter 168 Great Hospitality
After Lyu Liang finished his closed-door meditation, he learned about his companions’ performance in the compet.i.tion. Hearing Liu Jiawen’s perky words, Lyu Liang smiled a pleasant smile—it seemed that his companions were not a mediocre lot.
10 days before they entered the relic, Lyu Liang received an invitation from Huangfu Gang and Duan Xiaofang again. He was able to give some excuses last time, but now it seemed that he couldn’t decline them anymore. Keeping Feng Xiu’s warning in mind, Lyu Liang decided to accept the invitations. And of course, he would go alone.
Since Huangfu Gang was the first to extend his invitation, Lyu Liang went to his mansion first. When he entered the gate, he couldn’t help but mutter, “This guy is so extravagant!”
The entire mansion was covered by thick Primordial Qi, which could almost rival that of Virtual Land. The yard was vast, with many servants and maids on guard or cleaning, and their cultivation, were all at least, at the Peak of Nascent Soul.
Seeing Lyu Liang, all of them greeted him respectfully. The maids were all graceful and charming, dressed s.e.xily. When they bowed to Lyu Liang, their b.r.e.a.s.t.s were almost exposed, and they even cast coquettish glances at him.
With a fiery, red face, Lyu Liang walked to the hall, where he received a warm hug from Huangfu Gang. This time, he did not see the grey fog.
“It’s my honor to have brother Lyu come to my shabby residence! Come on! I have prepared a banquet with the finest divine food and wine. Let’s drink and chat!” Huanfu Gang’s hospitality was too much for Lyu Liang.
During the entire banquet, Huangfu Gang kept a low profile. Although he was undoubtedly much older than Lyu Liang and his cultivation was at the Peak of Almighty Immortal, Huangfu Gang insisted on regarding himself as a junior, which made Lyu Liang feel much resigned.
Just as Huangfu Gang said, all the dishes and wine were rarities. They could either nourish the Divine Soul or improve the Primordial Qi. Anyway, it was an eye-opener for Lyu Liang.
Lyu Liang had thought that Huangfu Gang would sound him out about something, but during the banquet, the topics were all about Lyu Liang’s heroic deeds. If Feng Xiu hadn’t warned him, Lyu Liang would have got come away with a favorable impression of Huangfu Gang. Even now, he doubted whether he had been over worried. After all, they hadn’t met before, and he shouldn’t be prejudiced against someone, because of some partial judgment.
Two hours later, Lyu Liang asked to leave, and Huangfu Gang had a reluctant look on his face. Then, Huangfu Gang clapped his hands, and 10 beautiful maids came in, all of whom were at the Void Return level. Each of them held a square tray in her hands, which contained a superior treasure!
“These are the maids in my residence, each beautiful, talented, and virginal. If you don’t mind, please take all of them! And here are some rare treasures. You may need them someday. Please accept them together!” Huangfu Gang’s words almost rendered Lyu Liang speechless.
Lyu Liang declined with all kinds of excuses and finally persuaded Huangfu Gang to take back the gorgeous maids. In the end, he chose only a large Teleportation Talisman and expressed a thousand thanks, before he left.
When he came back to his cave residence, he breathed a sigh of relief and discussed with the divine beasts in his Divine Soul, “What do you think of Huangfu Gang?”
White, “Deep. That’s my only comment.”
Black, “I don’t like him! There seems to be something hidden behind his smile.”
Golden, “I have no special feeling. I just feel that he adores Lyu Liang. But just as the saying goes, when the fox preaches, take care of your geese!”
Ape, “His wine, wine, wine tastes good…”
Fatty, “I feel that he’s a nice guy. He seems to really want to make your acquaintance. I have no bad impression of him.”
Lyu Liang kept all these comments in mind and didn’t ponder over it, for the time being. Then, he set off for Duan Xiaofang’s residence.
At the same time, Huangfu Gang was also pondering about Lyu Liang.
“How do you feel about Lyu Liang?” Huangfu Gang was tasting the wine, and behind him, was a cloud of fog.
“Humph! He’s just a callow idiot with a stupid face. He’s still green and inexperienced! Does he really deserve your care?” There was an evident hint of disdain in the fog’s mysterious voice.
Huangfu Gang tossed off the wine in the cup, and then his eyes lit up, as he said somehow excitedly, “Do you know? You are like this because you look down on those who should not be treated in this way! Lyu Liang is definitely not simple! He was cautious in his speech, indifferent to my praises, and shrewd inside, although he looked foolish and unguarded. Also, this guy remained composed in front of beauties and treasures, and what he finally chose, was a Talisman. All of these suggest that he has a meticulous mind and rich, practical experience. Besides, according to my observation, he has more than one spirit on him. He’s such a robust rival!”
“Humph!” The fog was not convinced. He lowered his voice and said, “What a pity that he will perish in the relic! I don’t want to see him again!”
“Ho ho, my thoughts are different from yours. He has so many secrets that I want to probe his soul thoroughly! If he dies in the relic, how disappointed I will be! Also, I hope that our people will not kill him so fast.” Huangfu Gang sighed with regret in his eyes.
“Hey hey, who knows? They are our best soldiers. It’s all up to Lyu Liang. Oh yes, the guy from the Feng family seems to be wary of you. Have you ever offended him before?” The fog sneered and changed the topic immediately.
Huangfu Gang frowned and shook his head as he said, “I have no impression. Even if I’ve met him, it was before my closed-door meditation. But you reminded me of something. There was a man, whose Cultivation Method was somehow weird. Could it be… Forget it. Just wait until the exploration ends. If he doesn’t come out, I won’t need to worry about him anymore!”
Lyu Liang headed to Duan Xiaofang’s residence at dusk, which was also a courtyard. It was much more ordinary than Huangfu Gang’s, yet gave off a certain aura.
When Lyu Liang came to the front of the yard, the door opened suddenly, before he could even knock. Then, four robust men, each at the Peak of Almighty Immortal, jumped out and rolled up their sleeves, in front of him.
When Lyu Liang prepared himself for a fight with them, the four suddenly grinned and said, “Senior Lyu, this way, please! Childe Duan has been waiting for you!” Then, they dragged Lyu Liang into the yard directly.
When he entered the yard, a familiar feeling swept over him. A crowd of people was serving at a large, long table and respectfully greeted “Senior Lyu” when they pa.s.sed him. The scene reminded him of the feast at several larger tables, during the Spring Festival in the Siji Village.
Duan Xiaofang showed up at this time. And beside him, were 10 people of different ages, all of whom were at the Peak of Almighty Immortal.
“Brother Lyu, you’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for you for a long time! Come here and let me introduce my family to you!” Duan Xiaofang pulled his arm and began introducing the people behind, to him.
Hearing Duan Xiaofang’s chatter, Lyu Liang finally understood that these were all his relatives, whether uncles or aunts. When Lyu Liang tried very hard to remember everyone, a male and a female arrived. The male was whiskered and robust, while the female was pet.i.te, demure, and graceful.
“Brother Lyu, these are my dad and mom. They’ve been expecting you!” Hearing Duan Xiaofang’s words, Lyu Liang greeted the two immediately and thought to himself, “Good guys! The male is at least at the Tao Master level, and the female should be superior to him!”
“Haha, so you’re Lyu Liang?! I’ve heard of you from brother Feng, and today I finally get to meet you!” The man laughed heartily. He did not have the haughty manner of a high-level cultivator.
Lyu Liang was glad to find that “brother Feng” was likely to be senior Feng Li, and then he confirmed it, after asking the man.
After that, the banquet began, with almost 20 people, sitting around the table. The dishes and wine were ordinary, but amidst the drinking and toasting, shouting and yelling, Lyu Liang felt more comfortable here, than in Huangfu Gang’s residence.
“Brother Lyu, our family have been here for generations. Our ancestors used to be bandits, and even after our family came to the Heaven Realm, they still could not change their habits. Please forgive us!” Duan Xiaofang said in a low voice, as he scratched his head in embarra.s.sment.
“Never mind! I was also born in the countryside, and I enjoy such a scene very much! Brother Duan, you said that you came from the Heaven Realm?” Lyu Liang really liked the scene, and at the same time, he also put forward his doubts.
Duan Xiaofang said, with a laugh, “Yes! Our family lives in the Heaven Realm, and we’re here to offer some help! Our ancestors were born in the Chaotic World. Whether we are humans or immortals now, we can’t forget our roots! Since we came through a secret pa.s.sage, we can maintain our cultivation at the Peak of Almighty Immortal!”
Lyu Liang was filled with esteem inside, and he deeply valued such a grateful heart.
The banquet lasted for three hours, so even though Lyu Liang came at dusk, it was already dark when he left. He didn’t want to take any gifts, but Duan Xiaofang and his family were so hospitable and gave him Primordial Stones directly. And yet, what they gave, were 20 ultimate-grade Primordial Stones!
According to Duan Xiaofang, the ultimate-grade Primordial Stone, generally, was not used as currency, but as a shortcut to increase Primordial or an attacking device.
It could not only recover one’s Primordial Qi entirely within 30 minutes but also release lots of Primordial Qi in a second, which was useful in some explosive moves.
Lyu Liang was more than thankful for the gift. Apparently, he liked this family’s style better and had a much more favorable impression of Duan Xiaofang.
When he came back to his cave residence, Lyu Liang also asked the divine beasts to comment Duan Xiaofang. All of them agreed that Duan Xiaofang was a nice guy.
Nine days later, the 10 people finally gathered together, and followed four powerful figures of the Immortal Allies, to the mountain range at the west end of the main battlefield.
Between the two mountains stood a giant, bronze gate. It was dark inside and invisible even through the Divine Sense.
The bronze gate reminded Lyu Liang of the relic of the Immortal Devil in Breeze Valley. It was seemingly the same as the one he had seen, huge and carved with complicated, obscure patterns.
Just as they arrived at the gate, a group of people flew in from the distance—it was the 10 black-robed people, sent by the Nether Big World.
Both sides seemed to be used to the scene, and entered the relic directly after one glance at each other.
Lyu Liang’s group went in first, and the black-robed people followed behind. After they entered the relic, they blocked their auras tacitly, and began walking forward, just like mortals.
Behind the gate was a gra.s.sy road between two lofty mountains. It was not that wide, even if they walked along two sides of the way, they were only about 15 meters away from each other.
After one and a half hours, the vision became much broader—a lush ancient forest appeared in front of them. At this moment, some people from both sides exclaimed in a low voice. Lyu Liang looked around, and was also stunned by what he saw.
Not far away, a giant rhinoceros, which was over 130 meters tall, was slowly chewing off half an enormous tree. It seemed to have noticed the people, because it stopped what it was doing, and tossed a glance at them, with one eye. But then, it lowered its head and began chewing again.
Seeing that glance, Lyu Liang had broken out in a cold sweat, which soaked his clothes. Apart from him, the other people were also significantly stunned, and even Zhu Yan, who always had an optimistic face, had a nervous and stern look on his face.
Lyu Liang was convinced that it could kill all of them, within several breaths of time, if it wanted. Although it didn’t exude any cultivation aura, there was a sense of suffocating oppression in the air.
At this moment, the woman’s excited, quivering voice came from his Divine Soul, “The forbidden beast! It’s the forbidden beast from the forbidden area of Remote Antiquity! And, and it’s at the Third Prohibition level, just as powerful as our Forbidden Lords!”