Chapter 689: Gathering Of Guests “Young Master, is there a problem with the Maple King?” The madam was quite puzzled. In theory, the Maple King’s question was quite reasonable, so why was her Young Master so unwelcoming towards him? “The treefather wants to communicate with our deity, and they want me to be the intermediary for their messages...” Li Qiye smiled and asked: “Do you think such a story is believable?” The madam was confused and said: “Is there a problem with this? Young Master is the only person who can communicate with our Divine Guardian.” “You are mistaken about this. If the Allpine Treefather truly wanted to communicate with the Giant Bamboo Deity, then there would be no need for a messenger since he can directly send his messages.” Li Qiye smiled while shaking his head. The madam couldn’t help but say: “However, I heard that the treefather cannot leave Allpine Mountain.” Li Qiye said: “Zi Yan, your information regarding this aspect is a bit lacking. Both the treefather and our Divine Guardian... For existences of their level, distance is no longer a problem unless it is crossing between the nine worlds. Therefore, the treefather shouldn’t have any issues communicating with our guardian.” “Young Master is saying that....” After hearing his response, the madam was slightly stunned since she didn’t expect that this would be possible. “So to say, that wasn’t the reason why the Maple King came. The whole thing about communication was only a facade.” Li Qiye slowly explained. The madam found it strange and asked: “Then what did the Maple King come for? In theory, Allpine Mountain is stronger on all fronts compared to our Giant Bamboo Country. We shouldn’t have something for them to scheme for.” “No rush, it is not hard to find an answer to this question.” Li Qiye smirked and calmly said: “If Allpine Mountain wants our assistance, then they will come again sooner or later.” As the birthday celebration of the treefather drew closer, more and more carriages and guests came to Allpine Mountain. The reception line at the entrance of the mountain was endless and extremely crowded in some locations. Many sects from the three realms brought along experts and disciples to give the treefather their blessings. Luckily, the mountain was vast so there was still enough space to hold the guests from all over the world. Although monstrous existences like the Alchemy Kingdom, the Jianlong Clan, the Beastmaster Citadel, and the Heavenhoof Ravine were present, ordinary guests didn’t have the chance to even meet them. However, this didn’t stop them from discussing the great characters from these monstrous lineages. The older cultivators could stay calm, but the younger ones couldn’t handle their excitement. For a grand matter like the birthday of the treefather, outside of being a good chance for older cultivators to meet again, this was also a great opportunity for the younger generation to broaden their horizons and an occasion for them to make their names known. Because of this, the mountain itself almost became a stage as many young people, especially the proud geniuses, quickly showed themselves. The descendants and disciples from all the big sects talked to each other, made friends, and even competed among themselves. Small groups also gossiped continuously, and this continued on every day at Allpine Mountain. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚 Thus, during these conversations, lineages like the Alchemy Kingdom and the Jianlong Clan naturally became hot topics of discussion. “I heard that someone from the Alchemy Kingdom’s imperial family came to celebrate the treefather’s birthday. Could it be that Fairy Ming is here?” Although they had heard about the imperial family’s arrival, none of them had the chance to see them. Nevertheless, some still inquired due to their curiosity. The younger generation, especially the boys, talked to the point of craze about the number one beauty. A young male cultivator from the Stone Realm excitedly uttered: “Is Fairy Ming actually here? Rumor has it that the fairy visited our Stone Realm last year, I wonder if that was true or not.” Ming Yexue, the main descendant of the imperial family and future ruler of the kingdom was also known as the number one beauty of the Stone Medicine World. Any of these statuses were incomparably grand and untouchable. Thus, when anyone referred to Ming Yexue, including the older generation, all would call her “Fairy.” “Who knows. Fairy Ming has always been mysterious and low-key, and it is said that very few people have actually seen her. I heard that all those who saw her were enchanted. Unfortunately, those who have seen her face are few in number even across our entire Alchemy Realm.” An Alchemy Realm’s cultivator emotionally explained. “Yeah, Fairy Ming’s charm is boundless. I heard our Golden Crow Prince from the Heavenhoof Ravine also fell for her upon their first meeting.” A young cultivator from the Beast Realm excitedly commented. “That’s nothing. I heard that even the supreme celestial being also marveled at Fairy Ming after seeing her. Rumor has it that he might have a chance of marrying her.” The young participants couldn’t help but become silent after the supreme celestial being was brought up. Ye Qingcheng — this was a magical name. Both old and young would become silent after hearing this name, even the most arrogant of geniuses. “Strictly speaking, if Fairy Ming is the most eligible to become the imperial queen, then the supreme being is the most qualified to become the Immortal Emperor.” Although some people felt annoyed in their minds, they couldn’t help but admit this fact. [1. Empress would sound better than imperial queen here, but those are two different words. For example, Empress Hong Tian is Nu Di (female + emperor) while this word is Di Hou (imperial queen). Note that some of the more clunky terms in ED are pretty deliberate not just to be close to the raw in terms of the words themselves, but more about the overall meaning. It is because there are too many terms in ED, or else I would just go easy and use “queen” for this word instead of including the imperial prefix.] Countless people among the younger generation adored Fairy Ming, so no one was willing to talk about this matter any longer. To them, if Ye Qingcheng truly wanted to court Ming Yexue, then no one else could compete with him. “I heard that someone from the Jianlong Clan came as well.” Those who didn’t want to continue discussing the issue of marriage, since it was only a cause of sadness, changed the topic. The young cultivator from the Stone Realm inquired: “Mei Aoxue, no, Young Noble Mei is also here?” [2. Mei Aoxue = Apricot + Arrogant Snow.] A cultivator who knew a bit about this issue lightly shook his head and said: “No, just some other disciple from their clan. I heard that Mei Aoxue... No, Young Noble Mei only ordered someone to come in her stead. [3. Note, the reason why these speakers are hesitating is because she is a girl, but people still call her Young Noble, which is an address meant for guys.] “Pretty amazing, right? Young Noble Mei leaving the Jianlong Clan by herself... Is this the prelude to her ambition of creating her own sect or country?” Someone couldn’t help but comment. There was a saying in the Stone Medicine World: Imperial Edge Mei Aoxue, Celestial Being Ye Qingcheng. Another one dictated: Not a man yet even better than one; the woman with a heroic spirit, Mei Aoxue. [5. The word here is closer to frontier/border, but edge also has that meaning and sounds better.] Mei Aoxue was renowned across the world along with Ye Qingcheng. Moreover, she came from a monstrous existence, the Jianlong Clan. A cultivator movingly said: “Although Young Noble Mei didn’t debut early like Ye Qingcheng and her fame is not as great, in recent years, her momentum has become unstoppable. She welcomed experts from all over the world to form her own group. I’m afraid she will be able to establish her own country in just a few years.” Another youth from the Stone Realm said: “Young Noble Mei’s country could be considered established already, but she still hasn’t made it official for now. Young Noble Mei’s Imperial Edge has become a great power; it’s extremely strong and can’t be overlooked by any sect.” “Young Noble Mei is quite ambitious, she wants to become the Immortal Emperor of a generation, an Empress, actually.” Said another. [4. Capitalizing Empress here since it is a special word for certain female emperors. There are other female emperors who still use Immortal Emperor instead of Empress. The only Empress I know of so far is Hong Tian. It might just be in titles only, but I’m gonna keep the distinction intact even for the translation.] Although Mei Aoxue came from the Jianlong Clan, she was very different from others. Many geniuses relied on their sects or clans to begin their rise, but Mei Aoxue chose not to do so. Her story was a legend throughout the Stone Medicine World. It told that the Jianlong Clan didn’t worry about mundane matters, but Mei Aoxue had supreme talents and wanted to reach Immortal Emperor. The story told that she left the Jianlong Clan at a very young age to venture all over the world, including many dangerous locations, in order to train herself. A few years ago, Mei Aoxue came out of nowhere and established the unstoppable Imperial Edge by herself. Within this timeframe, her fame slowly caught up to Ye Qingcheng’s, and others started to honor her by calling her Young Noble Mei. “The seclusive powers like the Jianlong Clan came, but other monsters like the Beastmaster Citadel from the Beast Realm have arrived too.” Someone stated. “There is more than just the Beastmaster Citadel from our Beast Realm coming here, such as the Heavenhoof Ravine. A few days ago, I actually saw the Pill Monarch from the Beastmaster Citadel...” A different cultivator from the Beast Realm responded. *** While the young ones congregated together to talk about all kinds of interesting topics, Li Qiye waited several days inside the valley before he suddenly opened his eyes and told the madam standing by his side: “Come, we’ll take a trip outside. The scenery of Allpine Mountain is top-notch in the Alchemy Realm, so wouldn’t it be a waste if we don’t go sightseeing for a bit?” The madam didn’t say anything and continued to accompany him. The moment they reached the door, the Imperial Draco-Bull dragged the carriage over without Li Qiye having to say anything. Li Qiye sat on the carriage and casually handed the reins to Madam Zi Yan. She hesitated for a moment before accepting the reins in a natural manner. Li Qiye sat inside while the madam sat next to him with the reins in one hand, acting as if she was the driver. “From now on, this Imperial Draco-Bull shall be the second Divine Guardian of the Giant Bamboo Country.” Inside the carriage, Li Qiye told the madam. She couldn’t help but be slightly jolted upon hearing this since this was outside of her expectations. Keep in mind that not just any existence could become the Divine Guardian of a country. “Moooo—” After hearing this, the bull let out a cry. It was obviously very reluctant to take this position. The beast’s response surprised the madam even more. One must know that their Divine Guardian right now was the Giant Bamboo, an existence known as a deity of the Godking level. However, this buffalo ahead actually didn’t want to become their Divine Guardian. This made her feel quite dejected. [spoiler title=’689 Teaser’]“Young Master, is there a problem with the Maple King?” The madam was quite puzzled. In theory, the Maple King’s question was quite reasonable, so why was her Young Master so unwelcoming towards him? “The treefather wants to communicate with our deity, and they want me to be the intermediary for their messages...” Li Qiye smiled and asked: “Do you think such a story is believable?” The madam was confused and said: “Is there a problem with this? Young Master is the only person who can communicate with our Divine Guardian.” “You are mistaken about this. If the Allpine Treefather truly wanted to communicate with the Giant Bamboo Deity, then there would be no need for a messenger since he can directly send his messages.” Li Qiye smiled while shaking his head. The madam couldn’t help but say: “However, I heard that the treefather cannot leave Allpine Mountain.”[/spoiler]