Chapter 2579, Banquet Translator: Silavin & Ashish Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys “Ah!” Yang Kai was really shocked when he heard this, as this was a rather severe consequence. He originally only wanted to spare the small Wood Spirit from overexerting herself, so he never expected that this would cause her to be excluded by all her clansmen. He hurriedly took back his offered hand rather awkwardly and smiled apologetically at the small Wood Spirit, “Then I shall be troubling you!” Only then did the small Wood Spirit continue to pick up the wine barrel and fill the stone cup in front of him before she quietly flew to the side. Elder raised his stone cup and heartily announced, “The bright moon is in the sky and the Honoured Guests are like jade. This Elder represents the Stone Spirit and Wood Spirit Clans in toasting our guests! Honoured Guests, please drink to your fill!” The Stone Spirits all raised their stone cups up high and gestured at Yang Kai as they followed Elder’s actions. Yang Kai hurriedly rose up and toasted everyone around him. He then poured the delicious wine down his throat in one gulp. Only then did he turn over the stone cup to indicate that he no longer had any wine. The Stone Spirits all drank the wine in their cups and shook their heads with expressions of delight. It seemed that this wine was incredibly delicious to them. “Honoured Guest, please sit down!” Elder made a gesture, indicating Yang Kai to sit after he drank his wine. Only then did Yang Kai sit down again. The wine in his stomach really did taste exceptional. Its flavour kept swirling around endlessly in his mouth as he enjoyed the memory of drinking it. Even someone like Yang Kai, who wasn’t that fond of alcohol, was feeling refreshed all over after drinking this wine. He wondered just what type of winemaking techniques the Wood Spirit Clan possessed. After enjoying the wine, Clan Head Mu Na, who had been standing by Elder’s side all this time, suddenly clapped her hands lightly. Twenty or so Wood Spirits instantly flew to the centre of the clearing. Half of the Wood Spirits were holding small and exquisite musical instruments. Nobody was conducting for them, but the sound of flutes and violin filled the air alongside the percussion of a strange wooden drum. It was as if the mountains and rivers themselves were playing music, and it was extremely pleasant to the ear. The Wood Spirits kept playing their instruments as the wonderful music echoed in the beautiful forest. The other half of the Wood Spirits began to flit about and dance lightly with the musical melody. It was truly a sight that was completely foreign to Yang Kai; a completely different kind of culture. What Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi saw and heard seemed to contain a mystical effect that could cleanse the heart and soul, so the two guests instantly calmed down as they kept watching everything. This was especially so for Ruo Xi. Her eyes seemed to glimmer as the more she watched the Wood Spirits, the more she liked them. The Stone Spirit Elder was also smiling as he watched them. He would caress his stone beard and gently nod whenever he saw something good. The small Wood Spirit refilled Yang Kai’s wine once again, but he didn’t even notice. He only felt as if his entire body and Soul had been sucked towards the music and dance, giving him a calm experience like never before. All idle thoughts in his heart had vanished completely. Yang Kai didn’t return to his senses for a long while even after the dance ended. However, a nearby commotion shocked him out of his reverie, and when he turned to look at what it was, his face instantly twitched. The nine other Stone Spirits, Xiao Xiao included, were actually all eating ravenously as if they had been starving since they were born. All of them were gulping wine voraciously from their wine barrels. The delicious wine that ordinary people would never be able to see in their lifetime was spilling down from their mouths onto their chests, wasting countless litres. The Stone Spirits were drinking the delicious wine while grabbing the spirit fruits in the wooden baskets in front of them, stuffing the fruits into their mouths, and chewing wildly… The nine Wood Spirits nearby serving them wine all had looks of awkwardness as they watched the Stone Spirits. These two species put together seemed like a team of graceful beauties and utter barbarians. It was quite a powerful visual contrast. Elder and Clan Head Mu Na seemed to be accustomed to all this as they both watched everything with slight smiles without saying a word. Yang Kai decided to also quietly taste the spirit fruits. The spirit fruits raised by the Wood Spirit Clan and the spirit wine they made were not only delicious, but they also seemed to have the miraculous effect of cleansing the mind and Soul. Yang Kai was really astonished by this as he secretly felt that if a person with dissonance in their cultivation could obtain such a thing, perhaps the dissonance could be significantly eased. After several rounds of food and drink, the atmosphere became much livelier. Two Stone Spirits that had become shaky from drinking suddenly stood up from their seats and walked to the central area with large steps. Yang Kai didn’t know which ‘Shi numbers’ they were, since they looked pretty much identical. The instrument-playing and dancing Wood Spirits seemed to know what was about to happen, so they all hurriedly avoided the two Stone Spirits and flew out of the central area as they smiled and watched the show. Yang Kai and Ruo Xi didn’t know what the two Stone Spirits wanted to do, so they watched with great interest. The two Stone Spirits in the central area exchanged glances for a while before they suddenly roared angrily in unison and charged at each other. There was a huge boom as the two Stone Spirits crashed into one another like two mountains smashing together. One Stone Spirit grabbed the other’s neck with both hands, while the other had both hands grabbing onto his opponent’s waist. Both of them stood right where they were with legs wide open as their legs kept kicking at each other. It seemed as if they had absolutely irreconcilable enmity with the other, and truly wanted to kill each other. Yang Kai was truly shocked and afraid that these two behemoths would forget themselves in the battle and accidentally injure the nearby tiny Wood Spirits; however, the small Wood Spirits actually seemed to really enjoy the battle as they even shouted loudly to cheer on the two Stone Spirits. After quite a while, Yang Kai finally understood that the two Stone Spirits were apparently play wrestling with each other. However, the Stone Spirit Clan possessed incredible physical strength, so there were no other species that would be able to play such barbaric wrestling. Every clash made his eyes widen, yet the two species’ clansmen felt that this was completely normal. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮 After quite a while passed, one Stone Spirit found an opportunity to trip the other’s foot as he exerted force with both hands and knocked his opponent onto the ground, which caused dust to fly everywhere. “Hou!” The victorious Stone Spirit roared at the sky and energetically slammed his fists on his chest in an incredibly arrogant manner. Another nearby Stone Spirit wasn’t able to take this as he immediately jumped to the central area and began to fight with the winning Stone Spirit… Stone Spirits were constantly eliminated in battle, and as more and more were eliminated, the atmosphere kept getting more heated to the point where even the Wood Spirits seemed to forget themselves as they flew to the central area and kept shouting as they circled the two fighting Stone Spirits. Yang Kai also enjoyed himself as he watched the commotion. His emotions were stoked as well as he also shouted to support the Stone Spirits. However, trouble came for him as he watched. Eight adult Stone Spirits had been eliminated by now, and when the final victorious Stone Spirit saw that he had no opponents left, he actually turned to Yang Kai and made a hand gesture for him to come up and fight him. “Me?” Yang Kai pointed at his own nose and hurriedly waved his hand, “No, no, I’m fine with just watching.” [Me wrestle them? What a joke! It would take a masochist to want to wrestle against a Stone Spirit!] Yang Kai had already tested Xiao Xiao’s immense strength long ago, and he could say for certain that in a pure contest of physical power, even ten of him wouldn’t be an opponent for a single Stone Spirit. However, the Stone Spirit didn’t give him any face at all and insisted on waving at him to come and compete. When he saw that Yang Kai didn’t want to come forward, he actually waved his large stone hand widely. A dozen or so small Wood Spirits immediately flew over and surrounded Yang Kai. Without giving him a chance to say anything, they directly lifted him up and brought him to the central area. “You …” Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For the first time, he felt that these small Wood Spirits weren’t actually cute at all. After setting Yang Kai down in the central area, the small Wood Spirits all scattered outside with expectant expressions. Yang Kai turned to look at Elder and the Wood Spirit Clan Head with a pleading expression. Elder just laughed heartily though, obviously having no intent of helping Yang Kai. However, Mu Na said in a gentle tone, “Honoured Guest, you may use all of your might without any worries.” Yang Kai felt rather helpless since even she was saying things to such an extent. He estimated that if he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique, perhaps he would be able to compete with the Stone Spirit… Before he even finished planning though, the Stone Spirit actually roared angrily while pouncing at him as he grabbed Yang Kai’s arm and tripped his foot. Yang Kai was stunned as he felt the world around him spinning as he heavily crashed into the ground. After the Stone Spirit succeeded in throwing Yang Kai, he raised his arms up high while crying and howling, acting like he was undefeatable and that nobody would dare to challenge him. Yang Kai crawled up from the ground, covered his face, and backed away as he slunk back to his seat. This was so embarrassing. He wasn’t an opponent at all! When competing only in strength, it seemed unlikely that anyone would possibly be stronger than a Stone Spirit. The little Wood Spirit, who was serving Yang Kai wine, glanced at him sympathetically and poured him another cup in silence. Seeing that Yang Kai suffered a loss, Xiao Xiao, who had not taken to the field yet, was furious. He suddenly rushed to the centre of the field and rolled up his imaginary sleeves, as if he wanted to avenge Yang Kai, but he was the youngest and smallest Stone Spirit, so when facing the adult Stone Spirit, he could only insist on three breaths of time before being thrown out, hitting the outside with a bang. The banquet was lively, with the two races getting along joyously and enjoying each other’s company. After the first round of play wrestling, the Stone Spirits began another round, using all their might. After eating such a loss, Yang Kai reaffirmed that he would not try to compete against any of the Stone Spirits anymore, and just sat aside and watched quietly. During the second half of the night, the Stone Spirits were still making noise. It seemed that they hadn’t celebrated like this in a long time, and looking at how they were acting, it was likely that this was going to continue until dawn. Meanwhile, most of the Wood Spirits were already exhausted, their heads bobbing up and down, almost dozing off. The small Wood Spirit, who had been standing next to Yang Kai, suddenly flew to his side and leaned on his ear and said something softly. Yang Kai looked ahead and saw that Stone Spirit Elder and Wood Spirit Clan Head over there had gotten up and walked towards a large tree cave not far away. While they moved, Mu Na gave him a meaningful glance. Yang Kai understood and hurriedly stood up, quietly sending a message to Zhang Ruo Xi, telling her to stay put for now. When he stood at the entrance of the tree cave, Elder had already gone in, leaving just Mu Na waiting outside. When she saw Yang Kai, she extended her hand and gestured, “Please enter!” Yang Kai didn’t know what these two clan heads wanted from him, but he did not ask any questions and followed along, entering the tree cave. This tree cave seemed to be bigger and older than the others. Yang Kai looked around before asking, “What can I do for you, Elder?” Elder turned back and gestured with his hand for Yang Kai to sit down so they could talk. After Yang Kai took his seat, Elder asked, “Are you here to take Shi Jiu away?” Shi Jiu was Xiao Xiao’s given name in the Stone Spirit Clan, since he was the youngest. [So, it was about this…] Yang Kai understood and smiled, “If he is willing to leave with me, and if Elder is willing to allow him to leave, I will surely take him away. I will not lie to you, Elder, I came to the Ancient Wild Lands this time specifically to look for him, and to check up on his well being.” Elder gave a gentle nod, indicating that he understood Yang Kai’s intentions. Yang Kai continued, “However, if he wishes to remain here with you, I will not force him to leave with me. It has always been a wish of mine to have him meet with his own kind, so now that he has found his clansmen, and they are willing to accept him, I see no reason to take him away. I would actually like for him to stay here.”