82 The Four-Seas Banque (2/2)

”When you see him, you will know.”

Jing Jiu took the jasmine flower tied to her temple and put into his sleeve.

…

…

The intimidating sword source in the night sky faded away after Xiao He had left.

The ocean wind made whistling sounds as it blew through the broken temple.

Jing Jiu ambled to the cliff edge, looking at the dark Western Ocean, and fell silent for a long time.

He didn’t think of anything, but simply looked at the ocean. They would leave this place behind in a few days, and as far as he could foresee, they wouldn’t come back for many years.

Zhao Layue walked up beside him. ”We’ve been killing those evildoers in the last two years all because you wanted to attract the attention of the Old Ones?!” she asked.

”Yes, because I needed to find them.”

Without turning his head around, Jing Jiu added, ”Of course, the last two years were also spent cultivating.”

”You suspect the Old Ones had something to do with the failure of Senior Grandmaster?” asked Zhao Layue.

”First of all, it might not be a failure. Second, it’s still hard to ascertain the relationship yet,” said Jing Jiu.

”Who is the person you said would come and find her?” asked Zhao Layue.

”I hope she never meets him ” said Jing Jiu.

”Are we done here?” asked Zhao Layue.

Looking at the Western Ocean under the night sky, Jing Jiu thought of the Old Ones, Liangwang Peak and Liu Shisui. ”I still haven’t seen that person yet,” said Jing Jiu.

Zhao Layue was surprised. ”The person you wanted to see wasn’t her,” she said, ”but Xiwang Sun!”

Yes, the person Jing Jiu wanted to meet was the host of the Four-Seas Banquet, Xiwang Sun.

However, the problem was, to meet this person you had to participate in the Four-Seas Banquet and be a winner in any one of the four tournaments: zither, chess, calligraphy or painting.

Looking far out at the Western Ocean, Jing Jiu suddenly asked, ”Is it hard to learn how to play chess?”

…

…

The day that the Four-Seas Banquet began, Haizhou hosted a variety of activities. High-class courtesans strolled the streets, there were performances from an acrobatic troupe from Yan County, and of course there was opera singing. The residents of Haizhou came out from their homes, filling the streets. The street vendors were quite pleased; the guards responsible for security, not so much.

The streets belonged to the mortals; the actual Four-Seas Banquet was held in the Lone Mountain outside Haizhou. Since the early hours of the morning, the sky had been illuminated from time to time by sword lights and the glow from precious treasures. The Cultivation practitioners were arriving, and most of them had to take carriages from Haizhou City to get there as their Cultivation states were not high enough to ride the swords.

The warm ocean breeze caressed the green trees on the Lone Mountain. If not for the white clouds in the empty blue sky, it would be unbearably hot today, but the incredible thing was that a patch of white cloud stayed in the same spot all the time. resisting the ocean wind, casting a shadow precisely on the Lone Mountain and bringing cool air to the participants on the mountain.

On the side of the Lone Mountain facing the ocean, a dozen buildings were neatly spread out in a perfect geometrical arrangement.

The practitioners strolled in the midst of the buildings, enjoying the ocean view, talking in low voices and looking up at the white cloud in the sky once in a while.

The patch of cloud was quite thick, looking like a dense white fog. The sword lights and green smoke could be seen vaguely in the cloud, and some flying eaves were visible intermittently.

This was a significant place for the Western Ocean Sword Sect—the Cloudy Platform.

The important figures of various sects had already been received on the platform. Later on, the guests of the Four-Seas Banquet would also be received there in the cloud. But those who could meet Xiwang Sun in person were only a select few.

Some of the decks on the buildings on the Lone Mountain were used for viewing the scenery, some for listening to the waves, and some for meditating. A few bigger decks were encircled by white screens fluttering with the ocean wind, where the gentle shouts, praising and cheers of the practitioners could be heard.

Here the main activities of the Four-Seas Banquet were underway—the tournaments for zither, chess, calligraphy and painting.

Though they stood far away from the buildings, Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue had still been discovered.

They didn’t wrap their heads and faces in gray clothing, but the conical hats on their heads were still very noticeable.

The people of the Pure Heaven Bureau rushed toward them.