Chapter 284: Wealthy People's Joy

Ji Yuan still had a childlike innocence, Wei Yuansheng was a child himself, and Shang Yiyi and Guan He were simply curious. So, several immortals of varying ages and cultivation levels genuinely gathered in front of the Wei mansion gate, studying how to set off firecrackers.

The firecrackers, originally a few feet long, were connected end to end, forming a long dragon of crackers. Since this entire street, including the buildings on both sides, almost entirely belonged to the Wei family, the firecracker chain stretched across the Wei mansion's entrance, extending far into both directions.

When Wei Wuwei emerged, he saw Ji Yuan and his son crouching near one end of the firecracker chain by the door, tinkering with it, while Guan He and Shang Yiyi were connecting crackers at the other end. Even for immortals, this experience was quite rare, especially doing it alongside a distinguished figure like Ji Yuan. Even Shang Yiyi and Guan He took setting off the firecrackers seriously.

Once everything was ready, a servant handed a lit incense stick to Wei Yuansheng, who carefully approached the firecracker fuse.

"Sister Yiyi, Senior Brother Guan, quickly get away, I'm about to light it!"

Seeing that everyone had moved away, Wei Yuansheng lit the fuse, threw away the incense, and ran. Although he was an immortal, he had never experienced setting off firecrackers, and not only him, but Shang Yiyi and Guan He also moved a considerable distance away.

"Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!..."

The dense sound and flashes of light from the exploding firecrackers moved along the "firecracker chain." Wei Yuansheng clapped his hands, giggling, and chased after it once his initial caution wore off.

Ji Yuan stood still, listening to the sound of the firecrackers. After a moment, he turned to look at Wei Wuwei, who was at the mansion gate. Wei Wuwei quickly cupped his hands in greeting and gestured towards the main entrance. Ji Yuan pointed at Wei Yuansheng, who was ahead, indicating they would enter after the firecrackers were done. It was a while before all the firecrackers had finished exploding. Only then did Wei Yuansheng, content, return to the mansion with everyone, chatting continuously with Ji Yuan along the way.

Before Wei Yuansheng went to the mountain, he had wanted to try setting off firecrackers, but he was less than three years old then, and his family wouldn't let him do something so dangerous. Now, returning from Mount Yuhuai, he finally got his fill.

Half an hour later, in front of one of the reception halls in the Wei mansion's back courtyard, Wei Wuwei led Ji Yuan and the others there, personally pushing open the door.

"Come, come, Mr. Ji, please enter, everyone please enter. Mr. Ji arrived at a good time; I've just prepared a table of excellent things."

Even before the door opened, Ji Yuan had already smelled the aroma from inside.

At that moment, everyone, including Ji Yuan, looked inside. Ji Yuan saw a special large round table placed in the room, divided into two tiers, with the upper tier surprisingly capable of rotating.

"Please come in, everyone, please come in!"

At Wei Wuwei's warm invitation, everyone entered the room and took their seats at the table. Platters of snacks and pastries were laid out, and fine tea was brewed. Several immortals, including the Wei father and son, were seated there, with no servants present.

This was the first time Ji Yuan had seen something resembling a lazy susan from his previous life. However, the Wei mansion's version was entirely made of wood, crafted by skilled artisans, allowing various snacks and pastries to be placed on top for people to rotate and take. The table was also unusually large, seating up to twenty people. Many small dishes were placed around the edge of the rotating tray; Ji Yuan roughly counted at least sixty or seventy different kinds of pastries.

'Ah, the joys of the wealthy...'

While Ji Yuan was still sighing inwardly, Wei Wuwei began to explain the spread on the table himself.

"Mr. Ji, and also Junior Brother Guan and Junior Sister Shang," Wei Wuwei said, patting his stomach, "I, Wei, have no particular hobbies, except for being extremely particular about food. Although on Mount Yuhuai, all our provisions are from immortal sources, I still yearn for mortal delicacies. Don't just see this small table of pastries and preserved fruits; these are culinary masterpieces freshly prepared by over a dozen of the Wei family's renowned chefs since morning, just completed now. I call this the 'Pastry Feast.'"

Given Wei Wuwei's physique, Ji Yuan believed he was telling the truth.

"Come, come, everyone, please try some. I'll help myself first."

Wei Wuwei's plump hands were already grabbing pastries and stuffing them into his mouth. His unrestrained manner seemed genuine, but it wasn't that he was always like this; rather, he understood that being more relaxed in front of Ji Yuan would be better.

It proved that mealtime was best for boosting the atmosphere, from common folk to royalty. It was the same for Ji Yuan and the others; tasting these exquisite and delicious pastries made the atmosphere in the hall more harmonious. Ji Yuan knew the Wei family definitely had something to discuss with him, but he was happy to chat while eating, discussing the Wei father and son's cultivation over the past five years in the mountains. Ji Yuan asked about some things in detail, not solely out of concern for the two, but also to understand the fundamental cultivation methods of Mount Yuhuai.

The cultivation process was systematic, as expected, yet its level of detail was somewhat surprising. Besides the master guiding disciples through cultivation doubts, masters also used the holy realm's formations to personally guide spiritual energy to cleanse the disciples' bodies, drawing in starlight to stimulate acupoints, and protecting disciples when they were cultivating their Dantian of intent and opening the Golden Bridge. Furthermore, close elders would instruct and assess the cultivation progress of junior disciples, primarily checking their mastery of basic spells and protective artifacts.

The Jade Embrace Holy Land, nestled among the mountains, wasn't an isolated grotto-heaven but could be considered a blessed land. It lacked some unique divine aspects of grotto-heaven worlds, but its spiritual energy was exceptionally abundant, not inferior in the slightest, and even surpassed in some areas. After all, blessed lands inherently rely on special environments and objects, just like the Jade Casting Peak of Mount Yuhuai. The careful guidance from the sect, combined with the unique cultivation environment, though seemingly simple, were among the cornerstones of a holy land for immortal cultivation.

Listening to Wei Wuwei and Wei Yuansheng's accounts, supplemented by Shang Yiyi and Guan He's occasional additions, Ji Yuan gained a more comprehensive understanding of the cultivation of Mount Yuhuai disciples. In comparison, Ji Yuan felt that his approach to those who had a faint connection to his teachings was akin to free-range cultivation. However, he didn't believe one method was superior to the other; it was simply a different emphasis on personal focus. Furthermore, those Ji Yuan guided were mostly "halfway cultivators," so their situations were different.

When their casual chat had almost concluded, Wei Wuwei winked at his son, chewed and swallowed the pastries in his full cheeks, and then gulped down half a bowl of tea. Only then, as if suddenly remembering something, did he turn to Ji Yuan and say, "Mr. Ji, my grand-master has returned!"

Ji Yuan paused for a moment, looking at Wei Yuansheng. "Who is your grand-master?"

"My grand-master is named Pei Zheng. He was at the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets for the past few years. This is the first time I've seen him since his return."

Hearing Wei Yuansheng's explanation, Ji Yuan suddenly understood. There indeed was such a Perfected Master from Mount Yuhuai who, several years ago, had traveled to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets in the Southern Wilderness due to rumors involving the Pavilion.

"So, he just returned now?" Ji Yuan asked with a smile, voicing his inner thoughts; he had assumed the man had returned much earlier. Shang Yiyi, on the side, also nodded and explained.

"After all, our grand-master went to the Southern Wilderness, across a vast chasm and perilous oceans. Along the way, he encountered various strange and treacherous occurrences in the celestial and oceanic realms. To be swift, he often flew alone without relying on dimensional ferries, so a round trip was truly not easy."

"Oh, then he certainly went through a lot of trouble," Ji Yuan said casually, wondering what exactly the divination had revealed. But before he could ask, Shang Yiyi continued.

"At the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, our grand-master, along with several Elder Beards, reversed the stellar constellations of several years, ultimately deducing the changes in the constellations over three specific years. They re-derived every single day and night within that period. They then spent another year determining the state of Heaven and Earth at that time. It took one year to reverse four years and set the divination, only then completing that entire divination. After that, he recovered for a period before rushing back."

On the surface, Ji Yuan maintained his usual calm demeanor, but inwardly, he was stunned. This divination project was massive, and it sounded like they might have actually grasped something during this derivation.

"So, what news did Perfected Master Pei bring back? Did Mount Yuhuai send you to tell me?" Ji Yuan asked, frowning slightly, his tone carrying a hint of doubt.

Wei Yuansheng, on the side, eagerly spoke up.

"The strange thing is this: Grand-master said that when the three Elder Beards performed the divination instantly before, they were all severely injured. This time, they came to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets fully prepared and alert, spending several years on the divination, yet they gleaned even less than what was seen in that single instant before. According to the people at the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, this means the heavenly mysteries are chaotic. If it's not a natural anomaly, then it's man-made. In any case, it's definitely not simple; it's impossible for them to have made a mistake." Wei Yuansheng looked at Ji Yuan and continued, "Then, after Grand-master returned and heard about Mr. Ji, he found it extraordinarily strange. It just so happened that I could come home for the New Year this year, so he asked us to inquire about your opinion on this divination..." At this point, Wei Yuansheng looked at Ji Yuan again and asked quietly, "Mr. Ji, actually, Grand-master said that because this might concern Mount Yuhuai's chance to rise, the sect might try to re-perform the heavenly divination here in Dazhen, emulating the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. But he believes it's absolutely futile, and he asked me to tell you privately that if possible, you should warn the elders in the sect. Or do you think it's appropriate for the sect to do this?"

Ji Yuan thought for a moment, looked at the group, and finally asked Wei Wuwei, "Is this something Perfected Master Pei privately asked you to convey, and others on Mount Yuhuai don't know about it?"

Wei Wuwei knew he couldn't evade the question, so he forced a smile and said, "In my opinion, although we were told it was Perfected Master Pei's private message, it's actually the sect trying to gauge your stance, Mr. Ji. Firstly, they might think you have some connection to this matter. Secondly, if you are interested, you could also participate in the divination..."

Ji Yuan shook his head helplessly. "I have no interest in how Mount Yuhuai proceeds. I have stayed in Dazhen long enough, and I might leave to wander around at any time. This heavenly divination, whether performed or not, has nothing to do with me. Go back and tell the Perfected Masters in the sect that I don't possess such great power to single-handedly stir the heavenly mysteries." He then added, "Rather than all that, I'm more curious how Master Wei plans to entertain me now that you've invited me."

Wei Wuwei was momentarily stunned, a rare display of awkwardness, and cautiously asked, "Uh, how should I entertain you, or does Mr. Ji have any particular preferences?"

Ji Yuan smiled. Since they had over a dozen renowned chefs, he might as well experience the joys of the wealthy. "No particular preferences. Just bring out the big fish and meat!"