Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 370: Chapter 366: The Tea Party Begins, Lan Nongyu

Tea parties were a popular type of banquet in Liang Province.

In the region of Liang Province, there was a type of Spirit Tea called ”Drunken Cloud Cold Plum.” This tea was exceedingly rare and precious, with an annual yield of less than ten jin.

And of these ten jin, the vast majority was controlled by the Extreme Heaven Sect.

The small remaining portion fell into the hands of a few other sects and was divided among the various Major Sects.

In short, those who possessed this tea were essentially all Major Sects. This tea had always circulated only among the upper echelons of Liang Province’s Martial Artists; ordinary Martial Artists had only ever heard of it by name but had never seen it.

For most Martial Artists, there was only one way to drink this tea: a tea party.

These tea parties were hosted by those who possessed this Spirit Tea.

However, very few people ever received an invitation.

Generally speaking, receiving an invitation to such a tea party was, in a sense, a sign that you were considered one of the upper-class figures of Liang Province, qualified to enter and partake in the tea tasting.

At this very moment.

「Meixue Manor.」

This was one of the Top Level manors in Liang Province. It was currently the dead of winter, and the manor grounds were filled with blooming cold plums. Coupled with the falling snow, the mix of red and white was exceptionally beautiful.

”I wonder why we suddenly received an invitation to the tea party this time?”

Lü Qinghe, Fang Heng, and the others had already arrived, and they were all puzzled by this.

Generally speaking, it was rare for a Middle Grade Sect like theirs to receive an invitation. The attendees of these tea parties were all from Upper Grade Sects, or they were famous geniuses in their own right.

But as for the few of them, while their strength was not weak within the Nine Profound Sect, when compared to the whole of Liang Province, they couldn’t be considered geniuses at all.

”Junior Sister Qinghe, did the Sect Leader not tell you who specifically invited us?”

”He didn’t. He just gave us these invitations.” Lü Qinghe shook the gilded invitation cards in her hand, unable to figure it out.

”Huh? Brother Gu Feng is here too.”

Just then, Lü Qinghe’s eyes lit up as she suddenly spotted someone and hurried over.

She ran toward a young man dressed in white, who carried himself with a graceful and refined air.

”Hmph.”

Fang Heng snorted softly, his expression turning sour.

He had always been in love with Lü Qinghe, but she was infatuated with Gu Feng.

Like him, Gu Feng also came from a Middle Grade Sect. However, Gu Feng was a genius. His Cultivation had already reached the God-Seizing Realm, and he was ranked among the top twenty of Liang Province’s younger generation. He was no worse than the geniuses from the Upper Grade Sects and had made quite a name for himself.

In contrast, he couldn’t even break into the top one hundred.

Although he disliked Gu Feng, he knew in his heart that he couldn’t compete with him.

At that moment, he glanced over at Ning Jiang.

After all, Lü Qinghe was now technically Ning Jiang’s fiancée, a matter personally decreed by the Sect Leader. ’Ning Jiang’s expression must be awful right now.’

But when he looked over, he saw that Ning Jiang was looking elsewhere, not paying any attention to Lü Qinghe at all.

’Heh, he must be swallowing his anger and bottling it up,’ Fang Heng thought.

A moment later, Lü Qinghe and Gu Feng walked over, talking and laughing.

”Brother Gu Feng, let me introduce you. This is Senior Brother Fang Heng, and this is...”

Lü Qinghe introduced everyone one by one, but when she got to Ning Jiang, her voice faltered. She didn’t know how to introduce him.

’If I introduce Ning Jiang as my fiancé, Gu Feng will surely resent it, won’t he?’

”Qinghe, what’s wrong? Who is he?” Gu Feng asked.

”Brother Gu, to be honest, he is the fiancé the Sect Leader personally chose for Junior Sister Qinghe,” Fang Heng interjected.

”Hm?”

Hearing this, Gu Feng’s brow furrowed, and a cold glint appeared in his eyes.

Lü Qinghe had always liked him, and it would be impossible to say he didn’t care for her at all. After all, Lü Qinghe was a beauty and the daughter of a Sect Leader.

Lü Qinghe shot Fang Heng an angry glare and quickly tried to placate Gu Feng. ”Brother Gu Feng, please don’t mind it. There’s nothing between him and me. My father wants me to marry him, but I will never agree to it.”

”Is that so? That’s good.”

Gu Feng nodded. ”Forget it. Let’s go inside. The tea party should be starting soon.”

”Okay.”

The tea party was of utmost importance, and they didn’t want to be late for such an occasion.

With that, the group headed into the manor together.

”Everyone, please present your invitations.”

Outside the manor, experts at the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm stood guard. The group presented their invitations, and after confirming there were no issues, they were allowed to enter.

After passing through a long corridor, they soon arrived at the center of the manor.

In the center was a large lake.

Several quaint, antique-style pavilions were built upon the lake. Young figures could be seen coming and going within them—these were the other invited guests.

”By the way, Brother Gu Feng, do you know which three Upper Grade Sects are hosting the tea party this time?” Lü Qinghe asked.

So far, they had only received the invitations but were completely in the dark about the hosts.

To be eligible to host a tea party, three Upper Grade Sects had to organize it jointly; a single Upper Grade Sect could not do it alone.

”The Carefree Sect, the Profound Heart Sect, and... the Mountain and Sea Sect!”

Gu Feng’s words made everyone’s expressions change drastically.

”The Mountain and Sea Sect? If the Mountain and Sea Sect is involved, why would they invite us? Could this be a trap?”

Lü Qinghe and the others all felt that something was terribly wrong. Their Nine Profound Sect had recently clashed with the Mountain and Sea Sect and had been suffering under their pressure. Now, with the Mountain and Sea Sect involved in this tea party, anyone would feel uneasy.

”I’ve heard a little about what’s been happening between you and the Mountain and Sea Sect recently. However, tea parties have their own rules. No one would dare cause trouble at one. Even the Mountain and Sea Sect probably won’t do anything to you,” Gu Feng analyzed.

”That’s right. And maybe the Mountain and Sea Sect wants to reconcile with us?” Fang Heng said with a forced laugh.

”Forget it. We’re already here, so it’s too late to leave. If the Mountain and Sea Sect really means us harm, we wouldn’t be able to get away now anyway.”

Lü Qinghe took a deep breath. She was a sharp and clever person and knew that their only option now was to wait and see how things unfolded.

Beside them, Ning Jiang remained unconcerned.

’Back at the Nine Profound Sect, my Divine Sense already saw everything. The invitations were indeed delivered in person by someone from the Mountain and Sea Sect.’

’However, the invitations weren’t really for the Nine Profound Sect.’

’The mere Nine Profound Sect doesn’t have the qualifications.’

’The one they were actually inviting... was me!’

’Lü Qinghe and the others were just tagging along.’

Just then, a soft and sultry female voice drifted from the center of the main hall.

”Everyone, all the guests have arrived. Please be seated.”

The voice was quite pleasant, tinged with a faint, demonic charm. Anyone who heard it would know its owner had to be a captivating beauty.

”Lan Nongyu. She’s here too.”

Gu Feng’s eyes instantly lit up.

Seeing this, Lü Qinghe bit her lip, her expression dimming slightly.