Above the source of Tao

After nightfall, the sky gradually darkened.

In the Sui Ke Hall, there is a short wooden table in front of the mat, but it does not look shabby. It has a golden border. It is a kind of mineral unique to the Xinyang Region. After being ground into powder, it can not only be used as an alchemy material, but also sold as a commodity. The Damin Dynasty was wealthy and powerful, so they directly used it as a dye, which added to its luxury.

The banquet of the Damin Dynasty was held as scheduled. Yun Changan had never seen most of the monks who came here, so he found a secluded place and sat on the mat farthest from the dragon throne on the stage.

As the banquet was about to begin, many monks arrived one after another. They took their seats in order of seniority. They did not need servants to lead the way. They found their own seats and sat down on the mats. The monks who arrived at the banquet early, before seeing King Damin coming, began to whisper to each other, muttering about how to win the championship of this conference. Some monks felt that this was very much like King Damin's style and praised him highly.

Yun Changan took a glance and saw that these praised monks were all wearing golden armor, with swords on their waists. If they were placed in the mortal dynasty, these monks must be military generals. But here, the monks who could wear armor must be the commanders of the Damin Dynasty, in charge of the mountains and rivers of an entire continent. To be able to come to the banquet, their cultivation and status must be strong.

But what surprised Yun Changan was that among these golden warriors in armor, there was a woman with her arms folded, sitting in the front, only one step away from the dragon throne. No one approached her, she just sat there without saying a word.

Soon, dozens of maids came out of the side room, holding a basket of Yuan fruit, wine and food. Yun Changan recognized that there were Baijing fruit and pear-shaped Yuan fruit among them. It must be the Nanshi pear that Qiuyue mentioned. The maids came to the table one by one, put down the baskets in their hands, half-knelt behind the monks, and served them.

Although Yun Chang'an was personally invited by King Damin, he was not a wealthy person, so he did not need anyone to serve him. A maid came to him like the others, served him the Yuan fruit wine and food, and knelt beside him. This made Yun Chang'an extremely uncomfortable, so he took out the mat under his legs and handed it to the maid.

This made the maid extremely frightened, and she kept shaking her head and waving her hands. After Yun Chang'an tried to refuse again and again, and the maid refused to take the responsibility, he simply threw the mat aside and sat on the ground like Yun Chang'an.

The maid who served Yun Chang'an was not very old. She looked about the same age as him, but when asked, she was actually younger than him. However, the girl was well-developed, with a pretty face and all the right features. She wore a palace dress with flowery skirt and a silk belt around her waist, with a three-petal lotus knot tied on the right side of her abdomen.

Yun Chang'an was bored and held a Baijing Fruit in his hand, so he handed it to the girl, but she didn't take it. She was a little depressed. There were so many rules in the Damin Dynasty, and she didn't know who issued these rules. Maids were not allowed to go to the table, and they didn't even dare to accept things given to them by others.

Yun Chang'an asked curiously and learned that the girl's name was Zijin and she was from Liulizhou. When she heard that the Damin Dynasty was short of manpower for this conference, she entered the palace and came to the Hundred Sects Conference with Su Zhiyao.

As they gradually became familiar with each other, Zi Jin opened up his heart and had a very pleasant conversation with Yun Chang'an, telling him new and interesting stories. There was a gambling house in Liulizhou. Once a cultivator found a rare mineral crystal, which was a rare material for refining weapons. He sold it to a refining sect and got 30,000 Zhu crystal coins. He became rich. Later, because of this, he was targeted by some bandit cultivators and killed in the mountains, and the Yuan Zhu crystal coins on his body disappeared.

It was also said that there was a sect that gave birth to a daughter who was extremely beautiful and of marriageable age. Upon hearing about this, many cultivators came to see her face. There was a huge crowd in front of the sect, and the sect members who came to propose marriage were almost breaking down the sect's threshold. The cultivators who failed to see the woman's face cried loudly in the tavern, which upset the other drinkers. Finally, some of the drinkers couldn't stand it anymore, so they dragged them to the backyard of the tavern and beat them up. Only then did they calm down.

There was a company called Jinyu Chamber of Commerce in Liulizhou. A masked monk came to the Chamber of Commerce and took out a dragon bone and a drop of dragon marrow liquid. Everyone knew that these great monsters and beasts from ancient times had long been extinct, but the masked monk had a rare treasure and sold it to Jinyu Chamber of Commerce. A grand auction was held for this. Only a drop of dragon marrow liquid was auctioned for thirteen Feng Shui roots, and the dragon bone fell into the hands of the Damin Dynasty. It was buried deep in the palace of the Damin Emperor City to suppress the ghosts and gods from all directions.

The Min Emperor City, which obtained the dragon bone, was unstoppable. In the southern part of Liuli Continent, a blessed land was born. Many people tried to enter it, but they found that no one could enter the blessed land. Even the Damin Dynasty had dispatched many monks who had entered the divine realm, but they could only wander around the periphery of the blessed land. No one could take a step further. After that, the Damin Dynasty completely blocked this forbidden land and named it the Land of Dragon.

Zi Jin was talking excitedly and Yun Changan was so absorbed in listening that he completely forgot that he was at a banquet. Finally, he noticed the woman sitting there with a frown on her face. Yun Changan could vaguely sense the anger, which was directed at her. Yun Changan actually felt a chill coming from her. He had no choice but to shut up. Most of the cultivators here were extremely powerful and not easy to mess with.

Zijin lowered his head tremblingly.

The female general turned around and looked at the people behind her. Her eyes scanned everyone and finally stopped at Yun Chang'an. She just glanced at him and then stopped looking at him.

Everyone kept their lips shut and sat up straight, feeling the unfriendly gaze from the woman and stopped talking, seemingly afraid of angering the armored woman.

The Sui Ke Hall suddenly fell silent, so quiet that it was eerie. When the armored woman saw that the noisy voice had disappeared, she turned around contentedly and picked up the Yuan Guo on the table with one hand, but did not eat it. Instead, she played with it in her hand, threw it into the air, and caught it steadily in her hand.

Yun Chang'an looked at the cultivators in front of him from time to time, and was still thinking in his heart about the interesting thing that Zi Jin had just mentioned. A blessed land appeared out of nowhere in Liuli Island, but no one could enter it. It was really unbelievable.

Not long after, a middle-aged steward walked out of the side hall, followed by a group of palace musicians, holding drumsticks in their hands, and walked towards the west hall. At first, Yun Chang'an didn't pay much attention. After Zi Jin's whispered reminder, Yun Chang'an looked at the ancient blue chimes. From time to time, there would be sounds, as crisp as water dripping on rocks, with spots, which were easy to ignore. Zi Jin explained for him: "Every time the Damin Dynasty held a banquet, the palace musicians would be arranged to sing and play music before the master arrived. If it was a sacrifice to the ancestors, the palace ritual music would be played with the palace music. Therefore, the palace musicians had a special status. Every time King Damin entertained important officials in the court, the opening scene was that the musicians struck the chimes to welcome the king."

Zijin did not look down on Yun Changan because of his ignorance. Instead, he patiently explained to him, leaning slightly, covering his mouth and whispering, "Not all places have such etiquette. After the arrival of the imperial master in the Damin Dynasty, a dynasty that advocates cultivation and martial arts has gradually gained a different style. Although many people think these are useless and some even oppose them, King Damin overcame all objections and recruited cultivators who make a living from music from the mortal world and brought them into the imperial palace."

Yun Changan had indeed never seen one before, so he asked a ridiculous question, "Could it be that King Damin is also a hedonistic cultivator?"

Zi Jin waved his hands hurriedly and said, "Sir, be careful with your words. Although this banquet is just a small gathering and most of the court officials in the palace did not come here, the palace etiquette must be there. The court has gradually accepted it. After all, it is a dynasty. The etiquette promulgated by the court master must be different from those of the mountain monks. The current Damin Dynasty is more like those small dynasties in the mortal world, and they attach great importance to these."

At this point, Zijin said with envy, "These musicians and the painters in Mindi City have extraordinary status in the dynasty. Although they are still far inferior to the military generals in the court, at least when they walk in the city, they will be respected by other cultivators. They will bow to them when they meet them. Compared with us maids, if we have talents, even if we only know some of the four arts, we will be superior if we are discovered and enter the palace."

Yun Chang'an was amazed again and again.

In Shanglin City, these ordinary people who understand etiquette, music, calligraphy and painting are called the Four Rates. They often hang out in brothels and taverns, playing music and entertaining dignitaries. Unlike the Damin Dynasty, they can only earn a meager income by entertaining people due to their status.

Once, Yun Changan was going to the blacksmith shop to get a sickle for his grandfather to use in the autumn harvest. It happened that the Lord of Shanglin City was entertaining a passing monk and summoned all the fourth-rate artists in the city to hold a banquet in the Lord's Mansion. Yun Changan just passed by the Lord's Mansion and took a look from afar. He vaguely heard the steward in the mansion muttering at the door that he had paid a small fee for those fourth-rate artists, but they still smiled and did not seem to be dissatisfied because of the small amount of money.

Yun Changan asked and learned that compared to working in brothels and taverns and relying on tips from rich people, the reward in the City Lord's Mansion was obviously much more.

Ziqin looked at Yun Chang'an who was listening attentively, thinking that this young man didn't seem to be a cultivator from Xinyang Domain, so how could he come to such an occasion? Logically, the invitation to a banquet should go through the hands of the imperial master. After the imperial master appoints an agent, he will find a minister with light feet to deliver the banquet invitations to the guests. Therefore, no one would risk their life to sneak in here. If someone did not have an invitation and was discovered, it would be a crime punishable by death.

Fortunately, Yun Changan was not like that, but his knowledge was very limited, so it was hard not to make Zijin suspicious. How did he get the invitation through the master? And looking at his seat, it was very far back. Looking at his body, it seemed that his cultivation was not very high. Compared with the cultivators present, he was obviously insignificant. How did he enter the master's eyes?

After chatting for a while, Yun Chang'an always felt that it was a great honor to be appreciated by others for his skills or talents. A cultivator with poor bones and insufficient talent is just a part of this world. It is lucky not to be bullied or even lose his life. What's more, it is not easy to be appreciated by others and seek a decent life by oneself. The Damin Dynasty did a good job in this regard, but when you think about other places, it seems that this is not the case.

There was light in Zijin's eyes. Yun Changan took another serious look. Yuangu was the same as him, and his talent was needless to say. He could only reach the Chongtian realm, which was his limit. If he wanted to go further, there would be no hope of breaking through the realm and solidifying in this lifetime. It was not that Yun Changan was slandering him. He knew very well that this matter was difficult. Without the resources for cultivation, no matter how much he said, it would be useless.

The harps played together, and after the song ended, the musicians quietly withdrew. The steward in front of him led the musicians out of the side hall and followed the guest hall door. The servant pushed the door. Behind King Damin followed Su Ziyu and other civil and military officials. Surprisingly, Su Tao changed his outfit. He took off his original dress and put on a white long gown, looking more capable. There was a long sword hanging on his waist, a white belt wrapped around the hilt, and a purple mountain jade bead engraved on the scabbard, shining with purple light, showing his nobleness.

King Damin walked in the middle, full of vigor, scanning his surroundings and taking in everything. All the monks stood up to greet him respectfully, and the maids who accompanied the guests even knelt down and bowed to him. Zijin did the same.

Yun Chang'an did not understand the etiquette of the Daming Dynasty. When he saw everyone standing up, he also stood up. He did not bend down and bow like the others, but stood straight in a secluded corner, looking out of place.

Su Tao was behind King Damin, looking around as if looking for something. Finally, her eyes fell on Yun Changan. She smiled, waved, and greeted him. King Damin saw all of this. He did not say anything, but walked towards the main seat.

Along the way, the generals and monks sitting in the lower seats all spoke words of congratulations in unison, and were very pleased. King Damin was very satisfied. Finally, he sat on the dragon throne on the stage, waved his hand, as if he was pointing out the country, and said, "Everyone, please take a seat." Then he lowered his head and whispered something to Su Ziyu behind him.

The banquet was originally held by King Damin to entertain the monks who were responsible for the order of the Hundred Sects Conference, hoping that the conference would go smoothly. But no one expected that King Damin would suddenly decide to let Yun Changan attend the opening banquet. Although it was against the established rules to let outsiders who did not belong to the Damin Dynasty attend, several important officials did not object. On the contrary, they hoped that Yun Changan could first see the customs of the Damin Dynasty.