Chapter 1 The Jinshan Water Manor

Below Jinshan Mountain lies the Water Manor, also known as Zhenjiang Manor, located at the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. The superior to this Water Manor is the famous Jinshan Temple. The master of this Water Manor is the Zhenjiang King.

There are three major Water Manors in this river: the Ningjiang King of the upper Water Manor, the Dingjiang King of the middle Water Manor, and the Zhenjiang King of the lower Water Manor.

The custom for offering sacrifices to these three Water Manors is to use wine, meat, paper horses, and a pair of straw sandals.

Ji Xiang asked why they only stopped people coming from the north and not those from the south.

"My master's betrothed wife grew up in the north, so people coming from the north are considered her family..."

The Water Manor soldier responded, which didn't seem to raise any issues. In any case, marriage is a good thing.

At this time, the boatman also explained to Ji Xiang, "Boatmen on the Grand Canal wouldn't dare to disrespect this Zhenjiang King."

But while he said this, his expression was very bitter, clearly indicating he didn't want to go, fearing he'd encounter something troublesome again.

"Moreover, the Water Manor below Jinshan Mountain is a benevolent deity protecting this section of the Grand Canal and the mouth of the Yangtze River where it enters the canal. Since ancient times, incense offerings have been continuous. When Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty passed by here, there were no giant waves or wind alarms on the river. During the Shaoxing era, the Song army defeated the Jin army in the Battle of Caishi and forced them to retreat without a fight in the confrontation at Zhenjiang, thanks to the protection of the Water Manor's deity. Therefore, the Song court almost bestowed an imperial title upon this Water Manor."

"So, although it didn't ultimately receive the imperial title, it's still at the level of a Royal Manor, and cannot be slighted, sir."

"Of course, it's been a long time since the Song Dynasty, and the master of this Water Manor is certainly not the one from that era. He's a successor re-selected by our dynasty, and his reputation is quite considerable."

Ji Xiang patted the boatman on the shoulder, indicating he needn't worry.

The little fox curiously muttered, "Then is this Zhenjiang King of the Water Manor a human or a ghost?"

"Of course, he's a human! Our Water Manor King is a famous cultivator of the Great Ming! He was appointed here during the Zhengde era and has been maintaining the stability of the surrounding shipping ever since!"

The Water Manor soldier pulled Ji Xiang's boat towards the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal. The Jinshan Water Manor was located there.

However, the Zhenjiang King's wedding wasn't taking place underwater, which made the little fox and Feng Menglong pat their chests in relief.

"I can't swim! Fortunately, it's on the river!"

The spectacle was grand, with large square boats filled with various large fish and meats lined up on the water. The aroma permeated the air from afar. The Water Manor soldiers pulled these food boats to the boatmen attending the wedding.

Ji Xiang was truly amazed!

Feng Menglong, on the other hand, stared wide-eyed and muttered, "This is a floating food boat feast!"

"Brother Ji! You must not know, in our Gusu, as well as the Qinhuai River in Yingtian, and the West Lake in Hangzhou, there are such food boats. Besides that, there are also opera boats specifically for dancing and singing, and wine boats for raising cups and exchanging toasts... Heh! Those luxurious restaurants can earn tens of thousands of coins a day just with this!"

Feng Menglong's saliva was already flowing, but he still勉maintained his image as a scholar.

Looking at the tableware again: gold platters, silver ewers, silver wine cups, silver folding bowls, silver-spooned lacquer tea bowls, white jade ivory chopsticks...

It wasn't just him. The boatmen were also shocked by the luxurious food boat feast. These river ghosts who ran boats, where had they ever attended such a high-class banquet? Hearing the names of the dishes, their mouths watered.

The voices of the Water Manor soldiers rose and fell:

"Huizhou fermented bean curd!"

"Wet noodles!"

"Wang melon mixed with golden shrimp!"

"Fried burnt bones!"

"Dry-steamed chopped chicken!"

"Crystal ham hock!"

"Plain fried pork!"

Everyone, looking at so many delicacies, was already eager to eat. A large crowd had gathered here, but it wasn't time to start eating yet, because the guests hadn't all arrived.

"A plate of sugared garlic, and a little bit of marinated fresh peppercorns..."

Feng Menglong began to call out to the Water Manor soldiers, asking them for oil plates.

Ji Xiang's gaze, however, was directed towards the surroundings, sensing waves of demonic energy.

However, seeing the demonic energy but not the source was indeed a bit strange.

Was it underwater?

Ji Xiang looked at the surface of the water, dark and deep below, making it impossible to see clearly.

In the distance, there was a tall warrior sitting upright at the head of a wedding boat, his body surging with water energy. His cultivation was high, and he was wearing red clothes. Presumably, this was the groom, the Zhenjiang King.

"Huang Ting realm, not bad, enough to guard a region."

Now, the power of cultivators in the surface world isn't that high. A Huang Ting realm expert is already remarkable. After all, the strongest divine generals in the Forbidden City are only at the Golden Core level.

But thinking that this one was sealed here during the Zhengde era, cultivating with the help of the water currents and divine position, he had indeed gained the advantages of timing and location.

Just as Ji Xiang was looking, a voice suddenly rang in his mind:

"Where is the saber, where is the saber..."

This voice repeated, seemingly without intelligence, but rather a calling thought.

.......

The Zhenjiang King's gaze focused on all the guests who had come here.

The humans were all on the water's surface, and the demons were all beneath it, having concealed their demonic energy and forms, otherwise, there would be chaos here.

Originally, this wedding shouldn't have invited these human races, but Prince Lu demanded a thorough investigation of a certain person, so there was no choice but to let these mortals come here to eat the gods' wedding feast.

Soon, he saw Ji Xiang, but felt slightly puzzled in his heart.

"Wasn't it said to be an old man? This one looks very young. Could it be the wrong person?"

"Although he is wearing black robes, there are red edges on the clothes, and who would wear a Buddhist prayer bead necklace around their neck? It looks like an incongruous mix, probably a priest from the Dharma school."

"Those folk Dharma schools always like to dress gaudily."

The Zhenjiang King looked at Ji Xiang's equipment, which didn't resemble a cultivator, but rather a nouveau riche. From afar, he could see a moving, humanoid treasure vault...

However, these magical items were useless to him. Beads, tokens, flags, and the like... from afar, with his perfect 20/20 vision, he could tell that most of them were low-end magical items.

"Once I find that person, I'll feed all these boatmen to the monsters... I don't need to keep this Zhenjiang King identity anymore."

The Zhenjiang King's heart burned with passion. He had been here for decades, and his cultivation had accumulated enough. After joining Prince Lu, he used a precious pill to avoid the suffering of the five weaknesses and seven injuries. Now, he was about to achieve great cultivation, break through the Huang Ting realm, and complete the transformation to the Xiantian realm.

The nasty part about the Huang Ting and Xiantian realms was the twelve years. It took three years to enter the Huang Ting realm and nine years to transform into the Xiantian realm. There was almost no way to shorten this time. And there were two paths for cultivating these two realms: abandoning one's cultivation and not abandoning one's cultivation. The former, after completion, was stronger and would undergo a complete transformation, like consuming Emperor Flow Paste. But the disadvantage was that after becoming a mortal, even a dog could bite him to death.

"I was just waiting for you, my last wife. I'm so lucky to have encountered you!"

The Zhenjiang King looked at a young woman on the wedding boat. The woman's eyes were dull, and she was like a puppet. But upon closer inspection, one could discover that this wasn't a living person, but a celestial corpse!

It was a corpse of an immortal who hadn't yet returned to her soul!