Jinshan Undersea Mansion, also known as Zhenjiang Mansion, is located at the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. Above this undersea mansion is the renowned Jinshan Temple, and the master of this mansion is the King of Zhenjiang.
This river has three great undersea mansions: the Upper Undersea Mansion, ruled by the King of Ningjiang; the Middle Undersea Mansion, ruled by the King of Dingjiang; and the Lower Undersea Mansion, ruled by the King of Zhenjiang.
The ritual for sacrificing to these three undersea mansions involves wine, meat, paper effigies, and a pair of straw sandals.
Ji Xiang inquired why they only stopped people coming from the north and not those from the south.
"The wife of my master was raised in the north since childhood, so those who come from the north are considered her maternal family..."
The divine soldiers of the undersea mansion responded, and there was no fault in their reasoning; after all, marriage is a joyous occasion.
At this moment, the boatman also explained to Ji Xiang, "Boatmen on the Grand Canal would never dare to disrespect this King of Zhenjiang."
However, despite his words, his face was etched with distress, clearly reluctant to go, fearing further unpleasant encounters.
"Moreover, Jinshan Undersea Mansion is a benevolent deity that protects this section of the Grand Canal and the mouth of the Yangtze River into the canal. From ancient times to the present, its incense has never ceased. When Emperor Huizong of Song passed through here, this river was free from the perils of great waves and storms. During the Shaoxing era, the Song army defeated the Jin forces in the battle of Caishi, and in the standoff at Zhenjiang, the Jin forces retreated without a fight, also due to the protection of the mansion's deity. Therefore, the Song court almost granted this undersea mansion the title of Emperor."
"So, although the imperial title was not ultimately granted, it is still at the level of a royal mansion, and must not be treated with disrespect, sir."
"Of course, much time has passed since the Song Dynasty, and the current master of this undersea mansion is certainly not the one from the Song Dynasty. Our dynasty has found a new successor, and he is quite famous."
Ji Xiang patted the boatman's shoulder, assuring him not to worry.
The little fox curiously mumbled, "Then is this King of Zhenjiang of the undersea mansion a human or a god?"
"Of course, he is human! My master, the King of our Undersea Mansion, is a renowned cultivator of the Great Ming! He was enfeoffed here during the Zhengde era and has been maintaining the stability of the surrounding shipping!"
The divine soldiers of the undersea mansion pulled Ji Xiang's boat towards the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, where Jinshan Undersea Mansion was located.
However, the King of Zhenjiang's wedding was not held underwater, which made the little fox and Feng Menglong pat their chests.
"I can't swim! Fortunately, it's on the river!"
The spectacle was grand, with large square boats filling the water, laden with various large fish and meats, their aroma wafting from afar. The divine soldiers of the undersea mansion pulled these food boats and presented them before the boatmen attending the wedding.
Ji Xiang was truly amazed!
Feng Menglong, on the other hand, stared with wide eyes, muttering, "This is a floating banquet of food boats!"
"Brother Ji! You must not know, but in our Suzhou, on the Qinhuai River of Ying Tian, and on Hangzhou's West Lake, there are such food boats. Besides these, there are also opera boats specifically for dancing and singing, and wine boats for toasting... Hey! Those luxurious restaurants can earn a hundred thousand cash a day with just this!"
Feng Menglong's mouth was watering, but he still managed to maintain his scholarly demeanor.
Looking at the tableware, golden platforms and plates, silver ewers, silver wine cups, silver drip bowls, silver spoons, carved lacquer tea cups, and white jade chopsticks…
It wasn't just him; the boatmen were also shocked by this luxurious floating banquet. How could they, river spirits who made their living on boats, have ever attended such a high-class banquet? Hearing the names of the dishes, their mouths watered profusely.
The voices of the divine soldiers of the undersea mansion rose one after another:
"Huizhou Mao Tofu!"
"Wet Noodles!"
"Wang Gua with Golden Shrimp!"
"Deep-fried Roasted Bones!"
"Dry Steamed Split Chicken!"
"Crystal Pork Trotters!"
"White Fried Pork!"
Seeing so many delicacies, everyone's appetite was whetted. A large crowd had gathered, but it wasn't time to eat yet, as not all the guests had arrived.
"A plate of pickled garlic, and some brine with fresh peppercorns..."
Feng Menglong began to beckon the divine soldiers of the undersea mansion, asking for dipping oil.
Meanwhile, Ji Xiang's gaze swept around, sensing waves of demonic energy.
However, it was strange to sense the demonic energy without seeing the entities themselves.
Were they underwater?
Ji Xiang looked at the water surface; it was dark and unclear below.
In the distance, a tall warrior sat at the head of the wedding boat, his body surging with watery energy. He had a high cultivation and wore red clothing. It was likely the groom for this grand wedding, the King of Zhenjiang.
"Huangting Realm, very good. It's enough to guard a region."
Currently, the Dharma power of cultivators who transformed their mountains and rivers was not very high. A Huangting Realm expert was already remarkable, considering the strongest divine generals in the Forbidden City were only at the Golden Core level.
But considering he was enfeoffed here during the Zhengde era, cultivating with the advantage of water currents and divine positions, he had gained the favor of time and place.
Just as Ji Xiang was watching, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
"Where is the saber? Where is the saber..."
This voice repeated, seemingly without intelligence, but rather a calling thought.
...
The King of Zhenjiang's gaze fell upon all the guests who had arrived.
The humans were on the water, and the demons were beneath the water, having concealed their demonic energy and forms. Otherwise, there would be chaos here.
Originally, this wedding should not have invited these humans. However, the King of Lu had requested a thorough investigation of a certain person, so there was no choice but to have these mortals attend the divine family's wedding banquet.
Soon, he spotted Ji Xiang, but felt a slight doubt.
"Didn't they say it was an old man? This one looks very young. Could they have made a mistake?"
"Although he's wearing black, his clothes have red trim. And who would wear large Buddhist prayer beads around their neck? He looks completely out of place. He must be a Dharma master from a folk religion."
"Those people from folk religions always like flashy attire."
The King of Zhenjiang looked at Ji Xiang's array of magical artifacts. He didn't look like a cultivator, but rather like a nouveau riche, a moving treasure trove of artifacts that could be seen from afar...
However, these magical artifacts were of no use to him. Looking from a distance with his 10.0 vision, he could tell that most of them, such as the flowing beads, tokens, and banners, were low-end magical artifacts.
"Once I find that person, I'll feed these boatmen to the monsters... And I won't need to maintain the identity of the King of Zhenjiang anymore."
The King of Zhenjiang's heart burned with ambition. He had been here for decades, accumulated enough cultivation, and after defecting to the King of Lu, he had used a precious elixir to avoid the suffering of the five fatigues and seven injuries. Now, he was about to achieve great cultivation, break through to Huangting, and complete the Innate Transformation.
The vexing part of the Huangting Realm and the Innate Realm was the twelve years: three years to enter Huangting, and nine years to become Innate. There was almost no way to shorten this process. Furthermore, there were two paths to cultivating these two realms: one path involved abandoning one's cultivation, and the other did not. The former, upon completion, was stronger and resulted in a complete transformation, akin to consuming Emperor's Flowing Nectar, but the drawback was that after becoming a mortal, even a dog could kill him.
"You are the only one left, my final wife. You truly brought me great fortune, to have met you!"
The King of Zhenjiang looked at a young woman on the wedding boat. This woman's eyes were vacant, and she appeared like a puppet or a mannequin. But upon closer inspection, one could see that this was not a living person, but an immortal corpse!
It was a Corpse-Releasing Immortal who had not yet returned to life!