There were only two days before the tea ceremony. Despite the fear of a stampede, the atmosphere of the Huang family was now very joyous. This was unreal. Only a few hours before, everyone was tense and worried. Those feelings had not disappeared but now they were overwhelmed by pride and joy. Even though Matriarch Huang Yufeng had not managed to break through into the Sage realm, she had become a 9th-grade Spirit Warrior. In the entire Hongchen Kingdom there were no more than three 9th-grade Spirit Warriors and their own matriarch was one of them.

The news spread throughout all of Baziyun City with Governor Leng's help. Even though it was upsetting the equilibrium of powers and helping the Huang family, this didn't matter. Governor Leng was well aware that it would alleviate most of the fear and worry of the people. Not only was this a good thing for mankind, but this was also a great timing as they were getting ready for a demonic beasts stampede. A 9th-grade Spirit Warrior could probably get rid of 9-core demonic beasts without too much problem. Technically, they had the same strength but humans could use various means unreachable for demonic beasts.

For example, Huang Yufeng had a terrifying Qi Manifestation and her spiritual senses were almost on par with Spirit Master Xiao's. In fact, it wouldn't be strange if she actually surpassed her in terms of raw power with her recent breakthrough. But she probably couldn't rival her in terms of mastery. Moreover, Huang Yufeng also had a very pure bloodline from a legendary beast. And she knew a bit about array formations and battle formations. If she coordinated the Huang family, or even the entire Baziyun City during a stampede, the losses would be minimal.

Hence, a strange calm spread through the streets. And all that tension that had built up these past few days seemed to have gone away. In truth, it wasn't gone at all but repressed deep within everyone. After all, they all wanted to hope that everything would be fine. And now, they had a good reason to think that their hope would come true.

-

Huang Cixi had once more gained some insights just by witnessing her matriarch. In fact, a few cultivators who had observed her attentively also reaped some benefits. They were dependent on everyone's perception. And with her mind cultivation, it gave an edge to Huang Cixi. Furthermore, that breakthrough was related to the spirit, the mind and the soul. Huang Cixi better understood the distinction between those three concepts. While spirit was linked to someone's aspirations, motivations, even their will, mind referred to their intellect, their knowledge. The spirit was more Yang and the mind more Yin. Then, the soul was the foundation of life for a human. Everything derived from this soul, both spirit and mind. But the Jing also derived from that soul, so did Qi. And the body itself was a physical manifestation of that soul who had acted through Jing and Qi.

Thanks to her mind cultivation, it was easier for Huang Cixi to grasp all these concepts. More than that, it allowed her to grasp everything that she didn't understand. This was strange and could have overwhelmed someone else. But now that she had energized her Chamber of Ultimate Truth, she was able to see that she was only standing on a tiny island that was what she knew. And this speck of dirt was surrounded by a dark ocean of unknown. Moreover, she knew that beyond this dark ocean was an entire universe of things she did not even conceive or imagine. With her knowledge, her understanding that this knowledge was a tiny fraction of things she didn't comprehend grew. But this was a good thing as it opened her eyes to a larger world. She was not overwhelmed by her ignorance. Quite the contrary, she was glad to realize her ignorance because it meant she could work on getting rid of it. If she had stayed a frog in a well, she would have no hope of ever discovering it.

Many seeds of knowledge had been planted in Huang Cixi's mind after everything that had happened and she was now meditating. Thankfully, she had already prepared all she needed for the upcoming birthday of Matriarch Huang Yufeng and the tea ceremony. For two days straight, she stayed cross-legged in her private study. She wasn't even cultivating, she was only meditating on what she had witnessed and experienced. It was such a pity that she had only energized a single chamber of her Upper Dantian. Otherwise, she would have gained so much more.

Moreover, her two True Fiery Drops had been agitated under the influence of Matriarch Huang Yufeng's bloodline. She was nowhere close to forming a third True Fiery Drop but it would help her. And it would also improve her martial arts which revolved around the True Fiery Fenghuang. What she had seen behind the matriarch was the ethereal image of this legendary beast.

Just as Huang Cixi had reaped many benefits from this unexpected event, so did Huang Si. However, she didn't spend two whole days meditating because her benefits were unmistakably inferior. Atop of that, she also needed to get ready for the upcoming birthday of Matriarch Huang Yufeng. Originally, she had planned for the tea ceremony and was ready to crush Huang Cixi with her abilities. In front of everyone, she would show her mastery of the art of tea and win the favor of many elders who were still undecided. In fact, she had even prepared a few gifts for some elders whom she believed could switch sides. They had joined Huang Cixi's side after the announcement of Huang Lü but she was convinced that she could sway them to support her.

Now that the matriarch had left her seclusion, Huang Si had to put into action other plans. Fortunately, she had taken this possibility into account and she knew what gift would suit her the most. After some time, Cai Ying came to her with a small wooden box. She was the former servant of Huang Lü. Since Huang Cixi had told her who she was really working with, Huang Lü had reorganized her servants and fired Cai Ying. Obviously, she had gone back to her true mistress. And in this box was the gift Huang Si had obtained for the matriarch. She was certain that it would have a huge impact. Moreover, she had also obtained impressive tea leaves and was ready to receive the admiration of all.

Tea, like the Five Imperial Arts was a symbol of elegance. This was known as an heavenly pursuit that could harmonize man, nature and the heavens. Mastering the tea ceremony was essential to be recognized as a great noble. A tea ceremony would include two things, tea tasting and tea brewing. Although being able to enjoy high-quality tea was important, brewing tea would show her aptitude to all. Within this tea ceremony, Huang Si intended to create a tea competition.

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That was an obvious ploy and she knew that Huang Cixi would expect it. However, she was absolutely confident in both her ingredients, her tools and her talent. The tea she would brew would be at least 5-star Heaven in quality. Hence, Huang Cixi had nothing to win by participating in the competition but she couldn't decline without losing her face. At the very best, she could only equal Huang Si's tea, nothing more. But if her tea's quality was just one bit inferior, which Huang Si suspected would be the case, she would lose a few supporters. Despite the apparent tranquility of a tea ceremony, this was a hidden war, and Huang Si intended to win it.

-

A few hours before the tea ceremony, Huang Yufeng finally opened her chambers and allowed Huang Yi and Huang Liyue in. For two days straight, they had both waited in front of the gate even though the matriarch had told them she would only receive them before the ceremony. This was a sign of respect. In fact, other elders were still kneeling in front of her chambers and they didn't intend to move until the matriarch's birthday.

Both of them walked in while bowing and didn't dare look at the matriarch. Their clothes were very ordinary, apart from the colors of the Huang family, they were plain even. Once they reached the center of the room, they stopped and knelt. After several kowtowing, they waited for the matriarch to speak up.

Matriarch Huang Yufeng's eyes looked extremely old but her skin was as fair as a young woman. Despite her slender and somewhat petite figure, she gave off an air of authority and power. Beyond her beauty and her apparent calm, she was a storm ready to eradicate all obstacles. With a single thought, she could probably kill both of them if she wished to. By being close to her, they realized that even though she had failed to reach the Sage realm, she was not a simple 9th-grade Spirit Warrior. Huang Yi had witnessed Sect Leader Xuan's power. Emperor Weide's actual cultivation was unknown but he had acknowledged that Sect Leader Xuan was the strongest cultivator in the Hongchen Kingdom. And right now, Huang Yi could tell that Matriarch Huang Yufeng was very close to him. He couldn't be absolutely sure, but she did seem a bit inferior. The mere fact that he had broken through a few decades ago, almost a century ago really, was proof enough.

Throughout the hall, Matriarch Huang Yufeng's voice resounded.

"Family Head Huang Yi, your granddaughter is indeed incredible. I had high hopes for you and you haven't let me down one bit. But this granddaughter of yours exceeds every single one of these hopes. Tomorrow will certainly be a great tea ceremony."

Those words filled Huang Yi with both joy and pride. He cherished his granddaughter a lot. Even if she had been incompetent, he would have still loved her. But thankfully, she was incredible. Not only was her blood purer than anyone else in the family, but her mind was as crafty and cunning as the matriarch's.

"Huang Liyue, I know that you've become her bodyguard and I want you to stay by her sides until the end of the month. No matter what happens with this Gui Bei, no harm must come to her. Between her and Huang Si, I still do not know who I will choose to succeed me yet. However, both of them will become pillars of our Huang family. The young generation may have hope to finally break this Forsaken Dao Era. I have the intuition that this time is coming. When I looked through the tribulation clouds, I foresaw that many things were going to change in the upcoming decades. Even if we lose a bit of face during the duel, we must protect Huang Cixi at all costs."

"I understand, Matriarch." Huang Liyue hesitated a bit. "But I do believe that Huang Cixi will be able to triumph."

"Oh?" Matriarch Huang Yufeng examined her former bodyguard for a while. "If she's managed to gain you to her cause, I do imagine that she is even more impressive that I thought. I sense that you hide some things from me... But I'll let it slide for now. You've never once betrayed my trust and you have earned it."

"Thank you, Matriarch. I promised Huang Cixi to keep quiet about certain things until the end of the month. I am thankful for your magnanimity."

Beside Huang Liyue, Huang Yi was dumbfounded. His granddaughter was keeping secrets from the matriarch... Usually, this could be construed as treason. Thankfully, Matriarch Huang Yufeng trusted her former bodyguard and had taken a liking to his granddaughter. Hopefully, Huang Cixi knew what she was doing.

"Now, I'd like to talk about other matters. The shadow of both demonic cultivators and demons alike are upon our kind. With my new spiritual senses, I looked through the vicinity and the demonic beasts are indeed close to a stampede. There are probably other 9-core demonic beasts lurking around. And I do not believe that they came here alone. Someone brought them here. And even more than that, someone made sure that we knew they were here."

-

Out in the wild, Xiong Nixie was beating up a man. Using a powerful whip, he was tearing apart his flesh bit by bit. The poor victim was biting into a piece of wood to avoid screaming. After more than a hundred lashes, Xiong Nixie stopped and kicked the bleeding man away. He was a late Mortal Warrior and yet, his flesh had been completely ripped away, some of his vertebrae were even visible.

"Next time you fail, I won't be so nice! Leave!"

As the agonizing Mortal Warrior left, Can Mouye entered the tent of his master.

"Master Xiong! The Star Mole Dragon has been slain. Baizyun City knows about the stampede."

With a very dark air, Xiong Nixie looked at Can Mouye. He had rage in his eyes but was trying to control himself. It was so rare that Can Mouye didn't believe it himself.

"Good..." His tone was saying the opposite of his words. "That Mo Tian will pay for it one day... Using my precious beasts as mere bait... I swear!"

Sensing the incredible rage of his master, Can Mouye knew that he had to erase his presence as much as possible or he would be used to vent it. Luckily for him, an unsuspecting servant opened the tent and gave a report to Xiong Nixie.

"Venerable Xiong, we've found food for your beasts."

As soon as he spoke, the whip still in the hands of Xiong Nixie lashed toward his face. The poor man was only a middle Mortal and his head got cut in half before he could even comprehend what he had done wrong.

"Food?" An evil smile disfigured Xiong Nixie. "Can Mouye, bring the food to my darlings."

Following behind his disciple, Xiong Nixie saw several mortals and a couple of Mortal cultivators tied up on the ground. They had been stripped of their clothes and had many wounds all over their bodies. In his mind, Xiong Nixie only saw them as pieces of meat. Can Mouye took the rope binding them and dragged them toward some cages. Inside were monstrous demonic beasts.

The poor captives pleaded and even tried to slow down their march with no success. No one was strong enough to resist a Mortal Warrior. And even if they could have, Xiong Nixie was also there. Can Mouye bound them to the cages and walked back. Then, Xiong Nixie used his mind to open the cages. All the beasts swooped down on the humans and devoured them as they screamed in agony. Watching the scene, Xiong Nixie was delighted.