Chapter Ninety-One: The Grand Peach Banquet (Conclusion)

Three days had passed since the divine race sent out their invitations. One day had gone by since the gods had created the City of the Gods. Today was the day of the Grand Peach Banquet.

Though the Grand Peach Banquet was ostensibly just a feast hosted by the divine race for all the deities of the Northern Wilderness, no living being dared to belittle its significance.

The myriad gods of the Northern Wilderness, all keenly perceptive, understood that this was, in truth, a gathering where the divine race intended to receive their submission and loyalty.

The gravity and solemnity of the Peach Banquet went without saying.

Especially after the divine race had first eradicated the Xuanming Black Serpent clan—the second most powerful tribe in the North—and then, high above the nine heavens, created the unparalleled City of the Gods with boundless starlight, the importance of this banquet had only grown in the eyes of all the gods.

It could be said that every convening of the Peach Banquet, especially in the era of the divine race’s rule, was imbued with the most profound political purpose.

Though, in later ages, the Peach Banquet gradually became a mere formality attended by insignificant monkeys who could hardly be called supporting characters, this was the Peach Banquet of the ancient divine race. It was destined to be grand and resplendent.

In the face of such an important occasion, even the most careless and unkempt among living beings would tidy their appearance and strive to present themselves with a semblance of divine majesty.

After all, to lose face at the Peach Banquet was to be humiliated before all the gods of the Northern Wilderness—perhaps even before the entire Primal Realm.

...

Northern Wilderness. Northern Sea. Vast Sea Domain.

The Vast Sea Domain was one of the larger of the thousands of sea regions in the Northern Wilderness, famed for the divine stone known as Vast Sea Stone, which endowed the region with its name.

Vast Sea Stones contained the essence of sun and moon, capable of containing all things, and were one of the sacred materials used to craft sealing and spatial artifacts.

Because of their value, Vast Sea Stones were coveted and fought over by the powerful, and in time, a Vast Sea Lord emerged to reign supreme.

With the Vast Sea Lord presiding, the Vast Sea Domain became one of the few powerful sea regions in the Northern Sea not under the control of the ten great clans of the Northern Wilderness.

Vast Sea Palace.

Upon the throne sat the Vast Sea Lord, while below stood a general clad in dark blue armor.

“Lord, the tribute for the divine race is ready,” the general announced with deference.

The Vast Sea Lord gave a slight hum of acknowledgment, his blue eyes deep and inscrutable.

For the Peach Banquet, all gods invited from the Northern Wilderness were naturally expected to prepare a tribute for the divine race. With each successive display of power by the divine race, these tributes had grown heavier.

Take the Vast Sea Lord: before the City of the Gods was created, he would have prepared ten thousand catties of Vast Sea Stones. Each catty was enough to forge a postnatal spiritual treasure.

Now, after the creation of the City of the Gods, he had prepared one hundred thousand catties.

Merely by virtue of the City’s appearance, the tribute increased tenfold.

All the gods of the Northern Wilderness were compelled to do likewise—the grandeur of their offerings unimaginable.

It was no exaggeration to say that, after collecting the tributes of the Northern Wilderness’s gods, the divine race’s treasury would rival the ten clans’ accumulations of a hundred thousand years.

Sparks crackled in the air.

Suddenly, the Vast Sea General sensed a surge of divine power and drew forth the scalding-hot invitation from the divine race.

The golden invitation radiated a powerful divine light from the depiction of the Hall of All Gods, dazzling and fierce.

With a thunderous roar, the golden light transformed into a bridge of gold, stretching straight toward the distant, unreachable City of the Gods above the nine heavens.

“The Peach Banquet has begun.”

Staring at the City of the Gods at the end of the bridge, its sacred splendor reflected in his azure eyes, the general spoke calmly.

A flash of blue light, and he, with his retinue, stepped onto the golden bridge and made for the City of the Gods.

...

Elsewhere in the Northern Sea, an unnamed region.

Moments before, the sea had been calm; now, a giant whirlpool spanning a hundred thousand miles had appeared.

With a thunderous crash, the vortex spun madly, the waters churning and wild, and suddenly a massive column of water erupted upward.

Within it, a man clad in black-feathered scale armor clutched the searing invitation from the divine race.

A beam of golden light shot from the invitation, forming a golden bridge leading directly to the City of the Gods above the ninth heaven.

“The Peach Banquet—this is the moment I, the Roc Lord, shall make my name resound throughout the Northern Wilderness and the Primal Realm.”

With a coldly arrogant smile, he stepped onto the golden bridge and strode toward the City of the Gods.

...

Northern Sea. Tyrant Shark Domain.

“The Peach Banquet has begun!” The Tyrant Shark Lord looked upon the sacred, radiant City of the Gods, excitement tightening his grip as he sneered, “Let’s see who will have the last laugh.”

Seated on the Tyrant Throne drawn by nine Tyrant Sharks, and leading an army of a hundred thousand, he ascended the golden bridge, making for the City of the Gods.

...

Northern Wilderness. Thunder Domain of the Kui Ox.

As one of the ten great clans, the Kui Ox tribe dwelled upon the northern earth, commanding over three hundred territories.

The Thunder Domain, their homeland, was wreathed in endless lightning year-round, storms raging everywhere.

For other races, it was a land of certain death.

But for the Kui Ox, born to master the laws of thunder, it was the supreme place of cultivation.

Naturally, the Thunder Domain became the capital of the Kui Ox.

“The Northern Wilderness shall never return to days of peace. Amidst the rising storm, who will be crowned king?” Sky Thunder Kui Lord gazed up at the City of the Gods and sighed.

Then, with no other recourse, he led a hundred thousand thunder-warriors onto the sacred, blood-stained golden bridge to fight for his people.

...

By this time, the entire Northern Wilderness had been set in motion by the divine race’s Peach Banquet, the air everywhere restless and fevered.

The divine race, the City of the Gods, the Peach Banquet—together, these formed the grand stage of ambition.

The myriad gods of the Northern Wilderness, whether seeking neutrality, desperate to establish their fame, or preparing to submit, were all, willingly or not, swept into this maelstrom of power and glory, unable to break free.

The ten great clans ruled unchallenged—no, with the fall of the Xuanming Black Serpents, it was nine clans now.

No matter how mighty the solitary cultivator or outsider, before the nine clans, all must yield.

Those who refused would be crushed before their legions of a hundred thousand.

Thus, even if the nine clans did not set out together, they would arrive side by side in the end.

The mighty procession of the nine clans, banners unfurled, advanced unhurried at the fore, while behind them, the myriad gods and tribes of the North followed, each shining with different divine lights.

The nine clans ruled supreme. Such was the state of the Northern Wilderness.

Yet, this fragile equilibrium was already tottering, on the brink of being shattered by the divine race.

The divine race would end the reign of the nine clans and usher in a new era of unity for the Northern Wilderness.

...

Soon, the nine clans, leading all the gods of the North, arrived before the City of the Gods, their gazes complex as they beheld the birthplace of a new epoch.

The closer they drew, the more they felt its sacred, dazzling splendor.

As myriad golden rays and auspicious clouds streamed from the city, the Peach Banquet began.