"She’s not coming, so we can’t touch this table of food!"

"Today’s event... we..."

Chairman Chen Shu grinned.

"Don’t worry, everyone!

"I just contacted her, and she really can’t make it.

"In the original plan, she was supposed to head to Silver City overnight.

"The welcome event and banquet in Silver City are all prepared.

"She has to go."

Little Fatty Fang Luoshu, wearing a hearing aid, felt particularly uneasy at the moment.

"I’m just worried that after we’ve eaten half, she’ll come to the leftovers, and we’ll be doomed..."

The banquet erupted in laughter.

"Hahahaha, who do you take Committee Member Su for?"

"She won’t blame you."

"You’re not a puppet, so what’s there to fear?"

After much persuasive comfort, everyone watched the live broadcast and saw Su Yaoyao descend from the sky at Silver City’s grand welcoming banquet, and they finally were willing to raise their glasses and begin tonight’s feast.

In fact, despite the guilt towards Su Yaoyao, each of their hearts was quite at ease.

Especially Chairman Chen Shu, he felt particularly relaxed inside.

Even if the boss behind West State is walking on a broken path, so what?

Even if he’s stuck, so what?

It’s unknown when someone will surpass him again.

Until someone surpasses him, West State will enjoy a period of true peace and stability.

...

The sky was dense with clouds.

Howling winds swept over Fox Mountain, blowing across the mountainside plaza.

At this moment, a grand banquet had also been set up on this plaza!

Today, all fox apprentices paused their work and brought small stone tables, small benches here, arranged in neat rows.

Black Nose, Black Tail, and Dark Circles were busy preparing banquet dishes.

A dozen or so senior and junior apprentices were assisting them.

"Ying ying ying!"

White Claw wielded a Bronze Sword, slicing a large barrel of potatoes into thin slices, intending to make chips later; the thinner, the better!

"Ao ao ao!"

Black Shoes wielded a Stone Hammer, mashing the freshly steamed pearl rice; it needed to be made into rice cakes!

"Ying ying ying!"

Black Earrings chopped wood ear mushrooms, carrots, vermicelli, and so on into fine pieces, preparing to fry them into fritters!

...

There were more foxes who couldn’t lend a paw, gathering in groups of three or five, gesturing and chatting in fox-speak!

"Ying ying ying, ao ao ao ying ying..."

Master is about to reach Sequence Six!

"Ao ao ying ying ying ying..."

Fox Mountain is about to become stronger and safer!

They occasionally turned their heads to look at the side of the plaza, towards the side hall there.

Master was advancing inside that side hall!

This time, Master didn’t bring anyone along, instructing them to prepare the banquet outside. So they waited outside, obediently.

...

Inside the side hall, the door was tightly shut.

The roof’s openings let in dim skylight.

At times, the howling wind blew in, rustling the disordered weeds on the floor.

Barrels and basins of various herbs surrounded the Alchemy Furnace, cluttering the ground.

A cup containing the freshly collected "Soul" of Sequence Seven was held in Bai Mo’s hand.

"Hmm... it’s not contaminated."

Fallen and contaminated are two different things.

Doing bad things, violating the Celestial Law, betraying the order of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty, count as falling, and can be classified as a Fallen Immortal.

Contamination, however, was the source of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty’s destruction, the beginning of calamities, the indescribable, unspeakable existence that even the Emperor could only obscurely riddle about!

If these souls were contaminated, Bai Mo wouldn’t dare use them.

Fortunately, these souls, like wisps of white mist, gently floated and hovered in the cup, not stained with anything like black oil or black mist, still clean.

Bai Mo sat cross-legged in front of the Alchemy Furnace, furrowing his brow.

"All the materials are prepared.

"The refining isn’t difficult.

"It’s just that..."

With a thought, a black monument appeared beside him!

The monument bore the text of the Nine Kingdoms, unattached to Heaven above, unattached to Earth below, quietly suspended, pitch black and greasy!

"What on earth is this thing for?

"Will it have anything to do with my advancement?"

The thing, pitch-black and greasy, exuded an aura of contamination and ominousness!

Like the white mist and black clouds, it was part of this dreamscape and could appear according to the dreamscape controller’s will.

Yet its existence was extremely disharmonious, extremely abrupt, as if some unknown force had forcefully inserted it into this dreamscape, something that didn’t originally belong here.

Bai Mo had collected a lot of data.

But information about this monument was very scarce, whether online or within the Committee.

Only one or two posts had ever mentioned this monument, with hardly any attention.

The poster said his Ancient Immortal Master had once summoned this monument, drooling over it, like it was a beloved wife. Nearly kissing and licking it. But after gazing at the monument, he looked at his apprentices with a face full of exasperation and helplessness.

"What does it all mean?

"Perhaps after advancing, I’ll be able to understand the text on this monument?"

Five-Colored Pill Fire soared from his hands.

"Whatever it is?

"Let’s refine the pills first, then advance!"

...

Outside the side hall on the plaza.

Small stone tables were arranged in rows and columns.

Fried snacks, rice cakes, potato chips, bayberry wine... an array of dishes were laid on the small stone tables.

The foxes were all seated, "ying ying" and "ao ao" in fox-talk, still chatting, but none had started eating.

Black Star craned his nose, deeply inhaling the aroma of the chips.

"Ying ying ying, ao ao ao ao!"

... This potato chip, later he’s going to gobble up two plates!

Moon Belly stared at the golden-brown fried fritters, glancing left and right, his eyes filled entirely with reflections of the fritters.

"Ao ao ao, ying ying ying!"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com