CHAPTER 362: CHAPTER 362: YAOGUANG’S HAPPY MOMENT

The lavish hospitality was hard to refuse, so Jiang Yuan had no choice but to accept each gift. His storage bag soon piled up with a large amount of precious jewels.

When he took out the first crop of watermelons from the fields to share, this fruit, which was already very popular on land, instantly captured the hearts of all the mermaids present.

"Yaoguang, happy birthday!" Jiang Yuan didn’t understand the process of mermaid birthdays, but generally, attending such events meant presenting gifts directly.

So when he just took out the beautifully crafted fruit basket from his storage bag to hand it over, Yaoguang’s eyes lit up and she quickly waved her hand, saying, "Put it away for now! It’s too beautiful, too thoughtful, hahaha~ I’m really sorry, but just wait a moment. There’s a gifting ceremony when the Clan Leader and High Priest arrive, and you can take it out then to amaze all the mermaids, okay?"

She immediately noticed the beautifully crafted fruit basket full of various land plants she had and had not seen before, and even a bunch of very beautiful flowers. Overjoyed, she wanted to receive such a precious gift under everyone’s gaze, so she quickly waved her hand to have him put it away before anyone else noticed.

Jiang Yuan, without understanding why, still put the ceremoniously packaged fruit basket back.

The mermaids busy on the square were only a small part of the tribe, and when the midnight moon ritual officially began, numerous mermaids gathered together, creating a spectacular scene.

Yaoguang explained the roughly outlined process to him: First, blessings were given to the mermaids participating in the adulthood ceremony by the Clan Leader and High Priest;

then, friends and family representatives would present blessing gifts to them;

finally, each mermaid participating in the adulthood ceremony could choose two companions to hunt in the Undersea Forest. Aside from keeping anything obtained during the exploration, the one who found the most hidden jade would win, with rich rewards for the top three.

Jiang Yuan, as an outsider guest, was warmly received and sat in the front row to watch the entire solemn yet luxurious coming-of-age ceremony.

"Please, dear friends and family, present your adulthood gifts to the children of the new generation!"

Finally, it came to the gift-giving segment. The elaborately dressed mermaids took the stage one after another, sending their best wishes to their children and friends.

Jiang Yuan followed Yaoguang to present a gift to her.

Aside from the previously customized Feathered Robe, Yaoguang, as the representative, presented various luxurious items beloved by the Mermaid Race. Jiang Yuan glanced over to see mirrors, combs, beautiful clothes, and jewelry, which weren’t much different from what other mermaids received.

After Yaoguang stepped aside, when it was his turn to step forward, seeing Yaoguang’s eyes filled with anticipation, Jiang Yuan turned his hand to take out a set of bead and jade jewelry brought from the market from his storage bag. After all, from her look earlier, the fruit basket was apparently quite a surprise for the mermaid race, so it should be saved for the finale.

"Human headwear! Wow! It’s so beautiful!"

"The material seems quite different from our ornaments."

"What are those inlaid on the gold?"

"As expected of humans, they dare to use a phoenix design for headwear..."

......

The Mermaid Kingdom hadn’t had any human visitors for a long time, and Jiang Yuan was already warmly welcomed. Now, bringing a gift to the stage, even if he had taken out a worm from land, it could cause a huge sensation.

Yaoguang looked at the gorgeous phoenix hairpin, her face tinged with excitement and a hint of red, feeling secretly delighted and grateful that she had initially succumbed to curiosity to talk and trade with Jiang Yuan, and then impulsively invited him to the feast. Only because of these actions could she enjoy being in the limelight and envied on the day that was both her birthday and coming-of-age ceremony.

"Thank you!" Receiving the gift, she realized a bit late there was still a gorgeous big fruit basket. Hurry up and take it out! I can’t wait!

Jiang Yuan turned his hand again and took out two bottles of blood, "This is the blood of the White-Finned Demon Flood Dragon I hunted. I figure you could find it useful."

"Awesome! Jiang Yuan, you’re amazing!" Yaoguang almost couldn’t hold back a scream, thinking that’s exactly what she needed!

The blood was stored in a jade bottle provided by the system. Perhaps it was the unique medium of the Mermaid Kingdom, neither water nor air, causing a slight leakage of aura, so the mermaids nearby couldn’t help but turn their heads to look.

Yaoguang carefully held it, turning to look at the Clan Leader and High Priest, loudly declaring, "Jiang Yuan gave me two bottles of blood from the White-Finned Demon Flood Dragon, which I can use to refine Moon Spirit Potion for the deities!"

"Great, great, great!" The Clan Leader was all smiles upon hearing this, looking at Jiang Yuan with approval, nodding, "Very pleased to meet you, a new friend who keeps his promises. You’re welcome to visit often."

Although the High Priest didn’t speak, he was all smiling, thinking that fortune truly smiled upon them with this guest.

Yaoguang quietly explained on the side, "We need a lot of Moon Spirit Potion to offer to the deities. The ocean is too vast and the White-Finned Demon Flood Dragon’s whereabouts are unpredictable, making them hard to capture. So, we desperately need their blood or demon cores. You delivering these two bottles is like sending charcoal in the snow; we can smoothly complete this year’s offering."

Jiang Yuan nodded to show he understood, thinking, what deity would the Mermaid Race worship? It couldn’t be the Cthulhu Mythos, right?

Bringing out the large fruit basket from the storage bag once again, the previous shock hadn’t faded, and upon hearing, there was a sudden silence, followed by buzzing discussions.

The fruit basket was inspired by creative vegetable bouquets in the real world, thinking these spirit fruits wouldn’t look good without decoration, so he had Hu Zhile pick some fresh flowers and use magic to preserve them before decorating the basket.

The overall was grand, exaggerated, and luxurious, meeting Yaoguang’s aesthetic perfectly.

In addition, the spirit fruits harvested from the Level Two farmland were crystal-clear and full of spiritual energy, paired with ordinary fruits that were colorful and impressive.

Sure enough, Yaoguang, with excitement and flushed cheeks, held up the fruit basket to showcase the gift she received to everyone.

"They’re different from the fruits we just ate!"

"Written records mention spirit fruits! Look, those fruits are even more beautiful than the ones depicted in books!"

"Terrestrial items brought by human cultivators are all so interesting, I want to trade with him."

"Use our pearls, coral, and agate to trade with him. I wonder if he’d agree."

"If not, we can ask Yaoguang to help negotiate. Aren’t they friends?"

"How wonderful it would be to enjoy delicacies from the Human World without leaving our safe kingdom..."

......

Holding the fruit basket, Yaoguang had already felt the rich spiritual energy emanating from the spirit fruits. Her little mind was spinning fast, considering how many to give to the Clan Leader and High Priest, how many to leave for friends, and how many she could keep for herself.

As soon as the ceremony was announced to end, she immediately counted the number of spirit and ordinary fruits in the basket according to her planned allocation and delivered them to the Clan Leader and High Priest.

While Jiang Yuan was tasting the unique delicacies of the Mermaid Race on the square, the Clan Leader was already discussing with Yaoguang how to re-establish a trade system with humans.

After eating and drinking their fill, while the feast was being cleared, Jiang Yuan also silently noted the materials identified by the system that could be used to make delicacies at the stove or finished products at the Bait Workshop, preparing to barter with Yaoguang.

In the meantime, during one meal, he received orders for eighty Feathered Robes.

This was even after he rejected further orders due to concerns about insufficient materials and not being able to fulfill them. If materials and production time weren’t issues, he could easily receive hundreds of orders.

"How about it? Do you like our food?" Yaoguang swam over, beaming, "I don’t know if you’ve gotten used to the taste, but don’t worry if you haven’t, we can participate in the hunt together later. There are many delicious fruits in the Undersea Forest Secret Realm that opens just once a year. If you haven’t had your fill, you can try our fruits later.

Also, weren’t you looking for information about the Sea Moon Tomb? Come with me, I’ll take you to see the Clan Leader and High Priest."