Su Fu glanced instinctively at the white veil on the distant table.
Someone who always wore a veil must feel safe only when wearing it.
Therefore, Qionghua’s work-related items would surely be placed where she felt safest.
Don’t ask how she knew; just blame the reflexes of a working-class person.
‘Under the veil…’ Su Fu’s mind stirred.
At that moment, the purple-robed fairy turned back and frowned slightly, as if wondering why Su Fu was still dawdling.
Su Fu’s heart tightened, but she maintained a calm facade.
She casually walked to the table and picked up the white veil.
The next second, her eyes lit up.
Sure enough, beneath the veil lay an exquisitely crafted invitation.
The invitation was delicate, adorned with images of peaches and cranes around the edges.
In the center was a painting of a peach tree, its peaches plump and dripping, with clouds swirling among the branches.
The words “Yaochi” were engraved on it.
Su Fu immediately understood—this was the invitation to the Peach Banquet?
So her task was to deliver invitations?
Good grief, she really was a working servant—one who delivered invitations.
Not daring to waste another moment, she grabbed the invitation and quickly wrapped the veil around her face, leaving only her eyes exposed.
The veil was a blessing, preventing any sneaky examinee from recognizing her and targeting her.
She followed behind the purple-robed fairy, watching the latter’s purple dress flutter gracefully as she turned, thinking, This fairy is truly kind-hearted and beautiful, taking the initiative to help her “integrate” with the group and thoughtfully guiding her.
Otherwise, she’d be completely lost, and if the mission failed, her superiors would definitely come looking for her.
And that would be bad.
They passed through several corridors and exquisite small pavilions, occasionally encountering other fairies, who greeted the purple-robed fairy with respect but ignored the veiled Su Fu.
Su Fu thought privately, ‘Looks like my status really isn’t high.’
But, in a way, that was good.
A low profile meant no one was watching, so the chance of her cover being blown was lower.
And delivering invitations gave her the freedom to move around, a perfect opportunity to familiarize herself with Yaochi’s layout and personnel distribution.
As for her mission to infiltrate the Peach Banquet—looking at the invitation in her hand, it was like bringing a pillow to someone who’s falling asleep.
It didn’t matter whose name was on the invitation; as long as she saw them once, she could use the Thirty-Six Transformations to impersonate them.
In other words, the mission was already more than half complete—she just had to meet the target person.
Su Fu felt a surge of gratitude towards the Great Sage.
The Seventy-Two Transformations were indeed invincible and perfect for such crowded gatherings.
So much fun to play with, especially after the Great Sage Pearl had set an example—she couldn’t let the Great Sage down.
At that moment, the purple-robed fairy suddenly glanced back at her: “Shall we hurry up? Eldest Sister is waiting for me to pick peaches.”
“Eldest Sister? Pick peaches?”
A flash of lightning shot through Su Fu’s mind: ‘purple dress… eldest sister…’
My god, could they be the Seven Fairies?
She scrutinized the purple-robed fairy again: beautiful, incredibly beautiful. Something felt off.
Almost all the other servants they had encountered wore white dresses like hers; only this one wore purple.
Moreover, other servants treated her with great respect…
“Oh my god… the Seven Fairies… Little Seven?”
No way?
But it really seemed possible.
The Seven Fairies and the Peach Banquet were famous from Journey to the West.
It was said that the Seven Fairies under the Queen Mother took care of the Peach Garden and harvested the peaches, and when the Great Sage ate peaches, he once immobilized all seven with a sealing technique.
And since the exam was named the Peach Banquet, peaches had to be involved.
Who would pick the peaches?
Naturally, the Seven Fairies.
If her guess was right, then this purple-robed fairy was likely the youngest of the Seven Fairies, the one in charge of the Peach Garden.
Everything fits perfectly.
Thinking of this, Su Fu adjusted her expression and said with admiration, “You’re going to the Peach Garden to pick peaches, right?”
The purple-robed fairy smiled sweetly, “Yes, we’re going to prepare peaches for the banquet starting today.”
“We’re honored that the Queen Mother trusts us sisters to handle it.”
Su Fu hesitated for a moment.
So there really were peaches? And truly the Seven Fairies?
Then the question became: were these peaches in the relic real or fake?
She noticed that the joy on the purple-robed fairy’s face was genuine, not feigned.
If the peaches were just illusions created by abnormalities, the fairy wouldn’t be this excited.
She feigned curiosity and asked, “Sister, are the peaches really as miraculous as said? Can they grant longevity equal to heaven and earth, bestowing immortality?”
The purple-robed fairy’s eyes brightened as she replied, “Of course. The peaches are wondrous, or why would so many gods compete to attend the banquet just to receive the Queen Mother’s peaches?”
She paused and looked meaningfully at Su Fu, “Anyway, you should work hard. Strive to one day taste the peaches yourself. Then… you’ll understand.”
Su Fu thought, ‘Fine, fine, even in the immortal realm they paint dreams, huh?’
“All that hard work, there’ll be a chance someday.”
What nonsense—she was just a lowly servant.
How long would she have to work before earning a chance to taste the peaches?
Pure fantasy.
But if the peaches really were as the fairy said… Su Fu’s mind flickered.
Even if not exactly like the real peaches that granted immortality, they must have some remarkable effects.
Oh yes, good stuff.
Want it, must get it.
She recalled what Teacher Zhuge Yan had told her—that even in relic dungeons, real treasures might exist.
Just like the Dragon Palace dungeon might hold treasures, why couldn’t there be peaches in the Yaochi map?
If so… she had to find a way into the Peach Garden to take a look.
At the same time, Su Fu feigned being deeply honored and said to the purple-robed fairy, “Thank you for your guidance, fairy sister. I will work hard.”
No relying on favors—she had to earn her peaches by herself.
At that moment, the two stepped out of the layered palaces and arrived at Yaochi’s outskirts.
The moment she saw the scenery of Yaochi in person, Su Fu had only one thought: the legendary Yaochi truly lived up to its name.
The shimmering pool reflected the sky, faintly glowing with seven-colored rosy light.
Clouds swirled around, blending with the water’s glow to create an even more ethereal atmosphere.
A legendary fairyland was nothing more than this.
The lotus flowers in Yaochi were exquisite; their petals pure white, gently swaying with the water. Somewhere came the faint, lingering celestial music.
Beyond the scenery, Su Fu saw many others—numerous examinees guarded by celestial soldiers standing around the pool.
They wore silver-white armor, held long halberds, and stood tall and firm as pines, arranged in neat ranks.
‘Heavenly River Navy…’ Su Fu thought, apparently this was Yaochi’s military force.
Most soldiers had solemn expressions, but several stood out distinctly.
Some had slightly crooked shoulder plates, others held spears in a notably different manner.
More strikingly, glimpses of their skin beneath the armor showed unusual colors.
Unfortunately, most wore faceplates, so she couldn’t see their faces or recognize anyone.
But there was no doubt many were examinees.
Not far from the pool’s edge, two magnificent divine beasts strolled leisurely.
One had splendid feathers with a tail nearly ten feet long, elegantly trailing on the ground—Su Fu recognized it as Qingluan.
The other was dazzlingly colorful like a rainbow, crowned with a golden crest and eyes like stars—undoubtedly the Rainbow Phoenix.
It was actually the Queen Mother of the West’s messengers and mounts?
Next to these two divine beasts, several Celestial Officials were tending to them, but it was clear they weren’t very attentive.
One official even instinctively took a step back when approaching Qingluan, causing the creature to emit a displeased cry.
Some held golden combs and jade brushes, ready to groom the feathers once the beasts stopped moving, but their movements were obviously awkward and stiff.
They were clearly afraid, unwilling, yet compelled to carry out their duties.
Su Fu realized these were examinees, weren’t they?
And it wasn’t just a matter of unfamiliarity; these candidates seemed utterly uncommitted, lacking any real desire to serve the Celestial Birds.
They all looked like they wanted to get away from there as soon as possible.
Su Fu wondered, ‘were they trying to explore the map?’
She sighed.
Her friends had truly gone astray.
Right before them were the Queen Mother of the West’s most beloved mounts—beings of extremely high status.
Qingluan had long accompanied the Queen Mother, conveying her decrees and traveling between heaven and earth to communicate with various deities and mortals alike.
As for Cai Feng, it was even more auspicious—a common auspicious divine beast by the Queen Mother’s side, a harbinger of good fortune.
If these two divine beasts favored someone, wouldn’t the entire exam be a complete massacre?
Yet here they were, not even trying to get on their good side.
“What a waste…” Su Fu muttered silently, her gaze lingering on the two divine beasts for a few more seconds.
She felt a twinge of envy.
The starting identities of these examinees were far too good.
They were the Heavenly River Navy—the armed force of Yaochi.
They could move freely throughout Yaochi without any barriers, no verifications or invitations required.
In fact, they themselves acted as the verifiers for others.
They could explore anywhere with full authority, gather any intelligence they pleased, because who would suspect ‘one of their own’?
Want to inspect the layout of the Peachtree Orchard?
Just say you’re on official patrol.
Want to get close to the Palace of the Queen Mother?
Simply pretend you’re on guard duty.
If you find treasure, you can claim it under the pretext of “investigating suspicious items.”
The examinees taking care of the divine beasts had it even easier.
As Qingluan was a messenger, befriending it could even allow a candidate to traverse through various places, bypassing all obstacles to reach the core areas.
This especially referred to the Peachtree Orchard, and it wouldn’t be impossible to sneak into other parts of the Heavenly Court either—after all, who wouldn’t show a little respect to the Queen Mother’s Qingluan?
As for Cai Feng, the auspicious Rainbow Phoenix, it went without saying.
If it so desired, it could enhance a person’s luck to unimaginable levels.
Did they understand the true meaning of auspiciousness?
“They’re really getting off easy,” Su Fu ground her teeth silently.
“If it were me, I’d never be so careless.”
No, she had to see if she could seize an opportunity later.
Just then, a sudden commotion erupted from the other side of Yaochi.
Su Fu turned toward the sound and saw a man dressed in a brocade long robe at the eastern entrance of the pool, arguing with several Yaochi attendants.
Su Fu’s sharp eyes noticed the robe was decorated with star patterns.
‘Could he be one of the Stellar Officials? ‘
Behind him trailed six or seven attendants, each exuding an extraordinary bearing.
“I just want to get a closer look at the magnificent view of Yaochi. Why are you stopping me?” the man said arrogantly, his tone haughty.
“I am a distinguished guest personally invited by the Queen Mother of the West. How dare you, mere lowly officials, block me?”
The attendants looked troubled and they said, “Star Lord, please calm down.”
“Yaochi is the Queen Mother’s place of cultivation. Outside banquet times, no one may enter without her imperial decree. Please move aside, Star Lord. When the Peach Banquet begins, someone will lead you inside.”