Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 31: Good Fortune Arrives, a Tacit Understanding Remains
"Sir, the price of charcoal has increased by 30% this year, and the price of meat is even more outrageous!"

At the Zhao residence, Xiaoyue was plucking shriveled red dates from her hands. Her emerald green skirt swayed, and her crescent-shaped eyebrows furrowed into a small knot. "Look at these dates! They're expensive and taste terrible!"

Zhao Wuji, without looking up, continued pounding the medicine: "How deflated is it? Feed it to me so I can taste it."

"This one is alright."

Xiaoyue immediately beamed with joy and leaned closer to offer the peeled dates.

Her fingertips brushed against Zhao Wuji's lips, startling the little maid so much that her ears turned bright red. She quickly changed the subject: "The household expenses are huge! A wine seller came today, and I was thinking you just bought twenty jars of good wine..."

"It's alright, it's alright. Money lost can be regained. My craftsmanship is gold. Wait, wine seller?"

Zhao Wuji waved his hand dismissively, then suddenly paused, startled.

"Where is that wine seller? When did you send him away?"

Xiaoyue was taken aback and hesitated before asking, "Sir, do you want more wine?"

Zhao Wuji said, "Go and find that wine seller first. I want to see the man before I look at the wine."

He figured that since he was a wine seller, he might know someone who had worked with Mo Quancai, a wine seller in the past.

Recently, he has refined two batches of Golden Spear Fiery Pills, which he used to quietly reach a deal with Mo Quancai.

Thus, he successfully obtained twenty jars of Qinghualang aged wine from Mo Quancai, as well as a map of the ancient Yelang Kingdom where wine was buried.

After absorbing all the yang energy from the strong liquor in the twenty jars of aged Qinghualang liquor.

He had depleted 315 strands of yang energy, but recovered to 375 strands, which was considered a recovery.

However, with these twenty jars of Qinghualang consumed, it also meant that without going to the ancient Yelang region, he would find it difficult to find such a strong liquor, which could provide three strands of yang energy per jar, again in the future.

Originally, he didn't take the wine seller from a year ago that Mo Quancai mentioned to heart.

After all, it's difficult for these itinerant vendors to find their missing persons.

Now that someone has come to him of their own accord, he's become quite interested.

The wine seller didn't go far; he was soon caught up by his assistant, Kobayashi.

He was a simple-minded, dark-skinned young man who was very reserved and spoke haltingly. When he saw Zhao Wuji, he dared not even breathe loudly.

Zhao Wuji was somewhat disappointed.

While one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, someone who can sell Qinghualang aged wine and the buried wine painting must be no ordinary person.

The wine seller, though bewildered, immediately lifted the mat on his wheelbarrow and took down a jar of strong liquor to display.

The moment Zhao Wuji lifted the straw mat, his eyes were drawn to the wine jar on the cart.

The wine jar was exactly the same as the one used for Qinghualang aged wine, except that it was somewhat worn and old, which surprised me.

"Where did this wine come from?"

"It was left to me by my father," the wine seller said, head bowed. "He said to sell wine to buy food when I got hungry."

"Where's your dad?"

"She's dead." The young man's eyes reddened. "My mother ran away with the money from selling alcohol, leaving my sister and me behind."

"My father died, my mother ran away, leaving me and my younger sister behind. This situation seems a bit familiar."

Zhao Wuji inwardly complained, while also feeling somewhat suspicious.

Could this kid be the son of the man who sold wine to Mo Quancai back then?
He continued to inquire, and his suspicions were eventually confirmed.

It turns out that when this father and son fled from the State of Yu, they brought seventy jars of wine with them, and sold some of them along the way.

The remaining good wine was sold to the officials, leaving only ten jars of old wine that were not properly sealed and all spoiled.

The only saving grace was that the wine seller still remembered the place where wine had been unearthed in the State of Yu.

Zhao Wuji was secretly delighted; this was like a pillow delivered just when he was sleepy.

He simply didn't have the time or energy to go to the State of Yu.

The wine seller is originally from that area, so he could go there and look for the four kinds of precious wines: Heaven, Earth, Man, and Golden Goblet.

"Fifty taels. Although your wine is spoiled, I'll take it all."

Zhao Wuji made the decision, "But you have to do me another favor. Take my men to the State of Yu and find the place where your father dug for wine. There will be a reward after you find it."

Seeing that the wine seller was still in a daze, he added, "Your sister can stay at my house, and she will have no worries about food and lodging."

The wine seller nodded vigorously.

Only a fool wouldn't agree to such a good deal!
He doesn't drink alcohol; he only sells it to earn a living for himself and his sister.

Now that we have a job, finding alcohol is no big deal.

"I didn't expect that the matter of the four kinds of precious wines would be temporarily resolved so that I wouldn't have to search for them slowly and painstakingly, which would have been time-consuming and laborious. It's great."

After instructing his servant Xiao Lin to bring the wine seller's sister back to his residence, Zhao Wuji took out a map of the four kinds of precious wine from his pocket, looked at it, and thought to himself that he was still somewhat fortunate.

Xiao Lin grew up with his father, Zhao Tianlang, and possessed the strength of the Qi Sensing Realm. He also practiced Iron Shirt externally and could be considered a third-rate expert in the martial arts world.

Most importantly, he is trustworthy. With Xiao Lin following the wine seller to find wine, it's like playing the long game to attract good fortune, which puts Zhao Wuji at ease.

"Besides finding the 'Lover' wine, we also need to find a substitute for the sunflower medicinal herb. Only with the elixir can we cultivate and induce the consumption of it."

Zhao Wuji entered the cultivation room, sat cross-legged, and focused his mind on the Nine Yin Nine Yang Pearl to examine his own cultivation level.

"Cultivation level in Immortal Path: First level of Qi Refining (52/100), Cultivation level in Martial Path: Transformation Realm (16/100)"

After reaching the Transformation Realm in martial arts cultivation, the focus shifts to the convergence of the three elements of "essence, energy, and spirit" at the top of the head. Although progress is slow, one can still steadily increase proficiency by 1 point per day. Such a speed is astonishing for ordinary martial artists.

Within three months, he will surely reach the realm of Grandmaster of Returning to Truth!

As for the path of immortality, he has already passed the halfway point of the first level of Qi Induction. After another fifty days of arduous cultivation, he can step into the second level of Qi Induction.

only……

"It will consume at least fifty strands of yang energy..."

Zhao Wuji shook his head inwardly.

Although his cultivation level has not broken through, his mastery of the Tongyou Technique has reached the point of "slightly achieving proficiency" due to frequent use and his increased proficiency in comprehending the mysteries of the Tianpeng Mantra.

After the Spirit Communication Technique is improved, the soul can separate into two phases: the Yang Soul guards the body, while the Yin Soul transforms into Yin Wind and wanders freely. Ordinary methods cannot harm the Yin Wind in the slightest.

"Tick-tock-"

The sound of the water clock startled Zhao Wuji from his reverie. His gaze sharpened, and he withdrew his attention from the Nine Yin Nine Yang Pearls, recalling the upcoming Penglai Immortal Gathering.

Emperor Zhaoming was overjoyed to receive the auspicious gift of a white deer and, for the first time ever, prepared to publicly display the immortal treasures at the Immortal Gathering.

This is an opportunity not to be missed.

Whether it's to learn about Li Shaojun's relics or to broaden one's knowledge.

They would stay close to the emperor, secretly absorbing his dragon energy and transforming it into yang energy.

It was all worth it for him to go through all this!
Therefore, he had asked his fiancée, Nan Zhixia, to get an invitation. Since Nan Tao, the Minister of the Imperial Clan, was in charge of royal affairs, getting an invitation was a piece of cake for him.

Tao Fei and Bi Yuxiang are probably also making plans.

Zhao Wuji's eyes flickered slightly. He took out a map of the Imperial Observatory from his bosom, stroked it for a moment, put the map away, instructed Xiaoyue to organize the medicinal herbs, and then got up and left the alchemy room.

A storm is brewing; we await the opportune moment.

Half an hour later.

In the private room of the Laifu Inn, Tao Fei, with a solemn expression, summoned Bi Yuxiang, the successor of the Thief Saint.

"Look. This is a complete topographic map of the Imperial Observatory."

Bi Yuxiang looked astonished, picked up the blueprints and examined them for a while before saying, "Where did you get these? They do look like the interior of the Imperial Observatory. I've basically figured out the surrounding area in the past few days, and it's similar to the outer area on these blueprints."

The drawings were even more detailed, showing the locations of hidden doors and mechanisms, but the interior areas were completely obscured.

Tao Fei said, "When I came back, the blueprints were on the table, weighed down with a copper weight."

Bi Yuxiang's expression changed. "Someone knows about our plan? Doesn't that mean we've been exposed?"

"Don't panic." Tao Fei suddenly smiled, picked up the blueprint, and sniffed it.

The familiar aura of cinnabar, distinct from ink, brought him peace of mind, and he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"The person who sent these blueprints is a clever one. He knows what we want to do, but we don't want him to know what we're doing. However, he's willing to help us with something."

Tao Fei looked at Bi Yuxiang, who was already somewhat dazed, and smiled, "The most important thing is that we can trust each other."

A sudden thought flashed through Bi Yuxiang's mind, and a figure seemed to spring to life in his mind, causing him to gasp in astonishment.

"How did you know it was him?"

Tao Fei took two more deep breaths of the medicinal aura and said, "The scent... it's dissipated now. This matter is no longer his concern. We found these blueprints."

"Picked it up?"

Tao Fei said with certainty and firmness, "That's right, we found it. Now that we have this found blueprint, plus your master's part, and that magic artifact that can open doors, our chances are much better."

Bi Yuxiang shrugged and spread his hands, "You treated this old man to a tour of Qianxiang Pavilion, so whatever you say goes. If it's something I picked up, it's something I picked up."

Some things are unspoken but understood.

Many things between friends are often understood without being spoken of.

Therefore, after placing the drawn map of the Imperial Observatory in Tao Fei's inn room, Zhao Wuji quietly left.

Once Tao Fei saw the blueprints and smelled the familiar scent of medicinal pills on them, he would naturally know who had sent them.

All our feelings are left unsaid.

The other party was unwilling to involve him, and he had no intention of getting involved either.

Even if they don't meet, the elixir energy on the drawing will quickly dissipate. They can help each other but won't hinder each other.

That night, the moon rose high in the sky, and a biting north wind blew.

The cultivation room was warm and cozy. When Zhao Wuji circulated his internal energy, his dantian became like a furnace, warming the entire room.

After completing a full cycle of his cultivation, he suddenly sensed something and detected a familiar yet eerie aura entering his own courtyard. He couldn't help but smile slightly.

The cunning white fox has come again.

This white fox was arrogant, repeatedly entering and leaving his territory, completely disregarding him.

This time, however, he wouldn't let the white fox leave easily. Instead, he captured it and thoroughly investigated it.

"amnesty--"

He suddenly made a hand seal, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light, and his soul rose like a wisp of green smoke, splitting into two streams.

One strand remained within the fleshy shell, while another transformed into a gust of cold wind, flying into the sword pellet and shattering the paper window to blast light outwards.
(End of this chapter)