I forge immortality with spiritual treasures.

Chapter 36 Fruit Wine

The weather in the mountains is unpredictable.

A light rain came suddenly and went quickly.

There was no more rain in the valley, but the Bing fire was still burning fiercely. It was unclear whether it was because the flesh of the human-faced beast was really tough, or because of the dense evil energy, but it had not yet turned to ashes after burning for so long.

The old ape was bowing respectfully to the mountain king.

The mountain lord merely nodded slightly, but then suddenly turned to the two of them and said, "Did you two really kill this ferocious beast?"

This mountain lord can actually speak human language!

Each word was clearly audible, and the voice was deep and authoritative.

Ying Chan and Li Xuanying exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

It should be known that if spirits can speak human language, it is either because of their special bloodline or because they have cultivated to the point of refining their transverse bones.

Such magical power is comparable to that of a Xuan Guang cultivator!
No wonder he could be a mountain lord, and no wonder the old ape asked him to get rid of the human-faced beast.

Ying Chan withdrew his gaze, bowed, and replied, "That's right."

The mountain lord said, "The power of that previous attack is not something you could have accomplished."

It wasn't here when the fierce battle was taking place, yet it seemed as if it had witnessed it firsthand.

Ying Chan paused slightly before saying, "It's just borrowing the power of a magical artifact."

"A magical artifact..."

The mountain lord gave Ying Chan a deep look, then suddenly turned around and roared at the old ape.

With a light leap, it easily climbed onto the rock face and disappeared from sight.

At this moment, Cai Que'er whispered, "The Mountain Lord said that since the evil beast has been eliminated, it no longer wants the old ape's reward."

So that's why this powerful spirit was willing to be the old ape's helper.

It's just unknown whether Ying Chan and the others' preemptive action in eliminating the human-faced beast resulted in the Mountain Lord losing his reward, or whether it saved him a troublesome matter.
Ying Chan gazed thoughtfully in the direction the mountain king had gone.

The old ape approached, patted his chest, and gestured for Li Xuanying to drink water.

Li Xuanying's eyes lit up: "Brother Yuan, are you serious?"

The old ape remained silent, only nodding.

"Senior brother," Li Xuanying said with delight, "Brother Yuan said he would treat us to drinks, we are truly fortunate this time."

Ying Chan asked in surprise, "Doesn't Xuan Ying not drink alcohol?"

"Senior brother, you are unaware of this."

Li Xuanying said, "Brother Ape, what you brewed is a hundred-fruit wine. It doesn't make people drunk, but it's very beneficial to cultivation!"

"Is that really so?" Ying Chan was very surprised. "We should give it a try."

Li Xuanying smiled and said to the old ape, "Brother ape, wait a moment! After we've burned this beast, we'll go back with you."

Even so, the burning lasted for two or three hours.

As the sun rose in the east and the morning light flowed into the valley, the flesh and blood of the human-faced beast finally turned to ashes, and its evil aura and malevolent energy vanished into nothingness.

But when Li Xuanying removed the Bing fire, many things were still scattered in the original place, shimmering brightly under the sun.

"what?"

Li Xuanying let out a soft exclamation, cast a spell to summon the object into his hand, and examined it closely.

Although it is scattered, it is still possible to see that it is a complete coccyx.

The tailbone of ordinary beasts is very fragile, but the tail of this human-faced beast can split mountains and rocks and withstand flying swords. It is extremely strong and resilient. Even when burned by the fire, it did not turn into ashes, but instead became crystal clear.

"Hmm." Li Xuanying pondered, "This bone probably has some wonderful uses, Senior Brother... Senior Brother?"

Ying Chan did not look at the coccyx, but saw something else, half-buried in the mud.

Li Xuanying asked curiously, "What is this?"

Ying Chan took the object into his hand; it turned out to be a perfectly round bead.

The material of this bead is indiscernible; it feels like jade or glass to the touch, but it is neither transparent nor lustrous.

"Could it be a demon core?"

But if it forms a demon core, it will be at least comparable to a Taoist golden core demon, so how could it be eliminated by a mere Qi Refining cultivator?
Ying Chan shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions, and said, "I'll ask when I get back to the academy, and maybe I'll find out."

Li Xuanying nodded and said, "I have a Qiankun bag; you can leave it with me for now, Senior Brother." "A Qiankun bag?"

Ying Chan became interested: "Is it that thing that contains Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed?"

“Indeed.” Li Xuanying generously took out the cloth bag from his waist and handed it to Ying Chan for a look.

Ying Chan didn't take it, but asked curiously, "Where did Xuan Ying get this? The artifact shop doesn't seem to have it."

"As far as I know, if one can join our sect, the sect will bestow upon them a treasure as small as a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru, which is far more valuable than my Qiankun bag."

Li Xuanying said, "Perhaps that's why the workshop doesn't have this item."

"As for this Qiankun bag of mine, I bought it with Buddhist money at the boat fair."

"Fang party?"

"Exactly."

“There is a ‘Wanshan Fangshi’ with dozens of cloud boats under its banner, which often travel between the entire Da Wanshan Mountains.”

"It is a kind of itinerant merchant, but the places where it stops are fixed, so it can also be regarded as a market that opens every once in a while."

"Southeast of the Taoist temple, there is a place where cloud boats dock and open for business every season."

“I’ve been there a few times with Senior Brother Xu. If you’re interested, I can take you to the boat party next time.”

"I see……"

……

The rising sun climbs up the clouds.

Before they reached the zenith, Ying Chan and Li Xuanying had already followed the old ape to a mountainside.

The area is lush with trees and babbling brooks. Many monkeys fly and swing about, and when they see the old monkey returning, some of them get excited and shout with joy.

Many more apes flew down and called out to the old ape, while others surrounded Ying and Li, full of curiosity.

The mountainside was a bit noisy for a while.

Fortunately, the old ape was quite authoritative. He shouted a few times, shooing away the apes and calming them down.

Although there was still nothing I could do, with several baby monkeys on my back, at least it was a little quieter.

The old ape led the two to a flat area in front of a cave.

There was a stone on the ground that could be used as a table. The two people sat on the ground while the stone itself entered the cave.

Before long, the old ape returned, carrying a wine jar in his arms.

Just as the jar was placed on the square stone table, several more apes brought bamboo tubes, including the little white ape that had originally gone to report to Li Xuanying.

These little white apes were clearly quite clever; each one was intelligent and quick-witted. They stared longingly at the wine jar and squatted to the side, refusing to leave.

The old ape ignored them and poured wine for the two of them, and Cai Que'er also shared a cup.

It remained quite 'taciturn,' merely nodding to the two of them and making a 'please' gesture.

"Senior brother, please."

After saying this, Li Xuanying happily picked up the bamboo tube and drank it all in one gulp.

Ying Chan gazed at the bamboo tube. The wine inside was clear, unlike fruit wine, and had no fragrance. It was more like a cup of mountain spring water, and even reflected his face.

He couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

An old ape in the mountains offers a drink—how elegant and delightful!

Why bother about what the drinker is drinking?

Ying Chan picked up the bamboo tube, raised it slightly towards the old ape, and then drank it all down.

The wine went straight into the stomach.

Ying Chan's eyes snapped open.

Previously, Xuan Ying said that this wine does not intoxicate, but is beneficial to cultivation.

Why was he drunk after just one cup?

He turned his head with difficulty and saw that Li Xuanying had almost fallen headfirst onto the square stone table, but fortunately the old ape quickly caught him.

(End of this chapter)