https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-42-Moonlit-Spring-Wine-Double-Kill/13509895/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-44-Breakthrough-to-the-Eighth-Layer-of-Qi-Cultivation/13509906/
Chapter 43: True Yingyue Wine
Chapter 43: True Yingyue Wine (Please Keep Reading!)
Unlike ordinary magic artifacts, a storage bag bore a special sealing formation that would soul-bind to its user upon activation.
It required repeated cleansing with mana to remove the original seal formation before opening. This process usually took several hours, but Xiao Chen’s mana replenished quickly—he brute-force cracked the seal within an hour. Reactivating the bag afterward bound it to him permanently.
“This small?!”
Xiao Chen frowned in surprise as he peered inside. The Lihuo Sect-issued storage bag measured three chi in each dimension—roughly a foot in width, height, and depth—already quite limited in capacity. It could only hold daily essentials and no oversized items. Yet this new bag was even smaller, barely a single chi across.
Its contents were immediately visible: two slim manuals, a talisman brush, stacks of talisman paper, a dark wooden token, two small jade vials, and six wine flasks.
He removed the items one by one. The first manual, Luotian Three True Cultivation Methods, bore an ambitious title. The second, Transformation Talisman Manual, was equally intriguing.
Xiao Chen leaned back, skeptical. Could a late-stage Lianqi cultivator truly possess such treasures? Flipping through the first manual, he found three distinct attack spells: Luotian Xuan Fire Crow, Luotian Devouring-Sea Python, and Luotian Blood Thorn. Though stylistically similar, their mana demands marked them as Yellow Tier spells. Advanced techniques typically required greater mana expenditure, making this a reliable gauge of quality.
Reflecting on his earlier battle, Xiao Chen grimaced. While he’d defeated the two bandit cultivators easily, his limited offensive options had left him vulnerable. Facing three attackers might have wounded him; five would’ve been disastrous. The Jiang family’s deliberate withholding of his cultivation manual only deepened his resentment.
The Scripture Pavilion’s Jiang Jiquan had hoarded his resources—deserving death, but not yet. Foundation Building cultivators like him could wait.
For now, Luotian Three True Cultivation Methods would suffice. He resolved to master its spells immediately.
The Transformation Talisman Manual, alongside the talisman brush and paper, confirmed this was a talismanist’s legacy. Useful, but not to Xiao Chen—he tucked them away to gather dust.
The token drew his attention next. Carved from yang wood, its front bore the words “Fair Trade, Mutual Aid” above a crescent moon motif. The reverse read, “Meet at the Upper Crescent; this token is proof,” with “three li southwest of Niu Village” inscribed below, accompanied by a spring water design.
“Interesting. A black market run by Quanzhou cultivators?” Xiao Chen mused. He recalled Niu Village, a hamlet southeast of Lihuo Bazaar. Its southwest outskirts, thick with forests, made an ideal hidden trading post.
The token lacked a name—perfect for him to investigate. Upper crescent moon could mean the eighth or twenty-third day of the lunar month. Today was the twenty-sixth of December—he’d have to wait until the eighth to visit.
Stowing the token, he examined the jade vials. One held vermilion cinnabar, the other a pungent spirit beast’s blood. Both were talisman-making materials, useless to him.
The six wine flasks intrigued him most. Four were empty, three bearing notes:
“Recreating this flask is so hard—adjust the clay ratio…”
“Stop wasting it! You know Yingyue Wine only works the first time—control your drinking! Save these last three for gifts.”
“This flask’s pattern is clearest. Copy this for fakes—don’t mess up again.”
The neat handwriting belonged to a young woman. One flask was already missing—evidently, the notes hadn’t helped.
Xiao Chen guzzled one bottle in three loud gulps. “Let’s see if it’s real,” he muttered, licking his lips. The wine tasted sweet, almost syrupy, with no burn.
After fifteen minutes, nothing happened. “Why no effect? Wait… why’s there a moon in my room?!”
A full moon hung overhead, glowing like a luminous mooncake. But he was indoors—where was the roof? Suddenly weightless, he floated upward, surpassing even the clouds.
Moonlight draped the fields in silvery gauze. A radiant spring erupted below, its waters shimmering. A breeze rippled the surface, and from the spring rose a second moon—larger, brighter than the sky’s.
Then the sun burst forth, blindingly bright.
Xiao Chen plummeted, jolting awake on his floor. Morning sunlight filtered through his window—daybreak.
“Why am I on the ground? Oh—Yingyue Wine!”
The empty flask confirmed it. The wine’s potency had knocked him unconscious, yet he felt no hangover. Instead, his body thrummed with energy.
He channeled mana—and froze. A new current flowed within his dantian!
“I broke through!”
(End of Chapter)
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