Longevity through Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 163: Chapter 126: Golden Core Elder

Under normal circumstances, the Thousand Mechanism Hall is managed by three Foundation Establishment cultivators at once.

If one of them needs to leave urgently, they only need to inform the other two.

Isle Master Qinghe is doing just this now; after taking spirit wine from Ji Yuan, he instructed the other two brothers briefly, then rode the flying boat to leave Thousand Mechanism Island.

After leaving this place, he flew eastward for half a day, almost leaving the Water Dragon Sect.

Finally, he stopped in front of an island blooming with flowers.

“Qinghe from Thousand Mechanism Island, requesting to see Junior Martial Uncle Wang You.”

After waiting for a moment, a drunken female voice finally came from the island.

“Just bring it over.”

Isle Master Qinghe quickly took out the spirit wine he had collected over the days.

The spirit wine spread out in the air, amounting to several dozen jars.

Vaguely, a shadow seemed to sweep by, and all the wine disappeared at once.

Isle Master Qinghe didn’t leave; soon the woman’s voice came from the island again, “The person I asked you to keep an eye on has finally come? And only gave three jars? Heh.”

“Exactly.”

Isle Master Qinghe hastily bowed and explained: “That disciple said he had collected for a long time, yet only managed to brew three jars… perhaps it’s really too challenging to brew this spirit wine.”

“Challenging?”

The woman sneered, then a communication talisman with a faint floral fragrance flew out, landing in the hands of Isle Master Qinghe.

“Next time he comes over, notify me. By then, I’ll personally ask him.”

“This… yes.”

Isle Master Qinghe bowed respectfully.

According to the rules, without the mutual consent of both parties, Thousand Mechanism Island should not disclose information about either party, nor arrange meetings between them.

But unfortunately, the person speaking now is the rule of Water Dragon Island.

Master Wang You of the Water Dragon Sect, “Hua Yaoyue,” with her Lifebound Magical Treasure, the seventy-two Amber Nightlight Cups, she is fierce enough to have slain a mid-Golden Core stage cultivator head on.

As a Golden Core Elder of the Water Dragon Sect, meeting a Qi Cultivation stage disciple is a trivial matter.

Having received the order, Isle Master Qinghe took leave and departed.

Drunken Flower Island.

Amidst the flowers, a tall woman lay drunkenly among them, her skin whiter than snow, her long white legs extending under a skirt of goose-yellow cloud brocade.

A crimson bustier wrapped around her heaving bosom, with golden thread embroidery of a twin lotus lightly trembling with her breathing, more vibrant than the real flowers beside her.

Her drunken eyes lazily gazed at the rows of wine before her, and with a flick of her finger, all the wine jars were popped open.

A rich wine fragrance immediately filled the flower grove.

She sniffed lightly with her delicate nose.

“Nothing exceptional.”

She sighed but still stored away all the wine.

Leaving only three jars, she pried open the seal of one, and a jade cup appeared in her hand out of thin air.

A stream of pale yellow wine flew out from the jar, filling her jade cup.

She lifted it, looking at the slightly yellow wine inside, and drank it all in one go.

As she tilted her neck to drink, the red-gold bell tied to her jade-like ankle jingled; the wine ran down her swan neck, forming a glistening stream on her snowy chest.

After savoring for a while, Hua Yaoyue seemed to remember something, unable to suppress a smile.

With the multitude of wines she has tasted, how could she not tell what this wine is?

The cheapest “Moon Yellow Wine” indeed, sold for just a few low-grade Spirit Stones per jar.

Yet, for some reason, this disciple’s Moon Yellow Wine tasted surprisingly good, perhaps he added something to improve it.

Hua Yaoyue slowly savored the whole jar, but couldn’t tell what he had added.

But that doesn’t matter, as long as the wine is tasty, that’s all she cares about.

Brewing wine is other people’s task.

Yet this disciple only gives so little at a time, as if I’m not paying you, why only give this much… is he baiting me?

Afraid that if he gives too much at once, I might get satisfied and not spend heavily on your trashy Moon Yellow Wine next time?

Baiting me, this old wine-lover, with wine…

Heh, don’t say it, but it works.

Hua Yaoyue was already contemplating, when that disciple comes again, she’ll make an appearance.

By then, frightening him should be enough to scare him to death, right?

And after the scare?

Hua Yaoyue thought carefully, perhaps keeping him to brew wine solely for herself?

That’s a good method, but having him work without giving him formal recognition makes me, as a senior, seem too petty.

Hua Yaoyue was still thinking when something caught her attention, her heart stirred, and she took out a communication talisman from her storage bag.

She infused a bit of Spiritual Qi into it, and immediately a joyful female voice came from the talisman.

“Master, Master, I killed another late-stage second-rank Demon Beast, I’ll bring it back in a few days for you to drink with.”

Hua Yaoyue was momentarily stunned, suddenly thinking of something.

Perhaps take him as a disciple, let him focus on brewing wine for me?

But then again, it seems a bit too extravagant; taking him as a disciple when he only knows how to brew one type of wine seems too cheap for him…

Moreover, he’s not even at the Foundation Establishment stage, taking such a disciple would be embarrassing.

Forget it, forget it, let’s wait until we meet next time.

…

“Please wait a moment, Senior Brother.”

The disciple on duty took the token from Ji Yuan’s hand and began to browse the information within the Jade Scroll.

After a while.

The disciple on duty finally looked up and said, “Senior Brother is looking to collect Illusion Heart Flowers, right.”

“Indeed.”

Ji Yuan quickly nodded.

“As for the Illusion Heart Flower, no disciple has provided it.”

Ji Yuan felt a chill in his heart upon hearing this.

But then the on-duty cultivator said, “However, a disciple has provided clues related to the Illusion Heart Flower. He claims to know where it can be found and wishes to discuss it with you in person. Would you be willing to meet with him?”

“If you are willing, part of this task will be considered successfully completed, and our Water Dragon Sect will allocate a portion of the merit points to pay the other party. If you are unwilling, the task will be deemed a failure, and all your merit points will be returned.”

There’s such a thing… Ji Yuan’s first reaction upon hearing this was.

Could it be that the sect is baiting with law enforcement?

Pretending to have clues about the Illusion Heart Flower, luring him over, then capturing and torturing him to confess that he is a spy from Medicine King Valley… Ji Yuan immediately imagined a whole drama in his mind.

Of course, that’s possible, but highly unlikely.

More likely, the other party genuinely wants to meet in person, and perhaps they indeed have the Illusion Heart Flower and just wish to sell it at a high price.

“If the discussion is in person, how would it be conducted?”

Ji Yuan asked.

“The other party has left his address. If you are willing to trade, we will provide the address on Chulong Island for you. Then you can make contact between yourselves.”

“But this action may expose your information, so please consider it carefully.”

Ji Yuan couldn’t help but be impressed; this on-duty cultivator was truly considerate.

Since the other party was willing to leave an address, they must have already prepared to reveal their identity.

Ji Yuan thought for a moment and decided to take a look. Since the person is from his own sect, he could be somewhat reassured.

“Let’s proceed with the transaction.”

“Alright, here’s the address the other party left. You may go find him.”

After saying this, the on-duty cultivator handed over some spirit stones, “These are the ones you previously paid in advance, a total of 15 mid-grade spirit stones. The sect takes a portion, and now there are 10 left to return to you.”

For just an address message, they charged me 500 low-grade spirit stones. Why don’t they resort to robbery!

Ji Yuan’s heart was bleeding, but he still had to say thank you.

He then went to the side, submitted some high-grade Tier One talismans, and completed a pay-to-win task. After gathering 100 merit points for the year, he went to the trading area to investigate, only to find he still couldn’t trade for the Illusion Heart Flower.

Helplessly, he left the Thousand Mechanism Hall.

Once outside, he took out the paper slip given to him by the on-duty cultivator.

“Chulong Island, Number 36, District B.”

After reading it, Ji Yuan casually burned the slip, summoned the Scarlet Skies Skiff, and first went to the Hundred Treasures Tower on All Things Island, only to find there was still no Illusion Heart Flower for sale.

He then returned to his residence on Chulong Island, disguising himself as a middle-aged man before heading to District B.

On the way, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but summon the panel for a look.

A Level 2 Talisman Room could allow him to automatically learn the “Transformation Talisman.”

If he had such a thing, disguises would be much easier.

However, to upgrade to Level 2 Talisman Room, he also needed Enlightenment Room assistance, so ultimately, he needed to first acquire the Illusion Heart Flower.

After a while, Ji Yuan arrived in front of House Number 36 in District B.

He glanced around to ensure there were no issues before knocking on the door.

After a brief wait, footsteps were heard from inside the courtyard, followed by a creak as the door opened.

A figure appeared behind the door.

Even though Ji Yuan was well-prepared, as soon as he saw the person behind the door, he was stunned, or rather, dumbfounded.

For a moment, he didn’t speak, just stared in surprise at the person behind the door.

“Who are you looking for?”

Dong Qian felt uncomfortable under his gaze, and instinctively frowned, even taking a step back.

“I’m looking for you…”

Ji Yuan didn’t finish his sentence.

Dong Qian’s face turned sullen, “I don’t know you.”

With that, she slammed the door shut.

Ji Yuan: “…”

Who would have thought the person who had knowledge of the Illusion Heart Flower’s location was Dong Qian?

If he had known it was her, Water Dragon Sect wouldn’t have earned those 5 mid-grade spirit stones from him!

Knowing it’s her, Ji Yuan felt there was no need to hide his true face. By directly approaching her with his real identity… she was somewhat one of his own.

If she indeed has the Illusion Heart Flower, the price might be more affordable.

If she only knows its location, she would probably speak more truthfully.

However, having just shown himself, it wasn’t the right time to seek her out again; he couldn’t take her for a fool.

So Ji Yuan decided to return to his residence, planning to come back the next morning. But shortly after arriving home, he sensed something unusual from the storage bag.

Upon checking, he found it was the talisman from the Law Enforcement Hall, emitting a white glow. He injected some spiritual qi into it.

A dull voice resonated.

“Come to the Law Enforcement Hall immediately.”

After the voice spoke, the talisman turned to ash and scattered.

Ji Yuan had no choice but to remove his disguise and stepped out of his home, finding that the old man Pi Fangzhi was already waiting at his door.

“Brother Ji, did you receive a communication from the Law Enforcement Hall?”

Pi Fangzhi’s complexion was noticeably pale.

Guessing he might be in trouble… Ji Yuan speculated.

“Yes.”

“If that’s the case, let’s go together.”

Pi Fangzhi sighed, summoned the Misty Skiff, and leaped aboard.

Ji Yuan similarly rode the Scarlet Skies Skiff, the two moving one after the other towards the northwest.