Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Clear Spring Liquid is made from the North Mountain Spring water, fermented with Moon Extract, supplemented with licorice, orange peel, ... and other ingredients, brewed over forty-nine days. Manager Zhou, am I correct?”

As Yun Xiao and Brother Lu Ye were conversing, the first cultivator at the Heavenly Realm Early Stage who found the Clear Spring Liquid was speaking eloquently, filled with excitement and confidence.

Although Clear Spring Liquid is common, listing all its components is not an easy task, and any mistake might result in direct elimination.

Judging by his confident demeanor, it’s clear he has studied Clear Spring Liquid; otherwise, he wouldn’t have identified its ingredients so quickly and confidently.

”Correct, you pass!”

Indeed, after his words fell, Manager Zhou, who had been standing quietly aside, calmly spoke, stirring envy and some concealed jealousy among many.

Luck likely played a significant role in his easy passing; firstly, being lucky enough to find the Clear Spring Liquid first, secondly, coincidentally having studied this wine, both elements were indispensable.

Thus, he became the first to pass the first round of the Drunken Immortal Conference, understanding this, some narrow-minded individuals naturally felt some resentment.

Perhaps these people also studied Clear Spring Liquid, but since the other had already revealed its formula, using this wine to pass the first round is clearly impossible now.

”It seems a bit of luck is needed in this Drunken Immortal Conference!”

Seeing all the drinkers busily engaged, Yun Xiao thought, although he relied on luck at times on his journey from the Hidden Dragon Continent, he never solely depended on it.

The saying ’a craftsman must strengthen himself’ was well understood by Yun Xiao, and a mere Drunken Immortal Conference was of no significance to him.

After all, Yun Xiao was the Long Xiao Battle God in his previous life, where endless wine flowed into the War God Palace, not being a compulsive drinker, he was well-versed in various wines.

A mere Drunken Immortal Conference in Drunken Immortal City was trivial for Yun Xiao; he could accurately list the Clear Spring Liquid’s ingredients without tasting, ten times better than that person earlier.

Yet the numerous drinkers in the venue were unaware that the less than twenty-year-old boy was actually an exceptionally skilled wine taster, focusing instead on finding the wine to pass the first round.

”Brother Yun Xiao, if you can’t recognize the wine later, just call out to your brother!”

Lu Ye surprisingly wasn’t in a rush to find wine but whispered to Yun Xiao, making the latter glance at him oddly.

”Aren’t you afraid of offending the Lord Supervisor?”

Yun Xiao looked a bit helpless; he wasn’t afraid of Ma Nanfeng, but where did Lu Ye, at the Heavenly Realm Early Stage, find such courage?

Yun Xiao felt some camaraderie with Lu Ye, seeing him approach voluntarily, knowing Ma Nanfeng’s previous demeanor, there’s a good chance he’ll take out his anger on him.

”Afraid! Why not? But I’ve decided to leave Drunken Immortal Tower after the Drunken Immortal Conference; even the Emperor Palace’s influence won’t easily find me!”

Lu Ye candidly shared his plan, making Yun Xiao nod slightly, then suddenly raised his hand, pointing to a particular spot.

”Brother Lu Ye, do you see that stone?”

Lu Ye was initially stunned by Yun Xiao’s sudden actions before hearing the boy speak, directing his gaze to where Yun Xiao pointed.

”That... stone?!”

Following Yun Xiao’s direction, Lu Ye indeed saw an inconspicuous stone, even noticing a cultivator kicking it with hurried steps.

”Yes, inside that stone, there’s a type of wine. Go pick it up!”

Yun Xiao disregarded Lu Ye’s puzzled expression, lowering his voice as if avoiding others hearing, his words deepening Lu Ye’s confusion.

”Brother Yun Xiao, are you... sure?”

The quiet question revealed Lu Ye’s lack of confidence; he looked around, only seeing a regular stone, kicked back and forth, attracting no attention.

Lu Ye knew his limits, his cultivation merely at the Heavenly Realm Early Stage, admitting his wine-tasting skills weren’t the best, but each Drunken Immortal Conference had hidden talents, what he couldn’t identify didn’t mean others couldn’t.

Yet now, no one paid any attention to the stone; if it truly held wine, why didn’t the strong cultivators at Heavenly Realm Late Stage or Peak sense it?

In fact, the biggest reason is that Yun Xiao is too young, barely in his twenties. How can he have much experience in distinguishing wines?

”Could it be that this young man sees me as amiable and is deliberately trying to amuse me?”

For a moment, Lu Ye even entertained such a notion, but he quickly dismissed it. He’s only known this young man for a short time and has been quite cordial; there’s no reason for him to mock me like this!

”Well, let’s give it a try!”

Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his heart, Lu Ye suddenly felt a bit curious. If there really is wine inside that stone, wouldn’t he make quite a name for himself at this Drunken Immortal Conference?

After all, that stone had been kicked and trampled by people, yet none had noticed it, not even the Heavenly Realm Peak experts who had passed by without discovering anything unusual.

Once he made up his mind, Lu Ye quickly stepped forward, instantly attracting more attention from Yu Xu, who had been keeping a close watch on him. Then, he saw Lu Ye, with a peculiar expression, pick up an inconspicuous stone.

”This guy...”

Seeing Lu Ye’s action, Yu Xu’s expression turned odd. He had just participated in the search for fine wine and had even passed by that stone, yet he had never sensed anything unusual about it.

Yu Xu was watching Lu Ye, naturally afraid that this person would flee amidst the chaos, making him hard to find later. Unexpectedly, he witnessed such a scene.

”Could he really think that stone holds fine wine?”

Yu Xu’s face carried a cold sneer. He had scanned the stone when he passed by earlier, and to be fair, none of the cultivators at the Drunken Immortal Conference would ignore a single piece of anything.

Yet, unfortunately, including Yu Xu, no one sensed anything different about the stone. Only Yun Xiao, with his extensive experience and the powerful half-step Holy Rank power of soul, could discern some unknown subtlety.

On the other hand, Store Manager Zhou, who had been smiling and watching, revealed a glint in his eyes upon seeing Lu Ye pick up the stone, directing more focus to this area.

Amidst Yu Xu’s sneering expression, Lu Ye finally took the stone into his hand. However, even at such close proximity, he couldn’t discern any difference in the stone.

”Brother Yun Xiao, this...”

Holding the fist-sized stone, Lu Ye scratched his head with his other hand, speaking with some confusion. Although he didn’t finish his sentence, the meaning was clear.

Even though Lu Ye was only at the Heavenly Realm Early Stage, his sensing ability was quite good. From his perception, it was just a stone, not hollow inside, definitely incapable of hiding any fine wine.

”Brother Lu Ye, do you have any clear wine?”

Yun Xiao remained nonchalant, reaching out to take the unremarkable stone and extending another hand as he asked, which made Lu Ye pause slightly.

The so-called clear wine is the most ordinary kind on the continent, tasting bland and flavorless. Only the lowest-tier common people would drink such inferior wine.

Yun Xiao asked casually, without much expectation. After all, such inferior wine would rarely be carried around by a Heavenly Realm Early Stage expert like Lu Ye.

However, even if Lu Ye didn’t have clear wine on him, Yun Xiao could produce something similar to proceed with the next move. His ice attribute Ancestor Vein was far superior to ordinary Ancestor Veins.

”Actually, I do have some!”

To Yun Xiao’s surprise, Lu Ye nodded after a pause and took out a jade wine jug from his Waist Storage, handing it to Yun Xiao’s left hand.

Once the jade wine jug was brought out, it emitted a strong aroma, causing many cultivators nearby to wrinkle their brows and turn away.

”Clear wine?”

Upon smelling the familiar scent, the patrons displayed a disdainful expression, thinking that Lu Ye really had no taste, even collecting such inferior wine—not worthy of attending such a high-level Drunken Immortal Conference.

In contrast to the spectators’ disdainful thoughts, Yun Xiao’s face showed delight. He was actually reluctant to expose his Ancestor Vein Power in front of others; it was best that Lu Ye had some clear wine.

Store Manager Zhou, who had been coldly observing the actions of the two from the side, showed a curious expression upon smelling the clear wine, as it slightly deviated from his expectations.

As the manager of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, Store Manager Zhou naturally knew that the stone was not ordinary and required some methods to transform it into fine wine, but those methods didn’t involve using clear wine.