bestfiction Chapter 206 In the Jar
Chapter 206 In the Jar
"It is an honor to be here."
Zhong Ming remained...very polite, but not at all like...a "best friend"?
Fairy Danpo took out a pot of wine and pushed it in front of Zhong Ming.
“This was the last batch of wine brewed in this vat as a superior ritual implement. I originally intended to keep it as a memento, but it is no longer needed. I will give it to you.”
"Thank you for the wine, senior." Zhong Ming was completely unceremonious at this point.
Seriously, why be so distant? I'm easy to get along with. A little kindness or favor is all I need. I'm not picky; anything is fine with me, really.
"Truly a man of genuine character." Fairy Danpo had seen many such "heroes" who beamed at the sight of wine. She couldn't say she looked down on them, after all, without them, how could her wine sell?
Zhong Ming ignored her misunderstanding, put the wine away, and placed it in the center of the empty storage space, feeling somewhat heartbroken.
"A True Person? The True Person of Qu Hong?"
"Senior is laughing."
The Fairy Danpo smiled alluringly, her charm no less potent than the smile Zhong Ming had given He Guang earlier. It made Zhong Ming's heart pound, and he exclaimed that fortunes change.
She was about to ask something rather...secret, "Master Cuihong, is the dynasty aware of your cultivation method?"
"I don't know yet."
She nodded. Sure enough, when they met for the second time, she realized that if the Yunzhou officials knew about him, they would want to put him in a zoo and keep his cultivation technique spread throughout the entire dynasty.
"So, do you intend to hand it over?"
"Fairy, the difficulty of cultivating my technique is far too..."
The Fairy Danpo smiled sweetly, a smile that sent chills down Zhong Ming's spine.
“Master, you have no concept of the power of the Chen Dynasty. Even if you are a genius who is one in ten thousand, there are still five-figure geniuses here.” She was sitting cross-legged on the ground, but she covered her chest with one hand and lifted her chin with the other, looking at him with gentle eyes. “If you hand it over, I don’t know how the Dynasty will reward you. If you know about it but do not hand it over, I don’t know how the Dynasty will forcibly seize it and steal your soul.”
Zhong Ming was horrified by what he heard, but he wasn't too afraid. "Fairy Danpo is joking. With my hard work in cultivation yielding so little, it would be better to train more weapon-refining masters. Refining new ones is always better than expending a lot of effort to maintain the old ones."
“That’s not necessarily true,” Fairy Danpo didn’t completely deny it. “That was true until a secret realm was discovered.”
Which secret realm?
"It doesn't matter. All you need to know is that many ancient spiritual treasures were discovered there. Because they have been neglected for too long, most of their spiritual energy has dissipated, and most of them have dropped in grade. However, their inherent strength is probably greater than most of the spiritual treasures that are being refined now."
Zhong Ming was startled and his face showed horror. He thought to himself, "Have I been exposed? Has anyone found out that I've collected a whole bunch of artifact spirits and they're targeting me here?"
He forcibly suppressed his surprise, while the other party simply thought that the news she had given was too outrageous and had frightened Zhong Ming, and did not take it seriously.
"If we obtained your cultivation technique, and a Nascent Soul cultivator were to use it, our Yunzhou Dynasty would likely have another terrifying existence with a multitude of ancient spiritual treasures."
Zhong Ming gave an awkward laugh and said, "My master only taught me the techniques up to the Foundation Establishment stage. The Maoshan Taoist Temple has been on the edge of Yunzhou for many years. If it had such a heaven-reaching divine technique, it would not have remained unknown until now. The techniques my master has mastered are probably not even worthy of the attention of the great powers."
This answer was very reasonable, and Fairy Danpo couldn't help but nod in agreement.
She didn't know, and Zhong Ming himself didn't know exactly how much of the "Body Refining Technique" the old Taoist had passed on to him; in any case, it was just a matter of breaking through a level and having more content.
"So when do you plan to tell Wang Chao about your abilities?"
"After the recruit assessment was over, I had an agreement with a certain family, which can be considered as their introduction to the dynasty."
Fairy Danpo remained expressionless, but inwardly regretful. 'It seems someone beat me to it; I won't be able to get this recommendation.'
"Since you know the situation, I won't say more. I'm just a shrewish woman who brews wine, not comparable to the gentle and beautiful Xi Shi of the wine shop." She clearly noticed Zhong Ming's reaction when he smiled at her, and was somewhat displeased. She continued, "Enough, enough. Judging people by their looks doesn't make you a true hero. Master Cuihong, would you like a drink?"
Anyway, Zhong Ming looked at her with a "friendly" expression. "The wine that's in my storage bag has no reason to be taken out again, right, host?"
The Fairy Danpo brought out another pot of wine and filled two wine cups. As soon as the wine was poured out, its aroma filled the air, like a cloud of mist gathering inside the wine jar, condensing and not dissipating.
It's unclear what spiritual runes were activated, but the inner wall of the huge wine vat brightened up, like a long-dried riverbed greedily drawing moisture from the rare humid air, guiding the rich aroma of wine into the vat.
"This wine is called 'Mystic Fragrance.' Its aroma is so strong it's almost tangible, and it won't dissipate even after the seal is opened. Just one sip is enough to make you feel like you're floating on air. Come, Master Cuihong, please."
Zhong Ming picked up the wine glass with both hands and drank it all in one gulp.
Hmm... how should I put it... it's like drinking a glass of water mixed with alcohol, it doesn't really taste like anything.
Seeing the other person's puzzled expression, Fairy Danpo laughed heartily.
"This wine is just like that. Its essence is transformed into its aroma. You can smell it but not drink it. If you are lucky enough to attend a wine party in Yunzhou, you will see these on both sides of the venue. They are as vast as waterfalls and as gushing as fountains."
She took a deep breath, drifted away, and left with the words, "Do as you please, I'm busy with other things."
......
Several days later, Zhong Ming felt his abdomen swell and his spiritual energy was abundant. With the help of the Heavenly Stone Mica, he truly stepped into the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining.
At this point, cultivation not only had no effect, but it also made his dantian feel full and uncomfortable, and even made it difficult to control the spiritual energy flowing in his meridians, making it hard for him to concentrate on grinding the wine vat.
He knew it was time to leave.
Since there was no room for improvement, he restarted the sword-nurturing technique, began to cultivate the sword energy within the mother and child swords, and prepared to bid farewell to the fairy and participate in the final recruit competition.
After the last exploration of the secret realm, the morale of the new recruits in Yunzhou was generally low. They truly realized the brutality of the battlefield, which was far more brutal than they had expected, and some even doubted whether they should commit to the military.
The high-ranking officers at Sky Stronghold were somewhat helpless. The intensity of the competition was slightly too high for the military. According to the calculations of the Yin-Yang experts specially hired by the dynasty, it was indeed rare to fight a battle where the weak defeated the strong. However, in the heroic years when the Chen family conquered the world, it was much bloodier than it is now.
After lamenting "another lost generation," they had to make corresponding compensations to reduce the probability of new recruits dying unexpectedly during the final assessment.
Otherwise... the number of people officially serving in this batch might be slightly insufficient.
Just as the bell rang, the official announcement was released, detailing the specific rules for the final assessment of the new recruits. The announcement was posted along various major roads, attracting huge crowds everywhere.