Chapter 326: Chapter 250: Where Did It Go Wrong?_2
 

Therefore, it was particularly choosy about usage conditions. Of course, there was a small drawback, this talisman easily turned a trial of skill into a fight to the death. After all, a magical treasure was often the most valuable possession a cultivator had.

Whoever was robbed would be in a hurry.

Master Bai Liu sized up Jiang Cheng, unable to guess his sect, and finally couldn’t help asking, “Kid, who did you apprentice under? How come I don’t know of any talisman master in our sect who is skilled in this kind of talisman?”

Jiang Cheng gave a precautionary explanation, “Master Bai Liu, my impertinence is that of a disobedient disciple, please don’t take offense, and especially let it not affect the friendly cooperation between us.”

Bai Liu thought to himself what a good lad, which hero in our sect could have taught a disciple like Jiang Cheng?

“Stop keeping me in suspense, just tell me, I’m not that petty,”

“Alright, I am a disciple of Master Yun Shu,” Jiang Cheng replied.

Bai Liu first showed a look of astonishment, then his expression slowly turned blank.

Reasonable.

If he was a disciple of Yun Shu, then it really wasn’t surprising.

With the basis of a Magical Treasure Naming Talisman, plus the not-too-difficult aging spell, Jiang Cheng’s new talisman, “Rapid Growth Talisman,” was successfully released.

Since Jiang Cheng had already advanced to Foundation Establishment and had the Shadow Puppet Sect cultivation technique that could train spiritual power, it was only natural that the Rapid Growth Talisman was a third-tier talisman.

The Recovery Pill was a third-tier elixir, after all; if Jiang Cheng still used a second-tier talisman, it would really be a bit disrespectful to the elixir.

Now that the fermentation time issue was resolved, all that was left was to wait for Master Bai Liu to brew the wine.

Thanks to the high efficiency of the Rapid Growth Talisman in fermentation, Master Bai Liu needed only a little over a month to brew a batch of wine.

By the time the three months requested by Jiang Cheng had passed, Master Bai Liu had already produced the third batch of the improved Elixir Wine.

“Jiang, please,” Master Bai Liu said, gesturing.

In Master Bai Liu’s residence, a cup of crystal-clear wine was placed in front of Jiang Cheng.

“Is this the wine brewed from the Recovery Pills?” Jiang Cheng asked.

“Correct, this is already the third batch, the wine-making scheme is basically mature, give it a try,” replied Master Bai Liu with a smile, obviously very confident in his creation.

Jiang Cheng frowned and took a sip; to be honest, it was so spicy he couldn’t taste anything else.

Master Bai Liu laughed heartily, “Young friend, you haven’t had wine before, have you?”

“Indeed,” Jiang Cheng admitted, and with a cupped fist towards Bai Liu, he added, “I would ask the senior to describe this wine to me.”

“It has a fragrant and crisp taste, sweet and moist on entry, refined; if you savour it, you can taste a hint of the bitter woodiness of fruit…”

Master Bai Liu spoke at length, seemingly quite satisfied with his appraisal of the Elixir Wine.

But Jiang Cheng completely failed to understand or taste any of these fancy flavors.

“Senior, could you give me a more straightforward evaluation?”

“Haha, that would naturally be good wine,” Bai Liu said with a chuckle, “I can’t guarantee anything else to you, but there’s one thing I can assert beyond doubt.”

“Please enlighten me, Senior.”

“The taste of Elixir Wine is unprecedented. I have tasted plenty of wines steeped with spiritual materials, but compared to your Elixir Wine, their flavors are all stronger, more pungent. Your Elixir Wine gives off a sense of gradual release, carrying a lingering feeling. Simply put, high class! You could take it to compete with those few hundred-year-old fellows.”

Jiang Cheng nodded, “After all, it is something from over a thousand years ago, accelerated by the Rapid Growth Talisman, so it having a hint of the flavor of time is quite normal.”

“Good, well said! The flavor of time, tsk, it’s the cultured young people who get it,” Master Bai Liu said with admiration.

After speaking, Master Bai Liu did not forget to remind Jiang Cheng, “You promised to give me one-third of those six thousand elixirs used for brewing, no reneging.”

“Senior must be joking, how could I go back on my word? However, there is one more thing I would like to consult with Senior,” Jiang Cheng said.

“Speak!”

Master Bai Liu was quite spirited.

One third of six thousand elixirs amounted to two thousand pills, and with so many elixirs turned into wine, Bai Liu had enough to enjoy leisurely for almost a hundred years, so he was naturally in a great mood.

“My Elixir Wine, if I were to find a comparable benchmark for it, at what level would it be among other wines?”

“You know Master Ban Que, right? He has a signature brew called ‘Mei under the Moon’; your Elixir Wine is roughly at that level,” replied Master Bai Liu.

On the surface, Jiang Cheng said, “I see.”

Inwardly, Jiang Cheng thought, I have no clue.

But it must be good.

A hefty batch of Elixir Wine at hand, Bai Liu pulled Jiang Cheng into heavy drinking.

Jiang Cheng naturally didn’t want to drink, but considering Master Bai Liu’s senior status, it wasn’t easy to outright refuse.

Liu Qing watched, wordless but resolute, lifted her cup, and clinked it against Bai Liu’s. Fiercely protecting her friend.

Of course, Master Bai Liu wasn’t to be outdone, he who boasted of a vast capacity, challenging Jiang Cheng and Liu Qing to a drinking duel.

He refused to believe that he, a mighty Void Refinement cultivator, could be outdrunk by two youngsters.

Half a day later.

A cultivator at the Void Refinement stage lay on the ground, unconscious from drinking too much.

But Liu Qing was just like nothing happened, not only was her consciousness clear, but her cheeks weren’t even flushed.

Jiang Cheng sighed and thought to himself, “You could provoke anyone, but why her? Who can outdrink her?”

After saying goodbye to Master Bai Liu, Jiang Cheng pulled Liu Qing onto the flying boat to go home.

Liu Qing originally wanted to pilot the flying boat because she could distract herself that way, and then she could play games with Jiang Cheng. But when Jiang Cheng piloted the flying boat, he did so with complete focus, leaving no room for games.

Unfortunately, Jiang Cheng refused her request outright.

“No boating after drinking.”

Liu Qing: ?

Liu Qing puckered her lips slightly, wanting to object.

But Jiang Cheng didn’t let her speak, took her hand, dragged her onto the flying boat, and took off without another word.

Jiang Cheng didn’t know when it started, but even when not casting a spell, he would take Liu Qing’s hand.

It seemed that neither Jiang Cheng nor Liu Qing paid much attention to this small detail.

As long as one of them reached out a hand, the two naturally held hands.

Once back at North Forest Peak, Jiang Cheng contacted Qiao Jie using the Jade Token.

“Brother Qiao, this is Jiang Cheng.”

“Oh, it’s brother Jiang Cheng. You mentioned brewing wine before, was it successful?”

“It was a basic success. By the way, do you know how much Master Ban Que’s ‘Mei under the Moon’ is worth per pot?”

“Mei under the Moon? That’s some fine wine! A pot would cost at least a hundred Spirit Stones, right?”

“A hundred? That’s it?”

Jiang Cheng frowned.

After all, a Recovery Pill was worth three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones each. And on average, it took three Recovery Pills to produce a single pot of wine.

A quick addition showed that the cost of a pot of Elixir Wine was around nine thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, and that didn’t include Master Bai Liu’s wage, which was a third of the output.

If Mei under the Moon was only worth a hundred, wouldn’t Elixir Wine with a cost over ten thousand be a huge loss?

But then Qiao Jie added, “A hundred high-grade Spirit Stones is not a small amount! A poor Core Formation cultivator like me can’t afford to buy a pot of Mei under the Moon.”

“So you were talking about high-grade Spirit Stones.”

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.

One high-grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to ten thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. A hundred high-grade Spirit Stones were equal to one million low-grade Spirit Stones.

“Of course, it’s high-grade Spirit Stones! Master Ban Que is a seasoned Divinity Transformation cultivator, why would they count in low-grade Spirit Stones?”

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Jiang Cheng finally felt at ease.

His work over the past few months had not been in vain.

The total value of this batch of elixirs was eighteen million low-grade Spirit Stones.

The price for a pot of Elixir Wine was roughly one million low-grade Spirit Stones.

This meant that as long as Jiang Cheng sold eighteen pots, he would break even, and any additional sales would be pure profit.

Most importantly, the task was completed, and ten thousand Contribution Points were secured.

Finding tasks could be done at the Task Hall, but selling wine could not be managed there.

The place within Tongtian Sect that functioned like a supermarket was very familiar to Jiang Cheng—Tongbao Pavilion.

Tongbao Pavilion, as an industry of the Outer Sect, naturally did not overlook the opportunity to tap into the Sect’s market.

Jiang Cheng casually found a Tongbao Pavilion and directly inquired whether they were interested in buying his fine wine.

“Please wait a moment, I will call the manager right away.”

Shortly after, a Nascent Soul cultivator arrived before Jiang Cheng.

“My name is Zhang Wu. Are you looking to sell wine?”

“Indeed.”

Jiang Cheng took out his Elixir Wine.

After tasting the wine professionally, Zhang Wu asked, “May I ask what price you wish to sell it at?”

“Fifty high-grade Spirit Stones per pot,” Jiang Cheng replied with a sincere price.

This price was only half that of Mei under the Moon.

Zhang Wu silently pushed the wine back to Jiang Cheng: “We can’t buy it at that price. Your wine is a new variety, and we can only offer a conservative price.”

Jiang Cheng remained composed: “What do you propose to pay in Spirit Stones?”

“Eight thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.”