“Big Brother Xiao, you finally returned!”
Iron Egg ran out somewhat excitedly. Then, he gave Xiao Chen a hefty punch. “Everyone thought that you died.”
Xiao Chen smiled and said softly, “It’s fine. Everyone just overthought and worried. You can all scatter; there’s nothing to see. Thank you, everyone, for your concern.”
Seeing that Xiao Chen was fine, the villagers revealed plain and simple smiles before leaving while merrily chatting with each other.
In their opinions, they could not help Xiao Chen anyway.
There was a gap in ability between them and Xiao Chen. Even so, no matter what, they sincerely hoped that Xiao Chen could live on properly.
Inside village chief Grandpa Seven’s house:
Iron Egg told Xiao Chen about all the rumors he heard from the neighboring villages. Then he asked, “Big Brother Xiao, are all these true? Did others see you lying down in the desert and covered in blood? They said that you were surrounded and injured by Demon Envoys.”
“What the eyes see might not be true.”
Xiao Chen avoided the topic, not providing any clarification. As he raised his wine cup and took a look, his eyes lit up.
Xiao Chen saw a scarlet liquid in the cup, fresh red like blood. An icy chill filled the liquid. When he shook it gently, cold Qi assaulted his face.
An indistinct blood moon appeared in the cup, amid white mist.
When Xiao Chen tried looking carefully, the blood moon went missing. It was exceptionally wondrous, like a dream or illusion.
“What wine is this?”
“Waning Moon.”
Xiao Chen drained the cup in one go. He immediately felt a cooling sensation in his throat. As a chill assaulted him, he could not help shivering.
Although it was not as intense and stimulating as Heart Burn, this wine was very clear and refreshing. After Xiao Chen finished the drink, he felt frustration and disappointment, as if something was missing. He put down the wine cup and said, “It is indeed good wine. However, it seems incomplete. It is not quite perfect.”
Grandpa Seven nodded his head. “It is a recipe passed down from my ancestors. By my generation, it was already incomplete. Its original name is Blood Moon. Now, I can only rename it as Waning Moon.”
No wonder Xiao Chen felt that it was not over yet. So, that was the reason. He said softly, “This is really unfortunate. Otherwise, it would definitely stand out in the Peach Blossom Wine Festival and catch the attention of Peach Blossom City’s City Lord.”
“Never mind that. There’s this, as well.”
Sang smiled faintly as he took out a wine bottle. Then, he slowly opened it.
A wine fragrance wafted out. Xiao Chen immediately rejoiced. “Heart Burn!”
Grandpa Seven sighed, “Unfortunately, my skills are limited. Little Brother provided so many ingredients, but I only managed to brew a small bottle.”
Xiao Chen praised, “Grandpa Seven is too humble. I know a little about brewing wine. Most brewers would find it very difficult to succeed in brewing an excellent wine of Heart Burn’s level, even with the recipe. The success rate is extremely low.”
“We’ll use Waning Moon to participate in the wine festival. If it cannot stand out, I will take out Heart Burn.”
Grandpa Seven asked somewhat anxiously, “It is really fine for Heart Burn to participate in the wine festival?”
Xiao Chen replied calmly, “Grandpa Seven, there’s no need to worry. If the Peach Blossom City’s City Lord is powerful enough, no one will dare to touch me with just one word from him. Furthermore, it is not easy for anyone to snatch the recipe from me.”
Grandpa Seven nodded and said, “Since you made the decision, it’s fine. The Peach Blossom Wine Festival will begin soon. Little Brother, when are you going to depart?”
“Three days later.”
---
Late at night, the blood moon hung high in the sky:
Xiao Chen stood alone by the ancient well. The water in the well reflected the bright, scarlet moon.
There was indeed a moon in the well. However, Qing Chen could see the moon during the day. That was really confusing.
There was too much that Xiao Chen did not understand about the Cold Yin Spring.
Footsteps rang out from behind. Xiao Chen turned his head to take a look. It was Sang walking over.
“You succeeded?”
Xiao Chen nodded. “I’ve destroyed eighty-nine strongholds of the Heavenly Slaughter Sect branch. It might take them more than ten years to rebuild these strongholds. I achieved my goal.”
“However, the Heavenly Slaughter Sect now wants your head to the tune of five hundred thousand Primeval Heavenly Pills.”
Sang extended his hand and tossed over a painting.
Xiao Chen caught the painting and took a look. It was a wanted poster, and the person it depicted was him.
“This painting really resembles me. Where did you get it from?”
Sang replied softly, “After you were severely injured, the bandits returned and wandered outside the village. I dealt with some of them, and I found this. You are really lucky. After the Heavenly Slaughter Sect’s Branch Master personally made a move, you still managed to survive.”
Xiao Chen felt slightly stunned. He had not expected Sang to know so much. He said softly, “I was fortunate. Unfortunately, when I tried to break through to Sovereign Personage, I failed.”
Xiao Chen experienced countless huge battles over the past three months. His cultivation remained firmly stable at peak Holy Venerate.
He had several opportunities to break through to Sovereign Personage. However, he always fell short.
It could only be said that the right opportunity had not come yet; the timing was off.
Sang looked at Xiao Chen with a complicated expression. “I went out to scout around previously. Nearly all of the cultivators near Peach Blossom City knew that someone destroyed eighty-odd strongholds of the Heavenly Slaughter Sect branch. News is spreading throughout the Desolate Sea, causing a huge commotion. No one knows exactly what happened. Many people are guessing who you are. The Heavenly Slaughter Sect, one of the six great Demonic Dao sects, has not suffered such losses in many years. Some people even suspect that there will be a conflict between the righteous and demonic factions soon. The Desolate Sea has been peaceful for too long already.”
Xiao Chen did not feel surprised; he had long anticipated that this would happen. He said calmly, “That is as I wanted. At the very least, the Heavenly Slaughter Sect will focus on me and less on the news of an Extreme Yin Body. That will be good for Qing Chen too.”
Sang said helplessly, “Never mind. I can’t be bothered anymore. When you reach Peach Blossom City, you will realize how much trouble you are in. The six great Demonic Dao sects are very terrifying existences. Let me take a look at your injuries.”
To the villagers, the white-clad Xiao Chen looked clean and gave off an extraordinary air.
Only Sang understood. Xiao Chen had fought successive huge battles for three months, practically never resting. Then, he had fought a Great Perfection Sovereign Personage and managed to survive. He definitely suffered injuries.
“Your injuries…”
Sang’s expression changed slightly as he looked at Xiao Chen. Clearly, he did not expect Xiao Chen to be this gravely injured.
However, Sang discovered in the blink of an eye that the several potentially fatal injuries had strangely reached a delicate balance in Xiao Chen’s body and were slowly recovering.
Xiao Chen’s physical body’s recovery ability was heaven-defyingly strong, akin to that of a Divine Body.
“No wonder you managed to come back alive! Your physical body is astonishing, rivaling a Divine Body,” Sang exclaimed in shock as he pulled his hand back.
An acquired Divine Body was a Divine Body.
Xiao Chen changed the topic. He looked at the ancient well and said, “Qing Chen said that she could see the scarlet moon in the well during the day. What do you think?”
Sang walked closer, arriving at the side of the ancient well. He said softly, “That little girl possesses an Extreme Yin Body. It is normal for her to see things that we cannot. Whether it is day or night, there is a blood moon. There really might be a blood moon in this well.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you ever wondered why there is a blood moon in the Desolate Sea and why the setting sun is so huge?”
“Why?”
“I can feel two invisible forces clashing in the Desolate Sea every day, at every moment. These forces are terrifyingly powerful. If it were during their peak, my main body would not even be worth a strike from these two forces.”
Xiao Chen felt shocked when he heard that. Sang’s main body was the Propping Mulberry Tree. If the Propping Mulberry Tree could not last one move from these two forces at their peak, how strong had those two forces been back then?
I definitely have to go down the ancient well and take a look once I have advanced to Sovereign Personage.
Xiao Chen had a feeling that one of the Azure Dragon bloodline’s Dragon Kings might have been the one who laid the formation in the ancient well. As long as he could solve the mystery of this ancient well, he might also resolve the secret of the Azure Dragon’s destruction.
The ancient well surely had something to do with the Azure Dragons.
However, Xiao Chen was too weak and could not venture too deep into the ancient well.
Xiao Chen was just one step short of advancing to the Sovereign Stage. It was not his accumulations that were lacking but his ken. He felt that Peach Blossom City might be an opportunity.
All the wine aficionados in the entire Desolate Sea would gather at Peach Blossom City. Among them would be all sorts of experts.