Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Zhao Sheng stretched his hand to remove the stopper, and a rich aroma of wine instantly spread, quickly permeating the entire Immortal Delicacies Workshop.

"Eh, how fragrant!"

"Where is this wine scent coming from? It's making me drool!"

In a flash, customers at the Immortal Delicacies Workshop perked up their noses, following the scent of the wine, their gazes converging on Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng was oblivious to the stir around him. Find your next read on empire

He picked up the gourd and poured himself a sip of wine, then picked up a piece of bear meat, placed it in his mouth, and chewed leisurely.

After swallowing, he took another sip of wine and then another piece of meat.

Alternating between wine and meat this way, he didn't seem to eat fast, but in a word, it was delightful!

The wine was truly too fragrant!

Some customers couldn't help but come up to ask where he bought the wine.

Zhao Sheng just smiled and said that it was brewed at home and not for sale.

An hour later, Zhao Sheng settled his bill and turned to leave the Immortal Delicacies Workshop.

The next day, he appeared at the Immortal Delicacies Workshop again.

So it went on for half a month.

However, the fish Zhao Sheng wanted to catch still had not appeared.

But he was not in a hurry, time was on his side!

A few more days passed.

One day, as Zhao Sheng was halfway through his meal, he suddenly heard someone downstairs exclaim, "What a fragrant aroma of wine!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng felt a surge of joy in his heart and thought to himself, "Here it comes!"

No sooner had the thought passed than a stout, portly, middle-aged man with a kindly face and upward-sloping eyebrows suddenly flew up to the second floor and landed in front of Zhao Sheng's table.

Then, the man sat down unceremoniously while exclaiming, "What a fragrant wine!"

After speaking, he straightened his face and said, "Please forgive me, Taoist friend. My name is Zhou Zhongyu. May I have the honor of knowing your distinguished name?"

"Zhao Zhiqin!"

Zhao Sheng's expression was cold, and after stating his name, he retorted, "Mr. Zhou, for you to come uninvited is quite presumptuous!"

After speaking, Zhao Sheng suddenly radiated an intense aura, as both his Spiritual Power and Divine Sense burst forth, overwhelmingly pressing down upon the other party.

Zhou Zhongyu was shocked and inwardly groaned, not expecting to have hit such a tough spot. The other party was also a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and his cultivation was far superior to his own.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply, apologizing to Zhao Sheng, "Please, esteemed senior, forgive my presumption this time!"

Zhao Sheng withdrew his aura and said indifferently, "Sit down! Are you also fond of wine?"

Zhou Zhongyu sat down cautiously and shamelessly said, "I won't lie to you, senior. I don't have many hobbies, just a love for wine. I was drawn here by the fragrance of your fine liquor, which was why I intruded so impudently!"

"Fine wine, good indeed! A universe resides within the wine, with days and months prolonged inside the pot! Seeing that you too have a fondness for wine, I will gift you this half gourd of Amber Fragrance."

Zhao Sheng finished speaking and with a push of his hand, the White Jade Gourd slid across the table, landing steadily in front of Zhou Zhongyu.

Zhou Zhongyu couldn't wait to pick up the gourd, tilting it for a gulp of wine.

Wow!

Down the wine went, and he felt a unique aroma tantalizing his nostrils, saliva generating fragrance in his mouth. A clear and refreshing Spiritual Energy, like water, spread from his stomach through his body, and in an instant, all his pores opened, the vortex of Spirit Power within accelerating by a third.

"Excellent wine!"

Zhou Zhongyu repeated his praise, "The Immortal Delicacies serve wine with rich fragrance, poured from a Jade Gourd that bears the scent of amber!"

Hearing this praise, Zhao Sheng's originally cool face suddenly softened with a smile, and within that smile arose a hint of pride.

Zhou Zhongyu, keen to observe Zhao Sheng's expression, felt a surge of inner joy and promptly asked, "May I inquire, senior, did you personally brew this exquisite wine?"

"Indeed! This Amber Fragrance is just a trifle I brewed in my free time, hardly worth mentioning," Zhao Sheng replied.

Although he said it that way, the smugness on Zhao Sheng's face became even more evident.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Zhongyu kept lavishing praise on him.

Zhao Sheng's expression grew increasingly amiable, and his attitude towards Zhou Zhongyu became even more cordial.

Also, due to their shared identity as "drinking buddies," their conversation flowed more and more smoothly. Eventually, they even made a pact to become friends over drinks.

In the following month, Zhao Sheng and Zhou Zhongyu met up for drinks seven or eight times, each time bringing out various kinds of Spiritual Wine for them to sample together.

Zhou Zhongyu had the backing of the Zhou family and hence, had an abundance of Spiritual Wine. While Zhao Sheng couldn't match that, he had his own trump card—he could "brew" wine, and his Spiritual Wine came in a wide variety, full of flavor, aroma, and complexity.

The secret to his brewing was his ability to "blend" and "adjust," which was all thanks to his Talent for Spiritual Smell.

After several drinking contests, Zhao Sheng and Zhou Zhongyu formed a friendship through their shared experiences.

Once they became familiar with each other, Zhao Sheng no longer hid his identity—he was Zhao Zhiqin, a Loose Cultivator who later joined the Origin Return Sect and was recently assigned to Desolate to oversee the Wind Feather Hall.

Zhou Zhongyu saw that Zhao Sheng had a "clean" background and also noted his higher cultivation level, having reached the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer.

Plus, they both shared a passion for drinking.

Finding such a rare "drinking buddy," Zhou Zhongyu naturally didn't want to let the opportunity slip by, so he made efforts to get closer, with the intention of winning Zhao Sheng over.

When faced with these overtures, would Zhao Sheng reject them?

Of course not!

So, just like when Liang Shanbo met Zhu Yingtai, they hit it off immediately and soon formed a deep bond.

If one word were to describe it, it would be "conspiratorial fervor!"

No wait, it should be "harmonious as a zither and a harp."

As the saying goes, "In wine, there's truth!"

Once the two of them became drinking buddies, Zhao Sheng frequently got Zhou Zhongyu drunk on purpose and often used conversation to probe for information.

Zhou Zhongyu couldn't even imagine that someone would scheme so meticulously against the Zhou family.

As such, he was not very guarded against Zhao Sheng and revealed quite a few "secrets" about the Zhou family while drunk, including but not limited to complaints, the failures of certain Family Heads in their promotions, the Ancestor's favoritism, and the Family Head's oppression of their branch of the direct line, among other intelligence.

Zhao Sheng silently made note of all this, and while leveraging his connection with Zhou Zhongyu, he made acquaintances with other Foundation Establishment members of the Zhou family while quietly remaining undercover, awaiting his opportunity.

And this wait lasted for more than ten years.

...

In Desolate, there were only two seasons each year, the rainy season and the dry season.

With the dry season approaching, a raging "Black Sandstorm" would lift from the Death Desert, rampaging across the vast Gobi terrain, from north to south, from day to night, unceasingly.

However, it ultimately had a limit to its intensity. Often, after a wave of Black Sandstorm ebbed, its ferocity would decrease significantly.

It was at this time that some transport caravans would take a calculated risk to traverse the ravaging sandstorm region and enter the isolated Green Oasis.

It must be said that under normal circumstances, the risk and reward were proportional, and enormous profits were often born from this!

At that moment, within the endless sand-filled sky, there was a gray-black shuttle-shaped Flying Boat gliding just above the ground.

The people on the boat were very used to this kind of risky behavior. They were still three hundred miles away from Moon Spring Oasis, each one regulating their breath, preparing for the final leg of the journey.

The Flying Boat wasn't large, seating three people inside, with one who had a pair of droopy eyebrows sitting in the principal seat, looking quite prosperous.

"All is normal! The wind is weakening!"

"Pay attention to any movements in the surroundings, and also, do not deviate from our course. Keep the Flying Boat at this speed!"

"Yes, Uncle Yu!"

The Cultivator making observations was very steady, only responding with a single word. But suddenly, he threw back his head, his voice filled with an abnormal mix of panic and falsetto, not sure if it stemmed from fear or excitement:

"What... what is that!"

Upon the principal seat, Zhou Zhongyu was sipping his drink leisurely. Hearing the alarmed shout, he was startled, and with a flash of his body, he suddenly appeared beside the man.