Chapter 1751: Stone Spirits

"It seems that although the young man recognized the stone’s extraordinariness, he is not well-versed in this path of wine!"

Seeing Yun Xiao already holding the jade wine pot handed over by Lu Ye, Manager Zhou couldn’t help but shake his head, and the trace of expectation in his eyes instantly vanished.

The calm and observant Manager Zhou naturally saw Yun Xiao and Lu Ye’s whispers and knew it was the young man who had asked Lu Ye to pick up the stone. It wasn’t much related to Lu Ye himself.

However, Manager Zhou knew the story behind the stone. This stone, if it were to transform into fine wine, didn’t require clear wine but another method. At least the actions Yun Xiao was taking at the moment were entirely different from what he considered the correct approach.

It’s a pity that even though Manager Zhou has profound research in the path of wine, compared to the Long Xiao Battle God standing at the peak of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud in his previous life, he is far behind.

The method Yun Xiao was about to employ was infinitely simpler than what Manager Zhou knew. Yun Xiao didn’t have more time to waste here and naturally had to use a more efficient method.

Swish!

Yun Xiao wiped his right hand at his waist, and a small bowl appeared out of thin air. He then tossed the fist-sized stone into the jade bowl.

"What is he going to do?"

This change was sensed by many people, and even Supervisor Ma Nanfeng of the Emperor Palace turned his head, wanting to watch the excitement.

Of course, Ma Nanfeng only wanted to watch the commotion, completely not believing that the young man could make any splash. Instead, it was more likely he’d become a laughing stock. How could a broken stone turn into fine wine?

Just now, Ma Nanfeng also passed by that stone. With his Heavenly Realm Peak’s sensing ability, he only sensed it as an ordinary stone, with no abnormalities at all.

Ma Nanfeng refused to believe that a young man in his early twenties could have better sensing abilities and knowledge of wine than himself. This was something he absolutely couldn’t accept.

Since Yun Xiao had earlier taken the lead in entering this inner sect, making Ma Nanfeng quite displeased, seeing the young man make a fool of himself now was a pleasing sight for him.

"Watch closely!"

Under the gaze of many, Yun Xiao showed no trace of nervousness. He let out a low shout, and the lid of the jade wine pot in his left hand suddenly popped open.

At this moment, Lu Ye’s eyes were fixated, not daring to blink. For some reason, seeing the calm expression of the young man in plain clothes, suddenly inspired a sense of confidence in his heart.

Yun Xiao’s left wrist moved slightly, and the inferior quality of clear wine in the jade wine pot slowly poured into the jade bowl, drenching the stone.

No one knew that as Yun Xiao held the jade wine pot with his left hand, it emitted a faint cold light, and a light chill gradually penetrated into the pot, producing some unknown changes.

Clearly, the clear wine Yun Xiao poured from the jade pot at that moment was no longer inferior in the traditional sense, but a special clear wine altered by his Ice Cold Ancestral Vein.

It was precisely because of this trace of Ice Cold Power that the clear wine pouring out of the pot now possessed a mysterious power unknown to others, causing the wine and the mysterious stone to fuse and create a magical change.

Tss! Tss! Tss!

A series of strange sounds erupted as the wine dripped onto the stone, and the originally unremarkable stone suddenly emitted plumes of mist, appearing immensely mystical.

"Did it really change?!"

Witnessing this scene, Lu Ye, who was the nearest, nearly had his eyes pop out of their sockets, exclaiming in a voice that echoed the feelings of the others present.

This was because many cultivators had passed by this stone, using their Power of Soul to sense it, but to them, it was just an ordinary stone.

Even Ma Nanfeng and the other peak Heavenly Realm experts sensed no abnormalities, so except for Manager Zhou, who knew beforehand, no one thought the stone different.

But now, with a pot of clear wine poured onto the stone in the jade bowl, such a magical transformation occurred, inevitably sparking everyone’s curiosity.

Everyone could smell the inferior clear wine, and many had previously looked down on Lu Ye for it. Yet now, their focus was no longer on Lu Ye.

Clear wine is the most common type of alcohol in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud. Many people have tasted it when they first tried alcohol, but as tastes grew more discerning, they abandoned this inferior beverage.

The group was full of wine connoisseurs, aware of the clear wine’s ingredients, but the notion that ordinary clear wine could corrode stone was unthinkable.

If it could indeed corrode stone in such a way, drinking it would mean instant, lethal internal damage, wouldn’t it?

"Could it be that the clear wine Lu Ye kept isn’t ordinary clear wine, but rather a corrosive poison?"

Upon considering a possibility, Yu Xu, who had always been at odds with Lu Ye, couldn’t help but change his expression slightly, inwardly cursing Lu Ye for being too despicable, actually turning a lethal substance into something with the same taste as clear wine.

If one were unsuspecting and drank that inferior clear wine, they might end up poisoned, given how potent it could be, even capable of corroding stone.

However, Yu Xu seemed to have forgotten, as a high-end wine taster, how could he drink low-end inferior clear wine? Moreover, even if Lu Ye’s offering tasted wonderful, would he dare to drink it?

Perhaps only Lu Ye knew in his heart that what he had taken out was indeed genuine clear wine, but why would ordinary clear wine cause such a strong reaction when poured on a stone?

"This... how is this possible?"

Compared to these random guesses from those unaware of the situation, Manager Zhou, the only one who knew the stone’s nature, also had his eyes wide open, muttering some meaningless words.

Manager Zhou naturally knew that the stone was quite unique and was a special type of fine wine in the Wine Garden, but the process of turning stone into fine wine was extremely intricate.

Even a slight mistake in the sequence could ruin the stone wine, and not a single detail could be overlooked. Even Manager Zhou would need to cautiously spend half a day to accomplish it.

Yet now, that young man had caused the solid stone to change with just a jug of clear wine. Although the final result of this transformation was still unknown, the changes that occurred this moment left Manager Zhou somewhat baffled.

But at this point, even as Manager Zhou’s mind flashed the thought of "is this poison?", he couldn’t intervene. After all, this was the Drunken Immortal Conference, and even if a fine wine was lost, they’d have to accept the misfortune.

Hiss hiss hiss...

The sound of clear wine dripping on the stone continued unabated, amidst the rising light mist, a rich aroma seemed to emanate from the jade bowl, causing many to twitch their noses slightly.

"This aroma..."

Among them, the cultivator at the Heavenly Realm Peak slightly changed his aged face, apparently realizing something from the obscure scent, his eyes then shone with brilliance.

"Lord Supervisor, that seems to be... the aroma of ’Thousand Flower Stone Wine’?"

Beside Ma Nanfeng, a wine-savvy cultivator from the Emperor Palace changed his expression and spoke doubtfully, though he was certain in his mind.

"Thousand Flower Stone Wine?!"

Reminded by his subordinate, the well-experienced Ma Nanfeng trembled, then his face turned very somber as he realized that, at least in terms of recognizing the stone, he had indeed lost to the young man in rough clothes.

Already quite unfriendly to Yun Xiao, Ma Nanfeng naturally didn’t wish to see the young man steal the spotlight, but at this moment, it was clearly impossible to stop Yun Xiao from doing so.

"Thousand Flower Stone Wine! It’s actually Thousand Flower Stone Wine!"

As several people identified the stone’s nature, the wine scent in the jade bowl grew richer, leading more and more people to recognize the stone wine’s true form, and exclamations rose one after another.

"Thousand Flower Stone Wine..."

Nearby, Lu Ye, closest to Yun Xiao, had long been stunned. The continuous aroma of Thousand Flower Stone Wine wafting into his nose stirred the wine-blossom deep within him; he knew this was an extraordinarily rare wine in the outside world.

"He actually succeeded?"

From afar, Manager Zhou had been watching, originally lacking significant hope in Yun Xiao’s actions, as the method was entirely different from what he knew.

Yet at this moment, regardless of Manager Zhou’s inability to comprehend Yun Xiao’s technique, the increasingly rich wine scent clearly indicated the true form of Thousand Flower Stone Wine was revealed, irreversibly.

Manager Zhou, being a broad-minded person, quickly accepted this fact despite not understanding Yun Xiao’s method, and his gaze toward the young man in rough clothes grew increasingly appreciative.

Manager Zhou was naturally a wine enthusiast, pursuing the art of winemaking with near-obsession, spending his life researching the brewing of various fine wines, and traveling far and wide to procure a jug of any newly discovered wine.

Apart from tasting fine wine, Manager Zhou had another purpose: analyzing the composition and process of making such wines, and every breakthrough in his research provided him a profound sense of accomplishment.

At this moment, Yun Xiao’s method of revealing the Thousand Flower Stone Wine was obviously something Manager Zhou had never encountered, instantly sparking his intense interest.

Because compared to Manager Zhou’s original method, Yun Xiao’s technique saved at least ten-fold the time, making obtaining Thousand Flower Stone Wine in the future much more convenient if mastered.