Chapter 1753: Are You Sure You Want This Stone?

"Jade Tree Condensed Liquid! It really is it!"

While everyone was still immersed in the intoxicating aroma, Ma Nanfeng, being the person involved, had a joyful look on his face and with a wave of his hand, absorbed the liquid into a jade bowl he had prepared.

"Truly worthy of being the Lord Supervisor, even able to find Jade Tree Condensed Liquid!"

At this moment, Yu Xu, who had just been reprimanded earlier, seemed to find another chance to flatter, and he was the first to come out, making Ma Nanfeng feel quite comfortable this time.

The so-called Jade Tree Condensed Liquid involves an extremely intricate brewing process, and to brew even such a small bowl often takes over ten years.

It starts with selecting a special sapling and injecting prepared wine mash into its trunk with a syringe, allowing it to grow alongside the tree.

As the saying goes, it takes ten years to grow a tree. A sapling requires at least ten years to grow, and during these ten years, the initial wine mash seeds increase, resulting in this little bowl now.

However, this process isn’t without risks; often, when brewers take the wine, they see a puddle of dead water instead of genuine Jade Tree Condensed Liquid.

If this result occurs, it means the labor of ten, even decades, is in vain, illustrating how hard it is to procure a bowl of Jade Tree Condensed Liquid.

Once Ma Nanfeng explained the background of this Jade Tree Condensed Liquid, many felt a sense of admiration, as not everyone knew about the formation process. This added to their understanding of the art of wine.

"Jade Tree Condensed Liquid, accurate, approved!"

Manager Zhou didn’t have much thought; hearing Ma Nanfeng accurately describe the ingredients and brewing process, he methodically gave an approval conclusion, without any change in tone.

"Haha!"

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Ma Nanfeng was full of pride, laughing twice before tilting his head back, pouring the bowl of Jade Tree Condensed Liquid into his mouth, his face turning flush.

"Great wine!"

Given how rare the Jade Tree Condensed Liquid is, the taste is naturally excellent. Moments later, Ma Nanfeng loudly praised, making many envious, as most of them hadn’t tasted such a fine wine.

But since the wine had already been consumed by Ma Nanfeng, the others didn’t dwell on it, continuing their search for potentially hidden wines, the main reason they attended the Drunken Immortal Conference.

At this moment in the Drunken Forest Garden, even wines as great as Thousand Flower Stone or Jade Tree Condensed Liquid are only of Heavenly Rank Advanced grade. The ultimate goal of these wine enthusiasts is to win the top place in the Drunken Immortal Conference and taste the possibly existing Holy Rank Wine.

Wine at the Holy Rank isn’t just simply wine; it’s refined by a Holy Rank Alchemist, each of whom has at least reached the Holy Rank Third Realm level.

Even if the Holy Rank Wine doesn’t contain special energy, experiencing the aura of a Holy Rank Expert from such a wine is extremely beneficial for a Heavenly Realm Cultivator, potentially inspiring a breakthrough to the Holy Vein Third Realm.

As Yun Xiao, a reincarnation of the Long Xiao Battle God from a past life, there’s no bottleneck below the Holy Rank Third Realm, but his purpose differs somewhat from those attending the Drunken Immortal Conference.

Yun Xiao is unaware if the owner behind the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, Mr. Rong, is the Murong Sou Yun knew in the previous life, but at least it’s an opportunity he doesn’t want to miss.

However, in the ensuing time, though many found hidden wines in the rockery and grass, more returned empty-handed, perspiring but without a solution.

Thus it seems, the cultivator who found the Clear Spring Liquid earlier was indeed fortunate. The wines in this Drunken Forest Garden are limited; as others find more, your chances decrease, and in the end, it might just be like drawing water with a sieve.

As time went on, there were cheers as people found wine, and every inch of this Drunken Forest Garden was almost explored, yet many remained frustrated and angry.

Boom!

Moments later, a loud sound was heard as a towering man over nine feet tall, unable to find wine after a long search, angrily summoned a giant hammer, smashing a rockery to pieces.

This man wasn’t weak, at the same Heavenly Realm Early Stage as Lu Ye, and adept in physical strength. The grade of his weapon wasn’t low either, and this powerful strike was unexpectedly effective.

"What’s going on?"

Amidst flying rubble, a cultivator barely avoided it but still got a cheek cut by a stone shard, immediately yelling in anger, a stormy expression on his face.

"What? Not satisfied?"

The strong man wasn’t easy prey either; turning back and sensing that person was also a Heavenly Realm Early Stage cultivator, he sneered menacingly.

The strong man was already annoyed because he couldn’t find the fine wine he sought, which is why he angrily smashed the rockery with a hammer. At this moment, someone had actively approached him, and he didn’t mind teaching them a lesson.

This strong man had formidable physical strength and hadn’t tasted defeat among cultivators of the same rank. As long as that person hadn’t advanced to the Heavenly Realm Middle Stage, he would remain fearless.

The cultivator, originally brimming with anger, was instantly subdued when the strong man glared at him with eyes like bronze bells. Not having absolute confidence, he didn’t want to make such a powerful enemy.

Having his opponent retreat voluntarily left the strong man somewhat frustrated, especially seeing there was nothing special among the rockery’s stone fragments, which made him even more agitated.

"Hmm?"

However, just as the strong man was about to once again swing his giant hammer to smash all rockeries in the garden to pieces, a gray shadow flashed at the corner of his eye, immediately drawing his attention.

"It’s that coarse-clothed kid!"

Upon looking, the strong man immediately recognized the gray-clothed figure as the coarse-clothed teenager who had previously stolen the spotlight. This was the same teenager who identified the Thousand Flower Stone hidden within the rock, allowing Lu Ye to pass easily.

At this moment, in the strong man’s eyes, the coarse-clothed teenager walked forward leisurely and picked up a piece of the shattered rock, sniffing it with his nose, appearing somewhat eccentric.

"Could it be..."

Upon witnessing this scene, the strong man was initially startled, then immediately delighted. He had seen Yun Xiao’s ability to identify the Thousand Flower Stone earlier; now, showing interest in another stone fragment meant something obvious even to his toes.

Frustrated by his failure to find fine wine, the strong man didn’t expect the opportunity to present itself so easily. Towards a young kid seemingly just over twenty, he harbored no reservations.

"Kid, hand over the stone you’re holding!"

With these thoughts in mind, the strong man didn’t hesitate, speaking bluntly while striding forcefully toward the coarse-clothed youth, reaching out his fan-like hand, leaving no room for refusal.

At this moment, it was naturally Yun Xiao who stepped forward to pick up the stone fragment. Upon hearing the strong man’s words, a glint of mockery flashed in his eyes.

"Are you sure you want this stone?"

The nuance of mockery in Yun Xiao’s eyes flashed briefly, followed by his leisurely response, his tone lacking any hint of fear, as though the strong man towering over him was no different from a child.

"That’s right, if you hand over this stone to me, I, Chang Shuo, will not trouble you!"

Clearly, the strong man named Chang Shuo was a violent, straightforward individual. His latter sentence implied that if the stone wasn’t handed over, trouble would surely follow.

At this moment, many had automatically entered into spectator mode, adopting a detached stance; even the cultivator previously backed down by Chang Shuo remained silent.

"Chang Shuo, don’t be too arrogant; you might not be the top here in Drunken Immortal City!"

Among these cultivators crowding to watch the spectacle, Yan Ye, who had received Yun Xiao’s favor, didn’t remain silent. Seeing Yun Xiao threatened, he promptly stepped forward to voice his criticism.

Yan Ye cleverly implied that this was Drunken Immortal Restaurant, also inhabited by members of the Emperor Palace’s team, suggesting Chang Shuo’s arrogance was an affront to their presence.

However, as the Lord Supervisor of the Emperor Palace, Ma Nanfeng wouldn’t be swayed by Yan Ye’s clumsy provocation. He had more important matters to attend to than these trivial disputes.

Moreover, the one threatened by Chang Shuo was the coarse-clothed boy Ma Nanfeng held in contempt, giving him even less reason to intervene, watching the situation unfold with interest.

In contrast, the Drunken Immortal Restaurant’s Manager Zhou remained calm, showing no signs of intervening, leaving Yan Ye slightly frustrated.

This was the scene of the Drunken Immortal Conference, as long as no lives were lost, Manager Zhou wouldn’t intervene.

In the past, the conference had seen contestants fighting over the same wine, so if every instance were managed, how could he handle it?

"Looks like I’ll have to act myself!"

Seeing the two leading figures silent, Yan Ye clenched his teeth, viewing Yun Xiao as a good friend and feeling that the early-stage Heavenly Realm Chang Shuo was not yet someone he needed to fear.

With Yun Xiao hiding his aura, no one present could sense his true cultivation. But considering his age, achieving the Heavenly Rank Floating Life Realm was extraordinary, making him an improbable opponent for Chang Shuo.