Chapter 96 - 94: Astonishingly Valuable 100-Fruit Brew, Array

Chapter 96: Chapter 94: Astonishingly Valuable 100-Fruit Brew, Array

"This... Patriarch Qin, did you clean out all the Hundred Fruit Brew?" Shopkeeper Zhou’s eyes widened when the items from the carriage were brought out. To his shock, these were two massive stone vats!

"Heh, inspect the goods, Shopkeeper Zhou!" Qin Hu replied. He didn’t say it aloud, but he had indeed cleaned them out. The entire Mountain Demon Race was gone.

Without further ado, Shopkeeper Zhou stepped forward and opened the stone vat, which was so large it required several men to encircle it. The moment the lid was lifted, an invisible ripple of Spiritual Qi seemed to undulate outward. Immediately after, a complex, richly layered fruity aroma surged forth like something tangible!

The fragrance was not merely cloying or sweet; it blended the mellowness of a hundred types of Spirit Fruits, the aged scent settled by time, and a faint, elusive essence of vegetation that stirred the Qi Blood. In an instant, the entire inner chamber of the Treasure Pavilion was enveloped by this exotic aroma. Just smelling it invigorated the mind and made one’s mouth water.

Shopkeeper Zhou’s expression turned incredibly solemn. He personally fetched a Jade Long-handled Wine Dipper, reached into the vat, and carefully scooped up a little of the liquid, pouring it into a crystal-clear Glazed Cup. The brew displayed a deep yet translucent amber-green hue with a viscous texture. As it gently swirled within the Glazed Cup, it visibly clung to the sides, resembling flowing liquid jade.

He first took a deep breath, savoring the incredibly complex top notes of the aroma, before bringing the Glazed Cup to his lips and lightly tasting it with the tip of his tongue. As the liquid entered his mouth, Shopkeeper Zhou closed his eyes, sensing it in great detail. A moment later, his eyes snapped open. An uncontrollable, excited flush spread across his face, and his voice carried a hint of a tremble.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! This Hundred Fruit Brew is no longer an ordinary item; it can truly be called ’Jade Liquid Nectar’!

"Its nature is utterly mellow and harmonious, with its Spiritual Qi stored within. It doesn’t possess even the slightest bit of overbearing heat. It can be consumed and refined directly, and its effects are comparable to top-tier Elixirs.

"What’s even rarer is that ordinary people can drink it to strengthen their bones and muscles and prolong their lives without any strain on their bodies.

"How does Clan Leader Qin plan to sell this? If you sell it directly to my Treasure Pavilion, I am willing to offer one thousand taels of silver per catty. This single vat has at least two thousand catties!

"These two vats...

"Their total value will not be less than five million taels!

"Alternatively, if we treat it as an auction item and sell it at an auction, it can definitely serve as an Earth Tier treasure!"

Shopkeeper Zhou’s hands were trembling slightly. This was undoubtedly a true treasure! Even in his decades-long career, he had rarely encountered such an item.

Five million taels! Even the normally composed Qin Hu felt his breath catch. It was too astonishing. He knew this item was highly valuable, but he never expected it to be worth this much! It was just over four thousand catties of Hundred Fruit Brew, after all.

Little did Qin Hu know that this brew had been accumulated by the Mountain Demon Race over decades, yielding only three vats in total! Given the massive bodies of the Mountain Demons, what were a few thousand catties of Hundred Fruit Brew? They could probably finish it all in one sitting! The reason for this quantity was that this was the unblended base liquid, which needed to be diluted with wine or water before drinking! Because its Energy was so gentle, even that injured Flood Dragon had its eye on it, wanting to use it to accelerate its recovery. Yet, the Mountain Demon King had stubbornly refused to part with it. One could easily imagine how precious it was.

Taking a deep breath to steady his mind, Qin Hu thought for a moment before speaking.

"Put it up for auction!

"I can hand these two vats of Hundred Fruit Brew over to you right now, but I need an advance of funds! I want Cultivation Techniques like the *Wind and Thunder Treasure Mirror*, *Wind and Thunder Dominator Blade Technique*, and *Thunder Shock Escape*."

"No problem!" Shopkeeper Zhou agreed without hesitation. As long as the goods were in their hands, they wouldn’t lose out; it was only a matter of how much profit they would make. By placing it in an auction, they could still collect a hefty commission. Moreover, with this Hundred Fruit Brew, the upcoming auction would be even grander.

To him, it was even better if Qin Hu took an advance to purchase treasures from the Treasure Pavilion. He would be thrilled if Qin Hu spent the entire five million taels right away. The three Gamma-level Upper Grade Cultivation Techniques—the *Wind and Thunder Treasure Mirror*, *Wind and Thunder Dominator Blade Technique*, and *Thunder Shock Escape*—were already worth seven to eight hundred thousand taels. Cultivation Techniques were something the Treasure Pavilion had in abundance!

"Hahaha, great! Then we have a deal!"

Barely an hour after the two struck a deal, news spread that two vats of Top Grade Hundred Fruit Brew had been added to the auction, catching the attention of various major families and Sects. And the seller was shockingly revealed to be the Qin Family—the insignificant Qin Family from the remote Cyan Peak County!

After the transaction was completed, Qin Hu returned to his courtyard and, with a wave of his hand, bought up several surrounding residences, expanding their controlled territory by more than tenfold. The Black Thorn Eagles that periodically soared into the sky stirred the hearts of an unknown number of people. Several groups even headed straight for Cyan Peak County. Just because it wasn’t easy to make a move within Bishui City didn’t mean it was equally difficult in Cyan Peak County. In fact, when the benefits were great enough, even the rules of Bishui City could be trampled on!

Five million taels. This figure was more than enough to drive people mad. Two vats? Who knew if there were more back in Cyan Peak County? And where did these treasures come from? The world had never lacked those willing to take desperate risks!

...

"We’ve really exposed our wealth this time! I didn’t expect the Hundred Fruit Brew to be so valuable. We almost wasted a good thing!" As he watched the Thunder Roc descend from the sky, Qin Yu’s face bore a radiant smile, but it was also tinged with a murderous aura. He knew the brew was valuable, but he hadn’t realized it would be to such an exaggerated degree. This was the limitation of being born into a small, insignificant family; sometimes, even when a treasure was right in front of you, you wouldn’t recognize it!

However, prior to this, as the Black Thorn Eagles made their successive flights to transport the treasures, he had secretly sent over quite a few "goodies." Naturally, he didn’t dare to hatch an Insect Nest within Bishui City. Although with the Insect Swarm’s current strength, they could easily flatten Bishui City. On the surface, the entirety of Bishui City only had one or two Qi Sea Realm experts, and those with Qi and Blood like a Dragon probably numbered no more than a hundred. But as the Prefecture City for thousands of kilometers around, the forces Bishui City could summon would definitely be astonishing.

Therefore, he had sent over a large batch of harmless scout units. They weren’t powerful entities—just seemingly ordinary rats, bats, and even common insects. An intelligence network had already expanded outward from the Qin Residence.

Those hidden, malicious gazes were as clear to him as torches burning in the dead of night. Several groups that had successively left the city heading for Cyan Peak County were specifically marked by him. However, there was a high probability that these people would vanish from the face of the earth before ever reaching Cyan Peak County. The transit Insect Nest that Qin Yu had set up was meant to guard against exactly this!

"With these Secret Techniques, the Insect Swarm’s deduction progress—whether for Body Refining Secret Techniques or Core Techniques—should be elevated by quite a few tiers.

"Perhaps they might even gain an initial mastery of Array abilities," Qin Yu muttered.

Taking down a parcel delivered by a Black Thorn Eagle, he found that it didn’t just contain the three Gamma-level Upper Grade Cultivation Techniques—the *Wind and Thunder Treasure Mirror*, *Wind and Thunder Dominator Blade Technique*, and *Thunder Shock Escape*. There were a full dozen books inside! It included the complete *Wind-Chasing Thunderbolt Arrow*, as well as some Gamma-level Low Grade Techniques of other attributes, such as *Blazing True Flame*, *Thick Earth Unmoving Technique*, and *Water Dragon’s Roar*. There were even Arrays! It wasn’t any powerful Secret Technique, but rather the relatively Basic Gamma-level Low Grade *Hundred Array Formulas*.

The *Poison Shadow Mysterious Array* obtained from Old Monster Youlin of the Five Poison Sect was still too powerful for his current level. It was also too complex! Without a foundation, attempting to tackle a Beta-level Formation right away would be extremely difficult even for the Insect Nest to deduce. But with the Basic *Hundred Array Formulas*, deducing it would become much simpler.

The Array Dao was a profound and extensive system. Some Arrays could utilize the terrain, special environments, or Energy-containing Primordial Stones to serve as an Energy Source. Combined with Array Banners and Array Plates, they could unleash a might that blanketed the heavens and the earth. Although they could not be moved, their power was terrifying. The Array that originally protected Old Monster Youlin’s palace in the Shegu Mountain Range belonged to this category.

Others formed Arrays using Martial Artists, Weapons, or Armor. For example, Qin Yu knew that in some Major Sects or the military, there were Dao Soldiers, Military Arrays, and so forth, capable of collectively mobilizing their power to attack or defend together. Alternatively, they could be single-person controlled, consisting of Magical Treasures like Flying Swords or Flying Sabers.

In the inherited memories of the Insect Swarm, there was a similar understanding of Arrays—that they were a method of utilizing the Laws of Heaven and Earth for combat. It was one of the methods by which the weak could defeat the strong. No matter which type it was, they all had tremendous utility.

The first type, Fixed Arrays, could be used to protect Insect Nests and important regions. At the very least, a situation like being indiscriminately bombarded by the Blazing Flame Demon King could not be allowed to happen again. The second type was incredibly compatible with the warriors of the Insect Swarm. After all, when it came to mutual coordination, who could possibly match an Insect Swarm connected by a Mind Network? If the Insect Swarm formed Military Arrays, their power would naturally be astounding. The third type could Enhance the individual combat capabilities of the Insect Swarm, fully utilizing the advantage of his powerful Divine Sense, and could also Enhance certain top-tier units.

"Knowledge is power! Let the deduction begin."