Chapter 18: Drunkenness

  As soon as I opened my eyes, the sun was about to set. This sleep was really solid, a whole day!

  My body feels a bit different, could it be because I drank too much? Tried to mobilize spiritual energy and it's very smooth without any issues.

  Huh? After circulating the spiritual energy for another cycle, it turns out that I've already reached the middle stage of the fourth layer. Two plates of spiritual meat, two bowls of horse and sheep milk, a jug of spiritual wine, plus a night's worth of Ice Silk Decree - and I've gone from the early stage to the middle stage of the fourth layer. It seems that the requirements for entering the outer sect at the fifth layer aren't very high after all, Yuan Tian thought with satisfaction.

  Oh no! The pigs are at it again! No time to admire their cuteness, Yuan Tian quickly ran to the pigpen to add more feed. The spotted pig has started ramming into the fence again. Looks like we need to reinforce it, or else even the sturdiest fence will be broken by their constant ramming.

  Luckily, the extra food this morning was sufficient and the water trough filled by Ling Yu was also quite useful, otherwise these pigs would have gone crazy.

  Yuan Tian began to ponder, thinking of something that could automatically fill the feeding trough at a fixed point. That way, it would be both accurate and labor-saving, saving him from running back and forth to the pigpen all day and often delaying his schedule.

  Put down all your worries and troubles, first go back home and finish printing the Diamond Sutra.

  The middle-grade talisman paper made of horse jacket has already printed half of the talismans. Printing a whole set of clothes, it's probably going to take until midnight again. But at this moment, my stomach is unreasonably hungry again.

  How about going to Xiangke again for a meal? I just ate there this morning, and it's a bit embarrassing to go again now. Right! Those cows and sheep should take a bath, Yuan Tian found an excuse for himself and strolled towards the wine house.

  Yu Tian went to the cowshed and gave the cows and sheep a shower. They happily washed themselves, and at the same time filled up the water tank. Arriving at the back kitchen, he found that Boss Fan was not there, so he also filled up the water jug without needing to greet anyone, and directly came to the front hall.

  Sharpening a knife doesn't delay chopping firewood. Tonight I have to finish printing all the golden hoop symbols on that half-piece of clothing, so first let's eat a good meal.

  Two vegetarian dishes and one meat dish, Yuan Tian had thoroughly fallen in love with eating spiritual vegetables and spiritual meats. At this moment, he didn't even mind the spiritual stones anymore, directly ordering a stewed mutton dish. This mutton was naturally cooked from the White Mountain Goat, a type of spiritual beast, priced at three low-grade spiritual stones.

  Looked at the counter's fruit wine, Wulian Shen Niang, rice fragrant spirit, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

  Hold on! Hold on! The day after tomorrow is the Eight Treasures Tower challenge, and after passing the level, I'll have a good drink. Yuan Tian repeatedly exhorted himself not to drink and cause trouble. The dishes arrived, he lowered his head and ate quickly, and after finishing, there were still many things to do when he returned.

  A whiff of wine fragrance wafts over, who's being so reckless. Just as Yuan Tian is gritting his teeth and clenching his fists to resist the temptation of the wine, someone picks up a jar of fragrant rice wine. A large bowl from Haikou, filled to the brim.

  Along the wine, looking past the southwest corner of that table, a sturdy man had come in at some unknown time. Sitting there like an inverted iron tower, wide on top and narrow on bottom. The muscles on his arms were stacked up like small hills, and the blood vessels as thick as fingers bulged out like earthworms, full of explosive force.

  What a robust man, looks like he's about two meters tall when standing up. Maybe because drinking is in the way, the armor on his body was taken off and thrown aside. Passing by his broad back, I vaguely see someone who seems familiar.

  Wow! Isn't that Xuan Yuan Shu's sister? The two of them seem to be discussing something, unfortunately, they're too far away and I couldn't hear what they were saying.

  It was just Xuan Yuan's appearance that made Yuan Tian feel unfamiliar, where was the rustic and shy junior sister who would blush when speaking. Looking at that frosty face, with a serious and unassuming expression, she looked like a proud princess.

  This shocked Yuan Tian greatly, and he had also heard a lot about Xuan Yuan's sister. The Xuan Yuan family had declined, and all the former affiliated families had left. Xuan Yuan Shu was forced into the Tianyuan Sword Sect and so on were all rumors he had heard.

  Zhuang Han's cultivation is unfathomable and must be higher than Yuantian. It's just that his physique really makes one unable to imagine that he's actually a Qi Practitioner.

  The declining Xuan Yuan family still has some secrets, but Yuan Tian doesn't want to listen. He picked up a piece of mutton and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing slowly. It's so delicious! Even if the sky falls, he won't care, as long as there is meat to eat. If there was wine to drink too, that would be even better. He couldn't help but glance at the large man's wine jug again.

  That's a vat of wine, not a jug. How many spirit stones will that cost? This person can really hold their liquor.

  "Yuan Shixiong!" He was caught while staring intensely in that direction. Xuan Yuan Shu waved enthusiastically, beckoning him to come over and sit together. Now seeing Xuan Yuan's innocent smile, where was the proud princess? Had he been blinded by sleep for a day, or had he misseen earlier?

  Yuan Tian carried the two remaining dishes and walked with a smile to the table where Xuan Yuan Shu and Zhuang Han were.

  "My name is Qian Kai, from now on we're fellow disciples?" The robust man stretched out his large hand, taking the initiative to shake hands with Yuan Tian.

  Looking up at the sturdy man, he was not very old, only about twenty-five or six years old. His eye sockets were deep and his nose bridge was straight, with a heroic face that matched his square mouth, full of masculine energy.

  Yu Tian put down the plate, hesitating whether to shake hands with him. It's not that he didn't want to get to know this former Kai brother, but seeing his big paws made him think twice. Looking at his own slender fingers again, he worried that they might be crushed, and a chill ran down his spine.

  It wasn't as early as expected, and Qian Kai didn't exert much force, just a courteous handshake with Yuan Tian.

  Yuan Tian was afraid that this former Kai would be like Liu Ming, wanting to pursue Xuan Yuan's sister to vent his anger, which would be terrible. Not to mention the cultivation level, just looking at her physique makes people's scalp numb.

  "Master Yuan, are you going to make a breakthrough next month on the first day? I see that all the materials in your land have been harvested." Xuan Yu Shu was clever enough to guess Master Yuan's purpose just by seeing that all the materials had been harvested.

  "Hmm! I think it's worth a try, after all, I've been here for three years." Yuan Tian scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward. In the sect, apart from Old Huang who had passed away, the person he was most familiar with was probably Xuan Yuan Shi Mei. But they couldn't be considered too close, just a bit more familiar than others.

  Now seeing others' handsome men and beautiful women sitting together, oneself is a lonely stick here, feeling very uncomfortable.

  "Brother Shifu will definitely make it, I also have to break through on the first day of next month." Xuan Yu said this with some excitement, a flush rising to his delicate face.

  "Are you all ready?" Genya asked politely, feeling like he was asking a pointless question. With such a high-ranking person sitting next to him, it was obvious that everything had already been prepared.

  "Don't worry, little brother" Qian Kai patted Yuan Tian's shoulder and swaggered back.

  Good grief! With just a light tap, Yuan Tian was knocked off balance.

  Xuan Yuan shot him a sideways glance, and Qian Kai hastily withdrew his large hands, smiling awkwardly at Yuan Tian as if to say, "I really didn't use much force."

  "Come on, let's have a drink together." Qian Kai picked up the wine jug and poured a full bowl of wine.

  "Thanks, Senior Brother, I have something else to attend to tonight." Yuan Tian thought of the half-finished talisman on his horse jacket and politely declined Qian Kai.

  "What's the matter, drinking a little wine won't delay things. Come on, come on, I'll drink first to show respect." As he spoke, Ke Kai picked up his bowl and drank it all in one gulp, smacking his lips afterwards to savor the sweet flavor of the wine.

  His eyes widened as he looked at the source, this big bowl must have been more than half a jug. How many kilograms of wine are in this jar? It's going to be too much to drink it all up.

  Qian Ke had already finished his drink, and as a junior brother, Yuan Tian felt a bit embarrassed to not drink at all.

  "Don't bother Yuan Shixiong anymore, he still has to prepare for the trial, I'll drink it for him." This was Xuan Yuanshu helping Yuan Tian out of a difficult situation.

  "I believe in Yuan Ge's strength, this little thing is not a problem, besides, passing the level isn't something that can be done overnight." Qian Kai stopped Xuan Yuan Shu's outstretched hand.

  There was a junior sister who blocked the wine, Yuan Tian felt a small happiness. But seeing that trusting gaze of Qian Kai, and looking at that full bowl of wine again. Forget it, it's just a trial anyway.

  He picked up a large bowl, glug glug glug... and downed it in one gulp. Refreshing! He had never felt so exhilarated drinking before; the difference between a big bowl and a small cup was indeed not just a feeling.

  "Good! Refreshing!" He said, as he picked up the wine jug and poured another bowl for each of them.

  The two men simultaneously raised their bowls and touched them together before downing the contents in one gulp.

  "The more you drink, the more refreshing it is", Yuan Tian also started to get excited and proactively invited wine.

  "Good" is welcomed by all comers.

  The two of them were bowl after bowl, drinking until they were dizzy and disoriented. The disciples eating next to them looked on in a daze.

  Qiankai was a newcomer, and those outer disciples were not familiar with him. Yuantian was a miscellaneous servant disciple, and the outer disciples had never paid attention to him. However, this time the two of them drank together, leaving a deep impression on the crowd of outer disciples. That jar of wine was probably around 20 kilograms, but it was finished by the two of them in just one round.

  "This is indeed the fragrance of rice wine, and spiritual wine isn't ordinary wine. It can't be dissipated by spiritual power. No matter how high your cultivation is, if you don't have a high enough tolerance for liquor, drinking spiritual wine will still get you drunk to the point of stumbling around."

  So many bowls of wine had gone down their throats, and Ke's face had also turned red. Yuantian was now swaying back and forth, barely able to stand upright. It's said that heavy drinking will lead to spills all over the body and floor, but these two were perfectly fine, not a single drop spilled, every last bit having gone down their throats.

  "Two of you, I'll take my leave first, let's meet again on the first day of next month." Yuan Tian's tongue was a bit knotted, and he dizzily bid farewell to Kai and Xuan Yu.

  "Brother Yuan, take care on your way. After we pass the exam day after tomorrow, let's gather again." Looks like Qian Kai hasn't passed yet and wants to invite Yuan Tian for another drink.

  "First of all, congratulations to Yuan Shixiong for passing the test." Xuan Yuanshu had never seen Yuan Tian lose his temper before. In her impression, this senior brother was always cautious and steady in doing things.

  Yuanyuan took a step back, but instead of returning to his small stone hut, he came to the pigpen. Perhaps it was a habit formed from years of raising pigs that led him here unknowingly. As he swayed, he could still add feed to the trough with one hand, and this technique was truly not simple.

  After settling the pigpen's affairs, I continued to wander back to Xiaoshi Hut.

  Under the projection of the lantern, a tall and thin figure appeared. Two slender legs were swaying back and forth in a cross-step, with a seal held high in hand, then fiercely slammed down.

  "Bang bang bang..." sounds accompanied by waves of dazzling light.

  After a while, the thudding sound finally disappeared. In the quiet little hut, only the sound of snoring was left, and the illuminating pearl gradually dimmed as it continued to infuse without spiritual power.