All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 177 Cultivating Wine Bugs, Trouble Comes Knocking

Not far from Heishan Town, amidst the snow and ice, the nearby plum groves are in full bloom with red plum blossoms, adding a touch of vibrancy to the silvery landscape.

At this moment, a beautiful woman emerged from the plum grove, draped in a white fox fur coat and wearing a white veil. In the winter sunlight, her skin was as white as snow, so delicate as to be almost transparent. Her eyes, hidden beneath the veil, were like two bright pearls embedded in her cheeks. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and although her eyes were full of clarity, without a trace of foxiness, they still attracted the attention of everyone in the caravan.

Although the red plum blossoms in the snow are beautiful, they cannot compare to even a fraction of her beauty.

"What a beautiful woman! Could she be a fox spirit?!"

"His skin is as white as snow! Could he be the incarnation of a snow spirit?!"

"Ruyan?" Zhou Qing's gaze sharpened. He had the coachman take over driving the carriage, and then leaped into the snow beside the official road.

"He's here to see off Sixth Senior Brother!" Everyone was surprised. Seeing Zhou Qing heading towards the woman in white, they realized they weren't seeing things.

"Keep going!" Zhou Qing shouted to the commotion in the caravan, and the apprentices driving the carriages came to their senses and continued on their way.

However, everyone's eyes remained fixed on the woman.

"Junior Brother Zhou, you are truly blessed with good fortune!" In the middle carriage, a large hand lifted the curtain, revealing Wei Mingcheng's pale and bloodless face. Looking at the white-clad woman's appearance, even he couldn't help but sigh.

Snapped!
With his other hand, he struck the back of the large hand, and the curtain fell instantly. An unhappy voice came from inside the carriage.

"Your injuries haven't healed yet, you shouldn't be exposed to the wind, don't you know that?"

"Big sister, you knew I was injured! So why did you hit me?"

Snapped!
An even louder sound followed.

"Speak less, conserve your energy!"

"."

Silence fell inside the carriage.

Just as the caravan was about to pass through Merlin, the carriage curtain was lifted again, revealing a beautiful profile, with her eyes glancing into the distance out of the corner of her eye.

When Wei Hongyu saw Zhou Qing grabbing the white-clad woman's wrist, and then the white-clad woman took off the fox fur coat she was wearing and draped it over Zhou Qing, she lowered the curtain.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Ruyan curtsied, her elegance and beauty appearing in the same person. She looked like a snow sprite, perfectly in harmony with heaven and earth.

"Ruyan, what are you doing here?" Zhou Qing gestured for her to drop the formalities, but he couldn't help feeling a little puzzled. He had already told Ruyan about his departure, and he wondered why she had come to see him off.

"You broke through?!"

Zhou Qing's eyes suddenly lit up; he noticed that the divine power within Ru Yan's body seemed to have undergone some kind of change.

"It is all thanks to Your Majesty's great blessing. I have been blessed with good fortune and found the opportunity for a breakthrough. I have come today to deliver this good news to Your Majesty. If it were not for Your Majesty's grace, I might have cultivated for another hundred years and still not become a god," Ruyan said respectfully.

As he spoke, he was about to bow down and pay his respects to Zhou Qing.

“There’s no need for that. We’ve shared both glory and hardship. You’re where you are today because of your own hard work.” Zhou Qing grabbed Ru Yan’s wrist and helped her up.

"My lord." Ruyan was filled with gratitude, her gaze towards Zhou Qing softening, and her eyes revealing a stunning allure as they moved.

Fortunately, Zhou Qing's strength has greatly increased, so he was not tempted by her unintentional seductive arts and did not reveal his ugly side.

"I have nothing to repay you with, but this fox fur coat is made from the fur I shed after I became a god. It is warm in winter and cool in summer, and it is impervious to water and fire. I am giving it to you today as a token of my gratitude."

Ruyan took off her fox fur coat and draped it over Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing initially wanted to refuse, but seeing Ru Yan's sincere intentions, he accepted her offer.

"It's very comfortable." After putting on the fox fur, Zhou Qing felt as if his body temperature was locked in, and he no longer needed to use his qi and blood and true essence to resist the cold. The faint fragrance lingering around his nose was also very pleasant.

"It is my honor that Your Majesty is pleased." Ruyan smiled, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"I'll leave Black Wind Mountain to you. Once the Wine Immortal has absorbed enough divine power and awakens, I'll have him hand over the method of worshipping the gods. I'll return then," Zhou Qing said solemnly.

The statue of the Wine Immortal seems to have suffered considerable damage since it helped him defeat Mu Renjie last time.

Even though Zhou Qing moved him to the mountain god temple at the foot of Black Wind Mountain to share incense offerings, he still did not wake up.

As agreed, after the statue of the Wine Immortal absorbed incense offerings for a month, it was to teach him the Eighth Grade Worship Method.

But for now, we can only wait for the statue of the Drunken God to awaken.

Anyway, they agreed on a one-year timeframe. If the statue of the Wine Immortal still hasn't reacted after a year, then they shouldn't blame him.

Although the priesthood has many restrictions and is not Zhou Qing's main profession, with Ru Yan now in charge of spreading the faith, he can essentially be a hands-off manager, only needing to come and collect divine power periodically.

Nowadays, more and more people believe in the Black Wind Mountain God, and the speed at which divine power accumulates is getting faster and faster.

As long as Zhou Qing continues to improve his strength and safeguard the spread of the faith, it is only a matter of time before the mountain god faith spreads to Tianzhu Mountain and the Qilian Mountains.

If one can gain the favor of Tianzhu Mountain and the Qilian Mountains, it will be much easier to refine Gu and find treasures in the mountains in the future.

While the clergy may seem somewhat useless at the moment, it plays a crucial supporting role in his future development.

"Your Majesty, I obey your command and await your return," Ruyan said respectfully, bowing deeply.

"I'm in quite a bit of trouble right now, and the Black Wind Mountain faith is good enough for now. There's no need to rush to expand it further. Once I've resolved my troubles, I'll take you to Tianzhu Mountain and the Qilian Mountains near Nanli County. There's a much wider world waiting for you there!"

Zhou Qing said seriously.

"Yes!" Ruyan's face was full of joy. Choosing to follow her master was the most correct decision she had made in her hundreds of years of cultivation.

"Go."

"I'll take my leave."

Ruyan bowed respectfully, and seeing that no one was around, she used her earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that allows one to escape from the earth) technique and disappeared from Zhou Qing's sight.

Through the connection between their divine powers, Zhou Qing discovered that Ru Yan was rushing towards Black Wind Mountain at an extremely exaggerated speed.

"So fast!"

Zhou Qing's gaze sharpened. At such speed, even if Mu Renjie used the Wind and Thunder Boots at full power, he probably wouldn't even be able to see Ru Yan's back.

Unfortunately, if he had mastered the art of earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that allows one to escape danger), he could probably protect himself even if he encountered a peak Blood Exchange Realm expert.

Zhou Qing stood on the hillside, gazing at Heishan Town not far away, then leaped away to catch up with the convoy.

They spent the next ten days traveling.

Because it was snowing, travel was inconvenient. If the official road hadn't been smooth, they probably wouldn't have been able to travel even a hundred miles a day.

Of course, Zhou Qing did not waste these ten days; he spent most of his time cultivating his internal energy.

【Craft: Green Wood Sutra】

[Progress: Level 4 (19850/30000)]

[Skill: Azure Water Skill]

[Progress: Level 4 (20000/20000)] Because Grandma was in the car, Zhou Qing could not use the Ice Fiend Gu's Mysterious Ice Body to obtain a physique comparable to a super-grade root bone. However, the Wood Spirit Aspect also gave him a cultivation speed comparable to a top-grade root bone, so the cultivation progress of the Green Wood Scripture increased greatly.

As for the less difficult Azure Water Technique, he had already cultivated it to the perfection of the fourth level.

It's a pity there's no fifth level of cultivation technique; otherwise, he could have used it to try and break through to the Blood Exchange Realm.

Of course, he hasn't completed the tempering of his entire skeleton yet, so he won't break through so easily. At the very least, he'll have to wait until the fourth level of the Green Wood Scripture is perfected before breaking through.

It's estimated that it will be completed within the next six months.

At that time, he will be able to break through to the Blood Exchange Realm and become a Grand Martial Master of the Blood Exchange Realm at the age of nineteen.

After arriving near the city of Nanli, the convoy split into two groups.

A large group of people followed Wei Hongyu and Wei Mingcheng directly into Tianyun City.

Zhou Qing, accompanied by his grandmother and two maids, entered Nanli County.

His lease on the courtyard house in the outer city hasn't expired yet, so he can continue living there for the time being.

When he entered the house, he found it was very clean, there was no snow in the yard, and the furniture was spotless.

Clearly, someone had been cleaning while he was away.

The only one who could do that is Lanlan, probably because Han Qingqing asked her to.

"Help Grandma to the back room to rest first." Zhou Qing ordered two maids to take Grandma to the back. Although she came by carriage, the long journey was still quite tiring for the old woman.

"Yes." Two maids helped the old woman rest.

Zhou Qing then went to the front yard.

"Next, we'll face new challenges!"

Zhou Qing looked up at the sky above the city and took a deep breath.

After the old woman fell asleep, the two maids came to the front yard. Zhou Qing instructed them not to go out for the time being, while he left the house and headed to Wanbaoge in the inner city. He directly revealed his martial arts master cultivation level and entered the VIP area of ​​Wanbaoge.

"Your esteemed guest wishes to purchase the Green Silk Gu and the four-ingredient wine recipe? Could it be that you intend to cultivate wine worms?"

The steward in charge of receiving Zhou Qing was an elderly man with white hair and beard. Upon hearing Zhou Qing's request, a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes.

"Manager Liu actually knew about this?" Zhou Qing was taken aback.

“In Nanli County, there are also some Gu Masters who disguise themselves and enter the city to buy resources that are scarce in the mountains. Over time, we have also learned some inside information,” the white-haired old man pondered.

Seeing Zhou Qing's brows furrow slightly, the white-haired old man quickly cupped his hands and said, "I did not mean to pry into your privacy, but only wanted to remind you."

Even if you feed the Green Silk Gu with the most precious four-flavor wine, cultivating the wine worm is extremely difficult, and the resources required are immeasurable.

Rather than that, it would be better to pay a price and exchange a wine worm with the barbarian Gu Master.

"Trade directly for wine worms?" Zhou Qing's eyes narrowed. "Could we possibly get high-grade first-tier wine worms in return?"

Compared to cultivating a Green Silk Gu from scratch, cultivating it into a Wine Worm directly yields a ready-made Wine Worm, making it easier to refine.

Although it's not necessary for both wine worms to be of the highest quality first rank when refining them together, a higher rank naturally increases the success rate, and Zhou Qing doesn't like to compromise on these things.

"A first-grade superior quality?!" Manager Liu's expression froze upon hearing this.

"Honorable guest, you flatter me. No Gu Master would be willing to exchange such a high-quality wine insect for anything else."

Even if it's no longer needed in the future, it will be passed down from generation to generation.

"What about a mid-grade first rank?" Zhou Qing asked again.

“Only a low-grade, first-tier wine worm.” Manager Liu shook his head. If he didn’t know Zhou Qing’s identity, he probably would have thought Zhou Qing was making fun of him.

"Then I'll still take the Green Silk Gu and the Four Flavors Wine Recipe," Zhou Qing said thoughtfully. First-grade low-level wine worms are not difficult to cultivate, and judging from Manager Liu's tone, buying them directly would definitely be ridiculously expensive.

Among the wine recipes he possessed, Red Apricot Wine should be considered a sweet wine, while Fire Toad Wine should be considered a spicy wine.

It also lacks sour wine and bitter wine.

Of course, the more medicinal wine recipes the better, as they are cheaper than pill recipes. After all, taking medicine can increase cultivation, while drinking medicinal wine is much more difficult.

"We have Green Silk Gu in our storeroom. As for the Four Flavors Wine Recipes, we only have recipes for Bitter Shell Wine and Bee Flower Wine. As for the recipes for Sour Wine and Spicy Wine, we'll have to wait for the auction to try our luck, or perhaps trade with a Gu Master from the Five Streams Barbarians," Manager Liu said thoughtfully.

"Then let's buy ten Green Silk Gu first, and I'll also take the recipes for Bitter Shell Wine and Bee Flower Wine," Zhou Qing nodded.

Manager Liu summoned a servant to inform the storeroom, and smiled at Zhou Qing, saying, "Ten Green Silk Gu cost two thousand taels of silver. As for the recipes for Bitter Shell Wine and Bee Flower Wine, they are worth three thousand two hundred taels of silver, making a total of five thousand two hundred taels. We'll waive the two hundred taels and accept five thousand taels from our distinguished guest."

"Yes, thank you, Steward Liu." Zhou Qing bowed and sighed inwardly, thinking how quickly money could be spent. If he had known back then that the Green Silk Gu was so valuable, he probably would have sold it directly.

A moment later, a martial artist brought the Green Silk Gu and the wine recipe and handed them to Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing inspected the goods and left satisfied.

Manager Liu escorted Zhou Qing to the main gate. Once Zhou Qing disappeared from sight, the smile on his face gradually faded, and he looked thoughtful.

He then summoned a martial artist and whispered something in his ear. The man bowed respectfully and then ran towards the outer city.

When Zhou Qing returned home, he immediately put ten Green Silk Gu into the wine jar containing Fire Toad Wine, cultivating wine worms in the simplest and most brutal way.

In just one night, six of the ten Green Silk Gu were drowned by the Fire Toad Wine, leaving four still stubbornly alive.

Just as he was about to press on, his ears twitched slightly, and he heard a commotion coming from the front yard.

"Tsk!"

Zhou Qing raised an eyebrow; having more people does bring some trouble.

He walked to the front yard and saw two maids huddled together, trembling. Lanlan was standing in the middle of the yard, covering her face, looking aggrieved.

Two middle-aged men were standing under the corridor, one dressed in a purple official robe and the other in a black robe.

"Blood Exchange Realm?" Zhou Qing's gaze sharpened. Both of them were actually Blood Exchange Realm Grand Martial Masters. The one dressed in purple official robes was a military officer of the Demon Suppression Division. As for the other person, his attire seemed to represent an elder of the Five Poisons Sect.

I didn't expect trouble to come so quickly.

"You junior, you've got quite the airs! You dare to block us from entering, even though you're just a mere maid in the manor." The man in black robes sneered.

Zhou Qing frowned slightly, but before he could speak, a gust of wind suddenly swept through the courtyard, and a man dressed in black armor with an extremely strong physique appeared in the courtyard.

"Brother Wan's cultivation hasn't improved, but his temper is getting worse and worse."

"Han Wending?!" The man in black robes' expression changed drastically.

The middle-aged man in purple official robes standing to the side also had a slight change in his expression, and his hands, which were clasped in front of his chest, subconsciously lowered.

(End of this chapter)