Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 158 Closed-Door Disciple [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Fog and miasma abound, and dust and debris shimmer like starlight, sparkling with a captivating light.

The second-tier protective array, Star Vortex Cloud Barrier Array, along with the second-tier killing array, Star Dust Illusion Killing Array, were all unleashed!

It can be released instantly, saving the time of setting up the formation in advance.

Ji Yuan looked at the two unremarkable little iron houses in front of him and felt reassured.

If this method works, it's like having two more instant-cast second-tier formations. This effect... can definitely be considered a trump card!

It remains a trump card that allows for both offense and defense.

To put it boldly, with these two formations in place, Ji Yuan would dare to try and compete with a cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

There's no other reason than that, apart from those array cultivators who are extremely skilled in array formations, it would be difficult for ordinary cultivators to break through these two arrays, let alone for them to use as cover for a sneak attack.

If you encounter an opponent you can't defeat, you can use this formation to hold them off temporarily while you use the talisman to escape.

Moreover, even if the formation is destroyed, it doesn't matter. If the formation is destroyed, we can just take out another [Formation Room] and continue to operate it.

"It seems I need to prepare a few more of these iron houses. In case the other party fails to break the formation but destroys the house during the battle, I'll have a backup plan."

Ji Yuan pondered to himself that he would be too embarrassed to go to the Iron Hammer Island Master again. He planned to ask Feng Zhitao when he had some free time to introduce a weapon refiner, and then he could pay someone else to refine the weapon for him.

You can type it yourself, but it will take a long time.

Having considered this, Ji Yuan put away the formation with a thought, and then put the two iron houses back into his storage bag.

The mist that had enveloped the deserted island began to dissipate gradually. Ji Yuan summoned the Thunder Falcon Boat, his figure transforming into a purple streak of light as he returned to the Water Dragon Sect.

This time, he didn't linger. He traveled from west to east, spending two days traversing the entire Water Dragon Sect before finally arriving at Forget-Worry Island, located east of the Water Dragon Sect.

Ji Yuan hovered his flying boat outside the island and bowed slightly, saying, "Master, your disciple requests an audience."

"Come in."

Hua Yaoyue's voice was still so languid, as if she couldn't wake up.

Immediately, the formation opened a gap, and Ji Yuan flew in. He went straight to the mountainside where they had met last time, but when he arrived, he found that Hua Yaoyue was not in the pavilion.

"I'm on the mountaintop."

Hua Yaoyue's voice rang in Ji Yuan's ears, and he urged the flying boat to the highest point of Forget-Worry Island.

This was Ji Yuan's first time coming up here. Surprisingly, there was a small house with green tiles built on the top of the mountain. It was hidden among the flowers and trees, with rocks in front of it and small lakes on the left and right sides. The mountain wind passed through from north to south, blowing the wind chimes hanging at the door.

Indeed, when Ji Yuan saw this scene, he felt as if it were a paradise on earth.

Hmm... It seems that after we get back, we'll need to tidy up our island. The main problem is that the island has just risen from the sea, and for the first few days, even the ground was sticky. Ji Yuan even asked Feng Zhi Tao to use fire magic to burn it inside and out several times before it became habitable.

Everything takes time to arrange.

Ji Yuan landed in front of the small building, put away his flying boat, and didn't dare to go inside. He just bowed at the door.

Only then did Hua Yaoyue's helpless voice ring out from inside the room.

"Come in, you're always the one who needs me to invite you, aren't you?"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare."

Ji Yuan quickly replied, and then slowly walked across the stone bridge over the small lake... This place would be quite good for raising fish, like a fishpond.

Looking at this place, farmer Ji Yuan instinctively thought about how to farm.

Only after he crossed the stone bridge and entered the small house with blue tiles did he see the situation inside clearly.

The first floor was divided into two side rooms on the left and right, while the central hall was open to the outside and closed off at the back. Both rooms had beaded curtains as doors, and the sound of the curtains tinkling in the wind filled the room, like a beautiful woman playing music.

In addition, there was a staircase leading to the second floor. Ji Yuan glanced at it and then looked away, turning to the side room on the left.

Once he got there, he could sense that Hua Yaoyue was there.

What's remarkable is that this time, Hua Yaoyue wasn't lying down drinking, but standing by the window tending to a pot of flowers and plants.

Ji Yuan bowed slightly.

Hua Yaoyue then stopped and turned around. "I heard from Feng Zhitao that you're not planning a celebration for opening the island?"

"That's right, I don't think it's necessary, and it's easy to show off."

Ji Yuan told him the truth.

"Hmm, your personality is completely opposite to that of your second senior brother."

Hua Yaoyue stood with her hands behind her back, neither confirming nor denying, "Speak, what brings you here?"

"It's like this, during the time I was in seclusion to establish my foundation, I brewed a kind of spiritual wine. It tastes quite good, so I thought I'd give it to Master to taste."

"Oh?"

When the topic of drinking came up, Hua Yaoyue became interested and said, "Let me try it."

Even her voice became much more lively.

"Yes."

Ji Yuan cupped his hands and took out a pot of "Wishful Wine" in an exquisite jade pot. He had stored up five pots of it during his five days of cultivation on Misty Island, each pot containing one ounce, and he brought them all with him this time.

Hua Yaoyue casually waved her hand, and the bottle of wine fell into her hand. She removed the cork and first gently sniffed it.

"Um?"

She frowned.

Ji Yuan felt a sudden panic, but then Hua Yaoyue took a sip from the jade pot without any suspicion.

A sip of wine down.

Hua Yaoyue's furrowed brows instantly relaxed, and a smile immediately spread across her previously expressionless face... It seems that her master is in a good mood now, which is why the Sui Xin Jiu amplified her feelings.

Hua Yaoyue picked up the wine, glanced at it, and then gently swirled it.

The smile on her face gradually disappeared, and she reverted to her previous expressionless look.

She paused for a moment before taking her second sip of the wine.

After finishing that sip of wine, her eyes held an undeniable sorrow, and her whole demeanor exuded a delicate charm, even a touch of melancholy.

No, Master, weren't you just very happy...? Suddenly, Ji Yuan realized something. Could it be that Hua Yaoyue could control her emotions?

Is this even human?

Feel happy when you want to be happy, feel sad when you want to be sad?

After waiting for a while, the sadness on Hua Yaoyue's face faded, and she returned to her original expressionless state.

She was still somewhat skeptical, so she took another sip of the "free drink" (a type of Chinese liquor).

After finishing the drink, she felt nothing. When she wanted to drink more, she found that the wine jug was empty.

"Is there anything else?"

Hua Yaoyue naturally reached out her hand to Ji Yuan.

"There are three pots left."

Ji Yuan handed over three flasks, keeping one flask in his own storage bag.

It's always good to leave room for maneuver. Although his family's wine cellar never stopped producing during the ten-odd days he was away, Tu Yue should have collected more than a dozen jugs of "Wishful Thinking Wine" by now.

But we'll have to wait until we get our hands on it before we can talk about anything else.

After receiving the two pots, Hua Yaoyue put them away and then drank the entire pot in one go.

After finishing her drink, she closed her eyes, tilted her head back slightly to reveal her snow-white neck, as if savoring the taste.

After a full half-incense stick's time, she slowly opened her eyes, a golden glint flashing in them before disappearing in an instant.

"This wine...did you really brew it yourself?"

Hua Yaoyue asked softly.

"Exactly."

The wine produced in the cellar is naturally equivalent to wine brewed by the winery itself.

All the efforts on the panel are my efforts.

"How's the production?"

Hua Yaoyue pressed for an answer.

"Yes, this wine needs to be blended after it's brewed, which is quite difficult. At most, we can only produce one pound a month."

One ounce a day, the wine cellar can produce three pounds a month, but Ji Yuan habitually keeps some.

Hua Yaoyue stared at Ji Yuan for a few moments. "I'll give you 100 mid-grade spirit stones a month. Can you brew more?"

"What?!"

Ji Yuan looked up at Hua Yaoyue in surprise. So... even Master needed something like this?

They even brought up a deal.

Ji Yuan guessed that Hua Yaoyue probably hadn't just been drinking too much this time. The wine likely had some other effect on her. If she were simply addicted to the taste, she wouldn't have proposed a deal with her disciple.

But can we agree to this deal?

100 spirit stones a month seems like a lot... well, actually it is a lot.

But if I agree to this, my master-disciple relationship with Hua Yaoyue will probably end here.

Not to mention the jade cup that Hua Yaoyue had given her earlier, which could withstand attacks from the Golden Core stage, and the "Concealing Breath Technique," which was considered to be of the highest quality.

"My master asked me for a favor today, and I even had to collect spirit stones... I'm afraid I won't need to ask my master for help anymore in the future."

Interactions between people are inherently reciprocal.

"Besides, if I accept these spirit stones today, then my giving you the 'Wishful Wine' will become a transaction, and there will be no favor involved. But if I don't accept the spirit stones, then Hua Yaoyue will still owe me a favor."

"A favor from someone who's suspected to be in the late Golden Core stage is worth far more than these spirit stones, right? Not to mention I'm her personal disciple."

Upon realizing this, Ji Yuan bowed deeply to Hua Yaoyue once again.

"Master, you're making me feel terrible."

"It is an honor for me to be able to brew the wine that Master likes. How could I possibly covet money? Please rest assured, Master, from now on, even if I don't eat, drink, or cultivate, I will still brew one and a half jin, no, two jin, for Master every month! I will brew two jin of this 'Willful Wine' every month."

Ji Yuan said through gritted teeth.

Hua Yaoyue stood with her hands behind her back, staring blankly at Ji Yuan. After a while, she finally said, "Get up."

"Yes."

Ji Yuan then straightened up.

"Go and close the door."

After Hua Yaoyue finished speaking casually, she turned around and sat down on the chair next to her. This time, she sat down... rather upright.

Ji Yuan didn't know why Hua Yaoyue suddenly wanted him to close the door. Besides, closing the door was just a matter of her mind.

Since she had said that, Ji Yuan had no choice but to do as she said and turned to close the door.

When he closed the door and returned to Hua Yaoyue, he heard her say:

"From this day forward, you, Ji Yuan, will be my last disciple, Hua Yaoyue."

"What?!"

This surprised Ji Yuan even more than when he heard that he would be given spirit stones.

I offered him wine and water, and he actually accepted me as his last disciple?

And when did the term "closed-door disciple" come to mean this? Well, it really is a closed-door disciple now... Ji Yuan was delighted, but he couldn't help but complain.

"I'm not lying to you, the name of the wine you brewed, 'Willful of Will,' is quite fitting and beneficial to my cultivation."

Hua Yaoyue casually revealed the truth, resolving Ji Yuan's doubts.

So it seems that he was actually drinking for the sake of spiritual practice?

Is this some kind of technique? It's so rare.

Ji Yuan nodded very seriously, "Please rest assured, Master, from now on, I will definitely brew this Sui Xin Wine well."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work. If you have any problems in the future, you can tell me. I will do my best to help you."

For a Golden Core cultivator to say this to a Foundation Establishment disciple is extremely serious.

Ji Yuan was so moved that he almost took out the last jar of wine from his storage bag, but he held back. Taking it out now wouldn't have much effect; it would only show that he was keeping something from her.

"This disciple thanks Master."

With this reassurance, Ji Yuan could feel a little more at ease in the Water Dragon Sect.

At least I don't have to worry about other Golden Core cultivators making things difficult for me... This "Wishful Thinking Wine" is a worthwhile offering, of course, it only has this effect when offered to Hua Yaoyue.

If it were any other Golden Core cultivator, offering this wine would probably not be of much use.

"Master, Master."

A light, cheerful voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, the door was pushed open from the outside, and a woman in a long red dress skipped in. But as soon as she entered, she stopped instinctively when she saw the scene inside.

"Junior Brother... what are you doing here?"

Feng Zhitao wanted to say, "It's one thing for you to be here, but why are you talking to your master behind closed doors?" But she swallowed her words.

"If you need anything, please ask your master."

Ji Yuan did not reveal anything about the Sui Xin Wine.

Unexpectedly, Hua Yaoyue said directly, "From now on, Ji Yuan will be my last disciple."

"What?!"

Now it was Feng Zhitao's turn to be surprised.

Her cherry-like lips were wide open, and for a moment she forgot to close them.

"Master, you... Junior Brother, you..."

"My energy is limited, and taking the four of you as disciples is more than enough."

Hua Yaoyue offered a rare explanation, but did not reveal that Ji Yuan had given away the Sui Xin Wine.

So, was it that she didn't want Feng Zhitao and the others to know that she took him in as her closed-door disciple because she needed his wine, or was it that she didn't want others to know that she could cultivate with the help of wine...? Ji Yuan couldn't help but wonder.

But soon there was no need to guess anymore, because Hua Yaoyue's voice transmission rang in his mind.

"You know about the matter of cultivating one's skills in drinking; there's no need to tell outsiders."

Ji Yuan didn't dare to answer. Hua Yaoyue's telepathic communication was undetectable to Feng Zhitao, but if he did, Feng Zhitao, being in the late Foundation Establishment stage, would likely be able to sense it.

So Ji Yuan nodded without showing any emotion.

"Too."

Feng Zhitao nodded with some doubt. She always felt that Hua Yaoyue and Ji Yuan were hiding something from her, but she didn't dare to ask.

"What brings you here?"

"Actually, it's nothing much. It's just that today is the 39th anniversary of my becoming a disciple, so I wanted to come and chat with Master. It's also my junior brother here. Master, let me tell you, my junior brother's cooking is so delicious! It smells so good!"

Feng Zhitao seemed to remember something and said excitedly.

Hua Yaoyue frowned slightly, "You're already at the Foundation Establishment stage, yet you still indulge in these gluttonous desires."

"..."

"It smells so good."

Half an hour later, after tasting the food prepared by Ji Yuan, Hua Yaoyue could not hide her feelings and praised Ji Yuan.

"Junior brother, how did you learn such cooking skills? It's one thing to cultivate so quickly, but your cooking is actually quite delicious."

Feng Zhitao said vaguely.

Ji Yuan first drank a cup of wine with Hua Yaoyue, and then replied with a smile: "Senior sister, you don't know, I was born in Yunyuze. I made a living by fishing with my parents since I was a child. Sometimes when my parents didn't come back, I had to cook for myself. Over time, my cooking skills naturally improved."

Of course, if that were the case, Ji Yuan's cooking wouldn't be this delicious.

The main reason is that the [Kitchen] can increase the deliciousness of dishes by 20%. What does it mean to increase the deliciousness?

Everyone has different tastes.

Therefore, Ji Yuan believes that this 20% improvement should be attributed to the mind. Regardless of taste, as long as one eats the food prepared by Ji Yuan, one will find it to their liking.

Therefore, everyone thought that Ji Yuan's cooking was delicious.

Otherwise, different people will have different tastes, and it's impossible for everyone to think that Ji Yuan's cooking is delicious.

"I see."

Taking the opportunity, Ji Yuan asked, "Where is Senior Sister from? Where is she from?"

My original friends were all fellow sufferers from Yun Yuze, and we knew each other well enough to have nothing to say to each other. But Feng Zhitao is not one of them.

"Me?"

Feng Zhitao pondered for a moment before saying, "I come from a mortal kingdom in the south. I was brought back to the sect to cultivate because I was found to have a true spiritual root."

"Oh? What country are you from, senior sister?"

Ji Yuan had never been to this mortal kingdom. He had heard that spiritual energy was scarce there, making cultivation even more difficult. Even if there were cultivators, most of them were rogue cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

They are very poor.

"Xifeng Kingdom".

After Feng Zhitao finished speaking, Hua Yaoyue added, "She is also a princess of the Western Phoenix Kingdom."

"Senior Sister is actually a princess?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan couldn't help but glance at Feng Zhitao a few more times. Indeed, her appearance and attire, no matter how you looked at it, were befitting of a princess.

"She's an old princess now."

Feng Zhitao rolled her eyes. "I heard the other day that the emperor of Xifeng Kingdom has changed several times. The current emperor is a little kid. If he sees me, he'll probably have to call me 'old auntie'."

Ji Yuan then inquired about the background of his second senior brother, Yun Qianzai.

"Second Senior Brother, he is from Linhai City in the east. He comes from a Foundation Establishment family, and his family has an ancestor at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Of course, his current strength is also at the ancestor level."

"I heard that when he went back last time, he caught his third uncle and made him call him 'Grandpa.' It cracked me up."

Feng Zhitao covered her mouth and laughed nonstop.

Ji Yuan couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this; it was indeed something Yun Qianzai would do.

After that, the two chatted for a long time.

Hua Yaoyue sat to the side, occasionally taking a sip of wine, sometimes lost in thought, and not saying a word, but she would speak if Ji Yuan and the others asked.

He just doesn't talk much.

Ji Yuan stayed on Forget-Worry Island until dark before leaving.

It wasn't until he was leaving that Hua Yaoyue's voice transmission echoed in his mind.

"The 'Sui Xin' liquor is good, but don't give me the ones you've already drunk next time."

This caused Ji Yuan, who was already on the flying boat, to stumble. He quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes, this disciple was careless for a moment. Please forgive me, Master."

"It's alright, go ahead."

Hua Yaoyue remained as lazy as ever.

Ji Yuan then headed south, not stopping even when he reached his own doorstep, but continuing south towards Misty Island.

Now that we're back, we can upgrade the [Fish Pond].

He had been eagerly anticipating the effects of the Level 3 [Fish Pond], especially the [Rainbow Carp Transforms into a Dragon] effect, which had a chance of giving birth to a Tier 3 monster cub!

(End of this chapter)