Chapter 232: Dispelling Doubts
After returning to the Blaze Dragon Dao, Su Tongxiao instructed Fang Yu to take the disciples back to the Rising Sun Palace, while he went to deliver a report to the sect's higher-ups. As the supervising elder with the higher cultivation base, he had to give the sect an explanation in the wake of the incident that had taken place during the trial.
In particular, four of the disciples had had their physical bodies destroyed, and having accepted bribes from so many elders, he was unable to escape culpability.
Han Li didn't want to get involved in this matter, so he bade farewell to Su Tongxiao, then went straight to the Cloud Piercing Peak before making his way into the side hall of the High Profound Palace.
The side hall was as deserted as ever, and the door was slightly ajar, while Elder Hu Yan was seated in his chair behind the table with a bored expression.
"Wine is truly a great thing, but it seems I must exercise more moderation. It's only been a few days, yet I'm close to running out again," Elder Hu Yan grumbled to himself as he took a sip out of the red gourd in his hand.
Han Li just so happened to have heard Elder Hu Yan's grumbling as he arrived at the entrance of the side hall, and he paused momentarily before making his way inside.
Elder Hu Yan raised his head to look at Han Li, then said, "Looks like you completed your third mission. You sure are a hard worker. Did any of the girls in the trial catch your eye?"
"Some unforeseen mishaps arose during the trial, so it was terminated halfway. However, most of the disciples emerged unscathed. Does this count as completing the mission?"
Han Li gave Elder Hu Yan a brief recount of what had taken place in the Profound Ice Mountain Range, handing Elder Hu Yan his elder badge as he did so.
"It doesn't concern you whether they've completed their trial or not. As long as you've done your job, the mission will naturally be counted as completed," Elder Hu Yan said as he took Han Li's elder badge from him.
He then quickly deposited the sum of merit points corresponding with the mission into the badge before tossing it back to Han Li.
Han Li didn't say anything as he caught the badge before stowing it away.
He took a glance at Elder Hu Yan, then at the potted spirit plant on the table, and he displayed no intention of departing.
"What do you want? Have you gotten addicted to carrying out missions? Do you want a fourth one?" Elder Hu Yan grumbled.
"Senior Hu Yan, I wanted to discuss our agreement about the Dao Warriors..."
Before Han Li had a chance to finish, Elder Hu Yan raised a hand to cut him off. "I'm gonna stop you right there! Don't bother coming to me unless you've found a good wine recipe. Before then, I'm not going to teach you anything."
Han Li had already anticipated such a reaction from Elder Hu Yan, and he smiled as he said, "Don't be in such a hurry to turn me down, Senior. Now that I've completed my missions, I have nothing to do anyway, so would I be able to have a drink with you?"
Elder Hu Yan's expression immediately darkened upon hearing this, and he hurriedly tucked his red gourd back under his belt as he grumbled, "I've been very busy recently, so I haven't had any time to brew wine, and I don't have much left. I don't even have enough for myself! I let you drink to your heart's content last time, and I was kicking myself after you left! Stop thinking my Dao Warriors and get out of here!"
"I'm not asking for wine from you, Senior. Instead, I'd like to treat you to a cup of wine," Han Li said with a smile.
"You want to treat me to a cup of wine? I'm extremely picky, so if it's just some ordinary spirit wine, then don't bother bringing it out. If you ruin my appetite with a foul-tasting wine, not only will I never impart my knowledge in Dao Warriors onto you, I'll kick you off this Cloud Piercing Peak myself!" Elder Hu Yan said.
Han Li remained unfazed by this threat, reaching out a hand before gently sweeping it over the table before him, upon which a pair of vibrant green jade cups appeared.
The cups were of an extremely even and flawless green color, and there were thin golden lines inside, forming a series of flower-petal-shaped patterns that were quite remarkable to behold.
Elder Hu Yan was just about to say something else when his attention was drawn to the pair of jade cups. "Those are some decent Golden Thread Jade Cups."
Han Li didn't say anything as he flipped a hand over to produce an intricate fire-red wine flagon.
He then raised his other hand and removed the flagon's wooden stopper.
A faint pop rang out, following which an extremely unique and rich wine aroma instantly wafted throughout the entire side hall from within the flagon.
Elder Hu Yan's slightly red nose instantly twitched slightly as his eyes lit up with intrigue.
He leaned forward involuntarily, then stood up from his chair. His entire upper body was sprawled out on the table as he brought his nose closer to the flagon in Han Li's hand before taking a vigorous whiff of its contents.
"Hurry up and pour me a cup! What are you waiting for? My goodness, I'm about to start drooling all over the table!" Elder Hu Yan demanded in an urgent voice as he gulped down the saliva that was accumulating in his mouth.
Han Li didn't dare to make Elder Hu Yan wait, so he leaned forward slightly and filled the pair of Golden Threat Jade Cups on the table with the wine from the flagon.
Elder Hu Yan immediately picked up one of the cups, then began to carefully inspect it right in front of his eye.
The wine in the cup was of a vibrant red color, and it was giving off a fiery red glow. The wine itself was translucent, and with a slight shake of the cup, specks of red light could be seen dancing over the surface of the wine like tiny flames.
Elder Hu Yan eagerly brought the teacup to his lips, then took a small sip, upon which a look of surprise and elation instantly appeared on his face. He then tipped his head back and downed the rest of the wine in the cup in one go.
As soon as the wine entered his belly, it transformed into a surge of warmth that flowed throughout his entire body, and the red coloration of his nose instantly became even more pronounced.
He closed his eyes as he savored the lingering flavor of the wine in his mouth, and a blissful look appeared on his face.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.
After returning to his senses, Elder Hu Yan immediately said, "This is truly an extraordinarily exquisite wine. Where did you get this wine from? I've never tasted it before."
"This wine is called the Fire Drop Wine, and it's produced on the Primordial Wave Continent. However, due to the fact that the recipe has already been lost, it's very difficult to find nowadays," Han Li explained.
"What? The recipe has been lost?"
This revelation struck Elder Hu Yan like a bolt of lightning, causing his voice to spike up a few octaves.
However, he then quickly calmed down again as he asked, "If the recipe has already been lost, then how did you get your hands on this wine?"
"I'm afraid that's a question I can't answer. All I want to know is if the recipe for this wine is enough to exchange for your knowledge in Dao Warriors," Han Li said in a direct and straightforward manner.
A hesitant look appeared on Elder Hu Yan's face as he sat back down in his chair, and he appeared to have been quite conflicted.
However, Han Li could see that Elder Hu Yan was constantly glancing at the red wine flagong in his hand out of the corner of his eye, and it was clear that he wanted both the recipe and the flagon of wine.
Sure enough, it didn't take long before Elder Hu Yan caved.
"So be it. You and I get along quite well with each other, so as long as you give me the wine recipe and that flagon of Fire Drop Wine, I can impart my knowledge in Dao Warriors onto you."
"I'm afraid that won't do, Senior. Our prior agreement only concerned a wine recipe, and I only have a single flagon of this Fire Drop Wine, so I can't just give it to you free of charge," Han Li said.
Elder Hu Yan was immediately able to read between the lines, and he glared at Han Li as he asked, "You can't give it to me free of charge, you say? Fine, what else do you want from me?"
"I also wanted to learn from you how to plant spirit plants into pots, like in the case of this one," Han Li replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Elder Hu Yan immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this. "That's not a problem at all! I can teach you that."
Han Li was rather surprised by how willing Elder Hu Yan was to impart this knowledge, but after hearing the planting method, he realized why Elder Hu Yan wasn't reluctant at all to give this piece of knowledge away.
As it turned out, this type of planting method wasn't complex at all. What was difficult about it was finding containers suitable for holding spirit plants, as well as spirit fluids that can supply the spirit plants with sufficient spiritual power.
The black pot that Elder Hu Yan was using for the potted plant on the table was a treasure that was capable of absorbing the world's origin qi, and that was why the spirit plant planted within it was able to thrive even though it had been taken from the earth.
Furthermore, this type of planting method was only applicable to an extremely small selection of spirit plants.
"I didn't think there would be so many restrictions. What a pity..." Han Li sighed.
"Now that I've given you what you wanted, you better hand over that flagon of wine and its recipe to me," Elder Hu Yan urged with a pleased smile.
Han Li handed the flagon of wine over to Elder Hu Yan, then flipped a hand over to produce a copy of the wine recipe, which he set down onto the table.
Elder Hu Yan grabbed the flagon, then removed the wooden stopper before taking another whiff. He then began to carefully read through the recipe while murmuring his observations to himself. "As expected, 10,000-year-old Arhat Leaves were used... Oh, and there's Bright Stone Flower as well... I see..."
Han Li could see that Elder Hu Yan was completely absorbed in his reading, so he didn't interrupt him. He reached out to grab the cup of wine on the table that he had poured for himself, only for Elder Hu Yan to immediately slap his hand away.
"All of this wine belongs to me now!"
A grabbed the cup as he spoke before downing its contents in one go, then began smacking hsi lips in pleasure.
Han Li naturally wasn't offended by this, and he asked, "Can we talk about Dao Warriors now, Senior?"
Elder Hu Yan stowed the flagon and the wine recipe away, following which a serious look appeared on his face as he said, "I didn't think you would actually be able to acquire such an exceptional wine recipe. What do you want to know?"
Han Li paused for a moment, then asked, "These Dao Warriors appear similar to puppets, but are also quite different, and I wanted to know exactly what they were."
Elder Hu Yan considered the question for a moment, then replied, "That's a rather difficult question to answer. Dao Warriors could start off as a number of things, such as cultivators who sold themselves as slaves, powerful demon beasts, puppets refined in special ways, heavenly devils with established contracts, mutated ghosts, artifact spirits... Even spirits born in spirit domains are technically Dao Warriors."
"What category do those Dao Warriors that can sprout from those yellow beans fall into?" Han Li asked.
"Oh, you're talking about Bean Warriors. They're a type of plant Dao Warrior, and they fall under the puppet category. They need to be planted, then refined, and the power of the Bean Warriors will vary depending on how long the beans were nurtured and the potency of the arrays inscribed upon them," Elder Hu Yan explained.
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