Chapter 219 - 218: One Jar of Spirit Wine

Chapter 219: Chapter 218: One Jar of Spirit Wine

Hearing the sudden commotion, Li Jain came out from the kitchen. He was shocked to see his six buns lying half-dead on the ground, groaning and vomiting. His jaw nearly dropped, and he immediately looked up at Liu Xiong, his clear eyes filled with confusion and worry: "Liu Xiong... What happened to my children?!"

Liu Xiong scratched the back of his neck, a rare sense of embarrassment welling up under Li Jain’s sharp gaze. He coughed lightly, awkwardly smiling as he stepped off the carriage: "Ah, it’s like this... Xiao Jain, we had a little... misunderstanding at the martial arts tournament. A few elders got too caught up in their bets, so I took the children out to play a bit... to help them relax."

Of course, he completely left out the fact that he had cheated, manipulating four matches in a row, single-handedly turning the entire arena into chaos.

Before Li Jain could press further, he heard a commotion. Elder Mo, the Frost Sky Sect Master, and the Thundercloud Elder stormed in, with ashen faces. Their gazes were fixed on Liu Xiong.

"You shameless scoundrel! Do you think coming in here will let you escape?!" Elder Mo said angrily.

"How did you get past the gatekeeper?" Liu Xiong asked curiously, but the others didn’t respond.

Although Li Jain didn’t know exactly what Liu Xiong had done, he immediately sensed the dangerous tension in the air. The last thing he wanted was to destroy his newly built tavern.

He stepped between the enraged elders and Liu Xiong, offering a polite and gentle smile: "Sect Master, Elders, please calm down," Li Jain said softly, his voice as gentle and soothing as a cool spring breeze: "Regardless of any conflict that may have occurred today, peace is the most cherished quality in my Spirit Tavern. Since you’ve come from afar, why not sit down and let me serve you a hot meal? To express my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused today, all spiritual dishes will be offered at a 10% discount."

Smelling the mouthwatering aroma of spiritual dishes, wafting from the kitchen, and knowing Li Jain’s legendary culinary reputation, the three furious elders hesitated and exchanged glances...

Under Li Jain’s gentle reassurance, the three elders finally calmed their anger, exchanging slightly reluctant glances. The enticing aroma wafting from the kitchen was like a divine gift, which was irresistible to any cultivator. They temporarily set aside their grudges and sat down at a large table in the center of the first-floor, ordering several of the tavern’s signature spiritual dishes before eagerly beginning their meal.

The rich, pure spiritual energy from the food flowed through their meridians, dispelling the lingering resentment in their hearts, and replacing it with pure satisfaction.

They placed several additional orders, thinking that since they were already given a discount, they might as well make the most of it.

"You know, Elder Mo," the Frost Sky Sect Master chuckled, swirling his cup, "if your disciples spent half as much time practicing swordplay as you do bragging about them, you might have actually won the tournament without a fight!"

Elder Mo scoffed, stroking his beard, but a bright smile spread across his face. "Nonsense! Lu Chen’s talent is undeniable! But to be honest, just watching that Frost Heaven Sect brat slip on his own ice domain was worth the price of admission."

The Thundercloud Elder burst into boisterous laughter, slapping the table so hard the dish covers rattled. "Careful now, Elder Mo! Last year at the opening ceremony, one of your disciples accidentally set his robe on fire! We haven’t forgotten!"

"That was a minor malfunction in the spirit array!" Elder Mo protested.

The Frost Sky Sect Master sneered: "You dare say my disciple slipped on the ice not because of external force?"

As the meal progressed smoothly, the tavern’s heavy doors slowly opened, and Ancestor Li entered. This was the first time he had stepped through these doors since the grand opening of the Spirit Tavern. Elder Chu was not accompanying him this time; she had returned to the Li family residence to rest.

The three elders, with their sharp eyes, immediately spotted the Ancestor. Elder Mo narrowed his eyes and called out loudly across the room: "Old Ancestor Li! What is your relationship with that black-robed barbarian who ruined the entire tournament today?"

Ancestor Li sighed wearily, flicking his sleeve in annoyance as he walked over to their table: "Relation? That man is merely a lowly innkeeper from the distant East who happens to be staying for a few days," he said in a solemn, disdainful tone: "I know nothing of his true origins, nor do I care to know!"

"Is that so?" The Frost Sky Sect Master asked, raising an eyebrow with deep suspicion: "Yet he seemed awfully cozy traveling alongside your great-grandchildren!"

"Bah! The man is an arrogant, shameless barbarian!" Ancestor Li scoffed, his face flushing with anger: "His outrageous stunts at the arena were entirely his own doing! My Li family has absolutely no connection to his shameless gambling scheme, and I despise his behavior just as much as you do!"

His angry tone immediately reassured the three elders, assuring them that the Li family had absolutely no connection to the martial arts scandal.

Old Ancestor Li sat down at a nearby table but didn’t immediately order. Instead, driven by intense curiosity about his grandson’s mysterious inn, he secretly released a powerful wisp of divine sense, allowing it to spread silently and take in every corner of the inn.

Just then, his divine sense drifted towards the kitchen at the back, catching Liu Xiong and Li Jain talking about a special batch of spirit wine.

"Little Jain, please, give me another jar!" Liu Xiong leaned over the counter, his deep eyes filled with pleading, holding up an empty gray gourd: "Only your wine in this city can truly satisfy my taste buds!"

Li Jain wiped the wooden counter with a clean cloth, sighed helplessly, and looked at Liu Xiong. "You drank too fast. Do you know how many precious spiritual fruits are needed to brew a single jar of wine? There’s only one left in the cellar!"

Li Jain frowned and continued worriedly: "Besides, this medicinal wine is exceptionally potent. If you consume so much without fully absorbing it through your meridians, you might experience adverse reactions."

Liu Xiong waved his hand dismissively, scoffing: "Adverse reactions? To me? You’re worrying unnecessarily, little Jain! My physical body is practically invulnerable; a little extra spiritual energy won’t affect me other than putting me in a better mood!"

Just as Li Jain reluctantly reached into his spiritual ring to retrieve the last sealed jar for Liu Xiong, Old Ancestor Li suddenly appeared in the kitchen like a ghost. His eyes gleamed, and he shouted: "Wait! I wanted this wine too!"

Liu Xiong instantly turned around, his face darkening. Pointing at the old man, he snapped: "You shameless old hypocrite! You actually used your divine sense to eavesdrop on our conversation!"

Old Ancestor Li didn’t even bother to deny it. He nonchalantly stroked his silver beard, proudly puffing out his chest: "So what if I eavesdropped? This tavern belongs to my grandson, and everything inside is part of the Li family’s inheritance! Why should an outsider like you get to drink the last jar of precious spiritual wine, while I, his own flesh and blood, haven’t even tasted a drop?"

"Outsider?!" Liu Xiong glared, closing in on the old ancestor, almost nose to nose: "I’m his future husband! I’m more entitled to drink his wine than an old relic like you who only knows how to take advantage of your status!"

"Who are you calling an old relic?!" Old Ancestor Li roared, his silver hair stood up, as his aura began to change.

Seeing these two hot-tempered men nearly tear his tavern counter to shreds, Li Jain quickly raised his hand to stop them, saying: "Please stop arguing! Brewing this wine is extremely delicate and time-consuming; each jar requires a full month of meticulous fermentation and careful blending of a single jar!"

In reality, with his superb brewing skills and spatial acceleration array, the actual time required would only be half a month. But Li Jain deliberately exaggerated the time to give himself enough buffer time to easily brew a new batch to satisfy these two picky customers and prevent them from arguing endlessly.

"A whole month?!" Old Ancestor Li gasped. Realizing how rare this treasure was, his determination grew even stronger. Before Liu Xiong could react, the Old Ancestor’s hand had already swept across like lightning, snatching the sealed jar from Li Jain’s hand!

"Hey! That’s mine!" Liu Xiong roared, reaching out to grab it back.

Old Ancestor Li’s figure flashed, his thumb gently breaking the seal. A suffocating aroma instantly erupted from the jar, filling the entire tavern with a scent so pure and divine that every cultivator in the tavern felt their spiritual energy stir in response.

The ancestor quickly poured a small cup of amber liquid into a jade cup, carefully taking a sip. The instant the liquid touched his tongue, his eyes shone like stars! A terrifyingly dense surge of spiritual energy flooded his mouth like a wave, rushing down his throat and wildly coursing through his entire body.

"Ugh!" Old ancestor Li groaned, his cheeks flushed. He was forced to sit cross-legged, mobilizing all his spiritual energy to barely suppress this powerful force. The density of this spiritual energy far exceeded anything he had seen in his hundreds of years of cultivation!

A moment later, he opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Li Jaibn, filled with admiration and astonishment. He had completely underestimated his grandson’s brewing skills! "Xiao Jain...this wine is simply divine!" he exclaimed: "I demand you reserve the next batch for me!"

"Don’t even think about it!" Liu Xiong sneered, slamming his fist on the counter: "I ordered first! The next batch is mine!"

"I’m his grandfather! Family is more important than rude strangers!" Old Master Li retorted, clutching the wine jar tightly to his chest as if it were a priceless treasure.

"Oh yeah? It’s because of this stranger that he created this wine!"

Just as the two powerful figures locked eyes, and were about to fight again, Li Jain seized the opportunity to untie his apron, gracefully bypassed the counter, and quietly slipped away, leaving them to continue their argument.