The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

With a wave of his hand, the old Daoist lifted the furnace lid. Three dark, unremarkable pills flew out and landed in his palm.

Chen Dong frowned slightly. Nourishing Yuan Pills also existed in the modern world as a type of pill for increasing one's cultivation base. He just wasn't sure if the Nourishing Yuan Pills of the Wangyou Realm were the same. The pills in the old Daoist's hand were so crude it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them shoddily made. Even with his discerning eye, Chen Dong couldn't immediately tell what they were.

'It seems this old Daoist's alchemy skills aren't all that great.'

The old Daoist preciously placed the Nourishing Yuan Pills into a porcelain vial, then sat down on a nearby cattail mat and warned, "Go ahead and use it, but don't you dare break my Pill Furnace!"

"I won't," Chen Dong said flatly.

The first step in creating the Drunken Immortal Brew didn't require a Pill Furnace or Earth Fire at all; only the second step did. It was only because Chen Dong's cultivation was so low that he needed the Earth Fire in the first place—otherwise, he wouldn't have needed it. However, since the "Eight Immortals" had provided the facilities, Chen Dong was happy to take a shortcut. Besides, he had slipped many of his own ingredients into the list of requested materials. With a Pill Furnace available, he could refine some pills for his own use.

He didn't know if the pills he'd had on him were confiscated by the Wang Family or lost in the passage; otherwise, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

Without much hesitation, Chen Dong began processing the medicinal herbs. The first step for the Drunken Immortal Brew was extremely simple. It focused more on the deliciousness of the wine; how much it could raise one's cultivation was a secondary concern.

Chen Dong divided all twenty-one medicinal herbs into three categories, chopped them into small segments, and placed them into three separate wine jars.

Chen Dong was already an expert at brewing, a craft he had perfected back on Celestial Essence Mountain. He and his master had always brewed their own wine. Now, with time being short, true brewing was out of the question; he could only blend. The twenty jars of high-quality Daughter's Red wine would serve as the base for his concoction.

Next, Chen Dong used his minuscule amount of True Qi to refine the herbs inside the wine jars. He could only refine a tiny piece at a time before having to meditate to recover his energy.

After repeating this process for a full eight hours, the refinement of the three jars was complete. The True Qi inside Chen Dong's body had increased from two wisps to a single strand. According to the standards of the Wangyou Realm, Chen Dong had now reached the first layer of Qi Refining.

Then came the blending process. He constantly experimented with the ratios of the three wine jars, pouring out a small amount from each to mix in a porcelain vial and then tasting the result.

Only after using up more than half of the wine in the three jars did Chen Dong finally find an excellent ratio. At this proportion, the medicinal efficacy of the herbs was greatly amplified, and the wine's flavor became crisp and mellow.

Chen Dong had never actually tasted Drunken Immortal Brew, so he didn't know its exact flavor, but he was confident that the wine he had just blended was not far off from the first-step version.

This ratio also happened to align with a known rule of the Drunken Immortal Brew: after seven cups in one sitting, its effects would diminish significantly, requiring a recovery period before it would work again.

After blending the wine, Chen Dong drank a few cups himself and began to cultivate.

The Fox Daoist didn't grow suspicious, as Chen Dong had been continuously alternating between blending and meditating.

Chen Dong was overjoyed. 'This recipe is truly potent, just as expected of a wine meant for those at the Foundation Establishment Stage!' In less than an hour, the True Qi in his body grew from a single strand to ten.

And so, Chen Dong began to create the second-step version of the Drunken Immortal Brew.

With True Qi at his disposal, Chen Dong's efficiency increased dramatically. He could now directly use the Earth Fire to refine the medicinal herbs.

He picked up a medicinal herb, enveloped it in True Qi, and used the heat of the Earth Fire to liquefy it into a medicinal essence.

This action startled the Fox Daoist. "You know alchemy?"

Chen Dong smiled. "Of course. How else would I know the recipe for the Drunken Immortal Brew?"

The Fox Daoist stroked his mustache and chuckled. "Not a bad technique, but your cultivation is too low. You're still a long way from my level!"

Even with the same twenty-one medicinal herbs, Chen Dong had to rest after refining each one. His True Qi was still too sparse. However, he was fortunate. Since he once possessed an Inner Realm cultivation base and his physical body had been tempered by a Pill Tribulation, his True Qi recovered incredibly quickly. He could restore ten strands of True Qi in just two minutes. Anyone else at his current Realm, even if they had his techniques and experience, would be unable to continuously refine herbs one after another like he could.

Chen Dong had divided the ingredients for the first-step wine into three batches. With the increased difficulty of the second step, he divided them into seven. He then mixed the seven resulting medicinal essences into seven separate wine jars. This was all because Chen Dong had never personally tasted the Drunken Immortal Brew; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so troublesome.

As Chen Dong poured and blended endlessly, the Fox Daoist grew drowsy just from watching, yawning again and again.

Wang Wan'Er, on the other hand, paid him no mind. She was in a corner, using the time to regulate her breathing. 'I don't believe Chen Dong can actually create the Drunken Immortal Brew,' she thought. 'The only chance we have of escaping is if I can recover more of my strength.'

As time went on, just as the Fox Daoist was about to doze off, a rich, intoxicating aroma of wine wafted through the air.

He was instantly jolted awake. "What's this?"

"Have a taste," Chen Dong said with a smile.

He poured some of the wine and handed it to the Fox Daoist before drinking a few cups himself and resuming his cultivation.

The Fox Daoist took a sip, and his eyes instantly lit up. 'This is even more potent than my precious Nourishing Yuan Pills! If I can take this long-term, reaching the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment might be possible!' He immediately darted out of the cave dwelling to notify the others.

The moment the old Daoist left, Wang Wan'Er hurriedly got to her feet. "I can barely use my True Qi now. Let's escape while we have the chance!"

"No need," Chen Dong said softly. He then focused on his cultivation, the True Qi within his body surging wildly.

Wang Wan'Er looked at Chen Dong's unperturbed expression, her heart burning with anxiety.