"Ugh"
Zhong Xian woke up, his head still spinning. He had a naturally frail constitution, thus making him weaker than others of the same cultivation. However, despite Elder Shui's overreacting, he had completed one of his tasks.
Brushing off some dirt that clung to the edge of his sleeves, Zhong Xian stood up from the wooden bench which Elder Shui had thrown him on.
With a wave of his sleeve, a gentle wave of qi flew out into the air. His wine gourd, which hung loosely by his side, turned into a 3 meter long flying treasure. Zhong Xian stepped on it and willed it to fly in the direction of Thunderwind Peak.
He turned into a streak of light and 10 minutes later, arrived before a tall mountain exuding an ominous aura. Dark clouds constantly surrounded the mountain, obscuring its peak, and heavy winds blew constantly as thunder rumbled in the distance.
Stopping in front of the restriction set up by Elder Zhai, Zhong Xian sent forth a wisp of his Divine Sense. Moments later, a middle-aged man flew out, looking slightly disheveled and drained of energy.
"Spit it out Elder Xian, I don't have all day"
The middle-aged man had messy gray hair and dark circles under his eye, not exactly something that suits his position. Zhong Xian could even smell alcohol off the man even though they were several meters apart!
Zhong Xian laughed unscrupulously and took out 7 jugs of wine from his spatial pouch. They floated in the air and Elder Zhai's pupils constricted when he read the labels on the jugs.
"7 Spirit Wonder Wines! The set of wines that is said to bring a person to a realm of extreme ecstasy with just a sip of each jug?"
Zhong Xian sported a wide mouthed grin, "your discerning ability is quite impressive Brother Zhai! To be able to recognize the 7 Spirit Wonder Wines with a quick glance, I must say that I am inferior in this regard"
Elder Zhai's infatuated expression disappeared shortly as he composed himself and narrowed his eyes at Zhong Xian.
"Surely you didn't come to show this wine to me without reason..."
"Hehehe, this is why I prefer doing business with you, straight to the point"
He pointed at the mountain behind Elder Zhai, "I want the Thunderwind Peak. I'm sure this set of wines will be more than enough"
Hearing this, Elder Zhai pondered deeply on this matter as he felt conflicted by the offer. On one hand, he required a place with high concentrations of lightning qi for an item he is refining, and Thunderwind Peak is one of the few places with high quality lightning qi and is also devoid of other people.
On the other hand, the allure of the 7 Spirit Wonder Wines was way too tempting for him to outright refuse as the alcoholic inside him would never be sated now that he'd seen the wines.
Zhong Xian smiled and made his final pitch.
"Sigh"
Elder Zhai turned in time to see Zhong Xian put on a forlorn expression.
"I didn't want to bring this out, but seeing as you are reluctant, I'll take my loss"
Seeing Elder Zhai's curious expression, Zhong Xian cackled in his heart while bringing out another jug of wine from his spatial pouch with a pained expression. He opened the lid for a second and a rich aroma wafted out of the container.
Elder Zhai's expression changed drastically when the aroma hit him, "Impossible!"
"Oh yes it is Brother Zhai. This flagon here contains the renowned and incomparably rare Spirit Peach Immortal Wine"
He continued, "I was lucky enough to come across the materials needed for this wine and succeeded in refining a flagon of it. How about this, I'll give you a quarter of this wine along with the 7 Spirit Wonder Wines for your Thunderwind Peak"
He spoke with a pained tone and tried his best to keep his face neutral. This paired with the rich aroma moved Elder Zhai and he immediately agreed. Compared to the legendary wine that all alcoholics wished to drink, Thunderwind Peak was nothing in comparison. That, plus the 7 Spirit Wonder Wines made him quite pleased as if he had come out on top in this trade.
"Hahaha! Since you offered me this I won't be polite! I'll be sure to notify the ones in charge about this change in ownership"
With a wave of his arm, he took the 7 Spirit Wonder Wines and a quarter of the Spirit Peach Immortal Wine. He then gave Zhong Xian the token of ownership for Thunderwind Peak and retracted much of his belongings from the mountain, before flying off in high spirits.
Shortly after Elder Zhai left, the seemingly dispirited Zhong Xian burst into hysterical laughter. He took out the flagon of Spirit Peach Immortal Wine and downed the whole thing at once, before taking out a second jug of the same Spirit Peach Immortal Wine.
He turned to his newly acquired mountain peak.
With several hand seals, the restrictions and formations were undone and new ones were set in place according to Zhong Xian's preference. Shortly after he finished, he sent out a message jade and then left for his own mountain peak for rest.
…
Bai Hu stepped onto an elder's flying tool. The elder had just finished giving his lecture when Bai Hu asked him to take him to the Technique Pagoda. His master had sent him a message jade telling him to be there before noon and with that, he managed to convince the elder to take him free of charge.
When they arrived, Bai Hu saw Zhong Xian waiting in front of a tall 7 layered pagoda. He bid the elder farewell and he made his way to his master.
"Master"
Zhong Xian went straight to the point, "You should have a bronze badge right?"
Bai Hu hurriedly took out his 2 bronze badges and showed them to Zhong Xian.
His eyes shone, "I didn't expect for you to already have 2 of them! Well since you have 2 I'll give another one to make it 3. When you go in there, pick out 3 black ranked cultivation arts to your liking"
Bai Hu took it with a bow and entered the massive pagoda. Inside, he saw shelves upon shelves of books on the first floor.
An aged voice spoke behind him.
"Hey"
Reeling back in shock, he turned to see an elderly man with long white hair and beard. He had a hunched back and held a wooden cane in one hand.
Calming himself, Bai Hu greeted the elder.
"Outer Disciple Bai Hu greets elder"
The elder stroked his beard with a slight smile, "What a polite kid. Say, what are you here for?"
After a moment of brief hesitation, he took out his 3 bronze badges and explained his situation to the elder. The elder continued to smile and patiently waited for Bai Hu to finish.
"I see," he said shortly after hearing Bai Hu's explanation of his own predicament.
He turned and started walking "Follow me"