Chapter 343: Bai Xiaosheng, Addicted to Wine
Wushuang City.
The streets were bustling with people and carriages, filled with vibrant noise and activity.
On a vendor-lined street, a group of four drew countless gazes.
A young couple walked together—
the man handsome and extraordinary in bearing, the woman veiled, yet her aura was like that of a celestial maiden descending to the mortal world, making onlookers long to glimpse her true face beneath the veil.
Beside them were two young beauties, one a lively girl of seventeen or eighteen, the other about twelve or thirteen, already showing signs of future grace.
This group of four was Chu Feng, Bing Yan, Chen Qianqian, and Bai Qian.
Chen Qianqian, rarely allowed out, immediately transformed into a greedy little glutton. Her eyes sparkled as she swept them over the vendors. "Master, I want candied hawthorn."
Chu Feng: "Buy it."
"Master, I want sugar figurines."
"Buy it."
In no time at all, Chen Qianqian and Bai Qian held more than a dozen snacks in their hands.
Chen Qianqian's little mouth was stuffed so full her cheeks puffed like a hamster's, making people want to pinch them.
The group walked through the long street and entered a restaurant. It was noon, the busiest meal time.
Chu Feng found a seat by the second-floor window. After ordering wine and a few dishes, he quietly listened to the chatter drifting up and down.
"Did you hear? This auction will have a supreme-grade saint artifact. Normally, such treasures only appear once every ten years in the grand auctions."
"I've heard too. I even got reliable word from my seventh aunt's younger cousin's nephew. They say the Thunderclap Hammer is being put up for urgent auction by the descendants of Great Sage Lei Xuan!"
"Ah… back in his day, Great Sage Lei Xuan was famous across the world. How did his descendants become so unworthy?"
Just then, a voice tinged with amusement sounded. "You don't understand. Lei Xuan's descendants are not unworthy—on the contrary, they have courage."
Everyone, including Chu Feng, instinctively turned to the speaker.
A young man dressed like a scholar walked slowly up to the second floor.
He ignored the stares of the crowd and went directly to a table where several cultivators were drinking.
The cultivators looked at him with suspicion. One of them asked, "What do you mean by that?"
The scholar merely glanced at their wine, his meaning obvious.
Fortunately, they were not fools. Seeing his look, they immediately filled his cup.
"Good wine."
The scholar drained the bowl in one go, then said unhurriedly, "As I understand it, Lei Xuan's Thunderclap Manor currently has three King-level experts sitting in command, one of them just a step away from the Half-Saint Realm.
But that single step has trapped countless cultivators for life. So those three King-level experts decided to put forth their ancestor's treasure in exchange for a chance to break through to Half-Saint."
Hiss…
Everyone present gasped at once.
"What resolve!"
Someone in the crowd shouted, and others quickly agreed. "Thunderclap Manor is truly burning their boats, but isn't this risk far too great?"
The scholar smiled. "Without a Half-Saint to hold the line, three King-level experts cannot preserve their former glory. They might even fall, losing not only the saint artifact but their lives as well."
One cultivator at the table asked, "So what Thunderclap Manor seeks this time isn't spirit stones, but a method or pill to break through to Half-Saint?"
"Exactly."
The scholar was satisfied with the answer. Casually pouring himself another bowl, he drank boldly.
His manner gave the impression he was only here to freeload wine, and that his information was most likely fabricated.
Someone asked, "Fellow Daoist, is your information reliable?"
The scholar said nothing. Like performing a trick, he suddenly produced a folding fan. With a flick, the fan snapped open.
Everyone focused and saw three large characters written within—Bai Xiaosheng.
"He is Bai Xiaosheng, the forsaken disciple of Heaven's Secrets."
"Didn't expect to see Bai Xiaosheng here."
"..."
Bai Xiaosheng fanned himself leisurely and smiled. "Gentlemen, today's wine bill will be on you."
"Of course."
Cheers rose from the second floor.
Chu Feng only shifted his gaze toward the table for a moment, then continued sipping his wine in silence.
After the meal, Chu Feng brought Bing Yan and the others back to the villa they had previously rented.
Great Sage Jinchi saw them return and asked with a smile, "Brother, you're back so soon?"
He had not tagged along as a third wheel today, choosing instead to remain behind and cultivate.
"Mhm."
Chu Feng gave a brief reply, then added, "In the coming days, I intend to refine a furnace of pills. When the time comes, shield the aura of this villa."
"Alright."
Great Sage Jinchi agreed without hesitation, then asked curiously, "Brother, why did you suddenly think of refining pills today?"
Chu Feng answered, "Naturally, it is for the sake of obtaining that Thunder Saint Hammer."
Though Great Sage Jinchi wanted to ask more, Chu Feng had already walked into the rear courtyard, leaving him to turn instead toward Bing Yan.
"Sister-in-law, can you explain this to me?"
"Yes."
Bing Yan quickly relayed to him the information they had gathered earlier at the restaurant.
…
Chu Feng entered the rear courtyard and summoned out Blastoise before opening his furnace to refine pills.
Blastoise, seeing this, asked curiously, "Master, could it be that some great figure has invited you to refine pills for them?"
"Of course not."
Chu Feng chuckled. "This is to prepare a fine forging hammer for you."
Blastoise's heart grew complicated. It didn't know whether to feel happy or uneasy at those words.
Chu Feng said, "Enough. Don't act spoiled after being given such a benefit. Hurry and come assist me."
"Yes."
Blastoise dared not think further and immediately went beneath the furnace, releasing its flames.
Chu Feng's spiritual fire alchemy had already reached great perfection. Refining a furnace of Enlightenment Pills to help break through the Half-Saint bottleneck was no challenge for him.
His movements were practiced and skillful, his whole being immersed in the art of pill refinement, forgetting entirely about the outside world.
Bing Yan, Great Sage Jinchi, and the others gathered in the courtyard to watch. Not one of them dared to disturb him, choosing instead to observe patiently.
The more they watched, the more astonished they became. Chu Feng's alchemy was so refined it surpassed even the elders of the Pill Dao Institute at Wendao Academy.
The most shocked of all was Blastoise, which had never imagined its master's alchemy would be this strong.
If it hadn't needed to carefully control the flame, it would have already started asking Chu Feng about the details of his technique.
In the blink of an eye, forty-nine days passed. Chu Feng finally ceased his work, instructing Blastoise to withdraw its spiritual fire as he prepared to open the furnace…
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