During the day, before even reaching home, Xiang Donghao impatiently opened the box in his hands.
When he lifted the lid, he froze. This… was tea leaves?
The tea leaves were scorched yellow and gave off a burnt, bitter smell, completely unlike the tea he usually drank.
He hesitated for a moment. Could Chu Jingzhuo have given him the wrong box?
"Are these really tea leaves?" The others crowded around curiously. One person pinched up a leaf to sniff it, and his brows furrowed instantly. "This smell…"
Xiang Donghao quickly snatched the tea leaves back and glared at him, "Of course it's tea! Definitely good stuff!"
Another immediately agreed, "Right, it's from Chu Jingzhuo, they must be good stuff!"
"Yeah, he's joined a powerful sect, he wouldn't give anything bad!"
"He even has two spirit beasts with him!"
"Exactly, those spirit beasts don't even have contracts yet obey him perfectly, his sect must be incredible!"
The group chatted about what they had witnessed that day.
They really couldn't be blamed for being nosy, Chu Jingzhuo's display had been far too shocking!
He had two spirit beasts by his side!
Who wouldn't want a spirit beast?
But aside from Chu Tianbai who had a contract spirit beast, no one else was that lucky.
Chu Tianbai's Jade-Bone Lin Beast wasn't particularly strong, but spirit beasts were thick-skinned and far more durable than human cultivators.
With a Jade-Bone Lin Beast, it's like having a personal bodyguard!
As a fellow clan head, Xiang Donghao had always envied him.
So, for Chu Jingzhuo to have two obedient spirit beasts, that was truly extraordinary.
Luckily, since Chu Jingzhuo's relationship with the Chu Family was so strained, he wouldn't pose a threat to the Xiang Family.
Listening to everyone's discussion about Chu Jingzhuo and the Chu Family, Xiang Donghao quickened his pace.
Once home, he pulled out his tea set and fetched his best stored mountain spring water.
The others watched as he busied himself, fiddling around for quite a while until finally, the tea was brewed.
Soon, a bitter burnt smell filled the air.
Everyone exchanged looks of unease.
That smell… wasn't it a bit too strange?
Xiang Donghao noticed the odd scent too, but didn't think too much of it.
There were so many kinds of tea in the world, it was normal for each to have a different taste.
As long as it was filled with spiritual energy, that was what mattered!
Suppressing his nervousness, he waited for the tea to cool slightly.
When it was finally drinkable, he eagerly lifted the cup and took a sip.
"Pfft—!"
In the next second, tea sprayed from his mouth, splattering directly over the man in front of him.
Everyone: "…"
"So bitter! Bitter, bitter, bitter, so bitter, hiss—!"
Xiang Donghao's face twisted as he grabbed another cup of spring water, rinsing out his mouth. His complexion turned green.
How could it be this bitter?!
Never in his life had he tasted something so awful!
It was unbearably bitter!
"Is it really that bitter?" one man asked, ignoring the tea dripping from his clothes.
"Bitter! Too bitter!" Xiang Donghao grimaced, nodding emphatically. "Even more bitter than coptis root!"
Everyone was instantly stunned.
Tea more bitter than coptis root?!
"Could Chu Jingzhuo have given the wrong tea leaves?" someone wondered aloud again.
"Yeah, whose tea leaves taste like this?"
"Maybe don't drink it, don't get sick from drinking it!"
Xiang Donghao frowned, staring at the teacup for a long moment, feeling suspicious and stunned.
Could Chu Jingzhuo really have given the wrong tea leaves?
But, Chu Jingzhuo wasn't the careless type!
He hadn't seen him in years, he wasn't as certain about Chu Jingzhuo's current personality.
But in the past, Chu Jingzhuo had always been meticulous and thoughtful in handling matters.
People's natures didn't change easily, surely he wouldn't suddenly become sloppy.
"He probably didn't make a mistake," Xiang Donghao finally said. "Whatever, I'll just drink it!"
He had brewed a small pot anyway with only one cup so far, and plenty left.
This was spiritual tea, it couldn't go to waste!
—The Xiang Family didn't have a mine, after all!
Thinking of this, Xiang Donghao poured himself another cup.
But this time, his expression was a full struggle of pain and determination, just watching him made the others wince.
After much hesitation, he finally clenched his teeth and downed the cooled tea.
"Urgh—!"
The moment he swallowed, he couldn't resist gagging, nearly vomiting it out.
His face contorted with agony.
Seeing this, the others couldn't bear it, "Maybe you should stop drinking?"
"How could I waste it!" Xiang Donghao gasped, shaking his head fiercely.
Then he looked at them, "Why don't you each have a cup too?"
If everyone drank a little, it'd be gone quickly!
"No, no, no, no need!"
"I'm not thirsty! I don't need to drink it!"
"No thanks, no thanks. You should drink it yourself!"
"Ah, I just remembered I've got something to do!"
"Yeah, me too!"
In mere moments, everyone fled.
What a joke!
Just seeing Xiang Donghao's expression was enough proof of how awful the tea was.
They weren't stupid, they weren't about to torture themselves!
Seeing everyone run off, Xiang Donghao sighed helplessly, then pinched his nose and forced himself to drink down the rest of the tea.
When he finally finished, he couldn't help but feel grateful that he hadn't brewed more. Otherwise, he really couldn't have finished it!
Still, Chu Jingzhuo and his companions sure had unique tastes, to be able to drink something this bitter!
As Xiang Donghao clicked his tongue and shook his head, the spiritual power within his body suddenly surged. He froze in surprise.
In the next second, he drew in a sharp breath, instantly calming his mind and sitting cross-legged to circulate his energy.
Soon, the surrounding spiritual energy flooded toward him, rushing into his body like a tidal wave, directly smashing through the long-stagnant barrier within him!
Then came the lightning clouds.
After a round of crackling thunder that almost killed him, Xiang Donghao looked inward to see a tiny Nascent Soul forming in his body, and went completely blank.
"I—I formed a Nascent Soul?!"
Xiang Donghao was absolutely overjoyed!
The entire Xiang Family also erupted in excitement.
They finally had a Nascent Soul cultivator!
With a Nascent Soul, the family would grow stronger!
Xiang Donghao didn't hide the truth. He told everyone that it was thanks to the spiritual tea leaves that Chu Jingzhuo had given him that he was able to break through the final barrier!
The tea tasted horrible, but the effect was unbelievable!
Instantly, everyone was desperate, they wanted to drink it too!
But, too late!
Now that Xiang Donghao knew how precious the tea leaves were, he wasn't about to share them casually.
Everyone was filled with regret. Why had they refused before?!
If they had just drunk that cup, maybe they would've broken through too!
Bitter? What was bitterness compared to the pain of cultivating everyday?!
The news of Xiang Donghao's breakthrough soon reached the Chu Family, throwing them into chaos.
—What kind of divine tea leaves had Chu Jingzhuo given him, so that it could make a Golden Core breakthrough to Nascent Soul?!
What made it worse was that the tea should've been theirs!
If Chu Jingzhuo had still been part of the Chu Family, and they had stayed on good terms, he definitely would've shared those tea leaves with them.
But now, everything is gone!
And he's a twenty-year-old Golden Core!
With all this piling up, resentment burned hotter and hotter within the Chu Family.
And when the news came that Zhou Zhiyang and his son Zhou Zihou had also broken through to Golden Core, the Chu Family finally exploded!