Chapter 240: Dragon Blood Wine

In the past three months, Li Xuan and the people in Ladi Canyon have basically been eating only Dragon Tooth Rice.

Compared with ordinary rice, Dragon Tooth Rice has a richer, sweeter fragrance, and eating it in large amounts can boost one's soul power cultivation; for ordinary people, it even carries the possibility of becoming a soul master.

Dragon Tooth Rice yields enormously; the amount that Li Xuan and his group alone could eat would never be finished, so Li Xuan waved his hand, ordering everyone in Ladi Canyon to eat Dragon Tooth Rice and to breed recklessly, making it highly likely that their offspring would become soul masters.

That also counts as bolstering the new generation of power in Ladi Canyon.

Of course, even if everyone ate Dragon Tooth Rice, the consumption would be less than one‑tenth of the total output, and the remainder was all used for brewing wine.

Nevertheless, Dragon Tooth Rice is a Heavenly Material Earth Treasure, so Li Xuan also wants to taste how the wine made from such a treasure differs.

"Bai Shu, get a carriage; let's go to Wine City and see how Old Tao and his crew are brewing. Dragon Tooth Rice, that stuff is a treasure; today we'll really savor the wine made from it," Li Xuan turned his head, raised an eyebrow at Bai Chuan, and said with a smile.

Hearing about drinking, Bai Chuan's eyes lit up; he hadn't had a drink in a long time—before meeting Li Xuan he had no money for wine, and after meeting Li Xuan he refrained for Li Xuan's safety—so in any case, being able to drink was a good thing.

Now that Ladi Canyon has no real danger, drinking heartily won't cause any trouble, especially since Li Xuan's safety is no longer a concern.

"Yes, Young Master, I'll arrange the carriage right away!" Bai Chuan smiled, nodded, then turned away from the front yard and went to the Stable to fetch a carriage.

"Brother, may I have a drink?" Bang Chui suddenly looked at Li Xuan with hopeful eyes and asked softly.

"Of course you can, but this is wine brewed from Dragon Tooth Rice; it contains a lot of soul power, it's not just a snack, and even if I let you drink freely, you still won't be able to drink much," Li Xuan said with a helpless smile at Bang Chui.

The wine made from Dragon Tooth Rice isn't especially high in alcohol content, but the energy it contains is immense; a single sip requires a period of absorption, and to finish a whole jar smoothly demands very high cultivation.

"Brother, long live!" Bang Chui leapt up excitedly.

Then Li Xuan led Bang Chui back outside the City Lord's Mansion, met up with Bai Chuan, and they headed toward Wine City.

………

Two hours later.

Li Xuan sat in the City Lord's Mansion in Wine City, with two basketball‑sized crystal Wine Jars before him; the liquid inside was a deep blood‑red, its aroma rich and full, and when the jars were opened a heavy wine fragrance filled the entire room.

I have to admit, the wine's appearance is indeed attractive.

"Young Master, this jar was personally aged by me; it's already three years old. You instructed that this wine is special, so I didn't assign anyone to taste it," Tao Lin bowed and introduced it to Li Xuan.

"The wine brewed from Dragon Tooth Rice contains such potent medicinal power that a non‑soul master can't drink it; forcing it can cause the seven orifices to bleed to death," Li Xuan explained with a smile to Tao Lin.

"Understood, Young Master," Tao Lin nodded respectfully, then took a crystal cup from the Soul Guide Device, placed it on the table, and poured the wine into it.

Li Xuan lifted the cup to his nose, inhaled the aroma, then gently took a sip.

The wine brewed from Dragon Tooth Rice wasn't distilled, so its alcohol level is low, but it has undergone several sedimentations and filtrations, leaving no impurities that affect the taste.

On the palate it is fragrant and mellow, the after‑taste returns quickly, and the overall flavor is excellent.

As soon as the wine entered his stomach, Li Xuan felt a surge of soul power release from his gut.

Li Xuan promptly activated his cultivation method to absorb this soul power; his dantian and meridians have a large capacity.

Li Xuan estimated that the soul power contained in a 500‑ml bottle of wine is roughly equivalent to that of a First Grade Yunling Pill.

In that case the wine's effect is greatly reduced, but its side property works for soul masters of any level, so its value is far higher than a Yunling Pill.

"Not bad, not bad, come, everyone have a taste," Li Xuan looked up at the people beside him, then waved his hand.

"Thank you, Young Master."

"Alright, brother!"

Tao Lin brought out several more crystal cups, poured the red wine, and let everyone sample together.

Bai Chuan took a sip and showed no reaction, but after Tao Lin finished, his face turned bright red and he hurriedly sat on the ground to begin cultivating.

As for Bang Chui, after drinking one cup he poured himself another.

"Bang Chui, your capacity is impressive; don't overdrink or you'll end up sleeping for three days and three nights," Li Xuan said irritably to Bang Chui.

"No problem, brother! This one's tasty; I once drank the Monkey Wine brewed by a 30,000‑year‑old soul‑beast Magic‑Moving Ape, and that was good, but it's not as good as this!" Bang Chui downed three cups, then, his face flushed, looked at Li Xuan and said.

"Young Master, the Young Master's soul power level has risen quickly lately, already breaking through to Level 36. This wine doesn't contain much soul power, but the Young Master has been drinking a lot, so if he secludes himself to cultivate for two or three days he should be able to absorb all of it," Bai Chuan said with a smile to Li Xuan.

"Bai Shu, although this wine doesn't hold much soul power, it can accelerate the cultivation speed of soul masters of all levels; the higher the cultivation, the less noticeable the boost," Li Xuan said to Bai Chuan with a smile.

"I see, Young Master; then the value of this wine is much higher," Bai Chuan's eyes lit up at Li Xuan's words, and he said to Li Xuan.

Because Bai Chuan's soul power level has already broken through to Level 86, ordinary Dragon Tooth Rice wine has virtually no effect on his advancement, so he didn't feel anything at all.

"Bai Shu, today don't treat it as cultivation fodder; we're just drinking and relaxing," Li Xuan said with a smile to Bai Chuan, then poured himself a cup.

Bai Chuan also smiled, nodded, poured himself a cup, and the two began drinking.

Half an hour later, Tao Lin finally absorbed all the soul power from the wine and knelt directly on the ground.

"Spare me, Young Master; I was greedy for the cup," Tao Lin pressed his forehead to the ground, trembling like a sieve, and said to Li Xuan.

"What's the big deal? Good wine is meant to be drunk. By the way, how many soul masters does the Tao Family have now?" Li Xuan asked Tao Lin.

"Answering you, Young Master, there are twelve soul masters in total, all of whom have basically broken through Level 10 and have absorbed the Soul Ring of the Wine God Flower," Tao Lin, still kneeling, answered Li Xuan's question with a trembling voice.

"Twelve, huh… Keep it up, have more children; twelve isn't enough. Stand up, this is a medicinal herb pack—ratio: one hundred jin of wine per pack, you allocate yourselves," Li Xuan thought, took a Soul Guide Device from Small Cave Heaven and tossed it to Tao Lin.

The herb pack was crafted by Li Xuan with quality control; placed in the wine it can maximize the medicinal properties of the herbs.

"Yes, Young Master," Tao Lin, his face pale, stood up and took Li Xuan's Soul Guide Device.

"Later, fill me a few jars of wine; I'm going to Weapon City to make the rounds," Li Xuan said, looking at Tao Lin's expression, shaking his head helplessly, then waving his hand. "Yes, Young Master," Tao Lin nodded, then carried a large pile of herb packs out of the room.

"Young Master, shall we go to Weapon City later?" Bai Chuan asked Li Xuan.

"Yes, I'll go see Lou Gao, and also need to find a soul beast for his eighth Soul Ring; after all, we once promised to help him break through to the Title Douluo realm," Li Xuan said with a smile to Bai Chuan.

But at that moment, Li Xuan suddenly heard a faint snoring sound.

Hoo... Hoo... Hoo...

Li Xuan turned his head and saw Bang Chui hugging a Wine Jar, already asleep.

The once‑full Wine Jar now held less than a cup of wine.

"That kid is quite a glutton for wine," Li Xuan said, smiling broadly at Bang Chui.

"Young Master, let me check the Young Master's condition; although this wine doesn't contain much energy, it's still considerable for the Young Master," Bai Chuan said to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan smiled, shook his head, then reached out to examine Bang Chui's condition.

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"It's fine, just drank too much; he's cultivating the Douluo Number One meridian toughness, and after drinking this vat of wine he's not at his limit yet, but it seems he'll have to sleep for a while," Li Xuan shook his head helplessly.

"Young master, thirty vats of wine have already been prepared, all in the Soul Guide Device," Tao Lin walked in from outside, respectfully said to Li Xuan, and then handed a Soul Guide Device filled with wine to Li Xuan.

"Alright, rest a bit, then I'll set off, let's go have fun," Li Xuan nodded, then took the Soul Guide Device and placed it in the Small Cave Heaven.

"By the way, young master, this wine has no name yet; would you give it one?" Tao Lin frowned and said to Li Xuan.

"Blood‑colored, made from Dragon Tooth Rice... let's call it Crimson Dark Wine," Li Xuan thought for a moment, then said to Tao Lin.

"Yes, young master, I will arrange the label right away," Tao Lin respectfully nodded, then turned and left.

Li Xuan, after watching Tao Lin leave, rubbed his chin.

"Let's go, Bai Shu, we have to drink the next round, hammer... carry it as we go," Li Xuan flashed a brilliant smile at Bai Chuan.

"Yes, young master!" Bai Chuan laughed, nodded, then grabbed the hammer and slung it over his shoulder, ready to leave.

Then Li Xuan and Bai Chuan, carrying the hammer, left Wine City and headed toward Weapon City.

Since Li Xuan returned to Ladi Canyon, he hasn't gone to Weapon City; it's not that Li Xuan looks down on Weapon City, he simply hasn't had the time.

More importantly, Li Xuan doesn't understand forging; professional matters are left to professionals.

Half an hour later, Li Xuan and his party arrived inside Weapon City.

Because there was no prior notice, the people in Weapon City were still doing their own tasks; Li Xuan didn't appear, so they were not affected by him.

Soon, Bai Chuan led Li Xuan into Fentian Ge.

"Young master, the Fentian Ge is just ahead; we need to get off the carriage and walk," Bai Chuan called out to Li Xuan.

"Mm." Li Xuan nodded in response, then hoisted the hammer, jumped down from the carriage, and walked with Bai Chuan toward the interior of Fentian Ge.

There weren't many people along the way in Fentian Ge; those who saw Li Xuan also respectfully saluted him.

Soon, Li Xuan arrived at Fentian Zhuge, where Lou Gao, Sidi, Si Long, and Si Yu were all studying a component together.

The three people's expressions were all not very good.

"Old Lou, three big brothers! Why are you all here, what about Gengxin City?" Li Xuan placed the hammer on the long bench in Fentian Ge, then looked at Lou Gao and the others with a puzzled face and asked.

Lou Gao and four disciples are the core of the Gengxin City Blacksmith Guild; now four of the five have arrived, leaving only the youngest, Si Nuo, and it's uncertain whether they can hold up Gengxin City's affairs.

"Xuan Ge'er? Why did you come?" Lou Gao, hearing Li Xuan's voice, raised his head and asked Li Xuan in puzzlement.

"It's been a long time since I came; I just finished the work in my hands, so I thought I'd drop by to see you," Li Xuan said with a cheerful smile to Lou Gao.

"Fine, just right. Si Yu, arrange for the people below to prepare something tasty; we'll go have some wine," Lou Gao tossed the component in his hand to Si Long, then instructed Si Yu.

"Alright, master, I'll arrange it right away," Si Yu nodded, then left, turning to prepare the banquet.

"Old Lou, did you hear Wine City released a new wine? Hahaha," Li Xuan looked at Lou Gao and laughed heartily.

Usually when discussing business, Lou Gao wouldn't arrange a banquet or anything; it seems only because he heard Wine City released a new wine this.

"Haha, I got the news three months ago; as soon as you entered, I smelled the wine fragrance on you," Lou Gao, unpretentious, laughed heartily at Li Xuan.

"I see," Li Xuan said with a smile, shaking his head.

"By the way, Xuan Ge'er, you happened to come today, and I also have some things to tell you," Lou Gao let out a sigh, his expression a bit desolate as he looked at Li Xuan.

"What's the matter?" Li Xuan, full of puzzlement, looked at Lou Gao and asked curiously.

"I might not be able to produce the Fifth Order Shock Heaven Cannon," Lou Gao sighed, saying to Li Xuan.

"This... why is that?" Li Xuan widened his eyes, asking Lou Gao in confusion.

Li Xuan didn't believe there was any blacksmith work on Douluo Continent that Lou Gao couldn't handle.

"Here's the thing: making the Fifth Order Shock Heaven Cannon requires spiritual power; to access spiritual power you must break through to the Title Douluo Realm. Although I have your cultivation technique supporting me, I'm already too old, and breaking through to the Title Douluo is basically impossible now," Lou Gao sighed, sitting despondently on the chair, his eyes dimly gazing at Li Xuan.

"Spiritual power? Old Lou, if I let you use my spiritual power, are you confident you can forge the Fifth Order Shock Heaven Cannon?" Li Xuan suddenly lifted his head, frowned, and asked Lou Gao.

(End of chapter)