Mist Concealment Tea and Fish

Watching the Iron-Claw Eagle fall, Song Changsheng retrieved his Treasure Gourd and took a swig of wine. After recovering slightly, he steered his small boat in pursuit.

This Iron-Claw Eagle had genuinely made him grind his teeth with anger; only by roasting and eating it could he appease the bitter resentment in his heart.

Because its wing was injured, the Iron-Claw Eagle had basically lost its mobility. By the time Song Changsheng arrived, it was lying on the verge of death amidst the bushes.

Seeing Song Changsheng pursue it, a flash of despair appeared in the depths of its eyes, and it could only release streaks of wind blades to mount a final resistance.

These posed fundamentally no threat to Song Changsheng. With a flick of his finger, a streak of spiritual force instantly pierced right through its head.

"The spirit fish are fine, but they are property with an owner. Be a bit sharper in your next life." Song Changsheng shook his head and prepared to gather his spoils of war, but his footsteps abruptly halted.

His nostrils flared slightly, and after taking a few deep sniffs, he said with a hint of astonishment: "What is this scent? Smelling it actually gives one a feeling of invigoration and refreshing clarity. Could there be some kind of treasure nearby?"

Song Changsheng spread out his divine sense, beginning a carpet-like search inch by inch.

After wandering around the surroundings for a circle, he actually found something. Beneath an earthen slope, a tea tree no longer than a foot was swaying in the wind, emitting a peculiar and extraordinary fragrance.

Song Changsheng was greatly surprised. He approached to observe closely and discovered that wisps of illusory white mist were steaming around the tea tree. It possessed a single fork, and each branch held a dozen dark green tea leaves, with newly sprouted buds just emerging at the tips.

The tea leaves were oval-shaped with jagged edges, and the veins on the blades resembled the image of soaring clouds, looking quite extraordinary.

"This... could this be a Mist Concealment Tea Tree?" Song Changsheng said, pleasantly surprised.

He reached out to pluck a leaf, placing it into his mouth to chew carefully. A wave of bitterness instantly flooded his oral cavity, followed immediately by a wondrous sensation.

Song Changsheng could clearly feel a peculiar power nourishing his divine soul.

"It really is Mist Concealment Tea. I didn't expect to encounter such good fortune here." Song Changsheng was overjoyed, his eyes looking at that tea tree as if they were shining.

Mist Concealment Tea was a rare kind of spirit tea. Brewing water with its leaves possessed the effects of nourishing the divine soul and purifying spiritual power.

Apart from being closely related to one's own realm of mastery, the purity of a cultivator's spiritual power was also a very important condition for the might of the spells they released.

Moreover, after spiritual power grew pure, the total amount of spiritual power within the dantian would also increase, and using large-scale spells could likewise be sustained for longer. To Song Changsheng, it was quite simply the tea of his dreams.

"However, places where spiritual objects grow are mostly guarded by ferocious entities. But why is it so dead silent around this Mist Concealment Tea?"

Song Changsheng looked around and discovered clues in a patch of bushes not far away. Pushing aside the shrubbery, he found a huge bird's nest, and the aura upon it surprisingly belonged to that Iron-Claw Eagle.

At this moment, understanding suddenly dawned in Song Changsheng's heart.

He had originally kept wondering why this Iron-Claw Eagle kept lingering around this vicinity, refusing to give up and making a comeback even after he injured it.

It turned out to be because it was waiting for this Mist Concealment Tea Tree to sprout. The leaves of the Mist Concealment Tea were not only effective for human cultivators; they were even more effective for demon beasts.

If they could consume the tender shoots of the Mist Concealment Tea Tree, the demon beasts' divine souls would obtain enormous benefits, which would in turn accelerate the evolution of their spiritual intelligence.

And spiritual intelligence was a crucial factor for a first-tier demon beast stepping toward the second tier, which was why the Iron-Claw Eagle was unwilling to leave despite being wounded.

Furthermore, today, on the occasion of the tea tree sprouting, it had wanted to drive away Song Changsheng as a threat. Pity that Song Changsheng's cultivation had broken through, and he had directly slain it instead, leaving the treasure it had toiled to guard to dress the bride for Song Changsheng.

"Fortunately, Fifty-Third Grandfather is advanced in years and not suited to strenuous physical exertion. Otherwise, with his cultivation of the Qi Condensation Great Perfection, he surely would have discovered this tea tree the moment he pursued that Iron-Claw Eagle. Obtaining this is my fortune."

Song Changsheng was in a fine mood, but how to relocate this tea tree troubled him. He was not a spirit plant master and was not skilled at tending to spirit plants; a single misstep could damage the roots and stems.

After much deliberation, Song Changsheng retrieved a magic sword from his Universe Bag and dug out the entire soil within a three-meter radius around the Mist Concealment Tea Tree.

For a moment, a large pit appeared on the earthen slope.

Carrying this large chunk of soil, Song Changsheng returned to Lake Heart Island. Using the same old trick, he dug another large hole to place it inside, then filled in the surrounding gaps. Just like that, simply and crudely, the transplanting of the Mist Concealment Tea Tree was complete.

To promote its growth, Song Changsheng also buried a few low-grade spirit stones around it.

Currently, this tea tree was at the first-tier high-grade level. As long as the spiritual energy was sufficient, it could advance further very soon, and by then the tea's effects would be even better.

"Let's test these new shoots first." Song Changsheng harvested all the newly sprouted tender shoots, carefully preserving them in a jade bottle.

He produced a porcelain cup, took out a tender shoot and placed it inside, then added boiling spirit spring water.

An aura of fresh fragrance was instantly stimulated. As the brewing time lengthened, the tea leaves gradually dissolved into the tea soup, turning the soup a pale, light green, and thin mists vaguely steamed from the rim of the cup.

"As expected of rare spirit tea; even taking a single sniff can make the divine soul feel blissful." Song Changsheng wore a look of intoxication.

Waiting for the tea leaves to dissolve completely into the tea soup, he did not fear the heat, directly raising the cup to drain it in one gulp. Accompanied by the fragrant tea soup flowing down his esophagus into his stomach, a pure surge of energy instantly erupted from his Zhongwan Acupoint.

Song Changsheng immediately sat cross-legged, calming his mind and concentrating, holding fast to the origin to center himself, using his entire focus to refine this energy.

During the process of refinement, this energy split into two: one strand surged into his Sea of Consciousness, nourishing his divine soul power.

The other strand entered into his dantian, beginning to purify the spiritual power within...

A day and a night later, Song Changsheng slowly opened his eyes. The magic incantation in his hands shifted swiftly: "Water Tornado."

A water tornado several zhang long instantly formed on the lake surface ahead. Its momentum was astonishing, turning the previously calm Clear Mirror Lake completely upside down.

Fortunately, Song Changsheng had not forgotten that this was the lineage's asset. In merely the span of several breaths, he dispelled the spell.

Watching the water tornado dissipate into nothingness, he said with a beaming expression: "The might of the spell has increased by at least thirty percent, and the consumption has also decreased. It is truly worthy of being Mist Concealment Tea."

This was a solid enhancement in combat strength. If he had possessed his current battle prowess back then, facing that group of demonic cultivators he definitely would not have been in such a sorry state, and might even have turned the tables to hunt them down instead!

"It's just a pity that this Mist Concealment Tea has its greatest effect only the first time one drinks it. Before it advances to the second tier, its effect on me will probably be minimal."

Song Changsheng looked at the few remaining tender shoots in the jade bottle, beginning to calculate their uses in his heart.

According to the stipulations of the clan rules, these all belonged to his personal possessions. He could completely use these tea leaves to exchange for cultivation resources.

But after a second thought, he decided to keep them for the time being. After all, this tea tree only sprouted once every few years and was unimaginably precious.

Keeping them on his body made them an exceptional choice whether he was trading with others or bestowing a favor.

Just as he intended to put the tea leaves into the Universe Bag, a series of "gurgling" sounds from the shoreline caught Song Changsheng's attention.

Following the sound to the bank, he discovered a slender, silver spirit fish continuously blowing bubbles at the edge of the water, a pair of mung-bean-sized eyes staring fixedly at him.

Song Changsheng was greatly surprised. It was actually the largest of the three ultimate-grade fish kings in this lake. It had always deliberately avoided him; why was it taking the initiative to seek him out at this moment?

He lowered his head to look at the jade bottle in his hand, and sudden comprehension dawned as he said: "Are you after these tea leaves?"