Brewing Spirit Wine

Wang Hong made several rounds of inspection throughout the space. Of the more than one hundred thousand Spirit Stones he had scattered earlier, nearly half had already been absorbed by the soil. The space had finally expanded beyond one mu.

Carrying a large bag of Spirit Rice, he left the space. He first soaked the Spirit Rice thoroughly in Spirit Spring Water, then steamed it. After spreading it out to cool to room temperature, he mixed in the spirit wine brewing yeast and stirred it evenly.

After mixing in the yeast, he packed it into a large vat and placed it somewhere rich in spiritual energy to ferment for three days while absorbing spiritual energy. Wang Hong placed it inside the space and kept track of the time.

Wang Hong estimated that a little more than two days should have passed inside the space before he entered it.

As soon as he approached the wine vat, he smelled a sweet fragrance of wine. It had clearly finished fermenting.

He carried the wine vat out of the space and scooped out some of the wine lees to eat. They were sweet and soft, carrying a rich wine fragrance.

Wang Hong was puzzled. The time should not have been up yet, so how had it already finished fermenting?

Wang Hong poured Spirit Spring Water into the wine vat, easily mixed it evenly, sealed the vat, and placed it back into the space. It would need another half year of fermentation while absorbing spiritual energy.

He found two more hourglass timers and started them at the same time, placing one in the space and one outside.

After repeated tests, Wang Hong finally determined that time inside the space now passed thirty-one times faster than in the outside world. In other words, one day outside meant that thirty-one days had already passed within the space.

Wang Hong guessed that as the space absorbed Spirit Stones and the land expanded, the passage of time had accelerated as well.

But that was only a guess. He could only verify it the next time he had Spirit Stones.

Six days later, Wang Hong carried the wine vat out of the space again and filtered out the wine lees.

Only milky-white wine remained in the vat. Wang Hong cast dozens of spiritual seals at it, and wisps of white mist rose from within.

This was a purification spell specifically used by winemakers, removing excess water and impurities from the wine. Once the white mist dispersed, only two-thirds of the original vat of wine remained.

He divided the remaining wine into small wine jars and sealed them. Then came the aging process. After spirit wine was brewed, it generally needed to be stored in a place rich in spiritual energy and aged for at least ten years. The higher the grade of the spirit wine, the longer it needed to age.

Wang Hong instructed Zhang Chunfeng to use all the Spirit Stones earned from the street stalls and small shop during this period to buy Spirit Rice and brew spirit wine. They only needed to brew the spirit wine through its initial fermentation before handing it over to Wang Hong.

One day, Wang Hong sat in the secret chamber, holding a small green peach in his hand. It was not large, not even as big as an adult's fist. It was jade-green all over and covered in fine fuzz. Wang Hong felt that this peach was probably not ripe yet.

Wang Hong gently took a bite. It was crisp, faintly sweet with a touch of sour astringency, and after a few chews, it even had a hint of bitterness. He did not linger over the taste and finished the peach in two or three bites.

A few breaths later, Wang Hong felt spiritual power surging within his body. He hurriedly circulated his Cultivation Techniques to guide the spiritual power. Wave after wave of spiritual power flowed through his five viscera and six bowels, his four limbs and hundred bones. It was as though his entire body had been massaged by spiritual power, every part of it strengthening in turn.

The spiritual power circulating through his meridians continued to grow stronger until it finally broke through a limit and entered the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

Once the spiritual power within him gradually calmed, it slowly entered his dantian and merged into the vortex of spiritual power.

Wang Hong looked at the peach pit left in his hand and felt that the twelve thousand Spirit Stones had been spent far too well. Not only had his cultivation risen by a level, but he had also gained a Jade Spirit Peach Tree.

Even if others obtained the peach pit, they might not be able to grow it. And even if they did, they might not live long enough to see it blossom and bear fruit.

But he was different. If he casually tossed even a tree branch onto the soil of the space, it could take root, sprout, and grow into a small tree. As for the long growth cycle, that was even less of a problem for him.

Wang Hong entered the space, specially marked out a small plot of land, and planted the peach pit.

At this point, the space already contained two mu of land. One mu of it had been planted with the spiritual herbs needed to refine Qi Gathering Pills.

Qi Gathering Pills were hard currency among Qi Refinement cultivators. There were hundreds of thousands of Qi Refinement cultivators in Qingxu City, and everyone needed them, so there was no need to worry about sales.

Wang Hong planned to wait until the Medicinal Herbs matured, then refine all of them into Qi Gathering Pills before selling them. Qi Gathering Pills were low-grade pills with a high circulation volume, so even selling a large quantity would not draw attention.

He could earn Spirit Stones while honing his own pill-refining skills, killing two birds with one stone.

Several months later, on a relatively bustling street, a shop called Immortal Wine Pavilion officially opened for business.

The entrance was filled with flowers, and Thunderclap Talismans boomed without end.

There was also a huge sign at the entrance, declaring a twenty percent discount for the first three days of opening.

By then, a long queue had already formed outside the door.

Skinny Monkey wore a brocade robe, his face glowing with health as he stood at the entrance welcoming guests from all directions. Although his aptitude was poor, with the aid of a large number of pills, he had now reached the peak of the third level of Qi Refinement.

Wang Hong had earned quite a few Spirit Stones over the years, but he had never treated his subordinates poorly. Otherwise, with Skinny Monkey's aptitude, he would probably still have been struggling at the first level of Qi Refinement.

Wang Hong placed this newly opened shop under Skinny Monkey's management. From now on, it would specialize in spirit wine.

That original small shop was still open, but its location was too poor, and its monthly turnover was only a few hundred Spirit Stones. In any case, the rent there was cheap, and it was convenient for living as well.

As for this newly opened shop, the monthly rent alone cost one thousand Spirit Stones.

Wang Hong actually wanted to buy an entire building himself, but the cost was far too high. It would take at least several hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and he simply could not afford it now.

Even if he could barely gather that many Spirit Stones, he did not intend to buy one yet. Rather than spending them on a building, he might as well let the space absorb them and gain several more mu of land.

Over the past few years in Qingxu City, Wang Hong and his group had naturally gotten to know some cultivators, and they all came to offer congratulations today.

Gao Yue approached with a grin. When he saw Skinny Monkey, he teased, "As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse. Brother Skinny Monkey, now that you are the chief shopkeeper, you truly are no longer the same."

"So it is Brother Gao. You could have just had someone deliver the congratulatory gift. Why trouble yourself to make the trip personally?" Skinny Monkey shot back.

Gao Yue wore a lewd grin. "Isn't it because I missed you all?"

"I do not have any special hobbies."

After trading a few barbs, the two slung their arms around each other's shoulders and headed toward the rear hall.

More than twenty small square tables had been set up in the rear hall. On every table sat a large plate of fist-sized raspberries, glossy black and plump, exceedingly tempting.

There was also a plate of Three Sun Seeds, each as thick as a finger and one inch long. These seeds were somewhat similar to ordinary sunflower seeds, except they were larger and rich in spiritual energy. They required three years to mature, hence the name Three Sun Seeds.

These were also products from Wang Hong's space. Some time ago, he had planted several of them there. Their stalks grew more than a zhang tall, and their flower heads were even larger than millstones.

In addition, every table had a bottle of spirit wine. The three spiritual items at each table were worth dozens of Spirit Stones. If an uninformed cultivator saw this, he might think it was a banquet hosted by some Foundation Establishment senior.

There were already several guests in the rear hall, with Zhang Chunfeng keeping them company.

As soon as the two entered the rear hall, they saw Skinny Stick waving at them. Skinny Monkey led Gao Yue to sit at a table beside Skinny Stick. Perhaps the three were birds of a feather, for over the past few years they had become quite close.

After settling Gao Yue in, Skinny Monkey returned to the main entrance to welcome more guests.