Who Told You Card Masters Were Bound to Be Bad at Combat?

It was like a living thing developing and growing, which was why wine was also called "living wine" or "wine with a life";

Those who understood wine all wanted a bottle with a little more age. That was the principle behind it;

And the most direct reason was that wine came out bright red as blood, which was why people called it the wine of flesh and blood."

Lin Chen nodded. "I've learned something. I've also been curious about how wine is made. Would you mind explaining it to me?"

Chen Xiao Diao was getting a little bored. Why had these two started chatting about winemaking? Were they still going to fight or not?

Amber said, "Wine has a famous brewing process called the 'saignée method.'

"After removing the stems and crushing the grapes, part of the grape juice is drained once the color has been extracted to a certain degree.

"This process is called bleeding, and it can purify the wine's concentration."

Lin Chen suddenly cut in. "Then is it possible that wine really is brewed from blood, and that's why the method is called 'bleeding'?"

Chen Xiao Diao was too weary to complain internally: Brother Chen, you're practically saying the word 'suspicion' outright!

Amber remained as calm as a gentle breeze. "You jest. Why don't I take you to my wine cellar so you can see for yourselves?

"You can appreciate our establishment's vineyard and winemaking process, and I'll bring you the finished spirit wine while we're at it."

Amber gestured toward the entrance to the underground wine cellar and waited for Lin Chen's reply.

Was this inviting them into an urn to catch them?

Should they go down?

Once they reached the wine cellar, they would be completely on the other party's turf.

Lin Chen first put up a token refusal. "Is that really all right? Can you show us such an exclusive process just like that?"

Amber revealed a cordial smile:

"Of course. I've spoken with you for a while now, Mr. Lin, and I feel as though we hit it off at first sight, like blood relatives. There's nothing I can't show you."

Seeing Amber's frank reply, Lin Chen wavered slightly;

Could the other party really be nothing more than a hospitable winemaker?

But no matter who the other party truly was, things had reached this point, and they had to investigate.

Besides, the deposit Lin Chen had paid for the spirit wine was still in Amber's hands!

Thus, the two followed Amber into that mysterious century-old wine cellar.

The walls on both sides of the underground passage had been softened by a century of wine fumes and were covered in dark-red moss;

For an instant, Lin Chen mistakenly thought he was walking into a gigantic womb.

After winding through the underground passage in twists and turns, the three finally arrived at a vast underground plantation.

Great swaths of grapevines stretched out inside, with countless dense, sturdy vines growing across them;

Every vine was laden with fruit, bearing sweet and pungent grape flesh;

Some of the grapes had grown so large that they had split open, dripping bright-red juice downward.

The entire plantation exuded a cloying sweetness, so thick it was almost intoxicating.

Against the walls stood barrel after barrel of wine in the process of brewing and fermenting.

"Mr. Lin, what do you think?"

Amber asked like an innocent child showing off his toys.

Lin Chen had no choice but to exclaim, "What a magnificent harvest!"

"Isn't it beautiful? These plants symbolize life and desire." Amber continued questioning him.

"Mm." Lin Chen answered perfunctorily.

Amber suddenly turned around and stared at Lin Chen.

"Mr. Lin, would you like to join us?"

Caught completely off guard, Lin Chen blurted out, "Join you? What do you mean?"

Amber wore a slightly sly expression and said with certainty:

"You knew long ago, didn't you? The Cult of the God of Wine."

The author had brought Amber along to beg for votes and follows!

Amber: "There's a famous metric on Qidian's recommendation rankings called 'following.' After this book updates, turn to the latest chapter and wait until you've read for twenty seconds. That process is called following, and it can purify the book's data."

Following data is very important for getting into the next round of recommendations. These few days are the decisive moment! Please follow through to the latest chapter, and if you have votes, cast them! The book is about to enter the next stage.

Thanks to: Food Lover for rewarding 500 points, and I'm Transforming, You're Optimus Prime for rewarding 100 points;

Thanks to: Jiechen Emperor for 2 monthly votes, Zhirong for 1 monthly vote, Bada Bashidehen for 3 monthly votes, So Bored Ah Ah Ah for 1 monthly vote, and Book Friend 161222195658752 for 1 monthly vote!

With everyone's support, this book is now ranked third on the New Fantasy Authors List and seventeenth on the New Fantasy Books List! Thank you! Let's share this glory together~

Chapter 31: Who Told You Card Masters Were Bound to Be Bad at Combat?

"Join us. You know—the Cult of the God of Wine."

Amber's sly smile made Lin Chen's heart pound:

Amber had actually laid his cards on the table outright!

He actually knew that I knew about the Cult of the God of Wine. So he'd already seen through the fact that I'd seen through him!

Lin Chen wanted to give a signal for Chen Xiao Diao to strike first;

But he discovered that the young woman had already flushed and collapsed unconscious, held hostage by the frenzied women who had appeared at some unknown point.

It was obvious that wine fumes had entered her body and knocked her out.

Lin Chen sighed. Before setting out, he had already warned her to beware of Amber's possible hallucinatory methods, but they were still impossible to guard against completely.

He began recalling when Chen Xiao Diao had been affected.

It should have been after they entered the underground wine cellar. It seemed the concentration of hallucinogens in the cellar's air was extremely high;

It had invisibly eroded people's rationality, allowing it to control Chen Xiao Diao so silently.

Now they had truly been invited into the urn, only to have the turtle caught inside it as well.

Amber chuckled softly. "That child wears her thoughts right on her face. How could I fail to see that you were on your guard?"

Lin Chen remained silent.

Amber continued, "You're a Card Master. Although your mental power is formidable, you have little combat experience and aren't skilled at Card Master combat.

"So the troublesome one was Chen Xiao Diao;

"Although she ranked at the very bottom of the Security Bureau, she was still an experienced patrol guard, so I controlled her first.

"I did this so the two of us could have a private chat."

Amber continued in his voice, warm and mellow as wine:

"Mr. Lin, you haven't answered my question yet.

"Would you like to join our Cult of the God of Wine?"

Lin Chen countered, "Why me?"

Amber said with great sincerity, "I wasn't lying to you. After speaking with you, I truly felt as though we hit it off at first sight, like blood relatives.

"Since you know the legends of the God of Wine and haven't had your mind corrupted;

"That means your ancestors were also loyal believers of the God of Wine and passed down blood that grants you immunity to corruption;

"Or perhaps, like me, you're someone favored by the God of Wine;

"It personally conveyed this history to you, allowing you to avoid the harm of corruption."

Amber's words carried an enormous amount of information;

So learning the history of the gods would result in corruption!

The original owner of this body, Lin Chen, had also died because he investigated the history of the gods!

And gods could actually actively protect the believers they favored!

But Lin Chen fell into neither of those categories. The reason he knew the history of the God of Wine was simply that he had brought that knowledge over from his previous life.

Instead, he had caused Amber to mistake him for a fellow believer, prompting Amber to recruit Lin Chen in good faith.

Lin Chen had to make good use of that goodwill!

He decided to probe for more information and asked, "Could you first tell me what the Cult of the God of Wine is ultimately trying to accomplish here?"

Amber said, "Of course. I was going to explain it to you anyway. This is the core sacred ritual of our Cult of the God of Wine;

"As you guessed and implied, we brew wine using Card Masters' blood;

"Because Card Masters' blood contains spiritual power and is purer.

"During one ecstatic feast after another, I extract the sacrificial victims' essence blood and pour it into the Holy Grail until it overflows."

Lin Chen asked in confusion, "The Holy Grail?"

Lin Chen knew that the term Holy Grail originated from the cup that held wine at Jesus' Last Supper.

Jesus died after the Last Supper and rose again three days later, displaying his great miracle.

From then on, the Holy Grail became a sacred relic, symbolizing rebirth and healing.

Amber stretched out his hand, and a wine cup forged from flesh and blood appeared. Blood brimmed inside it, only a hair's breadth from full.

"This is the Holy Grail of the God of Wine. It only needs that final drop to become full."

Lin Chen asked, "What will happen when it's full?"

"Resurrection."

"Resurrection? Who will be resurrected?"

Amber said in a tone that brooked no doubt:

"I'm going to resurrect the God of Wine."