Spirit Wine (Requesting Follows, Monthly Tickets, Recommendation Tickets)

That afternoon, since tomorrow was Rest Day, Zhou Ling ended his technical arts class at the Dao Academy early and headed to the Lu Family Workshop.

Master Lu was sitting on a stone chair beneath the locust tree, endlessly fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, his face flushed red.

When he saw Zhou Ling arrive, Master Lu hurriedly stood up. "Brother Ling, the order we took from Myriad Treasures Pavilion this time is for a First-Grade Mid-Rank Storage Pouch."

"It's crafted from Cloud Crystal Stone with the Space attribute and the hide of a Mid First-Tier Black Rock Sheep."

"Just making these two Storage Pouch vessels took me nearly four days."

"There are only seven days left before delivery!"

As he spoke, Master Lu handed the two Storage Pouch blanks to Zhou Ling.

These Storage Pouches looked much like hot-water bags, only somewhat larger, their surface resembling matte leather.

Zhou Ling took the Storage Pouches and wiped the sweat from his brow.

It was currently the Dog Days.

Inside the workshop, the furnace flames rose steadily.

The courtyard was unbearably hot.

Zhou Ling sat on the stone chair opposite Master Lu, poured himself a cup of tea, and gulped down several mouthfuls.

He had become familiar with Master Lu and the others, so he did not stand on ceremony.

Only then did he say, "Storage Pouches, and there are only seven days left!"

Drawing a Storage Pouch generally required an inscription imprint with the Space attribute.

Fortunately, Storage Pouches were common Magic Artifacts in Artifact Crafting.

Among the inscription essentials he had exchanged for at the Dao Academy was a Void Origin Engraving specifically used to craft Storage Pouches.

It was just that it had fourteen Inscription Patterns.

Drawing it now would still be somewhat difficult for him.

But he had already agreed to it. Difficulty or not, he had to grit his teeth and take it on.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Master Lu, do you have a First-Grade Mid-Rank Storage Pouch on hand?"

"Mine is one!"

"May I borrow it for a look?"

Master Lu reached out, removed the Storage Pouch hanging from his belt, and handed it to Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling accepted the Storage Pouch and examined it carefully.

Its appearance was basically the same as the two vessels from earlier.

"This is a Storage Pouch with two cubic meters of space! It costs seventy or eighty Spirit Stones on the market!"

"The materials alone cost nearly thirty Spirit Stones. If you can successfully draw the Void Origin Engraving, I'll pay you fifteen Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"But there are only two vessels. If both are ruined, you'll have to pay for the Spirit Stones."

Master Lu spoke solemnly.

Zhou Ling did not answer him, instead carefully examining the Storage Pouch in his hand.

[You are observing the Void Origin Engraving, Basic Observation +1, Void Origin Engraving Proficiency +1]

[You are analyzing the Void Origin Engraving, Basic Analysis +1, Void Origin Engraving Proficiency +1]

"Fourteen Inscription Patterns, two nodes, a diffuse structure."

"I can draw the structure first, then treat it as two First-Grade Seven-Stroke Inscriptions. The difficulty lies in connecting the nodes!"

As he analyzed it, a preliminary drawing plan gradually took shape in Zhou Ling's mind.

Seeing Zhou Ling sink into thought, Master Lu did not disturb him. He picked up his tea bowl and drank tea.

Zhou Ling carefully examined the Void Origin Engraving on the Storage Pouch again, using [Basic Observation] and [Basic Analysis] to analyze as many of its drawing techniques and key points as possible for reference.

Generally speaking, even a First-Rank Inscription Master might not gain much from studying an inscription imprint this way.

They might even be unable to see the structure of the inscription imprint clearly.

After all, different Inscription Masters used different methods. Even the same inscription imprint could take on different forms.

But with the support of his two talents, Zhou Ling could clearly observe details such as the structure of the inscription imprint, the distribution of the Inscription Patterns, the lightness and swiftness of the initial strokes, and the slowness and weight of the moving strokes.

Meanwhile, [Basic Analysis] served to analyze and summarize, identifying its flaws for him.

It could be said that every inscription imprint he observed was excellent experience for him.

Normally, the higher the grade of an inscription imprint, the harder it was to cultivate and comprehend.

Without a complete inheritance and guidance from a renowned master, no matter how gifted one was, it would be difficult to achieve anything.

But Zhou Ling was different. With the support of the [Stronger from Adversity] talent, the more difficult something was—whether cultivation techniques, inscription imprints, or sword arts and the like—

As long as he persevered, he would gain something!

Only after studying it for nearly the time it took an incense stick to burn did Zhou Ling return the Storage Pouch to Master Lu.

"Can it be finished in seven days?" Master Lu put away the Storage Pouch and asked cautiously.

Zhou Ling pursed his lips. "I'll do my best!"

Master Lu waved his palm-leaf fan and warned him again, "You must be careful! Each vessel costs fifteen Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Zhou Ling nodded, cupped his hands to Master Lu, and took his leave from the workshop.

As he walked out of the workshop, he thought for a moment and bought a jar of premium Black Run Rice Spirit Wine from a wine stall across the street.

He planned to take it back for Mother to use as a reference in brewing wine.

The moment he stepped through the door, a rich fragrance of Spirit Rice mixed with the distinctive mellow scent of Spirit Herbs rushed at him.

The small hall was filled with clear, pure wine fragrance.

"Ling'er, you're back. Perfect timing—have a taste of the Spirit Wine your mother brewed!"

Three Clay Bowls sat on the wooden table.

The Spirit Wine in the bowls was a crystalline amber color.

Li Ru smiled as well. "Ling'er, come taste it!"

Zhou Ling had not expected Mother to work so efficiently, brewing wine in just one day.

Perhaps practice made perfect; she had not grown rusty in the techniques she had used back then.

Zhou Ling set down the wine jar in his hand, picked up a Clay Bowl, and took a sip. It was sweet and crisp upon entering his mouth, its fragrance lingering between his lips and teeth.

The aroma of Spirit Rice blended with the faint medicinal scent of Spirit Herbs, brewing the distinctive fresh fragrance of Black Run Rice Wine.

"Mother, this tastes far better than what I bought!"

Zhou Shan also laughed. "I told you, with your skill and this Brewing Furnace, it won't be long before you can brew even better Spirit Wine."

A smile appeared on Li Ru's face as she looked at the Spirit Wine in the bowl. "But why do I feel that the wine's purity is still a little lacking? The spiritual energy it contains also seems somewhat less."

"Is it a problem with the heat? Or is my spiritual power insufficient?"

Zhou Ling felt it was more than twice as good as the Black Run Rice Wine he had bought.

But seeing Mother's earnest expression as she thought it over, he did not interrupt her.

After pondering for a moment, he walked over to the Brewing Furnace.

He saw that inside still lay residue of Spirit Rice mixed with Spirit Cloud Grass.

[You are analyzing the Black Run Rice Spirit Wine formula, Basic Analysis +1, Black Run Rice Brewing Proficiency +1]

Very quickly, an improvement plan formed in Zhou Ling's mind.

The main issue was the proportion of Black Run Rice. A ratio of seven parts new rice to three parts aged rice produced the purest wine with the richest spiritual energy.

Mother's formula, however, was roughly six to four.

But for the moment, he did not know how to bring it up to Mother.

After thinking it over, he smiled. "When I bought this jar of wine just now, the shopkeeper swore that they used one hundred percent new rice."

Hearing this, Li Ru smiled. "What one hundred percent new-rice formula? That shopkeeper was fooling an amateur!"

Then she seemed to think of something. "Right, the ratio is the problem!"

She looked up at the night curtain gradually descending and could not help slapping her forehead. "Ah, once I got busy, I forgot to make dinner!"

She then hurried toward the Kitchen.

Leaving father and son behind to continue tasting the wine.