The Wine Was Problematic

Xuanyuan's thoughts stirred, and Dijiang, Jiu Feng, the Six-Eared Macaque, and the others appeared before him.

"Eldest Brother, congratulations!"

Xuanyuan beamed and offered his congratulations one after another.

A fierce aura radiated from Dijiang and the others. Their cultivation had all advanced to the late stage of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm.

Dijiang and Zhujiuyin, in particular, were especially formidable. They were clearly not far from breaking through to the peak of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm.

Dijiang laughed heartily. "Our breakthroughs in such a short time are all thanks to you, Brother Xuanyuan!"

"Eldest Brother's right. Qianyuan Palace is practically a holy land for cultivation. We've decided—we're staying here from now on. We're not going back to our tribes!"

Zhurong looked at Xuanyuan and asked with a smile, "Brother Xuanyuan, you don't mind, do you?"

Xuanyuan waved his hand. "Why would I mind? I'd be more than happy to have you all stay here on Qianyuan Mountain with me!"

"Now that's the spirit!"

Gonggong came up to Xuanyuan. "We're not leaving either. Brother Xuanyuan, we don't have any other demands. Just one thing: we can't run out of Maotai!"

"There's plenty of Maotai to go around!"

With a grand sweep of his hand, Xuanyuan took out dozens of bottles of Maotai and handed them to Dijiang, Zhurong, Gonggong, and the others.

Zhurong and Gonggong, the two winos, took the Maotai Xuanyuan handed them and eagerly started drinking.

After just one sip, their pupils suddenly contracted. They immediately sensed something different.

"Brother Xuanyuan, there's something wrong with this wine!"

Zhurong stared at Xuanyuan with his huge, bell-like eyes.

Gonggong nodded frantically. "Zhurong's right. There's definitely something wrong with this wine."

Zhurong and Gonggong's words left Xuanyuan stunned. He asked in bewilderment, "What do you mean, you two?"

All the Maotai he'd brought out had come from the system's sign-in rewards. There was no difference between them.

Dijiang glared at Zhurong and Gonggong, putting on the airs of an eldest brother. "You two fools always act up when you've had too much to drink. Everyone knows what Brother Xuanyuan is like. How could there be anything wrong with the Maotai he brought out? Hurry up and apologize to him!"

"Eldest Brother, we haven't had too much to drink. There really is something wrong with this wine!"

"Yeah, it tastes different from the Maotai we drank before!"

The brothers Zhurong and Gonggong protested in wounded voices.

The Maotai they were drinking this time really was different from before.

The old Maotai had tasted great too. It was brewed entirely from top-grade Spirit Veins, and its rich energy greatly aided cultivation.

But it seemed to be missing a certain depth.

Especially after reaching the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, it tasted rather bland.

Still, there was no better wine anywhere in the Primordial World.

For people who loved their drink, having something to drink at all was good enough.

They naturally weren't about to nitpick.

But the Maotai they were drinking now was full of depth.

One sip left an endless aftertaste.

Seeing how adamant they were, Xuanyuan began to doubt it too. He simply opened a bottle of Maotai. "I'll have a taste and see!"

He took just one sip, and his expression changed at once.

Zhurong and Gonggong had been right.

There really was something wrong with the wine.

It wasn't that the quality had gotten worse—it had gotten better.

The rich aroma filled his palate. Just a small sip made him feel as if he were floating, completely immersed in it.

"Excellent wine!"

Xuanyuan couldn't help exclaiming.

He wasn't particularly fond of drinking. When he was alone, he almost never drank.

But now he was thoroughly won over and couldn't resist taking a few more sips.

Seeing him, Dijiang and the others first froze, then hurriedly opened the bottles in their hands and began drinking.

"It really is excellent wine!"

"Brother Xuanyuan, that's not very fair of you! You had such good Maotai and kept it hidden away. That's no way to treat your friends!"

"Exactly! Good things should be shared. You should've brought out wine this good ages ago!"

Dijiang and the others stopped scolding the two fools, Zhurong and Gonggong. They kept guzzling Maotai while grumbling at Xuanyuan.

The rich aroma of wine filled the air around them.

The Six-Eared Macaque, Kong Xuan, and the other four disciples kept swallowing as they smelled the wine. They gazed eagerly at Xuanyuan but didn't dare ask for any.

The Six-Eared Macaque was especially restless. Monkeys were naturally fond of wine, and he was already so impatient that he scratched his ears and paced back and forth.

Xuanyuan gave his disciples an amused glare. "What are you in such a hurry for? You have no manners at all. You've met your martial uncles, and you haven't even greeted them!"

"Master is right!"

The Six-Eared Macaque, Kong Xuan, and the other four patiently bowed to Dijiang and the others and greeted them respectfully. "Greetings, Martial Uncles!"

If they hadn't been swallowing so constantly, they would've looked quite proper.

Now it was Dijiang and the others' turn to feel awkward.

The Six-Eared Macaque and the others had called them Martial Uncles, so they ought to give them some gifts.

But almost all the good things they had were gifts from Xuanyuan.

Aside from those, they really didn't have anything worth giving.

Xuanyuan was happy to watch things unfold. He even egged them on from the side. "Look at you lot—you act like you've never seen the world. Your martial uncles are all Ancestor Witches of the Witch Clan, rulers of countless members of the Witch Clan. Anything they let slip through their fingers would be a treasure you've never seen before. Are you really worried your uncles don't have anything good to give you?"

"Quit gloating, you brat!"

Dijiang, Zhurong, and the others glared at Xuanyuan, all of them wearing rueful smiles.

The Six-Eared Macaque and the others were Xuanyuan's disciples, which made them their juniors.

By rights, they should have given them welcome gifts when Xuanyuan took them as disciples at Pangu Temple.

But Xuanyuan hadn't brought it up at the time, so they'd forgotten.

Now that Xuanyuan had mentioned it, they couldn't keep pretending not to understand.

Besides, none of them had taken disciples, so the Six-Eared Macaque and the others were the only juniors in their lineage.

They couldn't just palm off some junk when those juniors were watching them expectantly.

Even if the Six-Eared Macaque and the others didn't say anything, they'd still lose face.

After thinking it over, Dijiang and the others exchanged glances and finally made up their minds.

Dijiang turned to the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird and said with a smile, "Speed is your greatest strength. But if you rely purely on your natural talent, that's fine while you're still weak. Now that you've reached the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, that little advantage won't be so remarkable anymore. Since you've taken Brother Xuanyuan as your master and called me Martial Uncle, I won't be stingy. This is some of my insight into the Great Dao of Space Law. It should help you, so I'll give it to you now. Take it and study it carefully!"

Dijiang handed the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird a jade tablet inscribed with his insight into space.

It was an immensely generous gift.

After all, the Primordial World was full of danger, and everyone's hard-won insights into cultivation were invaluable.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird was tempted, but he didn't dare make the decision himself. Instead, he looked at Xuanyuan.

Xuanyuan was actually startled too.

He hadn't expected Eldest Brother Dijiang to give away his insight into the Great Dao of Space Law as a welcome gift. He hurried forward to stop him. "Eldest Brother, I was only joking. You don't have to take it seriously. Take it back!"

"I'm not joking!"