Carrying Wine and Singing Long Songs

Volume 1: Carrying Wine and Singing Long Songs, Chapter 20: The Elderly Are Forgetful

Bai Qiuran felt a pang of regret, but since the pills were already refined, he couldn't extract the materials back out. He could only burn the pills to ash with a burst of spiritual fire.

"What are you talking about? Besides Foundation Establishment, what other purpose could I have in this life? I..." Seeing Fu Qianqiu shaking his head, Bai Qiuran continued to ask, "Are you sober now?"

Bai Qiuran's eyes swept across Tang Ruowei's chest, then he cupped his hands and asked, "Has Miss Tang ever learned a supernatural ability called the Fortune Body Forging Technique? This technique was created by an old acquaintance of mine and me years ago. He is no longer in this world, and I would like to ask on his behalf."

Although the Imperial Advisor Fu Qianqiu possessed Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, after seeing the traces of destruction left in the Imperial Mausoleum, he naturally dared not be negligent toward the Qi Refining stage Bai Qiuran. Hearing Bai Qiuran's question, he answered very respectfully.

"Is this jade pendant something left behind by the Azure Nether Sword Sect disciple who taught you that magic incantation?"

"I don't know what others think, but I drink for the mood." Tang Ruowei stuck out her little tongue while fanning herself with her hand.

Bai Qiuran asked.

"It has already passed."

"Bai Qiuran!"

The surrounding earth suddenly erupted with countless Soul Reaping Emissaries of varying strengths, from the Soul Separation to the Mahayana stage. Led by Xue Ling, they surrounded Bai Qiuran in a tight circle.

Perhaps a bit tipsy, Tang Ruowei's speech was slightly slurred.

"Emissary Xue."

"Today, you must be brought to justice!"

"Any question is fine?"

Bai Qiuran couldn't figure it out, so he could only shake his head and sigh.

"Bai Qiuran, have you forgotten something?"

Bai Qiuran set down his wine cup.

"I suppose so."

"Any question is fine."

"There is one more thing." Fu Qianqiu replied.

Tang Ruowei looked thoughtful.

Bai Qiuran asked in confusion, "Then how is it that Her Highness the Princess's secondary sexual characteristics are so... variable?"

"Alright, I shall return now. Since you have practiced the magic incantation of the Azure Nether Sword Sect, you are considered half a member of the sect. I will accept you as a nominal disciple on his behalf. You must remember to assist the Shangxuan Emperor well and uphold the righteous path."

"How is it?"

"Fortune Body Forging Technique?"

The Grand Princess struck a heroic pose, downed the fine wine in her cup in one gulp, and immediately began coughing as the strong liquor burned her throat.

"That... uh, what was my lifespan again?"

Xue Ling said coldly, "Besides Foundation Establishment, what other purpose do you have for coming down the mountain this time?"

"But now, Miss Tang, your view on cultivators and the Azure Nether Sword Sect should have changed, right?" Bai Qiuran smiled. "After all, they are also people who cultivated their way up; having these things is normal."

"Eh?"

Xue Ling sneered, swinging the Soul Reaping Chain in her hand.

Although Bai Qiuran did not fear her, he did not want to get entangled with a young girl. So, without even taking his horse, he ran off. He was now hundreds of miles outside the pass, far from the capital of the Shangxuan Kingdom.

"What a waste..." Bai Qiuran stepped back with a serious expression and said, "Xue Ling, you and I have known each other for two thousand years. How about you let me put it on my tab?"

"Heh, Dao Heart Seeding Demon—it seems that remnant scroll didn't just contain superficial things after all."

"Mm."

He arrived opposite Tang Ruowei. A maidservant led his horse over, and the two sat facing each other. The Grand Princess of the Shangxuan Kingdom, now changed into women's clothing and revealing a beauty that could sink fish and drop geese, poured him a full cup of wine with the same posture she had used when disguised as a man.

"What, what is that? I have never learned that."

"Eh?"

"A woman's heart is truly a needle at the bottom of the sea."

This type of jade pendant was equivalent to an identity card for the Azure Nether Sword Sect; Bai Qiuran had one himself, which recorded the holder's information and permissions. Judging by the style, the owner of this pendant should have been a first-generation inner disciple of the Azure Nether Sword Sect. Two hundred years ago, when they went down the mountain to travel, there were indeed some who never returned.

Fu Qianqiu thought with a dazed look in his eyes, then suddenly realized, "Right, the pills I refined! I never learned or saw them before, so why did I refine those kinds of pills?"

Fu Qianqiu was deeply ashamed.

"This disciple will remember."

"This, this, it is indeed true."

Walking on the official road, Bai Qiuran felt puzzled. Just moments ago, Tang Ruowei had suddenly attacked him like a madwoman, screaming at a high pitch while she struck, as if she had been harassed by him.

Fu Qianqiu asked in confusion, "Is the senior not going to punish this disciple?"

Bai Qiuran tucked the jade pendant into his robes.

Fu Qianqiu touched his head and said blankly, "Right, what kind of pills was I refining?"

Bai Qiuran asked in surprise, "Why did you come to find me again today?"

It seemed that because Tang Zhouxie spent his years in the gloomy Imperial Mausoleum, his kidney essence was somewhat deficient.

Accompanied by two maidservants, the Grand Princess sat on the open ground by the roadside. Someone had set up a sunshade canopy, and a table of fine wine and food had been laid out beneath it. Seeing Bai Qiuran riding his horse over leisurely, Tang Ruowei revealed a bright smile and greeted him, "I knew you would ride over... Bai Qiuran, this time let me treat you. Why don't you come down and have a drink with me?"

"Yes, this disciple was originally just a farmer tilling land in the western border of Shangxuan. Because I sheltered my late master for one night, I was granted the magic incantation by him."

"I will ask you one more time: you squeezed the people for their lifeblood to refine pills for the Shangxuan Emperor—what kind of pills were they?"

Arriving here, Bai Qiuran suddenly felt a very cold, ghostly aura shrouding the surroundings. He looked toward the direction the aura was coming from in surprise and found that Xue Ling was actually standing there, her face pale, staring at him.

"I will accept this jade pendant. The magic incantation he passed to you is the most orthodox technique of our Azure Nether Sword Sect. Practice it well; with your aptitude, it is possible for you to reach the Golden Core stage in your lifetime."

"Sober? Sober from what?"

"At least there are still people like you among cultivators."

Tang Ruowei nodded.

"But, what kind of pills did you refine?"

"What pills?"

Next, the two exchanged cups and toasted each other, finishing the full table of food and wine, enjoying themselves greatly.

In the capital of the Shangxuan Kingdom, inside the Imperial Advisor's residence, Bai Qiuran sat at the head of the table, looking at the jade pendant in his hand.

Seeing her like this, Bai Qiuran smiled and downed his own wine in one gulp.

Bai Qiuran beckoned, "Bring it here for me to see."

At the very end, the Grand Princess, with a slightly tipsy, flushed face, exhaled a fragrant breath and asked with a smile, "Bai Qiuran, as a farewell gift, can I let you ask one last question?"

Tang Ruowei nodded in affirmation.

Tang Ruowei raised her wine cup and said, "I know there is nothing in the Shangxuan Kingdom that can catch your eye, so this cup of wine represents my gratitude. To you!"

"Then..."

"Every group is the same; there are good and bad. Within the Righteous Path Alliance, the leader of the world's righteous path, there appear from time to time those who deceive their superiors and delude their subordinates, acting with hypocritical piety. And even within the Heavenly Demon Sect, the largest faction of Demonic Cultivators, one can occasionally find one or two demons with upright principles."

"What about the pills you refined?"

After finishing the last bit of business with the Imperial Advisor, Bai Qiuran left the residence and set foot on the road back to the mountain.

As Bai Qiuran spoke, his voice suddenly grew quiet, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

The Soul Reaping Emissary, who had a two-thousand-year-old karmic entanglement with Bai Qiuran, threw out her chain, which transformed into a giant net covering the sky.

"You are leaving, and I will not ask you to stay, but for everything you have done for the people of the Shangxuan Kingdom, I, as a princess, must thank you."

The so-called Dao Heart Seeding Demon was a high-level mental technique of Demonic Cultivators, created two thousand years ago by a brilliant and talented ancestor of the Yin Ling Sect. Unlike other techniques that used cultivation and Spiritual Sense to forcibly suppress consciousness and control others, this technique did not seize the subject's consciousness. Instead, it subtly changed the subject's perceptions, guiding them step by step to complete the tasks the caster desired.

Fu Qianqiu brought the pills to Bai Qiuran. Bai Qiuran opened them and discovered they were exactly the common pills used by Demonic Cultivators for training, made from the very ingredients he had been missing. There were even some spiritual pills for strengthening Primal Yang.

Riding a horse, Bai Qiuran walked slowly to the outskirts of the Shangxuan capital, where he saw Tang Ruowei wearing a goose-yellow dress by the roadside.

Bai Qiuran stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly raised his hand and slapped him twice.

After putting the jade pendant back into his Storage Bag, Bai Qiuran continued to ask, "On my way down the mountain, I heard that you incited the Shangxuan Emperor to impose heavy taxes on the citizens of the Shangxuan Kingdom to refine pills. Is this true?"

Xue Ling smiled.

"It was clearly a serious academic discussion; why did Miss Tang suddenly get angry?"

"It is a pity that this disciple was ultimately unable to save my late master's life." Speaking of this, his tone held a hint of envy as he added, "You must cherish it well. The magic incantation of the Azure Nether Sword Sect is a genuine righteous path technique that can truly lead to Foundation Establishment."

"Just while you were drinking and eating with that woman."

Bai Qiuran lectured her lightly, then asked again.

He always felt like he had forgotten something, but he couldn't recall it for the moment, so he simply set it aside and focused on his journey.

Being without a horse actually increased Bai Qiuran's speed. He walked while admiring the scenery, and before long, he had covered twenty or thirty miles, arriving under a willow tree.

As the saying goes, it takes three years to learn good, but only three days to learn bad. That ancestor of the Demonic Path had used this trick to guide many cultivators stuck at bottlenecks into the Demonic Path, becoming the most prominent figure in the Demonic Cultivator world for a time.

Bai Qiuran asked.

Bai Qiuran, riding on horseback, tilted his head and then smiled, "I would be honored."

"It doesn't matter; this is not your fault. Cultivators are meant to face tribulations as they advance; life and death are normal. Since he died in a decisive battle against Demonic Cultivators to save the innocent, the Azure Nether Sword Sect will also be proud of him."

"What do you think?"

"Cough, cough."

After the two slaps, Fu Qianqiu was dizzy, but he only assumed Bai Qiuran was punishing him for squeezing the people to refine pills, so he dared not resist.

"I think I understand a little."

"You are a practitioner of the righteous path. Besides taking pills when breaking through a realm, don't take pills to increase your cultivation at other times, you hear? It will make your realm unstable."

Then he heard that there was a direct disciple of the Qingming Immortal in the Azure Nether Sword Sect who had been stuck at the Qi Refining stage bottleneck for over a thousand years, and then... there was no then.

After destroying the pills, Bai Qiuran stood up and instructed the Imperial Advisor, "To prevent you from being manipulated again, I will pass on a copy of the Qingming Spirit Forging Method. Practice it more to strengthen your Nascent Soul and spirit, so you won't be easily manipulated by others."

"I don't understand why you like to drink this stuff?"

As the words fell, Bai Qiuran suddenly felt a killing intent and pressure erupt from the tipsy girl opposite him—a force that even he found secretly alarming.