Seeing Pei Mo Again, Zhang Su's Shock

Every floor of the Water-Control Pavilion had stringent requirements for cultivation.

Starting from the second floor, one had to at least be at Late Qi Refining.

As for the third floor, one had to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Xu Changqing and Li Sancai were both formal disciples with Wood Spirit Roots, and neither had reached Foundation Establishment, so logically, they should not have been able to come up.

But the person holding a birthday banquet on the third floor was Li Lingbi.

A genius with Threefold Mutual-Generating Spiritual Roots.

Not only was he preparing to form an Earth-Grade Golden Core at such a young age,

but his master was also a Nascent Soul True Lord.

And, naturally, one of the highest authorities of the Water-Control Pavilion.

Thus, Li Lingbi had the qualifications to bring Xu Changqing up here.

By the time they reached the third floor, quite a few people were already waiting.

There were all kinds of spirit roots among them.

Every face was unfamiliar.

The host, Li Lingbi, had yet to arrive.

Li Sancai brought Xu Changqing to sit down off to one side. "Rest for a while first."

Xu Changqing nodded and sat down with him.

They happened to be near a window.

Xu Changqing glanced outside.

He could see many people traveling on flying artifacts.

Suddenly, a red carp swam over.

It was extremely plump.

Its belly was round and bulging.

At a glance, it was clear that it had eaten its fill.

Xu Changqing raised his brows and tentatively reached out a hand.

The instant he touched the water wall, he felt a distinct resistance.

But with a little force, he still managed to poke a finger through.

Then his entire hand followed.

Very quickly, he grabbed the large red carp.

Just as he was about to pull it out, Li Sancai beside him jumped in fright and hurriedly stopped him. "Don't mess around. Some of these fish are raised by immortals. If you get one killed, I won't be able to protect you."

Xu Changqing gave an awkward smile at that and hastily withdrew his hand.

After swimming around for a while, the large red carp turned and left.

As time continued to pass, the sky grew increasingly dark.

More and more people arrived for Li Lingbi's birthday banquet.

There were not many Qi Refining Realm cultivators—indeed, they were a minority.

Aside from Li Sancai, they were all peripheral figures.

Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators made up the majority instead.

They were not all handsome men and beautiful women, but each possessed an extraordinary bearing.

The female Wood Spirit Root Foundation Establishment cultivator Xu Changqing had seen outside the Farmer's Heart Society at the Red Maple Valley market was among them.

If Xu Changqing remembered correctly, she seemed to be called Lu Yuanyuan.

This time, she had brought only one male Dao companion to the birthday banquet.

He was still a handsome man.

Tall and slender, with refined features.

In Xu Changqing's previous life, he would have been a bona fide male idol.

Quite a few female Foundation Establishment cultivators looked at him with open aggression in their eyes.

Xu Changqing inwardly mocked, They've already become immortals, yet they still care about looks.

At that moment, a familiar yet unfamiliar face caught his attention.

A bald head.

A centipede-like scar on his face.

A white crane embroidered over his chest.

This time, he was not carrying any weapon on his back.

"You know him?" Li Sancai's voice sounded beside him.

Xu Changqing nodded lightly. "I saw him before at the Red Maple Valley market."

Li Sancai introduced him. "His name is Pei Mo. What a pity.

He was originally a Dual Spiritual Roots cultivator, but his were Dual-Conflicting Spiritual Roots.

Because metal overcame wood, both his cultivation speed and the power of his spells were cut in half.

Yet his comprehension was exceptionally high, and relying on that formidable comprehension alone, he forced his way into the Foundation Establishment Realm."

His words were full of regret.

It was clear that he admired Pei Mo greatly.

If Pei Mo had Mutual-Generating Dual Spiritual Roots rather than Dual-Conflicting Spiritual Roots,

then together with his powerful comprehension, he should not have been inferior to Li Lingbi today.

But fate had played a colossal joke on him.

He clearly possessed astonishing comprehension.

Yet he had conflicting dual spirit roots.

As a result, his position within the Dongting Immortal Sect was somewhat awkward.

He began in the spirit fields, later joined Foundry Peak,

and was eventually kicked over to Beast Spirit Valley, drifting from place to place all these years.

That was precisely why traces of so many different places could be seen on Pei Mo.

They would not let him cultivate Sword Pellets?

Then he would practice the saber!

Spirit farmers had long hair?

Then he would simply shave his head!

Thus, Pei Mo gave everyone the impression of being both rebellious and stubborn.

Perhaps sensing someone's gaze on him,

Pei Mo looked over instinctively and could not help freezing.

Xu Changqing's face was unfamiliar one moment, but familiar the next.

It even made him hungry with thirst.

Pei Mo immediately strode over in excitement.

Li Sancai's expression changed slightly at the sight, and he instantly became vigilant.

Although he admired Pei Mo greatly,

the man's reputation over the past few years had not been good.

Once he got drunk, he would definitely start a fight.

At first, he picked fights with people.

Later, he simply fought spirit beasts instead.

The scar on his face had been left by some powerful spirit beast.

"It's you?" Yet Pei Mo ignored Li Sancai entirely, his eyes fixed straight on Xu Changqing.

"Long time no see." Xu Changqing smiled faintly.

Li Sancai was shocked. "You really know each other?"

He had assumed Xu Changqing meant that he had merely seen Pei Mo before.

Who would have thought these two actually knew each other?

It truly came as a surprise.

Pei Mo licked his thick lips with his tongue, then asked, "Did you bring it?"

Xu Changqing shook his head. "I didn't have time this spring."

Pei Mo revealed a regretful expression and pressed on unwillingly. "Then when will you make it?"

Xu Changqing thought carefully before saying, "Summer, probably."

During spring, his focus had been entirely on cultivating Spirit Rice.

Yield outweighed everything.

Therefore, he had not brewed any Spirit Rice Wine.

But starting in summer, things would be different.

Pei Mo nodded slightly. "Fine. Once it's ready, remember to notify me."

"No problem." Xu Changqing readily agreed.

After that, Pei Mo headed to the other side.

He stayed by himself.

After quite some time, Li Sancai asked in a low voice, "What were you two talking about?"

Xu Changqing explained, "I know how to brew wine."

Li Sancai came to a realization. "So that's how it is."

Seeing Pei Mo so thirsty for it,

and hearing them speak so mysteriously,

he had thought the two shared some unspeakable secret.

He truly had not expected Junior Brother Xu to know how to brew wine.

Pei Mo was a famously heavy drinker. If he was chasing after someone to buy wine, it was certainly no ordinary brew.

Xu Changqing smiled. "Once I've brewed it, I'll give some to Senior Brother to try."

"Alright." Li Sancai was genuinely curious just how good the wine Pei Mo chased after was.

"Li Lingbi is here!"

"The Rong Family is here too?"

"This birthday banquet has quite the grand display!"

At that moment, voices rose from the entrance.

Xu Changqing and the others all looked over.

They saw Li Lingbi, clad in a purple robe, surrounded by a group of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

He appeared in everyone's view on the third floor with an easy, composed air.

The few people beside him were no simple figures either.

Every one of them was an outstanding genius of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"Come, let's go see my cousin." Li Sancai stood and called out.

Xu Changqing hurriedly rose after him.

Before long, the two arrived at the front.

The instant Li Lingbi saw Li Sancai, his eyes lit up. "Cousin!"

Li Sancai introduced him with a smile. "Lingbi, this is Xu Changqing."

Li Lingbi shifted his gaze and could not help sizing him up. Although Xu Changqing's appearance was ordinary, he did not slight him. Instead, he said solemnly, "Junior Brother Xu, I'll be relying on you for Spirit Rice from now on."

To be honest, when his cousin had first recommended him, Li Lingbi had not cared much.

He had merely regarded Xu Changqing as an ordinary spirit farmer who could help share his cousin's burden, nothing more.

Who would have thought that what Xu Changqing submitted would be Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice, containing dense spiritual energy?

That alone meant he could not be taken lightly. In fact, Li Lingbi valued him all the more.

Xu Changqing hurriedly replied, "I will certainly do my utmost!"

In truth, it was mutual.

He provided the other man with Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice.

The other man served as his backer.

Mutual benefit, after all.

"Isn't that... Junior Brother Xu?" someone beside the Rong Family exclaimed in surprise.

Who was it?

Zhang Su!

This time, he had spent a great sum just to follow the Rong Family into Li Lingbi's birthday banquet.

His purpose, naturally, was to get acquainted with more outstanding young people.

To see whether he could build connections and grow more rare spirit plants.

Yet he had never expected that Junior Brother Xu, whom he had cast aside, would also be here.

Moreover, Xu Changqing was standing very close to Li Lingbi.

The two were chatting and laughing.

One look was enough to tell that their relationship was far from ordinary.

By contrast, Zhang Su followed the Rong Family like a lackey.

Even though he too was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had no qualification whatsoever to approach Li Lingbi!