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Li Zi swallowed hard. When she looked up, she happened to meet the teahouse owner's eyes. "Thank you, sir," she said obediently.

The teahouse owner's smile deepened, with even a touch of affection in it.

"Drink up."

Li Zi took a sip. The liquid had little flavor, but it felt icy cold, like a chilled drink just taken from the fridge.

But that coolness came from the dense spiritual energy within. The liquid slid down her throat and flowed straight into her dantian.

A chill rose in her dantian, then spread through every meridian in her body, instantly driving away the heat in the air.

It was as though someone had dumped a basin of cold water over her on a scorching summer day. Even the hot wind seemed to turn cool.

Once the chill faded, a vast surge of spiritual power gathered in her dantian. After just one sip, even Ji Zheng and Zhu Min, both at the Golden Core Stage, could feel that the spiritual power in their dantians had grown considerably stronger.

Li Zi's reaction was even more intense. A boom erupted inside her, and waves of force burst outward. With that single sip, she had reached Foundation Establishment Realm Fifth Stage Peak.

The teahouse owner snatched the bowl from Li Zi's hands and turned to the others. "Drink all of yours. Your cultivation is low, so one bowl a day is the most any of you can have."

Then he told Li Zi, "You can only have one sip. This may help with cultivation, but you mustn't drink too much."

The sudden warmth left all four of them rather ill at ease.

As soon as they finished the tea, Song Wanbai urged them to leave.

But they were not given the chance.

A spry old woman