At that moment, the two Daoist attendants, Qingfeng and Mingyue, could not help secretly curling their lips.
Hmph, what do you think Ginseng Fruit is?
It comes from one of the ten supreme-grade innate spirit roots.
It flowers once every three thousand years, bears fruit after another three thousand, and takes yet another three thousand to ripen.
And in all those nearly ten thousand years, it produces only thirty immortal fruits.
Just imagine how precious they are!
Yet you, Gu Changqing, think you can take such immortal fruit with a single request?
What was more, Gu Changqing looked utterly drunk, his steps unsteady and his body swaying. He showed none of a mighty expert's bearing or dignity.
Had anyone else dared behave like this, it would long since have been deemed disrespectful to Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi.
Yet while the two attendants were inwardly grumbling, something unexpected happened.
Zhen Yuanzi waved the horsetail whisk in his hand and said:
"Hehe, certainly, certainly!"
Then he turned to Qingfeng and Mingyue.
"Go and fetch three Ginseng Fruits at once!"
Qingfeng and Mingyue were dumbfounded.
Their Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi had actually agreed?
And he was giving away three whole immortal fruits at once?
It was truly shocking beyond belief!
After all, even when Zhen Yuanzi entertained mighty experts of his own generation, a single fruit had always been enough.
For a moment, the two were utterly stunned.
But cowed by Gu Changqing's status as a Saint's disciple, as well as Zhen Yuanzi's immense authority, they held their tongues.
In the end, neither attendant dared say another word, and they left to carry out his order.
Before long, the two attendants returned, respectfully bearing three Ginseng Fruits, and placed them in Gu Changqing's hands.
Gu Changqing was quite pleased and delighted at the sight.
"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi, you truly are generous."
"I, the Wine Sword Immortal, will remember this kindness."
"In the future... hic... I shall await your visit to the Interception Sect."
Zhen Yuanzi smiled at those words.
"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Wine Sword Immortal, you are the foremost Great Luo of the Three Pure Ones' lineages."
"Moreover, you are the first and only supreme twelve-petaled Great Luo in all eternity. Even we can only gaze at the dust left in the wake of such talent."
"Giving these Ginseng Fruits to a dazzling genius like you certainly does not squander them."
Zhen Yuanzi made no mention of Saint Tongtian.
He had agreed so readily to Gu Changqing's request simply because he wanted to befriend him.
After all, the potential of a Daluo Golden Immortal whose flower bloomed with twelve petals was unimaginable.
The Three Pure Ones had bloomed with nine petals, yet had achieved proving the Dao of Primordial Unity and attained Sainthood.
Following that reasoning, Gu Changqing might even have a chance to pursue a higher realm beyond the Saints.
Trading a mere three Ginseng Fruits for Gu Changqing's friendship was an enormous gain with no downside.
Nor did it end there. Zhen Yuanzi changed the subject and continued:
"I also have a few jars of fine wine here in my Wuzhuang Temple."
"Though brewed only from ordinary spirit roots and immortal fruits, they have the wondrous effects of strengthening one's foundation, nourishing one's vitality, and improving the body and primordial spirit."
"If you do not mind, you may take them along as well."
As he spoke, Zhen Yuanzi swept his hand, and over a hundred jars of fine wine appeared before Gu Changqing.
Gu Changqing did not refuse.
His gaze shifted to Ji Ren, who was slowly waking beside him.
"Hehe, very well!"
"Wine brewed from ordinary spirit roots will do for this lad."
"That will save him from drinking my superior immortal brews."
Gu Changqing accepted them at once and bestowed them directly on Ji Ren.
Ji Ren was already dumbstruck by the sight.
His master was actually chatting and laughing with Zhen Yuanzi?
The latter was the renowned Ancestor of Earth Immortals, a supreme expert who ranked among the top ten in the world.
Only at that moment did Ji Ren truly understand just how extraordinary the standing of the man he had chosen as his master was.
With his business concluded, Gu Changqing did not linger.
He immediately bade Zhen Yuanzi farewell and prepared to leave with Ji Ren.
He came and went freely, wild and unrestrained.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished beyond Wuzhuang Temple.
Watching Gu Changqing's departing figure disappear, Qingfeng and Mingyue secretly curled their lips.
"Hmph, what Wine Sword Immortal?"
"As far as I can see, he is nothing but a drunken, stingy wastrel."
So said Qingfeng.
Mingyue immediately agreed.
"Exactly! Our master was generous enough to bestow three whole Ginseng Fruits."
"Yet that Wine Sword Immortal wanted to keep them all for himself and fobbed his disciple off with ordinary wine. How contemptible."
Hearing their words, Zhen Yuanzi's gaze remained calm, and he did not turn his head.
"Silence. Your words are truly foolish!"
"You fail to realize that Fellow Daoist Wine Sword Immortal was merely feigning foolishness, not losing his wits. True wisdom wears the guise of folly."
"That drunken haze was nothing but a disguise."
"Humans have poor innate foundations and frail bodies. How could they withstand the power of Ginseng Fruit?"
"Those ordinary wines, on the other hand, will allow Ji Ren to temper his body, hone his spiritual sense, and gradually strengthen himself..."
Hearing Zhen Yuanzi's explanation, Qingfeng and Mingyue exchanged glances.
So the Wine Sword Immortal had actually been acting for Ji Ren's benefit?
Or rather, he had been laying a foundation for him?
That drunkard with intoxication written all over his face could actually think so far ahead and so thoroughly?
Qingfeng and Mingyue were left staring in astonishment once again.
Elsewhere.
After leaving Wuzhuang Temple, Gu Changqing did not immediately return to the Interception Sect.
Looking thoughtful, he murmured to himself:
"These Ginseng Fruits can prolong life and cleanse the essence and marrow."
"If paired with the Immortal Divine Spring Water, the wine brewed from them would be even finer..."
As he spoke, his eyes lit up, and his gaze settled in the direction of West Kunlun.
That was where the Immortal Divine Spring Water originated.
After spending another few days traveling, Gu Changqing arrived in West Kunlun with Ji Ren.
The moment they descended, a graceful figure appeared.
"I, the Queen Mother of the West, greet Fellow Daoist Wine Sword Immortal of the Interception Sect!"
Indeed!
The newcomer was none other than the Queen Mother of the West, the only mighty expert who presided over this place.
Back in the Demon Court, she had witnessed Gu Changqing single-handedly crush the Twelve Golden Immortals.
Later, she had also witnessed the world-shaking sight of his flower blooming with twelve petals on Golden Ao Island.
Thus, she dared not show Gu Changqing the slightest discourtesy and addressed him as "Fellow Daoist."
Gu Changqing remained brisk and decisive, stating his purpose directly.
Upon hearing that Gu Changqing had come for the Immortal Spring Water here, the Queen Mother of the West was not surprised.
After all, she had no dealings with the Interception Sect, and the only thing in West Kunlun that all living beings coveted was the Immortal Spring Water.
Like Zhen Yuanzi, the Queen Mother of the West generously agreed, allowing Gu Changqing to draw as much Immortal Spring Water as he wished.
He stood on no ceremony, bringing forth the Wine Gourd, which immediately unleashed an earth-shaking devouring force.
Fortunately, although the Immortal Spring Water bore the name "spring,"
what stretched before their eyes was an enormous lake with no shore in sight.
Gu Changqing took over a hundred thousand jin of Immortal Spring Water in one go before finally stopping, thoroughly satisfied.
The sight left the Queen Mother of the West shaken, a bitter expression on her face.
Good heavens!
The Queen Mother of the West was beginning to suspect that this lad wanted to move the Immortal Divine Spring Water to the Interception Sect.
Just then, another voice rang out beyond the mountains of West Kunlun.
"I, the King Father of the East, have come expressly to visit Fellow Daoist Queen Mother of the West!"
Before you continue