Xu Zimo followed the man in white farther inside.
At the very heart of the place stood rows of thatched cottages.
The cottages were built facing the river, arranged in neat, scale-like rows. Though made of thatch, they were orderly and uniformly planned.
An Eight Immortals table stood before each cottage.
The Eight Immortals table stood upon legs fashioned after the feet of immortals.
The man in white smiled and asked, "Wine or tea?"
"Tea. After bitterness comes sweetness. In my view, your Zhengyang Sect is much like this tea."
Xu Zimo spoke calmly.
With a wave of his hand, the man in white casually took a canister of tea from thin air.
Before the tea had even steeped, its fragrance and bitterness had already mingled together, wafting out like a blooming scent.
"Please have a taste, Daoist friend. Is it bitterness that overwhelms fragrance, or fragrance that covers bitterness?" the man in white asked with a smile.
Hot water came at his beck and call.
At the end of that river lay a spring.
With a casual wave, the man in white drew the sweetest spring water through the air.
The sound of brewing tea flickered amid deep-blue flames.
The man in white personally poured a pot and brought it before Xu Zimo.
Xu Zimo did not answer the question directly.
Instead, he took a sip of tea and asked, "What is the purpose of your cultivation?"
"Or let me put it more simply."
"Why do you believe in the cultivation path of High Person Nine Yang?"
The man in white fell silent for a moment.
At last, he said, "Heaven rewards diligence. The Sect Master often says that Heaven has eyes, especially after that great rain that swept across the entire world some time ago."
Xu Zimo knew