Wu Qi took a few hurried steps forward and came to stand in front of the restaurant and the meat shop as he quickly exercised the Mystic Eyes of Universe. He looked to the left and right very carefully, but found no traces of the bookstore. It was gone completely, as if it had never existed before.
He pulled over a cultivator who happened to pass by, appearing to be a Nascent Soul cultivator. The cultivator glared at Wu Qi and was about to scold him for the rude interruption. However, as Wu Qi tightened his grip, an enormously powerful force was sent over to keep the cultivator captive, even restraining his Nascent Soul. Instantly, the furious cultivator bowed his head and asked in a low voice, "Is there anything I can help, Senior? I'll definitely do it properly!"
Snorting coldly, Wu Qi pointed at the wall between the restaurant and the meat shop, then asked, "Was there a bookstore here before?"
The Nascent Soul cultivator was struck dumb. After a fairly long moment of silence, he looked to the left and right, and with a terrified expression, he told Wu Qi, "Senior, this... I've stayed in An He City for over one hundred years. The restaurant... The Drunken Immortals Restaurant is well-known for their delicious dishes and wines, and the Old Yellow's Meat Shop is an old business that has been passed down for tens of generations, who sell the best pork and lamb in the city. As for a bookstore, there is only one bookstore in the entire An He City, which you can find right outside the City Lord Mansion. And, they specialize in selling sundry products!"
With effort, Wu Qi swallowed a lump in his throat and pushed the cultivator away. After that, he took a step forward and disappeared with teleportation.
The cultivator was caught unprepared when Wu Qi pushed him away, causing him to stagger and fall to the ground. Thinking that he was protected by a rather strong Master, he was getting ready to scold Wu Qi. However, when he saw how Wu Qi disappeared right before his eyes, he quickly covered his mouth with hands, then gave his own face a few not-so-strong slaps.
"My goodness, is he a Nascent Divinity cultivator? No, I think he might be a Heaven Immortal! He just teleported away like a gust of wind! Aye, a Heaven Immortal has just thrown me to the ground today! What a fortune!" The cultivator rose to his feet happily, throwing his head back and laughed, "Haha, a Heaven Immortal has just thrown me to the ground! I've been struck by an Immortal fortune!"
Meanwhile, wearing a gloomy face, Wu Qi teleported back into the City Lord Mansion, then immediately exchanged his identity with a celestial fiend puppet who had disguised as him. After that, he hastily found Lao Ai at the rear hall of the mansion, who was in the middle of playing tricks on Hidden Heart. With a low voice, Wu Qi warned, "We have to be extra careful during these few days. A mighty existence is in the city, and I've just bumped into him."
Lao Ai retracted his Buddhist light and asked in a doubtful voice deprecatingly, "What kind of mighty existence?"
Wu Qi told Lao Ai what he had encountered just now in a quick tone, and Lao Ai's expression changed drastically. He stared blankly at Wu Qi and asked, "So, it just disappeared into thin air? And, although his bookstore was there between the restaurant and the meat shop, nobody had discovered anything unusual?"
Wu Qi affirmed that with a nod. "The bookstore was definitely not targeted at me. It is just an impromptu bookstore opened by that blind old man," said Wu Qi, "But, what startled me was that nobody in the neighborhood found it strange. His ability is a true marvel!"
Lao Ai shuddered, then looked around carefully and said, "That Liu Yi is just a small potato who wants nothing but stirring up troubles. Will there be a great storm in An He City? We can't withstand anything too powerful with our current cultivation base... Why don't we just leave?"
Wu Qi gave Lao Ai a fierce gaze, grinning coldly as he said, "Leave? Why should we leave? Fortune comes from danger, we just have to be extra careful. One way or another, I will bring An He City under my control! Even if we are leaving, we will do that only when we can't hold it anymore." Then, he fished out the packet of tea leaves which the blind old man had given him, about the size of a baby's fist. "Now, let's see if there is any magic hiding in these tea leaves."
After asking Hidden Heart to shut the door with a gesture, Wu Qi took out a small charcoal burner and a teapot. With a casual pointing of his finger in the air, a stream of pure water poured out from the void into the teapot. Then, he fished out a few fine quality Silversnow charcoals and kindled them. Before long, the water was boiling in the teapot.
The packet of tea leaves was unfolded, revealing a small pile of coarse tea leaves which looked poor in quality. The leaves were rather large, and even mixed with some stems. A very strong and bitter scent was coming out of the tea leaves, and one could tell it was not a good tea species just by the smell of it. Paying no attention to the brewing method, Wu Qi threw all the tea leaves, about 50 grams of them, into the teapot and raised the heat.
Soon, the raging flame boiled the water. Wu Qi shoved the charcoal burner back into the black dragon spirit ring and pulled out four big bowls, pouring the pitch-black tea into four equal portions. Not only did he pour the tea into the bowls, he even divided the tea leaves equally and threw them into the bowls. Finally, he took up a bowl, staring at Lao Ai with a smile as he said, "Drink with me if you have the guts. Let us see what kind of magical effect does this tea has to offer. Hehe, I've done business with him and gave him a packet of fine tea leaves, so I think he will not harm me with poison, right?"
Madman Xue and Hidden Heart turned to look at Lao Ai at the same time, but their Master just sat there motionlessly on the bed, twitching his lips as he looked at Wu Qi and said, "You drink first... no gentleman will stand next to a collapsing wall. I, Lao Ai, despite everything, can be considered as half a gentleman, eh?"
From the corner of his eyes, Wu Qi gave Lao Ai a disdainful gaze. However, Lao Ai maintained his solemn expression and remained sitting on the bed, putting his palms together as he stared at Wu Qi. Seeing that Lao Ai acted so shamelessly, Wu Qi had no other choice but to bring the bowl of tea before his own face. He took a deep breath and carefully drank the tea, even swallowing all the tea leaves.
It tasted very bitter and astringent, and the texture was coarse, as if there were countless dirt particles mixed in the liquid, hard to swallow. But still, Wu Qi tried his best and managed to swallow both the tea and tea leaves. Immediately, a warm sensation raised from his stomach, and gradually flowed throughout his entire body. The aura of death clogged up within his body was being slowly dissolved, transforming into a pure life force completely opposite to the aura of death, ultimately fusing with him.
He was sweating profusely, while a pure Yang aura spread out of his body, raising the temperature in the room. Wu Qi narrowed his eyes. He felt as if he were a small seedling which was suddenly nourished by sufficient sunlight, water, and fertilizer, all of which made him grow up abruptly and turn into a tall and healthy tree. His five internal organs trembled together as the innate spirit root in them expanded and grew larger, emanating a lively vitality that made Wu Qi feel extremely comfortable.
With just one bowl of tea, the entirety of Wu Qi had been strengthened. So much so, that even his cultivation of Thirty-six Transformations of True Dragon showed the sign of breaking into the realm of thirty-fifth transformation. He laughed heartily, reaching his hand to the other three bowls.
Though he was fast, Lao Ai, Madman Xue, and Hidden Heart were even faster than him. Right at the moment when the pure Yang aura spread out from his body, they had extended their hands to grab one bowl each. And when Wu Qi was laughing joyfully, they had already poured the tea and tea leaves into their mouths and downed everything in one gulp.
Suddenly, Hidden Heart sighed lightly as a relic appeared above his head, underneath which, three white lotus thrones had fully taken shape.
And almost at the same time, Madman Xue gave a delightful laugh as a beam of pinkish light shot out from the top of his head, amidst which, a little Nascent Soul could be seen wheeling around.
On the other hand, Lao Ai snorted coldly while cracking noises could be heard coming out from all of his bones, and blood was oozing out from underneath his skin. Even as his lips curved into a pleased and sinister smile, numerous streams of pinkish light burst out from within his body. Gradually and increasingly, a faint golden hue emerged among the pinkish light, and eventually, all the light emitting from him turned into pure golden color.
The Wheel of Delight sprung out from behind his head, as three fist-sized relics radiating with a pinkish gleam were bobbing on top of the wheel. Under each of the relic hovered three golden lotus flowers, making it a total of nine golden lotus flowers hovering behind Lao Ai's head. A fascinating fragrance kept spreading out from around him, having a bizarre power that could stir one's soul.
Looking at the strange sign that appeared above Lao Ai's head, Hidden Heart could not help but praise with a nod, "Master is truly a Bodhisattva! His divine ability and magical power are not something we, the ordinary monks, could ever compare with!"
Reflexively, Wu Qi stopped breathing, shut all his pores, and even cast a few restrictive spells around him, isolating himself from the fragrance exuded from Lao Ai. After that, he sent a divine will over to Lao Ai and asked, "What tricks are you playing now?"
Lao Ai's reply came very quickly, "It is indeed an excellent and magical tea! Not only is my injury fully cured, I've formed my immortal soul and the lotus thrones for my relics! I've attained both the rightful fruits of Heaven Immortal and Arhat at the same time! Hehe, once I release my aura, I can attract my heavenly tribulation at any time!"
While Wu Qi was about to give Lao Ai a few sarcastic comments, he suddenly received a very clear divine will from one of his celestial fiend puppets, who was currently staying in the main hall of the mansion dealing with Liu Yi.
"Retract all the strange signs, quick!" Wu Qi cried out in a low voice, "The people of Euphoria Heavenly Palace are here, and they are led by Lady Qiao, as well as two of her bedmates! Tsk, both of her bedmates are actually Thirty-third Tier Heaven Immortals!"
Immediately after he said that, a soft, affectionately sweet, and coquettish call was heard coming from the front hall, "I have arrived. Where are my children?"
*Slash!* Upon hearing the voice, Madman Xue's pants ripped apart from the middle.
"Ugh!" Although Hidden Heart had just taken a leap in his realm, his cultivation base and magical power were only at the peak-stage of Gold Core realm, and he could not withstand the voice. As the cultivation technique of Euphoria Heavenly Palace was totally suppressing the Zen technique of Buddhist, the enchanting voice invaded Hidden Heart's mind and caused blood to spray out from his seven apertures.
After just a slight sway of his body, Wu Qi's expression returned to complete calm immediately. He looked at the pale-faced Hidden Heart, then casually cast a spirit rune onto the old monk, helping him calm down both his mind and spirit.
Lao Ai was the only one in the company who was not affected by the call. Instead, he became extremely excited, hastily pulling out a fresh set of clothes and tidying his appearance. "Just from the voice, I can tell this woman is hotter than that lustful vixen, Su Mei'er. I'm going to spend some good time enjoying her today!"
Before long, Wu Qi, who had retracted all his aura, together with Lao Ai, who had changed into a fresh outfit, seemingly radiating a brilliant glow from all over his body, came to the entrance of the mansion to welcome the Master of Euphoria Heavenly Palace, Lady Qiao.
When Lao Ai made his appearance, his faint fragrance immediately spread out and filled the entire front yard.
The coquettish voice suddenly echoed out, filled with a joy that could not be concealed,
"I never expected to meet an excellent man such as you here! I wonder, do I have the honor to invite you as a guest in my bedroom?"