Chapter 8
Shi Anxu looked puzzled. "Huh? What bad news?"
Jiang Linyu explained, "Senior brother, you felt it when you got the box, right? This box isn't made of ordinary materials."
Shi Anxu felt the spiritual energy flowing through his fingertips and said, "Hmm, it feels very comfortable to hold."
"It should feel comfortable. This box is made from a branch of the Divine Tree. When you touch the box, the power of the Divine Tree will flow into your body through your fingers," Jiang Linyu said.
"So what's the bad news? Is there something wrong with the box?" Shi Anxu continued to ask.
Jiang Linyu sighed, "Since the box is made from a branch of the divine tree, the power of the branch itself is limited after it is broken off from the divine tree. The current situation is that the power of the box is almost exhausted, and it may not last more than a few days."
After listening, Shi Anxu said angrily, "I knew the organizers wouldn't be so kind. It turns out it's a Fuyuan Grass that's about to expire."
Hearing Shi Anxu's strange words, Jiang Linyu couldn't help but ask, "What does 'expired' mean?"
Shi Anxu then realized that he had let something slip in his anger, and quickly tried to cover it up: "'Expired' means past its expiration date. I just meant that this Fuyuan Grass won't last much longer."
Jiang Linyu didn't ask any further questions, and simply replied, "So that's what it means."
Shi Anxu was now extremely embarrassed about saying the wrong thing. Fearing that he would say more and make more mistakes in his current state, he said to Jiang Linyu, "Since time is so tight, Junior Brother Jiang, I will go back first and discuss with Junior Brother Mu how to use it as soon as possible."
Jiang Linyu nodded and said, "Senior Brother Shi, if you have something to attend to, please go back as soon as possible."
Shi Anxu nodded slightly to Jiang Linyu, then turned and flew towards Qinnian Peak on his fan.
After making this trip, Shi Anxu lost all interest in cooking and took the box to find Mu Qingzhou.
In the spirit pool behind the Immortal Fruit Forest on Qinnian Peak, Mu Qingzhou was soaking in the spirit spring water. The shimmering water reflected tiny glimmers of light, and the twinkling stars were reflected on Mu Qingzhou's handsome face.
The landscape and the beautiful woman together form a painting.
When Shi Anxu found Mu Qingzhou, this was the scene that greeted him, and he was gradually stunned.
His junior apprentice is indeed pleasing to the eye; just looking at him can brighten one's mood considerably.
"Who's there?!"
As she watched, Mu Qingzhou's cold voice reached Shi Anxu's ears.
It's a pity he was discovered. I was hoping to watch a little longer and enjoy the view.
"It's me, Shi Anxu."
Mu Qingzhou stood up from the spirit pool and put on the disciple's robes on the ground one by one, giving Shi Anxu a scene of a beauty being released from prison.
He subconsciously touched his nose, then held his finger up to his eyes to check for blood. Seeing no blood, he breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he wasn't so pathetic as to get a nosebleed just from seeing a beautiful woman.
While Shi Anxu was thinking about these things, Mu Qingzhou had already walked up to him and asked, "Senior brother, how did you find your way here? Is there something important?"
Shi Anxu shook his head to clear his mind of the images and said, "Junior Brother Jiang just asked me to go and get the Fuyuan Grass, but he told me that the power of the box used to preserve it is about to run out, and the Fuyuan Grass won't be able to be preserved for long. So I thought I'd discuss with you how to extract the power of the Fuyuan Grass as soon as possible."
Mu Qingzhou held out his hand to Shi Anxu, "Let me see the box."
Shi Anxu placed the box in his palm.
Mu Qingzhou grasped the box, closed his eyes, and felt the residual power within it. A light frost formed on the surface of the box in his hand.
Soon, Mu Qingzhou opened her eyes, and the frost on the box surface had completely disappeared.
"I just infused my spiritual power into the box, so the Fuyuan Grass can be preserved for at least another half month."
Shi Anxu also learned something new: "So it turns out that injecting spiritual energy can extend the preservation time."
Mu Qingzhou: "If you want to know more, I can tell you."
Upon hearing this, Shi Anxu wanted to run away, "No need, Senior Brother isn't interested. The food hasn't even started yet, and you're already leaving."
Watching Shi Anxu's retreating figure, Mu Qingzhou slightly curled the corners of his lips, and for the first time, warmth appeared on his cold face.
Mu Qingzhou stared at his fingers, savoring the lingering warmth from when he had pinched his senior brother's shoulder.
Shi Anxu ran from the Spirit Pool to the kitchen in one breath. He really didn't want to cultivate or learn these things. Wouldn't it be better to be a lazy bum?
If he had talent, that would be fine; with hard work, there was at least hope. But for him, there was no hope at all. Cultivation was a waste of his youth; he should have used that youth to appreciate the magnificent landscapes of the cultivation world.
However, at the current pace, he will have to take care of Mu Qingzhou for several decades before he can truly understand it.
Having read so many cultivation novels in his younger days, the scenery described in them was simply breathtaking. He would travel around properly after completing his mission before leaving.
Now it's time to finish the task and prepare today's celebratory feast.
Shi Anxu worked hard for most of the day and finally finished preparing the feast before it got completely dark.
He felt a great sense of accomplishment looking at the table full of delicious-looking food, but he always felt that something was missing.
Then he noticed the porcelain cups he had already arranged and realized what was missing: wine!
How could a celebration be complete without fine wine? He had been craving his master's osmanthus wine for a long time. He had the good fortune to taste it once a few years ago, and he still couldn't forget the flavor.
Now that his master is gone, he has to drink his fill.
Let him think about it. He remembered that his master usually buried the brewed wine under the immortal fruit trees in the immortal fruit forest.
Shi Anxu found a small shovel and, as soon as he entered the Immortal Fruit Forest, he chose the nearest Immortal Fruit Tree and started digging under it.
After accomplishing the feat of uprooting five fairy fruit trees, Shi Anxu finally unearthed osmanthus wine under the bottom six trees.
He happily carried the wine jars one by one into his arms and carefully walked step by step toward the courtyard where they were eating.
After he had exhausted all his strength to carry it to the courtyard, Mu Qingzhou had already sat down and brewed himself a pot of tea, which he was savoring.
Seeing Shi Anxu looking disheveled and carrying two jars of wine, Mu Qingzhou immediately put down his teacup and took the wine from Shi Anxu's arms.
"Why did you decide to drink today, Senior Brother?"
"Since it's a celebration, how can we forget the finest wine?"
The two walked to the table and sat down. Shi Anxu uncorked the wine jar, and in an instant, the unique fragrance of osmanthus spread in the air.
As soon as Mu Qingzhou smelled the aroma, he knew that his senior brother had dug up their master's treasured homemade osmanthus wine.
"Senior brother, is this the osmanthus wine that Master has treasured?"
"Yes, we can finally have a drink again."
As he spoke, he lifted the wine jar and filled the wine cups in front of the two men with wine.
"If Master were still here, he would probably be chasing Senior Brother all over the mountain."
"Yes, actually I quite miss the days when my master was chasing me to cultivate."
As Shi Anxu spoke, he felt a bitter taste rising in his heart, and he raised his wine glass to his lips.
Mu Qingzhou seemed to be infected by Shi Anxu's emotions, and also picked up a bag and drank it down.
Although Shi Anxu and Mu Qingzhou's master was the number one immortal, he wasn't as cold as Mu Qingzhou; he was an extremely interesting person. He brewed his own wine, would occasionally take them down the mountain for excursions, and even taught Shi Anxu his current culinary skills.
Back then, young Shi Anxu's favorite thing to do was to go down the mountain with his master and junior brother to play. They didn't have to cultivate and could see all sorts of novel gadgets. Sometimes, his master's wife would also accompany them. These were Shi Anxu's happiest times.
However, the seal on the demon realm later loosened, and some demons escaped. A large number of cultivators were lured into demonic possession, and the cultivation world descended into chaos.
Every day, Shi Anxu could only see Su Qinyi's exhausted face. He could only take the initiative to take on the affairs on the peak, not wanting Su Qinyi to worry about anything anymore.
Later, the sects joined forces to eliminate the demonic cultivators, and the situation improved. Su Qinyi's brows relaxed, and Shi Anxu thought they would soon be able to return to their former lives.
Unexpectedly, the escaped demon was unwilling to be sealed back into the demon realm. He deliberately chose a small town as his hiding place and held the town's people hostage, forcing the cultivation world to release him.
As the First Immortal Venerable, Su Qinyi should shoulder his responsibilities, so he went alone and used his primordial spirit to protect the people of the city.
The life Shi Anxu wanted is gone forever...
“Come on, junior brother, let’s have a drink. If our master could see that we’ve resolved all those issues ourselves, and that his most prized disciple has won second place in the sect competition, he would be very pleased.” Shi Anxu poured more wine for the two of them.
"Yes, Master will be proud of us." Mu Qingzhou raised his glass to clink with Shi Anxu's.
Shi Anxu was both sad and happy that day. In addition, he had been craving osmanthus wine for a long time, and he couldn't control himself and ended up drunk.
"Junior brother... hiccup, let's go see Master's wife now. I wonder how she's doing." Shi Anxu finished speaking and got up as if to go find Mu Xize, but he stepped on a pebble as soon as he took a step and fell backward.
Mu Qingzhou had a better alcohol tolerance than Shi Anxu, but even after drinking so much, he was only slightly tipsy.
He saw Shi Anxu fall backward and quickly caught her.
Shi Anxu raised his hand and wrapped his arms around Mu Qingzhou's neck and waist, murmuring, "Junior brother, are you carrying me to find your master's wife? You're so kind, hiccup."
Mu Qingzhou supported Shi Anxu's bottom with his hand to make sure Shi Anxu wouldn't fall, then took Shi Anxu back to the spirit dwelling where the two of them lived.
He wanted to untie Shi Anxu's legs that were wrapped around his waist and then place him on the couch.
But Shi Anxu wouldn't cooperate, clinging tightly to his waist and refusing to let go, "I don't want to get down, this isn't Master's house."
Mu Qingzhou softened his tone, "Senior brother, you're drunk. Let me sleep on the bed first, and we'll go see your mistress tomorrow."
Shi Anxu ignored Mu Qingzhou's words and hugged her even tighter, "I'm not... I'm not drunk, I want to go see my master's wife right now..."
It turns out that the drunkard wasn't very determined to see his master's wife; he fell asleep as soon as he finished speaking, clinging to Mu Qingzhou.
Mu Qingzhou struggled to pull Shi Anxu off her and place him on the bed. Then she took off his shoes and socks and tucked him in.
Just as she was about to turn around and go back to tidy up, Shi Anxu turned around and pulled Mu Qingzhou onto the bed as well.
Mu Qingzhou was pulled into the bed by Shi Anxu. The two were very close, and Shi Anxu's breath, which smelled of alcohol, sprayed onto Mu Qingzhou's face.
Mu Qingzhou's face turned bright red instantly, and he quickly got up and left the bed.
He returned to the courtyard where they ate and placed his hand on his chest.
At this moment, the heart inside was beating several times faster than usual.
What's wrong with him? How could he have those feelings for his senior brother?
Is it because he always slept in the same spirit house as his senior brother?
It seems I should keep some distance from my senior.
After finishing cleaning the courtyard, Mu Qingzhou did a quick tidy-up of another spirit dwelling next to his original one and rested there for the night.
The next day, Shi Anxu didn't wake up until 9 AM.
Upon waking, all the memories of his drunken night flooded his mind.
Shi Anxu covered his head with the blanket; he was too ashamed to face Mu Qingzhou...
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