Chapter 359: Penglai tea

Actually, both sides understood the situation clearly.

When Li Qi spoke like that, he definitely hoped the Prefect would help him, and since he had suppressed the Water Gu, it was a small deed, a gift.

And Li Qi himself was willing to give this gift.

He truly empathized.

The Prefect naturally understood the implied meaning; Li Qi would surely have more gifts or other things later, and in short, he truly wanted to visit the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord.

Although the E'zhou Prefect didn't know what use a seventh-rank Cultivator visiting the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord would be, the other party was too much stronger than him, so he couldn't refuse.

This suddenly appearing seventh-rank Shaman was clearly terrifyingly strong.

In just a few minutes, he easily suppressed all the Water Gu in a large river with a Curse of Aversion, and could still speak easily after enduring the backlash…

This was very terrifying.

Every Cultivator who had entered the hall knew how terrifying the Heavenly Dao of the world was; the backlash from arbitrarily changing the ecological environment of a region would certainly be extremely severe.

If Mu Xiulan were to do this himself, he would have to do it little by little, breaking the matter into fragments, taking more than ten years to slowly digest the backlash, only then could he guarantee no injury.

But he saw with his own eyes Li Qi swallow all the backlash in one gulp, and he seemed fine…

Even if Shaman Dao had a vibrant Inner World of the human body that could use the Inner World to resist the Outer World, leading to much stronger endurance, it shouldn't be this strong.

The simple conversation between the two, and Li Qi's single Curse of Aversion, had probably revealed most of what the other party wanted to show.

Since both sides had their own needs, it was only right to sit down and talk; Li Qi followed Prefect Mu Xiulan all the way to the Prefectural Residence.

Upon reaching the Prefectural Residence, they finally left the Mortal world and gained a touch of immortal elegance.

The Prefectural Residence also had a typical Daoist aesthetic, with a grand mansion inside and a garden outside.

Within the garden, pavilions were scattered, flowers and trees were fresh and vibrant, the air was verdant and lush, the scenery was beautiful, and a faint fragrant breeze wafted, making one feel refreshed and light, as if soaring to the clouds, seemingly not a human realm.

Looking at the layout of the garden again.

Immortal cranes chirped and rose from the gate, spiritual alligators roared and cried by the water.

Shimmering leaves reflected jadeite light, and scattered stone shadows carried lotuses.

Clear ponds and steep rocks, deep as a mountain, with a delicate and hidden residence on all sides, green vines winding, flowers blooming and falling; dwelling within, one would suddenly forget they were in the middle of a city.

Li Qi led the old horse through the garden and handed it over to a respectful groom.

The old horse snorted, impatiently pawing its hooves and sticking out its tongue.

According to the old horse's experience, many good things were about to happen.

Li Qi stood at the edge of the garden, slowly advancing while admiring the scenery, and said to Mu Xiulan, "Just a wall apart, yet the difference is so vast, like a different era."

"Sir, those words sound a bit harsh. I, Mu, have never flayed or butchered. On the contrary, I have been diligent in my duties as Prefect. This Prefectural Residence was not built by common laborers; it was built by my own hands, and what I used was merely the salary the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord promised me," Mu Xiulan said with a smile. "To say I have influenced them, I'm afraid it's only for the good, not for the bad. The reason for such a great disparity between them and me is solely in our cultivation."

Li Qi found it hard to refute this statement.

Because in reality, it was very likely to be true.

A seventh-rank Daoist Cultivator, frankly, could completely build this garden by himself, without needing any outsiders.

Those ordinary Mortals outside were of no help to him at all.

Even that inferior official position was essentially provided to him by the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord.

Because all the national fortune of Lingxiao Kingdom itself, and the very existence of its rank, were enjoyed solely by the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord.

Other officials and clerks merely shared the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord's authority and power with her permission; the people outside truly had little to do with them.

Prefect Mu, in essence, just took the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord's money to do what she asked him to do: manage this prefecture well.

But this work had little connection with the ordinary people outside.

He had no obligation or responsibility to make these commoners live well; he only needed to be responsible to the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord. Anyway, he could live very well on his own, with no connection to the ordinary people outside. He didn't need, nor did he have to, exploit them.

The two sides could even be said to not be of the same species. He was a dignified seventh-rank Daoist Cultivator; even if he was wild, he was still a long-lived being. The societies they inhabited were not the same, and there was no link of productivity or production relations between them.

It was like aliens and Earthlings; no matter how prosperous an alien civilization was, it had nothing to do with Earthlings, and aliens had no obligation or responsibility to advance Earthlings' technology.

It was cruel and realistic.

Only the Dao of Humanity could achieve what Tang Nation did, where powerful Cultivators had the obligation to bear social responsibility in a purely sacrificial form.

At this moment, Li Qi waved his hand and smiled easily, "Prefect, you jest. I didn't mean that. I was just surprised that the Prefect could build such an immortal garden in such a place."

"After all, you see, in the Baiyue Area, spiritual sources are weak, and Dao conflicts are constant. Building an Immortal Cave here is much less efficient, incomparable to the Shaman God Mountain direction."

Hearing Li Qi's explanation, Mu Xiulan seemed to relax a little. He also gave a bitter smile and sighed, "That may be so, but we were born in Baiyue, what can we do?"

"In Baiyue, I am a Prefect of a prefecture, with a seventh-rank cultivation. Apart from the various Kingdom Lords and their sixth-rank confidantes, I can walk sideways in Baiyue. Although resources are not as abundant as outside, and the environment is not as good, the competition is not great, and I can always get the resources of this small plot of land."

"Being caught between the Dao of Humanity and Shaman Dao is indeed uncomfortable, but it also means it's not easy for things to go wrong… Anyone who wants to interfere in Baiyue's affairs has to weigh whether they are qualified enough."

"If I were to choose Shaman God Mountain, or Tang Nation, not to mention their sea-like existence of high-rank Cultivators, just among those of the same seventh-rank as me, what use could I be?"

As he spoke, Mu Xiulan looked at Li Qi: "Someone of Sir's strength, who can easily withstand the backlash of a large river, would naturally be like a fish in water outside, able to soar. But if we leave Baiyue, we would go from local tyrants to mangy snakes."

Li Qi heard this and stopped speaking.

To say more would be impolite.

The two fell into a brief silence, then quickly left the garden and entered the main hall of the residence, sitting opposite each other.

The Prefect spoke, saying, "Someone, bring tea."

But at this moment, Li Qi smiled and shook his head, "I came unannounced this time and still need the Prefect to help me convey my message. How could I possibly drink the Prefect's tea? I happen to have some good stuff here that I'd like the Prefect to sample."

"Oh? Good tea that even someone of Sir's caliber praises? Then I must certainly experience it," Mu Xiulan immediately said.

He was also a bit curious, was this the 'benefit' Li Qi was going to give him?

It didn't seem like it. Everyone was seventh-rank; how good could tea be?

It should just be a way to build a relationship with him.

However, it certainly wasn't something that could be casually brought out. This time, he probably would get an eye-opener and see what good things these people from outside Baiyue enjoyed.

Thinking this, Mu Xiulan watched Li Qi carefully take out a few tea leaves from his芥子袋.

These tea leaves were unremarkable, looking withered and yellow, and they were soft.

Clearly, they hadn't been stir-fried or roasted; they were simply picked, and not very well preserved, left to gradually wither and yellow.

Such storage conditions… Wouldn't any good tea be ruined? Could this even be drunk?

Suspiciously, Li Qi watched the other party take out the tea leaves, carefully selecting four leaves, two for each person.

Then, without using any flowing water or spiritual springs, he simply gathered water vapor from the air, condensed it into two water masses, boiled them with fire Qi, and then put them into cups.

He didn't even use a teapot…

Without the teapot step, the tea's flavor would be reduced by three points.

Was there something unusual about this tea that required such brewing, or did this person… simply not understand tea at all?

Mu Xiulan leaned towards the former; the tea must have something special about it.

However, in reality, Li Qi was the latter.

He had read books on tea ceremony, but as for brewing tea himself, sorry, he had never done it.

Things learned on paper shouldn't be brought out to make a fool of oneself, lest he be embarrassed.

It was better to just boil water out of thin air and brew tea, which would maintain his demeanor as a master.

After all, his tea leaves were truly excellent.

The tea leaves from the immortal tea tree of Penglai Immortal Mountain, which he had

obtained from Zhu Fengdan, were the best tea in the world even if not brewed, but simply chewed dry in the mouth, the saliva produced was top-notch.

No way, the quality was overwhelming.

Back then, Yu Mengniang's elegant and perfect tea brewing technique, wasn't it also useless?

Li Qi swiftly finished brewing the two cups of tea, not bothering with things like first and second infusions, and directly placed the cups in front of Mu Xiulan, saying, "Prefect, please taste."

The Prefect was initially a bit hesitant, but suddenly a strange fragrance wafted to his nose, making him feel refreshed and invigorated.

He eagerly picked up the cup and took a sip.

This… this tea—!?

Mu Xiulan's eyes widened! An illusory vision actually appeared before him!

He seemed to have seen an immortal realm.

That was a supreme, pure aura, something he had always pursued!

Drizzling rain passed through the glazed palace, and the gentle wind chilled the clear beach.

Towering mountains with eternal snow, and a bright night sky with a thousand cold trees.

The clouds cleared and the sky was high, the floodwaters receded and the water was pure.

Chilling dew drops condensed, reflecting the clear green mountains.

Rolling waves shook the sea Qi, and boats sailed a hundred miles on the sea's light.

Within this space, the soul was stirred, observing the vast Mortal world.

Just a trace of the aura caused such an illusion… No, this…

Wait, it wasn't an illusion! Was this an auspicious sign produced after his cultivation became pure?!

The difference between an auspicious sign and an illusion was simple.

An illusion was fake, deceiving oneself.

An auspicious sign was real, and usually a side manifestation of something; in other words, he wasn't deceived, but truly saw a projection of something.

He felt that this tea leaf actually guided his cultivation towards a more 'orthodox' direction.

Mu Xiulan even gave up communicating with Li Qi.

He immediately entered meditation, beginning to imitate that trace of aura to adjust his Golden Core.

Regardless of right or wrong, everything was based on that trace of aura!

Because he felt it—

That trace of aura emanating from the tea leaves… was Penglai!

Penglai was a Holy Land of the Dao Sect, one of the Three Immortal Mountains.

The so-called Three Immortal Mountains were Penglai, Fanghu, and Yingzhou.

These were the most important gathering places of the Dao Sect, located in the northeast of the world, sandwiched between the East Sea and the North Pole Spirit Dao, half sea and half mountain.

The Three Immortal Mountains and Ten Grotto-Heavens were the absolute orthodoxy of the Dao Sect.

This was an Opportunity, a great Opportunity!

People like him didn't know if they would ever have the chance to visit Penglai in this life, because to go to Penglai, one had to first find Huliang, which was hidden in the vast ocean, carried on the back of a giant turtle, constantly moving, making it impossible to find.

In the East Sea and the sea within the Dao Sect's territory, there were not a few fourth-rank existences, and fifth and sixth-rank Cultivators could only be local overlords, similar to the Baiyue Kingdom Lords.

The mere Baiyue Area had dozens of Kingdom Lords, at least dozens of fifth-rank Cultivators.

This was the center of the world, of all the heavens and myriad realms; it was terrifying.

A mere seventh-rank Cultivator here had the power to protect himself, but trying to cross the world from Baiyue to Penglai was simply seeking death.

That monk was the same; going from Baiyue to the Western Regions would most likely result in death along the way.

That's why Li Qi sighed at his devotion to the Dao.

And now, the aura of Penglai was right before his eyes; how could Mu Xiulan remain calm?!

This cultivation session lasted eighteen hours.

It wasn't until that trace of aura from Penglai was completely integrated into his Golden Core that he instantly transformed from a wild Daoist into a wild Daoist with a tiny bit of Penglai aura.

But that was enough.

This had already advanced his Dao path by a great step, and even on a dead-end path, there was now a faint chance of Breakthrough.

Originally, seventh-rank was Mu Xiulan's limit, but now… if he took this trace of Penglai Qi as his foundation, he might even have the possibility of breaking through to sixth-rank. Although the chance was one in ten thousand, there was hope after all.

Mu Xiulan opened his eyes with a complex gaze, finding Li Qi still sitting in front of him.

Indeed, for someone of the same seventh-rank, a dozen or so hours was merely the time for a nap.

In just the time it took for a nap, he was no longer the same as before; even his future and prospects had been rewritten.

"Sir… ah no, Lord! That tea leaf… what is it?" He stood up, no longer daring to sit opposite Li Qi.

"penglai immortal tea, from the mother tea tree on the mountain top. Of course, it's a degraded version because it was picked from a half-dead tree. If it were fresh, properly processed, and then cellared, that would be considered true penglai immortal tea."

"What I have here has already lost nine-tenths of its efficacy," Li Qi said.

This was true; the tea tree Zhu Fengdan had snatched was already half-dead. He probably got tired of drinking it and left it somewhere, likely to send it back after a while.

As for the processing technique… Li Qi didn't understand it and couldn't do it.

But even so, it was enough to put Mu Xiulan in his debt for a great favor.

"So, the tea has been drunk, Prefect, could you please convey my message to the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord—" Li Qi stood up.

"Leave it to me! Even if the Lingxiao Kingdom Lord is in seclusion, I'll swallow my pride and make sure she comes out!" Mu Xiulan's tone was resolute.