After the distillation process of the mixture, Jiu Shen opened the distilling barrel and took a whiff of the mixture lying inside.
“It smells like grapes but with a much stronger kick. I just need to age this one for two and a half years and it should be ready to be sold by then.” Jiu Shen nodded to himself as he poured the mixture into a much larger cask. This time, it was a barrel meant for storing and aging wines.
Jiu Shen then stepped out of the Time and Space Chamber after storing the mixture inside the cask.
“With the accelerated time inside the Time and Space Chamber, the Frozen Origin should be ready by tomorrow.” Jiu Shen muttered to himself as he teleported back inside his store’s kitchen.
He saw Hestia and his disciple Lu Sulan attending to the customers in the dining hall. The latter was also much friendlier than usual which surprised the customers who had seen her sudden outburst of power yesterday. Even so, the customers didn’t dare ogle too much at Lu Sulan or Hestia.
“Is this Alchemy Saint Jiu Shen’s wine store?” An old voice echoed inside the store.
Because it was fairly silent inside the wine store, everyone was able to hear the aged voice coming from the store’s entrance.
The customers squinted their eyes and turned to look at the incoming guests. Everyone’s eyes suddenly popped out of their sockets after seeing the face of the newcomer.
It was an old man with unkempt hair. His pair of eyes was a bit murky signifying his declining age, but everyone could feel the overwhelming aura coming from him. Aside from that, all the customers inside the store were very familiar with the insignia engraved on his robes. It was the famous crest of the Alchemy Hall depicting an adamantine cauldron with a pair of black and white wings on its sides.
With the old man’s eye-catching clothes and immense aura, everyone immediately knew that he might be at least a high-ranking elder of the Alchemy Hall.
“Branch Head Fengzi, we asked the people around the streets of Beltran City for the most famous wine store and most of them pointed us here.” Behind the old man, a middle-aged man in his thirties wearing the same set of clothes said respectfully.
The old man was the branch head of the Alchemy Hall’s branch in Beltran City. Outsiders call him as Master Fengzi, but some of the alchemists call him Branch Head Fengzi.
Master Fengzi felt that something was unusual about the store. Just that he couldn’t tell what’s peculiar about it. With that discovery, he was somewhat certain that this must be the doing of ’Alchemy Saint Jiu Shen’.
“In that case, let’s go inside and check it out ourselves.” Master Fengzi said mildly as he stepped inside the store.
There were four people behind Master Fengzi and all of them were the only four Alchemy Emperors of the entire branch in Beltran City!
The moment these alchemists stepped foot inside the store, they felt the space warping which made them a bit stunned.
“Space manipulation? Interesting…” Master Fengzi muttered to himself. This new discovery made him a hundred percent sure that this was the store of ’Alchemy Saint Jiu Shen’.
The four Alchemy Emperors were similarly dumbstruck, but their expressions recovered back quickly to normal.
Master Fengzi smiled as he took a quick look at the store’s interior.
“Not bad! Not bad! The atmosphere is great, the smell of good wine is evident, and the bonsais… bonsais… What the hell?! Are these… No way!” Master Fengzi’s murky eyes almost popped out of their sockets after he took a glimpse of four small plants lying inconspicuously in four different corners of the store.
“If I were you, I’d shut my mouth tight before I kick you out of this store.” A beautiful but cold voice traveled in Master Fengzi’s ears like a bucket of cold water.
He hurriedly turned to the side and saw a valiant blonde beauty dressed in a knight’s armor. Master Fengzi could feel an oppressive aura coming from her and it was so immense that he almost fainted.
Weaker cultivators might not be able to feel her strength, but Master Fengzi knew that this heroic lady in front of him was definitely a 9th-rank Saint realm expert!
The four Alchemy Emperors could also subtly feel her aura and after looking at Master Fengzi’s reaction, they instantly realized that the blonde beauty was someone they could not afford to offend.
Master Fengzi regained his wits after sensing that the other party was merely giving him a warning. He then flashed a relieved smile at Theia and nodded his head in understanding. “Don’t worry young lady, this old man will never spread a word about it.”
Theia peered deeply into Master Fengzi’s eyes causing the latter to take a small step backward. She then went back to her usual spot and ignored them.
Master Fengzi and the other alchemists heaved a huge sigh of relief and felt the weight on their shoulders lightening down by a bit.
“Hello, dear guests. Welcome to the Immortal’s Wine.” Hestia quickly defused the situation with a warm welcome and a sweet smile.
Master Fengzi glanced at Hestia only to get another shocking discovery.
This gentle-looking waitress with long red hair in front of them was an 8th-rank Divine realm expert! Another expert…
’Just what the hell is this place?!’ Master Fengzi almost staggered, but he forcefully maintained his calm disposition to prevent themselves from becoming a laughingstock.
“Ah- Thanks for the warm welcome, young lady.” Master Fengzi forced out a stiff smile on his aged face as he said those words.
“Dear guests, follow me to your table.” Hestia smiled as she gestured for them to follow behind her.
Master Fengzi and the four Alchemy Emperors trailed behind Hestia as they curiously glanced around the store.
They were surprised to see the usually loud and noisy mercenaries talking in mild and normal voices, but when they recalled the strength of the staffs inside the store, they immediately felt that it made sense for them to behave like that.
There were even some nobles who were now acting reserved and refined which was a stark contrast to their typically arrogant and flamboyant habits.
Master Fengzi sighed to himself.
’In the end, if you have sufficient strength, everyone else will respect you. But if you’re weak, then you can only suffer the mockery of others.’
