Lord of the Earth

I have to say that Xia Tian is very impressed by the confidence shown by this "National Liquor Academician".

People today are not necessarily inferior to people in ancient times, and Xia Tian also agrees with this point.

Especially in his own case, this point should be verified. Whether it is his own swordsmanship or the control and discovery of the power of thunder, Xia Tian believes that he is not inferior to others!
Moreover, at the current stage, one can step into the "holy realm" in terms of both cultivation and skills.

Even among the many brilliant people in China over the past five thousand years, he should be a minority!

"That's right. Every profession has its own specialty. This kind of wine stained with human blood is only suitable for drinking after the remaining 'blood' in it is removed."

"If you believe me, why don't you let me remix this wine? I can keep the original flavor, but I can turn one jar of raw juice into ten jars of fine wine, and the value will increase tenfold!"

Afterwards, his eyes turned to the "amber wine" that Xia Tian took out, with a bit of covetousness and desire in his eyes.

As a person with the qualifications of a saint, his own talents and characteristics are naturally higher than those of ordinary people.

Just by smelling it, you can tell that what Xia Tian has in his hand is a bowl of fine wine brewed with the finest ingredients.

Behind it, there are some holy treasures and spiritual plants that are extremely suitable for making wine.

His own talent allows him to improve his winemaking skills by "analyzing" fine wine, as long as he can get in touch with a bowl of wine and the ingredients behind it.

There might even be a chance for him to touch upon the true "Sacred Way of Wine"!
However, he was disappointed.

Even though he said this, the two people opposite him, especially the older one, who he thought was the middle-aged man in charge, did not seem to react much!

As for the young man, his face showed a look of disappointment.

"Even the amber holy wine of the mountain ghost tribe failed to attract Li Bai? Is it because he has drunk it once before, or is it because of the 'human blood' contained in this wine?"

In fact, at this time, Xia Tian really didn’t care about the self-boasting of this “National Liquor Academician”.

But after taking out the most "high-end" wines in his territory, he still didn't see any reaction from the back of the store, and there was inevitably a bit of disappointment on his face.

I thought to myself, maybe Li Bai had already drunk "amber wine" once, so he was not very interested in it?

Speaking of which, the two had already met once in the "City of Outstanding People".

Xia Tian even gave this "Poet Immortal" a priceless "Jade White" invitation card!
In the end, he was stood up by Li Bai!
Of course, for Li Bai, there is nothing wrong with what he did.

Because, the "invitation" was originally stuffed into Li Bai's pocket while he was drunk and unconscious.

First of all, the latter did not agree directly like Wang Yangming and Bai Qi. Secondly, Li Bai also wrote a poem "Xia Ke Xing" when he was drunk, nourishing the "Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword" with the "sword energy" contained in himself, so that this strange object, which was originally rated as silver, could be completely upgraded to a "Sword Magic Weapon"!
It can be said that the two parties have achieved an "equal exchange and no debts owed to each other".

Now that they meet again in this city of saints, to recruit them again, they need to meet the three conditions proposed by the other party: "poetry, wine, and sword".

"Mr. Du Kang, although you invented the wine-making technique, it was we who further developed it in later generations!"

"The factory where I work produces more wine every year than all the tribes in your time combined. The profits created by sales are more abundant than the national treasury of your time, and can even provide emotional value for drinkers!"

"All of these prove one thing. Times are changing, and the meaning of wine is also changing. We should not stick to the old ways..."

The neglect of Xia Tian and Wang Yangming inevitably made the National Liquor Academician a little angry, but he couldn't show it.

I could only look at Du Kang again.

"Good wine is made by nature, and it is discovered by a discerning eye."

"However, most of the wine obtained in this way has too many impurities and may not taste good... and the purpose of human existence is to eliminate these wrong factors. To brew fine wine in the best way, but try not to let it lose the taste of nature!"

At this time, Du Kang was looking at the "National Liquor Academician" with a serious expression on his face.

"In addition, the purpose of my invention of brewing wine is to brew surplus grain for preservation."

"If just one bottle of wine requires an ordinary person to spend a month's or even a year's worth of food to buy it... I'm afraid this is just like what Du Gongbu said... The rich are feasting and drinking, while the poor are freezing to death on the streets... This is already a biased approach! I shouldn't have discovered this kind of wine in the first place."

Du Kang's tone was filled with emotion.

"This……"

The National Liquor Academician was about to say something, but Xia Tian had already spoken and interrupted him directly.

"Sir, perhaps you are indeed somewhat professional in the research of 'national liquor', beyond the ordinary people... but you have given too little consideration to other aspects."

"The word 'holy' in the path of canonization does not refer to this eternal world, but to the 'race' itself."

"How can one become a saint in a clan? Seek truth to understand the way, cultivate virtue to establish oneself. Practice diligently and serve the people, and endure the difficulties of the devil to strengthen one's heart. Follow the will of heaven and act without disobedience, promote virtue and suppress evil... Excuse me for being frank. If you only study 'wine'... I'm afraid it will be difficult to truly achieve your own requirements!"

Xia Tian's words made the people around him look a little surprised.

After all, Xia Tian is only less than 25 years old now, which may not be considered young in ancient society.

But to speak of a person who is worthy of canonization in such a tone, perhaps only a "saint" can do that?
A twenty-five-year-old human saint?
This is difficult without attracting attention and discussion.

"Well said! In the current situation of our human race, if we don't make progress, we will regress. Those who are capable should create and think about how to seize luck from the hands of other races, instead of thinking about how to cheat money from our own people..."

"Is this behavior any different from what you told me before, Mr. Mao, about those experts and professors who have spent their entire lives studying The Story of the Stone, publishing papers, and accumulating experience?"

At this time, another person walked in from outside the wine shop.

He was wearing a blue shirt with simple musical notation, holding a few manuscripts in one hand and a bundle of celery in the other!
The celery is snow-white in color, and each one looks like a stem carved from the finest white jade, or a leaf carved from jadeite.

It is obvious that it must have a great origin and is not an ordinary thing!
"Mr. Mao, you said that this fellow Taoist's wine was mixed with human blood, so the quality is not high."

"Have you ever thought about whether the wine you brew also contains the 'blood and sweat' of the human race... The taste of the wine you brew is indeed unique, but it lacks a bit of craftsmanship and human heart... So, Master Taibai doesn't like it... I don't like it either..."

Looking at the "National Liquor Academician", his tone was profound and thought-provoking!
"My friend, you are so young, yet you have already set foot on the holy path. It is really admirable..." Then, he looked at Xia Tian with a bit of admiration on his face.

"Thank you for your compliment, Senior. May I ask your name?"

Xia Tian had a hunch that this person must be an extraordinary person.

Because it is impossible for ordinary people to be so relaxed and calm in such a situation!

"I am Cao Zhan!"

The latter placed the celery on the counter with ease and then answered.

Cao Zhan? Is he famous?
Many people are inevitably confused after hearing this name.

He had never even heard of Wang Yangming, a Ming Dynasty figure.

However, Xia Tian's eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at the other person with a look full of surprise and joy!
"I didn't expect that it was Mr. Xueqin who came to see me in person... It's a pleasant surprise... What I said before was just targeting those people who have spent their whole lives studying The Story of the Stone, trying to find hidden meanings and making things up. Mr. Xueqin's articles are loved and studied by later generations, which is completely different from this..."

There was a slight embarrassment on Xia Tian's face.

I just wanted to give an example to ridicule this "National Liquor Academician", but I didn't expect to run into the real person!
Yes, Cao Xueqin, whose name is Zhan, whose courtesy name is Mengruan, whose pseudonym is Xueqin, and whose other pseudonyms are Qinpu and Qinxi!
It is obvious that this is a great man who loves "celery" to the core.

From one point, it can be proved from the "celery" in his hand that celery tastes especially good when eaten with wine!

I have to say that there are indeed too many saint-level people in this "City of Saints"!
How could we run into three of them in just a wine shop?

Especially Cao Xueqin, the writer who wrote a work known as "the finest novel in ancient China". Even Xia Tian showed some excitement on his face after learning his identity!
Well, how can I not be excited?

Although there are not many people who have been canonized in the Qianxia Dynasty now, Xia Tian is very confident that there will be no problem for most of the outstanding people to be canonized in the future.

Why is Xia Tian so sure?
A big reason is that the Qianxia Dynasty has two special secret realms - the Yuanchen Secret Realm and the Taixu Illusion Realm!
The former consumes luck and can accelerate time by up to twelve times, which is enough for people in the Qianxia Dynasty to greatly shorten the process of "time accumulation" required for cultivation.

The latter can directly attack weaknesses, allowing people to understand and successfully make up for their own inner deficiencies, thus clearing the biggest obstacle for them to become saints.

However, there is one thing that needs attention.

Strictly speaking, compared to the Yuanchen Secret Realm, the Qianxia Dynasty only has the right to use the "Taixu Illusion Realm"!

If you want to truly control it, you need to open up more than 50% of the permissions of this secret realm.

Even though Xue Baochai and Qingwen had already been recruited before, they even found several people who were included in the second volume of the "Twelve Beauties of Jinling" during the subsequent period.

However, it is still a long way to obtain 50% of the authority to this secret realm!

But now there is hope for Xia Tian.

After all, strictly speaking, shouldn't the entire story of "Dream of Red Mansions" be a "fantasy world" of the author Cao Xueqin himself?

Whether it is the Twelve Beauties of Jinling or the young master of the Jia family who was born with a jade in his mouth,
This outstanding person might be able to allow the Qianxia Dynasty to directly and completely gain full authority over this secret realm of the human race.

To take a step back, even if Cao Xueqin could not give the Qianxia Dynasty such authority and recruit them under his command, at least a major hidden danger could be eliminated.

That is if Cao Xueqin had not joined the Qianxia Dynasty, but had descended into another human territory or dynasty.

So, does this dynasty have the ability to compete with the Qianxia Dynasty for the ownership of this "secret realm of the human race"?

Precisely because of this consideration, Xia Tian’s attitude towards Cao Xueqin is naturally very "friendly"!

Even this person, in a sense, is considered a "Qing person" who is very disliked by some people, and is also the descendant of a high-ranking Han official who was once highly tied to the Qing Dynasty.

But the talent he possesses is enough to make people ignore this point!

"Your Excellency is very impressive and your words are extraordinary. And the one beside you is even more extraordinary. May I ask your names?"

As for Cao Xueqin's character, it seems that he has experienced many ups and downs in his life. Now he is no longer the arrogant nobleman he used to be. He looks at Xia Tian and Wang Yangming with curiosity and inquiry in his eyes!
"summer!"

"Wang Shouren!"

"What, you are Wang Yangming? I have heard of your name for a long time, but I have never had the chance to meet you. Today, I am able to meet you in this tavern. It is really fate."

It has to be said that even in this city of saints, Wang Yangming still has weight.

There was obvious surprise on the face of the wine saint Du Kang, and his attitude became very kind.

"That's right, Mr. Yangming is also a great wine lover. He went to Fufeng twice and became very excited. He slept drunkenly for three days without knowing when to return. He stayed in a temple under the lake clouds, not knowing that the mountain moon fell into the river city... These poems related to drinking are vividly written on paper..."

Especially since Cao Xueqin was a person from the Qing Dynasty, he was naturally more aware of the importance of the name Wang Yangming.

The last sage of the time integrated knowledge and action, cultivated himself, governed the country and brought peace to the world, and established virtue, merit and words that will never fade.

Most importantly, he noticed one thing keenly.

Wang Yangming introduced himself only after reporting his name in the summer!

This shows what?
"Cao brought some food today, and Mr. Du Kang also brought some wine... You two, why don't you come with us to the backyard of the hotel to have a few drinks, and wait for Master Taibai to sober up... Believe me, Mr. Du Kang's wine will definitely make him sober up quickly!"

Afterwards, he unexpectedly sent an invitation to the two of them.

"Well, sorry to bother you!"

Xia Tian and Wang Yangming looked at each other and smiled, then followed the two human saints into the backyard of the wine shop through the curtain opened by the exotic Hu Ji.

Only the "National Liquor Academician" was left standing there with a red face! (End of this chapter)