Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

Ma Liang said to the servant, "Bring me a private room by the window."

The servant quickly replied, "You two immortals have come at the perfect time! There's only one room left!"

Ma Liang wasn't surprised to see so many people drinking so early in the morning. Cultivators don't distinguish between day and night, and many of them were probably here last night.

The two followed the servant into the pavilion, climbed the steps to the second floor, and entered the private room.

The private room was quite spacious, with several potted green plants on both sides adding to its elegance.

Ma Liang gestured for him to sit, saying, "Junior brother, please have a seat."

He turned to the servant and ordered, "Bring me a pot of Qingfeng Zui first, and a few of my signature dishes to go with it, quickly."

"Alright, Immortal Master, please wait a moment, I'll be right there!" The servant replied readily, took out a communication jade pendant, and while going downstairs, he called out the names of the dishes to the jade pendant. After finishing, he ran to the kitchen.

With a flick of his fingertips, Ma Liang caused the wooden door of the private room to close automatically, shutting out the noise from downstairs.

Ma Liang sat down opposite Han Li. "Junior Brother Han, is this your first time in this wine pavilion? Let me tell you, their Qingfeng Zui is one of the finest wines in the entire Huangfeng Valley, otherwise their business wouldn't be so booming."

Han Li poured himself a cup of tea. "After hearing what Senior Brother Ma said, I really want to try it."

Ma Liang also picked up an empty teacup from the table and poured himself a cup of tea.

He took a sip and looked at Han Li, saying, "Junior Brother Han, ever since you entered Yellow Maple Valley, you've been single-mindedly guarding the herb garden. Aside from sect duties, you hardly ever go out. Aren't you bored spending all day surrounded by spiritual herbs?"

"I've always loved peace and quiet, and I feel quite at ease around the spiritual herbs."

"Junior Brother Han, your personality is just like those ascetic cultivators who devote themselves to cultivation! You live such a simple life, missing out on a lot of fun."

He changed the subject mysteriously, saying, "Let me tell you an interesting story from our sect. Five years ago, before you came to Yellow Maple Valley, there was a disciple with excellent aptitude who caught the eye of a senior uncle who planned to marry his niece to him."

He paused deliberately, then asked, "Guess what happened next?"

A hint of curiosity flashed in Han Li's eyes, and he asked calmly, "How was it?"

Ma Liang slammed his hand on the table. "Hey! It turns out that disciple already had a family! This news was spread back by his fellow villagers who entered the sect at the same time, and his wife from his hometown came directly to the gate, crying and wailing, making the matter known to everyone."

"In the end, the senior disciple lost face, the marriage naturally fell through, and the disciple became the laughing stock of the sect for many years!"

Han Li listened, but his face showed no smile, and he continued to swirl his teacup.

Ma Liang looked at him like this.

"He really is a quiet type."

Han Li suddenly asked, "How is that disciple now?"

Ma Liang's smile faded, and he sighed, "What else can he do? He offended a Foundation Establishment stage master, so naturally he was expelled from the sect under some pretext. Whether he can establish himself in the cultivation world in the future depends on his own fate."

Han Li paused, "It seems that disciple's partner is far too ignorant."

Ma Liang glanced at Han Li, and then felt relieved.

In the cultivation world, strength is paramount, and such a commotion between cultivation partners is indeed pushing people to the brink of despair.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the private room.

Ma Liang casually waved his hand, and the wooden door opened with a click.

The servant bowed hurriedly and said, "Master, your wine and dishes are ready!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three or four servants filed in, carrying a pot of Qingfeng wine and five exquisite dishes, and quickly placed them on the table.

"Please enjoy your meal, Immortal Master!" the group replied in unison, closing the door behind them as they left.

Upon seeing the wine and dishes served, Ma Liang picked up the wine pot and filled both Han Li's and his own cups.

He raised his glass in a gesture of respect: "Junior Brother Han, try this Green Maple Wine."

Han Li nodded and raised his glass to clink with his.

Ma Liang tilted his head back and downed the drink in one gulp, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes: "Truly living up to its reputation!"

The wine was initially cool as it entered the throat, followed by a burst of warmth in the abdomen that spread throughout the body along the meridians. This sensation was exactly the same as what the original owner remembered.

Just as Ma Liang finished his remark, he picked up his chopsticks and gestured to Han Li: "Come on, don't just drink, try their food, it's quite delicious."

Han Li responded, picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it carefully, and his expression showed more approval.

"It certainly tastes good."

The two drank a couple more cups, then Ma Liang suddenly put down his cup and asked, "Junior Brother Han, why did you choose the path of cultivation in the first place?"

By this time, Han Li and Ma Liang had become somewhat acquainted, so Han Li said cryptically, "Being able to cultivate immortality back then was a coincidence. By the time I truly understood the ways of cultivation, I could no longer go back to my original life. Therefore, I want to continue on this path and see what this world of cultivation is really like."

Ma Liang refilled their glasses. "After all these years of experience, what kind of world do you think this cultivation realm is?"

Han Li picked up his wine glass and took a small sip. "Deceit and treachery, the survival of the fittest. If you're not strong enough, you can only be manipulated by others."

"A single misstep could lead to utter ruin."

Ma Liang tilted his head back and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

"Junior Brother Han is right!"

"Those who think they've embarked on the path to immortality have transcended the mortal realm, are they really any immortals after all? They can't escape their human nature!"

"In pursuit of profit, they stop at nothing; their ruthless tactics are a hundred times more vicious than those used in ordinary people's battles."

Han Li listened quietly, holding his wine glass, without saying a word.

Ma Liang poured himself another cup, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. When he reached for the wine pot, he found it was empty.

He called out, "Someone, bring another jug ​​of wine!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open, and a servant quickly walked in, carrying a pot of freshly brewed Qingfeng wine, which he respectfully presented. He had obviously been waiting outside the door for some time.

After the servant left, Ma Liang refilled Han Li's wine cup with some more wine. "Junior Brother Han, don't stop, keep drinking."

He put down the wine pot. "These cultivators nowadays talk about cultivating the Great Dao and attaining immortality all the time. They make it sound better than anything else."

"But they never figured out what kind of immortal they were cultivating, or what was hidden on the long road of cultivation."

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Han Li's eyes.

It was truly unexpected that Ma Liang, who was only at the late stage of Qi Refining and didn't look much older than himself, could evoke such sentiments.

But he never liked to pry into other people's private affairs; he simply held his wine glass and listened quietly to what was to come.

Ma Liang picked up a piece of food and chewed slowly. "They say that mayflies are born in the morning and die at night, their lives are so short. But look at cultivators, even if they can live for hundreds, thousands, or even longer, they still have to be on guard against calamities at all times and take every step carefully to survive."

"Are you saying that the mayfly's short life is necessarily unhappy? And what are we cultivators striving for, fighting and struggling for hundreds or even thousands of years?"

Ma Liang picked up his wine cup, stood up, walked to the window, looked out at the market, and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

A mixture of intoxication and melancholy caused him to murmur softly.

"A mayfly traverses the primordial chaos in an instant, its sturdy bones witnessing the vicissitudes of the sea."

A star fell into the wilderness amidst thirty thousand eons of calamity; five thousand years of frost piled up on my temples.

The covenant of immortality is cast into the void of the heavens, yet the madness of a single thought remains unquenched in this turbid world.

Laughing, I knock on the door of heaven and earth—who is the master? Like a mayfly, I am lost in the vastness of the universe!

After the poem was finished, he stood quietly for a moment.

As Han Li listened to the poem, he stroked the rim of his cup. "But if you live a long time, you will be able to see more of the world's sights."

"Suffering and competition are also part of cultivating immortality."

Ma Liang smiled upon hearing Han Li's reply but remained silent.

He didn't recite that poem to Han Li.