Chapter 365: Fragrance of Intoxicating Spirit Flower

Under the moonlight, the jar that had just captured a lingering spirit gently trembled in the river, creating an eerie and spooky scene.

Is it chewing?

Chu Liang wondered.

With each quiver, strange, dark energy seeped out.

Could this jar be a living, demonic entity?

Unsure of what was happening, Chu Liang decided not to act rashly and silently observed for a while.

The wine-jar monster floated in the river, capturing and devouring the ghosts it attracted, without doing anything else.

No wonder the ghost tree could no longer attract lingering spirits.

Across the Bombax River was a bustling human settlement, while this side was wild and empty. The lonely wandering spirits drawn to the ghost tree came from across the river and from upstream and downstream of the Bombax River.

Now, with the wine-jar monster intercepting them here, it was stealing the lingering spirits meant for the ghost tree.

However, it was impossible for this small wine-jar monster alone to intercept all the nearby lingering spirits. Chu Liang flew upstream along the river, and sure enough, he saw nearly ten such wine-jar monsters scattered along the Bombax River.

It wasn't until the confluence of the Bombax River and the Qinnan River that he no longer saw any trace of the wine-jar monsters.

Where did all these wine jars along the river come from?

Could it be that someone intentionally placed them here?

But during his search, Chu Liang saw no one nearby monitoring them; it seemed these wine-jar monsters had their own consciousness.

After some thought, he attempted to approach one of the black wine jars. Immediately, a black hand reached out towards Chu Liang!

With the Geng Metal foundational qi condensed on his fingertips, his finger became a sword as he pointed at the palm of the black hand.

Sizzle.

Immediately, the black hand recoiled in pain, retreating swiftly back into the jar. No matter how close Chu Liang got afterward, it stubbornly refused to emerge again.

"Does this thing really have intelligence?" Chu Liang wondered.

Out of curiosity, Chu Liang lifted the wine-jar monster out of the water!

As he held the jar, an intense burst of resentment-filled qi erupted from it. The black hand reappeared, this time lunging fiercely towards Chu Liang's face!

With a swift reverse grip, Chu Liang seized the black hand by the wrist and pulled!

To his astonishment, the hand stretched longer and longer, extending several zhang without breaking. It seemed endless, as if there was no body behind the arm—just an impossibly long hand!

As the arm stretched further, an even stronger qi emanated from it, a potent mix of murderous and demonic energy!

"What is this strange thing inside?" Chu Liang wondered.

Out of curiosity, he smashed the jar with a powerful palm strike!

Smash—

A scream came from within the jar!

After the jar shattered, a splash of black liquid spurted out, making an eerie "sizzle" sound mixed with ghostly screams, until it seeped into the ground.

Chu Liang intended to collect a few drops in a porcelain bottle to study later, but the black liquid in the porcelain bottle evaporated when the screams sounded. It seemed like the liquid could not exist outside the black jar.

"How strange..." Chu Liang muttered.

As all the black liquid vanished, a golden mark floated up from the ground and merged into his body.

Huh? Do I get an imprint when I destroy this wine jar?

The wine-jar monster was indeed considered an independent life form.

It seemed to be similar to the lantern monsters and the thorny black balls—strange entities that were formed by spirits merging with something else.

I can get rewards for killing these things too?

Chu Liang thought as he stroked his chin.

It seemed that to save his dear friends, the thorny black balls, he would have to fight these evil wine-jar monsters.

...

In the White Pagoda, Chu Liang gently pressed the "Refine" button.

Boom.

The wine-jar monster was refined by a red glow and, in an instant, turned into a small white light that floated out.

[Intoxicating Spirit Flower Seed: Can be planted to grow a fragrant Intoxicating Spirit Flower, which is refreshing when it blooms.]

At that moment, Chu Liang was still by the Bombax River. After receiving the new imprint, he eagerly started opening the reward right there in the forest.

The reward was unfortunate...

It seems to be a flower seed that has not much use aside from being fragrant?

he thought to himself.

Although this flower was rather useless, Chu Liang still needed to eliminate all the wine-jar monsters. After all, they intercepted the lingering spirits from reaching the ghost tree, which would stop the production of the thorny black balls.

Thus, Chu Liang followed the Bombax River, smashing nearly ten wine-jar monsters in the water and collecting several Intoxicating Spirit Flower seeds.

Only then did he head back, content and satisfied with his efforts.

The next morning, Chu Liang arrived at the small garden outside the wooden cabin early. This garden used to be full of Golden Vein Flowers, but as the scale of the Golden Vein Berries production expanded, the flowers were moved to a different area. Now, this garden was empty and ready for something new.

It was the perfect time for him to try planting the Intoxicating Spirit Flowers.

When it came to planting flowers, Chu Liang was already quite skilled. It was just a matter of digging a hole, adding some soil, and placing the seeds...

He planted a few seeds, watered them, and sprinkled herbal powder on one of them. The land had been fallow for some time, allowing its spiritual energy to recover significantly.

In less than two hours, a small sprout emerged, followed by the rapid growth of the branches and leaves.

A one-chi-tall Intoxicating Spirit Flower with red petals and green leaves was fully grown. However, at this moment, the bright red, round bud was still closed, and the fragrance had not yet been released. The flower's most striking feature was its somewhat gaudy color.

Chu Liang was not in a hurry and patiently waited for another half an hour.

Finally, the bud began to tremble slightly.

Suddenly, the layers of petals unfurled!

At the same time, a strong and somewhat pungent fragrance suddenly overwhelmed him. Just a whiff made Chu Liang’s mind explode, as if the scent had cleared a mental block.

He couldn’t help but close his eyes as he slowly immersed himself in this sensation.

This was more than just refreshing; it was intensely intoxicating!

After a considerable time, he slowly exhaled.

When he opened his eyes, he discovered two heads, one large and one small, in front of him.

It turned out that spirit beasts had much more sensitive noses than humans. The Golden-Furred Hou and Baize on the peak were drawn to the fragrance. They lay by the Intoxicating Spirit Flower, closing their eyes and swaying, appearing genuinely drunk.

The White Pagoda was not lying about this. The claim that the fragrance was good was not only true but exceptionally so.

Moreover, after smelling this fragrance, he felt his meridians unblocking and his mind clearing, as if he had entered a mysterious and profound state. His only thought was how beneficial it would be to cultivate divine abilities and study the Great Dao in this state.

The effect could vary greatly; if being in this state could indeed help him understand the Great Dao one day, it would be a significant achievement.

After a long time, the fragrance of the Intoxicating Spirit Flower slowly dissipated. The Golden-Furred Hou and Baize withdrew from their dazed state, looking at Chu Liang with reluctant eyes.

"Addicted, huh?" Chu Liang said with a smile. Since the flower's fragrance was harmless, he sprinkled herbal powder on the seeds planted nearby as well.

After a while, several more Intoxicating Spirit Flowers bloomed!

The intensified fragrance greatly satisfied the spirit beasts, and they were immersed in it, swaying their heads. Chu Liang sniffed the scent once more, immersing himself in the sensation.

At this tranquil moment, an unexpected event occurred.

A disciple from Mount Shu was flying overhead on a fire crane. Everything was fine until the fire crane passed over Silver Sword Peak and was suddenly affected by the drifting fragrance of the Intoxicating Spirit Flowers, becoming intoxicated.

The fire crane, with its low cultivation level and intelligence, became dizzy. It followed the fragrance and crashed down into the Intoxicating Spirit Flower garden!

Several Intoxicating Spirit Flowers were crushed by the impact, their vibrant petals strewn across the ground. The Golden-Furred Hou and Baize were awakened by the noise. When they saw what had happened, they were furious. The two spirit beasts glared at the fire crane, their eyes blazing with anger.

"Ahhh!" The Mount Shu disciple who had fallen with the fire crane quickly scrambled to his feet and apologized, "Senior Brother Chu Liang! I was just passing by when my mount accidentally fell. Please, do not be angry!"

Chu Liang had not expected the Intoxicating Spirit Flower’s fragrance to cause an accident. He had no intention of blaming the fellow cultivator and was about to shake his head to reassure him.

Suddenly, he noticed that some of the green leaves of the Intoxicating Spirit Flowers crushed by the fire crane had started smoldering. Instead of a sudden blaze, the fire spread slowly, blackening the leaves as wisps of green smoke drifted out.

Chu Liang took a gentle whiff of the green smoke, and suddenly, a flash of insight illuminated his mind. Questions he had previously struggled with now had clear answers!