# Chapter 1540: The Arrival of Wine Madman and Ancient Pine
At the mountainside of Yuanxu Peak, within the majestic sacred hall.
"Even the sacred thought of Man Sword Great Saint cannot find that powerhouse from the Soul Realm. The one who wants to kill me must have a significant background."
Zhang Ruochen stood with his hands behind his back at the center of the sacred hall, gazing at the thousands of miles of mountains and rivers outside. His expression was quite serious.
At first, he had suspected it might be an assassin hired by the Blade Prison Realm. Now, it seemed the other party's background was terrifying indeed—far beyond mere assassins. Most likely, it was that dark force from the Heavenly Court Realm.
That dark force had plunged the Kunlun Realm into irredeemable disaster and caused the Guanghan Realm to decline. One could imagine how terrifying their power was. Even if they only sent out younger generation figures, they could probably make Zhang Ruochen die without a burial place.
Xiao Hei knew nothing about the dark force, so he was not worried at all. He lay lazily on a large golden stone chair, chuckling, "Man Sword Great Saint can manifest his saintly presence at any time. No matter what demon or monster comes, as long as they break into the Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land, they'll die for sure. Besides, the Ninefold Cloud Tower Formation I set up is no pushover either."
"I don't want to hide in the Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land forever."
A sharp glint flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
Xiao Hei left the golden stone chair and said, "Once we leave the Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land, it will definitely be very dangerous. After all, we have no idea how strong the enemy is or how many there are. What if some big shot beyond the Three-Step Saint King appears? Wouldn't we both be finished?"
"In one month, I will leave the Crimson Dragon Sacred Domain and head to the Truth Divine Temple. That will be the most dangerous time," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei grew a bit worried. "Why not summon a Saint King-level expert from the Sacred Bright Central Empire in the Kunlun Realm to protect us secretly? That Deputy Pavilion Master of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion and the old ancestor of the Murong Clan both have unfathomable cultivation. They should be able to handle any enemy."
Zhang Ruochen had his own concerns and worries. The Sacred Bright Central Empire's foundation was not very solid. Unless necessary, it was best not to involve them, to avoid even greater sacrifices.
If the other side could hire a powerhouse from the Soul Realm to deal with Zhang Ruochen, they could certainly hire even stronger figures to deal with the Deputy Pavilion Master of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion and Murong Yefeng.
The stronger Zhang Ruochen showed himself to be, the more ferocious the enemy's attacks would become.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "In one month, when we head to the Truth Divine Temple, the Guanghan Realm will definitely send experts to escort us. But I also need to make some preparations myself."
Zhang Ruochen took out two message jade talismans, carved two passages of text onto them, and waved his sleeve. The two message jade talismans flew out.
"Who are you sending messages to?" Xiao Hei asked curiously.
"Just inviting Wine Madman and Ancient Pine to visit the Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land," Zhang Ruochen said calmly.
After Wine Madman and Ancient Pine arrived in the Guanghan Realm, they had been staying in the Tongyou Sacred Domain, brewing "Six Saints Ascending Heaven Wine" and "Saint Transformation Pills" for the Moon God. Thanks to these two sacred substances, the overall strength of the Guanghan Realm had been increasing dramatically every day.
Even the Moon God needed to borrow their skills in brewing and alchemy, which showed that these two old fellows were quite extraordinary.
Naturally, Zhang Ruochen had invited them to the Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land to borrow their abilities.
"Continue to comprehend the Sword Dao, and strive to reach the Half-Step Saint King realm before heading to the Truth Divine Temple."
Zhang Ruochen sensed that this assassination crisis was more terrifying than any before. Therefore, he had to race against time to cultivate and become stronger.
Three days later, Wine Madman and Ancient Pine arrived at the Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land.
Both of them were in excellent spirits, no longer as slovenly as before. Their sacred robes were neatly worn, their hair combed without a single strand out of place. They looked like immortals, finally having the appearance of senior experts.
After arriving in the Guanghan Realm, they had gained a very high status. They no longer had to hide as they did before. Moreover, whenever they needed materials for brewing or alchemy, they only had to issue an order, and a large number of cultivators would immediately go to collect them. Their days were incredibly comfortable.
Wine Madman had a large red gourd hanging from his waist. Seeing Zhang Ruochen, he laughed heartily: "Zhang Ruochen, I heard you were assassinated? Did you invite us here because you want us to protect you?"
Zhang Ruochen had a deep relationship with the two of them, so he did not beat around the bush. He directly stated his intention for inviting them: "I want Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine and Heavenly Gang Purple Fire Talisman."
In the Kunlun Realm, Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine ranked seventeenth among the strongest liquors. Not only was its taste pure and intense, but what was even more remarkable was that drinking it during battle could double one's combat power, with no side effects.
This alone was enough to drive countless cultivators crazy with fervor.
Even cultivators who did not like drinking would probably fall in love with it.
Wine Madman clearly understood Zhang Ruochen's intention. "When you were at the Half-Saint level, drinking Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine did indeed double your combat power. But your current cultivation is at the Supreme Saint level."
Zhang Ruochen frowned. "Does Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine have no enhancement effect on Supreme Saints?"
"It can only have a very weak enhancement effect, at most increasing your combat power by ten to twenty percent. If you break through to the Saint King realm, the enhancement will become even weaker," Wine Madman said.
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat disappointed.
The main reason he wanted Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine was to deal with those prodigies who had comprehended the Way of Truth. After all, activating the Way of Truth could increase the power of sacred techniques several times over, which was truly terrifying.
When Wu Hao mobilized the Way of Truth, the power he unleashed was something even Zhang Ruochen could not withstand. Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen could mobilize the power of space and time to defeat him.
If he had Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine, Zhang Ruochen would be confident in confronting Wu Hao after he used the Way of Truth, even without using the power of space and time.
But if Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine could only enhance combat power by ten to twenty percent, it would be too useless.
"However..."
Wine Madman changed his tone and chuckled, "You have something on you that should be able to enhance the power of Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine."
"What is it?" Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up.
"The Buddha Emperor Relic."
Wine Madman continued, "The two most important ingredients for brewing Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine are Saint-level Dragon Spirit Essence and Saint-level Mad Cow Marrow."
"The Buddha Emperor Relic was once refined by the Golden Dragon and transformed into a Dragon Relic. The relic contains Dragon Spirit Essence Qi at the Great Saint level, which is countless times more powerful than Saint-level Dragon Spirit Essence Qi. Dragon Spirit Essence is condensed from Dragon Spirit Essence Qi."
"Therefore, if you put the Buddha Emperor Relic into the Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine and refine it again, it will definitely increase the potency of the wine by a large margin. However, since there is no Great Saint-level Mad Cow Marrow, I cannot predict what level it will reach."
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "We have to try. Tell me, what other ingredients are needed to brew Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine? I'll have Xiao Hei go buy them immediately."
Wine Madman stroked his beard, squinting with a smile. "I have seventeen jars of ready-made Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine right here. Ten thousand sacred stones per jar. Do you want to buy them? If you buy them all, I'll help you brew a higher-grade Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine for free."
Xiao Hei roared, "Old fellow, you're price gouging! This price is more than a hundred times higher than in the Kunlun Realm! Do you believe I'll activate the formation, suppress you, and just take the Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine from you?"
"Ten thousand sacred stones per jar is not expensive. Even if we have a friendship, business is business. Otherwise, it would hurt our feelings," Wine Madman said calmly, looking completely at ease.
Xiao Hei found him very irritating. His two claws emitted sacred light as he prepared to activate the formation.
"Wait."
Zhang Ruochen stopped Xiao Hei.
"Zhang Ruochen, don't stop me! Ten thousand sacred stones for a jar of wine—this old man has gone crazy for sacred stones! We can't be his fools!"
Xiao Hei spread his wings, and a terrifying beast king aura erupted from his body.
That aura was too powerful, like a Great Saint descending. Wine Madman and Ancient Pine's faces turned pale, and they could barely breathe. Fortunately, they both knew that Xiao Hei only had a powerful aura but mediocre actual strength. Otherwise, they might have been intimidated.
"This owl is truly bizarre. The aura he emits is even more terrifying than Man Sword Great Saint's. If it were any other creature, they would definitely be fooled by him."
"He can only scare people. His actual strength might not even be greater than mine."
Zhang Ruochen stopped Xiao Hei again, making him retract his beast king aura. Then he turned to Wine Madman, showing a mouthful of white teeth, and smiled, "Senior is right. Even if we have a friendship, business is business. Besides, I think ten thousand sacred stones per jar of Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine is not expensive at all."
Wine Madman was delighted. "So you're going to buy them all?"
You see, the Heavenly Court Realm was the heart of all realms and a gathering place for cultivation materials from all worlds.
To make it easier for cultivators to buy cultivation materials, the Heavenly Court Realm had established many "Sacred Markets" and "Realm Markets." In those markets, the currency used was sacred stones.
It could be said that as long as a cultivator had enough sacred stones and a thick enough foundation, they could buy rare treasures in the Heavenly Court Realm that they had never seen or heard of before.
Wine Madman had visited the realm market established by the Guanghan Realm once. He was dazzled, his blood boiling, and his heart stirred. Unfortunately, his purse was empty, and he could not afford many things. So he really wanted to make a small profit from Zhang Ruochen.
Brewing the Six Saints Ascending Heaven Wine for the Moon God had given Wine Madman a high status, but it had not brought him great wealth. In the end, he was still a poor old man.
"Of course, I'll buy them all. However, I also have something I'd like you two seniors to appraise."
Zhang Ruochen took out from his space ring a Rainbow Transformation Vine as thick as a bowl, over ten meters long, like a colorful tree.
Wine Madman and Ancient Pine both widened their eyes and said in unison, "Rainbow Transformation Vine!"
The two pounced on it, stroking the vine with their fingers, their eyes burning with fervor. Their expressions and movements were like two old lechers caressing a young girl's body, unwilling to let go.
Wine Madman had also seen Rainbow Transformation Vine in the Guanghan Realm's market, but that vine was more than ten times lighter than this one.
Moreover, as soon as it was put up for sale, it was snatched up by a group of cultivators and eventually bought by a mysterious person at a high price of twenty thousand sacred stones.
Rainbow Transformation Vine could help cultivators comprehend the Sacred Dao. Even in the Heavenly Court Realm, it was a treasure with a price but no market.
Zhang Ruochen crossed his arms over his chest and smiled, "Help me brew a hundred jars of Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine and a thousand jars of Six Saints Ascending Heaven Wine. This Rainbow Transformation Vine is yours. Deal?"
"I can help you brew Dragon Spirit Mad Cow Wine, as much as you want. But Six Saints Ascending Heaven Wine is out of the question. The Moon God has issued a decree: all the Six Saints Ascending Heaven Wine I brew must be handed over to her. I cannot trade with any cultivator."
If he could sell Six Saints Ascending Heaven Wine, Wine Madman would not be as poor as he was now.