Chapter 1020: Thousand Year Flame

“Is that so?” A look of doubt flashed in Miss Mo’s eyes. However, she did not linger on this problem. She moved on, saying, “The Liu Clan’s people have not appeared yet. Tell the men not to drop their guard. We cannot relax at all until we arrive at Starry Cloud Island.”

“This old man has his plans. There is no need for Young Miss to worry.”

“I can’t not worry. It was hard for us to find sufficient Cyclic Meteor Iron on this journey. If anything happens, we might not be able to complete the City Lord’s mission. The consequences would be dire.”

“I will tell the men to be more alert. Please excuse me.” Uncle Wang exited the control room, leaving only Miss Mo inside.

Miss Mo frowned heavily as she recalled the scene of Xiao Chen easily dodging as if everything had happened as he expected.

She muttered to herself, “That person radiates self-confidence and a withdrawn sharpness. It did not look like a coincidence at all.”

Then, her eyes turned cold when she remembered Xiao Chen’s frivolous gaze. She simply could not take this person seriously. Even if he was strong, he was just a lecher.

--

After seven days aboard the warship, Xiao Chen’s injured meridians had mostly recovered. He no longer had problems with circulating Quintessence and fighting.

From Ao Jiao’s covert investigation, he finally found out which sea region he was in and what was it called, gaining a rough understanding of what kind of faction the Mo Clan was.

In order not to expose herself, when Ao Jiao looked for information, she could only eavesdrop on the conversations of the cultivators on the warship.

The information that she had obtained was incomplete. However, through it and the map that Xiao Chen had, they still managed to figure out their current location.

They were in the Shattered Cloud Sea, a small independent sea region between the Southern Sea and Northern Sea. There were another seven similar regions in this area: the Broken Cloud Sea, Disordered Cloud Sea, Separated Cloud Sea, Sky Cloud Sea, Connected Cloud Sea, Frost Cloud Sea, and Fog Cloud Sea. Collectively, these eight sea regions were known as the Cloud Sea Domain.

Compared to the other marine domains, the Cloud Sea Domain was much smaller. However, it was not much smaller than the Tianwu Domain, which Xiao Chen came from.

The reason for this was the vastness of the desolate sea, which the continent could hardly compare to.

Just the Shattered Cloud Sea that Xiao Chen was in had an area that was equal to at least a dozen provinces. It had thousands of islands.

The Mo Clan was as Xiao Chen guessed. It was a Rank 6 clan and was famous for refining equipment. Within the Shattered Cloud Sea, it was a sizable faction.

“Hehe, this Mo Clan is really famous. Furthermore, the First Young Miss of the Mo Clan, Mo Chen, is the top beauty of the Cloud Sea Domain. She is even rather famous in the Southern Sea and Northern Sea. Talented youths frequently come to visit her.”

Ao Jiao looked at Xiao Chen mischievously. The meaning behind her words was clear.

“Beauty? How beautiful can she be? Have I not seen enough beautiful girls?”

Xiao Chen truly did not care. What he was concerned about was the Mo Clan’s strength and the strength of the peak experts in this sea domain.

However, such information was difficult to find out just from eavesdropping on Mo Clan cultivators.

It was still best to go out and personally chat with them. Only then would he gain more information.

The purple warship was very large, and its interior was extremely spacious. Furthermore, aside from guest rooms and storerooms, it had recreation rooms, the most popular of which was a tavern.

Inside the tavern, aside from the Mo Clan cultivators, there were many other loose cultivators that the Mo Clan had hired as well as cultivators who were hitching a ride like Xiao Chen.

The warships on the Heavenly Starry Ocean were indeed very different from those of the continent.

For example, the warships of the continent would rarely have such a bustling place like the tavern that Xiao Chen entered.

The decorations in the tavern were very exquisite, and the environment was elegant, unlike the noisy environment of other places. After all, this was a tavern of the Mo Clan. The cultivators who drank here controlled themselves, to avoid interference with their duties.

The moment Xiao Chen stepped inside, many gazes shifted to him. After that, low whispers broke out in the tavern.

“He is the one. Seven days ago, when two of the Elders attacked, he charged through them like a ghost.”

“That can’t be. No matter how I look, he is only a Martial Monarch. How could he easily dodge the attacks of two Martial Sages?”

“That is indeed so. However, Steward Wang said it was a coincidence. The two elders were careless and let him slip through.”

“I think it is a coincidence as well. Otherwise, that is too extreme.”

Xiao Chen ignored these discussions and found an empty table before taking a seat. He called over a waiter and asked, “What good wine do you have? Bring me a flask.”

The waiter was from the Mo Clan as well. He smiled and said, “Speaking of good wine on board, naturally, it has to be the Thousand Year Flame that our clan’s Young Miss personally brewed herself.”

“Thousand Year Flame? What a strange name. Bring me a flask, then.”

Xiao Chen sighed. The name “Thousand Year Flame” piqued his interest.

The meaning of Thousand Year Flame was easily understood—a flame that would not get extinguished for a thousand years. However, what kind of wine would be called the Thousand Year Flame?

“Hehe, my friend, I was just speaking about it. I doubt that you can afford it. Furthermore, this wine is charged by the cup and not the flask.”

The waiter looked at Xiao Chen with some disdain. The Thousand Year Flame was normally served to Martial Sages. Someone who was not a Martial Sage would generally not be able to afford it.

The other Mo Clan cultivators in the tavern all laughed loudly, mocking Xiao Chen for being a country bumpkin who had not seen the world.

However, when the waiter said that, Xiao Chen became even more interested. “How much for one cup?”

“One thousand Astral Coins!”

“Hmm, that’s not very expensive. Bring me ten cups.”

“Huang dang.” Xiao Chen stretched out his hand and tossed one hundred Black Astral Coins onto the table.

Before everyone’s laughter faded away, they suddenly saw this scene that made their eyes open wide and their smiles freeze.

Black Astral Coins. What Xiao Chen took out was actually Black Astral Coins. Furthermore, he did so without flinching, throwing down one hundred Black Astral Coins without a care. This was ten thousand Astral Coins.

Ten thousand Astral Coins. To a Martial Monarch, that was an enormous sum.

Ordinary Inferior Grade Martial Monarchs would have to work hard for a month before they could earn such an amount.

The waiter checked the Black Astral Coins and immediately carefully put them away, his heart filled with joy.

The quality of the Astral Iron in Black Astral Coins was much better than ordinary Astral Coins. For the sake of refining Secret Treasures, the Mo Clan would exchange large amounts of Astral Coins for Black Astral Coins at high prices every year.

If the waiter handed in one hundred Black Astral Coins, he would make a significant contribution to the clan.

“Ten cups of Thousand Year Flame? I’ll bring them immediately. Please wait for a moment!”

The waiter moved very fast. He soon brought out a serving plate and set ten translucent purple crystalline cups on the table. The wine in the cup was a bright red.

There was not much wine, which looked like a clump of burning blood. Together with the brilliant purple crystalline cup, it gave off an illusory feel.

The purple crystalline cups resembled the goblets of Xiao Chen’s previous life. However, they looked more elegant and arrogant.

“Did the Young Miss of your clan design these cups as well?” Xiao Chen asked.

Since he was speaking about his clan’s Young Miss, the waiter answered proudly, “That is natural. You are rather lucky. Our clan’s Young Miss is very talented. Be it brewing wine, refining Secret Treasures, playing the zither, drawing, laying formations, or divination, there is nothing she cannot do.

“Actually, you are very fortunate that you are buying the Thousand Year Flame in this tavern. If you went somewhere else, this wine would be ten times more expensive. Even if you had the money, you might not be able to drink it.”

Ten times more expensive? Doesn’t that mean that one cup would be worth one thousand Astral Coins? Xiao Chen was rather shocked at the price.

If he bought ten cups every day for a year, that would come to almost four million Astral Coins.

However, thinking about it, Xiao Chen smiled to himself. This was not very realistic since brewing wine was not a simple thing. There had to be some limitations to it.

He carefully examined the wine. It was scarlet like blood. However, it was very different from real blood and did not elicit any disgust.

The feeling he got from it was like an intoxicating red. It looked entrancingly beautiful.

Delicate like clear water, bright and fresh like blood.

However, there seemed to be something else in the wine; it could not be drunk right away.

Xiao Chen picked up the wine cup and swished the wine around. Tiny motes of golden light floated up from the wine together with bubbles. Soon, they filled the entire cup.

“Boom!”

A golden flame soared up from the wine cup and turned into a legendary Holy Beast, the Golden Crow. It cried out in the tavern, flying around.

“Interesting!”

Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up, and he started tapping the table with his fingers in a rhythmic pattern. Soon, the Thousand Year Flame in the other nine cups began swishing around slowly as well.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Nine clumps of flames soared out of the wine cups, looking like blazing suns. In an instant, dazzling golden light flared in the somewhat dim tavern, illuminating it.

Ten Golden Crows chased each other in the tavern, forming a strange sight of ten connected suns. The brilliant scene stunned everyone.

These people were originally prepared to see Xiao Chen make a joke of himself. The Thousand Year Flame could not be drunk directly and needed to be swished around for a while first.

Otherwise, if one drank it in one breath, the internal fire would be hard to extinguish. While it would not cause many problems, one’s body would immediately ignite. All of one’s clothes and hair would be burned off, creating a spectacle.

In the end, not only did Xiao Chen not make a fool of himself, he even produced a magnificent scene of ten connected suns so dazzling that the surrounding cultivators could not open their eyes.

The Golden Crows turned into sparks and slowly scattered, returning the tavern to its previous state.

Xiao Chen, who was preparing to drink, looked at the air and frowned casually.

He pulled his left hand back and spread it out under the table. A weak suction appeared and gathered all the scattering sparks in the air without anyone noticing.

“Friend, you can drink this wine already.” The waiter smiled embarrassedly. Clearly, he worried that Xiao Chen would blame him for not giving a warning.

When Xiao Chen had collected all the sparks, a resplendent golden flame appeared in his left hand. In that instant, he clenched his five fingers, not letting any of the light leak out.

Ao Jiao, it seems like this Mo Clan’s Young Miss is not simply a pretty woman.

Why care so much? Quickly, drink it. Even I feel like drinking this Thousand Year Flame already. Quickly, drink it! Drink it and tell me what it tastes like! Ao Jiao kept urging Xiao Chen, staring at the wine cup.

Xiao Chen helplessly smiled bitterly. That’s fine too. I’ll drink first.

He really wanted to know what a wine called the Thousand Year Flame tasted like as well.

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