41 Indulging in Wine and Pleasure, The Team Finally Catches Up

"Isn't this the Peach Blossom Illusion? This... this is..."

In a moment of confusion, there was a sea of wine, a forest of meat, flowers flying in the air, the intoxicating aroma of wine, and mesmerizing flower petals.

At times, there were the sounds of warblers and swallows, the soft, seductive music surrounding the body. At other times, there was a lingering, gentle touch, a torturous and heartbreaking sound, drawing one deeper into the illusion.

The illusion was both real and unreal, its truth difficult to discern, making it hard to break free.

Even someone as experienced as Qi Tian, a monster who had lived for hundreds of years, felt a wave of weakness.

His body felt as if it couldn't exert any strength, a feeling that drained his heroic spirit. Trapped in an endless sea of tenderness, his ambitions and grand plans were impossible to unfold. It was as though he were stuck in cotton, or recovering from a serious illness, too weak to move.

Qi Tian cursed his bad luck. He tried to activate his reconnaissance worm, only to find that he couldn't establish contact.

"Could it be that I've entered someone else's blessed land? No mortal worms allowed!?" Qi Tian's heart skipped a beat. "If I've entered an unknown blessed land, whether it's inhabited by a Gu Immortal or a spirit land, my fragile mortal body has little chance of survival."

"If the earth spirit is dead, or if it's searching for a new master..." Qi Tian's eyebrows twitched, and he fell into deep thought.

"I unknowingly entered this place through the illusion. Though the illusion shifted a few times, it felt like one seamless whole, with everything interconnected, flawless."

"If I had entered the blessed land normally, I would have passed through a portal. The portal is the most crucial part of the blessed land. Why would it open without reason? Why such a coincidence?"

"If I entered through a crack in the blessed land, the control over the worms would be reduced, but that would also present an opportunity. But could it really be so?"

"What is going on?" Qi Tian furrowed his brows, various thoughts clashing in his mind.

"Dammit! Even the formation of thoughts is slowing down. My mental clarity is fading."

To stay alert, Qi Tian bit down on his left arm, leaving deep bite marks, with blood oozing from them.

"Right! I came in search of fine wine, only to step deeper into this illusion. Now that I think about it, perhaps the two are connected!?"

The Misty Valley, fine wine, illusions, flower petals, tender traps, forbidden mortal worms... Qi Tian laid out the clues.

"Could this not be a blessed land, but rather...?" Qi Tian's eyes lit up as he muttered to himself.

"A battlefield killing move—Indulging in Wine and Pleasure!?"

Indulging in Wine and Pleasure was the signature killing move of the Seven-Turn Gu Immortal, the Drunken Old Man. Trapped in the illusion, mortal Gu would fall into slumber, even the power of Immortal Gu would be reduced, and the Gu Master would be intoxicated as well.

Qi Tian had witnessed the power of this move in his past life, and he had almost died under it.

However, at that time, he hadn't faced the Drunken Old Man himself, but rather one of his heirs.

The Drunken Old Man possessed Seven-Turn, Second-Phase cultivation and had peak combat power. Even at his own peak in his previous life, Qi Tian could not have escaped when facing such a person using this battlefield killing move.

The Drunken Old Man had mysteriously disappeared years ago, and now it seemed that he had come to the Misty Valley. This battlefield killing move was only operating at its base level, clearly not maintained by anyone. Based on past life information, the Drunken Old Man must have passed away, leaving behind this setup.

The Gu Immortal he had faced in his past life was only Six-Turn and hadn't been able to fully unleash the power of "Indulging in Wine and Pleasure." With the special soul-path killing move from the Qi family, Qi Tian had managed to escape without paying too great a price.

Thus, Qi Tian was very familiar with this battlefield killing move.

This move used fine wine as the source, with the spring containing the intoxicating Immortal Drunken Qi. If a Gu Immortal entered, it would trigger the Immortal Drunken Qi.

Even a Gu Immortal would fall into a stupor from the Immortal Drunken Qi's scent. With the cooperation of Immortal Gu, the effect was maximized, and without control, even a Gu Immortal could be captured.

Fortunately, this killing move was mainly aimed at Gu Immortals. If a mortal entered, it wouldn't trigger the Immortal Drunken Qi, so the killing move's power wouldn't fully manifest.

Even so, the Gu insects on Qi Tian were also in a deep sleep, and he could only rely on his own strength to stay awake.

Fortunately, the killing move, set up by the Drunken Old Man many years ago with the Misty Valley's unique illusions, didn't require Immortal Yuan to maintain its basic operation. However, over time, its power was weakening.

"With my willpower, in this environment, I can hold on for at most three quarters of an hour. During this time, I must find a way to leave and locate the fine wine. If I don't escape within this time, I may be trapped here forever."

Having deduced the situation, Qi Tian focused on the fine wine in "Indulging in Wine and Pleasure."

There was a large quantity of fine wine here, and surely more than one type. Even if he took a few jars, it wouldn't trigger the killing move.

Moreover, Qi Tian suspected that the "Literary and Martial Dual Talent" fine wine probably came from the Drunken Old Man.

In addition, Qi Tian recalled more information.

"The Gu Master who inherited the Drunken Old Man's legacy was once a rogue cultivator, and later joined the Celestial Crane Sect..."

"After eighty years in my past life, the Misty Valley underwent significant changes..."

"One hundred years later, after the Night Soul Blessed Land opened for a period, the Celestial Crane Sect sealed off the Misty Valley for self-exploration..."

...

"It seems these are all related to the Drunken Old Man. This battlefield killing move probably contains the Drunken Old Man's inheritance, but obtaining the inheritance won't be easy."

"Also, though no one is maintaining the battlefield killing move, we can't be sure the Drunken Old Man is really dead, or if the earth spirit in his blessed land still exists..."

"Right! When I left the Misty Valley, I found traces of Gu Masters on the outskirts. Could it be related to the Drunken Old Man's inheritance?"

"Forget it, for now, the priority is to compete for the Fox Immortal Blessed Land! As for the Drunken Old Man's inheritance, the prospects are unclear. Even if someone possesses clues to the inheritance and finds this place, passing the 'Indulging in Wine and Pleasure' test will likely take more than one or two years."

Qi Tian was well aware of the dangers of "Indulging in Wine and Pleasure." Without sufficient preparation, he didn't want to go deeper. One wrong move could lead to being trapped.

---

The Rest of the Chapter:

A loud knock on the door woke Fang Zheng from his deep slumber.

Controlling Gu insects consumed a lot of mental energy. Sometimes it required intense concentration, sometimes multitasking.

After his battle with Sun Yuanhua, Fang Zheng had exhausted his tricks and energies.

He was so tired that he had forced himself to meet the sect leader and complete his elite disciple ceremony.

After returning to his quarters, he collapsed on the bed and slept for two full days and nights.

Now, he was awoken by a knock. He opened the door to find a group of elite disciples—both male and female. Most were at the third-turn level, with a few at fourth-turn cultivation.

"Fang Zheng, we have the same task. We'll need to support each other along the way."

"Fang Zheng, I watched your battle with Sun Yuanhua. It was brilliant!"

"I hope we can spar along the way…"

These disciples were all friendly. They knew Fang Zheng controlled a flock of over ten thousand Ironbeak Flying Cranes. Though Fang Zheng couldn't control them at will, the sheer power of the flock made them respect him.

"Greetings, fellow disciples. I apologize, I've been sleeping these days and haven't gone through the task details," Fang Zheng said, bowing awkwardly.

The elite disciples eagerly explained the task to him.

"...Our luck has arrived, and if we can become the inheritor, we'll soar to great heights. With the chance to challenge Gu Immortals, we will have huge potential. However, besides our Celestial Crane Sect, there are also other top sects in Central Continent like the Tianlian Sect, Lingdie Valley, Ancient Soul Sect, and Tiandu Tower. Therefore, we must work together and unite!"

"Of course!" Fang Zheng responded eagerly.

"It's a pity that Senior Brother Qi Tian is on a mission and hasn't returned. If he were here, our Celestial Crane Sect would have no fear of other sects," one of the elite disciples sighed.

"Senior Brother Qi Tian? The elite disciple?" Fang Zheng asked.

"Yes, Senior Brother Qi Tian controls the Flying Cranes with ease, and is humble. He is our role model. He was also supposed to join this task, but he's not back yet..." another disciple spoke proudly, but a hint of disappointment crept in.

"Shall we wait for Senior Brother Qi Tian for three days?" Fang Zheng asked, not feeling jealous but hoping to meet Qi Tian and learn the Crane control technique from him. Under the guidance of the Celestial Crane Elder, Fang Zheng had matured significantly.

"Thank you for your concern, but we don't need to wait three days. We can leave tomorrow," a polite voice suddenly echoed from afar.

Before anyone saw him, the voice arrived first, clear and distinct despite the distance, clearly coming from Gu insects.

"It's Senior Brother Qi Tian!" an elite disciple exclaimed with joy.