"Yes, Master!"
Long Xingyun responded cautiously, then said to Long Xiaotian beside him, "Grandpa, Master is inviting us in to sit!"
"Aye, aye!"
Long Xiaotian responded eagerly.
Just moments ago, he had been completely awestruck by the ethereal, celestial aura emanating from Cheng Xiaofan.
Cheng Xiaofan set aside the Shen Nong Qin, smiled faintly, and looked at Long Xiaotian. "You are Long Xingyun's grandfather?"
"Indeed, I am,"
Long Xiaotian quickly stood up and bowed. "My name is Long Xiaotian!"
"In the presence of a master, mentioning this name is rather presumptuous. Alas, it was given by my late father. I hope the master can forgive me!"
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled and said, "That's fine. You don't need to be so formal with me. I'm a very casual person!"
He appraised Long Xiaotian. "Old Master Long, I notice something amiss with your vital energy. Your inner elixir, cultivated in your younger years, must have suffered a severe blow during a conflict, correct?"
Upon hearing this, Long Xiaotian was aghast!
"Truly a master!"
Long Xiaotian rose again and bowed with clasped hands. "As the master said, twenty years ago, during a fierce battle, I was ambushed and nearly lost my life!"
"Not long ago, thanks to my grandson Long Xingyun bringing back your energy elixirs, which I consumed, I felt my damaged inner elixir was finally repaired!"
Cheng Xiaofan nodded. "Your inner elixir is not yet fully repaired!"
"However, you two have come at the perfect time. I've brewed a wine called 'Happy Wine,' which might be of some help to those of you who cultivate ancient martial arts!"
As for whether it would actually help, he had no real idea.
However, according to Liu Tingshu, an analysis of Happy Wine revealed it contained over 120 trace elements that could effectively improve bodily functions and promote cell regeneration. This suggested it should be beneficial for cultivators.
He immediately took a bottle of Happy Wine from the refrigerator and poured a cup for the grandfather and grandson.
A peculiar, exotic aroma of wine instantly wafted towards them.
They each raised their cups, brought them to their lips, and took a sip.
As the wine entered their stomachs, a surge of power rose from their dantian, instantly spreading throughout their bodies, roaring and boiling through their meridians.
At that moment, it felt as if an inexhaustible wellspring of power was rushing in from all directions, absorbed by the grandfather and grandson.
*Huff, huff!*
*Huff, huff!*
The grandfather and grandson could barely hold on, their faces flushed red, their foreheads beaded with sweat the size of beans.
They hurriedly got off their stools, sat cross-legged on the ground, and guided the internal power, circulating it slowly through a minor heavenly cycle and then a major heavenly cycle.
Once the power stabilized, they impatiently reached for the cups on the table.
*Gulp, gulp...*
They downed the wine in their cups in one go.
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
Explosive surges of power, like a raging flood, were reborn within the grandfather and grandson.
Then, they guided it again!
And circulated it again!
They could clearly feel a transformation occurring within their bodies!
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
Long Xingyun gasped for air, his chest heaving violently.
Looking within himself, he found a golden, egg-like pill, transparent and rotating ceaselessly in his dantian.
Breakthrough!
The Core Formation realm!
His previously crippled ancient martial energy had returned.
It had even more than doubled.
Tears of excitement involuntarily welled up.
"Ah, Core Formation realm, I've succeeded, I've succeeded!"
Long Xingyun collapsed at Cheng Xiaofan's feet, weeping inconsolably. "Master, thank you for giving me this chance to be reborn!"
"Thank you, Master, thank you, Master!"
No sooner had he spoken than Long Xiaotian also tumbled down, kneeling at Cheng Xiaofan's feet.
"Master, peerless master, I've broken through too, I've broken through too!"
He clutched Cheng Xiaofan's other leg, choking back sobs. "Today, you have given me new life as well. Master, you are not only Xingyun's master but mine too!"
"I finally understand. When we first arrived, you used music to cleanse our meridians, and then this wine, containing immense energy, helped us break through and elevate our cultivation!"
"For the master's profound kindness, Long Xiaotian will never forget!"
Hearing Long Xiaotian's words, Cheng Xiaofan was almost driven to outburst!
The reason he played the zither was simply to show off a little in front of the grandfather and grandson.
He had never imagined that the music from the Shen Nong Qin could actually cleanse their meridians.
Even more so, he had never dreamed that the Happy Wine he brewed would bring about breakthroughs for these two ancient martial cultivators, even elevating them to higher levels of power.
It was utterly beyond his expectations!
This grandfather and grandson were on the same level as that mother-daughter fox pair!
Looking at his own legs, which were tightly clasped by the grandfather and grandson, their snot and tears smearing his trouser legs, he couldn't help but shake his head with a hint of disgust.
Were all people in the ancient martial world simply lunatics!
"Let go of your hands, you're getting my pants dirty!"
Upon hearing this, Long Xingyun and his grandfather saw the state of Cheng Xiaofan's trouser legs. Their faces turned ashen, and their souls seemed to fly out of their bodies. They hastily took out tissues from their persons and began to wipe.
These were the trouser legs of a peerless master; how could they possibly be soiled carelessly!
"I'm sorry, Master, your disciple didn't mean to!"
"Master, I swear to you, your disciple truly did not mean to!"
Both were clearly terrified and apologized repeatedly.
Cheng Xiaofan was speechless.
"Alright, you can both get up now," he said, waving his hand gently.
"Yes, Master!"
The two responded in unison, respectfully rising from the ground and standing by, their eyes gazing at their noses and their noses at their hearts, hands held down by their sides.
"I know you came this time for the energy elixirs,"
Cheng Xiaofan said with a faint smile. "Today, I will give you a large bottle!"
With that, he waved his hand and, with a thought, retrieved a bottle of energy elixirs from his spatial storage, placing it on the bamboo tea table.
It was a large, twenty-jin bottle, filled to the brim with energy elixirs!
Seeing the energy elixirs appear out of thin air, the grandfather and grandson were completely petrified on the spot!
Did the energy elixirs fly down from the sky?
The peerless master must have a secret chamber specifically for refining energy elixirs, and he had moved them from some chamber using his divine power.
The divine power of a master was beyond the imagination of ordinary folk!
"Long Xingyun, tell me, is this bottle of energy elixirs enough for you?" Cheng Xiaofan asked nonchalantly.
Long Xiaotian quickly interjected, "It's enough, it's more than enough!"
With so many energy elixirs, daring to say it wasn't enough would be too greedy.
He worried that Long Xingyun, being young, might speak carelessly and, if he said it wasn't enough, might displease the peerless master and have the energy elixirs retracted. Such instances were not unheard of in stories circulating in the ancient martial world.
Cheng Xiaofan could see Long Xiaotian's thoughts clearly and smiled calmly. "If it's not enough, you can ask me for more in the future!"
He stood up and took another bamboo bottle from the refrigerator. "Here's a bottle of Happy Wine, along with what you didn't finish earlier. You can have it all."
"Thank you, Master, thank you, Master!"
The grandfather and grandson, each holding a bamboo bottle, were ecstatic.
This trip to Zhuxi Village had certainly been a fruitful one.
Long Xiaotian hurriedly took out a brocade box from his travel pouch and said with a fawning smile, "Master, this is a thousand-year-old ginseng from your disciple. I hope you will accept it!"
A thousand-year-old ginseng?
In this day and age, did such aged ginseng still exist?