Chapter 196: A Wine Fragrance that Engulfed Half of the Imperial City
Translator: E.3.3. Editor: Vermillion
Bu Fang cracked open the mud cap with a light pop and was instantly hit with a burst of wine fragrance surging out of the wine jar. The aroma, as if taken the shape of enshrouding mist, gushed up Bu Fang"s nose and made his taste buds tingle.
This was a remarkably rich fruit wine aroma, with a splash of sweet astringency. However, such touch of sweet astringency did not affect the fragrance of the wine one bit. Instead, the aroma became even more alluring and intoxicating.
Bu Fang opened his eyes wide, and couldn"t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva in a "gulp". Afterwards, he inched his nose closer and inhaled deeply. The wine fragrance crawled up his nose like a tiny serpent and travelled through his limbs, making him all the more exhilarated.
"Such wonderful aroma! Such wonderful wine!"
Bu Fang gasped in admiration, but his countenance remained largely unchanged. That was because he utilized the "Wine within Wine, Jar within Jar" brewing method, meaning this was not yet the final end product.
Even though the wine fragrance was, at this point, quite impressive, it was merely on par with the Ice Heart Jade Urn Wine. To completely surpa.s.s it, or even compare with the "Dragon"s Breath" described by Ni Yan, there was still a noticeable distance.
Bu Fang was not in a hurry. He fetched three smaller wine jars, and used a bamboo tube to scoop out the wine nectar from the bigger jar and into the smaller jars.
The bamboo tube was dipped into the wine jar. With a gentle scoop, the wine nectar rippled like a river stream. Its fragrance, having subsided for a long time, suddenly burst forth, adding a sense of indulgence to Bu Fang"s expression.
This time, the wine nectar was not clear as spring water, but presented a hue of pale yellow. The yellowness was simple and unpretentious—not the type of muddy yellow caused by a mix of impure substances, but a yellowness that was crystalized and untainted in tone.
The wine nectar from the original jar was distributed into three smaller wine jars. What was left in the bigger jar was remaining residues. Bu Fang took out a filter and poured in the leftover wine nectar, eventually filling up another half of a jar.
Having done all of this, Bu Fang felt a burning flame in his heart once more.
With a layer of true energy wrapped around his palm, Bu Fang carefully extended his hand into the wine jar. He grabbed one of the jars, which turned out to be scalding hot. In that moment, he s.h.i.+vered inside.
"This should be the jar with wine brewed with the Phoenix Blood Herb." Bu Fang"s heart tingled. He applied force and removed the small wine jar.
The small wine jar looked smooth and slippery on the outside. If it weren"t for the true energy coated over Bu Fang"s palm, he would have had a hard time taking it out of the large wine jar.
The moment he pulled out the wine jar, Bu Fang was taken back, as the wine jar in his hands completely transformed. The surface of the wine jar picked up a fiery blaze of redness yet kept a crystal clear tone. Its material seemed to have totally transfigured.
Through the translucent external coating, one could basically see the insides of the wine jar. The wine nectar within presented a flame-like redness, with a hazy bed of air hovering above. Bu Fang felt quite awed inside and placed the small wine jar onto the table. As a beam of light shone down, a gleam of redness radiated, all magnificent and enchanting.
Bu Fang tsked in exclamation, and continued covering his palm with true energy. He extended his hand, seized a bone-chilling, ice-cold wine jar, and took it out.
The wine jar has transfigured into a pale blue color, as if made of ice crystals. It emitted a hint of winter chills.
Without a question, this was the jar with wine brewed by the Ice Soul Monarch Lotus.
With the third reach, Bu Fang finally took out the last wine jar. This was the jar with wine brewed by the Three Stripes Path-Understanding Fruit.
The surface of this wine jar did not undergo as much dramatic changes like the last two. The three stripes of cloud shaped moires on the outside merely appeared fuller, as if clouds truly floated about, thick and undissipated.
The three wine jars resting on the table looked unique in their own ways, each a dazzling feast for the eyes.
Bu Fang dispersed the true energy in his hands, squinted at the three wine jars, and curled the corner of his lips. Now this was something.
He picked up the flame red wine jar. Its mud cap bulged, as if about to break open.
Bu Fang took in a breath lightly, and cracked open the mud cap.
"Bang!" With a loud rumble, the mud cap shot to the sky. A pounding phoenix"s wail blared from the wine jar.
An outline of a fiery red phoenix spread its wings and leaped out.
In blazing flames, the silhouette twirled in the air and transformed into a vigorous blast of wine fragrance before exploding.
Bu Fang sniffed this wine aroma, and instantly felt his entire body trembling. Every particle within him buzzed dynamically. His eyes sparkled as the true energy within his body was traveling at a faster speed.
"A flame-like, rich wine fragrance! A burning sensation!"
Bu Fang thought in his heart, and then s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the interior of the wine jar. Without the time acceleration property of the kitchen cabinet, to reach this level of aroma, the jar of wine would have required three years of brewing. The scent spurted out, stirring one"s heart.
The wine fragrance of this jar alone was rich and intense enough to diffuse and hover over the entire store. In fact, it even spread to the alleyway, pervading the air around.
Blacky, who was previously lying down, was also shaken by the wine aroma and immediately lifted up its doggy head. His eyes blinked and peered toward the inside of Bu Fang"s store.
The wine nectar in the wine jar presented a fiery shade of red. Its fragrance resembled a scorching flame. With a light shake of the jar, one could faintly hear the wail of a Fire Phoenix.
Bu Fang then directed his gaze to the wine jar that looked as if it was made of ice crystals. With the mud cap unsealed, the fragrance of a wine brewed for three years also burst forth and gathered above the wine jar. It transfigured into a blooming, ice-blue lotus flower.
The aroma of this jar of wine was not burning hot, but ice cold instead. Bu Fang felt as if his entire nose was frozen by the chills, and slightly scrunched his brows.
With a gentle tap on the wine jar, the ice blue wine nectar instantly rippled. It formed waves after waves, reverberating a light, crispy echo.
Bu Fang licked his lips and then targeted the last jar, which was made of the Three Stripes Path-Understanding Fruit. Uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the mud cap, its effects were plain, and nothing special took place.
Bu Fang was stupefied, and pulled himself closer to observe. Suddenly, the first stripe of cloud-shaped moire scattered. As if a violent jolt of the heart, an intensely rich wine fragrance gushed out, almost knocking Bu Fang to the floor.
The wine aroma was incomparably strong, spreading everywhere. It poured out of the store and even stormed out of the small alleyway, adding an intoxicated complexion to countless people standing nearby. With a sniff, they blushed and trembled in tipsiness.
Bu Fang felt dizzy, and was still shaking from being blasted by the alcohol"s strength. The second stripe of cloud-shaped moire also charged forth, forcing Bu Fang to take another step back.
As if a soundless ripple effect, the wine fragrance disseminated once more, nearly engulfing the Immortal Phoenix Restaurant.
Ni Yan, who brought Ye Ziling to feast on gourmet delicacies in the Immortal Phoenix Restaurant, suddenly froze. Her pet.i.te, delicate nose twitched vigorously and her eyes sparkled as if they were stars s.h.i.+ning in the dark night sky.
"This wine aroma… where is it from? How could it be this rich!"
In a flash, Ni Yan immediately left the Immortal Phoenix Restaurant with Ye Ziling. Her nose continued to jerk, in search of the origin of this wine fragrance.
Once the third stripe of cloud-shaped moire of the Three Stripes Path-Understanding Fruit also spurted out, Bu Fang"s store became a sea of wine fragrance. One sniff of the aroma made Bu Fang"s complexion flush with rosiness, as if he had drunk a cup of strong wine himself.
Bu Fang circulated his true energy to suppress the tipsiness within. His eyes uncontrollably flashed with astonishment.
Who would have thought that a wine nectar brewed with these three ingredients and under such special methods would have such unexpected effects…
But… this wine nectar was still not the ultimate end product.
Bu Fang took out a jade jar and with a solemn face, poured into it half a jar of the yellow toned wine nectar from the original larger jar. Afterwards, he respectively poured in half a jar of the flame red wine jar, the ice blue wine jar, and then the Three Stripes Path-Understanding Fruit"s wine jar.
He used the jade jar to mix together these three kinds of wine nectar.
The insides of the jade jar gleamed with brilliance, shaking lightly.
Bu Fang"s eyes lit up. He sealed the jar with a lid, and then concentrated the true energy on his hands.
With the slam of a hand, the wine jar instantly elevated to mid-air, tossing and turning as it continued buzzing with sound.
Dong!!
The jade jar landed fiercely on the table and emitted a loud rumble. Bu Fang"s forehead was covered with fine drops of sweat, his eyes burning with flames.
This wine… was finally finished.
The lid was carefully lifted from the jade jar, yet nothing spectacular or odd occurred. However, the scent was richer than ever as it streamed out, tens of thousands times stronger than those of the previous four wine aromas.
The flooding wine fragrance was vast and mighty, as if turbulent ocean waves tumbling.
In that instant, Bu Fang was utterly immersed and lost within it.
The wine aroma rolled up like flaps of the sea, its tempestuous waves rising higher and higher. With the store as the core, it continued expanding outwards.
Ni Yan"s face suddenly changed colors as she pulled Ye Ziling along. Her complexion flushed with rosiness as her entire body trembled and s.h.i.+vered. This wine fragrance… had changed again! It had become increasingly marvelous!
The wave-like wine fragrance permeated in all four directions. With the little store as the center, half of the Imperial City had been engulfed!