Feeling the hindrance, Yuan Ming was not anxious but pleased.

This indicated that the forbidden restrictions inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod were very likely right here.

He knew this would be a long battle, so he was in no hurry, methodically channeling his mana with a secret technique, like waves crashing against the shore, repeatedly surging toward the golden runes.

As time trickled by, however, Yuan Ming's progress was surprisingly slow.

Soon, a day and night had passed, but the golden runes had only faded a minuscule amount.

Yuan Ming's eyebrows furrowed tightly. A thought suddenly arose in his mind, and his form transformed into that of the Undying Tree, its roots covering the entire White Jade Lotus Platform, his mana penetrating into the runes on the platform without a single gap.

Under the massive mana refining, the golden runes on the White Jade Lotus Platform finally began to fade at a visible rate.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming's spirits lifted, and he immediately gathered all his focus, devoting himself wholly to the sacrificial refining.

...

Four days later, the last bit of golden light on the runes covering the White Jade Lotus Platform faded away, and they were completely refined.

Just as Yuan Ming was eager to check out any changes to the Stealing Heaven Tripod after the successful refining, his Divine Thought suddenly pierced through a barrier and fell into a much larger space of virtualization.

Yuan Ming's Divine Thought hovered in the void, looking around, only to see a myriad of golden chains crisscrossing everywhere in this space, layer upon layer, at least a thousand in number.

Approaching one of these chains, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was not actually a chain but an intricate Forbidden Rune, emanating an intensely powerful forbidding force.

"Could this be the true internal restriction of the Stealing Heaven Tripod?" Yuan Ming couldn't help but take another look around, his mind trembling with the thought.

At this moment, he felt as if he were surrounded by a maze of restrictions, and a sense of despair involuntarily arose in his heart.

"A skyscraper rises from the ground up; let's take it one by one." But Yuan Ming quickly adjusted his emotions.

He steadied his mind and, with his Divine Thought entwined with one of the restriction chains, began to refine the restriction with the Sacrificial Refining Method taught to him by the Shura Master.

Seeing the light of the Forbidden Rune fading little by little, Yuan Ming breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the refining process encountered no problems, completing the ritual was only a matter of time.

...

In the blink of an eye, another five days had passed.

A flash of light, and Yuan Ming's figure appeared within the guest room.

He held the Stealing Heaven Tripod in his hands, but his face showed a resigned helplessness.

These past several days of nearly non-stop refining had exhausted him, yet the speed of refining the first restriction had been surprisingly slow—it had only just begun to loosen today.

Yet before Yuan Ming had time to rejoice, he was disturbed by the Array he had set up, because someone had come looking for him.

"Knock, knock."

Hearing the knocking sound from outside the door, Yuan Ming put away the Stealing Heaven Tripod, got up to tidy up the Array he had arranged, then removed the talisman from the door and, with a "squeak," opened it.

Standing outside was none other than Xi Ying's uncle, Xi Dongliu.

Upon seeing Yuan Ming, the impatience between his eyebrows quickly faded, replaced by an eager smile.

"It turns out to be Senior Xi. I apologize for opening the door late; I was cultivating just now," Yuan Ming said with a bow.

"No harm done, no harm done. It was presumptuous of me to disturb you," Xi Dongliu replied with a smile and a wave of his hand.

"I wonder what brings Senior here?" Yuan Ming invited him in as he spoke.

"It's nothing serious. Xi Ying went straight to the forbidden lands upon her return, and I feared I had neglected you, Daoist friend, so I came to see you. Also, I have acquired a jug of Two Extremes Immortal Brew and wonder if you would honor me by sharing it?" Xi Dongliu naturally sat down at the table, turning towards Yuan Ming with a smile.

"It is my honor, Senior," Yuan Ming replied with a smile.

From their first meeting, Yuan Ming had sensed that Xi Ying's uncle did not hold much fondness for him, making his current demeanor somewhat baffling to Yuan Ming.

Once Yuan Ming had also taken his seat, Xi Dongliu swept his palm, and an old-fashioned bronze wine jug appeared on the table.

At first glance at the wine jug, Yuan Ming's eyes flashed, for on it was clearly a small rune formation.

"What kind of wine requires a rune formation to contain it?" Yuan Ming sensed that Xi Dongliu might have ill intentions.

As if noticing Yuan Ming's puzzled look, Xi Dongliu explained:

"Fellow Daoist Yuan must not misunderstand. This Two Extremes Immortal Brew was made with Extreme Cold Spirit Marrow and Fire Element True Liquid as ingredients—a top-grade ambrosia. Because the ice and fire elemental powers maintain a delicate balance, they are easily affected by outside influences and lose their spiritual energy. The Array on this wine jug is meant to preserve the fresh brew's spiritual power."

Yuan Ming was familiar with the names of Extreme Cold Spirit Marrow and Fire Element True Liquid. The former was a top-grade Ice Attribute spiritual material that could only be extracted from one out of a million ten-thousand-year-old Cold Crystals, while the latter compared to the True Sun Fire, a Fire Attribute spiritual material.

It was indeed no small feat to combine these two opposing attributes into an Immortal Wine.

"Such extreme cold and extreme heat, I suppose it's not something ordinary people can enjoy, right?" Yuan Ming had a vague idea of what Xi Dongliu was up to, but still maintained his composure as he spoke.

"Hehe, not bad. This Spiritual Wine is not for cultivators below the Nascent Soul Stage. Those beneath it who take even a single sip will be eroded by the extreme cold and extreme heat—minor consequences would be the complete dissipation of their cultivation; major ones, death and the vanishing of their dao...""

Xi Dongliu was halfway through speaking when he suddenly glanced sideways at Yuan Ming, feigning confusion, he asked, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, you haven't reached the Nascent Soul Stage, have you?""

Yuan Ming always acted with caution and was used to concealing his aura. Even upon arriving at this villa, the aura he displayed had always been that of someone in the mid-stage of Core Formation.""

Of course, Xi Dongliu didn't believe this.""

In his view, someone who could accompany his eccentric and reclusive niece to this place must be highly trusted and even closely related to her. How could such a person merely be at the mid-stage of Core Formation?""

"Whether or not I've reached the Nascent Soul Stage, does that mean I can't taste the Immortal Brew you've got there, senior?" Yuan Ming countered.""

"If you haven't reached the Nascent Soul Stage, I would advise you to know when to retreat," said Xi Dongliu upon hearing this, the corner of his mouth revealing a smirk, seemingly hinting at something.""

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming seemed oblivious to the implied message, and instead, his interest piqued as he said, "Since senior says so, I'm actually quite eager to have a good taste.""

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, do you really want to try?" Xi Dongliu frowned unconsciously upon hearing this.""

Yuan Ming had already gestured with a wave of his hand, placing two green jade porcelain cups on the table.""

Seeing this, Xi Dongliu stopped persuading him, smiled, lifted the jug, and poured the wine into both cups.""

"Then, please, Fellow Daoist Yuan, taste for yourself," he said, picking up a cup first.""

Yuan Ming was not polite; he picked up his cup, clinked it lightly against Xi Dongliu's, and brought it to his lips.""

A strong fragrance immediately assaulted his nostrils, and with an exclamation of "Good wine!" Yuan Ming tipped the cup into his mouth without hesitation.""

Xi Dongliu, seeing this, immediately showed a look of panic on his face.""

Even he dared only sip the Two Extremes Immortal Brew in small sips, waiting for a mouthful of its potency to dissolve before daring to drink another; to engulf it all in one go, as Yuan Ming did, was no different from seeking death.""

``"

"He had wanted to use the Two Extremes Immortal Brew to test Yuan Ming's cultivation level, but had not intended to kill him.""

"Fellow Daoist Yuan...""

Before he could voice his warning, Yuan Ming's Adam's apple moved as he swallowed the liquor."" Thank you for reading. This was brought to you by *.

"This is bad..." thought Xi Dongliu, a sinking feeling in his heart.""

However, after waiting a moment, the scenario he anticipated—with a mixture of searing heat and biting cold torturing Yuan Ming to the point of rupturing his intestines—did not happen.""

"Good wine," Yuan Ming suddenly exclaimed.""

Filled with puzzlement, Xi Dongliu suspiciously lifted his cup and took a sip.""

The next instant, a cold stream and a hot stream seemed to split his throat and esophagus in two, flowing simultaneously and converging into his stomach.""

The two forces intertwined, and after being processed, the rich spiritual energy entered his Dantian.""

Then, he couldn't help but shiver and shuddered in a chill, followed by a surge of heat rising from his Dantian, causing his back to break out in a faint sweat, while his face alternated between pale and flushed.""

It took a good while before he returned to normal.""

In contrast, Yuan Ming's face did not change at all, nor did his expression shift in the slightest.""

Seeing that Xi Dongliu was still motionless, Yuan Ming picked up the jug and poured himself another cup.""

"Senior, here's a toast to you," Yuan Ming offered, lifting his cup and then drinking down.""

When he drank the first cup, he had sensed that the Two Extremes Immortal Brew was indeed no ordinary Spiritual Wine; the spiritual energy within was very pure and extremely domineering. Had it not been for his robust physique and the power of the Undying Tree within him, he wouldn't have been able to consume it so easily.""

That single cup had nearly replenished all the mana he had depleted while refining the Stealing Heaven Tripod.""

Now that he knew it was good stuff, Yuan Ming naturally wouldn't let it go.""

After that cup, he immediately poured another, then another, drinking cup after cup.""

At first, Xi Dongliu was still immersed in shock, but soon he realized something was amiss. After several cups, Yuan Ming showed no sign of discomfort; on the contrary, he seemed to be getting into the drink.""

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, this Two Extremes Immortal Brew is too domineering; it's not suitable..." Xi Dongliu hurriedly warned.""

"It's fine, it's fine, come, let's drink another cup..." But Yuan Ming, with flushed cheeks, pulled Xi Dongliu into a toast, clearly drunk.""

Xi Dongliu, pained for his freshly brewed wine, quickly grabbed the jug, intending to take his leave.""

As he lifted the jug, he realized it was already empty, feeling as if he had swallowed a living fly, an unbearable discomfort assailed him.""

Once he left with a belly full of frustration, Yuan Ming closed the room door and couldn't help but let out a burp.""

Immediately, his reddened face quickly returned to normal, showing no signs of drunkenness. However, he was still puzzled—why had Xi Dongliu attempted to probe his cultivation level?""