I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense - Chapter 471:
Chapter 471: Chapter 472: Opening the Altar
The old beggar abruptly changed the subject, aiming directly at Sky Blade Song Que. He was well aware that even though Song Que usually kept a low profile, the treasures he possessed were anything but few.
“I wonder if the esteemed Senior Song is willing to open this altar?”
Li Xiaobai asked with a beaming smile. For him, swindling anyone was the same; as long as he secured the resources, that’s all that mattered.
Song Que was somewhat stunned. He had not expected that two people who had been deflecting the responsibility onto each other a second ago would suddenly target him. This feeling was not unfamiliar; it was the rhythm of being conned.
Moreover, it seemed that the old beggar asking Li Xiaobai was just for show; his real target had always been himself.
“Ah, this…”
“Apart from this knife, I have no other treasures,” Song Que said very straightforwardly, inserting the knife at his waist into the ground as he spoke, word by word.
“Then there’s no helping it. We can’t open the altar, and the human race has no future,” the old beggar said, shaking his head and sighing.
“Hmph, old codger, you have plundered more treasures than several of Central Province’s established forces. Don’t tell me you have none?” Song Que said coldly, his words filled with displeasure. This old thing was treating him like a fool.
“Old Song, oh, you can eat recklessly, but you can’t speak carelessly. You say the old beggar has treasures—do you have evidence?” the old beggar retorted with wide-open eyes, angrily rebuking.
As the two argued incessantly, making it difficult to tell them apart, a cold voice drifted in from outside the door.
“Heavenly Martial, many years have passed, I hope you are well!”
Hearing this voice, Song Que instantly shut up, while the old beggar uncontrollably shivered and, twisting his head, looked at the newcomer with an awkward smile. “The Vice Leader hasn’t left yet? What brings you here today? Don’t tell me you missed the old beggar?”
The person who had arrived was none other than Liuren, clad in golden armor, looking dashing and heroic.
She immediately sensed the return of the old beggar to the city. She harbored deep-seated resentment towards this old friend and rival, who had swindled her more than once, especially when she was more vulnerable.
It was the old beggar who taught her that there was something in the world called a lack of martial virtue!
“Cut the nonsense, I came here today to open the altar. Bring out the resources and start the Formation now!” Liuren demanded assertively, her eyes glaring.
“Damn it, it’s always the old beggar who gets conned,” the old beggar muttered under his breath, his face showing a pained expression as he took out a small earthen jar. Liuren had personally spoken; he dared not disobey. Her terrible fierceness was no less than his peak state; he dared not act recklessly.
The earthen jar was simple and exquisite, revealing a craftsman’s touch. As soon as he took it out, the entire room filled with an enticing fragrance.
It seemed to contain not so much Heaven and Earth Treasures as it did a bowl of soup. Li Xiaobai sniffed eagerly; the aroma was too enticing, making one’s mouth water and almost incapable of resisting taking a sip immediately.
Song Que and Liuren had a similar expression. Cultivators, who ate light and vegetarian food, no longer needed to eat at this stage of their cultivation; daily cultivation was sufficient to sustain their bodily needs.
Yet now, confronted with such an aroma of everyday life, their appetites were thoroughly aroused by the delightful scent.
Seeing the expressions on everyone’s faces, the old beggar lifted the lid with his hand and offered a proud smile.
“This thing is called Golden Dragon Bone Soup, which took me a whole year to brew,” he proclaimed.
“This soup’s ingredients come from ancient dragons, three parts dragon bloodline power, three parts dragon spine, three parts dragon horns, one part Dragon Devouring Grass, all ground and refined; then simmered for three months using the special ‘Daughter’s Red’ from the Kingdom of Women as the soup base, flavored with Immortal Forest Herb and seasoned with Qilin Blood. After bubbling away for three months and then buried underground for seven months to settle, it could be unearthed and opened after two months, resulting in the Golden Dragon Bone Soup we have now.”
The old beggar exaggerated wildly as he described the soup in his clay pot.
The sight of the mythical dragon soup in front of everyone meant that if one were to part with their wealth, it had to be worth it, so one must put on a good show.
The broth was a golden yellow, fragrant with the rich scent of oil, and thin slices of dragon meat lay submerged within, also a glistening yellow, radiating a strong meaty aroma.
Each slice was identical in size and thickness, showcasing the old beggar’s exceptional knife skills.
Who would have thought that this old fellow, who usually seemed so unserious, actually possessed such a skill?
“How about that? This is dragon bone soup. Do you have any idea how big that dragon was?”
“Have you ever seen a dragon?”
“That was the only dragon on the Immortal Spirit Continent!”
The old beggar held the clay pot with pride, boasting grandly.
Li Xiaobai was speechless; the old beggar was boasting to the skies. Cooking soup with an ancient dragon, why don’t you just fly to heaven?
Whether or not dragons actually existed on the Immortal Spirit Continent was debatable, the most this pot of soup could be was made from a Jiao, a sort of creature containing a trace of dragon bloodline, but given that even the old beggar had to spend so much time making it, its effects were likely extraordinary.
“Woof, old man, quickly let your master Ergouzi have a taste!”
Ergouzi’s eyes sparkled as he lunged at the old beggar, eager to gulp down the soup from the pot.
“Giggle, I want some too!”
Ji Wuqing also fluttered her wings and rushed over, eyeing the soup as a substantial nourishment that, once consumed, would surely take her strength to the next level.
“Shut up, shut up, this is the old beggar’s darling treasure. How can I let you mangy chickens and dogs have it!”
The old beggar clutched the pot of soup tightly, kicking Ergouzi and Ji Wuqing away.
“Stop it, this is a senior’s precious item. If you drink it, he will fight you for it.”
Li Xiaobai stepped forward to pull back the dog and the chicken; these two were never a day without causing trouble.
No longer putting on airs, the old beggar carefully let a single drop of soup from the clay pot fall onto the Five-colored Altar.
A terrifying burst of essence rose from the drop of soup, and in an instant, the Formation on the altar flowed with patterns, the Five-colored Divine Light burst forth, and an ancient aura filled the air.
Inside the room, thunder roared loudly, accompanied by resonant chanting.
A crack suddenly tore through the void, revealing a spatial vortex.
The vortex gradually expanded to the height of a person, with lightning and thunder raging within its space, a sign of the instability of the spatial passage. If the old beggar could spare a few more drops of soup, perhaps the inside would have been more stable.
“One drop is enough, if the spatial channel stabilizes, we could go through, and beings from the other side could come here, too. Today it’s just for a brief exchange, that’s sufficient,”
Liuren said.
The old beggar looked relieved, expertly flipping his wrist and swiftly stowing the clay pot of soup into his pouch.
The few people inside the room watched intently as the vortex in the room grew larger, and when it had expanded to the height of two people, it stabilized.
A few seconds of silence passed inside the room, then a voice floated out from within.
“Didn’t we agree, unless it’s urgent, not to open the channel casually!”
