Time blinked by amidst Yang Hong's leisurely days.
"Lord, I can fly now~ I can fly!"
Yang Hong, basking in the sun in the manor's courtyard, opened a sliver of his eyes. He glanced at Gao Shi, who was wobbling precariously in the air, without comment, and closed his eyes again.
"Lord! You're too lazy. All day long, you just lie around."
The boisterous young girl had grown into a graceful maiden, but her personality remained as spirited as ever.
"Little Shi, you are already 16, a young lady. Stop being so boisterous and be more composed."
Yang Hong opened his eyes and looked at the maidservant, who was once again tugging at his collar. He felt a touch of helplessness.
He treated the two maidservants as disciples, but due to soul fusion issues, he was somewhat lazy, which led to Gao Shi being a bit spoiled.
"Alright, you can fly.
So, I shall teach you the basic Sword Control Technique."
As he spoke, Yang Hong pointed a finger, and ten levels of Tier 1 and ten levels of Tier 2 Sword Control Techniques were directly imparted to her.
Gao Shi was momentarily stunned by the sudden influx of immense information.
After a long while, when she had processed the knowledge in her mind, her expression immediately fell.
"Lord~ You've tricked me again! It turns out one can use Sword Control Techniques at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Why did you tell me you had to be in the Foundation Establishment realm to learn it?"
"Hmph~ That's for others. Are you the same as them, being my maidservant?
Go back and practice well. If you don't practice well, you won't get any food."
"Hmph, the silly lord only knows how to withhold Shi Shi's meals."
Gao Shi grumbled, but she obediently flew away to practice the Sword Control Techniques continuously.
In the more than three years since, the most memorable thing for her was being sealed by the Lord and then starving unconscious.
"Heh heh, little girl, if it weren't for my constant prodding, could you have cultivated to the Foundation Establishment realm in just four years?
You wouldn't dream of it happening so quickly."
Seeing the sun high in the sky, Yang Hong stood up, walked out of the manor, and headed towards the mountaintop.
He didn't fly directly despite having no cultivation restrictions; instead, he walked slowly, step by step, to the summit.
"The Moonlight White's growth has finally normalized and is ready for harvesting."
On the mountaintop, Yang Hong used a spell to clear a small area for a tea garden. Over a dozen spiritual tea trees were planted there, the best being the seventh-grade Pure Heart Tea obtained from the Sealed Demon Secret Realm.
The lowest quality was the Moonlight White tea tree, which had just been boosted to the fourth-grade lower level through灌顶 (guàndǐng - divine bestowment).
Perhaps because Moonlight White was a spiritual tea that Yang Hong had obtained and cultivated, it was the most fragrant spiritual tea in his memory.
Selecting three of the plumpest leaves, Yang Hong did not harvest any more.
As he slowly descended the mountain, he condensed his mana. The Yang Fire energy in the sky was drawn by a spell, igniting a golden-yellow flame.
Three emerald green tea leaves, guided by his mana, fell into the golden flame. A wisp of the Dao of Creation guided the Dao of Fire and the Dao of Wood from heaven and earth to merge into the three tea leaves.
Following Yang Hong's footsteps, the three tea leaves undulated within the golden flame.
"Crack~"
As Yang Hong's foot stepped into the manor's gate, the golden flame extinguished simultaneously.
The three leaves, white on top and black on the bottom, intermingling black and white, resembling moonlight shining on tea buds, landed in Yang Hong's hand.
The leaves curled naturally, exhibiting a beauty of natural rhythm.
"Not bad, not bad. This True Yang Tea Making Technique has also advanced to the perfection of artistry. It generates a unique Dao of Creation distinct from wine-making."
Looking at these three leaves, which emanated a faint Dao of Charm, Yang Hong nodded in satisfaction.
Returning to the manor's small courtyard, Yang Hong took out a set of tea-making utensils from his storage ring.
The teapot was a sixth-grade magic artifact, the Spirit-Returning Purple Rhyme Pot, and the three cups were fifth-grade Hundred Flowers Attracting Butterflies Cups.
The manor's spiritual energy was still insufficient. Yang Hong once again used a spell, igniting a fiery red flame.
This was the Fire Phoenix True Fire, from the demon race's Phoenix clan, one of Yang Hong's spoils of war from the Sealed Demon Secret Realm.
"Gurgle~ Gurgle~"
As the sweet dew water in the teapot began to boil, a wondrous tea fragrance started to waft out.
The elegant aroma of honey, accompanied by delicate floral and fruity notes, rapidly dispersed, filling the entire manor with an incredibly enchanting and intoxicating scent!
It was fortunate that the Ten Directions Spirit Locking Array was in place to contain it; otherwise, the wonderful aroma would have covered a radius of a hundred miles.
"Lord~ You're so annoying! You're releasing poison again!"
The alluring tea fragrance naturally attracted Gao Shi and Gao Lexin. The two girls glared at Yang Hong with wistful expressions but dared not ask for tea.
If Yang Hong hadn't intervened to help them neutralize the spiritual energy within the tea, they would have burst from it.
"Heh heh~ Little gluttons, you can have some tea this time."
Yang Hong chuckled and pointed a finger. A stream of golden, clear tea soup slowly shot out from the teapot. It split into two streams in mid-air, falling into two teacups.
The tea soup filled only half of the cups before flying back.
Any more than that would be too much for the two girls, who had just entered the Foundation Establishment realm.
"Wow~ Lord, are you going to help us neutralize the spiritual energy again today?
That's great."
Gao Shi cheered and hopped over, picked up one of the cups, and downed it in one gulp.
"You, you're like a cow chewing on peonies, wasting it."
Yang Hong shook his head and said dotingly, not saying any more. He picked up the teapot and slowly poured himself tea, savoring it leisurely.
"Thank you, Lord."
Gao Lexin was more polite and reserved.
Under Yang Hong's tutelage, she had also advanced to the Foundation Establishment realm. After becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she truly understood why cultivators were called immortals.
In the Qi Refining realm, since she hadn't learned any spells, she could only fight her grandfather, Gao Qiu, to a draw.
However, after advancing to the Foundation Establishment realm, she dared to cast a fireball spell at Gao Qiu, who could only kneel and call her grandmother.
The gap in strength was indeed that vast.
Gao Lexin harbored even greater reverence for Yang Hong.
"Drink it. This time, you can digest the tea yourselves. After drinking, go back to your cultivation."
Yang Hong said indifferently while drinking tea.
He had already removed half of the spiritual energy from this tea, leaving it at a third-grade mid-level. Two early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators could handle it.
"Wow~ I'm going back to cultivate."
As soon as Yang Hong finished speaking, Gao Shi's face turned red, and her body swayed precariously.
She was starting to get tea-drunk.
"I'm going back too."
Seeing Gao Shi's expression, Gao Lexin quickly finished her tea in one gulp and returned to her room to cultivate.
Compared to enjoying the delicious tea aroma, she craved improving her strength even more.
The Moonlight White tea soup had a bright yellow hue, clear and translucent. It was sweet and full-bodied upon entry, mellow and smooth, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth after drinking, refreshing and moving.
"So good~"
As the fragrant tea entered his mouth, all his troubles seemed to vanish, and his mood lifted.
For some unknown reason, for the past two days, Yang Hong had been feeling inexplicably agitated.
He had used all sorts of spells on himself and his surroundings, checking them all, but he couldn't find anything wrong.
He just had a feeling that something was about to happen, but whether it was good or bad, Yang Hong didn't know.
"Right, it's the first day of May the day after tomorrow. Yang Guang should come looking for me, shouldn't he?"
"Speaking of which, it's time for the quinquennial Five Regions Grand Competition again. This time, it's the Great Sui's turn to host."
"Hmm~ Why do I feel even more restless when I think of the Five Regions Grand Competition?"
"Wait! Grand Competition?
Damn it! I know what the problem is."
The word "Grand Competition" sparked a realization. Yang Hong gulped down the tea soup in the teapot. Without bothering to discard the tea leaves, he put away the teapot and teacups and transformed into a streak of light, vanishing into the sky!