Chapter 14: Mistveil Tea and the Fish
Watching the Ironclaw Eagle plummet, Song Changsheng took a swig from his treasured gourd to recover, then swiftly set off in his small boat to give chase.
That damn bird had pissed him off beyond reason. Only by roasting it over a fire and eating it could he vent the hatred in his heart.
With its wing injured, the Ironclaw Eagle had all but lost the ability to move. By the time Song Changsheng caught up, it was already lying in a thicket, barely clinging to life.
As it caught sight of its pursuer drawing near, despair flashed in its eyes. All it could do was weakly release a few desperate Wind Blades as its final act of resistance.
But those posed no threat at all. Song Changsheng flicked his finger, and a thread of spiritual force instantly pierced its skull.
“Spiritual fish are wonderful, but they belong to someone. Next life, pick your prey more wisely.” Shaking his head, Song Changsheng moved to collect his spoils but suddenly stopped in his tracks.
His nostrils flared as he caught a strange scent in the air. After sniffing a few more times, he murmured in surprise, “What is this fragrance? Just inhaling it makes me feel refreshed and clear-headed… Could there be a rare treasure nearby?”
Spreading out his spiritual sense, he began a meticulous, inch-by-inch search.
After circling the area, he finally discovered something at the base of a sloping patch of earth: a tea tree, no more than a foot tall, swaying gently in the breeze, exuding an unusual fragrance.
Song Changsheng's curiosity surged as he approached for a closer look. Wisps of faint white mist curled around the little tree. Its branches forked neatly, with each branch bearing a dozen or so dark green leaves, and a few newly sprouted buds at the tips.
The leaves were oval-shaped, their serrated edges and vein patterns resembling the winding trails of clouds, clearly no ordinary plant.
“Could this be… a Mistveil Tea Tree?” he exclaimed with surprise and delight.
Plucking a leaf and chewing it slowly, a bitter taste immediately spread across his tongue but along with it came a strange sensation.
Song Changsheng could clearly feel a mysterious force gently nourishing his soul.
“It really is Mistveil Tea! To think I'd stumble upon such a fortuitous find here of all places.” His eyes practically sparkled as he looked upon the tree.
Mistveil Tea was a rare spiritual tea. Brewing its leaves into tea could nourish the soul and purify spiritual energy.
The power of a cultivator’s spell wasn’t just tied to their cultivation realm, purity of spiritual energy played a crucial role as well.
And once one's spiritual energy became purer, the total capacity in the dantian would increase accordingly, allowing for longer endurance during battles. To Song Changsheng, this was nothing short of a dream come true.
“Still… any place where spiritual flora grows is usually guarded by some beast. Why is it so quiet around this Mistveil Tea Tree?”
Scanning the surroundings, his gaze landed on something within a nearby thicket. Parting the branches, he discovered a massive bird’s nest and the lingering aura it held belonged to none other than the Ironclaw Eagle.
In that moment, everything clicked into place.
He had wondered why that eagle had been lingering around the area, even returning after being wounded.
As it turned out, it had been guarding the Mistveil Tea Tree, waiting for its tender buds to emerge. Not only were the leaves beneficial to human cultivators, they were even more effective for spirit beasts.
Consuming the tender shoots could greatly enhance a beast’s soul, hastening the evolution of its spiritual intelligence.
And spiritual intelligence was the key to stepping from first-rank to second-rank beast. Even wounded, the Ironclaw Eagle had refused to leave.
Today, just as the tree finally sprouted, it had attempted to eliminate the threat, Song Changsheng. Unfortunately, it had underestimated him. With his recent breakthrough in cultivation, Song Changsheng struck it down in one blow and ended up reaping the fruit of its long-standing efforts.
“Luckily, Fifty-third granduncle was too old to be moving around much. Otherwise, with his great perfection Qi Refinement cultivation, he would’ve chased that eagle and discovered the tree long before me. What a stroke of luck!”
Delighted, Song Changsheng now faced a new problem: how to transplant the tree. He wasn’t a spirit farmer and had little experience with spiritual plants, one wrong move could damage its roots.
After some thought, he drew a spirit sword from his qiankun pouch and carefully dug out a three-meter-wide chunk of soil around the Mistveil Tea Tree.
A large pit appeared on the slope where the tree once stood.
Cradling the entire chunk of earth, he returned to the lake island. Using the same method, he dug another large pit, placed the tree inside, and filled in the gaps around it.
The transplant was crude, but it worked.
To aid its growth, he buried a few low-grade spirit stones around the tree.
Currently, the tea tree was at superior-grade first rank. As long as spiritual energy remained abundant, it would soon advance. By then, the tea’s effects would be even more potent.
“Let’s try these fresh buds first.” Carefully plucking several tender shoots, he sealed them inside a jade vial.
He brought out a porcelain cup, placed one bud inside, and poured in scalding spiritual spring water.
Instantly, a refreshing fragrance spread. As the tea steeped, the leaves melted into the brew, turning the liquid a faint green. Wisps of mist curled above the rim of the cup.
“No wonder it’s considered a rare spiritual tea. Even the aroma is enough to soothe the soul.” Song Changsheng inhaled deeply, utterly entranced.
Once the leaves fully dissolved, he didn't even wait for it to cool. Lifting the cup, he downed it in one gulp.
As the fragrant tea flowed down his throat, a surge of refined energy burst from his middle Zhongwan acupoint.
Song Changsheng immediately sat cross-legged, calming his mind, channeling his energy inward to refine the power.
As the energy coursed through him, it split in two. One stream surged into his sea of consciousness, nourishing his soul.
The other flooded into his dantian, purifying his spiritual energy…
A full day and night passed before Song Changsheng finally opened his eyes. With a flick of his hand, he formed a series of seals. “Water Dragon Vortex!”
On the lake’s surface ahead, a massive water tornado erupted, several zhang tall, churning the Mirror Lake into chaos.
Fortunately, he remembered this was family property. After just a few breaths, he dispersed the spell.
Looking at the fading vortex, he beamed. “The spell’s power has increased by at least thirty percent, and the energy cost has decreased. Truly worthy of being called a legendary tea.”
This was a tangible combat power upgrade. If he’d had this strength during his last encounter with the demonic cultivators, he wouldn’t have fled in such a sorry state, he might’ve even hunted them down!
“Sadly, Mistveil Tea has its greatest effect only the first time it’s consumed. Unless the tree reaches second rank, its impact on me from now on will be minimal.”
He glanced at the remaining buds in the jade vial, already calculating how to best use them.
According to clan rules, this find was entirely his to keep. He could trade the leaves for cultivation resources without issue.
But after some thought, he decided to keep them for now. The tree only sprouted every few years. It was too rare to waste.
Having it on hand whether for bartering or as a favor would be incredibly valuable.
Just as he was about to store the tea leaves in his qiankun pouch, a series of gurgling sounds from the shore caught his attention.
He followed the noise and found a slender silver spiritual fish at the water’s edge, blowing bubbles continuously. Its beady green eyes stared straight at him.
Song Changsheng was startled, it was the largest of the three king-ranked fish in the lake, one that had always avoided him. Yet here it was, approaching him on its own.
Lowering his gaze to the jade bottle in his hand, realization dawned.
“You… want the tea leaves?”
(Chapter End)