The cork fell to the ground.

It made a soft sound.

Under the moonlight, the little mouse listening to the conversation between Chen Xu and the Monkey King finally realized something, and suddenly let out a sharp "squeak" of surprise.

The little mouse panicked, it tightly grabbed Chen Xu's collar, almost wishing it could pounce over and snatch the wine gourd from Chen Xu's hand.

But after Chen Xu popped open the cork, he had already tilted his head back.

The liquid, like jade dew, shimmered with a gem-like radiance under the moonlight, flowing eagerly into Chen Xu's mouth.

"Scholar!" the little mouse called anxiously.

As it called, it stood upright, its pair of round mouse ears trembling with fur, big eyes fixated on Chen Xu.

"Squeak squeak squeak..."

The first sip of the wine had already entered Chen Xu's throat.

As the rich essence of the wine exploded in his mouth, Chen Xu instantly felt a wondrous, mildly intoxicated state.

It was a slight intoxication, not drunkenness.

Yet, his consciousness was unprecedentedly clear.

In that moment, he felt as if he was no longer himself.

He seemed to leap across the mountains, witnessing the sunrise and sunset, experiencing the rains and winds of the four seasons, traversing the blooming and fruition of the earth...

He stepped into a long river of time, tracing every wave back to the very beginning.

What kind of beginning was it?

It was when the world was shrouded in mist, returning to chaos.

There was no wind, no rain, no sunshine or snow.

It was the silent origin, the mother of chaos.

Man and the universe, at the inception of creation, were so similar.

Thump thump thump—

Chen Xu felt a deep silence around him; he couldn't hear the little mouse's cries, but he could hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

This sound was exceedingly unique; each beat was so rhythmically beautiful, as if resonating with the universe, yet also as if ignoring everything, merely existing alone, endlessly existing.

The Innate Qi within Chen Xu's Dantian was contracting into a tight sphere.

Unlike its usual lively, fluent state, the tightly coiled Innate Qi at this moment had clearly gained a mysterious quality of its own.

Just like a hen incubating an egg, perfectly natural.

Then, at some moment, perhaps when the mountain breeze at night brushed against a garment edge, or when the Monkey King opposite gave a soft "huh," or maybe when the clouds above suddenly obscured the moonlight.

The tightly coiled Innate Qi seemed to feel some wondrous opportunity, suddenly, at that extreme point, exploded violently.

BOOM!

Chen Xu seemed to hear the sound of the world beginning anew.

What?

Was that not the world beginning anew, but merely the chaos within his Dantian exploding open?

No, for Chen Xu at that moment, this was indeed the world beginning anew.

Because, as the Innate Qi exploded violently, Chen Xu discovered that his Dantian, too, underwent earth-shattering changes at the same time.

If Chen Xu's Dantian previously resembled a lake, then at this moment, it was like a sea of stars!

In that explosive instant, the walls of his Dantian had expanded an unknown number of times.

Vast True Qi gathered and roamed within the even vaster Dantian, like nebulae drifting through the ocean.

Rumble—

The clouds rolled, and all of Chen Xu's potential was being rapidly unleashed at this moment.

[Cultivation: Meridian Passage Realm Late Stage 74.1%]

[Cultivation: Meridian Passage Realm Late Stage 79.8%]

[Cultivation: Meridian Passage Realm Late Stage 82.6%]

...

Simultaneously, there were changes in his lifespan as well.

[Lifespan: 18/200]

Previously, Chen Xu's lifespan limit was 180 years.

But after drinking this sip of the thousand treasures brew, his lifespan surged by 20 years!

It wasn't the ten years mentioned in the entry, but twenty years.

Originally, Chen Xu's Tri-Attribute was well-balanced and abundant, resulting in his cultivation breaking through fiercely, so that under normal circumstances, drinking a sip of the brew that increases lifespan by ten years, it became a sip that increased lifespan by twenty years for him!

With growing cultivation and increasing lifespan, his life energy was being highly activated, and the forces of vitality quickly merged.

In just one sip of wine, Chen Xu felt countless wondrous changes.

In the little mouse's eyes, only a moment had passed, yet after that moment, Chen Xu turned to glance at it.

Little Mouse Ah Shi suddenly felt that Chen Xu's eyes were extraordinarily radiant, filled with abundant life force.

To the point where Ah Shi was transfixed, forgetting to exclaim, quietly murmuring: "Scholar, why do I feel that even just being glanced at by you, I, too, feel full of strength?"

After speaking, it hastily leaned closer to Chen Xu's neck.

It only felt Chen Xu's body was warm, his Qi vigorous, enough to dispel all its ailments and anxieties.

The Monkey King picked up its wine cup again, pouring another cup of Intoxicated Spirit Wine for itself, and sighed: "Friend, you have already taken one sip."

Chen Xu, sensing the strange changes in his body, raised the wine gourd, making a toasting gesture towards the Monkey King.

"Indeed, I have taken the first sip. Monkey King, shall we both take this second sip together?"

The Monkey King said: "If my friend still has the strength, you may try a second sip, but as for the third sip... I advise my friend not to take it.

The remaining wine in the gourd can be kept for now.

Drink it later when your heavenly lifespan has reached its end."

Why drink it later?

Because by then, it would be a bet on life.

If you win the bet, you live another fifty years, if you lose, you'll be dead anyway.

Chen Xu gazed at the Monkey King, and the Monkey King gazed back at Chen Xu.

In that moment, Chen Xu suddenly felt inspired.

He seemed to understand why the Monkey King wanted him to drink this thousand treasures brew.

Could it be that the Monkey King didn't dare to bet on life itself, so—

Chen Xu smiled: "Monkey King, do not impose upon others what you do not wish for oneself. Therefore, do you hope I will bet or not bet?"

This sentence was somewhat ambiguous and mysterious; Little Mouse Ah Shi didn't quite understand.

But the Monkey King did.

Chen Xu had pointed out its conflicting mindset!

It was both afraid and hopeful. Afraid to bet itself, yet hoping Chen Xu would dare to bet. If someone dared, it seemed to inspire its courage.

But it also feared that Chen Xu might actually bet, and if he did, should it... bet or not bet?

Sitting on the opposite side, the Monkey King's benevolent monkey face showed a trace of embarrassment at this moment.

Yet, without hesitation, Chen Xu raised the wine gourd in his hand once more, taking a second sip of the thousand treasures brew.

As the liquid entered his belly, it was as if the vitality of an entire spring had erupted within him.

It was like rolling spring thunder, like bamboo shoots after rain, or like the pond filling up, or like the rebirth of spring grass...

Chen Xu recited slowly in a loud voice, "The boundless grass upon the plain, each year it withers and blooms. Wildfires can never destroy it, as spring winds breathe life anew."

It was like rolling spring thunder, like bamboo shoots after rain, or like the pond filling up, or like the rebirth of spring grass...

Chen Xu recited slowly in a loud voice, "The boundless grass upon the plain, each year it withers and blooms. Wildfires can never destroy it, as spring winds breathe life anew."

It was like rolling spring thunder, like bamboo shoots after rain, or like the pond filling up, or like the rebirth of spring grass...

Chen Xu recited slowly in a loud voice, "The boundless grass upon the plain, each year it withers and blooms. Wildfires can never destroy it, as spring winds breathe life anew."

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