Bai Yijun offered a slight, radiant smile. “For an elder to brew such exquisite wine, it would be a waste to offer it to a mere girl who can’t even discern quality. I won’t pretend to be a connoisseur.”

The youth in white laughed heartily. “The wine is indeed fine, but whether one can appreciate it is secondary to whether one is fated to drink it. Your meeting me today is fate. I wouldn’t offer it to those who claim expertise anyway. Brewing this is no simple task.”

Bai Yijun glanced at Ye Chen, noted the concern in his eyes, and after a moment’s contemplation, nodded. “If the elder took such care in brewing it, it would be a shame for us to refuse on this rare occasion. I shall play the host for this modest banquet.”

“Hahaha…” the youth in white roared with laughter. “Excellent! Such splendid wine should not be wasted. You two possess genuine straightforwardness; I like that!”

Ye Chen smiled softly. He and Bai Yijun immediately took seats on opposite sides of the wooden table and opened the wine jars. A burst of clean, refreshing aroma—tinged with a slight bewitchment that seeped deep into the core—flooded the air. It penetrated their very marrow; every pore on their bodies seemed to open as they drew in deep breaths of the intoxicating fragrance.

“This is Moonlight Wine,” the youth in white announced, his face alight with excitement, gesturing to the various jars. “Notice how this liquor is naturally colorless and transparent, but when held under lamplight, it transforms to a brilliant white, like a full moon. To drink such a thing, one must use Dragon Clay Cups.” As he spoke, he flipped his hand, producing three golden goblets, their surfaces etched with faint, earthen cracks, appearing utterly fashioned from coarse clay.

Ye Chen looked towards the jar he indicated. The wine aroma drifted from the opening, ethereal yet contained, refusing to dissipate, confirming to him that this was a superior, peerless vintage.

With a crisp clap of his hand, the youth in white levitated the jar and swiftly began pouring into the three small cups. Not a single drop was spilled; each was filled precisely to eight-tenths capacity.

Snap! The youth in white clicked his fingers. A sphere of light materialized above the wooden pavilion, emitting heat and illumination akin to a lamp. As this light washed over them, Ye Chen witnessed a perfect full moon bloom within the cups of liquid, its surface shimmering on the wine. Because the cups were crafted from clay, certain areas appeared dark, giving the illusion of the night sky, with the bright moon suspended amidst wisps of cloud—a sight that instantly refreshed the spirit.

Ye Chen couldn't help but utter a soft, “Superb!”

The youth in white laughed merrily. “Take a sip and see.”

Ye Chen and Bai Yijun exchanged a glance. Smiling, they raised their cups, first bringing the rim to their noses to inhale the bouquet, lingering in the intoxication for a moment before draining the contents in one go.

“Magnificent wine!” Ye Chen’s eyes brightened. “It is intensely warm yet holds no harshness; instead, it carries a subtle coolness, evoking a sense of melancholy, like drinking alone under the moon in the dead of night.”

The youth in white’s smile broadened.

Ye Chen felt the Moonlight Wine spread immediately through his limbs, a searing warmth suffusing his entire body. It was an indescribable comfort; every bone seemed to be undergoing a transformation. His genes quietly multiplied by the hundreds of times—a leap from his current 4000-fold amplification, increasing by another hundredfold with just this single cup!

Ye Chen’s gaze returned to the youth in white’s wine jars, his lips involuntarily moistening.

“We have this one too, you must try,” the youth in white pointed, chuckling. “This is Dragon Blood Wine.” He scraped away the earthen covering from another jar, releasing an aroma that carried a faint, metallic tang mixed with a crisp fragrance.

Ye Chen peered into the jar.

Blood! The entire vessel was filled with vibrant, scarlet liquid. As it sloshed slightly, it appeared garish and slightly acrid. However, Ye Chen was no stranger to brutality; he was capable of far harsher acts than consuming blood.

“To drink Dragon Blood Wine, one requires Night Glow Cups.” The youth in white smiled, flipping his hand to reveal three faintly luminous cups. With a gesture, he poured the fine liquor from the jar into the three vessels. He lifted one, took a long draught, and smacked his lips. “This Dragon Blood Wine certainly has character.”

Ye Chen and Bai Yijun exchanged a look, pondered briefly, and then raised their cups to drink.

“This Dragon Blood Wine is brewed using the marrow and fresh blood of every crawling creature on the continent, combined with numerous medicinal herbs. It greatly nourishes the body. However, the intense color is too much to face directly in an ordinary cup, which some women find unsettling. Using these Night Glow Cups softens the visual impact considerably.”

Ye Chen nodded in agreement.

After downing the Dragon Blood Wine, Ye Chen felt his internal genes surge again, increasing by 150 times, reaching an astonishing 4150-fold!

“Drinking this is like drinking blood—a sweeping, bold infusion of spirit. This ferocity, tempered by the glow of the Night Glow Cup, attains a breathtaking beauty,” Ye Chen praised. “Senior is truly an encyclopedia when it comes to fine drink.”

The youth in white laughed heartily, a touch of pride in his voice. “Naturally so. Come, try this one. This is Azure Sky Wine.” He delicately lifted the covering from an adjacent jar and, with a wave of his hand, produced several stone goblets on the table. The faintly blue liquor was poured in without a single splash.

“This dates back to the ancient epoch…”

The youth in white, clearly intoxicated by his own collection, began lecturing Ye Chen and Bai Yijun on the origins of these spirits. Ye Chen knew that any single jar here would cause countless God Emperors outside to fight tooth and nail for possession. Each draft was potent enough to multiply one’s genes by a thousandfold—such treasures were bound to provoke intense envy.

Time flowed by…

After sampling perhaps six or seven jars, Ye Chen felt his gene amplification reach 4950 times. In mere moments, this small amount of drinking had yielded such incredible gains; it was almost unbelievable.

“This jar is called Sovereign Light Wine. It was invented in a very distant era by a Wine Sage. Though his personal strength was modest—only peak God Emperor level—he was a master of technology. He poured his life’s effort into brewing this, calling it the foremost wine of all time. It must be drunk from a cup fashioned from the processed and carved skull of a female peak God Emperor who possessed a pure maiden spirit.”

The youth in white gazed at the final jar, his eyes shining. He pulled back the earthen covering. Ye Chen, sensing the gravity in the elder’s tone, focused his gaze and took a deep sniff, yet detected absolutely no scent whatsoever.

Seeing his reaction, the youth in white couldn't help but smile, then flipped his palm. Resting there were three fist-sized cups. These cups resembled miniature skulls, radiating an aura of gloom and terror, yet their surfaces were smooth, as if coated in a layer of wax.

Ye Chen maintained a steady expression, showing little change. Beside him, Bai Yijun’s clear eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, her composure equally unruffled.

Splash~

The youth in white swiftly poured three servings.

“To this,” the youth in white raised his cup and grinned. “Cheers!”

“Cheers!” Ye Chen and Bai Yijun echoed, raising their vessels before drinking it all down in one gulp.

As the liquid passed down his throat, Ye Chen immediately felt a faint, cooling sensation, immediately followed by a searing heat erupting like a volcano, accompanied by an ineffable sense of relief. It felt as if every single bone was tingling, submerging him in exquisite pleasure—a state so perfect he would regret nothing, even if death followed immediately.

Ye Chen closed his eyes, savoring the sensation.

Under the wine’s infiltration, his cells, genes, bones, and blood seemed to dissolve into the liquor, merging into a single entity. After a long moment, Ye Chen realized his genes had surged by a staggering 500 times!

A single sip yielded a 500-fold increase! Ye Chen stared at the jar before him, dumbfounded. Those as formidable as Shao Hao, who had traversed the ancient world for eons, enduring countless fortuitous encounters and consuming precious elixirs over millions of years, had only achieved gene enhancements in the hundreds of multiples. This tiny cup of wine had managed to surpass the lifetime efforts of such figures!

Just then—

Beep! Beep!

Ye Chen suddenly felt a notification pinging on the top-tier soul communicator strapped to his wrist. He frowned instantly, setting down his cup. “Elder, someone is calling me. It’s likely urgent. May I check this message before continuing our drinking?”

“No trouble, go ahead,” the youth in white waved dismissively.

Ye Chen glanced at Bai Yijun, nodded slightly, then rose and stepped outside the wooden pavilion to activate the communicator. This device was reserved for the highest echelons of spiritual civilization for emergencies, an object of immense cost, developed by a brilliant scientist who had cracked the code for consciousness and brainwaves.

Ye Chen murmured an instruction mentally, and the communicator flickered open.

“Email contents are as follows:”

“Ye Chen, the clan has relocated to the Heavenly Monarch Divine Continent. If you receive this, please arrive as soon as possible; there is an urgent matter to discuss.”

“Sender: Nuwa!”

Seeing the message from Nuwa, Ye Chen’s eyes flashed. After a moment of contemplation, he closed the communicator and returned to the pavilion.

“You intend to leave?” The youth in white seemed to anticipate his thoughts, smiling faintly.

Ye Chen nodded slowly, sighing. “The ancient world is currently wracked by war, plagued by ambushes from mysterious savage beasts, and rife with devastation. My clan is in distress; I cannot linger here.”

The casual air dropped from the youth in white’s face. He looked deeply at Ye Chen and nodded slowly. “When your race faces peril, all else must wait. I hope you remember today’s events and hold true to this promise going forward: never betray your race, and never betray those you love.”

Ye Chen paused, unsure why the elder suddenly spoke with such weight, but he nodded firmly. “I will do so.”

“Good.” The youth in white smiled faintly. “With your current strength, venturing out during this time is perilous. I possess a secret codex here; I shall pass it to you. Whether you can master it depends entirely on your own destiny. This is the extent I can assist; helping too much would break my own promise.”

“A secret codex?” Ye Chen’s heart brightened. He took note of the elder’s last remark mentally but did not press further, knowing that if the youth in white intended to elaborate, he would have done so already.

The youth in white looked up towards the garden, where the surrounding peach blossoms were a vibrant, delicate red. He stared silently for a long moment before drawing his gaze back, whispering softly, “This codex is one of the Eight Great Treasure Tomes handed down from the Ancient Realm. It is named The Way of Annihilation!”

...

I barely slept last night, and my head is spinning today. No excuses—I’ll post only one chapter for today. I promise three tomorrow, and perhaps four if I regain my focus, to make up for it. (To be continued)