"What?"
Xu Zhuzi did not introduce the Wine God to the crowd, nor did he pay respects to the statue, but Long Chen stared blankly at the statue. Xu Zhuzi couldn't help but ask.
"The Dionysus I saw wasn't like this. When I was in the mortal realm, I saw the Dionysus—a young, handsome, and dignified man." Long Chen spoke as he described it.
The God of Wine before him was an old man, dressed in tattered clothes, holding a wine gourd, lying sideways like a beggar, so Long Chen found it hard to believe.
"The statue you see looks like the Dionysus in his youth; today's statue looks like an old man.
The Wine God has wandered the nine heavens, but no one knows where he went, disappearing for tens of millions of years.
However, after the Wine God left the palace, he warned us that no outsiders were allowed to worship his statue in the future. As for why, we don't really know. "Xu Zhuzi said.
Long Chen nodded and looked at the statue. Although he thought the old man was unkempt, he gave off a more carefree and unrestrained vibe, as if entering a more mysterious state.
Perhaps because his realm was too low to discern anything unusual, he simply followed Xu Zhuzi into the inner sect.
Upon entering, the familiar scenery immediately caught Long Chen's eye. At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to the Wine God Palace of the Tianwu Continent. The familiar building made him think he saw Fatty Tu, the High Priest, and others again.
Thinking of the High Priest, he also thought of Tu Pangzi, and even more of his parents and his sister Long Xiaoyu. Seeing these things, he thought of them, and suddenly Long Chen's eyes reddened.
"Long Chen, what's wrong?" Yu Qingxuan suddenly saw the look of sorrow in Long Chen's tiger-like eyes, and couldn't help but tremble in her heart. That look made her feel a bit heartbroken.
"It's nothing, just recalling some old memories. Let's go. Up ahead, the seniors from the Wine God Palace have set up the arena. As long as we succeed, we'll have wine to drink." Long Chen took a deep breath, composed himself, and smiled at Yu Qingxuan.
Seeing Long Chen remain silent, Yu Qingxuan didn't press further. But for some reason, seeing Long Chen's eyes red and tears glimmering with tears, she felt a deep pain in her heart. She didn't know why she felt this way.
Sure enough, following the path forward, a series of exquisite little houses appeared. Although there were slight differences from the Wine God Palace on Tianwu Continent, the overall layout was the same.
Long Chen and the others first arrived at Xu Zhuzi's house. The house looked small from the outside, but inside it was quite large. With more than a dozen people inside, it was still spacious.
Xuzhuzi took out fine wine to entertain everyone, who were ecstatic. After all, having a cup of wine from the Divine Palace of Wine was almost like climbing to the heavens.
Although they were all top prodigies from various powers, they were not qualified to form ties with the Wine God Palace. Now, being able to drink fine wine inside the Wine God Palace was something they could brag about for a lifetime.
Most importantly, Xuzhuzi produced several kinds of fine wine. If they hadn't come here, they might never have had the chance to taste the Dao in their lifetime.
According to the rules of the Wine God Palace, anyone who can taste the characteristics of the wine or find faults will be gifted a fine wine from the Wine God Palace.
Long Chen was an expert in this field. He wasn't good at brewing, but tasting wine was definitely his specialty. After tasting every type of wine, he could almost immediately name the ingredients, the process, and even what was added during the process. Although he might not be perfect, he was always quite accurate.
Xuzhuzi was overjoyed and brought out all his fine wine for Long Chen to taste, while the others also borrowed and drank quite a lot.
Unfortunately, they only knew the wine was tasty but couldn't say anything, watching Long Chen perform like fools.
In this way, they began to regret it. Wasn't this just serving as a supporting foil for Long Chen? Using their ignorance to highlight Long Chen's erudition?
But here, even if they were upset, they didn't dare to show it, let alone show it on their faces—they could only endure.
After being enlightened by Xu Zhuzi, Feng Xiang became much more composed, and he developed a trace of admiration for Long Chen's erudition, no longer purely jealous.
Yu Qingxuan's beautiful eyes flashed with excitement. Long Chen's understanding of the way of wine was profound, and when he commented, he would touch on alchemy. Moreover, the theories Long Chen mentioned were equally profound. Only she could understand how unfathomable his realm was.
Moreover, when Long Chen reviews the videos, his composure and confidence are especially captivating. He even occasionally cracks jokes that make people laugh.
"Brother Long Chen, thank you so much for today. Your evaluation has benefited me greatly, and I'm preparing to go into seclusion and brew wine again.
I've given you all my family assets. Next, go chat with other senior brothers and sisters. Suddenly, I feel like a wolf is inviting a wolf into my house. I have a feeling you're about to make a fortune." Xuzhuzi said with a bitter smile.
Long Chen's insight into the Way of Wine was incredibly strong, and he himself was a master of alchemy, having once mastered both the Way of Wine and Alchemy, making him quite experienced.
Long Chen noticed that although the experts of the Wine God Palace in the Immortal Realm had high cultivation, their spiritual comprehension seemed inferior to that of the mortal realm.
Perhaps it is the powerful beings of the Immortal Realm, with countless lifespans, living at a very slow pace. Unlike the mortal realm, where birth, aging, sickness, death, rise and fall, rise and fall change so quickly, one can better grasp the true meaning of life and the workings of the heavenly Dao.
Long Chen was shameless too, directly stating that the wine Xuzhuzi brewed in the future would definitely be more expensive. Rather than worrying about old wine, it was better to "get rid of" it all.
Then Long Chen shamelessly pocketed thousands of jars of fine wine from Xuzhuzi, making Zhao Mingxuan and the others' eyes red. These were priceless treasures.
After playing the supporting role for so long, except for a few sips of fine wine, they spent the whole time watching Long Chen perform alone. In the end, Long Chen took all the benefits, and Yu Qingxuan's gaze barely left Long Chen. They were so jealous they were about to go mad.
At this moment, seeing Xu Zhuzi give the order to leave, Zhao Mingxuan, Wu Yang, and the others all stood up to take their leave and left directly.
But Feng Xiang stayed behind, causing Zhao Mingxuan, Wu Yang, and the others' expressions to change slightly, but they said nothing.
After Zhao Mingxuan and the others left, Feng Xiang finally braced himself and wanted to discuss with Long Chen whether he could give him two jars of wine so he could have an explanation when he returned, and also apologize to Long Chen regarding the restaurant's matter.
Although Feng Xiang had a strong second-generation aura and was off-putting, no matter what, Long Chen was eating and drinking from others at the Zhuxian Pavilion, so he couldn't be stingy.
So Long Chen gave him three jars of fine wine, each of three different kinds. Feng Xiang was overjoyed, quickly thanked Long Chen, and left.
With that, only Long Chen and Yu Qingxuan were left here. Long Chen grinned at Yu Qingxuan:
"Come on, I'll take you to persuade you. If you get rich, we'll make two by one in five."