Chapter 358 Penglai Tea
In fact, both sides knew it in their hearts.
Li Qi could say this because he must be hoping that the governor would help him. Moreover, he also suppressed the water Gu, which was a small thing and a gift.
And Li Qi himself was willing to give this gift.
He really felt the same way.
The governor naturally understood the implication. Li Qi must have gifts or something else later. In short, he really wanted to visit the king.
Although the governor of Ezhou didn't know what the use of a seventh-rank visiting the king was, the other party was much stronger than himself, so it was difficult to refuse.
The seventh-rank witch who suddenly appeared in front of him was terribly strong.
In a few minutes, he easily suppressed all the water Gu in a river with a curse, and he could speak easily after enduring the backlash...
This is terrifying.
How terrifying the heavenly way in the world is, any practitioner who has entered the house knows that if the ecological environment of a region is changed without authorization, the backlash will definitely be extremely heavy.
If Mu Xiulan were to do this herself, she would have to do it bit by bit, breaking things down into pieces, and spending more than ten years to slowly digest the backlash, so as to ensure no injuries.
But he saw with his own eyes that Li Qi swallowed all the backlash in one gulp, and it didn't seem to be a big deal...
Even if Wudao has a small human world with strong vitality, it can use the inner world to fight against the outer world, resulting in a much stronger tolerance, but it is not so strong.
The two of them had a simple conversation, and Li Qi's curse, and they probably understood what the other party wanted to show.
Since both sides have their own needs, it is appropriate to sit down and talk. Li Qi followed the governor Mu Xiulan all the way to the governor's mansion.
When they arrived at the governor's mansion, they finally left the mortal world and had a bit of fairy style.
The governor's mansion also has a typical Taoist aesthetic, with a large house inside and a garden outside.
In the garden, there are pavilions, fresh flowers and trees, lush greenery, and beautiful scenery. There is a faint fragrance, which makes people feel refreshed and floating, as if they are in a non-human world.
Let's look at the layout of the garden.
The chirping cranes rise from the gate, and the roaring crocodiles bring the sound of water.
The leaves are covered with emerald light, and the uneven stone shadows are covered with lotus.
The clear pool and steep rocks are like deep mountains. There are exquisite mansions on all sides, green vines are coiled, flowers bloom and fall, and living in it, you don't know you are in the middle of the city.
Li Qi led the old horse through the garden and handed the old horse to the respectful horseman.
The old horse snorted, knocked its hooves impatiently, and stuck out its tongue.
According to the old horse's experience, many good things will happen next.
Li Qi stood at the edge of the garden, walking slowly forward and enjoying the scenery, and said to Mu Xiulan: "It's just a wall, but the gap is so big, it seems like a world apart."
"Sir, your words sound a bit harsh. I, Mu, have never been skinned and scraped. On the contrary, I have done my job as a prefect conscientiously. I never asked civilians to repair this prefecture. I built it all by myself, and I only used the salary promised to me by the king." Mu Xiulan smiled and said: "If you say that I have an impact on them, I am afraid there is only good, no harm. The reason why there is such a big gap between them and me is all in cultivation."
Li Qi couldn't refute this.
Because in fact, it is very likely to be the case.
A seventh-grade Taoist monk, to be honest, can build this garden by himself, without any outsiders.
Those ordinary mortals outside are of no help to him at all.
Even that inferior official position was essentially provided to him by the Lord of Lingxiao.
Because all the national fortune of Lingxiao State and its status of existence belong to the Lord of Lingxiao State alone.
Other officials and clerks only share the Lord's authority and power with the Lord's permission. People outside have nothing to do with them.
Mu Taishou, in essence, just takes the Lord's money, does what the Lord asks him to do, and manages this state.
But this job has little to do with ordinary people outside.
He has no obligation or responsibility to make these mud legs live well. He only needs to be responsible to the Lord. Anyway, he can live well on his own. He has no connection with ordinary people outside, and he doesn't need to exploit them.
Both sides can even be said to be not the same species. He is a seventh-grade Taoist monk. Even if he is wild, he is an immortal. They are not in the same society, and there is no link between productivity and production relations.
Just like aliens and earthlings, no matter how prosperous the civilization of alien planets is, it has nothing to do with earthlings, and aliens have no obligation or responsibility to make earthlings' technology progress.
Very cruel and very realistic.
Like the Tang Kingdom, powerful practitioners have the obligation to assume social responsibilities in the form of pure dedication. Only humanity can do this in the whole world.
Li Qi waved his hand at this time and smiled easily: "The governor is joking. I don't mean that. I just feel that the governor can build such a fairy garden in such a place, so I am a little surprised."
"After all, you see, in the Baiyue area, the spiritual source is weak and the Taoism is constantly fighting. The efficiency of building a cave here is much lower, which is not comparable to the direction of Wushen Mountain."
Hearing Li Qi's explanation, Mu Xiulan seemed to relax a little. He also smiled bitterly and sighed: "That's the case, but we were born in Baiyue, so what can we do?"
"In Baiyue, I am the governor of a state, with a cultivation level of the seventh rank. Except for the kings and their sixth rank confidants, I can walk sideways in Baiyue. Although the resources are not as abundant as those in the outside world, and the environment is not as good as outside, the competition is not great. I can always get the food of this three-acre land."
"It is indeed uncomfortable to be caught between the human way and the witch way, but it also means that it is not easy to get into trouble... Anyone who wants to interfere in the affairs of Baiyue must consider whether they are qualified enough."
"If I choose Wushen Mountain or Tang Kingdom, let alone their high-ranking existence like the sea, just talking about the seventh rank like me, what use can I have?"
Speaking of this, Mu Xiulan looked at Li Qi: "With the strength of Mr. Ru, he can easily withstand the backlash of a big river. Naturally, he can thrive outside and soar with his wings. But if we leave Baiyue, we will turn from a local snake into a scabby snake."
Li Qi heard this and stopped talking.
It would be impolite to say more.
The two of them fell into a brief silence for a while, and soon left the garden and came to the main hall of the mansion, sitting opposite each other.
The governor said, "Come here, serve tea."
But at this time, Li Qi smiled and shook his head: "I came here suddenly this time, and I still need the governor to help pass the message. How can I drink the governor's tea again? I happen to have some good stuff here, and I can let the governor taste it."
"Oh? Good tea that people like you recommend? Then I will come and see it." Mu Xiulan said immediately.
He was also a little curious. Is this the "benefit" that Li Qi is going to give him?
It doesn't look like it. Everyone is a seventh-grade tea. How good can tea be?
It should just be to build a relationship with him.
However, it must not be something that can be taken out casually. This time, I guess I can open my eyes and see what good things these people from outside Baiyue enjoy.
Thinking of this, Mu Xiulan watched Li Qi carefully take out a few leaves from the mustard bag.
These tea leaves are not good-looking, they look withered and yellow, and they are still soft.
Obviously, it was not roasted or baked, but simply picked, and not well preserved, leaving the leaves to gradually wither and turn yellow.
Such preservation conditions... Any good tea would be ruined, right? Can it still be drunk?
Suspicious, Li Qi watched the other party take out the tea leaves, carefully selecting four leaves, two for each person.
Then, without any living water or spiritual spring, simply gathered water vapor in the air, condensed into two water balls, boiled with fire, and then put into the cup.
Not even a teapot...
Without the teapot, the taste of the tea would be reduced by three points.
Is there something special about this tea that can only be brewed in this way, or does this person... not understand tea at all?
Mu Xiulan tends to believe the former, that tea must be special.
But in fact, Li Qi believes the latter.
He has read books on tea art, but sorry, he has never made tea by himself.
Don't show off things that are only on paper, so as not to embarrass yourself.
It would be better to boil water and make tea directly, so that he can maintain his master's demeanor.
After all, his tea is really good.
The tea leaves from the fairy tea tree of Penglai Mountain that he got from Zhu Fengdan are not brewed, but are chewed dry. The saliva from chewing is also the best tea in the world.
There is no way, the quality is overwhelming.
Wasn't it useless that Yu Mengniang had such an elegant and perfect tea-making technique at the time?
Li Qi brewed two cups of tea neatly, without caring about the first and second water, and directly placed the cups in front of Mu Xiulan and said, "Please taste it, prefect."
The prefect was a little embarrassed at first, but suddenly he smelled a strange fragrance and felt refreshed.
He couldn't wait to pick it up and take a sip.
This... this tea——! ?
Mu Xiulan widened his eyes! There was an illusion in front of him!
He seemed to see the fairyland.
That was a kind of supreme, pure breath, what he had been pursuing!
The drizzle passed by the Liu Palace, and the wind was cold on the clear beach.
The towering mountains have been covered with snow for thousands of years, and the night sky is cold with thousands of trees.
The clouds are clear and the sky is high, and the floods are about to recede and the water is clean.
The coldness of the condensed dew is like the clearness of the mirror green mountain.
The rumbling waves shake the sea air, and the boats of a hundred miles drive the sea light.
Here, the soul swings and sees the dark world.
Just a breath makes me feel such an illusion, this...
Wait, it's not an illusion! Is this a vision after my cultivation is pure? !
The difference between vision and illusion is very simple.
Illusion is false, it is to deceive oneself.
Vision is real, and it is generally a side view of something, that is to say, he was not deceived, but really saw the projection of something.
He felt that this piece of tea actually guided his cultivation towards a more "orthodox" direction.
Mu Xiulan even gave up communicating with Li Qi.
He immediately entered into a state of concentration and began to imitate that breath to adjust his golden elixir.
Regardless of right or wrong, everything depends on that breath!
Because he felt it——
The breath coming out of the tea leaves... is Penglai!
Penglai is the holy land of Taoism, one of the Three Immortal Mountains.
The so-called Three Immortal Mountains are Penglai, Fanghu, and Yingzhou.
This is the most important gathering place of Taoism, located in the northeast of the world, sandwiched between the East China Sea and the North Pole Spirit Road, half of it is sea and half of it is mountain.
The Three Immortal Mountains and the Ten Caves are the absolute orthodoxy of Taoism.
This is an opportunity, a great opportunity!
People like him don’t know if they will have the chance to visit Penglai in this life, because to go to Penglai, they have to find Huliang first, and Huliang is hidden in the ocean, carried on the back of a giant turtle, and can move at any time, so it is impossible to find it.
In the East China Sea and the sea within the Daomen territory, there are many fourth-grade beings, and the fifth and sixth-grade beings can only be local tyrants, similar to the ruler of Baiyue.
In the land of Baiyue alone, there are dozens of rulers, at least dozens of fifth-grade ones.
This is the world, the center of the heavens and the worlds, it is very terrifying.
A seventh-grade person can be considered to have the power to protect himself here, but if he wants to cross the world and run from Baiyue to Penglai, he is simply looking for death.
The monk is also like that, running from Baiyue to the Western Regions, he will probably die on the way.
So Li Qi was impressed by his desire to seek the Tao.
And now, the breath of Penglai is right in front of him, how can Mu Xiulan remain calm? !
This practice lasted for eighteen hours.
Until that wisp of breath from Penglai was completely integrated into the golden elixir, he suddenly changed from a wild Taoist priest to a wild Taoist priest with a little Penglai breath.
But this was enough.
This has made his path a big step forward, and even to the dead end of the path, there is a slim chance of breakthrough.
Originally, the seventh rank was the limit of Mu Xiulan, but now... if he uses this wisp of Penglai breath as a foundation, there may be a possibility of breaking through the sixth rank. Although the chance is one in ten thousand, there is hope after all.
Mu Xiulan opened his eyes with a complicated look and found that Li Qi was still sitting in front of him.
Yes, for people of the same seventh rank, more than ten hours is just a nap time.
In the time of taking a nap, he is no longer the same as before, and even his future and prospects have been rewritten.
"Sir... no, sir! What is that tea?" He stood up and never dared to sit opposite Li Qi again.
"Penglai Fairy Tea is from the mother tea tree on the top of the mountain. Of course, it is a degraded version because it is picked from a half-dead tree. If it is fresh, it is well processed and finally stored in a cellar. Only then can it be regarded as the real Penglai Fairy Tea."
"This one in my hand has lost nine out of ten of its efficacy." Li Qi said.
This is a true story. The tea tree that Zhu Fengdan robbed is already half-dead. He probably got tired of drinking it and left it somewhere. He probably sent it back after a while.
As for the processing technology... Li Qi doesn't understand it, and he doesn't know how to do it.
But even so, it is enough for Mu Xiulan in front of him to owe a big favor.
"Well, the tea is finished, governor, can you do it for me in front of the king--" Li Qi stood up.
"Leave it to me! Even if the king is in seclusion, I will definitely call her out even if I don't care about my face!" Mu Xiulan's tone was firm.