"This should do!" Mu Chen took a step back and examined his handiwork. A large pot was placed at the corner of the room. He had just finished sealing the mouth of the pot with a piece of cloth.

Inside the pot was some of the wine Mu Chen had found in Grandpa Wu's cellar. It was still in the process of fermentation, so Mu Chen decided to use it as the base. He had added some of the beast blood essences he had gathered after hunting for a few days. He had collected them so that he could sell them, but now he had found another use for them. He also added a catalyst he had just bought, into the pot. The catalyst would speed up the process of fermentation by several times.

Mu Chen was no expert when it came to winemaking. What little he knew, he learned it from Grandpa Wu. Grandpa Wu was a true connoisseur when it came to drinking wine. He even made his own wine because he disliked drinking the wine sold in shops. He always complained about how the wine shops would use a particular catalyst to speed up the process of fermentation. He preferred the wine which was fermented in the old-fashioned way. He insisted it tasted better.

But he was currently thankful to Grandpa Wu's constant bickering, otherwise, he would have not remembered the name of the catalyst. As for the taste, Mu Chen had never been able to tell the difference before. He was pressed for time, anyway.

"If everything goes well, it should be ready by tomorrow." Mu Chen looked in anticipation at the wine pot.

#

The next morning, when Mu Chen woke up, a fruity and somewhat pungent aroma had permeated throughout the entire room. There was also a metallic taste of blood that lingered in the air. The fruity smell was pleasant, but the bloody smell was equally detestable. Mu Chen was very excited and went forward to inspect the fruits of his labor.

Mu Chen knelt by the pot and unwrapped the cloth as he peered its mouth. But the moment he removed the cloth, he was hit with a concentrated dose of odor.

"Ugh!" Two contrasting scents clashed and made Mu Chen's head spin. Mu Chen felt nauseous and almost retched. He scurried back on his feet to open the windows of the room.

When the smell had subsided, Mu Chen once again took a peek inside the pot. He had only filled two-thirds of the pot. But now the contents of the pot had risen to the brim. Bubbles were still arising and imploding on the surface of the blood-colored liquid, making a sizzling sound.

"Is it done or not?" Mu Chen's face twitched. It didn't feel as if he was looking at a pot of fresh wine, instead, it looked like boiling blood. This was the first time he had tried his hand at winemaking. And he had not even followed the traditional method Grandpa Wu mentioned.

"Whatever." Mu Chen shrugged. "Let's try it." He took a small cup and scooped up some wine. Then without hesitating, he took a sip.

"Pfft!" Mu Chen spat out."Fuck! How is this wine?" He scrambled and grabbed a pitcher filled with water to get rid of the taste. The wine was very bitter and acidic, with a faint taste of blood. And it was also warm with tiny bits of fruit skin and flesh.

"Tastes like vomit!" Mu Chen took a sip of water to cleanse his mouth.

"Hmm?" Mu Chen paused. Although he spat out much of the wine, some of it had still slipped down his throat into his stomach. A warm and fuzzy feeling had begun to rise from his stomach. It was barely discernible and it soon vanished.

Mu Chen placed back the pitcher and picked up his cup and refilled it. This time, instead of a sip, he gulped down its contents in a single attempt, not allowing himself to taste it. He was mentally prepared and resisted the urge to spit it out.

The wine entered his stomach and that warm and fuzzy feeling returned. His stomach felt hot and the heat began to spread to his limbs. Mu Chen felt revitalized as if he was being filled with inexhaustible strength. His mood elevated, giving him an urge to shout at the top of his lungs. But soon enough, that feeling disappeared.

"The taste is horrible," Mu Chen examined, "but the effect looks good. That only leaves the question about the toxins."

Mu Chen drank some water to get rid of the aftertaste. Then he sat down cross-legged and meditated, trying to sense if there were any undesirable effects.

The euphoria he had experienced was one of the side-effects. If one consumed the beast blood essence directly, they would first experience euphoria which could last for days. But soon their internals would start bleeding because their bodies wouldn't be able to handle the energy. But under the euphoria, they remained oblivious to the condition of their body. Eventually, excessive bleeding would lead to death. They would either die feeling happy or the euphoria would drive them mad.

After focusing for over several hours, Mu Chen didn't notice any abnormality.

"The toxins have been eliminated for the most part. Even if there is still some toxin left, my body should be able to handle it. But it's best to not think of it as wine, for now." With its horrible taste, Mu Chen found it very hard to compare it to wine he normally drank. There was a lot of room for improvement in the future, but Mu Chen had to be content with this current batch.

Mu Chen filtered the wine using a piece of silk cloth. One of his spatial bags was empty. It was the one that Zhou Mei had previously used. But since she had a spatial ring now, she had no use for it. Mu Chen had brought it with him to carry his food. He had already decided to use this spatial bag to store his wine.

After squeezing the last drop of wine into the spatial bag, Mu Chen packed his things and left the inn.

Mu Chen first went back to Grandpa Wu's house. There were still many pots of wine brewing in the cellar. Mu Chen divided the blood essences he still had and added them into the pots along with some of the catalyst he still had left. But he varied the number of blood essences and catalyst for each pot and made a note of it. He had decided to experiment to find the right balance.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Well, there goes all of Grandpa Wu's stock." Mu Chen grinned. Once Grandpa Wu knew he had doused his wine with the catalyst he hated, he would be furious. "Hmph! Old man, think of this as my revenge for giving me a heart attack."

After making sure, everything was okay, Mu Chen locked the cellar and left the house. Although his new energy drink couldn't be a complete substitute for food, it would reduce the amount he needed to eat significantly.

#

"Is this the legendary Dark Forest?"

A group of youths stood in front of the towering trees that marked the start of the forest. Two youths stood at the forefront of the group. The one who spoke was one of them. A golden-colored emblem of a dragon was engraved on his robe.

"I hope it doesn't disappoint me." The youth said.

"Brother Huang, you shouldn't underestimate the dangers that lurk in the forest." The youth beside him said.

"Hahaha! Brother Changshou, men should have the courage to face any danger." Qin Huang said as he puffed his chest like a proud peacock. The golden-colored emblem on his chest glittered in the sunlight. "But don't worry, I am not reckless."

"If only I had half the courage as Brother Huang." Mu Changshou said.

"Haha! Brother Changshou sure knows how to joke. Without you guiding us, I wouldn't dare to make such bold claims." Qin Huang patted Mu Changshou's shoulder. "Now let us enter the forest. The sooner we enter, the sooner we can come out." For a moment, he glanced in a particular direction but then looked ahead.

"Hehe! It looks like Brother Huang hasn't had enough of Lady Jiajia." Mu Changshou winked.

"Brother Changshou!" Qin Huang blushed hearing those words. "We agreed not to talk about it."

"Men should have the courage to face their feelings and not just external danger, Brother Huang." Mu Changshou sighed. "If you remain idle, someone else might rob your sweetheart."

"Brother Changshou! You promised not to compete for her!" Qin Huang cried out.

"Ah! Brother Huang, you are looking down on me! How can I let a woman stand between us?" Mu Changshou said. "But there are others who will fight for her."

"You-you think so?" Qin Huang was flustered. "But didn't you say, there were not many who could afford that price?"

"Don't underestimate the passion of some men, Brother Huang." Mu Changshou patted Qin Huang's shoulder.

"Brother Changshou will support me?" Qin Huang asked.

"Of course!" Mu Changshou said. "But have you thought of how to convince Sir Chen?"

Qin Huang fell silent."It will be very difficult to convince Uncle." He sighed.

"If you can trust me, I can try to convince him." Mu Changshou said after thinking a bit.

"Brother Changshou! You...have a way?" Qin Huang became very excited. "If you can do this...I, Qin Huang, will be forever in your debt." He said as he bowed his head.

"Brother Huang, you are embarrassing me." Mu Changshou said as he stopped Qin Huang from bowing. "How can there be talk about debt among brothers?"

"Brothers?!" Qin Huang was dazed for a while. "Haha! Yes! Brothers!" Qin Huang smiled happily and gave Mu Changshou a bear hug. "With a brother like you, what do I need to be worried about?" Qin Huang laughed.

"You flatter me, Brother Huang." Mu Changshou also laughed. "I am the one who is blessed to get a brother like you."

Mu Changshou and Qin Huang laughed and chatted with each other for a while.

"Everyone! Let's go!" Qin Huang said to the youths behind them. Then he turned towards Mu Changshou. "Brother Changshou, we will be in your care."

Mu Changshou smiled and stepped into the forest, guiding the path. Qin Huang and others followed behind him and soon disappeared into the forest.

More than a dozen breaths passed, a bush that was several feet away rustled and a figure popped out.

"Mu Changshou!" Mu Chen muttered, his eyes filled with thick killing intent. "This guy is really sinister just as I had thought. Whatever he is planning-it must not be anything good."

Mu Chen had not expected to run into Mu Changshou and his party. He was just deciding on a direction to enter the forest. But the sky was overcast so he was observing the sky through his sunstone, to get the sun's location. Instead, he saw the Mu Family flying shuttle heading in his direction. So he hid in the nearby bushes.

"They say enemies often cross each other's path." Mu Chen shook his head. "But for now, I want to avoid it…" He carefully observed the tracks left by Mu Changshou and his gang. It looked like they were headed in the direction of the Mu Family base. So Mu Chen picked a direction that was at an angle to their path and began walking. This way their paths would not intersect.

Mu Chen disappeared into the forest. It had been barely a few breaths since then, another group of cultivators arrived at the edge of the forest several miles away. Unlike the previous group of youths, this one was composed of youthful girls. Among them was a stunning girl with deep vermillion hair and robes. The rest of the girls flocked by her side.

"Sister Fengying, we are really sorry for having you escort." One of the girls with the embroidery of a dragon on her clothes, bowed towards Liu Fengying.

"It's alright! You don't have to apologize." Liu Fengying shook her head. "I wanted to go into the forest for training as well. Our goals happen to coincide."

"It's because of those idiots!" Another girl said in anger. She too had the dragon embroidery on her clothes. "Who asked them to go to that Messy Flower Pavilion…"

"It's Misty Flower Pavilion." One of the girls closest to Liu Fengying corrected.

"Yes, that! They only know how to have fun. It's their fault! Why were we punished as well?! It's unfair! Does Sir Chen think we are like them?"

"Maybe Sir Chen doesn't want you to waste your time. Training in the Dark Forest is a unique experience." Liu Fengying said. "After all, you won't be coming to this province every day. It would be a pity if you missed the opportunity."

"I heard...those women...they...can seduce any guy?" The petite one among them whispered.

"Lanlan, are you worried about your guy?" Another girl teased, causing Ye Lanlan's face to turn red.

"Do-do you think he-he...you know?" Ye Lanlan fidgeted and didn't complete her sentence.

"Of course, he must have." The girl who was annoyed because of the punishment, snapped at Ye Lanlan.

"No-no! You-you are lying. Brother Ren isn't like that!"

"Hmph! What do you know? Men will be men. They will stick their worm into anything that moves. He must have already forgotten you."

"No! Brother Ren won't forget me." Lanlan became teary-eyed.

"Hanying! Stop bullying Lanlan." The girl who had initially apologized to Liu Fengying, consoled Lanlan.

"I am just telling the truth." Yi Hanying said.

"No, that's just your truth." The girl said. "Not all guys are the same. Don't you agree, Sister Fengying?"

"Uh-huh, Sister Rong is right. Not every guy will cheat." Liu Fengying said, "There are some good guys as well. You don't have to be so pessimistic."

"Sister Fengying...did you find such a guy?" Ye Lanlan was curious and couldn't help but ask.

"I did." Liu Fengying said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Who is it? Is he handsome?" One girl asked.

"Is he also a genius? Is it someone from those guys we met?" Another girl asked.

"Hmph! Why do you care so much?" Yi Hangying scoffed. "It's not like Sister Fengying will share him with anyone!"

"Cough! Cough!" One of the girls who was closest to Liu Fengying, choked.

"Sister Fengying?" Su Rong also became curious.

"You haven't seen him yet. I will introduce him to you if we have the chance." Liu Fengying said. "Alright! Enough gossip! Everyone, block your scent! Be on the guard and keep in mind what I told you about the forest. Liu Ru, you bring up the rear!" Liu Fengying led the girls into the forest.

However, unbeknownst to the entrants and in contrast to their harmonious interaction, a different scenario was taking place at another location.