The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 428: Tea Tasting Gathering Rules

A month later, the long-awaited Tea Tasting Gathering and Wine Tasting Gathering were officially held in Wine City.

Tea lovers and wine enthusiasts flocked to the city, and even those who did not enjoy drinking tea or wine joined in the excitement. As a result, the city became overcrowded.

After squeezing into Wine City, Long Xuan, Shui Lao, and Shui Juanyun headed straight for the event venue.

The reason Shui Juanyun joined the group was that he and Shui Lao belonged to the same clan, both hailing from the prestigious Shui Clan.

When the two clansmen met, they hit it off immediately and naturally decided to travel together, leaving Long Xuan with no reason to refuse.

After entering the city, the three of them proceeded directly to the city center.

At the heart of Wine City flows the Boruo River, a vast and turbulent waterway that divides the city into two halves, connected by numerous bridges of various sizes.

The Tea Tasting Gathering was held on the eastern bank of the river, while the Wine Tasting Gathering took place on the western bank.

Both conferences were held simultaneously and concluded at the same time. Long Xuan did not want to miss either event, so he decided to personally attend the Tea Tasting Conference, while his Fire Clone would participate in the Wine Tasting Gathering, carrying a fragment of his soul with it.

However, neither event was open to just anyone.

First, participants had to be at least at the Spiritual Sea Stage. Second, they had to offer a bottle of high-quality tea or wine as an entry ticket.

While this requirement could not stop wealthy Gu cultivators, it was enough to keep most of them out.

None of the three chose to attend the Wine Tasting Gathering, so they all went to the eastern bank to participate in the Tea Tasting Gathering. Upon reaching the entrance, Shui Lao shamelessly chuckled and said:

"Little friend, as you know, my storage ring was shattered in that battle, and I don’t have any high-quality tea on me."

"Would you mind sparing me some? Once I recover to the peak of the Gu King Realm, I will repay you with interest."

Long Xuan gave him a helpless look. He had heard these words countless times before.

"Let me handle this," Shui Juanyun smiled.

The Shui family specialized in water-related abilities, particularly in refining Wine Gu and Tea Gu, so they never lacked fine tea or wine.

"Consider this my treat."

With that, Shui Juanyun confidently walked up to the two guards at the entrance and handed over three large packs of tea leaves.

The two Spiritual Sea Stage Peak Gu cultivators at the gate only needed to take a light sniff before recognizing the quality of the tea, and they immediately let them through.

Upon entering the Tea Tasting Gathering, Long Xuan curiously scanned the surroundings.

The event was lively, with crowds filling the streets and an abundance of fine tea.

The number of Gu Kings participating in this gathering was astonishing—there were so many that they seemed to be everywhere.

Long Xuan couldn’t help but wonder:

"With so many Gu Kings here, will we even be able to enter the River God’s Secret Realm?"

On both sides of the streets, rows of tables were set up, each displaying various types of tea. Passersby stopped to taste and comment on the tea’s quality.

The air was filled with a rich fragrance of tea, creating what felt like a paradise for tea lovers.

Long Xuan observed the tea stalls and noticed that tea in this world was similar to that of ancient times in his previous life.

It was not limited to just tea leaves—ingredients like honey, dates, osmanthus flowers, and other mix-ins were commonly used.

People had different methods of brewing tea, resulting in unique flavors and diverse tea-making traditions.

However, Long Xuan was different. He preferred the purest taste of tea, adding nothing but the tea leaves themselves.

His tea philosophy was considered unorthodox in this world, making him an outlier among tea enthusiasts.

After wandering through the event for a while, Shui Juanyun turned to the other two and smiled:

"The entry ticket for the Tea Tasting Gathering only requires middle-grade tea leaves, which aren’t too difficult to obtain. I still have plenty on hand."

"However, if we want to earn the right to enter the River God’s Secret Realm, we must present high-grade tea."

"At this stage, simply offering tea leaves is no longer enough. The tea must be freshly brewed."

"In other words, good tea leaves alone won’t cut it—you must also have excellent tea-brewing skills."

"After all, even if two people use the same tea leaves, the final taste will vary greatly depending on their brewing technique. The art of tea-making is a profound discipline."

"This part, I won’t be able to help you with. Even I have only a limited amount of high-grade tea leaves."

Shui Lao nodded and chuckled:

"There’s no need to worry about high-grade tea—I just needed a way to get in. Once inside, acquiring fine tea is no trouble at all."

Long Xuan turned to look at him, an odd expression in his eyes. Clearly, Shui Lao was implying that he planned to steal some tea.

Or perhaps, he meant that he would take high-grade tea from his storage bag and simply claim it was stolen.

Shui Lao ignored Long Xuan’s gaze and stroked his beard with a smile:

"Now, we enter the tea-tasting phase."

"This is the most interesting part of the Tea Tasting Gathering. Each participant must brew a pot of their finest tea and set it out on a table for others to sample."

"However, since good tea is valuable, people cannot just drink it for free."

"Instead, they must offer their own specialty tea in exchange."

"The rule is simple: tea can only be exchanged for tea. Other treasures cannot be used for trade."

"This is what makes the Tea Tasting Gathering so fascinating."

"Taste is subjective—everyone has different preferences, and tea is valued differently by different people."

"Sometimes, when two teas are of similar value, people might accept a trade even if they take a slight loss."

"Others, however, rely on their eloquence and persuasion, managing to strike deals where they always come out ahead."

"Taking advantage once or twice is nothing, but if you can profit from every trade, and the quality of tea in your hands keeps improving, then even a pot of inferior tea can eventually be exchanged for peak-grade tea."

"At every Tea Tasting Gathering, there are always people who start with a pot of low-grade tea, and after making rounds and trading with numerous tea stall owners, they miraculously end up with peak-grade tea."

Shui Juanyun interjected, "That's right! There are cases like this at every Tea Tasting Gathering. This is exactly what makes it so fascinating."

"Many people enjoy this as a challenge. To prove their skills, some—despite being wealthy—deliberately start with the worst quality tea, trading around to create a miracle. They find endless pleasure in it."

"The Tea Tasting Gathering lasts an entire day, and time is tight. I won’t chat any longer. Watch how I trade a pot of low-grade Spirit Tea for peak-grade Spirit Tea!"

With great enthusiasm, Shui Juanyun took out a pot of low-grade tea from his storage ring and headed toward the surrounding tea stalls.

Shui Lao also seemed highly interested. After asking Long Xuan for a pack of low-grade tea leaves, he split off in another direction to explore further.

At this moment, Long Xuan was the only one left.

However, he was not the type to waste time. After glancing around, he walked toward an open space and placed a table on the ground.

To refine Tea-infused Gu, he needed to collect a large amount of peak-grade tea. This was a rare opportunity, and to obtain the best teas appearing at the gathering, he had to trade with high-quality tea. Additionally, he planned to use his tea roasting skills to show off.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, he had been concealing his mid-stage Gu King aura ever since entering the conference—not too high to draw unwanted attention, nor too low to invite bullying.

As expected, the moment he placed the tea brewed with his roasting technique on the table, an incredibly rich aroma spread out. People nearby twitched their noses, their eyes lighting up as they flocked toward him.

"Hmm? What kind of tea smells this good?!"

"Damn! What tea is this? Why is it so fragrant?!"

"Amazing tea! Absolutely top-tier tea! Quick, let’s go!"

The tea brewed by Long Xuan’s roasting technique instantly caused an uproar in the marketplace. In the blink of an eye, his stall was surrounded by a crowd.

"Young friend! How did you brew this tea? How can it be so fragrant?"

A middle-aged man named Cha Shan solemnly picked up a cup of freshly brewed tea, gently sniffed it, and immediately showed a look of shock, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

As a member of the Cha Clan and the Vice City Lord of Wine City, he cherished tea like his life. Having tasted countless rare teas, he prided himself on having experienced all the world's finest brews. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Yet, this tea's aroma was something he had never encountered before, making him extremely curious and eager to taste it.

Long Xuan immediately recognized that this man was a Gu King, but he had no idea about his status as Wine City's Vice City Lord.

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to attract such a major figure right after setting up his stall.

"The art of brewing is a personal secret. How could I possibly reveal it?" Long Xuan replied calmly.

"Haha, I was being too presumptuous. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a rich tea fragrance, so I lost my composure and forgot the rules."

"Then, may I ask what kind of tea you are looking to trade for?" Tea Mountain asked with a smile.

"I have already written it down—I do not trade for brewed tea. I only exchange for tea leaves, tea trees, or tea seeds. Since all three are related to tea, I believe this is well within the conference's trading rules."

Long Xuan pointed to a wooden sign placed on his table.

Aside from the sign, his stall featured various types of tea, with the highest-quality brew being Iceheart Tea, the very cup currently in Cha Shan’s hand.

This old man had an incredibly sharp eye, immediately identifying the best tea at the stall.

To obtain the finest tea seeds, Long Xuan had already planned to use Iceheart Tea as his trump card. After undergoing his tea roasting technique, its quality had improved even further—making it a tea that could be traded for almost anything in this world.

"Haha! It seems young friend intends to cultivate a tea plantation. Tea of such quality surely isn't meant for mere tasting. How about this—I’ll trade you ten cups of your tea for a batch of my Earth-grade Spirit Herb—Immortal Tea Seeds. What do you say?"

Cha Shan smiled at the young vendor. In his view, Earth-grade Spirit Herb seeds were impossible to cultivate anyway, so exchanging them for ten cups of divine tea was a fantastic deal.

Earth-grade Spirit Herb seeds?! Long Xuan's heart surged with joy, though he remained composed on the surface. Without hesitation, he nodded, "Deal!"

He then picked up the Iceheart Tea pot and poured ten cups of tea for Cha Shan in front of everyone.

The tea was crystal-clear, both hot and cold at the same time, completely free of impurities...