Absolute Destiny Game
Chapter 170 - 38 The Mad Taoist in Xiaofeng City_2

Chapter 170: Chapter 38 The Mad Taoist in Xiaofeng City_2

No worries, as long as I master Monkey Wine, making money will be like playing a game.

Xiao Jie comforted himself.

Thinking it over, the White Ape’s disposition was indeed a bit peculiar, seemingly having quite a fondness for human trinkets. Well then, I might as well add fuel to the fire.

Xiao Jie wandered around the city, buying anything he thought the White Ape might be interested in. In no time, he’d spent another five silver taels.

While strolling, a hoarse voice suddenly caught his attention from not too far away.

"Heroes passing by, please hold on and listen to me! You’ve all been deceived, this world is doomed, demons and ghosts will sooner or later devour you all! Come and learn Immortal Law from me, that’s the only way to transcend and leave this filthy world behind. You there, returnee, do you wish to learn Immortal Law? Let me teach you!"

Huh, isn’t that the Foolish Taoist?

Indeed it was him, with a goatee, wearing tattered Daoist robes, and hair unkempt - at first glance he looked kind of like a mysterious expert but upon a closer look he seemed more like a worldly swindler.

However, the name of this Taoist in front of me was slightly different.

Mad Taoist: Level 10 commoner, Life Value 250.

Seems like a different person? But there must definitely be some connection between the two.

The way he spoke didn’t have the simplicity of the Foolish Taoist but still didn’t seem quite normal.

At that moment, the Mad Taoist was pestering a player, selling his Immortal Law.

But the player used Qinggong to put some distance between them and ran off as if escaping.

The Mad Taoist didn’t insist, immediately darting toward another player.

Xiao Jie found a vegetable vendor granny and spent 100 coins for some carrots, a few cucumbers, and a bundle of leeks.

He casually asked, "Granny, what’s with that Mad Taoist?"

The granny grinned, showing off her few remaining teeth, "Well, what else? You’ve already called him Mad Taoist, naturally he’s a madman. He’s always asking for money, claiming he will teach Immortal Law for 10 silver coins. You don’t need to think too hard to know it’s a scam. How could Immortal Law be so cheap? It should at least be 30 to 50 taels, right?

"These returning villagers also don’t seem too bright, some actually believe him. Not one who paid has learned it, haha, such a bunch of fools—and hey, young man, I’m not talking about you, you seem pretty sharp."

Xiao Jie listened with surprise, 10 silver coins to teach Immortal Law? Why does this scenario seem so familiar?

He couldn’t help but be curious, so he went over and asked, "Daoist, can you really teach me how to cultivate immortality?"

The Mad Taoist immediately turned around, his face lighting up when he saw Xiao Jie.

"Absolutely, I can see that you have great Talent, a promising seedling for cultivation."

The previous player that got caught, seeing someone else taking their place, quickly ran away.

The Mad Taoist didn’t mind and continued to pitch to Xiao Jie: "However, I can’t teach the Immortal Law for free. I have an Immortal Technique Secret Manual here, once you learn from it, you’ll achieve the great path... I see we have fate, I’ll sell it to you for 10 silver coins."

He said, taking out a wooden slip from his bosom, showing it to Xiao Jie with an air of mystery.

The wooden slip was blank except for a few crooked characters on the outermost piece reading [Immortal Technique Secret].

System prompt: Quest [Mad Taoist in the City] initiated. You’ve encountered a mad Daoist who offers to teach you Immortal Law, if you pay 10 silver coins...

Quest Objective: Pay Mad Taoist 10 silver coins.

Quest Reward: [Immortal Technique Secret Manual] x1.

Damn it, could this be any more half-hearted, even the characters are wrong.

Xiao Jie was initially a bit hesitant about whether to take a gamble, but he now dismissed the idea.

Since many others had already been tricked, it was clear he shouldn’t fall for it too, besides he was now out of money.

However, Xiao Jie was still curious, why did this Mad Taoist look exactly like the Foolish Taoist?

But this question wasn’t important for the time being. It was more urgent to get going and work on the Monkey Wine.

Xiao Jie blurted out, "10 silver coins is too expensive, 10 cents is more reasonable."

The Mad Taoist was instantly furious, "You uncultured fool, such divine and wondrous Immortal Techniques can’t be sold for mere 10 cents, get out, get out, if you’re not buying then scram."

Xiao Jie wasn’t upset; he looked at the items he bought in his bag, which were almost enough, and turned to walk towards the city outskirts.

Once he left the city, Xiao Jie immediately whipped his horse into a gallop, speeding towards the direction of Monkey Valley.

Without "I Want to Be Immortal" slowing him down, the warhorse’s speed was at its max, lightning-fast. In just over half an hour, Xiao Jie had arrived at Monkey Mountain.

Ignoring the greetings from the Woodcutter at the entrance of the valley, he dismounted and walked straight into the valley.

The White Ape was surprised to see Xiao Jie return so quickly, "Eh, you’re back already?"

"How could this junior delay the tasks given by Senior Yuan?"

"Senior Yuan? Heh heh, you sure know how to speak, young man. That’s right, this old one has lived long enough to be called a senior, I’ve decided, from now on I am Senior Yuan."

The name above the White Ape’s head changed instantly.

Senior Yuan (Monkey Valley Master).

Huh, this thing can change its own name? That’s quite impressive.

Xiao Jie didn’t think much of it and quickly went to hand in the quest, presenting the items he bought one by one, introducing each and boasting a bit about them.

The White Ape took a look at the items Xiao Jie bought, dancing happily, "Good, good, you’ve done very well." Then he grabbed a piece of clothing and tried to put it on, but being too short, the robe’s hem dragged on the ground. The White Ape didn’t mind and happily admired his reflection in the pond.

Then he set up tables and chairs on a stone platform, brewed a pot of cold tea with a purple clay pot, and pretended to be a connoisseur tasting it.

"Good, good, this is what I call tea." He then took the steamed bun and pancake and began to gnaw wildly, almost choking himself.

After making a fuss for a while, the White Ape finally calmed down, but for some reason, his face showed a look of wistful melancholy.

System Notification: Completed quest [White Ape’s Favor], Senior Yuan’s favorability towards you has increased by 5 points, now at 45 (Normal).

"You’ve done well. Old Monkey, explain the wine recipe to him."

Not far away, an elder monkey scuttled over.

"The king’s command is this old monkey’s duty to follow."

"Don’t call me king, associating with you bunch of monkeys every day, it would disgrace my status."

"Good, good, the king is right, we won’t call you that in the future." The elder monkey chuckled, "Listen well, human, brewing Monkey Wine is very complex, I’ll explain it only once. If you can’t learn it, don’t blame me. To make Monkey Wine you need..."

[System Notification: Elder Monkey Brewer has imparted the recipe [Monkey Wine] to you. You meet the conditions and have successfully learned the recipe.]

Xiao Jie was overjoyed at the prospect of finally having a lucrative treasure in hand.

He immediately opened the list of recipes in his Cooking skill to check.

[Monkey Wine (Recipe)

Learning Requirement: Master of Cooking.

Required Ingredients: Snakeberry x5, Mountain Red x5, wild grapes x5, Wild Haws x5, pottery jar x1, mountain spring water x1, Spirit Saliva Grass x1.

Item Introduction: A delicious wine brewed by monkeys using wild fruits from the mountains, containing the original flavor of alcohol. It is said that the first alcohol to appear in this world was Monkey Wine, which caused ancient humans to fall into a deep intoxication, thus forgetting the pain of living.

People believe that Monkey Wine possesses a unique power that can bring happiness.]

The recipe requires quite a few ingredients.

Luckily, they’re all common wild fruits that he often saw in the wild near Newbie Village.

Unfortunately, Xiao Jie hadn’t learned the gathering skill, so he had never picked them.

"I Want to Be Immortal" did gather some, and eating them would typically recover one or two points of satiety, just a little better than nothing, not as filling as a steamed bun.

He wondered if anyone would list these items in the auction house. It would be quite convenient if someone were selling them; he could just buy them and start brewing right away.