Chapter 3999 — Making Early Preparations

Even before he had offered Wei Zhao that apologetic toast, Xu Lingchong had long since anticipated that Wei Zhao would not trust him and would demand they swap cups; that was only to be expected. And so every last drop of the entire pot of spirit wine he had prepared was laced with an additive—whoever drank it, whichever cup they chose, would inevitably fall afoul of it. There was no chance of escape.

Just as Wei Zhao had guessed, the additive Xu Lingchong had slipped into the wine was no crude, violently obvious drug. This occasion was far too sensitive for that. The great personages seated downstairs were all figures of immense power, and the slightest anomaly could not escape their senses. So even a drugging had to be done with something no one would suspect.

The drug Xu Lingchong used this time was called the Immortal's Draught—a simple hallucinogen. While its effects ran their course, it left the mind addled and dazed, producing a state much the same as drunkenness.

It was said to be a drug specially meant to bewilder a cultivator's consciousness. Its effects were not violent and would not kill, and it left no aftereffects behind. Yet when its potency peaked, even immortals could not withstand it—and from that it had earned the name Immortal's Draught.

The Immortal's Draught was colorless and tasteless, and its effects were indistinguishable from ordinary drunkenness. So even with so many great personages looking on, letting Shangguan Lan'er and Wei Zhao drink it—even letting its effects take hold—would rouse no suspicion. The victims themselves might not even notice. Such was the peculiar genius of the Immortal's Draught.

This muddled, drunken haze might not seem a formidable effect, but in certain special circumstances it was exceedingly practical and carried almost no risk. Here and now, it was the perfect weapon to help Xu Lingchong accomplish his aims.

Taken together with spirit wine, the Immortal's Draught would begin to work slowly over a span of time, its potency gradually mounting from weak to strong—a classic slow boil of the frog. By the time its effects reached their peak, even immortals could not hold out, let alone a mere Wei Zhao.

By Xu Lingchong's original plan, he would have plied both Shangguan Lan'er and Wei Zhao with the Immortal's Draught before they went upstairs. Then, by the time the drug reached full potency, both would be addled and dazed—and once that happened, whatever schemes he wished to work in their midst would be entirely for Young Master Xu to decide. It would cost him not the slightest effort.

But now Wei Zhao had drunk the Immortal's Draught, while Shangguan Lan'er had not. If Xu Lingchong wished to carry out the rest of his plan smoothly, he would have to go to a little more trouble.

Fortunately, Shangguan Lan'er's strength was feeble. With Xu Lingchong's cultivation at the great consummation of the Foundation Establishment stage, disposing of her without a trace was simplicity itself—and he could be certain of leaving no clue behind.

While Xu Lingchong was thus scheming and preparing his next move, Wei Zhao had followed Shangguan Lan'er up to the third floor. Though he kept carefully sensing every subtle change within his body, he detected nothing clearly out of the ordinary.

Wei Zhao could not help but mutter to himself. There were only two explanations: either Xu Lingchong had not drugged the wine at all, or he had—but, just as Wei Zhao had surmised, the drug's effects were neither violent nor deadly.

Just as Wei Zhao was puzzling over this, Little Curly Bear began to act up. The little creature staggered and swayed, darting and leaping wildly this way and that, scrambling onto every table it saw and knocking over everything it touched—the very picture of a rampaging toddler.

Wei Zhao stared, dumbstruck. He had never seen Little Curly Bear in such a violent state, and he clicked his tongue in astonishment. "What's gotten into it?"

Shangguan Lan'er, however, looked utterly unsurprised. She shrugged. "What do you think? The little thing's gone crazy on drink. Every time it sneaks a sip of wine, it ends up like this. Though it is a bit odd today—it's only had one cup and it's already like this. Usually it drinks quite a lot; its tolerance isn't this poor!"

At that, Wei Zhao shook his head thoughtfully. "However good the little thing's tolerance might be, it depends on what it's drinking. Even if it could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, there are some wines where one cup is enough to do the trick."

"What wine? Little White has always drunk spirit wine before, and there's no difference!" Shangguan Lan'er said, half understanding.

Wei Zhao smiled and said nothing. Instead he walked over to one side, sat down cross-legged, and began circulating his cultivation method, preparing to purge the drug's effects from the spirit wine he had just drunk.

From Little Curly Bear's behavior, Wei Zhao could now be one hundred percent certain that his earlier guess had been entirely correct: Xu Lingchong had indeed slipped an additive into the spirit wine.

Little Curly Bear's endurance was far inferior to a cultivator's, which was why the drug had taken effect so quickly. Had it been Wei Zhao himself, it should have taken some time yet to manifest.

No matter what, so long as it was not a violent, deadly poison, Wei Zhao had a way to handle it calmly. He was a skilled healer in his own right—being poisoned was simply another form of internal injury.

Yet Wei Zhao soon discovered that although this bit of drug in his body was not at all violent or deadly, it was ceaseless and unending. Each time he felt he could easily purge it clean, it immediately came surging back. He expended no small effort, yet there was not the slightest sign of eradicating it.

"This stuff is truly stubborn," Wei Zhao muttered with a speechless shake of his head. In the past, no matter how grievous the injury, he had always been confident of a swift recovery. Yet this minor drug effect, which could not even be called dangerous or deadly, clung to him like a plaster and would not be shaken off, leaving him helpless.

Wei Zhao did not yet know that what now afflicted him was the Immortal's Draught—a thing that could leave even immortals drunk. How could it be so easily dispelled?

Still, even if he could not fully purge the drug in a short time, Wei Zhao had to keep trying. At the very least, he could maintain some control over his body's condition, so as not to end up like Little Curly Bear, drunk and rampaging.

If nothing unexpected happened, Xu Lingchong should soon be making his move. Otherwise, surely he would not have drugged the wine merely to add a little festivity to the drinking.

"Junior Brother, what are you doing?" Seeing Wei Zhao in this strange posture, Shangguan Lan'er could not help but ask.

"Nothing much. My tolerance is poor, so I'm sobering up a bit," Wei Zhao said with a noncommittal smile.

"Sobering up? Junior Brother, you've only had one cup, and already your tolerance fails you? How will you ever handle social occasions with these crafty old veterans in the future? Looks like I'll have to get you a few more jars of top-grade spirit wine so you can practice properly!" Shangguan Lan'er giggled, still none the wiser.