1 full year had passed since the wedding banquet, but Airan still could not forget the foul taste of that spiritual wine—or the massive opportunity hidden within it.
Over the past 9 years spent surviving in this world, Airan had come to understand just how unimaginably vast this realm truly was.
The world was at least 5 times larger than Earth.
Even a small, insignificant city nestled in a small country on a small continent held a population of billions.
In a world so crowded, a bottom-tier rogue cultivator without backing was less than a speck of dust.
For the past 1 year, every single thought in Airan’s mind revolved around building a distillation tool.
Some might wonder why Airan did not simply buy ingredients and brew his own spiritual wine from scratch.
But in the cultivation world, things were never that simple.
You could not just mix ingredients together on a whim.
Without the guidance of a formal profession and proper techniques, combining spiritual materials recklessly would lead to dangerous violent reactions or explosions.
A single mistake could cost a cultivator their life or ruin them financially.
To make matters worse, a spiritual wine brewing manual was even more expensive and closely guarded than an alchemy manual.
Spiritual wine was a luxury crafted strictly for the wealthy and powerful.
For the poor and rogue cultivators at the bottom, tasting a single cup was considered a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.
Airan did not have the fortune or status to buy a brewing manual, but he did not need one.
He did not need to brew the wine himself—he only needed to refine the cheap, low-grade wine that already existed.
To turn his idea into reality, Airan had visited a local blacksmith tool refining shop shortly after the wedding.
He carefully asked about the cost and crafting of various metal components needed for a distillation apparatus.
Airan knew he had to be extremely cautious.
If he commissioned a complete distillation apparatus at once, a clever craftsman might figure out its purpose and steal his idea.
To protect his secret, Airan decided to order small, separate parts from different blacksmiths.
Once he had all the individual components, he would assemble the distillation tool by himself in secret.
However, custom metal parts crafted by blacksmiths were far from cheap.
Airan calculated that he needed 40 spirit stones to pay for all the necessary components.
He reached into his robes and patted a small, faded pouch tied at his waist.
It was an empty, low-quality space pouch he had found 9 years ago inside the cultivator’s cave, resting right alongside the Fire Root cultivation manual.
Although its internal spatial capacity was tiny and barely held a few cubic feet of storage, it was his most secure possession.
Opening the space pouch, Airan counted his savings once again.
After 9 grueling years of gathering herbs and pinching every single coin, he had accumulated a total of 30 spirit stones inside.
He was still 10 spirit stones short.
Airan earned just 2 spirit stones a month as a low-tier herb collector.
Paying the monthly rent for his tiny, cramped room in the city slums ate away at his hard-earned income, while the remainder went toward purchasing the cheapest, lowest-grade spirit rice—bland, hard grain that barely provided enough energy to keep him alive.
After paying for rent and food, he could barely save half a spirit stone each month.
At this rate, saving the remaining 10 spirit stones would take him at least 20 more months of grueling labor and harsh living.
But Airan gritted his teeth, his grip tightening around the space pouch at his hip.
He was determined to do whatever it took to finish forging his still.
Author’s Note: Thanks for reading Chapter 2!
Airan’s journey from a penniless herb collector to a spirit distiller starts here.