The fourth prince and Defender Duanmu looked like they had swallowed a fly. They felt like crying, but no tears came out of their eyes.

"Even his majesty would be moved if he sees this spiritual plant. Is Wine Master Jiu unafraid of the top exerts' covetous eyes? No matter how strong he is, he could not defend this little store once they are besieged by countless top experts." Defender Duanmu frowned after a moment of deep thinking. Even he himself was moved after seeing the Earth Origin Dragon Tree. Only a fool could stay calm after seeing such a treasure. And if not for the store's strength, he would have long since stolen the spiritual plant.

"Defender Duanmu, don't even think about it. It may be a rare treasure, but it's not worth making an enemy out of Wine Master Jiu. You have seen his strength for yourself, and I doubt if even imperial father is his match..." The fourth prince stated solemnly after seeing the glistening eyes of the old defender.

Defender Duanmu's heart jolted after hearing the fourth prince's words. But he was still very reluctant on giving up the Earth Origin Dragon Tree. Just the Earth Origin Dragon Fruit that it bears is already equivalent to several decades of cultivation. It can even help an expert who was at the peak of the 8th-rank Divine to immediately breakthrough to the next realm.

Defender Duanmu firmed his heart and stood up from his seat. Although he can't forcefully steal the spiritual plant, he can still do a trade with Wine Master Jiu. Or so he thought...

The fourth prince shook his head after seeing Defender Duanmu stood up from his seat. But he knew that he can't change the old man's mind.

With Jiu Shen's present cultivation, it was no problem for him to hear the silent interaction between the two men, but he did not really care even a tiny bit. After all, they were just small little ants in his eyes.

Even with his eyes closed, he can sense that Defender Duanmu was walking towards him. His old face was full of seriousness as if he was about to deliver a piece of grim news. He opened his mouth, but before he could even speak, Jiu Shen raised his right hand and spoke in a calm tone. "Save your breath, old man. That spiritual plant isn't for sale and I have no plans on trading it with something else."

Defender Duanmu's words were stuck in his throat and he didn't even have the chance to speak before he was turned down by Jiu Shen. 'Just how did he knew my intentions? Don't tell me he can still hear our conversation even after I had blocked the two-meter radius between me and the fourth prince?'

"Old man, if you want to order something, order now. If not, then please take your leave. My store does not allow people to loiter around freely." Jiu Shen waved his hands impatiently with his eyes still shut tight.

Defender Duanmu was about to speak, but a hand grabbed his shoulder firmly. When he turned around, he saw the fourth prince shaking his head after a soft sigh. "We apologize for disturbing you, Wine Master Jiu. And also, I would like to order the new wine for today. It was still unavailable yesterday so we were not able to have a taste. I wonder if you have one now, Wine Master Jiu..."

Jiu Shen finally opened his eyes. He then glanced at the fourth prince with a poker face and nodded his head slowly. "Indeed, you can order that wine now, but I have to warn you. The old man would be fine even if he drinks the whole bottle of wine, but as for you... You can only drink one glass for now. Any more than that is..." Jiu Shen did not continue his words, but he flashed a strange smile at the fourth prince for a second.

The fourth prince thought that he was hallucinating, but he definitely saw Jiu Shen smile. He felt all the hairs on his body stood on end as he muttered Jiu Shen's words in his heart. 'Just one glass. Just one glass. Just one glass.'

Of course, he knew what he meant. He had experienced the same thing yesterday when his dantian was full of true essence after eating his fill without restraint. 'If not for Jiu Shen's timely warning...' The fourth prince shuddered in fear, but he still put on a composed look.

"Okay, Wine Master Jiu. Just give us one order of that wine." The fourth prince said with an unnatural smile.

Jiu Shen nodded his head calmly and went towards the wine storage area to grab the wine that he ordered. He was also eager to see their reactions once they tasted the wine.

Jiu Shen smirked and beckoned with his right hand. A bottle of wine flew out of the shelf and hovered beside him docilely. He then stepped out of the wine storage area.

"Here is your order." Jiu Shen gently placed the bottle of wine on their table before he went back on his seat. He then closed his eyes, but he was still secretly observing them through his spiritual power.

Aside from cultivating the true essence, a cultivator can also choose to cultivate his/her spiritual power. But of course, cultivating one's spiritual power is way harder than cultivating someone's true essence.

True essence can simply be obtained through refining resources like spiritual plants, cultivation pills, and etc. But training the spiritual power involves a cultivator's spirit. It needs a cultivator to create a link between the spiritual nodes in his body. And the process of doing that was so painful that if one experienced it, then they would have gladly chosen death than to experience that kind of pain. In other words, training the spiritual power needs high willpower and pain tolerance. Only a few people dared to train their spiritual power. But once they have successfully trained it to a higher level, then no matter where they go, they will be respected by many.

Spiritual power was also indispensable for the masters of alchemy, beast taming, weapon refining, array making, and etc. Since these professions involve the usage of spiritual power.

Thus, the masters of the aforementioned professions were highly sought after by all major powers.

Now back to the story.

Jiu Shen calmly waited for the two men to taste the Deep Sea Spring Dew. He was looking at the fourth prince in particular. 'If. nothing goes wrong, the kid will breakthrough to the 5th-rank Spirit realm.'