bones dead

"Ahhhh," John let out a sigh of relief and enjoyment as the hot water flowed over his body. He was lounging in the pool of his mansion, which could heat or cool the water with the formations etched on the bottom of the pool.

The hot water soaked into his body, relieving his stress and making him feel a rare moment of relaxation. John closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. He took out a document and held it before his face as he read through the contents.

The document was provided to him by one of the attendants of the house, and provided details regarding the Heavenly Lightning Sect. Things such as building locations, power structures, and class schedules were contained within.

"That's quite nice," John mused as he read the document. "Classes are provided by the sect, but are optional to join. The only true requirement of the sect is to earn a certain amount of contribution points a year, which can be earned through missions, tasks, or other methods. I don't really need to attend classes as my cultivation pathway is quite different from the rest of this world, so I'll just visit the mission board tomorrow and see what it's about."

After reading through the document, John put it back in his spatial realm before his head dipped below the water as he fell into a state of pure relaxation.

Poke!

After being under the water for several minutes, John felt something poke the top of his head, causing him to surface once more. Water dripped off his face as his eyes focused on one of the attendants standing at the pool's edge.

"What is it?" John asked.

"You have guests, young sir," the attendant replied respectfully.

"Hmm, more guests?" John mused, before he nodded his head at the attendants words.

He hopped out of the pool and flared his power for a moment, pushing all the water off his body and swimsuit. He quickly donned a fresh robe, before he walked to the front lobby of his mansion.

In his lobby were Chase and Adam, whose faces lit up in excitement upon seeing John.

"There you are!" Adam boomed out as he walked over to John. "We've been waiting for you for quite some time already, but these attendants of yours wouldn't let us further into your house," he grumbled.

"Good, then they're doing their job keeping the rats out," John replied.

"What did you call me?" Adam yelled out, while Chase covered his mouth as he tried to stifle his laughter.

John smiled at Adam's response, as it was the one he was looking for. "What are you two here for anyways?" John asked, changing the subject.

Adam's rage faded away instantly as a large smile appeared on his face. Bottles of wine suddenly appeared in both of his hands as his smile widened.

"We're here to celebrate of course, both your recovery, and our successful entrances into the sect!" Adam exclaimed.

Behind him, Chase was holding a basket of assorted food items, as both had clearly come prepared to party. A smile appeared on John's face as he felt the warmth of friendship, and he gestured for the two to enter.

"Come on in then, let us party the night away!"

The three of them ventured into the mansion, and Adam's eyes swiveled in all directions as he took in the luxuriousness of the mansion.

"Hey, why the hell is your place so much nicer than mine?" his voice of protest echoed through the mansion as they ventured deeper into it.

…

Groan!

A groan sounded out as John's eyes opened up, his vision still blurry and his head pounding. After getting his senses in order, John's gaze shifted to the rest of the room, which he quickly spotted Chase and Adam lying there, still fast asleep.

Chase was sleeping one one of the couches in the room they had partied, while Adam's body was upside down, lying halfway off a different couch.

Empty bottles of wine layed strewn about, while food leftovers lined the table and floor below. John took in the scene before rubbing his head in painful protest.

"Just what the hell type of wine did Adam bring?" John grumbled as he picked up an empty bottle and inspected it, before tossing it aside.

As cultivators grew in power, so did their resistance to the effects of alcohol. As such, alcohol making became more and more of a fine art, as the winemakers employed all sorts of techniques to increase their potency.

Clearly the bottles Adam had brought had been quite potent, to the point of giving John a hangover. His power flared out powerfully as his Qi began to wash away the negative effects of his hangover, and before long he felt back to normal.

His power flare startled both Chase and Adam awake, who groggily came to. They both went through the same steps as John as they recovered from their drunken state.

"Where did you buy those bottles?" John asked Adam.

"I didn't buy them…I made them!" Adam replied, his expression prideful.

"You made it? You made this wine?" John asked, his expression flabbergasted.

"Uh huh," Adam replied with a prideful look, as if he was the world's finest winemaker.

"Where did you even find the time to make wine?" John asked Adam.

"I don't have time to make it, so I made a series of formations to make it for me," Adam replied, his tone still prideful. "Although it seems as though I still need to work on the potency of the wine."

"You don't say," Chase grumbled. "You clearly used the wrong type of grapes for this potency wine. You should have used the Mistdew Grape instead of the Alishil Grape. Its much more mellow and would be perfect for a wine for Meridian Forging Cultivators," Chase explained.

"You know about winemaking?" Adam asked, slightly surprised.

"Of course I do, I'm a Pill Dao expert," Chase replied with exasperation.

Pill Dao experts were usually also the best winemakers, as their professions were closely aligned.

"Maybe you're right," Adam replied. "You should help me with my next batch then!"

"Sure, why not," Chase replied and nodded, as the two began to discuss the wine Adam had made.

John stared at Adam and Chase for a short moment, before his gaze shifted back to the bottles of wine.

'The wine was a bit too strong, but it wasn't bad at all. It seems like he does have talent in quite a few areas. With Chase's help, they might be able to make some impressive wine.'

Wine making was an incredibly respected art, and the most revered winemakers were some of the most respected people in the entire world. Their bottles sold for inordinate amounts, and as such they were some of the richest people around.

"Well, get better and maybe you can make some good money selling the bottles," John said to Adam and Chase.

"That's the plan!" Adam replied with a smile.

The three of them cleaned up the room and the mess they had made, before Chase and Adam bid John farewell.

"We'll all meet in a week when the Thunder-Realm opens," Adam exclaimed with excitement, before he sped off down the mountain, Chase following behind.

John watched them leave, before his focus shifted to other things.

"Six days until the Thunder-Realm opens. I might as well check out the mission board and see if there's anything for me to do before it opens."

With this plan in mind, John sped down the mountain and towards the center of the sect, where the mission hall and mission board was, ready to tackle his first official mission for the main Heavenly Lightning Sect.