It wasn't only humans who knew how to brew wine in this world.
The earliest record of wine came from the legends of the Human Ancestor.
The Human Ancestor dug out his left and right eyes, which transformed into his eldest son, Tai Ri Yang Mang, and his second daughter, Gu Yue Yin Huang.
Tai Ri Yang Mang and Gu Yue Yin Huang spent day and night together, and he couldn't help but develop feelings for his sister. But Gu Yue Yin Huang repeatedly rejected his advances.
Tai Ri Yang Mang was troubled by this endlessly.
He knew he needed help, so he sought the counsel of Zhi Hui Gu.
At first, Zhi Hui Gu ignored him, staying as far away as possible. But Tai Ri Yang Mang was relentless, and Zhi Hui Gu, unable to bear the harassment, finally told him a method—
"In the east of the world, there lives a group of Honey Peach Monkeys. They brew wine. Go drink their wine first, then come find me."
Tai Ri Yang Mang went east and drank the wine.
The Honey Peach Monkeys brewed fruit wine. After drinking it, Tai Ri Yang Mang returned, and from that day on, his cheeks were always rosy. He smacked his lips and reminisced, "So wine is sweet."
Zhi Hui Gu smiled and said to him, "In the west of the world, there is a group of Spirit Monkeys. They brew wine too. Go drink that."
The wine brewed by the Spirit Monkeys was bitter. Tai Ri Yang Mang went west and drank it, and from that day on, his tongue was stained yellowish-brown. He returned with a bitter expression, "So wine can be bitter too."
Zhi Hui Gu then said to him, "Wine has bitterness and sweetness, and so does love—and so does life. To the north, there is a group of Diamond Monkeys. They have wine as well. Go try it."
The Diamond Monkeys brewed strong wine.
Tai Ri Yang Mang took to it immediately. He loved strong wine and drank until he was dead drunk.
He felt this wine suited him perfectly, and the more he drank, the more he wanted. After finishing the bowl, he wanted the jar.
In the end, he threw up everything. The alcohol hit him hard, making him feel as though he were about to die.
He felt as if flames were burning inside his body, as if molten lava were flowing through his veins.
"It's too hot!" he screamed, and all the surging heat rushed upward to the crown of his head. His hair burst into flames. From that day on, he had hair that burned like fire.
When Tai Ri Yang Mang woke up, he found Zhi Hui Gu watching him.
"You drank the strong wine. What did you learn?" Zhi Hui Gu asked him.
Tai Ri Yang Mang sighed, "I suppose I understand now. No matter how good the wine, drink too much and you'll throw it all up. Everything should be enjoyed in moderation."
Zhi Hui Gu laughed heartily and said, "In the south of the world, there lives a group of Sky Water Monkeys. They brew wine too. It's quite good. Go try it."
The Sky Water Monkeys brewed light wine—the complete opposite of strong wine.
Tai Ri Yang Mang sipped the wine lightly, and before long, he forgot all his worries. In his hazy, tipsy state, he felt pleasantly weightless.
Zhi Hui Gu asked him how he felt. He gently waved his hand, "I have found the joy in wine. There is no need to explain it to the sober."
Zhi Hui Gu smiled softly and slipped away...
And so, in this world, humans were not the first to brew wine. It was monkeys who walked ahead of humanity.
Most monkey tribes knew how to brew wine.
Depending on the tribe, the wine came in every variety of flavor. But people collectively called all wine brewed by monkeys—Monkey Wine.
Fang Yuan had taken shelter in this cave for two reasons. First, he sensed a sign of breakthrough in his cultivation and stopped specifically to attempt the breakthrough. Second—it was the Monkey Wine.
The higher a Gu Insect's transformation stage, the greater its food requirements, and the longer the feeding cycle became.
Fang Yuan's preparations had been thorough enough, but the Tushita Flower's capacity was finite after all. Now, after the expenditure of the long journey, there was some free capacity—and it couldn't be better to fill it with some Monkey Wine.
Wine could disinfect and ward off the cold. If he were to reverse-refine the Four Flavor Wine Worm, he would need wine as supplementary material. Even if the conditions for reverse refinement couldn't be met, using it as feed for the Four Flavor Wine Worm would still be quite beneficial.
However, obtaining Monkey Wine would not be easy.
This tribe of Grass Skirt Monkeys, though classified as a Hundred Beast tribe, numbered close to a thousand. They had three Hundred Beast Monkey Kings.
Monkey tribes have always been united; once they faced an enemy, they naturally attacked as one. Although Bai Ningbing was at the Third Transformation Peak Stage, she was still outnumbered—a frontal assault would be nothing but suicide.
Although Fang Yuan had advanced to the First Transformation Middle Stage, such an improvement was of negligible help to the situation.
But Fang Yuan insisted on seizing the Monkey Wine, and Bai Ningbing expressed her concerns.
"That's why we need to use our wits. Follow me." Fang Yuan patted Bai Ningbing's shoulder and stood up. He carefully stepped across the ground, avoiding the buried Fire Thunder Potatoes, and walked out of the cave.
Outside the cave, the forest was lush and green, sunlight streaming through, filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers.
The two walked for a while, approaching the outer perimeter of the monkey tribe.
Fang Yuan observed carefully and finally selected a hillside.
Using the higher ground, he surveyed the area, then nodded in satisfaction, stamped the ground, and said, "Start digging."
In the time it took an incense stick to burn, the two of them working together dug a pit on the sun-facing slope—three zhang deep and five zhang in diameter.
Fire Thunder Bean Mother Gu.