Chapter 199: Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus’ Old Flame
Chapter 199: Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus’ Old Flame
Shen Tian was very relieved when he saw that the calabash liked its present very much.
After all, this was a calabash baby, which he had obtained from a Spirit Ore. It was natural he would have some feelings for it.
Shen Tian handed the red bottle to Li Lian’er with a faint smile. “This bottle contains refined Nirvana Holy Liquid. It can be used to treat injuries and cultivate Spiritual Wood.
“Since little calabash likes it, please accept it, Junior Sister Lian’er!
“But remember not to ingest it yourself!”
To be honest, the Sword Master Token the Li Family had gifted had been of great help to Shen Tian. He had been able to avoid many dangerous situations because of it.
Giving this refined Nirvana Holy Liquid to Li Lian’er was akin to returning that favor.
Li Lian’er accepted the little red bottle with a brilliant smile. “Brother Shen is so good to our calabash!”
Shen Tian patted Li Lian’er on the head. He felt somewhat displeased at the sight of the red and gold halo above her head.
She was the first person Shen Tian had met in the Myriad Spirit Garden, but she only had the providence of a red and gold halo. It just wasn’t enough!
In addition, Shen Tian could see the faint fortuitous opportunity image above Li Lian’er’s head.
This was probably the fortuitous opportunity she would soon encounter when she entered the Primordial Battlefield.
But in Shen Tian’s opinion, this fortuitous opportunity didn’t appear very valuable. It was far below that of a Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash.
Not only that, after entering the small town, Shen Tian had also seen the fortuitous opportunity images above the heads of Qin Gao, Qin Yundi, and the rest.
But most of them were of Spirit Ores, defeated demons, and Spirit Fruits on the Primordial Battlefield. These were considered a bit more valuable.
However, compared to the Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash, the Demon Book of Hyuga, and the Epochal Electrolysis, they were still very much inferior.
It was clear that as lucky as a person was, it was not possible for every single fortuitous opportunity they encountered to be a great one.
Most of the time, they would only meet rather ordinary fortuitous opportunities. But it was still better than nothing.
He wondered whether Li Lian’er would encounter a greater fortuitous opportunity if he helped to enhance her providence.
An idea suddenly popped into Shen Tian’s mind, and he decided to give it a try.
Shen Tian took an exquisite sandalwood box out of his Archeon Sea Ring. Inside the box was a lovely bottle made of white jade.
The number “5” was written in gold lacquer on the bottle.
It represented the fact that there were five liters worth of Nirvana Holy Liquid inside the bottle.
…
When Shen Tian had first returned to the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground, he had done something very important. And that was to divide out the holy liquid into bottles!
Shen Tian had not been prepared during that time at the Fog Plain. He only had about 200 bottles inside his Archeon Sea Ring.
To contain an entire Nirvana Holy Liquid pool, Shen Tian had filled every single one of those bottles with holy liquid.
Most of the bottles were filled to the brim with 50L of Nirvana Holy Liquid. Some of the larger bottles contained over 100L.
But there was a very big problem with having a bottle filled with over 50L of liquid. It was too extravagant.
For example, that time at the White Lotus Mountain, the Big Dipper Saint had been so shocked that he started to doubt himself and nearly had a mental breakdown.
More importantly, it was difficult to give away a bottle filled with over 50L of Nirvana Holy Liquid!
After dragging out the entire bottle, it didn’t look nice if he were to siphon off just a few liters as a gift.
It made him look so stingy!
He had a reputation to upkeep!
If he wanted to maintain his good image, he would have to give an entire bottle.
But over 50L of Nirvana Holy Liquid? That’s too much!
Although Shen Tian had obtained about 25–30kL[1] of Nirvana Holy Liquid from the valley of fog previously, he still could not afford to be overly generous with it!
After all, if you gave out 50L each time, you would be left empty-handed after 500–600 giveaways, right?
With that thought, Shen Tian had specially visited Divine Firmament City and ordered over 1,000 gift boxes and several tens of thousands of jade bottles.
Thereafter, he had spent half a day dividing out the remaining Nirvana Holy Liquid into green jade bottles, white jade bottles, and gold-lacquered jade bottles.
The green jade bottles numbered the most. He had 10,000 of them, and each contained half a liter of Nirvana Holy Liquid.
These bottles were made of smooth, lustrous jade carved with all sorts of exquisite patterns. They looked very lovely.
Compared to the bottles Shen Tian had earlier, they looked much more presentable.
As for the white jade bottles, the carvings on them were even more exquisite. They were also packed into expensive sandalwood boxes.
Every single box only had one white jade bottle inside. Each bottle contained 5L of Nirvana Holy Liquid.
Shen Tian had prepared 1,000 such white jade bottles in their gift boxes. He was reserving them as gifts for those young talents with great providence.
After all, one could only open doors with a gift in hand.
Meeting a young talent with a great fortuitous opportunity on their head for the first time—how to get close to them and get them to trust you?
The simplest and most direct method was to offer up the Nirvana Holy Liquid.
They would immediately feel more chummy toward you and treat you like a brother!
The exquisite sandalwood gift box represented the form, while the Nirvana Holy Liquid inside represented the substance.
With both form and substance fully accounted for, no one would be immune to Shen Tian’s friendly overtures!
Thereafter, he could easily reap the harvest of his efforts!
At the same time, the providence of those who had received Shen Tian’s Nirvana Holy Liquid would be boosted.
In this manner, Shen Tian’s harvest would be even more bountiful!
It would just be a matter of time before Shen Tian accumulated enough providence to become the most blessed figure in the whole cultivation world!
He had planned everything splendidly.
…
The final batch was contained in the most prestigious gift boxes.
The box was forged from Spirit Stones and was best for preserving the Spirit Qi and preventing the energy from dissipating.
There were dragons and phoenixes carved on those gift boxes, as well as the 10 great divine guardian beasts of the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground. It also had Saint Shen Tian’s personal signature.
In addition, the bottle within was made from the most precious Spirit Gold lacquered onto supreme-grade Spirit Jade to make the very rare and very expensive gold-lacquered bottles.
The bottle alone could fetch up to 1,000 Spirit Stones in price. It was an extremely luxurious and premium item.
These high-end gold-lacquered bottles contained 50L of Nirvana Holy Liquid.
They were meant as gifts only for the most important occasions—for example, his Master’s birthday or when meeting his in-laws for the first time.
Shen Tian had ordered only 100 of these special gift boxes and bottles.
After all, Shen Tian didn’t think there would be many opportunities for him to hand out such an extravagant gift.
Shen Tian believed that he might end up using these himself.
…
,000 green jade bottles, each containing half a liter of Nirvana Holy Liquid.
,000 white jade bottles, each containing 5L of Nirvana Holy Liquid.
100 gold-lacquered jade bottles, each containing 50L of Nirvana Holy Liquid.
kL of Nirvana Holy Liquid were settled in this way.
As for the remaining 10kL or so, Shen Tian had stored it in a special magical jade bottle.
This magical jade bottle was a supreme-grade spirit artifact that Heavenly Venerable White Lotus had given to Shen Tian. It was perfect for storing and preserving Spirit Pills and miracle elixirs.
After Shen Tian had given nearly 50L of Nirvana Holy Liquid to Heavenly Venerable White Lotus, she had gifted him this magical jade bottle after some consideration.
The remaining 10kL of Nirvana Holy Liquid was stored in this magical jade bottle so that the liquid could be preserved for as long as possible. The magical jade bottle might even have some purifying properties on the liquid.
As for its worth, it was much more valuable than even a Black Tortoise Armor!
Moreover, the magical jade bottle also contained quite a number of pills for poison, illusion-breaking, rejuvenation, nourishment, tonification, and so on. They had all been given to him by Heavenly Venerable White Lotus.
Heavenly Venerable White Lotus had personally created those pills, and they were of the highest quality.
Although not as good as the Nirvana Holy Liquid, the pills were still precious and highly-coveted by many Eastern Wilderness cultivators.
It could be seen that Heavenly Venerable White Lotus was still very reasonable. She had tried to match the value of her gifts to that of the Nirvana Holy Liquid that Shen Tian had given her.
Not at all like a certain elder.
…
Shen Tian was now handing a white jade bottle containing 5L of Nirvana Holy Liquid to Li Lian’er.
The sandalwood box had been opened, and the superior-grade white jade bottle glimmered in the sunlight.
Shen Tian smiled. “This bottle contains 5L of Nirvana Holy Liquid. It can be used to treat injuries. Junior Sister Lian’er, please accept this. Do take care of yourself while in the Primordial Battlefield.”
After Shen Tian passed the Nirvana Holy Liquid bottle to Li Lian’er, the halo light above her head gave a big tremor.
More gold spots appeared, and the light became brighter. Even the fortuitous opportunity image above her head looked clearer and more consistent. Not only that, there seemed to be a new fortuitous opportunity forming behind the current image…
Shen Tian couldn’t help musing; he really had to carefully analyze the link between providence and fortuitous opportunity!
As for Li Lian’er, her face blushed a pretty pink after receiving the sandalwood box.
So Brother Shen had also specially prepared a gift for me!
This box and bottle are so beautiful!
Brother Shen must have put in a lot of effort to prepare this gift for me!
But I have no idea why Brother Shen kept glancing at the top of my head when giving me the gift.
Could he be looking at calabash? I never imagined that Brother Shen would dote on the calabash so much!
This is all thanks to our love!
…
At this point, everyone’s eyes were on Shen Tian.
He was a handsome man full of vigor. When standing together with Li Lian’er, the sight of this perfect couple filled everyone with covetous longing, especially the women. Not a single one of them didn’t wish to take Li Lian’er’s place and become the one standing by Saint Shen Tian’s side.
After all, which young lady didn’t hanker for romance in her life?
At this point, Shen Tian’s Hariti Rosary Beads started to vibrate intensely.
“Master, there is an aura of resentment in the air. It is coming from Little Spirit Fairy and His Highness Shen Ao!”
Little Spirit Fairy? Shen Ao?
Shen Tian was startled. He looked in the direction where Jiu’er was pointing at.
All he saw were two pairs of resentful eyes fixed upon him. Who else could it be, if not Little Spirit Fairy and Shen Ao?
After such a long time, Shen Tian was reunited with them, so he felt very happy upon seeing Little Spirit Fairy and Shen Ao.
But why did they look so bitter?
Could they be… jealous?
Well, he had just given Lian’er a plant-cultivating liquid and a bottle of Nirvana Holy Liquid.
But the two of them hadn’t gotten anything. It was natural they were feeling unhappy and envious.
Shen Tian was not one for showing favoritism.
Although Little Spirit Fairy was a rather scheming character, she was still an important girl in Shen Tian’s heart… She had her value.
Helping raise Little Spirit Fairy’s providence now would make it easier for him to benefit from her fortuitous opportunities in the future!
As for Shen Ao, Shen Tian did feel rather abashed.
Ever since he had transmigrated—apart from the King of Fire, Shen Xiao—Shen Ao had been the closest person to him amongst all his royal relatives.
Blood was thicker than water. One could not forsake one’s own blood ties!
At this thought, Shen Tian took another two sandalwood boxes out of his Archeon Sea Ring and gave them to Little Spirit Fairy and Shen Ao.
“Sixth Brother, Junior Sister Ling’er, I have prepared these for you two. They also contain 5L of Nirvana Holy Liquid.
“Please be careful during this Primordial Battlefield trial. You are both very important people to me.”
Shen Tian’s Hariti Rosary Beads stopped vibrating the moment he said those words. “Master, their resentment has totally vanished.”
“I never imagined that Brother Aotian’s real name is Shen Tian! Thank you, Brother Shen!”
Little Spirit Fairy gave a brilliant smile as she accepted the sandalwood box. All the men around her gaped at the lovely sight.
“Detestable! Not only is this Divine Firmament Saint flirting with Fairy Lian’er, but he’s trying to steal Fairy Ling’er from me too!”
“But why, oh, why don’t I feel the slight bit of resentment?”
“Damn it, why do I feel that Fairy Lian’er and Fairy Ling’er should rightfully belong to this guy?”
“Damn my rebellious soul! Why am I only thinking of congratulating them?”
“That’s because you are all ugly! Ugly people are not fit to feel resentment!”
“The Divine Firmament Saint is so dashing. We are so envious of Fairy Lian’er and Fairy Ling’er. How we wish we could also snuggle in the Divine Firmament Saint’s arms like them!”
“+1”
“+1”
“+1”
…
A flurry of secret conversations was ongoing in the crowd of disciples.
They communicated via their collective divine consciousness. The air was filled with the sour taste of envy and desire.
As Shen Ao gazed at the smiling Shen Tian, he couldn’t help feeling extremely conflicted.
To be honest, since stepping into the cultivation world, Shen Ao’s world view had been greatly affected. He had been the rare, talented prodigy inside the royal house of the Country of Fire. He had been the pride of everyone since a young age.
But after entering the Grand White Grotto-Heaven, Shen Ao had realized his talents were not as great as he thought.
Li Changge and Li Lian’er were both more powerful than him.
Even amongst the disciples training in the Primordial Battlefield now, he was at most an average talent.
But that ill-fortuned 13th Prince whom he had been avoiding all the time had now suddenly become a saint in the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground.
Everyone’s eyes were on him. Everyone wanted to crowd around him.
On top of that, Fairy Xiao Ling—the one who had been so highly praised by their teachers and had been touted as “unbeatable”—was now one of 13th Prince’s most loyal fans.
It must be said that Shen Ao’s pride had taken a huge beating.
If he could endure this, he might emerge even stronger and tougher than before, like a sword that had been polished and sharpened.
But if he failed to overcome this obstacle and suffer a mental breakdown, he might end up giving up on himself entirely.
Shen Tian was slightly taken aback at the sight of Shen Ao staring blankly at him.
Does Sixth Brother think I have given him too little holy liquid?
At the thought of this, Shen Tian took another sandalwood box out of his Archeon Sea Ring. He shoved two boxes into Shen Ao’s arms.
“Sixth Brother, you and I are biological brothers. I hope you won’t bear a grudge over the misunderstandings that happened at the Myriad Spirit Garden and the palace!”
Shen Ao accepted 10L of Nirvana Holy Liquid in a daze. He asked in confusion, “Myriad Spirit Garden… What misunderstanding?”
Shen Tian was momentarily taken aback and broke out in cold sweat.
Shopkeeper Song, who was standing behind him, was even more fretful.
Shen Tian gave a small cough. “Nothing. It’s not important. Let bygones be bygones!”
Oh!
Shen Ao suddenly recalled everything!
That’s right—it was because the 13th Prince had claimed to be Shen Aotian while in the Myriad Spirit Garden. As a result, Fairy Xiao Ling had thought His Highness was Shen Aotian.
She had gone straight up to His Highness and insulted him for being ugly.
Detestable. His Highness had never suffered such wrongful treatment!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Shen Ao took a deep breath.
“Thirteenth Brother, it was just a small misunderstanding. I never took it to heart. As for this holy liquid, you better take it back! I still have many healing pills. Moreover, I am practicing the way of the sword and have my pride. I am not used to—”
Before Shen Ao could finish his sentence, the voice of Supremacy Zi Yang suddenly echoed in his mind.
“Blockhead, blockhead! My foolish disciple. Accept it, accept it!
“Do you know how valuable this Nirvana Holy Liquid is? I won’t be able to afford a bottle even if I sell myself!
“If only I had a brother like yours in my time. I wouldn’t have had to struggle so much.
“Ao’er, don’t be so ignorant of your own good fortune. Take it, take it!”
Shen Ao was completely stunned by Supremacy Zi Yang’s sensational claims.
These are just 10L of Nirvana Holy Liquid. It can’t be bought even if Master were to be sold?
When did Master become so worthless?
No way!
That can’t be right. What kind of treasure is this Nirvana Holy Liquid? How could it be so valuable?
Shen Ao’s heart twisted even more at this thought!
They were both the descendants of the Country of Fire. But the 13th Prince’s gift was enough to buy two Masters for him.
Mother, I have let you down!
But after further consideration, he recalled that his mother had not been as doted upon as Concubine Lan. In fact, his own mother had been one of Concubine Lan’s many fangirls.
Mmm, in this case, it was quite normal for him to lose out to the 13th Prince!
The turmoil in Shen Ao’s heart suddenly cleared after he managed to find that excuse.
It was like his Sword Heart had undergone a round of fortification. As a result, his Sword Dao improved greatly within a short amount of time!
…
Shen Tian couldn’t help feeling worried as he observed the constantly changing expression on Shen Ao’s face.
Sixth Brother, aren’t I already giving you two bottles of the Nirvana Holy Liquid? You should at least try to be civil!
What’s up with all those expressions on your face!
At this thought, Shen Tian said in exasperation, “Sixth Brother, this is a token of my sincerity. You and I are brothers after all—”
Before Shen Tian could finish his sentence, Shen Ao interrupted him. “Never mind, since Thirteenth Brother has shown such sincerity, I will accept it.”
He accepted the two bottles of Nirvana Holy Liquid with a smile and placed them into his own storage device.
After putting away the Nirvana Holy Liquid, Shen Ao felt like he was also putting away his competitive and petty feelings toward Shen Tian.
In this world, there would always be some people favored by the heavens. They were the key figures of their generation, and no ordinary people could compare to them.
It would be self-destructive to try and go against such people.
Shen Ao understood that now. He was now completely enlightened.
Instead of secretly treating Shen Tian as his archnemesis, he should view him as his goal and role model.
Follow him, learn from him, help him, support him. Perhaps they could become partners and embark on the road to cultivation together!
His Sword Heart felt like it had also been polished. Shen Ao had gained a deeper understanding in the way of the sword now!
At this point, he could vaguely start to understand the Sword Dao mentioned by Supremacy Zi Yang…
What Sword Dao meant!
…
Shen Tian heaved a sigh of relief after Shen Ao finally accepted the Nirvana Holy Liquid.
As for Li Lian’er, she was watching the entire scene with a dazed expression.
The beautiful box and jade bottle… Didn’t Brother Shen specially prepare them for Ling’er?
Why are there extra boxes and bottles?
Oh, could it be Brother Shen also prepared a few more sets for them?
Li Lian’er, Xiao Ling, and Shen Ao had each received some Nirvana Holy Liquid and were naturally very happy about it.
But the other talented disciples of the various sects felt very jealous.
They were jealous not because they didn’t receive any Nirvana Holy Liquid.
To be honest, even the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground’s Foundation Establishment disciples only got to know about the Nirvana Holy Liquid after Qin Yundi, and the rest explained to them.
All other disciples had no idea what the Nirvana Holy Liquid was.
They were feeling jealous purely because Li Lian’er, Xiao Ling, and Shen Ao were all standing together, looking all-too-harmonious.
The guys were jealous of Shen Tian while the ladies were jealous of Li Lian’er and Xiao Ling. In any case, the air was thick with jealousy!
…
At the same time, the Primordial Battlefield trial was about to start.
Up in the air, the elders of the two sacred grounds, six grotto-heavens, and 12 blessed-lands had already gathered.
The elder in charge of the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground was Heavenly Venerable White Lotus, while the elder in charge of the Jade Lake Sacred Ground was Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance. They were both in their Soul Formation forms.
The other elders from the six grotto-heavens and 12 blessed-lands were in their Nascent Soul forms.
Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance was dressed in a long red dress. She looked absolutely stunning and had a beauty mark in her brow area, making her look even more divine.
She was already over 1,000 years ago but still looked as youthful as ever. She looked like a young lady of about 25 or 26 in age—the point in time when a female was at her most feminine and possessed the most womanly charms. It was enough to drive countless men crazy!
She gazed at Heavenly Venerable White Lotus with disappointment. “Is Senior Brother Chu not joining us again?”
Heavenly Venerable White Lotus gave Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance a sympathetic look. “If Senior Sister Scarlet Dance really can’t forget him, why don’t you go to Divine Firmament to look for him?”
Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance shook her head. “He said that he is a dragon destined to fly high into the skies and ascend the immortal world. I swore that I would never seek him out before I succeed in Immortal Ascension!”
Heavenly Venerable White Lotus shook her head with a bitter smile as she gazed at Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance’s brave expression. How tough it must be on her.
Senior Brother Chu was a formidable practitioner. His powers were without peer, and he dominated everyone and everything.
How many young ladies were mesmerized by him back then? In the end, only Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance was barely worthy enough to stand by his side.
A pity that Senior Brother Chu had been too proud then.
He was clearly fond of this Junior Sister from the Jade Lake Sacred Ground but stubbornly claimed that “only an exceptional female who could ascend the heavens was good enough for him!”
In the end, the demure-looking but inwardly tough Senior Sister Scarlet Dance had been forced to swear that she would never seek him out until she achieved Immortal Ascension!
Thereafter, Chu Longhe had chosen to give up all his earlier cultivation and instead cultivate the Tinder Sutra. Both his providence and integrity had started to crumble thereafter.
Those Fairies, who had been so enamored with him, had become so disappointed that they all turned from his fangirls into his haters.
Gradually, those same Fairies had gotten together with other more honest and virtuous male disciples.
Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance was the only one who had never given up on First Senior Brother. Apart from daily trying and seeking out news about First Senior Brother, she would cultivate in seclusion.
Among all the Heavenly Venerables in Jade Lake Sacred Ground, Fairy Scarlet Dancer’s cultivation level was already the top.
It was rumored that she was not far from reaching the Saint realm!
She was such an extraordinary lady but remained so steadfast toward Azure Lotus. Most of the people in Eastern Wilderness could not understand why.
Heavenly Venerable White Lotus was the only one who could empathize with Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance.
…
Heavenly Venerable White Lotus sighed. “I will inform Senior Sister Scarlet Dancer if I receive any news about First Senior Brother.”
Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance looked very grateful. “Thank you, Junior Sister.”
Heavenly Venerable White Lotus nodded. “On a similar note, the Divine Firmament Saint seems to have a similar origin as First Senior Brother. He also cultivates the Tinder Sutra.
“Moreover, First Senior Brother has been traveling and promoting his cause. Shen Tian is a disciple under both First Senior Brother and the Sacred Leader.”
With that, Heavenly Venerable White Lotus gazed toward Shen Tian, who had a crowd of admirers around him.
“He is a disciple of Senior Brother Chu?”
Heavenly Venerable Scarlet Dance’s eyes flickered as she also turned to look at Shen Tian.
At this point, the eyes of these two splendid female Heavenly Venerables seemed to sparkle with…
A strange motherly glow!
[1] kL: kilolitre, a unit of volume equivalent to 1,000 liters and equal to one cubic meter of water. In this case, 25,000-30,000 liters.