“This…this is…”
Not only the Jade Emperor, but the others also looked at the painting and were instantly transfixed. Their hearts were thumping loudly.
In the painting, there was a gigantic ocean. The ocean was so wide, it was very calm and peaceful. It was clear as a mirror. There was nothing else in the ocean but a gigantic figure that laid out in the middle of the ocean.
The figure looked like a whale. It was very huge. Its wide fin was spread out like two wings. Although only a small head appeared from the water, half of its body was already beyond imagination. It was as if its mouth could engulf the entire world.
Moo…
Vaguely, a sound was heard in their ears.
A terrifying Qi came out from that figure along with the pressure of the ocean. It smacked onto the crowd. This feeling was…as if a wild wind was blowing and making it hard for them to breathe.
This was not the entire painting yet. On top of the sea, there was a gigantic flying bird!
The bird was just as big. Even with the sea as the background, the bird seemed even bigger! Its wings reached out and covered the sunlight. Flying above the ocean, it made the ocean look like clouds.
The fish in the ocean, the bird in the sky, a sea in between like a mirror. The shadow of the fish was the bird, the shadow of the bird was the fish.
They were the same thing.
The crowd looked at the painting. They could feel that the Qi of the flying bird and the fish were similar. The expert was clearly drawing the same species. Furthermore…the longer they stared at it, the ocean in the painting seemed to start moving with some ripples formed.
The massive fish fin in the ocean flapped. It jumped out from the painting. Its figure was extremely huge, like a mountain hovering above the heads of the crowd. The ripples were like an arching bridge. It was a very majestic sight.
Li Nianfan asked, “What do you think of this painting?”
With that said, all of the visions instantly vanished. The crowd jumped and were all pulled back to reality.
“So beautiful! So majestic!” the Jade Emperor cried in awe without hesitation. He licked his lips and said, “Lord Saint’s drawing Kun—Kunpeng?”
“The Jade Emperor’s indeed observant! I’m trying to. It’s just a simple sketch. I don’t know if it looks alike or not.” Li Nianfan laughed. “I felt like it and my hands got itchy, so I painted it. I haven’t painted for a long time, so my skills aren’t as refined as they used to be. Please, don’t laugh at me.”
He started painting this three days ago. Since he was bored in the four-part architecture, he thought of how Fire Phoenix wanted to rule over all the demons. This might relate to Lord Kunpeng. So the thought of Lord Kunpeng instantly reminded him of ‘A Happy Excursion’. He was in the mood to paint Lord Kunpeng according to this legend.
The Empress quickly waved, even though she was thoroughly attacked inside. She had to keep a calm face on the surface. She said with difficulty, “Lord Saint’s humorous. Why would we laugh at you…”
‘You painted so well, and you say it’s ‘not as refined’? Do you have to do this? You must be kidding, right?’
“Daji’s finally home.” Li Nianfan looked at Daji and smiled warmly. He could not help looking at the little fox in Daji’s arms. He cried out with delight, “Yo, the little fox is back. Come, let me hug it. Wow, its body’s so fluffy and warm.”
However, Li Nianfan quickly sensed that something was off. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why does it look so tired?”
He then looked at Daji and realized that she was looking pale. She had a worn-out look with bloodshot eyes. He then looked at the others and they all seemed weak and worn out.
Especially Xiao Chengfeng. He obviously composed his looks before coming in, but he still could not cover up the worn-out look in his eyes. It was almost as if ‘I can’t do it’ was written on his forehead.
Li Nianfan was proficient in medicine after all. He could see through it. He instantly said, “You’re all not in your best state? You…had a battle.”
He quickly thought about it. This bunch came all at once. Why was that coincidence? They must have just ended a battle and came here along with Daji.
And what caused Daji and the rest to fight? It must have been related to the demons!
Daji saw that Li Nianfan was looking at her. Her nose was burning and her eyes reddened as she said in a small voice, “Mr. Li, we failed…”
As expected!
This bunch tried to rule over all of the demons. They faced challenges!
“Alright, as long as you’re all fine. As the saying goes, you keep the forest and you’ll still have wood.” Li Nianfan touched Daji’s tiny nose. He comforted her and smiled. He held her hand to check her pulse.
“Your Qi’s weakened by the blood loss.” Li Nianfan sighed in relief. She was just weakened with some wounds. It would not affect her life. She only needed more nutrients.
The cultivating world was too dangerous. Li Nianfan felt bad for them. Luckily he came prepared. He knew it was impossible to come out of here unharmed.
He then looked at Xiao Chengfeng and asked, concerned, “Brother Xiao, you don’t look too well, how do you feel?”
Xiao Chengfeng was caught off guard by the special attention. He said, “I’m fine, it’s okay. I can live…cough cough cough…”
Li Nianfan saw that he was wiping away fresh blood from his mouth. His heart sank. The blood was dark-colored, it did not seem pure. He must have wounded his internal organs.
Even an Immortal could be so severely wounded! He was obviously not okay!
Furthermore, even the Jade Emperor and Empress were here. If even they got involved in the battle… Li Nianfan could only imagine how violent the battle was.
His face darkened slightly. He said in a serious tone, “Was this all caused by Lord Kunpeng?”
“Yeah,” Fire Phoenix said. “Not long ago, Lord Kunpeng gathered a large number of demons to rule over the Demon Realm. Thankfully, we had help from Heavenly Palace. If not, Daji and I wouldn’t have been able to fight through. ”
“So it was really Kunpeng. That must’ve been scary.” Li Nianfan sighed deeply. He could not help feeling terrified. That being had existed since prehistoric times. He was a Quasi-Saint! He and the rest must seem like ants in front of such existence! So scary! He would have lost Daji!
No wonder he was in the mood to paint Lord Kunpeng. Perhaps he was having a sixth sense?
He quickly made a gesture to the Jade Emperor and Empress. He said sincerely, “Thank you so much for your help this time. I can’t imagine how it’d end up without your help.”
The Jade Emperor returned the gesture. He said, “You’re too humble. This is what we should do. Furthermore, Kunpeng is too ambitious, we’re also helping ourselves.”
“No matter what, thank you so much.” Li Nianfan could tell that they were being humble.
Luckily, he asked them to take care of Daji. If not, the Jade Emperor and Empress would not have cared for small characters like Daji.
It was so important to have connections with bigshots!
“Right, why are you all standing here? Hurry up and get a seat.” Li Nianfan greeted them with enthusiasm. “You all came at the right time. The peaches I grew not long ago have ripened. They’re sweeter than the fruits in the past. You all have a try. Xiao Bai, go and get some.”
“Yes, my master.” Xiao Bai went ahead to prepare.
Peaches?
Could it be…
No way…
The Jade Emperor and Empress exchanged a look. Following that, they saw Xiao Bai walking out with a tray.
They jolted instantly. It was as if they were struck by lightning.
There were three plates on top of the tray. Each plate had round peaches. The peaches were watery under the sunlight, glowing as if they had a layer of sunlight covering them. They made a pleasant sight.
A gust of mysterious Qi rushed into their nostrils alongside the fragrance of the peaches. Everyone was shocked. They felt lively as if they had become 10,000 years younger.
Everyone else was reacting more compared to the Jade Emperor and Empress. They were breathing rapidly with their faces flushing red. They stared at the peaches and wished they could glue their eyeballs onto the peaches.
‘Flat Peaches! These are the actual Flat Peaches!’
They cried out inside. They could not help gulping with their lips shivering.
In the past, Flat Peaches were something ordinary. However, Flat Peaches were too luxurious now. This resembled the faraway memories. It had been too many years. They had almost forgotten the taste of a Flat Peach.
They remembered the last time they saw a Flat Peach was back in…their dreams! This was too…unrealistic!
The Empress felt her nose twitching. She was silently wiping away the tears in the corner of her eyes. Back then, she was the one taking care of the Flat Peaches. She felt more for those peaches than the Jade Emperor
She quickly took a deep breath and tried her best to stay calm while hypnotizing herself. She said to herself, ‘Hold on, take back the tears, you can’t embarrass yourself in front of the expert. These are ordinary peaches, just peaches!’
“This—this is…”
Ao Cheng swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He stared blankly at the plate full of Flat Peaches in front of him. He stuttered, “Pe…peaches?”
Surely Flat Peaches.
Back then, he was only a small dragon. He was not qualified enough to attend the Flat Peach Feast. He did look at them from afar, so he remembered clearly what the Flat Peaches looked like. They were his dream!
Back then, his ultimate goal in life…was to eat a Flat Peach once in his life.
After that, the bridge to Immortalization was broken off. Eating a Flat Peach became an extravagant hope. He dared not even think that one day, he would have plates of Flat Peaches laid out in front of him!
This must be because the expert was happy about them helping Daji, and so, he was willing to bring them out to share it with them. If not, they would have been dead by now!
Li Nianfan pestered, “Don’t blank out, hurry and have a taste!”
“Oh, yes, right away!” The crowd dared not waste any more time. Instantly, each of them held on to one peach and started eating.
One had to admit that these peaches were huge. It was quite challenging to eat them with one hand. However, since they were huge, it was nice to eat. The peaches had just the right firmness with a nice texture. With a bite, the peach skin was like a layer being ripped. Swiftly after, a large amount of liquid burst out and shot right into their mouths.
The juice was sweet and overwhelmed their taste buds. It gave them a satisfying and enjoyable pleasure.
The taste was just right. However, there was an unknown taste in it. It was beyond words and they did not know how to describe it.
If they had to describe it, they could only use the most basic word to portray it—delicious!
Following the taste, a powerful and vital Qi rushed into them alongside the juice of the peaches. The Qi spread out all over them as if they were in a hot spring. Everyone felt warm and cozy. Their cheeks were blushing red.
Their worn-out bodies from the battle were instantly appeased. The tiredness was gradually going away as well.
Munch! Munch!
Nobody was speaking. The entire four-part architecture was now left with the sounds of peach-eating. There was also the sound of slurping juices.
It did not take long before the peaches were finished by the crowd. Each of them had a satisfied look on their faces while craving for more. Staying by the expert’s side was the best feeling alive!
The Jade Emperor and Empress felt a rush of shock and disbelief. They were in doubt.
Were those really the Flat Peaches? These were so much more delicious and even more beneficial? The vitality from these peaches was at least twice the original ones in the past!
The difference…was huge!
Li Nianfan saw that they were about to bin the seeds. He quickly called out, “Don’t toss the seeds away, place them on the table. I want to use them to grow more peach trees.”
Everyone was stunned. Especially the Jade Emperor and Empress. They almost did not want to believe their ears. “Use the seeds to…plant more peach trees?”
Li Nianfan waved it off. He could not help smiling as he said, “Ha-ha-ha, you don’t know about it? You Immortals don’t know how ordinary men live. It’s just a small trick to grow peach trees from those seeds. It’s not to be mentioned. I’ve planted a few, they’re not bad at all. They’ve even sprouted already.”
‘Who’s the one who ‘doesn’t know how ordinary men live’ here?’
‘You’re the one who doesn’t know how Immortals live, right?’
Flat Peaches must be grown from Spiritual Roots. They were as old as the world! How could he grow the peach trees using those seeds?
Perhaps he was the only one who could do such a thing in this world!
And he called this a…small trick? Sorry for being ignorant!
The Empress felt her scalp go numb. She did not know how to react. She could only bite her tongue and say, “I see, thanks for telling us.”
