Painting of the Nine Immortals
chapter-135

"Reveal yourself, Petal of Enlightenment. How long do you plan to hide?"

Simple words came out of Ling Xian’s mouth, slowly but violently.

Boom!

A horrifying vigor dispersed out of him, boiling the water and creating giant waves that shook the entire pond.

However, the purple lotus was not at all affected. It continued to sway and illuminate the night. Shielding itself from Ling Xian’s Qi, it did not show a single sign of revealing itself. It completely ignored Ling Xian.

Reveal itself?

Petal of Enlightenment?

Everyone frowned, not fully comprehending what Ling Xian meant by this.

Could it be…

Looking at Ling Xian’s heavy expression and the unmoving purple lotus, a shocking guess ran through everyone’s mind.

Mo Qing Fu hesitated before he finally uttered, "Brother, you mean…? It can’t be that can it?"

"That’s right. It is exactly what you are guessing," Ling Xian nodded. A trace of surprise still lingered in his eyes.

Remember that Ling Xian has experience a lost century and has seen many great things in the world, not many things shock him anymore. The fact that he was agitated to this extent after using his Inner Eyes and seeing the internal of the lotus means this wasn’t an ordinary event.

Gasp!

A series of cold inhales ripped through the air. These Heaven’s Favorites, who rarely felt emotions strong enough to express them, fell into lifelessness.

"My god, no way! It’s really it?!"

"Impossible! Did he see it wrong? According to what I know, it’s been thousands of years since this appeared in Yunzhou."

"No. Even though I don’t know which type of the Inner Eyes he has, it is nonetheless a pair of Inner Eyes. They have the ability to see through objects. If he said that’s what it is then he can’t be wrong!"

"If that’s the case then the entire Yunzhou will fall into chaos!"

Everyone stared at the purple lotus with disbelief in their eyes.

At this moment, they were no longer acting like Heaven’s Favorites in the Undefeatable Realm. Rather, they were acting like young cultivators who just started their cultivation journey. Throwing away all composure and grace, they gawked at the lotus with their eyes and mouths wide open. Their body quivered, not at all hiding how flabbergasted they felt.

What is happening is too astounding and too far-fetched!

If what Ling Xian was saying is correct. Then this event will for sure shake up Yunzhou, maybe even the entire cultivation community!

"Why are you still not revealing yourself?"

Seeing how the Petal of Enlightenment still did not move, Ling Xian frowned and asked coldly, "Are you suggesting that you would only reveal yourself when I use all my strength?"

Hearing this, the purple lotus seemed to have trembled for a second. However, there were no signs of anything else happening.

"Alright. I guess you won’t shed tears until you see your own coffin," Ling Xian snickered. Qi from the Undefeatable Realm poured out of his body, stirring up a huge gush of wind that swept up the entire pond.

"Given that it takes you a lot of training to get here, I will give you another chance. Show yourself, or else."

As he spoke these cruel words, cold as snow-storm energy coupled with his murderous intention diffused throughout the space. The purple lotus trembled yet again and remained silent for a while. Then, a crisp, fragile, and feeble voice came.

"Don’t… Don’t kill me."

The purple lotus started talking like a mortal, in a voice that was as beautiful as an Oriole. The words spoken were sluggish, just like how children speak when they just learn how to talk.

In the next second, the lotus suddenly bloomed. The purple light it was shedding shot through the cloud and turned into rain, drizzling down and enlivening the pond. The air was full of illuminating light that was sparkling, beautiful and bright.

A palm-sized Purple Dwarf flew out of the flower bud and bathed in the gorgeous light rain. Like a mysterious woman who descended from the Heavens into the mortal world, she appeared extremely refined and mysterious, as if she would evaporate at any time.

This moving scenery was like a painting, like a poem, like a dream, and like a fantasy. Everyone here felt their hearts wavering and they couldn’t help it but to be intoxicated by her presence, especially Tang Thirteen and the other two female youths. Their eyes were sparkling with small stars, as if they would do anything to be in her place.

Unfortunately, they are not the Petal of Enlightenment, and no supernatural circumstances occur when they make an appearance.

"Wow, it actually is a dwarf!"

Peering at the Purple Dwarf who was hanging out in mid-air, Ling Xian exhaled a mouthful of murky air. Remembering the history books he has read before, his face flushed with worry and he muttered to himself, "In the entire Yunzhou, it’s been thousands of years since a dwarf has appeared. I wonder if the Petal of Enlightenment gaining a soul and turning into a dwarf is good or bad."

The others were not as clear-headed as Ling Xian. Seeing a Purple Dwarf being born into the mortal world have completely shaken them up. They were rendered speechless by the little being.

The Elfkind was one of the ten thousand clans in this world. Different from other clans, who produce descendants through male and female reproduction, the Elfkind was created through the celestial powers of Heaven and Earth. As long as Heaven provides an opportunity and chance for one to be born, a descendant was created.

This backs up the saying that everything in the world is spiritual. Flowers, grass, trees, wood, stones, rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans, everything and anything are spiritual and can become a member of the Elfkind.

However, the creation of consciousness was much too difficult to be common. Therefore, members of the Elfkind were very minimal in number, and since the history of time, there has only been a few.

According to legends, once, a cultivator decided to try and man-make a dwarf.

First, he found what the Taoism community agreed to be the most spiritual object, the Nine-Colored Spiritual Stone. Then, he went out of his way to find the legendary Spring of Vitality, which was rumored to have the ability to grant objects with life. Finally, he placed the Nine-Colored Spiritual Stone in a holy place, where he would recite Buddhism scripture daily in order to raise the stone righteously.

After a year, no change occurred to the spiritual stone. Ten years later, still nothing. In the end, the cultivator gave up in frustration and anger.

From this, everyone learned how hard it was to give life to an object that has no life to begin with.

Even though dwarfs were hard to come by, this clan was consistent with principles of Taoism and was highly blessed by God. Every time a dwarf was born, it was born with supreme talent and disdain for the past and the future. As long as no accidents happen in their life time that ends their cultivation journey, they were bound to become invincible and the highest of the world!

In the history of Taoism, a Qing Ming Stone once turned into a dwarf. The moment it was born, it broke through to the foundational level. In the years that followed, it conquered many clans and defeated many heroes. Sweeping the world off their feet, the dwarf soared through the cloud and reached the summit of the mountain in less than a century.

Therefore, when he saw that the Petal of Enlightenment has gained consciousness, Ling Xian was in shock. The reason why he dragged Mo Qing Fu away was because he was worried that the Petal, like the Qing Ming Stone, would be born with incredibly powerful Qi.

When he saw the little Purple Dwarf, however, he sighed in relief.

This tiny creature did not give off an overpowering spiritual energy. At most, it was equivalent to an eighth or ninth leveled cultivator. This should not be such a surprise, as the level of achievement the dwarf has when it is born was dependent on the ranking of the object prior to gaining a conscious. Since the Petal of Enlightenment was a mere flower, its natural talent was without a doubt, a little weaker.

Though the Petal of Enlightenment was considered an astounding spiritual medicine with extraordinary abilities, compared with a Qing Ming Stone, it lacked just a little. This was why she was only an eighth leveled cultivator.

"Can… can you… spare… me?"

The Purple Dwarf was only the size of a palm. Its entire body was wrapped in a dizzying amount of purple light. Though its body was small, its visage was very clear. The soft and weakened look it had pinched everyone’s heart, especially the three girls. They so very much wanted to march forward, take her in their arms and nurture her.

Minutes before the creation of a consciousness in an object, it could choose its gender. Once chosen, it was impossible to change. It was obvious that the Petal of Enlightenment has chosen to become a female.

Seeing that the Purple Dwarf’s eyes have turned red and were close to crying, Ling Xian’s heart softened. At first, he thought the Petal of Enlightenment was in disguise to attack these people. Thus, he threatened it in hope of exposing its identity. Now that he sees this little dwarf was not at all a danger, he summoned back his spiritual energy. Using a soft voice, he said, "Don’t be afraid. As long as you have no desire to hurt us, I won’t do anything to you."

"Ok… Th-Thank you."

Hearing this, the Purple Dwarf grinned happily and worked hard to create a gentle and kind aura.

It was born with a very naïve nature and since its transformation a few moments ago, its mental state has been cloudy. Just now, this little dwarf was very scared to be the target of numerous Heaven’s Favorites. Thus, it hid in the bud of the flower and did not show its face.

Ling Xian grinned, feeling a little disappointed. Now that the Petal of Enlightenment has gained consciousness, it can no longer be used as a medicine. Of course, if Ling Xian killed the dwarf now, it could revert to the rare spiritual medicine with even stronger and perfect effects.

However, Ling Xian would never do something like that.

Just as he was about to turn around and walk away, The Untainted’s voice murmured in his heart.

[Take it to the Painting of the Nine Immortals. It is not common to see one from the Elfkind. If taught and guided well, it will be a great asset to your future journey.]

Take it?

Ling Xian froze a little. Just as what The Untainted had said, there were very few members in the Elfkind. It was even considered rare to see one appear in thousands of years. Despite this, every single descendant of the Elfkind grows into one with great potential and eventually becomes a powerhouse in Yunzhou!

After all, this was the Petal of Enlightenment. Though a little weaker than the Qing Ming Stone, it was still a rare spiritual medicine with heaven-defying qualities. If nurtured and guided, it will definitely have a bright future and become a hero in the world!

To speak honestly, the Purple Dwarf before them was a future warrior. If taken away and time was spent with it day and night, Ling Xian would definitely develop a relationship with it, and it will definitely become a great help in his cultivation journey.

This was an asset that was alive and conscious, definitely stronger than any weapon or treasure!

Realizing this, Ling Xian’s heart grew fiery. He tried his very best to express his gentleness and affection toward the Purple Dwarf.

"Little one, are you willing to leave this place with me?"

The corners of Ling Xian’s lips curved up. His smile was bright and tender. It was so attractive that all three female cultivators’ faces glistened with color and flickered with infatuation.