บท 17: I So Regret Not Knowing You Earlier!

บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios

As one of the most popular Spirit Ore shops in Myriad Spirit Garden, the Sacred Spirit Workshop had its own ore-cutters.

When The ore-cutter heard that someone had bought the Turquoise Calabash Spirit Ore and he was called upon to open it, he was in a state of shock.

Honestly, that item was priced at 100,000 Spirit Stones—why would anyone in the right mind buy it?

That buyer must be a fool!

However, much as though he did not think much of this ore, he still proceeded to open the ore as instructed by the boss.

In any case, it wasn't him who'd spent the money.

All the onlookers focused their attention upon the sharp ore knife, as it cut through the external layers of the Spirit Ore. All of them did not dare to move their eyes apart, for fear of missing out on any details.

Although renowned Spirit Ore Appraisers had once predicted that there was nothing of value in this particular Spirit Ore, what if they were mistaken?

There was no way they would miss out on such a miraculous moment!

However, as the layers of stone coverings were being cut off, their excitement turned into disappointment.

What those Masters said before was true. This Turquoise Calabash Spirit Ore is indeed just a piece of junk.

Even though the ore-cutter cut down to the ore's innermost layer, there were no sightings of any Spirit Stone or at least some fragments of it.

What was left was only a dull and rotting pitch-black little calabash.

…

"How can this be? It shouldn't be like this!"

"This Spirit Ore ought to contain great opportunities! Why do we only see this rotting calabash?"

There was a look of utmost 'shock' on Shopkeeper Liu's face, as he turned to face Shen Tian.

"Priest Shen, I feel so sorry for you! I am at a loss of how to help you now," commented Shopkeeper Liu, who looked extremely sincere and apologetic.

On the other hand, Passerby A was reveling in this outcome. He threw a look at Shen Tian and chided. "Now, now! Let's see what else you can come up with!"

Shen Tian ignored Passerby A's comment, smiled, and commented, "Shopkeeper Liu, that's really too courteous of you. You have a sharp eye for spotting ores, and you have already seen past the facade of this little calabash. Why should you keep us in suspense and crack such a joke with me?"

Following which, he walked toward Li Lian'er and asked politely, "Fairy Lian'er, can I borrow your sword?"

Li Lian'er nodded, took her sword out of its sheath, which she carried behind her back, and handed it to Shen Tian.

Cling!

Like sharp rays of sunlight reflecting off the surface of a water body, shafts of cold light bounced off the sword's edges, blinding the onlookers' eyes for a brief moment.

By anyone's standards, this was a great sword!

All except for the fact that it was a teeny-weeny bit too heavy for Shen Tian—he had to use all his might to wield the sword.

Without further ado, he smashed the sword down upon the rotten black calabash.

Clang!

When the sword hit the calabash, the sound of hitting metals together was produced.

Although the calabash was small, it was surprisingly hard. However, it was still rotten nonetheless—so it was slashed into two halves with the sword.

However, what's shocking was that a glistening seed dropped out from the interior of the cut calabash.

Gentle rainbow-like rays were emitted from the seed, forming a bright but welcoming halo. One could see faded images of auspicious beasts, the likes of dragons, phoenixes, qilins¹ and Bi Fang birds² revolving around in the halo.

Following which, faint sounds reciting the teachings of Dao were heard. Amidst the profound ramblings, one could feel an inexplicable uplifting of their spirits, and some even felt like they had finally attained enlightenment.

Obviously, this calabash seed was no ordinary item. It must be an invaluable fairy seed!

…

Shen Tian picked up the seed and placed it in Li Lian'er's open palms.

He smiled gently and commented, "As I have promised, I will not disappoint you!"

Li Lian'er was so dazzled by this charming smile that she didn't even bother to further examine the fairy calabash seed in her hands.

Brother Shen—oh, her darling—had stayed true to his words!

At that moment, the onlookers finally recovered from their shock.

"A seed? Wasn't it said that the Spirit Ore's energy was depleted, and it only contained a piece of junk?"

"Are you blind? How can a piece of junk nurture seeds? Unless… This is not an enchanted armament, but a real, fresh calabash?"

"But the seed's emitting rainbow rays—this seed seems really extraordinary!"

"Ha, just like what I said before—Brother Priest is so handsome, how can he be a scammer!?"

"You bunch of mediocre commoners can never, ever understand Brother Priest's real intentions! This whole episode is so ludicrous!"

…

As Shopkeeper Liu stared at the seed that Li Lian'er was holding on to, a thought came to him.

Can this be the legendary Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash Seed, which was ranked at the 36th position on the Spiritual Wood List?

When Shopkeeper Liu thought of this possibility, he felt as if his whole world had fallen apart. He really felt like crying now!

To appreciate why Shopkeeper Liu was feeling as such, one must first understand how things were like in the cultivation world.

In this world, other than Spirit Stones and enchanted armaments, people also sought after various kinds of rare items to help them in their cultivation. To help people recognize such items' value, cultivators had cataloged these items accordingly, based on their elemental nature and how precious they were.

This catalog covered all kinds of items, and it could be divided into sublists of "Immortal Metal List", "Spiritual Wood List", "Absolute Water List", "Exceptional Fire List", and "Mystic Earth List".

As mentioned previously, this Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash was ranked at the 36th position on the Spiritual Wood List. This was an exotic immortal plant, a rare, almost extinct breed!

It was said that the Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash could emit rainbow-like rays, which would, in turn, give rise to seven types of Mighty Prowess!

When this calabash was ripe, these seven types of Mighty Prowess would reach their maximum powers, and anyone who owned such skills would be able to command the world.

Even if a few thousands of cultivators attacked this person at the same time, they would not be able to harm them. In fact, this person could still kill every single of the attackers!

Other than that, the most valuable part about Immortal Plants was that they could live for a long time—as long as ten or more times the lifespan of a normal cultivator.

If one could find the young seedling of such Immortal Plants and make it recognize them as its owner before it grew a mind of its own, the Immortal Plant would guard them loyally. Should it receive great care, the Immortal Plant would also grow to protect its owner's descendants and disciples, becoming the whole sect's Guardian Plant!

Even for major sects like the Grand White Grotto-Heaven Sect, this would be an invaluable treasure to own.

After all, if this plant was well taken care of, it could see dozens of generations of people to their deaths… Cough, provide protection for dozens of generations of people in the sect!

If Li Lian'er could make this Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash Seed recognize her as its owner and nurture it till it fully ripened, she would rise in ranks in the Grand White Grotto-Heaven Sect.

And for sure, that would be a great rise in ranks—in fact, there was a possibility that she could become the main candidate to lead the whole Grand White Grotto-Heaven Sect!

As for the monetary value of this calabash seed…

Excuse me, the value of Immortal Plants couldn't be measured just by any amounts of money.

This was because even if one were able to afford millions or billions of Spirit Stones, no sects in their correct minds would sell such treasure to others.

If one really must get it, they had to try exchanging for it with an extremely rare Immortal Sutra—now, that might work!

…

Of course, although the Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash Seed was a priceless treasure, Shen Tian was not interested in it.

The reason? Simple, because there wouldn't be any good outcomes if this seed ended up with him.

To be very honest, given Shen Tian's disastrous fate, which did not allow him to nurture even a single stalk of Purple Epiphyllum—just imagine what good would happen if he insisted on growing this Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash!

Probably, on the very same day he brought this seed home, he could misplace it immediately. Or else, just like the poor Purple Epiphyllum, this plant could be eaten up by some stray cats or dogs the very day it was planted. Or it could be destroyed by some naughty kids.

There was a 90% or more chance of such events happening!

Other than that, the most important reason why Shen Tian had no interest in this seed was that this seed would be hard to nurture, and it grew very slowly.

One needed to wait for at least 800 or 1,000 years before it could fully ripen.

Meanwhile, it had to be fed with all sorts of immortal liquids, Spirit Stones, and other enchanted items consecutively. This would require a great pool of resources, and not any ordinary sects could afford this.

Shen Tian doubted whether other than the Grand White Grotto-Heaven Sect, which was ranked within the top 10 sects of the cultivation world, any other sects could afford such a seed.

Given Shen Tian's background, he would be squeezed dry of all his money in a few days, should he really nurture such a seed!

…

Despite all these rounds of internal debates with himself, Shen Tian still couldn't help but feel heart-wrenched at seeing such a seed ending up with somebody else.

After all, this was the priceless item, the Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash Seed!

If not for the fact that his main aim was to change his fate, how could he bear to part with such an item?

What's worth celebrating though, was that the moment he decided to let go of the Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash, he felt as if something had been lifted from his body.

That odious black halo above his head became shallower. In fact, there was a portion that seemed to fade off, and overall, it looked less depressing.

Should Shen Tian continue meeting such encounters, he believed he could change his fate and become that lucky guy he longed for in no time to come.

As long as he could change his fate, what would a calabash seed even matter to him? He could obtain as many fortuitous opportunities as he wanted, given his 'buffs' as the main character!

Just wait and see! When I transform my fate such that I have a golden halo, I will build a whole storeroom containing all the rarest seeds in the cultivation world! Ha!

When Shen Tian thought of that, he felt much better. And when he saw Shopkeeper Liu's expression, he felt even more satisfied.

He patted on Shopkeeper Liu's shoulder and commented smilingly, "Indeed, as you commented, only a fated person would be able to see the mere glimpse of life in this calabash and the hidden treasure that was raised in a state of extremely rare Nirvana. This Turquoise Calabash Spirit Ore bore the Seven-Treasure Fairy Calabash Seed. This is such a cause for celebrations!

"Shopkeeper Liu, in this whole world, only the two of us were able to see through its facade.

"And not only did you not take advantage of this fact to set a high price for it, you even sold it off to its fated owner at a discount of 50%!

"Shopkeeper Liu, you are the model businessman with extremely high morals!

"I so regret not knowing you earlier!

"This is so touching, so touching indeed!"