The Celestial Cauldron and the Enlightenment Tea

The ten Great Emperor Medicines, the pinnacle of all Emperor Medicines, were rumored to rival even Immortal Medicines in their extraordinary effects.

Emperor Medicines could grant a Great Emperor an extension of life, allowing them to live another lifetime.

But among the ten Great Emperor Medicines, one stood above all, offering a lifespan extension of six lifetimes, which amounted to a staggering sixty thousand years.

This undoubtedly increased the Great Emperor's chances of attaining immortality, providing an additional sixty thousand years of time.

However, throughout history, Emperor Medicines had always been exceedingly rare, and the ten Great Emperor Medicines were even scarcer.

There had never been any records of anyone possessing all ten of them, not even the legendary Emperors of the past, who were known to possess only common Emperor Medicines.

To burn the wood from the Pan Peach Emperor Tree, one of the ten Great Emperor Medicines, to heat water... it was truly a terrifying prospect.

The founder of the Falling Cloud Sect couldn't help but sigh deeply. How high must one's cultivation reach to accomplish such feats? To him, having the fortune to witness such a high-level expert was a fulfillment of a lifetime.

Afterward, his gaze shifted to the tea pot on the charcoal burner. If the charcoal used for boiling water was already so astounding, he could only imagine how extraordinary the tea pot and tea cups would be.

The tea pot, although not particularly large, was made of purple clay, appearing as if it were crafted from purple clay itself.

However, the founder of the Falling Cloud Sect knew it wasn't that simple. He used his spiritual sense to investigate, and when it touched the tea pot, he suddenly felt tiny, as if he had entered an otherworldly realm beyond the mundane, surrounded by an eternal aura in every direction.

He gasped, witnessing an immensely frightening scene. A pot that could contain the heavens and the earth, a pot that could subdue the sun and the moon, and the billions of stars before it were nothing but specks of light.

It was vast and transcendent, as if it were the only thing in the world, capable of encompassing the myriad realms. The laws of order surged, forming a sea of runes, and billions of threads of immortal light and ethereal rosy clouds descended from it.

Two ancient characters faintly appeared on the pot's surface: "Celestial Cauldron."

Although he didn't recognize those two characters, their meaning was clear and resonated in his mind. "Celestial Cauldron!" He was struck to the core, overwhelmed by the immense impact.

It was said that when the world was in its chaotic state, void of all existence, a miraculous treasure was born within the chaos—a cauldron.

This cauldron absorbed the chaos and refined it, pouring it out from its spout, which led to the creation of the world, with all its myriad laws and principles.

No wonder he had sensed the uniqueness of this pot. The Celestial Cauldron truly deserved its reputation as the one that refined chaos and gave birth to the heavens and earth.

"Does the Celestial Cauldron truly exist?" His mouth was dry, and his heart was shaken beyond words.

Originally, he had thought of the Celestial Cauldron as nothing more than a legend, but now it seemed it was real. The cauldron stood above countless laws of order, transcending all—sky, earth, sun, moon, and countless stars were utterly insignificant before it.

Without a doubt, this was the legendary cauldron that had refined chaos and divided heaven and earth.

"In the presence of this cauldron, even Immortal treasures are hardly worth mentioning!"

Countless laws of order, each supremely transcendent and supreme, emanated an eternal resonance.

Even so, the cauldron stood above them all, pressing them far below.

It surpassed Immortal treasures and was truly unparalleled. The two characters "Celestial Cauldron" on its surface confirmed its identity.

"Life is like tea, and tea is like life. It should not be rushed, nor should it be agitated. There are too many temptations in the world, but one must maintain purity in one's heart," Li Jiudao spoke tranquilly.

The art of tea contained profound Zen principles. During his practice of the tea ceremony, Li Jiudao had gained deep insights and experienced significant changes in his own state of mind.

For any other ordinary person, upon discovering that Lu Liang and the founder of the Falling Cloud Sect were cultivators, they would have undoubtedly shown deep respect and humility, not daring to be presumptuous and maintaining extreme deference.

But Li Jiudao was different. Even though he genuinely wished to befriend cultivators like Lu Liang and the founder of the Falling Cloud Sect, his attitude remained calm and composed. He did not grovel, displaying a sense of equanimity when facing them.

Meow! Luo Shui had finished her fish and her own cultivation realm had surged. The aroma emanating from the burning charcoal intoxicated her, drawing her irresistibly closer.

Her knowledge was broader than the founder of the Falling Cloud Sect, and upon seeing such tea utensils, she was equally astonished. "What kind of tea could be brewed with such tea ware?" She gazed enviously at Lu Liang and the founder of the Falling Cloud Sect.

The situation had now reversed. Previously, Lu Liang and the founder of the Falling Cloud Sect had envied her, but now she envied them.

After boiling water, Li Jiudao picked up the tea pot and washed all the tea utensils thoroughly, giving special attention to the tea pot. He poured out the used water, refilled the pot with fresh water, and placed it on the charcoal burner.

Opening the lid, he placed tea leaves into it and started brewing tea. The tea leaves were vibrant green and tender, appearing as if they had just been freshly picked, with natural patterns adorning the leaves, emitting a faint tea fragrance.

The founder of the Falling Cloud Sect's pupils contracted. These tea leaves were no ordinary ones. "Is this the Enlightenment Tea?" He was deeply moved, and the appearance of the tea leaves resembled the description of the Enlightenment Tea in ancient texts.

It was said that in his youth, the Emperor of Desolation had encountered a treant named Jianmu. He had climbed to the immortal realm with Jianmu's guidance, receiving instructions and teachings from immortals, before descending back to the mortal realm.

The Emperor of Desolation had brought down a batch of tea leaves from the immortal realm, calling it the Enlightenment Tea. He had served it to several famous emperors of that era, who had complained about the Emperor of Desolation's stinginess.

He had torn off only a piece of tea leaf the size of a grain of rice to serve them. However, when they tasted it, they had instantly understood the tea's supreme and transcendent qualities.

Despite being just the size of a grain of rice, it had been enough to brew many servings of tea, and its effects were still incredibly astonishing. They had all gained profound insights into the way of Dao, reaching the pinnacle of their respective paths.

At that time, it had been the most glorious and prosperous era, with the emperors becoming immensely powerful, nearing the realm of immortality, surpassing any other era. "The Emperor of

 Desolation served numerous emperors with only a piece of rice-sized tea leaf, yet the Grandmaster serves three whole tea leaves at once!" The founder of the Falling Cloud Sect didn't know what else to say. He glanced at the tea canister, which still contained many tea leaves—possibly hundreds of them. The Grandmaster was clearly more generous than the Emperor of Desolation. "I'm luckier than those emperors!" he thought in his heart, a silly grin on his face.

Li Jiudao noticed the founder's expression and couldn't help but think that cultivators weren't much different from ordinary people after all. He smiled, feeling equally pleased. In this brutal world of cultivation, making friends with cultivators was indeed a great fortune.