139: Chapter 139 The Gift of Fire to the Little Chef
Originally, Ning Yuan felt he had lost out. After all, that lotus could increase cultivation speed and temper spiritual power, making it more robust; it was an unattainable treasure.
But after understanding everything, Ning Yuan realized he had been narrow-minded. He shouldn't have doubted the System or suspected that this fire was inferior to the lotus.
Although the azure sea lotus heart fire was only at the level of a Grade One spiritual fire, it possessed infinite growth potential. In other words, its upper limit was not Grade Six!
Only by refining it would it improve along with the master's cultivation. As long as the master's cultivation level continued to Breakthrough, it wasn't impossible for it to even become a Grade Nine spiritual fire.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Grade Nine spiritual fires in this world were as rare as Phoenix feathers or unicorn horns. Now that an azure sea lotus heart fire with the potential to become a Grade Nine spiritual fire had appeared, even a Mahayana Cultivator would likely be tempted.
Its value was immeasurable!
However, it didn't have much of an effect on Ning Yuan and was something he could do with or without.
Firstly, he was a Sword Cultivator, and this fire did not align with his path of cultivation.
Secondly, the Extreme Yang Fire and the azure sea lotus heart fire possessed the same ability: both could improve as his cultivation level increased.
Therefore, Ning Yuan had no use for this fire, but someone else could!
*Swish!*
With a thought from Ning Yuan, a slender figure appeared before him. Before she could react, Ning Yuan reached out and pulled her into his embrace, causing her to let out a startled cry.
"Ah, what are you doing? I was in the middle of cooking!"
Tang Jingyi looked at the man before her with resentful eyes. This sudden move had nearly scared her to death. Fortunately, she immediately realized whose handiwork this was.
"I missed you, so I brought you out to keep me company!" Ning Yuan shifted his body slightly on the lounge chair to make room for Tang Jingyi.
"Bah, lying to me again! With so many women, can you even remember me?" Tang Jingyi didn't believe his act; she had already witnessed Ning Yuan's sweet talk.
Ning Yuan shook his head and sighed, "Sigh, I didn't expect you to think of me this way. To think I even prepared a gift for you! Since that's the case, I won't give it to you!"
"A gift?"
Tang Jingyi's eyes immediately lit up. She knew about this; The rest of The women had all received jewelry from Ning Yuan, and he had even made it himself, which made it extraordinarily meaningful!
Was he going to give her one too?
Tang Jingyi urged, "Then hurry up and take it out?"
"But someone just said I don't remember her, so this makes things difficult for me!" Ning Yuan said, putting on an act.
Hearing Ning Yuan's Yin and Yang sarcasm, Tang Jingyi's feisty streak immediately surfaced. She had kept her promise, and she already belonged to him, yet he was still teasing her here—this was more than she could bear!
"If you won't give it to me, I don't even want it! I must have been blind to take a liking to you!"
"I shouldn't have believed your lies back then; I should have stayed on Triangle Island to fend for myself!"
"You Big Pig Trotter, you Heartless man!"
"..."
Tang Jingyi's little mouth chattered incessantly, leaving Ning Yuan no room to talk back, which made lines of frustration appear on his forehead.
Back at Shuxin Pavilion, when he saw her scolding those thugs, he had been happily watching the show. How long had it been, and now it was his turn?
Ning Yuan immediately reached his limit; there was no need to endure any longer!
"Ah, you want..."
He immediately flipped over and pinned Tang Jingyi beneath him. Amidst her startled cries, he directly kissed that chattering little mouth, and his ears were instantly at peace.
*Rip~ Rip~*
Thus, a wicked impulse rose in Ning Yuan's heart. With extremely rough movements, he... dealt with Tang Jingyi right then and there.
The cloud command boat also swayed incessantly under the vigorous movement... Inside a room on the cloud command boat.
Tang Jingyi lay weakly in Ning Yuan's arms, unable to lift even a single finger, her eyes glaring fiercely at the villain before her.
He really didn't treat her like a human being, pressing her down and tormenting her mercilessly. Even though she had begged for mercy, he still wouldn't let her go, instead becoming even more aggressive and pushing his luck!
If she weren't a Cultivator, she might have died in bed.
*Poof!*
Ning Yuan flipped his hand over, and the azure sea lotus heart fire appeared in his palm. He gestured toward Tang Jingyi and smiled:
"This fire is the gift I'm giving you. Do you still want it now?"
Looking at the flame before her, Tang Jingyi couldn't help but widen her beautiful eyes, her breathing quickening slightly. But then, doubt inevitably arose in her heart:
"Is this... the azure sea lotus heart fire? Didn't they say it flew away? What's going on?"
"Hehe, it was just good luck! That lotus still had a trace of fire left, so I collected it!" Ning Yuan explained with a chuckle. He had long anticipated this scene, so he had already prepared an excuse. He then continued:
"Then I used my own Extreme Yang Fire to nurture it a little!"
It was true that the lotus had a trace of fire left, but saying he nurtured it himself was naturally a lie; it was just a story he made up.
Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain once Tao Yao noticed.
When the grade of the azure sea lotus heart fire increased in the future, he could also say it had been tainted by the characteristics of the Extreme Yang Fire. It was simply perfect!
Tang Jingyi suddenly understood. So that was how this fire was obtained. Seeing that her doubts were cleared, she naturally wouldn't refuse and snorted:
"Hmph! At least you still have a bit of a conscience!"
"Naturally! Come, I'll help you refine it!" Ning Yuan said as if it were a matter of course. He then helped Tang Jingyi up and tucked the fire into Tang Jingyi's Dantian.
Seeing this, Tang Jingyi began to circulate spiritual power to refine the azure sea lotus heart fire. First, she wrapped it in a large amount of spiritual power, then branded it with her own Soul imprint. Finally, she just needed to establish a connection with it, and the task would be complete.
Because the fire was weak, it could not resist Tang Jingyi's refinement. Thus, the process went extremely smoothly and was successful without much effort.
If she were facing a Grade Six azure sea lotus heart fire, refining it like this would have turned her into ash long ago. How could it possibly be this easy and comfortable?
With the successful refinement, Tang Jingyi slowly opened her eyes. A faint blue-green flame flickered within her pupils, but it vanished in an instant, clearly having been restrained by her.
"Mm, very good! You can use this fire for cooking in the future; I imagine it will yield twice the result with half the effort!" Seeing that Tang Jingyi had finished the refinement, Ning Yuan nodded with satisfaction.
Then, with a thought, a Jade Slip appeared in his hand. He handed it to Tang Jingyi and explained:
"This is the Grade Six Cultivation Technique, 'Myriad Spirits Fire Control Art.' By cultivating this technique, the spiritual fire can exert its greatest power!"
"And what else?" Tang Jingyi put away the Jade Slip. Seeing that Ning Yuan had no follow-up, her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she asked with some dissatisfaction.
"What else?" Ning Yuan asked back in confusion.
Tang Jingyi said loudly, "Don't play dumb with me here! Hurry up and give me the thing, or else you'll be in trouble!"
Ning Yuan was startled. He had given her everything, and he hadn't left anything out, so why was she still asking him for something?
*Ding!*
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck, and Ning Yuan realized what Tang Jingyi was talking about. However, he couldn't give it to her so easily; he was very vengeful!
"Hehe, you want the thing? You'll have to pay a price!" Ning Yuan chuckled mischievously and pounced toward Tang Jingyi... "No... don't! I've only just recovered a bit... mmm mmm..."
"..."