As he watched the blissful expressions on the Fire Emperor's and Willow Deity's faces,
a wicked grin crept onto Shi Teng's lips. "Your Majesty, how was the wine?"
The Fire Emperor nodded gently and offered his verdict. "Not bad. Clear and translucent, rich and mellow!"
Shi Teng continued, "Then shall we settle the marriage between my little brother and Huo Ling'er?"
The Fire Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, clear astonishment appearing on his face. "Your little brother? Is he an idiot? Does he need his older brother to find him a wife?"
Shi Teng's expression twitched, and he muttered softly, "Your little brother is the idiot. If I hadn't seen the heart-wrenching, world-shaking romance between Shi Hao and Huo Ling'er in Perfect World, I wouldn't have bothered bringing them together.
My little brother is the Desolate Heaven Emperor, who will stand alone in judgment over all eternity. How could he ever lack women?"
The Fire Emperor half closed his eyes and said in a low voice, "Boy, what are you muttering about?
I think you're rather promising. You even seem to possess some special constitution. If you married into the Fire Kingdom, I could consider it. Anyone else is out of the question!"
Shi Teng snorted. "You drank the wine, and only now do you say no? Isn't that shameless?"
The Fire Emperor nodded slightly, strands of imperial majesty flashing between his brows.
"Indeed, wine from the Mystic Yellow Domain counts as a peerless vintage even here in the Desolate Region. Naturally, I won't drink your wine for nothing!"
The Fire Emperor waved his right hand, and a fiery-red scroll immediately flew toward Shi Teng.
Crimson flames flickered around it, and countless ancient characters appeared upon its surface, wrapped in strands of golden light.
Profound and archaic,
it seemed to have come from the distant past, containing mighty fire-element power.
Shi Teng reached out with his right hand and caught the scroll.
It felt slightly hot to the touch, as though a warm current surged straight into his heart, instantly setting the blood throughout his body ablaze.
"This is the Fire Emperor's Edict, written by my own hand. With it, you may have me act on your behalf once!"
Shi Teng fell silent for a moment. The Great Wilderness was perilous, and there was no telling how many powerful foes lay ahead: the Rain Emperor, Demon Spirit Lake, the Golden Spider Venerable, the Azure Phoenix Venerable. Any one of them could take his miserable life.
He gripped the Fire Emperor's Edict and nodded slightly. "Fine, then. It's a deal!"
The Fire Emperor raised his cup and sniffed it again, his craving plain. "Boy, do you have any more? Give me another cup!"
Shi Teng lifted his head, an arrogant look appearing on his face.
"No more. You said it yourself: this is wine from the Mystic Yellow Domain, a peerless vintage even in the Desolate Region. How could I have so much of it?"
The Fire Emperor said no more and stood up, speaking in a low voice. "Boy, bring Ling'er out. It's time I took her home.
If her mother gets angry, the entire Desolate Region will tremble!"
Shi Teng's eyes flickered. Could Huo Ling'er's mother also be a peerless Venerable? The novel didn't seem to mention anything about that.
With a few leaps, Shi Teng returned to the stone house and carried Huo Ling'er out.
The Fire Emperor carefully took Huo Ling'er into his arms, his face brimming with fatherly affection as he gazed at her flushed little cheeks.
Then he bowed to Willow Deity once more.
He transformed into a streak of fiery light and vanished into the horizon.
Shi Teng looked up at the sky, his face full of envy, and nodded thoughtfully. The Venerable Realm truly was formidable.
Watching the Fire Emperor leave, Shi Teng lightly tossed the Fire Emperor's Edict in his hand, a sly grin appearing on his face. "Sister Willow Deity, you're so powerful and venerable. How can you be so slow to take a hint?"
Willow Deity looked utterly puzzled, not knowing what Shi Teng meant.
"The Fire Emperor gave me a Fire Emperor's Edict after drinking one cup of my wine. Shouldn't you offer something too?"
Willow Deity could not help coughing twice. "Boy, how can you be so ungrateful? I gave you the Five Emperors Great Demon Divine Ability! Its value far surpasses the Fire Emperor's Edict. It will benefit you for life!"
Shi Teng continued, "That divine ability was for the last bottle of wine. What about the wine you just drank? Surely you can't drink it for free!"
Willow Deity nearly spat blood in anger. "You're not very big, but you certainly have a huge appetite. Aren't you afraid of stuffing yourself until you burst?
I've already drunk the wine, so I can only accept my loss.
Since I've already given you the Five Emperors Great Demon Divine Ability, your big sister will lend you another hand!"
An emerald branch stirred, and a small white bottle flew out of the withered willow trunk.
"This is Wood-Attribute Concentrated Spirit Liquid. One drop is equivalent to all the wood-attribute spiritual energy within ten thousand li. It will be enough for you to reach minor mastery of the Azure Emperor Wood Sovereign Art!"
Delight appeared on Shi Teng's face. "You had something this good and kept it hidden? Why didn't you bring it out sooner? Do you have any more? Give me a bit extra, and I'll cultivate the Azure Emperor Wood Sovereign Art straight to major mastery!"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Truly, human greed was like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. This boy still did not know how to be satisfied!
"I'm already gravely wounded, with less than one ten-thousandth of my strength at my peak. You should be content that I can give you even one bottle of Wood-Attribute Concentrated Spirit Liquid!"
Shi Teng rubbed the back of his head, sat cross-legged, and swallowed the emerald wood-attribute spirit liquid in the little bottle in one gulp.
In the blink of an eye,
Shi Teng felt vitality bloom throughout his body. Every cell seemed to spring to life, gulping down the wood-attribute spirit liquid.
At the same time, Shi Teng activated the Azure Emperor Wood Sovereign Art again, and the surrounding spiritual energy streamed into his cave heaven.
The dense wood-attribute spiritual energy dyed the entire sky green.
The gathering masses of wood-attribute true qi also attracted many wood-attribute Fierce Beasts.
Nearly a hundred Fierce Beasts gathered outside Stone Village: Golden-Backed Azure Wolves, Sky Azure Bull Pythons, Thousand-Handed Locust Trees...
But upon sensing Willow Deity's aura, they did not dare advance an inch.
The surrounding wood-attribute spiritual energy continued gathering in great quantities, constantly flowing into Shi Teng's first cave heaven.
He drained all the wood-attribute spiritual energy in Stone Village dry.
The crops planted nearby withered instantly.
Yet Shi Teng showed no sign of stopping.
Even Willow Deity was shocked. It seemed Shi Teng's potential had been underestimated, for him to cause such a tremendous disturbance.
The surrounding wood-attribute spiritual energy had been exhausted, yet Shi Teng still had not reached minor mastery of the Azure Emperor Wood Sovereign Art.
Looking at the hundreds of wood-attribute Fierce Beasts outside the village,
Willow Deity said in a low voice, "Your big sister will lend you another hand!"
Emerald branches swept across the air. Hundreds of Fierce Beasts from the Great Wilderness instantly shattered into fragments, which condensed into an emerald wood-attribute sphere and slammed into Shi Teng's first cave heaven.
Shi Teng's entire body blazed once more as the Azure Emperor Wood Sovereign Art surged ceaselessly.
As Shi Teng's first cave heaven gradually stilled, his expression slowly relaxed as well.
"Azure Emperor Wood Sovereign Rain!"
A fine emerald rain showered down over all of Stone Village. The plants Shi Teng had just drained dry instantly revived, and crops that had only just grown ripened on the spot.
Several spirit herbs the Old Chief had planted even became ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs.
Spiritual energy filled Stone Village, and everyone stood in the square, basking in the Azure Emperor Wood Sovereign Rain.
Willow Deity's emerald branches trembled slightly, and faint sparks of vitality radiated from the withered trunk.
A delighted expression appeared on Willow Deity's face. "As expected of a supreme divine ability from the primordial age. Truly formidable!"
Shi Teng was also overjoyed. "Thank you for helping me, Sister Willow Deity!"
Willow Deity said nothing more, merely nodding slightly.
The Five Emperors Great Demon Divine Ability was a supreme divine ability from the primordial age. How could just anyone successfully cultivate it?
First, one had to begin cultivating the power of the five elements from the Cave Heaven Realm onward.
Second, it demanded extraordinary talent. The body had to be capable of absorbing all five elements-wood, water, fire, earth, and metal-at once.
Ordinary people could absorb only one element, or two at most.
Those capable of absorbing all five elements at once were exceedingly rare, not even one in ten thousand.
Willow Deity had passed the Five Emperors Great Demon Divine Ability on to Shi Teng precisely because of his aptitude.
Before you continue