Want to Ascend? Then Fall in Love

Chapter 4 – Immortals Fighting (Flirting Together)

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The jade bottle was fresh and clear, and the bones of the hands attached to the bottle were defined, slender, and neat. 

Gu Jianshen leaned forward slightly, his crimson sleeves rippling up, revealing dark-colored patterns that flickered, and when the vintage wine poured out, it was as if the whole Milky Way had flowed out, a peerlessly beautiful sight.

Shen Qingxian nodded slightly and said politely, “Thank you very much.”

Gu Jianshen’s lips rose, that wisp of a smile filling the whole hall with a thin layer of heat. “Please.”

Shen Qingxian picked up the alcohol cup. His posture was elegant, and his appearance while drinking was also different from that of others; it made it seem as though this wasn’t a scene of drinking an intoxicating thing that made people engage in debauchery, but instead a Taoist ceremony, with immortal winds resounding throughout, dignified, discreet, and sacred.

But as soon as one remembered that this was actually alcohol, that sacredness was covered up with a cloud-like veil, and made people want to tear it down.

The smile in Gu Jianshen’s eyes grew deeper. He put down his cup and filled Shen Qingxian’s again. “What does Your Lordship think? Is the taste still agreeable?”

Shen Qingxian said, “The nectar in the jade bottle has a mellow scent; faint, fragrant, and with a full-bodied bent.”

Gu Jianshen filled his cup again. “You praise it too much.”

In the main hall, the two people were holding cups and talking happily, but underneath, everyone was in pain!

Ye Zhan and the others’ eyes were turning green! The demonic cultivator actually stupidly wanted to get His Lordship drunk!

Jian Lian and the others’ eyes were turning red! This fake, affected Shen White Lotus was actually making His Highness pour him wine himself! And it was even cup after cup!

Then all of them clenched their fists, filled with so much shame that their hearts dripped with blood. 

——It was all because they were so incompetent that they let His Lordship (His Highness) be humiliated like this!

After two drinks in a row, Shen Qingxian was a little worried. The alcohol was good alcohol with excellent flavor, full of spiritual qi, and with unparalleled taste.

But the jade scroll said to share a drink and get drunk with Gu Jianshen.

Gu Jianshen wasn’t drinking, so obviously, he couldn’t complete this task. And also, he couldn’t just drink, but he even had to get drunk, and both of them had to get drunk. 

At their level, alcohol tolerance wasn’t even worth mentioning.

Whether their alcohol tolerance was high or not, only the word “high” was left when your cultivation level was high. 

Even if Shen Qingxian hadn’t drunk a cup of alcohol for thousands of years, he still couldn’t get drunk today, even after a thousand cups. 

If Gu Jianshen was in his place, based on a glance taken at his posture, Shen Qingxian pondered: Even after ten thousand cups, he probably can’t even dream of getting drunk. 

Then what should he do?

Shen Qingxian frowned, and the bleeding hearts of the heavenly dao disciples below clenched in anguish again. 

How can they be so incompetent?! How can they be such wastes?! How can they let their Lord be wronged?!

Not even mentioning Ye Zhan’s utter devotion, Zeng Ziliang, whose personality tended naturally towards causing mishaps, was so distressed that he almost couldn’t breathe anymore. 

But none of them dared not act rashly and destroy His Lordship’s kindheartedness towards them!

Shen Qingxian thought about it and decided to test things out first, to see if just “drinking together” could complete the task. 

Just as Gu Jianshen was about to pour him wine again, Shen Qingxian asked, “Your Majesty isn’t drinking?”

Gu Jianshen paused.

Shen Qingxian touched his cup and said, “With such good wine, it’s better to drink together.”

Gu Jianshen poured himself a cup, raised it, and said, “Since that is Your Lordship’s will, Gu’s obedience is more respectful than politeness.”

Saying that, he raised his head and drank it down in one go, looking wanton and unrestrained. His sleeves slipped inadvertently, revealing pale but strong forearms, which were very eye-catching.

Shen Qingxian smiled as he filled his cup. “Your Majesty is straightforward.”

Gu Jianshen chuckled and drank two cups in a row.

Now it was the Heart Domain’s turn to writhe in agony. 

Shen White Lotus really bullied people too much! Not only did he make His Majesty pour him wine but also made him his drinking companion!

How could he, as a mere mouthpiece for the heavenly dao, dare to be so arrogant and complacent?!

Shen Qingxian had a cup, and then Gu Jianshen had a cup. While toasting each other, the two of them had already drunk numerous bottles. 

The two groups of people below were distressed and anguished, but gradually, some “smart people” started talking. 

For example, Zeng Smartie on the heavenly dao side used a secret message spell to hold a small meeting….

Let’s explain for a moment— the secret message spell couldn’t hide things from their own leaders. 

If Shen Qingxian wanted to hear what Zeng Ziliang, Ye Zhan, and the rest were discussing, he could hear them all clearly.

But under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t listen in. Listening in was an active ability, not passive. After all, there were so many cultivators in the world, and if the big bosses could hear the secret messages being passed between everyone, they’d probably die of exhaustion.

So, as long as there were no special circumstances, Shen Qingxian wouldn’t interfere with their small meeting.

As for Gu Jianshen, he couldn’t hear what Zeng Ziliang and the others were saying, because Shen Qingxian was there, who would throw up a barrier for his family and block outsiders from listening in.

Similarly, Shen Qingxian couldn’t hear the Heart Domain’s people’s small meeting, because Gu Jianshen would help them block him in advance. 

So the small meetings on both sides went smoothly.

Zeng Ziliang: “His Lordship is competing with that demon emperor!”

Ye Zhan said angrily, “What competing? It’s obviously compromising!”

Zeng Ziliang said, “You’re wrong! What kind of person is His Lordship? Although he is refusing to clash directly with that demon emperor out of concern for our safety, isn’t a drinking contest also a kind of test of their cultivation levels?”

Cheng Jing said deeply, “That makes sense.”

The alcohol that cultivators drank was naturally different from that of mortals.

The alcohol brewed by cultivators was full of spiritual qi, and who knew how many times greater its strength was than that of mortal wine.

They all knew that the higher the cultivation level, the better the alcohol tolerance, so essentially, a battle with no smoke was being fought up there. The much anticipated battle between Lord Lianhua and Demon Lord Jiuyuan had already begun!

Whoever got drunk first would be the inferior one!

Even without any bloodshed, as long as the outcome of this battle was certain, it would signify whose cultivation realm was higher!

When Zeng Ziliang said this, everyone in the heavenly dao believed him!

Yes, no problem with that, that was it!

There were smart people on this side, so naturally there would also be “smart” people in the Heart Domain. They also thought in a surprisingly consistent direction, believing that their majesty was using the wine as a metaphor, and was fighting for the dignity of the Heart Domain.

Thinking thus set the blood of both sides on fire, igniting their spirits. 

They don’t know who started it, but in short, someone defiantly drank a cup of wine, and the people seated across from them immediately engaged them in battle. 

They couldn’t let their own Lord (Majesty) fight alone. They should also join the battle!

They couldn’t intervene in a “fight between immortals”, but as underlings, they could still clean the place up.

Ye Zhan had been nursing a bellyful of anger for a long time already; If someone came to provoke them, he would shoulder the responsibility of being the first to attack. His drinking posture was so spirited, no wonder he was the leader of Meridian Temple!

Jian Lian immediately took him up on that challenge. As the chief protector of the Heart Domain, he really didn’t know how to write the word “lose”!

On the platform, the two big bosses were “getting down to business”, while in the hall, the forces of both sides also began to compete.

For a period, it seemed like they really were passionately discussing the dao….

After three days and three nights, Shen Qingxian and Gu Jianshen did not show even a hint of drunkenness, but all the people below had already fallen over. 

Judging from the battle record, it was hard to say who had won or lost. After all, they had all fallen to their knees, so six of one couldn’t laugh at half a dozen of the other. 

Shen Qingxian looked at the jade scroll and sighed a little. He knew that it wouldn’t do anything if they didn’t get drunk. 

But how to get both of them drunk…

How could they both get drunk?

Gu Jianshen said, “Your Lordship has a high alcohol tolerance.”

Shen Qingxian replied, “It’s not actually good to have a high alcohol tolerance.” For example, at the moment, he couldn’t get drunk even if he wanted to get drunk. 

Gu Jianshen asked meaningfully, “Does Your Lordship want to get drunk?”

Shen Qingxian asked him in return, “Does Your Majesty want to?”

Gu Jianshen said, “It’s a beautiful thing to meet a confidant and get drunk together.”

Shen Qingxian smiled at him. “A confidant?”

Gu Jianshen asked, “Shishu then?”

“Fine then,” Shen Qingxian said lightly, “Confidant it is then.”

Both of them had hidden meanings in their words. 

It was true that given their level, it wasn’t easy to get drunk, but it was still possible. 

A high cultivation level naturally shielded one from the effects of alcohol, but if you suppressed your cultivation, the strength of this spirit wine could still make people feel as if they were walking on air.

But suppressing their cultivation now became the key issue.

Who would suppress it first? How would they suppress it? Why should they suppress it? After suppressing it, then what?

Shen Qingxian was doing this for the jade scroll, but why would Gu Jianshen do it?

If Shen Qingxian really got drunk, what would Gu Jianshen do?

Clearly, he was a ruthlessly ambitious wolf. 

So Shen Qingxian couldn’t get drunk. If he really got drunk, forget about repairing the heavenly ladder, this evil Heart Domain wolf would devour him first. 

They were just exchanging polite words. 

But… In fact, both of them really wanted to get drunk.

Unfortunately, without that iron bond that confidants shared between them, they weren’t at the point where they could get drunk together.

There was also no point in continuing to drink like this; all the disciples below had fallen asleep while “discussing” things, and it would be really too inhumane to continue this “discussion.”

Just leave like this? Of course not.

The jade scroll had given Shen Qingxian four tasks, and he had only completed the first one.

The last one about not having a killing intent towards him, he’d just ignore for now. The second one couldn’t be completed at the moment, then the third one… Traveling through the Astral Sea and Final Ashes with Gu Jianshen, that seemed worth a try?

As if their hearts were in sync, Shen Qingxian put down his cup, and Gu Jianshen also put his down.

Shen Qingxian suggested, “Let’s go out for a walk?”

Gu Jianshen replied, “Alright.”

Although he really didn’t like this disciple who went against everything and only followed the path of the heart, when they were talking, he had come across as so informed and knowledgeable that Shen Qingxian’s dislike unexpectedly faded a bit. 

It was hard to get drunk together, but it was also not a simple thing to travel through the Final Ashes and Astral Sea together.

First of all… It was no problem to travel together, but the Final Ashes and Astral Sea were huge. How far exactly did they have to travel?

And which one would they travel to first?

The Astral Sea was partial towards the heavenly dao, and the Final Ashes was subordinate to the Heart Domain. Shen Qingxian hadn’t arranged any traps in the Astral Sea, but what about Gu Jianshen?

Shen Qingxian had no choice but to defend himself.

The two of them stood at the border, and Gu Jianshen was surprisingly open-minded. “Let’s go to the Astral Sea first ba.”

Shen Qingxian glanced at him: “Your Majesty…”

Gu Jianshen also looked at him. “En?”

Shen Qingxian’s light eyes were full of deep meaning. “You’re not worried about hidden arrows beneath this deep blue?”

Gu Jianshen asked quite frankly, “Your Lordship wants to kill me?”

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The author has something to say:

Don’t worry, Your Majesty. How is His Lordship going to kill you? He’s even going to undress for you [hiding my eyes].

Thank you.