Tale of the Lotus Heart

As Aivi's body started to disintegrate in my arm. I pointed my index and middle finger at her head and moved her essence and consciousness to the lotus heart. The same thing that got her killed would be the thing to save her life. With the lotus heart, Aivi could be reborn as an immortal. After two miserable self-sacrificing mortal reincarnations, I was determined not to make the same mistake twice. I wouldn't let Aivi die.

"Yong!" I heard Tase call for me as I finished putting Aivi's essence and thoughts into the lotus heart. I didn't have time to talk to Tase. My tears still flowed freely as Aivi's body completely disappeared into dust. Luckily I made the transfer in time. I made a circle with my hands, then fingers before pushing my palm towards the crystal pink lotus heart. I pushed all of my energy into concealing the way lotus heart until it finally turned into a seed. I stood as I held the seed gently in my hand. I turned to Tase's worried face before wiping the tears off of my face.

"Quickly, we have to get to the Heavenly Realm," I said before jumping off, into the sky. With Tase right behind me, we flew start to the Heavenly Palace gates. The guards recognized me and bowed out of respect, but I was in a hurry. I went straight to my Serenity Palace and to my room. The maids that were bustling around greeted me, but I was running out of time.

"Go get me a glazed jade jar, water from the pond of happiness, and the pearl of life. The rest of you are dismissed," I said quickly. They left before I placed the send on the table. I enforced the concealment formation again before pushing all of my energy into it. I could still feel Aivi's essence inside. After a few minutes, my items arrived. I poured the water into the glazed jade jar and dropped the pearl in before melting it to be absorbed by the water. I carefully placed the seed in the jar as well before pushing my internal energy into the seed.

"Crown Prince of Heaven, if you continue to push yourself like this, you'll lose at least half of your 30,000 years of cultivation," one of the maids warned.

"I'm willing to part with it," I said quickly as I continued to push my energy into the seed. Once I felt the seed stabilize, I stopped with a sigh. It worked. The Lotus Heart was concealed and Aivi was stable for now. I could finally relax a little bit.

"From now on, only call me 'lord' inside my Serenity Palace walls. No one is to utter the words 'Crown Prince of Heaven'. Understood?" I ordered.

"Yes," my maids obeyed. Tase ran in out of breath and back in his normal garbs.

"Yong, Royal Father heard you were back. He wants an audience with you," Tase informed me. I sighed before taking the disguise concealment off of myself. My hair was pulled up in a half up style with the rest of my hair hanging down to my lower back. I was dressed in my royal blue and white robes once again.

"I'll go see him now," I answered Tase. I walked to the main hall of the palace before entering. It was still the same as I remembered. The seats provided on either side of the massive hall were empty as the sky served as a roof to the hall. At the end of theblong walkway, my Royal Father and Mother sat on exquisitely designed golden thrones. My mother smiled at the sight of me while my father kept the same stone face he always wore. I put my hands together in front of me before bowing.

"Crown Prince Yong greets his Royal father and Mother," I said diplomatically.

"I don't know what brought you back in such a hurry, but I'm assuming your done playing around in the Mortal Realm. Now that you're done playing, it's time you shoulder some of my burden and start learning about the duties of a Crown Prince," my father said.

"Royal Father, I came across an ancient demon in the Mortal Realm by accident. I was caught unprepared, and it caused me to lose half of my cultivation," I lied easily.

"My baby, are you alright?" My mother asked worriedly.

"I'm okay, Royal Mother. I vanquished the beast in the end, but my cultivation was severely damaged. I may need time to recuperate and strengthen my cultivation," I gave myself an out. In truth, I hated being the Crown Prince. I was expected to bear all responsibilities of the three realms with an iron fist and unbreakable will. I still preferred being carefree over being the Crown Prince of Heaven. My father forced out a spell and floated a spirit egg my way.

"Since your cultivation was hurt protecting the Mortal Realm, take this 30,000 year spirit egg as compensation. Eat it to restore your internal energy and cultivate well in seclusion for 10,000 years. That should bring your cultivation up to 55,000 years. Next time your up against an ancient demon, they won't be able to take you by surprise again. You're the Crown Prince of Heaven, you should always be weary of your surroundings," my father lectured me.

"Thank you for tour grace, Royal Father. I will remember your teachings," I thanked him as I bowed. My father waved me away, so I left. Going back to my Serenity Palace, my maids surrounded the glazed jar as they tried to see what was inside.

"Back away from that," I warned them. The bowed and stood in a line in the middle of my floor.

"My lord, what was it you were trying to rescue?" My fairy, Ixia asked. All of my maids were fairies: low ranking cultivating immortals. I smiled gently at the jar as I touched it gently.

"I'm helping cultivate another floral fairy. She should be able to transform into her human form by the time I come back," I answered.

"My lord, where are you going? You just came back," my fairy, Willow partially whined. Tase ran in at that moment.

"So, what did Royal Father say?" Tase asked.

"I told him I lost half of my cultivation fighting an ancient demon in the Mortal Realm. He ordered me to eat a spirit egg and cultivate for 10,000 years. Tase, I'm going to need your help. Aivi is stable, but she's going to need external energy from someone every day until her flower blooms. Then she should be able to slowly cultivate her human form, but I have to go into seclusion. Will you take care of her for me?" I pleaded.

"It's rare of you to ask me a favor, brother," Tase noted.

"You know how important this is to me. I'm trusting you to take care of her," I practically begged. Tase sighed before picking up the jar gently.

"Leave her to me," Tase finally agreed.