Guang Ming Shi Piao teapot

By the medicine cauldron in Clear Void Temple, there always sat a stone gourd teapot. Its body was deep purple, yet its surface seemed veiled in moonlight. Carved on the base were three ancient characters: "Guang Ming Piao"—the Radiant Gourd.

A Chen, the new young acolyte, couldn’t help sneaking glances at it. His master said it was a magical artifact left by the temple’s founder three centuries ago, but aside from floating half an inch above the table every dawn, it looked unremarkable.

That changed when A Chen botched his cultivation, his dantian burning like fire. Frantic, he grabbed the Radiant Gourd, intending to pour cool tea to soothe the pain. Instead, a golden glow gushed from the spout, streaming down his throat straight to his dantian.

"Is this... gathering spiritual energy?" A Chen jumped in shock. The Radiant Gourd trembled gently in his palm, its surface blooming with fine lines like star trails in the night sky.

His master entered just then, stroking his beard with a sigh. "At last, it has chosen. This pot recognizes hearts, not cultivation levels."

The teapot’s secret lay inside its lid. When A Chen lifted it, he found a crescent-shaped warm jade embedded there, its swirling light identical to the golden glow he’d swallowed.

"Our founder wrapped spiritual jade in purple clay and fired it for forty-nine days," his master said, gesturing to the teapot. "See its stone gourd shape? The shoulders stand sharp as a sword’s ridge, the spout straight as a brush’s tip—all to lock in spiritual energy, never letting it leak."

A Chen tried adding water to the pot. As soon as he closed the lid, steam curled from the gap, condensing into two characters in the air: "Clear Heart." He understood then: this was no mere teapot, but a mirror for cultivation—an unquiet heart clouds the water; an insincere will scatters the spirit.

Three days later, a thousand-year fox demon attacked the mountain. A Chen clutched the Radiant Gourd, steadying his nerves. In an instant, the pot erupted in a golden light ten feet wide. The spiritual water shooting from its spout turned to ice shards, freezing the demon’s aura into crystal.

After the fox fled, A Chen noticed a faint white streak on the pot’s deep purple surface, like snow dusting a plum blossom. His master smiled. "It’s cultivating alongside you."

Moonlight spilled into the cauldron, making the Radiant Gourd glow softer still. A Chen realized then: true magic lies not in power, but in that moment when artifact and heart beat as one—just like this gourd, which holds both tea and the boundless radiance of heaven and earth.

Guang Ming Shi Piao, 250cc, Duan clay