Mortal: I have a Spirit Gathering Cauldron

The journey to the forbidden area has finally come to an end.

By the time we returned to Yellow Maple Valley, it was getting late.

Lin Feng didn't exchange pleasantries with anyone. He walked straight through the outer disciple area and headed towards his secluded little attic.

As I pushed open the door, a familiar musty smell hit me.

The wooden hut, less than ten square meters in size, contained a wooden bed, a wooden table, and wooden chairs, and was as simple as a woodshed. But Lin Feng felt a special sense of familiarity with it.

He closed the door, stuck a soundproof sign on the back of it, and then collapsed onto the bed.

"They survived."

Lin Feng stared at the ceiling and let out a long breath.

They spent only ten days or so in the forbidden area, but every day was fraught with danger. They killed disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect, rescued Chen Qiaoqian, encountered Han Tianya, blocked the gate to collect spiritual herbs, and finally fled in panic through the passage. Every step was fraught with peril; a single misstep could lead to utter destruction.

Fortunately, he made it through.

Not only did they finish the journey, they did it quite beautifully.

Lin Feng rolled over and buried his face in the hard pillow. All he wanted to do now was sleep, nothing else.

He slept for a full twelve hours.

Lin Feng didn't wake up until dusk the next day.

The sky outside the window was already dark, and a few spirit lamps shone on the main peak of Yellow Maple Valley in the distance, like stars hanging in the night sky. He sat up, stretched his somewhat stiff body, and then sat cross-legged on the bed, beginning to sort out the gains from this forbidden area trip.

The items in the storage bag were laid out one by one.

First, there's the elixir.

These were all relatively young medicinal herbs. Polygonatum, Ganoderma lucidum, Polygonum multiflorum… a complete range of varieties, all of excellent quality. He had collected these herbs himself in the forbidden area; although they weren't very old, a thief can't leave empty-handed, so something was better than nothing.

Then come the ritual implements.

Lin Feng laid out the newly acquired magical artifacts one by one on the ground.

The few high-grade flying swords and shields are all ordinary items and not very useful. I'll buy them later when I have the chance.

Then, he took out a flying needle as thin as a cow's hair from his storage bag.

This is the one we seized from Su Wan; its tip gleams with a ghostly light. The flying needle itself is merely a high-grade magic weapon, but its strength lies in its excellent concealment, making it perfect for ambushing and scheming.

"Good stuff." Lin Feng carefully put the flying needle away.

He hadn't had a suitable method of sneak attack until now. This flying needle, as thin as a hair, with barely perceptible spiritual energy fluctuations, was a truly deadly weapon for ambushing.

"It's a pity it's only a high-grade one," Lin Feng shook his head. "After I reach the Foundation Establishment stage, I'll see if I can find the blueprint for a top-grade flying needle magic weapon and forge one myself."

After taking inventory of the magical artifacts, Lin Feng began tidying up other miscellaneous items.

Spirit stones: twelve mid-grade spirit stones and over three thousand low-grade spirit stones. Most of them were found in the storage bags of Zhao Heng and the other disciples of Huadaowu.

Pills: Several bottles of common Huanglong Pills and Jinsui Pills, and a number of other miscellaneous healing and detoxifying pills.

Talismans: Several low-level talismans of various kinds.

"The harvest is not bad." Lin Feng put everything back into his storage bag, feeling more at ease.

He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.

A night breeze blew in, carrying the fresh scent of mountain grass and trees. On the distant main peak, the spirit lamp still burned, illuminating the entire mountain.

Lin Feng took a deep breath and mentally planned his next move.

First, one must improve one's cultivation level.

He is currently at the twelfth level of Qi Refining, one level away from the Great Perfection. Unlike Old Demon Han, who has an unlimited supply of Foundation Establishment Pills and started consuming them at the eleventh level of Qi Refining to build his foundation.

He planned to use the premium Yellow Dragon Pill to raise his cultivation to the thirteenth level of Qi Refining. After the experience of the forbidden area, he could feel that there was no bottleneck left, and he only needed to accumulate mana.

Then use the Spirit Gathering Cauldron to upgrade the Foundation Establishment Pill, increasing its medicinal power by three levels. Five Foundation Establishment Pills should be enough for you to successfully establish your foundation.

Lin Feng clenched his fist, turned around and went back to the bed, sat cross-legged, swallowed a premium Yellow Dragon Pill, and began to cultivate.

three days later.

Lin Feng was cultivating at his residence when a Foundation Establishment stage manager approached him.

"Lin Feng?" The manager stood outside the door, holding a roster in his hand, his face expressionless.

Lin Feng stood up and clasped his hands in greeting: "It is indeed your disciple."

"Come with me."

The manager didn't explain further and turned to leave. Lin Feng followed behind, puzzled.

The two walked all the way to the main hall of the sect's main peak. The steward pushed open the door of a side hall and gestured for Lin Feng to go in.

The side hall was small, containing only a table and a chair. On the table was a jade plate with five small porcelain bottles neatly arranged on it.

"This is your reward from the sect." The steward pointed to the jade plate on the table. "Five Foundation Establishment Pills. Keep them safe."

Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat.

Five Foundation Establishment Pills?

He didn't expect the sect's rewards to be distributed so quickly; he thought it would take a month or two.

"Thank you, sect, thank you, steward." Lin Feng quickly clasped his hands in thanks.

The steward waved his hand dismissively, saying, "No need to thank me. You performed well in the forbidden area, bringing honor to Yellow Maple Valley. This is what you deserve."

"Disciple understands." Lin Feng put the five porcelain bottles into his storage bag.

The manager nodded and turned to leave.

Lin Feng stood there, watching the manager's figure disappear outside the door, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

After returning to his attic, Lin Feng packed his belongings and then went back to the familiar depths of the mine to begin his seclusion.

He chose a corner deep within the mine, rich in spiritual energy, and spent another day setting up a basic spirit-gathering array. Mid-grade spirit stones were embedded into the array's core, and once the array patterns were inscribed, the spiritual energy concentration instantly more than doubled.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the Spirit Gathering Array, took out a porcelain bottle from his storage bag, poured out a high-quality Yellow Dragon Pill, and swallowed it.

Once the elixir enters the abdomen, its warm medicinal power spreads through the meridians, transforming into pure spiritual energy that flows into the dantian.

Lin Feng closed his eyes and activated the Qi circulation route of the "Neiyuan Chapter," guiding spiritual energy to flow through his meridians.

The spiritual energy gradually increased in the dantian, like water being poured into a water tank, slowly but continuously.

Lin Feng took a premium Yellow Dragon Pill every few days, circulating his cultivation technique to refine the medicinal power. The Spirit Gathering Array operated day and night, continuously drawing spiritual energy from the depths of the mine into his body, complementing the medicinal power.

At the same time, the Spirit Gathering Cauldron in front of him was continuously strengthening the newly acquired Foundation Establishment Pills and other materials.

The days of cultivation were both tedious and fulfilling.

There was no fighting, no scheming, no life-or-death struggle. Only the sound of spiritual energy surging through the meridians and the slight hum of the spirit-gathering array.

Lin Feng really liked this feeling.

A month later.

Lin Feng's spiritual power was already close to the peak of the twelfth level of Qi Refining, and he was only one step away from breaking through.

"It's time for a breakthrough."

Lin Feng took a deep breath, took out a high-quality Yellow Dragon Pill and swallowed it, then circulated his cultivation technique, guiding his spiritual power toward the bottleneck of the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

There was no resistance.

The spiritual energy surged through the bottleneck like a tide, and the dantian expanded suddenly, its capacity nearly doubling. The meridians also became wider and stronger, and the spiritual energy flowed smoothly and freely, without any stagnation.

Qi Refining Level 13.

Lin Feng opened his eyes, a glint of shrewdness flashing within them.

"It's done."

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging spiritual energy within his body. The spiritual energy at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining was nearly 30% stronger than at the twelfth level. If he were to encounter someone like Zhao Heng again now, he wouldn't need any talismans; he could crush him head-on with just his Wind-Breaking Spear.

"After consolidating my strength, I can go out and break through," Lin Feng murmured.

Deep within the mine, the spirit-gathering array glowed faintly, and spiritual energy surged.

Lin Feng's figure appeared and disappeared within the formation, like an old monk in deep meditation.