Mortal: I have a Spirit Gathering Cauldron

When Lin Feng awoke from his meditation, it was already dusk outside the window.

They sat there for a full day and night.

The spiritual energy of the fourth level of Qi Refining surged through his meridians, its depth more than double that of the third level. His dantian, after this breakthrough, had expanded considerably, and the flow of spiritual energy was now completely unimpeded. Following the path of the "Nourishing Essence" chapter, he completed thirty-six major cycles, thoroughly solidifying his cultivation level.

"Cultivation knows no bounds, and the passing of years is unknowable." Lin Feng stretched, feeling a slight hunger pang in his stomach.

He was in the mid-stage of Qi Refining, not yet at the level of Abstinence from Grains. He took out an Abstinence Pill, a standard item for outer sect disciples, and popped it into his mouth. The taste was as bland as compressed biscuits from his previous life. Although it was hard to swallow, at least it could fill his stomach.

After the meal, he habitually looked inward at his dantian to check his cultivation level.

Upon seeing this, Lin Feng's pupils suddenly contracted.

At the core of the vortex of spiritual energy in the center of the dantian, an object was clearly suspended.

It was a small cauldron.

Its entire body was dark blue-green, only the size of a thumb, and its surface was engraved with dense, mysterious patterns, exuding an aura of primordial chaos. It floated quietly in the center of the vortex, slowly rotating, as if it had always been there.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat. He remembered clearly that this place was completely empty before his breakthrough. Could it be an anomaly that occurred during his breakthrough? Or had it been lurking all along, but his divine sense was too weak to detect it before?

He cautiously extended his divine sense over there.

The small tripod remained unresponsive, as silent as a stone.

"..."

Lin Feng was stunned for a moment, then cursed inwardly, "No instruction manual?"

In his previous life, as a seasoned online novel reader, he had seen all sorts of cheat codes, such as old grandfathers, systems, and inheritances. This thing looked exactly like a cheat code.

"Alright, since we're here, we might as well make the best of it and figure it out ourselves."

His previous profession was a programmer, and he was best at dealing with black boxes. Deducing internal logic from inputs and outputs was second nature to him. Since it was located in his dantian, it couldn't possibly be just an ornament.

Lin Feng began conducting the test.

He first used his divine sense to guide the small cauldron, attempting to move it out of his body. The cauldron trembled slightly, and in the next instant, it appeared directly in front of him, transforming into a simple, ancient cauldron about two feet tall and half a zhang in diameter.

"They actually managed to get out."

Lin Feng reached out and tapped it, producing a clear and resonant metallic sound; the material was unknown.

With another thought, the cauldron vanished again, returning to its dantian to rotate. It could be summoned at will and dismissed at will.

"It can be both released and withdrawn." Lin Feng nodded; that was quite convenient.

He took out a low-grade spirit stone from his storage bag and tentatively tossed it in.

"Huh? No response?"

He sat there for half an hour, but the spirit stone remained quietly at the bottom of the cauldron, unchanged.

"Either it's useless, or there's not enough time." Lin Feng remained calm and decided to leave it for one night and see.

And so he continued his cultivation while waiting.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Lin Feng couldn't wait to check the contents of the cauldron. After observing it overnight, he discovered that the spiritual energy of the low-grade spirit stone was several times richer than usual.

"Could it be that if we keep leaving it, a low-grade item will become a mid-grade item?"

With excitement, he put the spirit stones back into his storage bag, packed up his pickaxe, and headed straight for the depths of the mine.

Beneath a secluded rock face, Lin Feng dug a makeshift cave, moved a huge rock to block the entrance, and then focused his mind to summon the small cauldron in front of him.

This time, he threw the spirit stone back in.

The changes were much more noticeable than when we were in the attic.

He could vaguely sense that the spiritual energy inside the cauldron was repeatedly washing over the spirit stone, gradually stripping away impurities, and making its spiritual light grow brighter and brighter. At this rate, within a few days, this low-grade spirit stone would surely become a mid-grade one.

"I understand, it's related to the concentration of spiritual energy in the environment. The higher the concentration of spiritual energy, the faster the tempering."

Lin Feng had a plan in mind.

Five days later, Lin Feng took out the spirit stone again.

The originally dull and rough low-grade spirit stone has now become crystal clear and rich in spiritual energy—it has become a mid-grade spirit stone.

"It's done!"

Lin Feng gripped the spirit stone tightly, his heart pounding. One mid-grade spirit stone was roughly equal to 100 low-grade spirit stones, which meant that in five days, he had turned one yuan into 100 yuan.

But he quickly calmed down. "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." For someone at the fourth level of Qi Refining, taking a mid-grade spirit stone to the market wouldn't be an opportunity, but a death sentence.

"Keep it for now, we'll talk about it later."

Having secured the spirit stones, Lin Feng began testing the pills. He tossed in a Qi-gathering powder.

This time it's even faster.

Three days later, he took it out. The pill had shrunk slightly in size, had a lustrous color, and emitted a fragrant aroma. He put the pill in his mouth.

A gentle yet powerful medicinal force instantly spread out, more peaceful and pure than ordinary Qi Gathering Powder, and quickly transformed into true essence.

"The medicinal potency has increased by 30%, and there is absolutely no pain from impurities irritating the meridians." Lin Feng was overjoyed.

The original Qi-Gathering Powder contained erysipelas, which would cause a stinging sensation after ingestion. However, this refined pill is now a high-quality medicine.

Next comes the materials for refining weapons. A piece of ordinary iron ore from the mine is thrown in, and after seven days it turns into dense refined iron, enough to refine magical artifacts.

Lin Feng continued testing. He placed a low-level fireball talisman into the cauldron, and the talisman immediately exploded due to the disordered spiritual energy. He then placed his low-level magic weapon, the Cold Moon Blade, into the cauldron and left it for several days without any abnormalities.

It seems that talismans and magical artifacts cannot be upgraded.

He added a drop of his own blood essence. Several days passed, but there was no reaction; the blood essence rolled around at the bottom of the cauldron without any change.

He then placed in a common spiritual herb picked from the cave entrance, but it too disappeared without a trace.

"Conclusion: Cannot handle anything with a life force." I wonder if the demon core of a demon beast can be upgraded; I'll try it when I have the chance.

He also tested parallel processing. When spirit stones and pills were placed in simultaneously, he found that the spiritual energy was evenly distributed, and the refining speed of both items slowed down.

Conclusion: It is best to release only one item at a time, as single-threaded processing is the most efficient.

After more than half a month of repeated testing, Lin Feng finally figured out the details of this small cauldron:

Function 1: Purification and Advancement. This function can upgrade the grade of refining materials and spirit stones. Low-grade materials can be upgraded to mid-grade, and ordinary iron can be transformed into refined iron. It's unclear whether further upgrades are possible; further testing is needed.

Function Two: Elixir Enhancement. This enhances the potency of elixirs and removes impurities.

Restriction 1: Cannot upgrade living things or substances with life force, talismans, and magical artifacts.

Limitation 2: The upgrade speed depends on the concentration of spiritual energy in the environment.

Restriction 3: Only one item can be processed at a time.

Restriction 4: It must be placed outside the body; the item will be expelled when it is returned to the dantian.

"There were no instructions, I had to figure it out myself." Lin Feng leaned against the rock wall and let out a long breath. "But at least I've finally figured it out."

He gave this small cauldron a down-to-earth name—the Spirit Gathering Cauldron.

Having figured out the details, Lin Feng began to plan for the long term. The Crimson Forbidden Land would open in ten years, and he had to make full preparations for that opportunity.

He sat cross-legged and began to plan:

The first step is to improve one's cultivation level. At the fourth level of Qi Refining, one is only at a lower-middle level in Yellow Maple Valley. To compete for Foundation Establishment Pills in the Crimson Forbidden Land, one needs at least the twelfth level of Qi Refining. Reaching the eighth level in ten years is extremely difficult for someone with four spiritual roots, but with sufficient high-quality pills and a spirit-gathering array, it's not impossible.

The second step is to learn weapon crafting. The Spirit Gathering Cauldron is practically a cheat code tailor-made for weapon crafting. Buy large quantities of low-grade scrap materials, upgrade them into high-quality materials, refine them into magical artifacts, sell them for contribution points, and then use those contribution points to buy pills to upgrade and consume… It's a perfect positive cycle.

The third step is to accumulate resources. Spirit stones, elixirs, and magical artifacts are all essential for survival. The Crimson Forbidden Land is fraught with danger; without equipment, you're just asking for death.

His consciousness sank into his dantian, where the Spirit Gathering Cauldron floated quietly.

Lin Feng sorted out the order in his mind: "First, exchange these 3 mid-grade spirit stones that I upgraded during this period for contribution points at the mining area exchange point, and then go to the Hundred Machines Hall to learn weapon refining." Although it is rare to dig up 3 mid-grade spirit stones in a month, Lin Feng has occasionally heard of it in the years he has been mining.

Tomorrow, he plans to change jobs and first go to Baiji Hall to learn weapon crafting.