Refining Ruins Cauldron

The small tripod was only the size of a palm, with three legs and two handles. It was so dirty that its original color was almost unrecognizable, as if it had been buried here for many years.

Gu Qingyun stared at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

He intended to put the small cauldron aside, but as soon as his fingertips touched it, the cracked wound on his palm rubbed against the cauldron.

A drop of blood seeped into the black cauldron, and the cauldron trembled very slightly the next moment.

A wisp of purple mist, thin as a spider's thread, silently seeped into his palm.

Gu Qingyun stared at his palm for a long time.

The wisp of purple energy entering his body did not bring about any earth-shattering changes; it simply added a touch of warmth to his cracked meridians.

The fatigue accumulated from three days of clearing the land seemed to have been somewhat dispelled.

But that was all; his palms were still bloody and mangled, his arms were still sore and trembling, and his stomach was aching from hunger.

Gu Qingyun looked down at the small cauldron.

The small tripod was only the size of a palm, grayish-black and worn, with three legs and two handles, and its body was covered in mud.

But that wisp of purple aura just now could not possibly be an illusion.

"We can't let anyone see it."

This was the first thought that popped into Gu Qingyun's mind.

Even a few old letters could be used by Zhao Long to humiliate him. If people knew that he had dug up a strange little cauldron from the back mountain, regardless of whether it was a treasure or not, he would be in big trouble.

He quickly took off his outer garment, carefully wrapped the small cauldron in several layers, and stuffed it into his bosom.

After doing all this, he slowly stood up, supporting himself with the spirit hoe.

The T-shaped wasteland behind the mountain has been cleared.

Although the ditches were not neat and the soil was roughly turned, he did manage to dig up this wasteland that no one wanted to touch, bit by bit.

Gu Qingyun looked at the spiritual field before him and his throat moved.

Zhao Long wanted to see him fail the mission, wanted to see him go back and beg for mercy, and wanted to use his parents' belongings to force him to bow down.

But he finished it, even if he only had half a life left, he finished it.

Gu Qingyun carefully put away his service plaque, picked up his spirit hoe, and staggered towards the outer gate.

His only thought at this moment was to go back and report back, and retrieve his parents' belongings.

The mountain path was slippery, and the fog in the forest was thick, so he didn't walk very fast.

Firstly, she didn't have much strength left, and secondly, she was afraid of making a noise by bumping the small cauldron in her arms.

This thing is too strange. He must go back to his hut, hide it, and then go to Zhao Long to report back.

As for whether Zhao Long would return the old letter to him, Gu Qingyun was actually unsure.

That kind of person doesn't follow the rules, but he has no other choice now.

Just then, a very low voice came from the woods ahead, interspersed with a woman's intermittent panting.

Gu Qingyun paused. He didn't want to meddle, but the voice was too close.

He had to go around the woods ahead to get down the mountain.

Gu Qingyun held her breath, tiptoed, and froze on the spot as soon as she parted half a branch.

Behind the shadows of the trees, Zhao Long was embracing a young woman.

The woman's clothes were somewhat disheveled, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were filled with panic and shame; she was clearly not forced into this situation.

Zhao Long had one hand around her waist, his face full of smugness, completely unlike his usual airs as the senior steward in the chores department.

Gu Qingyun's heart sank.

If it were just Zhao Long having private affairs with an ordinary female disciple, he would at most pretend he didn't see it.

But he recognized this woman.

She is the junior sister of the outer sect and also the childhood sweetheart of senior brother Zhang of the inner sect.

Senior Brother Zhang is highly skilled, but also has a strange temper. Anyone who glances at Junior Sister should think twice about the consequences.

Zhao Long dared to do such a thing behind his back.

Gu Qingyun's mind went blank.

This is bad, this isn't a scene he should be able to see!

He barely hesitated before slowly backing away.

But he hadn't slept for three days and had just finished clearing the land, so he was a bit slow on his feet.

Click.

A dead branch was broken by someone stepping on it, and the forest fell silent instantly.

Zhao Long suddenly looked up, and their eyes met. Gu Qingyun felt a chill run through her body.

Zhao Long's smile froze for a moment, then turned gloomy, and there was even a hint of panic in his eyes.

"Gu Qingyun?"

His voice was very low, yet it sounded like a venomous snake flicking its tongue against your ear.

"What are you doing here?"

The junior sister turned pale with fright and hurriedly straightened her clothes to hide behind her.

"Senior Brother Zhao, I didn't see anything."

Gu Qingyun felt a chill run down his spine, and immediately stepped back after speaking.

Zhao Long laughed, a soft laugh that sent chills down one's spine.

"Oh? I didn't see anything?"

He slowly released the woman, his gaze gradually turning cold.

Do you think I'd believe that?

Gu Qingyun turned and ran.

He knew that once he fell into Zhao Long's hands, he would not have a good end.

Discovering this is far more serious than arguing with Zhao Long.

Zhao Long could withhold his pills, confiscate his old letters, and force him to go and cultivate the wilderness.

But if this gets back to Senior Brother Zhang, Zhao Long himself might not survive, so Gu Qingyun must die.

Only the dead can keep secrets.

"You're asking for it!"

Zhao Long roared and suddenly charged forward.

The speed of someone at the fifth level of Qi Refining is far beyond what Gu Qingyun can match.

Gu Qingyun desperately fled into the depths of the forest. Branches scratched his face, and pebbles hurt his feet, but he dared not stop.

A palm strike came hurtling through the air from behind.

Gu Qingyun felt a chill in her heart and instinctively lunged to the side.

boom!

The spiritual energy struck the spot where he had just landed, causing the soil to explode and rubble to fly, cutting several bloody gashes on his face.

Gu Qingyun scrambled forward.

But he was already seriously injured and his cultivation level was four levels lower, so how could he outrun Zhao Long?

He had only taken a few steps when his back felt like it had been hit by a hammer, and he flew out and crashed heavily into the mud.

"cough!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his vision went black.

Zhao Long approached slowly, his eyes cold and his face showing his displeasure at having his good deed ruined.

"Gu Qingyun, you're lucky you survived opening up the spiritual fields, but you also happened to see something you shouldn't have."

"Why is someone as useless as you so annoying?"

Gu Qingyun felt cold all over and her hands and feet trembled.

He knew that if he didn't find a way out today, he would surely die here.

We must escape!

Gu Qingyun tried desperately to escape, but Zhao Long followed behind him at a leisurely pace, like a cat chasing a mouse.

Seeing that Zhao Long would catch up soon, he gritted his teeth and reached into his pocket, taking out all the few Guiyuan Pills he had painstakingly saved.

At this point, who cares about the future? Let's swallow this first to regain our strength.

He hurriedly unloaded the heavy objects from his body, even taking out the small cauldron he had just picked up.

In the midst of the chaos, a sharp spike suddenly appeared from the edge of the small cauldron and pierced his palm.

"hiss!"

Gu Qingyun's hand trembled, and the small cauldron clattered to the ground.

The wound was not deep, and only a drop of blood seeped out.

But after that drop of blood landed on the cauldron, the old, gray-black cauldron seemed to come alive, and a faint purple light quietly flashed across it.

Gu Qingyun was startled and quickly looked down to search, but he couldn't see any sharp spikes at all.

That moment just now was just an illusion.

But the small tripod seemed to have actually lit up a little.

Zhao Long was already close in. Gu Qingyun didn't have time to think, so he grabbed a Guiyuan Pill and stuffed it into his mouth.

He only wanted to use the medicine to recover some of his spiritual energy so he could escape desperately.

The moment the elixir dissolved, a wisp of unfamiliar purple energy suddenly appeared within his body.

The purple aura, imbued with the medicinal power, swiftly traversed his meridians, like a small dragon charging and crashing about, forcefully opening his acupoints and breaking through the long-standing bottleneck in his cultivation.

Gu Qingyun shuddered, his eyes widening suddenly.

"This is……"

The next moment, the purple aura rushed past.

His cultivation level, which had remained stagnant for so long, actually jumped directly from the first level of Qi Refining to the third level.

"How is this possible?!"