Fantasy: Starting with a bowl, you can exchange it for endless cultivation.

That's it! Gu Chen had a sudden inspiration.

He remembered when he first received the bronze bowl.

The copper bowl provides feedback; by spending silver, one can divine the secrets of heaven and exchange information.

However, he can only exchange information that threatens his safety.

I wonder if exchanging Xu Dongqing's cause of death counts?

If it's not investigated, and if there's some conspiracy behind it, it could threaten him, so I guess that counts.

Gu Chen put one tael of silver into the copper bowl.

"I want to exchange information for the true cause of Xu Dongqing's death," Gu Chen transmitted the message to the copper bowl.

In an instant, a line of writing appeared on the bronze bowl:

[For five taels of silver, you can exchange information about Xu Dongqing's cause of death.]

"It's feasible." Gu Chen was delighted.

And it only costs five taels of silver, so cheap.

He just happened to have it on him.

Gu Chen put all the silver into the bowl.

Five taels of silver disappeared from the copper bowl, and a line of golden characters appeared:

Xu Dongqing was killed by an evil spirit kept by Yang Wenhua, the town magistrate of Qingping Town, in the Wuli Temple in Wuli Village.

"He was killed by evil spirits."

Looking at the information provided by the copper bowl, Gu Chen was somewhat surprised.

And it wasn't simply killed by evil spirits.

Even the town magistrate of Qingping Town was involved; the evil spirit was actually raised by the town magistrate.

Things are getting more interesting.

The town envoy was the local official in charge of a town, appointed by imperial decree.

They have the responsibility to cooperate with the Night Watch to eliminate evil spirits and protect the peace of the area.

They actually went so far as to raise evil spirits and kill the guards of his Baoyaotang.

Moreover, Xu Dongqing also has problems.

As a guard at Baoyaotang, his daily duty is to be stationed at Baoyaotang to ensure the safety of the business.

Why did he go to Wuli Village for no reason? He was even killed by the evil spirits kept in the temple by the town magistrate.

There must be something he doesn't know.

However, he currently has no silver on him and cannot exchange it for more information from the copper bowl, so he has to give up for now.

Since the town magistrate is among the murderers who killed Xu Dongqing, the government's investigation will inevitably yield no results.

He Xiangdong probably already suspected that there might be problems with the government in Qingping Town, which is why he sent him to investigate secretly.

However, there's nothing he can do now that he's found out.

The two main culprits were an official appointed by the Divine Dynasty and an evil spirit he kept in the temple whose power was unknown.

The evil spirit that could kill a second-rate expert like Xu Dongqing must be at least first-rate or above, and is not someone he can afford to provoke at present.

Adding to the fact that he couldn't provoke the town envoy behind the evil spirit, he also couldn't reveal that he already knew the town envoy was the murderer of Xu Dongqing.

Otherwise, if the town magistrate finds out, he might come after him.

Alright, let's leave it at that for now.

He'll keep a low profile as a bodyguard in Qingping Town for now, and quietly build up his strength.

Let's delay for two or three months until he reaches the peak of the Blood Refining Realm.

If he reports the matter then, he will have the ability to deal with any unexpected events that may occur.

The days that followed.

Gu Chen settled down in Qingping Town.

As a guard, he didn't need to patrol the pharmacy and the two clinics under his command every day.

All you need to do is sit in the medicine hall; the four guards will take care of everything else.

Moreover, at the Baoyao Hall in Qingping Town, he could receive two servings of Blood-Strengthening Soup every day to aid his cultivation, and the meat provided at each meal was also very plentiful.

With two servings of Blood-Strengthening Soup a day, he could exchange them for two days' worth of pure cultivation essence in the copper bowl, allowing his cultivation to improve faster than it did at the Treasure Medicine Pavilion in Cangshan County.

Gu Chen settled down here peacefully.

Time passed day by day.

Inside the government office.

What Gu Chen didn't know was that the town magistrate, Yang Wenhua, had been keeping an eye on him, the newly dispatched guard from the Baoyao Pavilion.

Seeing that Gu Chen didn't seem to have any intention of investigating Xu Dongqing's cause of death, they stopped paying attention to him.

If Gu Chen reveals this intention, he wouldn't mind killing Gu Chen as well and having the Treasure Medicine Pavilion send guards down again.

Half a month later, the government released the results of their investigation: Xu Dongqing's death was caused by evil spirits.

As for the evil spirit, it has already fled, and the authorities cannot find any trace of it.

The case was thus sealed.

If the Precious Medicine Pavilion feels that the government is not doing its job properly, it can send people to investigate itself.

Gu Chen was not surprised at all by the result given by the government.

Xu Dongqing was killed by an evil spirit raised by the town magistrate; it's no wonder the yamen (government office) couldn't find anything about it.

Two and a half months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Gu Chen successfully broke through to the Perfection of the Blood Refining Realm today after exchanging two portions of Blood Strengthening Soup for two days of pure cultivation in the copper bowl.

The next step is the Innate Realm.

Unfortunately, he did not have the cultivation techniques for the Innate Realm.

There's simply no way to break through.

"Two and a half months have passed. It's time to return to Baoyao Pavilion in Cangshan County and report the true cause of Xu Dongqing's death to He Xiangdong."

Before that, let's exchange the information again using the copper bowl to find out why the town magistrate wanted the evil spirit to kill Xu Dongqing, and what his purpose was in killing Xu Dongqing.

Gu Chen conveyed his meaning to the bronze bowl.

The copper bowl indicates that five taels of silver are needed to exchange for this information.

Gu Chen immediately took out five taels of silver and put it into the bowl.

The silver disappeared, and a line of golden text appeared:

Yang Wenhua, the town magistrate of Qingping Town, cultivates an evil art that requires the vital essence of living people to enhance his cultivation. He keeps evil spirits in the Wuli Temple to capture young children around Qingping Town and drain their life essence for his cultivation. Xu Dongqing has an affair with Liu Yanfang, the wife of Hong Tao, the head of the wealthy Hong family in Qingping Town, and they have a child who is taken away by the evil spirits. Xu Dongqing tracks them all the way to the outside of the Wuli Temple, trying to rescue his child, but he discovers the town magistrate's secret and is killed by the evil spirits under the town magistrate's command.

"So that's how it is." Looking at the information provided by the copper bowl.

Gu Chen understood.

This Xu Dongqing is something else. Even as a guard at Baoyaotang, he's not honest. He actually went and had an affair with a wealthy merchant's wife, not only cuckolding her but also getting a son with her.

The next day.

Gu Chen gave some instructions, instructing Wei Zhong and the others to take charge of the security of Baoyaotang and its two affiliated medical clinics, before getting up and leaving Qingping Town.

Back at Baoyaoge in Cangshan County.

Gu Chen reported the true cause of Xu Dongqing's death to He Xiangdong.

After listening to Gu Chen's report, He Xiangdong narrowed his eyes.

"It was actually the town magistrate of Qingping Town who ordered the evil spirits to kill the guards of my pharmacy! How dare they!" He Xiangdong shouted coldly.

He had previously received a report from Xu Dongqing that Qingping Town was not peaceful, with young children frequently going missing, and that these cases had yielded no results after being reported to the government.

Xu Dongqing died not long afterward.

He then realized that there might be something wrong with the government in Qingping Town, so he sent Gu Chen to investigate Xu Dongqing's death in secret after he took office.

I never expected it to turn out like this.

"The Divine Dynasty has established the Night Watch to monitor the world and is responsible for eliminating all kinds of evil spirits. Local governments must cooperate unconditionally and report any evil spirits that harm people immediately."

"The magistrate of Qingping Town has broken the law, harbored evil spirits to practice wicked arts, and arrested young children. He's doomed!"

"You don't need to worry about what happens next. I will report it to the Cangshan County Night Watch, and they will arrange for someone to handle it," He Xiangdong said.

"You've done a great job in uncovering the true cause of Xu Dongqing's death, and you deserve a reward. What kind of reward do you want?" He Xiangdong asked Gu Chen.

Gu Chen hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Manager He, could you perhaps give me a cultivation technique at the Innate Realm level?"

The cultivation techniques of the Innate Realm may be considered a closely guarded secret by other forces, and cannot be granted to those who are not core members.

However, the background of the Treasure Medicine Pavilion is extraordinary, as it is backed by the Pill Sect, one of the four major sects. Innate cultivation techniques should not be rare for the Treasure Medicine Pavilion.

He also serves as a guard at the pharmacy and has now made meritorious contributions; perhaps he can get a copy from He Xiangdong.

"You want a cultivation technique for the Innate Realm? What is your current strength?" He Xiangdong asked Gu Chen.

He was somewhat surprised, as he estimated that Gu Chen's current strength was at most at the level of a second-rate expert.

Is it too early to want innate cultivation techniques?

"I only recently broke through to the second-rate expert level," Gu Chen replied. "It's just that I want to obtain the innate cultivation technique early so I can familiarize myself with it sooner and pave the way for the future."

"That's true. You can reach the level of a second-rate master in less than half a year of cultivation. With your talent, you will break through to the innate realm sooner or later. It's no problem to give you the innate cultivation method first."

"I happen to have a cultivation technique here that's perfect for you to learn about beforehand." He Xiangdong took out a cultivation technique and handed it to Gu Chen.

"This Five Thunder Primordial Skill is one of the top primordial skills. However, it is difficult to cultivate and is widely spread. Many forces possess it, but very few people have mastered it."

"However, once you master it, you will be among the top combatants in the Innate Realm. You can try to comprehend it ahead of time," He Xiangdong said.

"If you fail to cultivate it by then, come to me for other innate cultivation techniques. Anyway, you're only second-rate now. To break through to the innate realm, you need to reach the super first-rate level first, which is still some distance away from you."

"Okay, thank you, Steward." Gu Chen accepted the cultivation manual from Xu Xiangdong, somewhat pleased.

Looking at the five large characters on the manual, it read: "Five Thunder Primordial Skill".

Is it difficult to practice?

With the copper bowl in hand, it shouldn't be difficult for him.