Chapter 66: The Danyang Precious Cauldron

The bronze cauldron consisted of a lid and a main body. Atop the lid was a sculpted toad serving as a handle, while on either side of the cauldron’s body were two simplified crane sculptures. The entire surface of the bronze cauldron was mottled and marked with the passage of time, and upon closer inspection, one could see fine, intricate inscriptions carved into its body.

Chen Xian took a brief look and immediately recognized these inscriptions as “spirit patterns.”

“A spiritual alchemy cauldron!” Chen Xian exclaimed joyfully.

The “Alchemy Codex, Mortal Grade” within his mind contained knowledge about such cauldrons. Among them, spirit cauldrons were the lowest tier, capable of refining basic elixirs such as the Spirit Gathering Powder. Even so, spiritual cauldrons were incredibly rare on Blue Star. That he should come upon one was a stroke of great fortune.

On Blue Star, spiritual cauldrons were all relics left behind by ancient spirit cultivators, possessing a long and storied history. With this cauldron, Chen Xian would now be able to refine elixirs like the Spirit Gathering Powder.

He picked up the bronze cauldron, finding its weight pleasing in his hand. Examining the bottom, he saw four ancient, vigorous characters: “Danyang Treasure Cauldron.”

Chen Xian studied the cauldron for a while before setting it aside and picking up the rolled parchment, which he unrolled.

“The ‘Nether Origin Divine Mind Manual,’ a cultivation technique for spiritual sense…”

After scanning through it, Chen Xian rolled the parchment back up and put it aside. Compared to his “Supreme Chaos Technique,” this manual was utterly inferior—if his technique was an ocean, the “Nether Origin Divine Mind Manual” was but a drop within it.

Next, he picked up the battered, mottled book and glanced through its contents, then set it down as well. This book was an alchemy codex, recording several dozen types of elixirs, such as the True Qi Pill, Body Tempering Pellet, Detoxifying Pill, and the like. In the martial world of Blue Star, these would be considered precious, yet to Chen Xian, they were nothing but refuse. His own “Alchemy Codex, Mortal Grade” documented far more sophisticated recipes.

He gave only a cursory look to the rare medicinal herbs, then turned to the various bottles and jars. Uncorking the red stoppers, he was immediately greeted by wafting streams of medicinal fragrance. In just a minute, Chen Xian had identified the contents of all the porcelain bottles.

They contained pills such as the True Qi Pill, which enhanced the strength of martial artists at the Dark Power level; the Body Tempering Pellet, which fortified the physique of warriors; the Detoxifying Pill, which counteracted poisons; the Thousand Poison Pill, which was highly toxic; and the Hundred Wounds Pellet, used for healing.

To most martial artists at the Bright and Dark Power stages, these were coveted treasures. But to Chen Xian, they were still mere trash.

He decided to bestow these elixirs upon Ma Tian, Ma He, and the other core members of the Ma family, to strengthen their abilities.

Finally, Chen Xian’s gaze settled on the black token. He picked it up, feeling a coolness emanate from its palm-sized surface. On the front was the character for “Order,” and on the back was carved a cauldron identical in shape to the Danyang Treasure Cauldron. Beneath the cauldron carving was a line of small characters: “Identity Token of the Zhao Family Core Member.”

Chen Xian stared at the token for a long time before setting it down and murmuring, “Not only did Mr. Zhao possess an exceedingly rare spiritual cauldron, but he also had alchemy books and a spiritual sense manual… Clearly, this Mr. Zhao is no ordinary person, and the Zhao family behind him is even less so!”

With that, Chen Xian stored all the items before him into his storage ring.

He then retrieved several dozen corpses from the ring, piling them in front of him like a mountain of bodies. A pungent stench of blood filled the air. These were the bodies of Mr. Zhao, Xiong Ding, and the other core members of the Xiong family. Each had at least reached the peak of the Bright Power stage, with the majority being Dark Power-level martial artists.

Keeping so many corpses in his storage ring was unsettling for Chen Xian; after all, the ring was not meant to be a mobile morgue.

“Let these serve as my nourishment,” Chen Xian thought to himself, deciding to refine them all.

He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began moving his hands in a pattern that, though it appeared simple, was filled with mysterious meaning. Soon, two vortices condensed within his palms, spinning slowly.

Two of the Bright Power peak martial artists’ bodies were drawn in, spinning as well, their flesh rapidly dissolving and transforming into streams of energy that were absorbed into the vortices.

Time slipped by; in the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.

The mountain of corpses before Chen Xian had vanished. His eyelids fluttered as he opened his eyes, murmuring, “Refining powerful martial artists’ bodies for cultivation is indeed extremely efficient!”

Now, not only was his first spirit wheel filled with spiritual energy, but his second spirit wheel had also been partially filled.

Even so, Chen Xian felt neither excitement nor elation. He could not predict whether this method of killing others to refine spiritual energy would bring down some kind of “heavenly retribution” in the future.

During this refinement, as with the previous time, he sensed a faint, peculiar energy gathering around his body. This energy was even stronger than before. Chen Xian felt a vague sense of unease.

Nevertheless, even knowing there might be consequences, for the sake of advancing his cultivation, he would still refine the bodies of his enemies.

The path of a spiritual cultivator was one of defiance—against heaven, earth, time, and fate. It was destined to be fraught with peril and never smooth.

Besides, Blue Star was now in the Era of Declining Magic, with spiritual resources desperately scarce and the world’s spiritual energy nearly exhausted. If he relied on safe, conventional methods, he had no idea how many years it would take to reach the next realm, the Spirit Void Stage, after the Mortal Shedding Stage.

Of course, even though warriors’ bodies contained dense energy, Chen Xian would not slaughter the innocent indiscriminately.

He then took out the Danyang Treasure Cauldron once more, along with wild ginseng and other materials, and mused, “Now that I have the cauldron, it’s time to gather the remaining ingredients and refine the Spirit Gathering Powder to advance my cultivation.”

With that, he took out his phone and called Ma Tian, instructing him to visit medicinal shops and collect the auxiliary ingredients needed to refine the Spirit Gathering Powder.

By evening, as the sun slanted westward, a black Rolls-Royce drove up to a small hill on the outskirts of M City and stopped at the gate of a traditional courtyard house.

Two middle-aged men stepped out—Ma Tian and Ma He. Thanks to the nourishment of Chen Xian’s special spiritual energy, the severe injuries they had suffered were nearly fully healed.

Their admiration for Master Chen’s methods was boundless.

Soon, Ma Tian and Ma He entered the courtyard and approached Chen Xian.

“Master Chen, here are the medicinal ingredients you requested,” Ma Tian said respectfully, handing over a package.

Chen Xian took the package, opened it for a look, and saw that it contained precisely the auxiliary materials he needed for refining Spirit Gathering Powder. Satisfied, he put the materials away.

He then looked at Ma Tian and Ma He and asked, “Have all of Xiong Group’s assets been accounted for?”

“Reporting to Master Chen, the inventory is complete. Xiong Group has eight billion in fixed assets, two billion in cash, and other holdings…” Ma Tian replied respectfully.

Ten minutes later, Ma Tian and Ma He left the courtyard to continue handling the affairs of Xiong Group. Swallowing such a vast enterprise could not be accomplished in a day or two; it would take at least a week.

Meanwhile, Chen Xian took out the Danyang Treasure Cauldron and wild ginseng, preparing to refine the Spirit Gathering Powder.