Return to the Spirit Field

"Lu Qingzhu! Li Qingshan!"

The moment those two names reached his ears, Shen Fan's face darkened, his brows drawing together. "What are the two of them doing at the Spirit Field?"

"Looks like they came specifically to find you!" Old Man Duan sighed helplessly, his face full of worry.

"And then?"

Shen Fan's heart sank, an ominous premonition rising within him.

If they had truly come for him, did that not mean the news that he was now in the Waste Elixir Chamber had already leaked?

He had only just managed to settle down in this Waste Elixir Chamber. If those two guys came and turned his life upside down, the trouble would be enormous!

"Zhao Erhu seemed to have received Li Qingshan's instructions. He told them you were still at the Spirit Field, just not here today, so they left."

Old Man Duan hurriedly explained.

Only then did Shen Fan let out a slight sigh of relief, the stone hanging over his heart finally dropping to the ground.

He knew full well that Lu Qingzhu had always thought highly of herself. Her visit to the Spirit Field today had most likely been to see him make a fool of himself.

The three of them came from third-rate lineages in South Sky City, Great Li Kingdom, and there had always been rivalry between them.

Back then, he had truly been blind to take a fancy to Lu Qingzhu, ignoring his lineage's objections and helping her in every possible way.

"Did they really just leave like that?" Shen Fan was still somewhat uneasy and asked again for confirmation.

"That's right!" Old Man Duan nodded.

Shen Fan pondered to himself, Better not to meet them. It'll save me needless trouble. When we meet again, I'll make you see me in a new light and drop your jaws!

"Right!"

Old Man Duan had not noticed Shen Fan's thoughts. As he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "The Spirit Field has issued a task. They need people to transport fertilizer to the inner sect for fertilizing. You can earn five Contribution Points upon completion. Do you want to go?"

"I'm not with the Spirit Field anymore. Can I still go?" Shen Fan asked doubtfully.

Still, five Contribution Points for merely transporting fertilizer was hardly a demanding task.

"We're short on people right now. Zhao Erhu even went to other Miscellaneous Disciple posts today to find workers. If you go find him tomorrow, he'll definitely let you join." Old Man Duan explained.

"Alright! I'll come find you early tomorrow morning, and we'll go together!" After a brief moment of thought, Shen Fan agreed.

After setting a time, Shen Fan watched Old Man Duan leave before finally letting out a long breath.

Old Man Duan usually treated him quite well, but that was only under the condition that his own safety was assured.

Shen Fan could understand that. In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, who would help another for no reason?

Old Man Duan had already done all that duty and compassion required of him.

If not for the fact that his Universe Pouch had been strengthened, Shen Fan might have taken it out long ago and given it to Old Man Duan as thanks.

Because of this, Shen Fan also erected a line of defense against Old Man Duan in his heart. He absolutely could not place all his hopes on him.

Just like himself, whenever he did anything, he had to act only after ensuring his own safety.

The next morning, sunlight spilled across the roof of the Waste Elixir Chamber.

As usual, Shen Fan took out the Treasure Gathering Universe Bowl, then impatiently removed the strengthened Universe Pouch from within.

Yet when he opened the Universe Pouch, he found that nothing inside had changed.

The quantity had not increased, and the quality had not improved either.

A trace of disappointment could not help appearing on Shen Fan's face.

He truly could not figure out whether the strengthened Universe Pouch could not strengthen the things within it, or whether items that had originally been inside the Universe Pouch simply could not be strengthened.

Between the two, he leaned more toward the latter.

According to the principle of conservation of energy, though a Universe Pouch might contain heaven and earth, if anything placed inside could multiply or be strengthened no matter how much there was, that was clearly unrealistic.

Still, this theory had yet to be verified.

Shen Fan felt that he needed to find another Universe Pouch that had not been strengthened before he could thoroughly understand the matter.

Having agreed to transport fertilizer with Old Man Duan today, Shen Fan went to the storage room above the incinerator before leaving. He carefully placed the two corpses into the Universe Pouch, then buried it beneath the ruins that had accumulated over the past two days.

This way, even if someone came here, they would not discover the secret beneath the waste and debris.

After all, the waste and debris were mixed with quite a bit of excrement and other filthy matter from the disciples of Elixir Forging Peak. The sight of it was enough to make one retch.

Most people would take one look and leave in a hurry.

Thus, Shen Fan was fairly at ease.

Even the Fire Poison Demon Cores—Shen Fan only carried three on him.

Even if they were discovered, it would be easy enough to explain.

Shen Fan made his way to the Spirit Field with practiced ease.

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed, and he could not help feeling that time had brought endless emotions.

The moment he arrived at the Spirit Field, he saw all the Miscellaneous Disciples gathered together, clearly preparing to set off.

"Shen Fan? What are you doing here?" Zhao Erhu frowned, a flicker of displeasure flashing through his eyes.

Li Wei immediately stepped forward and blocked Shen Fan's path, saying viciously, "Why aren't you properly guarding your Waste Elixir Chamber? What are you doing back at the Spirit Field?"

Seeing this, Old Man Duan hurriedly stepped out and said with a flattering smile, "Well... Overseer Zhao, I was the one who asked him to come."

"Yesterday, I ran into this child in the mountains and saw how truly pitiful he was. After leaving our Spirit Field, he probably can't even eat or dress properly, and he doesn't have anywhere to earn Contribution Points."

"So I told him to come give it a try today. Overseer Zhao, you have always been kind-hearted, so please give him a chance!"

Zhao Erhu gave a cold laugh, suddenly understanding. "So it was you, you old bastard, who brought him here. One old mangy mutt and one young mangy mutt—what a perfect pair! But what do you take my Spirit Field for? Let me tell you... this is absolutely impossible!"

Zhao Erhu rejected him outright, his attitude exceedingly firm.

Just then, Li Wei sidled up beside him with shifty eyes and whispered, "Overseer Zhao, don't refuse so quickly. We're short on people anyway. What's the harm in letting him come? He isn't from our Spirit Field, so when the time comes, all the Contribution Points will count toward our Spirit Field!"

"Oh?"

Zhao Erhu's eyes lit up, and a sinister smile immediately appeared on his face.

He promptly walked over to Shen Fan and put on a magnanimous expression. "Hey, kid. You were here for three years, after all. You could say I watched you grow up.

I'm not some heartless man either. The reason I did this was purely out of helplessness. You know perfectly well whom you offended.

But whatever I can help with, I'll definitely help. Since you're here, stay!"

With that, he waved a hand grandly and led everyone out, ready to depart.

"Get your spirits up! This time, we're transporting fertilizer to the inner sect. You're all Miscellaneous Disciples, so shut your eyes to anything you shouldn't see. Be careful, or the inner sect senior brothers will gouge your eyeballs out!" Zhao Erhu roared.