The Mysterious Old Man Duan

Shen Fan went up the mountain to fetch water, not forgetting to cultivate along the way. With this divided attention, the farming season was inevitably delayed.

By the time he dragged his weary body back to his dwelling, night had already fallen, and the surroundings were silent. A few of the other handyman disciples had their lamps lit, but most were already asleep.

If he hadn't already stepped into the third level of Qi Refining Stage, with a physical constitution far surpassing ordinary people, he probably wouldn't have been able to endure it.

At this moment, his desire for cultivation grew even stronger, and his pursuit of strength burned like a raging fire in his heart.

The instant he locked the door behind him, Shen Fan flashed to the table.

His gaze fell upon the broken bowl on the table. Seeing that it was safe and sound, his tense nerves finally relaxed slightly, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Sure enough, the most dangerous place is the safest place.

Whether this broken bowl is a treasure or not, everything will be revealed after tonight.

Shen Fan grabbed a handful of coarse rice from the rice sack and placed it in the broken bowl.

Then, he wearily lay down on the bed, but his hands tightly held the broken bowl, his eyes fixed on it, as if trying to see through it.

Tonight, he had made up his mind not to sleep. He would just stare intently at the broken bowl to see if it could conjure something out of thin air.

Time quietly slipped away, minute by minute, under Shen Fan's tense and expectant gaze.

However, the broken bowl remained completely still.

Just as Shen Fan was beginning to grow impatient, suddenly, a muffled sound came from Old Man Duan's room next door.

"What on earth is that Old Man Duan up to in the middle of the night?"

Shen Fan was suspicious. He quickly hid the broken bowl carefully under the covers, then tiptoed to the door and went outside.

At this time, the moon was hidden in the clouds, and the surroundings were dark.

Shen Fan estimated that it should be around three quarters past the hour of Chou, which was about three in the morning.

At this hour, everyone should be sound asleep. How could anyone still be staying up?

Did they not have fields to cultivate tomorrow?

Filled with curiosity, Shen Fan tiptoed to Old Man Duan's window and peered inside through a crack.

The scene before him made his eyes widen instantly, and his breath caught in his throat.

Shen Fan subconsciously covered his mouth, hurriedly took two steps back, and tried to restrain himself from making a sound.

After calming down slightly, he mustered his courage and crept closer again.

Inside the house, which was less than fifty square meters, were all the necessary furnishings, such as tables, chairs, benches, beds, and stoves, all clearly visible.

At this moment, Old Man Duan was constantly emitting bursts of black smoke, which rose and twisted in an extremely eerie manner.

And on his bed, there was actually a cold corpse lying.

Old Man Duan's hands were forming mysterious hand seals, and the black smoke from his body, like strands of black silk, was constantly entering the seven orifices of the corpse.

This was a type of magic that Shen Fan had never seen before, exuding an aura of evil and heresy.

Perhaps it had reached the final stage. After completing all of this, Old Man Duan gently picked up the corpse on the bed and placed it in a large pit under the bed.

Shen Fan saw clearly that there was actually a coffin buried under his bed, and the corpse was lying quietly inside.

After doing all of this, Old Man Duan turned off the light, lay down on the bed where the dead person had just been, and drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Shen Fan returned to his room uneasily, his mind constantly replaying the terrifying scene he had just witnessed, unable to calm down for a long time.

When he lifted the covers with lingering fear, the scene before him instantly banished the terror from his mind.

In the broken bowl, the coarse rice was increasing, grain by grain, at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if an invisible hand was controlling everything.

This magical scene made Shen Fan tremble with excitement, muttering to himself, "It's a treasure! It's a treasure!"

Shen Fan held up the broken bowl with both hands, his eyes fixed on the changes in the coarse rice, until the rice was overflowing before he stopped.

Then, Shen Fan carefully poured the coarse rice into the rice sack, while the broken bowl was casually placed on the stove, looking extremely ordinary.

But on second thought, Shen Fan immediately took out some more coarse rice and put it in.

He pondered to himself: It's already multiplied once, will it continue to multiply tomorrow morning?

Lying on the bed, he gazed at the broken bowl by the moonlight streaming in through the window, a look of infatuation on his face, murmuring:

"Coarse rice can multiply, how wonderful would it be if spirit rice could also multiply, or even turn into Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice! The former is just a change in quantity, but the latter is a double change in quantity and quality!"

Shen Fan pondered while studying the function and effect of the broken bowl.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and he couldn't help but say loudly, "This is simply a treasure bowl! No, it should be a Treasure Gathering Bowl!"

After thinking for a moment, Shen Fan named it the "Treasure Gathering Universe Bowl".

However, a question arose in Shen Fan's mind: "Is its effect limited to this? Or does it have other magical effects?"

Shen Fan boldly speculated: "If we imagine it as a source with infinite energy, the duplication of items and the strengthening of quality both require energy consumption. Does it also have other effects such as repair and catalysis?"

"That's right!"

Shen Fan's eyes lit up, suddenly remembering something. "I remember when Li Qingshan injured me, the day after I returned, Zhao Erhu seemed to have taken a Qi Induction Pill from the bowl, and that Qi Induction Pill was complete!"

Shen Fan clearly remembered that what he had brought back at the time was clearly broken dregs of pills, so how could it have become complete?

Now it seems, it must be thanks to this Treasure Gathering Universe Bowl!

"Truly turning trash into treasure! But what am I doing here turning coarse rice into Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice? Isn't this a waste of resources!"

Shen Fan cursed himself inwardly, feeling like he was begging with a golden bowl, wasting such a good thing for nothing.

On the path of cultivation that only seeks longevity, pills have an irreplaceable role.

It has a significant effect on improving the strength of cultivators.

Clearly, the Spirit Field is no longer the place to stay. With such a treasure, it must be used to its maximum potential.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Fan felt that the Elixir Forging Peak was the most suitable place.

But only outer disciples can enter there. As a handyman disciple, he can only start from the spirit herb area or the Waste Elixir Chamber.

And these two places are Shen Fan's best choices at the moment.

The spirit herb area grows all kinds of spirit herbs. If the Treasure Gathering Universe Bowl can catalyze spirit herbs and accelerate their growth, then swallowing spirit herbs and then cultivating is also a way to improve strength.

Secondly, the Waste Elixir Chamber is filled with waste pills that have failed to be refined by all the inner and outer disciples and deacon elders of the Elixir Forging Peak.

The Treasure Gathering Universe Bowl can turn waste into treasure, and that is undoubtedly a more suitable place than the spirit herb area.

However, the appointment of a handyman disciple requires the recommendation of the current steward.

So, it must be with Zhao Erhu's consent, and he must recommend him to the spirit herb area or the Waste Elixir Chamber.

But this guy has now been bought by Li Qingshan and is targeting him everywhere. Asking him to help with a recommendation is simply harder than ascending to heaven.

Shen Fan racked his brains for this problem and fell asleep without realizing it.

The next day's rooster crow woke up all the handyman disciples in the Spirit Field.

Shen Fan opened his eyes, immediately jumped up, and came to the table to take a closer look.

But the scene before him made him slightly disappointed.

He saw that after his experiment last night, the half bowl of coarse rice that he had poured in again had not increased after half the night of fermentation.

"It seems that this Treasure Gathering Universe Bowl can only be used once a night!"

Shen Fan sighed and secretly recorded this characteristic in his mind.

After washing up and eating breakfast, Shen Fan took his hoe and bucket and came to his Spirit Field to start cultivating.