Diluted Spirit Rice Water

Shen Fan's gaze swept sideways, and his brows drew together slightly. Old Man Duan was bent over in Shen Fan's spirit field, toiling away at cultivation.

When Shen Fan looked over, their eyes met. Old Man Duan grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. His smile was utterly different from the eerie appearance Shen Fan had seen last night.

Doubt rose in Shen Fan's heart, and he secretly wondered, Could what I saw last night have been nothing more than a dream?

But on second thought, the matter of the Treasure Gathering Universe Bowl was beyond doubt, and Shen Fan shook his head, dismissing the notion.

Over these years, Old Man Duan's care for him had been no less than Shen Fan's protection of Lu Qingzhu.

Though they had no grandfather-and-grandson title, they had the reality of grandfather and grandson.

Old Man Duan had entered the sect more than a decade ago and had remained a Miscellaneous Disciple all this time, suffering constant bullying.

Beneath that patient, enduring heart of his, who knew how many seeds of hatred had been buried?

His pursuit of cultivation was nearly fanatical. To achieve his goal, he would spare no cost.

Miscellaneous Disciples were not taught spells. After more than a decade in the Heavenly Xuan Sect, Old Man Duan surely had secrets unknown to others.

At noon, Shen Fan invited Old Man Duan into his room for a meal.

"I traded your spirit rice for some brown rice. Let's make do with wild vegetables!"

As Shen Fan spoke, he took out bowls and chopsticks and set a place for Old Man Duan.

Old Man Duan frowned, clearly dissatisfied with such plain fare. "This is what you eat? Not even a trace of meat? How is this supposed to go down?"

With that, Old Man Duan pulled out a piece of cured meat from his pocket, chopped it up, and put some into Shen Fan's bowl.

Then he took out a porcelain bottle, poured vivid red blood from it, and mixed it into the rice.

The sight instantly reminded Shen Fan of the cold Death Corpse from last night, and his stomach churned.

Seeing the disgust on Shen Fan's face, Old Man Duan explained, "Cultivators need to keep their qi and blood plentiful. I traded for some sheep's blood at the market below the mountain. Mixing it with rice can effectively replenish our blood and qi!"

As he spoke, he handed over the bottle. "Want some?"

The stench of blood hit Shen Fan's nose, and he repeatedly waved his hands in refusal.

"Um..." Shen Fan poked at his rice. After hesitating again and again, he finally spoke. "What time did you sleep last night?"

"Hm?" Old Man Duan froze slightly, his chopsticks stopping in midair.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at Shen Fan across from him. "Did you see something?"

Shen Fan said nothing, merely nodding. "Old Man Duan, tell me honestly. Have you cultivated a demonic art? If the Heavenly Xuan Sect finds out, you'll lose your life!"

As Shen Fan spoke, he hurriedly glanced outside and lowered his voice in warning.

Old Man Duan took a deep breath, rose to his feet, and walked to the door. After confirming that it was bolted from within, he turned around and stared at Shen Fan with a sinister expression.

"You shouldn't have asked me. Some things must be buried in your heart for a lifetime. Otherwise, they will bring you a bloody calamity!"

"What do you mean?" Shen Fan's heart tightened. "I only warned you out of kindness. I haven't told anyone!"

Old Man Duan clasped one hand behind his back, as if hiding something, and slowly closed in.

"What are you doing?" Shen Fan stumbled backward in panic and accidentally kicked over a stool. He looked around, grabbed a broom, and held it before himself. "Don't come any closer! If you take another step, I'll call someone!"

"Hehe!" Old Man Duan grinned, and the tension eased at once.

He sat back down, scooping up the blood-stained rice as he spoke to himself. "Kid, as someone who has been through it, let this old man tell you: this world is one where the strong devour the weak. Before you have the strength to protect yourself, do not reveal anyone's secrets, understand? Otherwise, it will bring you a bloody calamity!"

"Since you discovered my secret, I should have silenced you forever. But you've been under this old man's care for three years, after all. I'm not that heartless."

Shen Fan let out a breath and sat down uneasily. "I won't tell anyone, but can't you stop? Don't you know how strictly the Heavenly Xuan Sect monitors heretics and demons? Luckily, I was the one who saw it. If it had been someone else, wouldn't they have reported you to Zhao Erhu?"

Old Man Duan nodded in satisfaction. "I know you have a good heart, but... once some things begin, they cannot be stopped!"

"I entered the Heavenly Xuan Sect in my seventies, and it took me more than ten years just to reach the third level of the Qi Refining Stage. The suffering I have endured over these years is something you have only glimpsed in these past three years. I thought I could enter the outer sect this year, learn spells, and gain better opportunities. I never expected the Heavenly Xuan Sect to be so dark. That left me with no choice but to make certain helpless decisions."

"The art I learned is the Nether Corpse Sect's secret method of corpse refinement. Do you want to learn it? I can teach you."

"No, no, no!" Shen Fan shook his head like a rattle-drum.

Seeing this, Old Man Duan smiled faintly. "With your talent, you will never catch up to Lu Qingzhu in this life. You'll come looking for me."

With that, he finished the rice in his bowl, opened the door, and left.

Watching Old Man Duan depart, Shen Fan chuckled softly. "You have secrets. So do I!"

With that, he looked at the broken bowl on the table.

By noon, he still had to water Li Wei's five spirit fields.

Shen Fan carried a bucket up the mountain and stopped again halfway at the place where he had cultivated yesterday.

After looking around and confirming that no one was nearby, Shen Fan sat beneath a large tree and took out his water flask.

When he pulled out the stopper, spiritual energy rushed into his nose. In the dry, scorching mountain wind, it gradually thinned before vanishing without a trace.

He tipped back his head and swallowed a mouthful. At once, spiritual energy flowed through the meridians within his body like a river, stimulating his damaged meridians and making Shen Fan suck in a sharp breath.

This was no ordinary water. Shen Fan had ground up a single grain of Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice and diluted it with water.

Under the circulation of the Qi Guiding Art, the diluted spirit rice water completed one circuit through his body.

A moment later, Shen Fan opened his eyes in delight. This diluted spirit rice water had actually begun slowly repairing his meridians.

This Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice truly lived up to its name!

Unfortunately, the spiritual energy within this spirit rice was too abundant. The moment he took it out, it would be discovered.

With his current strength, not only could he not protect it, but it would also bring about a calamity that would cost him his life.

He could only secretly consume one grain each day while he was up the mountain fetching water.

Before long, he had finished an entire flask of spirit rice water.

Shen Fan discovered that this diluted spirit rice water seemed gentler than eating it directly. His body and meridians could endure it as well, though the effects were somewhat slow.

Two or three more times like this, and his damaged meridians would be completely restored.

After coming down the mountain, Shen Fan continued tending the spirit fields, though his mind was occupied with how to get Zhao Erhu to help introduce him to the Waste Elixir Chamber or the spirit herb grounds.

Not far away, Zhao Erhu rested in the shade beneath a tree, his eyes fixed firmly on Shen Fan.

Last night, Li Qingshan had sent word again, saying that Shen Fan needed to be driven down the mountain as soon as possible.

But the sect rules were strict. If he rashly made things difficult for Shen Fan by force, he feared he would be held accountable.

When that time came, even Li Qingshan, an Outer Sect Disciple, would not be able to protect him.

Just as Zhao Erhu was at his wits' end, Li Wei walked over carrying a cool, refreshing watermelon.

"Overseer Zhao, have some watermelon. It's been chilled!"

Zhao Erhu accepted the watermelon with satisfaction and began eating.

Li Wei watched his expression and immediately noticed that Zhao Erhu seemed troubled by something.

So he asked nervously, "Overseer Zhao, is something bothering you? I wonder if this lowly one might be able to help?"

Zhao Erhu raised a brow at his words. "You brat have plenty of crooked ideas. Tell me..."

As he spoke, he told Li Wei about what Li Qingshan had asked him to do.

Without a moment's thought, Li Wei said, "Isn't that simple? Senior Brother Qingshan wants this guy dead. If we can't handle him, then let someone else handle him!"

"What do you mean?"

"Send him to the Waste Elixir Chamber!"