The Mysterious Purple Cauldron

Although Ye Han did not consider himself a cultivation genius, making such rapid progress overnight felt utterly unreal. It was unbelievable.

After all, he had done nothing except have a wonderful dream that night.

Even so, Ye Han focused and circulated his cultivation art, absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. The feeling was simply wonderful. He could feel his body's functions constantly changing, his body brimming with vitality and his spirits soaring.

His progress was indeed obvious. When he cultivated yesterday, he had lasted less than two hours before dizziness overwhelmed him and he could no longer continue.

Today, he cultivated for more than four hours before he felt a wave of physical and mental exhaustion, along with a sense that he had absorbed all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy he could hold.

Only then did he end his practice and stand up. He felt that his eyesight and all five senses had become considerably sharper...

Seeing results from cultivation was simply marvelous.

Ye Han had originally thought his aptitude was poor and that becoming a true immortal cultivator would be immensely difficult. He had never expected to sense qi so quickly. Moreover, it seemed he had successfully cultivated the Azure Mystic Art and even become a Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

Filled with joy, he savored the changes his successful cultivation had brought.

Suddenly.

Hum!!

An astonishing vibration came from outside the door, as though the entire cave abode had trembled slightly.

Ye Han's expression changed. "What happened?"

He immediately opened the door to the Cultivation Room's secluded chamber and saw Zhang Qingshan covered in golden specks of light, his body trembling faintly...

His face was full of excitement. Seeing Ye Han emerge, he took a deep breath and circulated his cultivation art. The golden specks covering his body slowly receded.

Unable to contain his excitement, he said to Ye Han, "Junior Brother Ye! Do you know what happened? I finally broke through! I reached the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining Realm! This is wonderful!"

As Zhang Qingshan spoke, his eyes even reddened a little. "Over a year! I was stuck at this bottleneck for more than a whole year."

Seeing Zhang Qingshan's excitement, Ye Han said sincerely, "Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhang. It's wonderful to see your cultivation improve."

On the one hand, he genuinely wanted to congratulate Zhang Qingshan. On the other, his own cultivation had also improved noticeably, so he was in a good mood himself.

Somewhat overcome with emotion, Zhang Qingshan said, "This was all thanks to your help, Junior Brother Ye. If you hadn't let me read the Azure Mystic Art and lent me your cave abode to cultivate in, I couldn't have broken through so quickly..."

As he spoke, Zhang Qingshan suddenly looked at Ye Han in surprise. "Huh? Junior Brother Ye! You... you're already in the Qi Refining Realm?"

His eyes widened as he looked Ye Han carefully up and down. There was no mistake. Ye Han had originally been a mortal without a trace of magical power.

Now he possessed magical power. Although it was extremely faint, he appeared to be at the first layer of the Qi Refining Realm...

But that was already enough to astonish him. For a mortal who had never encountered cultivation methods before, even one with excellent aptitude and Spirit Roots, sensing qi within a few short days and even entering the first layer of the Qi Refining Realm was exceedingly rare.

Such aptitude was truly astonishing.

Zhang Qingshan's eyes were filled with surprise. When he had first begun practicing the Immortal Arts, it had taken him more than two whole months to get a feel for qi, and more than four months to advance to the first layer of the Qi Refining Realm...

Yet in a single day, Ye Han had not only sensed qi but also advanced to the first layer of the Qi Refining Realm...

Such aptitude truly made him green with envy...

Zhang Qingshan therefore said to Ye Han with a sigh of admiration, "Junior Brother Ye, your aptitude is truly astonishing. As soon as you found the right cultivation art, your cultivation improved. No wonder you were accepted as a True Disciple, and no wonder the Seventh Elder values you so highly."

In his view, Ye Han had joined Seven Mysteries Peak at such a young age and received a cave abode from the Seventh Elder because his aptitude was exceptional. That had to be why he enjoyed such favorable treatment.

Such aptitude was beyond anything envy could gain him. Although he had advanced to the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining Realm, compared with Ye Han, one stood in the heavens while the other lay on the earth.

Perhaps it would not be long before Ye Han surpassed him.

Hearing Zhang Qingshan's words, Ye Han said casually, "You flatter me, Senior Brother Zhang. I just suddenly felt that I was cultivating unusually quickly. I don't really know what to make of it. It must be because you taught me so well."

Despite saying that, Ye Han was uncertain himself. He could not figure out why he cultivated so quickly either. Was it really because his aptitude was so good?

Absolutely not.

Why was he so sure?

Because when Ye Han had brought the Azure Mystic Token to the Azure Profound Sect, the sect master and elders had already learned what his aptitude was like.

It was precisely because his aptitude was unimpressive that those elders had thought little of his prospects.

To put it bluntly, if his aptitude had truly been excellent, why would the elders and sect master have made one excuse after another, all unwilling to let him cultivate on their peaks?

Thus, Ye Han knew that his rapid cultivation definitely had nothing to do with his aptitude. Nor could the abundant Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy in this cave abode alone have made him improve so quickly.

What exactly was the reason? For the moment, he could not say.

But he would not volunteer this information to Zhang Qingshan either. Zhang Qingshan now firmly believed his rapid cultivation was due to his aptitude. If he said something like that, wouldn't he give himself away?

As he considered this, Ye Han absently touched his abdomen and suddenly felt something bulging beneath the front of his robe.

His heart stirred, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. Right, that strange Small Cauldron...

Could my rapid cultivation progress have something to do with this cauldron?

At that thought, Ye Han suddenly felt that his unusually rapid progress was very likely due to this strange Small Cauldron...

He then said to Zhang Qingshan, "Senior Brother Zhang, I'm a little hungry. Sorry for the trouble, but could you find me something to eat?"

He had eaten only a little that morning and then cultivated for more than four hours. He was indeed somewhat hungry.

Previously, Ye Han had possessed no cultivation at all, making it very inconvenient for him to climb up and down the cliff.

Zhang Qingshan had taken care of all his food and drink during this time.

Another reason was that Ye Han wanted to send Zhang Qingshan away so he could see whether the cauldron was responsible.

Zhang Qingshan did not give it much thought and immediately said, "All right! Wait a moment, Junior Brother Ye. I'll go find you something to eat right away."

With that, he immediately left the cave abode.

Ye Han watched Zhang Qingshan leave and closed the entrance to the cave abode. Taking an extra precaution, he slipped into his own room and took out the Small Cauldron that resembled a stone.

He realized that his sudden, rapid improvement in cultivation was very likely due to this wondrous Small Cauldron.

Sure enough, the moment Ye Han took it out, he discovered that the Small Cauldron was different from before.