Changes in the Purple Cauldron

Whenever Ye Han had time now, he spent much of it studying the Purple Cauldron, trying to discover just what sort of treasure it was. How had it turned to stone that day?

Over the past few days, he had kept recalling how he had obtained the Purple Cauldron.

But everything that day had happened far too suddenly. The monster had been so terrifying, and his head had been injured. He had never quite figured out how the Purple Cauldron had ended up in his hands.

One thing he remembered clearly, however, was that a powerful surge of light had erupted when he obtained the Purple Cauldron.

It was precisely that surge of light that had alerted the monster to his presence.

If that female immortal had not suddenly appeared, he would probably have been eaten by the monster...

How could he have survived to come to the Azure Profound Sect?

So he felt his luck was still pretty good.

Besides, when he first began cultivating the Azure Mystic Art, it had not been as easy as he had imagined. He had only made a little progress.

Yet after one night, he suddenly discovered that he had mastered the first level of the Azure Mystic Art...

And the Purple Cauldron, which had originally looked like stone, had begun turning into something like purple jade again.

After considering all this, he concluded that the Purple Cauldron was probably a treasure that absorbed some form of heaven and earth spiritual energy, which was why it had become like stone.

When he cultivated, he could absorb the heaven and earth spiritual energy inside the Purple Cauldron, and the effects were extraordinarily good.

They were far better than the effects of consuming the natural treasures Zhang Qingshan had told him about.

So the Purple Cauldron had other benefits for cultivators. Although he had been at the Azure Profound Sect for more than half a month, he still had only a half-formed understanding of many things in the cultivation world. He had no idea how this object was actually used.

Still, the Purple Cauldron was certainly an extraordinary treasure. Otherwise, it would not have been placed together with the Azure Mystic Token.

He therefore had to find a way to figure out how to use the Purple Cauldron.

Just now, he had taken out the Purple Cauldron to study it again and discovered that it had changed once more.

The Purple Cauldron still had the crystalline, translucent texture of precious purple jade. Unlike before, however, a finger-sized cluster of green Spirit Light had appeared inside it, faintly giving off wisps of green radiance...

The cluster of green Spirit Light filled Ye Han with curiosity. What exactly was it?

He turned the cauldron over and over, examining the green Spirit Light inside, but opening the Purple Cauldron was completely impossible.

He had checked long ago. Its lid seemed to be fused seamlessly with the Purple Cauldron itself. No matter what method he used or how much strength he exerted, he could not open it...

There had never been any green Spirit Light inside before. Even when he checked yesterday, it had not been there. Now a cluster had suddenly appeared, leaving him puzzled.

He had no idea where the thing had come from.

But this sudden change in the Purple Cauldron made him intensely curious. What exactly was this green light? Would it affect his cultivation?

Over the past dozen or so days, aside from reaching the Second Layer of the Qi Refining Realm after resting that one day when cultivation had exhausted him, he had cultivated for days without any change at all.

Or perhaps there had been some change, but it was not noticeable.

All in all, he felt this might be because his talent was too poor.

His progress with the Blood Refining Art, on the other hand, had been relatively quick. Although he still looked lean and wiry, he had put on quite a bit of flesh, and his skin had become much fairer.

It seemed that cultivating the Blood Refining Art had changed his constitution. His strength had also grown beyond that of an ordinary adult.

Take the stone stool in his Cave Abode, for example. It weighed at least two hundred jin. Before, he could not budge it at all. Now, he could just barely lift it.

Of course, he was still far behind anyone who truly practiced martial arts.

Ye Han studied the Purple Cauldron some more, but still failed to discover how to use it.

He felt he might never figure it out by fumbling around on his own.

But in the world of cultivators, if his treasure were exposed, who knew how many people would set their sights on him?

After turning it over in his mind, he decided to set the matter aside for now. When an opportunity arose later, he would slowly find a way to discover how the Purple Cauldron was used.

After examining it from every angle, he tried circulating the Azure Mystic Art to absorb the Spirit Light inside the Purple Cauldron, but there was no reaction whatsoever.

Other methods were even more hopeless.

With nothing else he could do, Ye Han put away the Purple Cauldron. Suddenly, his stomach began rumbling...

As he progressed with the Blood Refining Art, he found himself getting hungry more and more easily and needing increasingly large amounts of food.

Zhang Qingshan had told him that the Blood Refining Art accelerated the consumption and conversion of his body's qi and blood. As he absorbed the power of qi and blood ever faster, he naturally needed more and more food.

Ye Han left the Cultivation Room and went to the Storage Room to get something to eat. What he saw there startled him: the remaining food was only enough for a single meal.

Ye Han frowned at the sight. Zhang Qingshan still had not returned.

He was beginning to worry about him, and now he did not have enough food to hold out any longer either.

After all, he still had a mortal's constitution. He needed to eat, drink, relieve himself, and sleep.

Only after reaching a very high realm could cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Realm abstain from food. They could also sustain themselves solely on Grain-Repelling Pills or other medicinal pills.

Cultivators were not all beyond the smoke of mortal kitchens. Low-level cultivators still needed to eat. Only high-level cultivators could do without food, sustaining themselves by taking medicinal pills, absorbing heaven and earth spiritual energy, and the like.

In truth, they still needed to replenish the qi and blood within their bodies...

Heaven and earth spiritual energy and medicinal pills were among the ways to do so.

Of course, being able to go without food did not mean cultivators never ate. Many still craved fine food, and plenty of places specialized in medicinal cuisine, spiritual soups, roasted Demon Beast meat, and so on...

Ye Han simply could not afford them.

As he ate, Ye Han frowned and thought, Looks like I'll have to go out and find some food!

But rumors about his true identity had been circulating outside lately. Going out carelessly might be a little dangerous.

Still, Ye Han felt that this was Seven Mysteries Peak of the Azure Profound Sect's inner sect, after all. Who would be here besides the sect's own disciples?

Even those disciples could not simply attack someone here.

So going out should be reasonably safe.

He would just make a quick trip and come straight back. Besides, he had been at the Azure Profound Sect for so long, yet had barely dared to go out at all.

How else could he see what this cultivator sect was really like?

After finishing his food, Ye Han opened the entrance to his Cave Abode and headed out.

He had only just opened the Cave Abode.

A cold voice rang out from outside. "You're Ye Han?"

Ye Han had not expected someone to be waiting outside the moment he opened his Cave Abode. Frowning, he looked over...