A single Qi Condensation Pill could only put out the fire burning at his brows.
To recover his former cultivation, or even go further, what Chu Yunfei needed was an unending supply of resources.
Spirit stones, spirit herbs, pills, heavenly materials and earthly treasures...
He could not do without any of them.
Chu Yunfei lowered his head and glanced at the jade bottle in his hand.
He had a Qi Condensation Pill, and he had a spirit sword.
But those two things could only help him through the imminent assessment, not sustain his cultivation over the long term.
As for a secondary profession that could reliably earn him resources, he had none worth showing.
Alchemy? He did not know how.
Talisman crafting? He understood nothing of it.
In his previous life, he had devoted himself entirely to the martial path. He was practiced at killing people and seizing their treasures, but had never seriously studied alchemy or talisman crafting.
The path of cultivation emphasized wealth, methods, companions, and a place to cultivate.
That so-called "wealth" did not mean merely gold and silver.
Spirit herbs, spirit stones, treasures, talismans, and pills all cost resources.
Ultimately, a martial artist's cultivation was built by piling up resources.
Those scions of great clans had spirit herbs to temper their bodies and pills to assist them from childhood, achieving twice the results with half the effort.
But someone like Chu Yunfei, without the protection of his peak lord father, could only fight for resources himself.
Even stake his life on them.
When Chu Batian had still been around, Chu Yunfei, as the peak lord's son and someone exceptionally gifted, had never lacked cultivation resources.
Now, the world remained, but its people had changed.
Just as Chu Yunfei was pondering where to begin, a languid, ethereal voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
"Foolish boy, have you forgotten your greatest trump card?"
Chu Yunfei perked up.
"You're awake?"
"Hmph, this king was merely taking a brief nap."
Xiaoxiao Dragon gave a light snort, as haughty and prickly as ever.
"You possess the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate, which can refine all things under heaven. Why are you still worrying about cultivation resources?"
Chu Yunfei's gaze sharpened.
Right.
He had almost forgotten the divine cauldron's true ability.
It was a supreme treasure said to refine all things within a single cauldron.
"How do I use it?" Chu Yunfei asked.
"Simple."
Xiaoxiao Dragon began explaining at a leisurely pace.
"Spirit stones, spirit herbs, demonic beast cores-as long as something possesses spirituality, you can toss it into the cauldron."
"The divine cauldron will remove its impurities and refine it into origin spirit liquid."
"That stuff contains pure power, leaves no pill toxins, and is far more effective than ordinary pills."
At this point, a little more disdain entered her voice.
"With the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate, why bother refining pills?"
"Even a dog wouldn't bother."
The corner of Chu Yunfei's mouth twitched.
Her words were crude, but the reasoning was sound.
If origin spirit liquid truly was as she described, ordinary pills indeed held little appeal.
"Besides that, there's also a Spiritual Qi space inside the cauldron."
Xiaoxiao Dragon continued, "Time flows ten times faster in there than outside."
"One day outside, ten days inside."
Chu Yunfei's breath caught.
Ten times the flow of time!
Even as a mighty powerhouse who had dominated a region in his previous life, he had never seen such a heaven-defying means.
While others cultivated for one year, he would effectively cultivate for ten.
With enough resources to sustain him, recovering his peak strength would only be a matter of time.
He could even reach heights he had never attained in his previous life.
"Doesn't that mean I'll soon be invincible?"
"In your dreams."
Xiaoxiao Dragon mercilessly doused him with a bucket of cold water.
"The divine cauldron's basic refining ability can be used directly, but that time space requires mid-grade spirit stones or better to sustain it."
"With what you own now, you'd struggle to open it even once."
The smile on Chu Yunfei's face faded slightly.
The value of mid-grade spirit stones was far beyond that of low-grade spirit stones.
With his current standing, obtaining even one would not be easy.
"Still, this isn't the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate's strongest ability."
Xiaoxiao Dragon changed tack.
"Once you unlock the other functions of the cauldron, you'll naturally understand how powerful it is."
Chu Yunfei immediately pressed her. "How do I unlock them?"
"Dual cultivate with a daughter of heavenly mandate, or kill a son of heavenly mandate."
"The heavenly mandate origin within them can awaken the divine cauldron."
Only then did Chu Yunfei understand why Xiaoxiao Dragon had kept urging him to dual cultivate with Lin Wanyin ever since she awakened.
So this was the root of it.
He simply had not expected Lin Wanyin to be a daughter of heavenly mandate.
According to legend, those blessed by heavenly mandate bore immense fortune, with talent and opportunities far surpassing ordinary people.
But before they truly rose to prominence, they often appeared unremarkable.
This was both suppression by the Heavenly Dao and a form of protection in disguise.
Chu Yunfei did not dwell on it.
What mattered most now was dealing with the outer sect assessment in three days.
He could not open the space with tenfold time flow yet.
But the divine cauldron's refining ability was already sufficient for his use.
Provided he first found something it could refine.
With only three days left, slowly accumulating contribution points through sect missions clearly would not work.
Chu Yunfei turned his sights beyond the sect.
Evening.
The setting sun sank into the distant mountains, leaving only a stretch of dusky red along the horizon.
Chu Yunfei pushed open the weathered courtyard gate, changed into plain blue robes, then wrapped the mid-grade yellow-tier spirit sword in layer after layer of cloth and carried it on his back.
Then he headed straight down the mountain.
Just as his figure vanished beyond the sect gates, an inner sect disciple concealed in the shadows swiftly withdrew his gaze.
The man glanced around, then turned and rushed deeper into the inner sect.
Before long, he arrived in front of a residence.
"Senior Brother Ling Feng."
"Chu Yunfei has left the sect."
In the residence's seat of honor, a young man in white was sipping tea.
He had handsome features, but a gloom lurked between his brows.
At the report, the teacup in Ling Feng's hand stopped at his lips.
"Finally willing to leave that kennel?"
His voice was very soft.
Yet to anyone listening, it carried a bone-piercing chill.
Ling Feng set down his teacup.
"Follow him."
"Find somewhere deserted and kill him."
Chu Yunfei deserved to die.
Situ Shuang'er was the woman he, Ling Feng, had set his sights on, and the Dao companion he had chosen.
He had spent considerable effort and resources pursuing Situ Shuang'er.
Yet Chu Yunfei, that trash who had already fallen into the mire, had actually once been betrothed to her.
Even though the engagement had now been dissolved, the matter still angered Ling Feng.
Chu Yunfei had once been an inner sect prodigy.
Even if Ling Feng had resented him, he could not touch him.
Now, his cultivation had plummeted, and he had even been demoted from the inner sect. He had long since become a homeless dog no one cared about.
It was merely killing a piece of trash.
Would the sect really hold a true disciple like him accountable over one Chu Yunfei?
"Understood."
A dark figure emerged from the shadows behind a pillar.
He cupped his fist and left the residence.
Within a few breaths, he vanished into the dusk.
Beyond the Azure Mystic Sect's mountain range lay an unbroken expanse of forest inhabited by demonic beasts.
The night grew deeper.
Low growls from demonic beasts occasionally rose from the forest, while leaves and branches rustled in the night wind.
Chu Yunfei had not been beyond the sect's territory for long when his steps suddenly slowed a fraction.
The chirping of insects behind him had briefly fallen away.
At the same time, a faint trace of killing intent brushed against his back.
It was an instinct honed through countless life-and-death battles in his previous life.
Someone was following him.
And they meant him harm.
Chu Yunfei did not look back and continued walking.
A short while later, he reached a relatively open patch of woodland.
The shadows of trees swayed all around him.
The next instant, the murderous intent behind him erupted in full.
A dark figure lunged from behind and to the side, a longsword slicing through the night straight toward Chu Yunfei's throat.
Fast, vicious, precise.
There was no probing attack.
The first move was a killing blow.
The instant the blade struck, Chu Yunfei pivoted and shifted several feet sideways.
The cold edge skimmed past his cheek, severing a few strands of hair.
"Not a slow reaction."
His ambush having missed, a trace of surprise entered the attacker's voice.
Chu Yunfei steadied himself and turned to look.
The other man wore night clothes and a black cloth over his face, revealing only a pair of cold, sinister eyes.
Judging by the surging blood and strength within his body, his cultivation should have been at the seventh level of body tempering.
"The seventh level of body tempering?"
Chu Yunfei's tone was flat.
"You really do think highly of me."
To kill a piece of trash rumored to be only at the body tempering third layer, they had actually sent a martial artist at the seventh level of body tempering.
Whoever was behind this was certainly cautious enough.
The masked man did not answer.
After his failed strike, much of the contempt in his eyes had faded.
The next instant, he turned his wrist and thrust his sword again.
The blade shifted repeatedly, overlapping sword shadows spreading like flowing water to seal off every route of retreat around Chu Yunfei.
Chu Yunfei recognized the sword technique at a glance.
Flowing Cloud Sword Technique.
A high-grade yellow-tier martial technique.
Among the Azure Mystic Sect's outer disciples, those who could practice this sword technique were by no means numerous.
It seemed the person behind this was within the sect.
Facing the layers of sword shadows sweeping toward him, Chu Yunfei did not retreat.
Instead, he took a step forward.
"Not a bad move."
"Too bad you've practiced it so poorly."
As his words fell, the cloth wrapped around the black sword tore apart inch by inch.
Clang!
A clear sword cry rang through the woods.
The pitch-black blade glinted with a cold gleam beneath the moonlight.
There were no unnecessary variations.
Chu Yunfei gripped the sword with both hands and slashed down.
"Triple Wave Slash!"
The black sword rang and trembled.
Three waves of sword force erupted along the blade in succession, so fast they almost formed a single line.
The first wave broke through the sky-filling sword shadows.
The second collided head-on with the masked man's longsword.
The third followed close behind, all the force stacking together like raging waves crashing against the shore, pouring out in an instant.
Crack!
The longsword in the masked man's hand snapped on the spot.
His pupils abruptly contracted.
This was bad!
The thought had barely formed when the third wave of sword force passed through the broken sword and slammed into his chest.
Spurt!
Blood splattered.
The masked man's body suddenly stiffened.
He staggered back two steps and lowered his head to look at the wound across his chest, so deep that bone was visible.
Only horror remained in his eyes.
One slash.
Just one slash.
He, at the Seventh Level of Body Tempering, had actually been defeated.
No.
Not defeated.
Instantly killed outright.
The masked man stared fixedly at Chu Yunfei, his lips trembling incessantly, as though he wanted to say something.
"You... aren't... at the Third Level of Body..."
Before he could finish, the masked man breathed his last, filled with endless regret and unwillingness.