The Primordial Gourd

Three months later, in a secluded cave in White Sand County.

"Whew! Fortune has turned at last." Feeling the spiritual power flowing through him more abundantly than ever before, Kang Dabao smiled in satisfaction.

"So this is the Qi Refining Fifth Layer? Damn it, I finally broke through." He really did have to thank Niu Gui'er. If he hadn't found a Realm-Breaking Pill in his Storage Bag, breaking through would probably have taken him a good deal more painstaking effort.

There was no need to worry too much about pill toxins, either. He had found a Meridian-Cleansing Pill in Gu Laoliu's Storage Bag, though he didn't know whether Gu Laoliu had obtained it in a private trade with Daoist Wu.

His luck this time had been extraordinarily good. If he hadn't stumbled into that chaotic battle, then with his previous abilities and no way to use Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes, he would have struggled to win even against Fourth Liu alone.

His injuries had only mostly healed. After all, this wasn't a browser game where leveling up restored all your health.

His other losses were considerable. The White-Armored Land Tortoise alone had cost him nearly sixty Spirit Stones when he bought it years ago.

Raised properly with resources and the Beast-Taming Method Formula passed down in the sect, it could reach adulthood at first-tier superior-grade in under eighty years, with a lifespan of five hundred years.

He had picked it out after searching high and low, choosing one that could care for him in his old age and see him off at the end, while also protecting the Chongming Sect.

After acquiring it, he had held and played with it every day for nearly ten years. He had practically been ready to give it a name and raise it as a son.

It had finally been on the verge of advancing to first-tier middle-grade, only to die beneath Second Liu's flying wheel. How could he not grieve over it?

The Mountain-Splitting Hammer had been a fine first-tier middle-grade Law Artifact too, but he hadn't managed to save it. It had been destroyed.

The gains, however, were even more astonishing.

As the saying went, a man could not grow rich without a windfall, just as a horse could not grow fat without night grass.

From the jumbled Storage Bags, Kang Dabao had sorted out more than 2,200 Spirit Stones alone.

The four Liu brothers had contributed seventy percent of them, even after spending a fortune on a Heavenly Thunder Seed.

Bai Bian was an elder of the Bai Household of White Sand and a locally renowned late-stage cultivator, a man of great standing, yet his wealth was positively meager compared to these Evil Cultivators.

It was no wonder the world was growing worse by the day. Money came far too quickly on the Evil Dao.

Come to think of it, the four Liu brothers' heads could also fetch a bounty of 2,000 Spirit Stones from the White Sand Demon-Correction Bureau!

On second thought, though, it would be better to wait a while before collecting it.

So many locally prominent cultivators had died this time, including old cultivators like Bai Bian of the Bai Household, whose ties in the area were tangled and complex. If Kang Dabao rashly claimed the bounty, it would be troublesome if he became entangled in some trouble.

In any case, he wasn't short of Spirit Stones and was in no hurry to collect it. Even if he needed them urgently, it would be safer to bring Second and Third along.

There were seventeen or eighteen miscellaneous Law Artifacts in all. The most valuable were probably the two flying swords belonging to the Eldest of the Liu Household and Bai Bian.

Both were fine first-tier superior-grade goods. The two flying swords alone were probably worth nearly 2,000 Spirit Stones, but unfortunately, they weren't things he could easily turn into cash anytime soon.

He could either go to the black market and be fleeced, or hold on to them and gradually sell them in several more distant places.

Keeping them for the three brothers to share was another option.

But for one thing, these were items with known origins in cultivator circles, and he would have trouble explaining himself if he ran into someone who recognized them. For another, whether Kang Dabao and his two brothers could use these fierce men's strange Law Artifacts comfortably was another matter.

By a rough reckoning, the haul from this trip was worth several thousand Spirit Stones. It was undeniably rich. Even when their master was still alive, the sect had never been so wealthy!

Still, the greatest gain this time was probably this gourd.

He carefully rubbed the palm-sized treasure. With its black glaze, red base, silver-plated stopper, and purple-copper-colored mouth, it could hardly be called beautiful.

He had spotted it in a mortal tavern while traveling on business. Suddenly feeling that he needed a gourd to carry water, he had traded for it with the old man there.

He had always used it to hold and drink water without noticing anything unusual. How had it suddenly turned into a treasure?

He couldn't be blamed for that. A cultivator's blood was still blood; who made a habit of dripping blood on everything they obtained from outside?

The treasure had gathered dust in Kang Dabao's hands for a long time, and only through a strange twist of fate had a corner of its veil finally been lifted.

Seen in that light, the ruthless Eldest of the Liu Household, who had truly stripped a layer of scalp from Kang Dabao's head, could be called a benefactor to Sect Leader Kang Da.

During this time, whenever he wasn't tending his injuries, he had been studying the gourd.

As for that black bone, damn it, even when this Daoist master had been hovering between life and death, it hadn't reacted at all.

"Pah! What divine object concealing its brilliance? It's nothing but a piece of junk, wasting this Daoist master's time. I could go back and stew it to nourish the old donkey."

But what sort of treasure was this gourd, exactly?! For the first time, Sect Leader Kang Da felt such frustration at his own dull aptitude.

It had clearly reacted before when it was casually smeared with blood, yet now he had tried blood sacrifice, fire refining, and spiritual forging.

He had tried every method he could dredge up from his meager store of cultivation knowledge, but it still hadn't reacted in the slightest.

Sect Leader Kang Da was so anxious that he jumped up and down like a monkey. He was begging for food with a mountain of gold on his back! How could he not be anxious?

Only after dripping Essence Blood onto it for a full nine days did Kang Dabao finally glimpse the way in, as a wisp of azure smoke rose slowly from the gourd's mouth.

"Primordial Gourd, Azure Smoke of Creation."

Kang Dabao learned the gourd's true name and the use of the wisp of azure smoke. He learned that it was the treasure's essence, which could originally have been used twice, but now had only one use left.

Nor was it a method he could activate at will. It could only save his life in a moment of peril.

He didn't regret using it on the Eldest of the Liu Household. Whether his opponent was at Qi Refinement or Foundation Establishment, either way, he could have taken his life.

He just couldn't be certain. It could kill someone at Qi Refinement like the Eldest of the Liu Household, and he reckoned it could kill someone at Foundation Establishment too, but he didn't know about a true Golden Core cultivator, or even...

Thinking any further really was a bit presumptuous. Kang Dabao hurriedly stopped himself. A method like this was best left unused if possible.

The treasure itself was damaged, and its essence could not recover on its own. Once it was used up, the gourd really would become junk.

With that thought, he took a ceramic bowl from his Storage Bag and turned the gourd mouth downward. Spiritual dew poured slowly from it, and Kang Dabao held the bowl steady, unwilling to spill a single drop.

Ordinarily, Kang Dabao would never have dared drink something of unknown origin like this.

With some spiritual substances, even if you knew they were good things, a Golden Core cultivator and a minor Qi Refinement cultivator had to handle them completely differently. One man's honey was another's arsenic.

Swallowing it rashly would not necessarily end well.

Yet the moment Kang Dabao saw the bowl of spiritual dew, he couldn't restrain himself. Every rational thought vanished, and he drank it down in one gulp.

As soon as it entered his mouth, he felt comfortable all over. The pores across his body opened, releasing turbid Qi.

His whole body seemed to shine with spiritual light, radiating a boundless sense of sanctity.

He regulated his breathing for another three days. Although Qi Refinement cultivators had yet to reach Grain Avoidance, Kang Dabao felt no hunger when he opened his eyes, and his golden eyes were much brighter than before.

"This spiritual dew not only increased my cultivation speed and purified the spiritual power throughout my body, it even improved my talent for eye techniques. To think such a treasure exists in this world!"

Kang Dabao circulated his spiritual power through one cycle and felt that his Qi Refining Fifth Layer realm had completely stabilized. It didn't feel as though he had just broken through; rather, it felt as though he had broken through many years ago.

Not only that, his cultivation speed had also increased by sixty percent, making it nearly comparable to that of someone with three Spirit Roots.

How could he not rejoice at such good fortune?

"It's a pity there's only one bowl every twelve years. Otherwise, I'd let Second and Third drink some when I return." Sect Leader Kang Da had taken Long and now longed for Shu.

If it could produce a bowl of spiritual dew every day, wouldn't this Daoist master's Chongming Sect soar?

Forget dominating Pingrong County. We might even have a chance to become the number one sect in Cloud Horn Prefecture, and perhaps I could even become a Golden Core patriarch.

When that time came, my title as the founding ancestor of the sect's revival would be set in stone!

"I wonder how I can repair the gourd's essence?" Sect Leader Kang Da buried himself in thought.

But this was something he couldn't discuss with anyone, so Sect Leader Kang Da could only scratch and scratch at his scalp.

The Eldest of the Liu Household had scraped away nearly all his hair before. His scalp had now healed, but he didn't know whether the hair would grow back or when.

Though he knew his looks weren't outstanding, Sect Leader Kang Da was quite attached to his glossy black locks. He considered them no worse than those of the talented young men from the great sects, and losing them really was somewhat saddening.

After daydreaming a while longer, Kang Dabao gathered his thoughts and belongings and began preparing for the journey back.

He had better go home first. He had been away so long that it was time to return to the sect.

The great battle three months ago had involved quite a few people, and he hadn't had time to send word to Yuan Jin and Jiang Qing. The two were probably worried.

Come to think of it, he was somewhat envious of Niu Gui'er's Law Technique for controlling paper figures. It wasn't much use in a fight, but it was quite good for delivering messages.

With that thought, he opened his Storage Bag and began searching through it again.

This book's golden finger has appeared. It won't be particularly heaven-defying early on, so readers can rest assured.