Chapter 001: The Mysterious Small Cauldron

  Qianjiang has mountains, its name is Langshi.

  The mountains of Lüshi stretch for hundreds of miles, with countless steep cliffs and precipices, shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, making it impossible to explore the scenery within, and extremely treacherous.

  The mountain climate is warm and humid, with many rare flowers and fruits growing, as well as various medicinal herbs. Birds and beasts are also abundant, making it a blessed land of spiritual energy within the domain of Qianjiang City.

  Although there are many dangers in the mountains of Congshan, it is extremely mysterious and yearning because of the spread of many ancient legends about immortals and Taoist priests.

  In the continuous hundreds of miles of Lianyun Mountain, there is a small town with only thousands of people, and the name of this town is Baishi Town.

  It is said that one relies on the mountain to eat from the mountain and relies on water to eat from the water. This Baishi Town, nestled among the mountains, has its medicine collectors and hunters making a living by collecting herbs and hunting in the Lengshi Mountain.

  Ten miles southeast of Baishi Town, there is a mountain peak called Baishi Peak. The peak is as high as 600 zhang, and from a distance, it appears to be quite majestic and steep. Moreover, the two sides of the mountain are cliffs and deep valleys, so few people come here to collect herbs or hunt.

  However, at this time on the top of Baishi Peak, there was a young man wearing a green cloth, carrying a basket and holding a medicinal sickle, walking through the thorny forest.

  The blue cloth on his body was a bit old, with two patches sewn on the back, and he wore a pair of straw sandals on his feet. Although his face was tender, it showed a hint of firmness, and there were still dew stains on it.

  He used his left hand to brush aside the thorny vines in front of him with a wooden stick, and his right hand tightly grasped the herbal sickle, his clear eyes keenly searching for any sign of herbs.

  Obviously, he is also a medicine collector in Baishi Town. However, this young man, only fourteen or fifteen years old, dares to come alone to the rugged and difficult-to-travel Baishi Peak, which is somewhat unexpected.

  After all, the White Stone Peak is not only steep and bumpy, but also inhabited by many ferocious beasts. Even old hunters and medicine collectors dare not enter it casually. This young man dares to collect medicine alone in it, which shows that he has a great courage.

  This young man is named Du Feiyun, fourteen years old this year. He is a medicine collector who makes a living by collecting medicines. Today, he came to the White Stone Peak at dawn as usual after hastily eating breakfast to start his day's hard work.

  In just two hours, the backpack on his shoulder had already been loaded with as much as two catties of medicinal herbs. This amount was comparable to what many experienced herb collectors could gather in half a day, enough to show that Du Feiyun was far stronger than most herb collectors in the town.

  After wandering in the mountains for half a day and picking dozens of silver moon flowers, Du Feiyun finally found a large stone to sit down and rest.

  He put down the backpack on his shoulder, wiped away the sweat from his face and gazed at the herbs in the backpack with a hint of smile.

  "Others are afraid of the rugged and difficult-to-traverse White Stone Peak, where ferocious beasts roam. But what they don't know is that this mountain peak also has the most abundant and dense medicinal herbs. No risk, no return."

  Indeed, it was the case that in these two years, Du Fei Yun would always be able to pick nearly twice as much medicinal herbs as others every time, earning dozens of wen per day and making around three or four taels of silver per month.

  However, these three or two silver coins are still barely enough for a family of three to spend. After all, he and his sister and mother have to eat and wear clothes, and his mother is weak and sick and has never stopped taking medicine, so the meager three or two silver coins per month are really just a drop in the bucket.

  The mother's illness was very strange. Since he was a child, he had seen his mother taking medicine all the time, but after so many years, there were no signs of improvement, and the cause of the disease could not be identified.

  Du Feiyun knew that the few doctors in Baishi Town were limited in their abilities, and to cure his mother's illness, he could only wait until he had saved up enough silver to go to Qianjiang City to find the famous Dr. Xue Shen to treat her.

  Sitting on a large stone to rest, Du Fei Yun's heart was filled with thoughts of his poor family background and his own humble abilities. His heart was also filled with mixed emotions, and his expression was somewhat gloomy.

  His greatest wish in this life was not only to let his mother and sister live a good life, but also to improve his strength and become a powerful great master!

  These two wishes have always been lingering in his mind and have never changed for many years!

  Because he knew that only by becoming a powerful cultivator could he provide his mother and sister with a comfortable living environment, and not be bullied or humiliated.

  Since childhood, due to his family's poverty and unusual circumstances, he has always lived under the cold eyes and disdain of the people in Baishi Town. The young masters of the three major families in Baishi Town, as well as those young men who were about the same age as him, had never spared him from bullying and beating.

  Every time he was met by those spoiled sons, he would be scolded and insulted, or even beaten to vent his anger. What made Du Feiyun's hatred surge in his heart was that Qin's second young master, Qin Shouyi, relied on his strength being stronger than him, and always took pleasure in teasing and beating him, and had several times beaten him so badly that he was seriously injured and fractured.

  If it weren't for his strong willpower and perseverance, he would have been killed by those severe injuries from being beaten up several times.

  Recalling his childhood, Du Feiyun was always bullied and beaten by the young masters of the Qin and Bai families. In his heart, he had long hated those youngsters, especially Qin Shouyi, whom he hated to the bone!

  In the past month, that bastard Qin Shouyi not only bullied him but also had his sights set on his sister Du Wanting. He often pestered her shamelessly and even made physical advances towards her.

  In Baishi Town, who doesn't know that Qin Shouyi, the second young master of the Qin family, is a lecher? Countless innocent girls have been ruined by him.

  Now, that scourge of a villain has actually harbored evil intentions towards Du Qing. Du Feiyun was already burning with rage, hating Qin Shouyi, that scoundrel who would stop at nothing, to the bone, and wished he could beat him to death with wild punches to rid the people of his menace.

  Unfortunately, he has mediocre innate talent and his cultivation path is very bumpy. Now he only has the lowly strength of a fourth-layer Body Refining stage cultivator.

  As for Qin Shouyi that damned bastard, his strength had already reached the sixth layer of the Refining Body stage. If he used his family's traditional martial arts, Du Feiyun was not his match at all.

  Du Feiyun was filled with hatred for himself in his heart, hating that he was useless and didn't have the talent or great strength to cultivate.

  If he were a powerful Qi Refining stage cultivator, who among the Qin and Bai families' youngsters would still dare to look down on him or bully and beat him?

  If he had the power of the Refining Qi stage, who in the entire White Stone Town would dare to look down on his family? How could that scoundrel Qin Shouyi also dare to bully his sister Du Huaqing?

  As he thought of these past events, Du Fei Yun's heart was filled with hatred, his face a mask of cold ferocity. He spoke in a low, bitter tone: "Now my strength is weak, everyone can bully me, I am unable to protect my mother and sister."

  "If I, Du Fei Yun, one day become a powerful cultivator, who would dare to bully me, humiliate my mother and sister? At that time, not only will I cure my mother's illness, but also let them live a happy and stable life!"

  His words were firm and persistent, but unfortunately reality always made people helpless. He didn't have a prominent family background or strong power, all of this was just a dream.

  Being bullied, insulted and beaten but unable to fight back, can only silently endure. That kind of hatred, that deep sense of helplessness, who else can understand?

  A craving for mighty power, like wild grass, grew wildly in Du Fei Yun's heart, never stopping for a single day.

  Even in his dreams, he fantasized that one day he would have great power to protect his mother and sister, cure his mother's illness, and let them live a good life.

  Perhaps it was the scorching sunlight that made his eyes dazed, or perhaps it was the longing in his heart that made his gaze distant.

  In short, for some inexplicable reason, Du Feiyun suddenly found that the scene in front of him had changed.

  In the distance, a magnificent city of gold and jade suddenly appeared. The towering high walls, the densely packed houses, pavilions and buildings all truly presented themselves before my eyes.

  The city is extremely vast, with walls stretching for hundreds of miles without end. Inside the walls, everywhere are high and luxurious houses, pavilions and palaces. From a distance, they appear to be a dazzling array of colors, shining brightly like a celestial paradise, the majestic heavenly palace in the sky.

  Du Feiyun rose in shock, his eyes wide with wonder as he gazed at the various scenes within the city. His face was filled with a curious expression, and under the dazzling lights, his eyes gradually became dazed.

  He had not realized that he had already stood up and walked towards the wide and high city gate with his backpack on.

  As he entered the city, Du Fei Yun gradually saw the scene inside the city, and found that there was no one in the city, very quiet, with only the sound of fallen leaves.

  Underfoot, a broad and spacious avenue paved with white jade stone slabs stretches far into the distance. On both sides of the avenue, rows upon rows of unknown flowers and grasses are planted, emitting a fragrant and intoxicating aroma that assails the nostrils and delights the heart.

  The entire city was silent, without a single sound or person in sight, only wisps of white clouds flowing between the buildings.

  He wandered aimlessly along the white jade road under his feet, constantly looking around at all the new and strange things, and unknowingly came to a slightly secluded small alley.

  Here, as before, there is no one, the alley seems a bit empty, the ground is still clean and tidy white jade stone slab, on both sides of the alley are many shops, above the door of each shop, they all hang ancient and elegant signboards.

  Looking at the ancient and elegant antique shops and pharmacies on both sides, Du Feiyun suddenly found that a shop's door was slightly ajar, and he inexplicably stepped into this antique shop called "Yu Xian Zhai".

  The shop of the Honorable Immortal's Studio is extremely large, with dozens of shelves as tall as a person packed tightly together, displaying many antique artifacts with simple yet elegant designs, exuding an aura of dignity and mystery.

  The light inside the shop was somewhat dim, Du Feiyun's eyes scanned around the shop, but he didn't see anyone, so he came to the elegant and clean purple sandalwood shelves and carefully examined each item.

  In front of him, the shelves were lined with a dazzling array of antiques. Each piece was so exquisite, so luxurious and noble, either stately, or light and lively, or elegant, that Du Feiyun became completely absorbed in them, forgetting the passage of time.

  With light steps, after browsing and marveling at the beauty and elegance of dozens of goods, Du Feiyun's gaze suddenly fell on a half-foot-high black small cauldron, and he couldn't move his eyes away from it.

  That small cauldron is entirely dark, unknown what kind of material it was cast from, with three legs, the body of the cauldron is carved with several lifelike black dragons, dignified and mysterious at the same time, yet appearing very lively.

  Du Feiyun gradually became fascinated, his eyes immersed in the small cauldron and couldn't help himself, he stretched out his hand to take the small cauldron from the shelf, holding it in his palm to appreciate it carefully.

  "Cough...cough..."

  A suppressed cough suddenly rang out, breaking the slightly dull atmosphere in the shop and startling Du Feiyun, who was just getting into a trance.

  He turned around abruptly and saw an old shopkeeper wearing a blue robe, with a feathered crown on his head and a long white beard that reached his chest. He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he stood up from behind the counter, leaning on it with his elbows, and gazing at Du Fei Yun with narrowed eyes.

  It wasn't until then that Du Fei Yun discovered that this seemingly heavenly city was not completely uninhabited. At the very least, this old shopkeeper was standing alive and well in front of him.

  "Shopkeeper, how much is this small cauldron?"

  For some reason, Du Fei Yun inexplicably had the idea of taking this small cauldron for himself, and once he did, he couldn't stop it. At this time, he had already forgotten about his own body, not even carrying a single penny on him.

  Upon hearing this, the old shopkeeper rubbed his bleary and dull eyes, his dry and slack mouth slightly trembling as he said in a neither salty nor bland tone: "Not for sale!"

  Du Feiyun suddenly became anxious, grasping the small cauldron with one hand and said somewhat irritably: "If you don't sell things, what kind of shop are you running? Isn't this just a waste of people's time?"

  The old shopkeeper slowly raised his eyelids, and his turbid eyes narrowed slightly as he sized up Du Feiyun for a moment before moving his lips to say: "One look at you and I can tell you can't afford the bill. Moreover, this kind of rare treasure is not something that someone like you, a commoner, can obtain with just silver coins. If you want it, then leave the bamboo basket on your back behind, and the item will be yours."

  As soon as this was said, Du Feiyun was suddenly stunned and had some doubts in his heart. How the old shopkeeper saw through the fact that he didn't have any silver on him, he didn't think about it for now. Just this bundle of herbs worth only a few dozen coppers couldn't be exchanged for this elegant and ancient small cauldron in his hand.

  Moreover, the old shopkeeper actually said that this small cauldron was a rare treasure in the world, and it was a precious object that could not be bought with silver, which made Du Feiyun even more resentful.

  Could it be that this is a treasure of the immortal family, and the heavenly palace's divine object is not? This old shopkeeper is really self-aggrandizing, unaware of the height of heaven and the thickness of earth.

  However, since the old shopkeeper has made up his mind to decide in this way, if Du Feiyun doesn't take advantage of such a great bargain as exchanging one basket of herbs for one treasure, he would be unworthy of being called Little Money Crazy. So, after being stunned for only a moment, Du Feiyun was overjoyed and put the basket on the counter, holding the small cauldron and wanting to leave.

  "Wait!" Du Feiyun was about to leave the door when the old shopkeeper's voice came from behind, Du Feiyun stopped in his tracks, thinking to himself that this old man must be having second thoughts.

  "Take this one too, they were originally a set and can't be separated."

  Du Feiyun barely turned around when he saw a white light flying out of the old man's hand, and in an instant it landed on his palm. He lowered his head to take a closer look, and suddenly it was a piece of white jade about half a foot long, with a square shape like a bamboo slip, warm all over, transparent in color, obviously not an ordinary object.

  Du Feiyun was somewhat unexpected, didn't think there would be such a treasure to give away, and with excitement in his heart, he bowed his head and thanked the old shopkeeper, but saw that the old shopkeeper was still snoring loudly on the counter.

  Thanking the old shopkeeper, Du Feiyun held the small cauldron and jade slip with joy in his heart as he stepped out of the Royal Immortal's Chamber and rushed towards the city gate.

  What he couldn't see was that the old shopkeeper who was leaning on the counter had a faint, mysterious smile at the corner of his mouth.