Chapter 4: The Mysterious Small Cauldron

  "Huh? That's strange, how did it suddenly change?"

  Lü Yang only then saw clearly that on the surface of this small cauldron with unknown origins, many extremely fine patterns were carved, forming one after another, ancient and mysterious totems.

  These totems, some with horse bodies and human faces, tiger patterns and bird wings, some with sheep bodies and four horns, all over grayish-brown, some with horse bodies and bird wings, human faces and snake tails, some with fish bodies and snake tails, three heads and six tails, looking strange and bizarre, were all weird beasts that Lü Yang had never even heard of, let alone knew their names.

  These strange beasts, apart from their appearance, also have all sorts of postures. Some burrow into the mud, some perch on branches, some swim in the water, some crawl along the hillsides, and some throw back their heads and let out a long howl, with all sorts of shapes and forms.

  Look again at the other totems on the small cauldron, apart from the strange beasts, there are also some tall and majestic trees with lush branches, like monsters, growing in mid-air, floating and rolling, mist-like duckweed, winding for thousands of miles, as well as wisteria entwining mountains and rivers, ice-carved flowers... all sorts of rare flowers and unusual grasses.

  At the same time, there are some people dressed in ancient simplicity, as if they were primitive ancestors of ancient times, sitting or standing, posing in various postures.

  Some of them had three heads and six arms, some had eyebrows that grew upright eyes, some were as tall as mountains, some had wings on their backs, and some had snake heads and human bodies. They were all incredibly strange, no less than the most bizarre beasts seen at first glance.

  Besides, there are mountains and rivers, the sun and moon, forests and lakes, even the starry sky outside the domain, the morning wind, sea waves, the ebb and flow of the tides, all sorts of wonders between heaven and earth.

  Innumerable rare birds and animals, strange flowers and plants, eccentric people and things, and various other objects are depicted on this small cauldron. The lines are not intricate, and can even be said to be simple and rough, but they contain a mysterious aura that cannot be put into words, adding infinite mystery to this small cauldron.

  What was even more unbelievable was that inside the small tripod, a purple gas was actually stored.

  This purple gas looked very light and thin, as if it might dissipate at any moment. Even when Lü Yang leaned forward to observe it carefully, he had to hold his breath, afraid that a slight carelessness would blow it away with the air from his nostrils.

  But apart from the worrying thinness, this purple gas showed an extraordinary and eerie spirit. It floated quietly in the small cauldron, motionless at times, and at other times it flowed slowly, lightly dancing and fluttering.

  A long, dragon-like yet not quite dragon, snake-like yet not quite snake, monster-like vague silhouette flashed in it, vivid and lifelike.

  This scene makes people involuntarily think of the phrase "cup and bow snake shadow".

  Lü Yang felt that his brain was somewhat inadequate.

  "What on earth is this thing? Is it a wine vessel for some immortal master? It looks somewhat like one, but also somewhat not."

  Lü Yang knew that within the Immortal Gate, there were refined artifacts carefully crafted by cultivators. These artifacts mostly possessed various divine abilities and inconceivable effects, vastly different from ordinary objects in the mortal world.

  The small tripod is so mysterious and extraordinary, it's absolutely not an ordinary object from the mortal world.

  "Or is it a cooking vessel? No, this small cauldron is really too small and can't be used for cooking. It's more plausible to use it for drinking wine. Hmm, looking at it again and again, it still looks like a wine jug, except that this wine jug looks a bit strange."

  Lü Yang was deep in thought when a strange thing suddenly happened. This small and delicate tripod seemed to have come to life, trembling and struggling.

  Lü Yang was caught off guard for a moment, and it slipped out of his hands. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a stream of light and drilled into his body!

  "Huh?"

  Lü Yang shuddered and almost let out a cry of surprise.

  "What's going on here?"

  Lyu Yang was shocked beyond compare, he had no idea what had happened.

  Just then, something even stranger happened. This small tripod drilled into Lü Yang's body and actually settled down steadily, taking root in the lower part of his abdomen, at the qi sea.

  "Boom!"

  After taking root, a scorching torrent burst out of the small tripod and surged violently on Lü Yang's body, striking him.

  This torrent, soon transformed into thousands, scattered throughout Lü Yang's limbs and body, all over him. Lü Yang felt his body was like a raging fire, burning unbearably hot.

  This scorching heat from the inside out was a torture he had never endured in his life, and it almost melted him completely.

  But soon, a chill ran through his body, spreading throughout his entire being. The scorching heat that had engulfed him just moments before instantly vanished, replaced by an icy coldness.

  Lü Yang was like suddenly falling from a scorching hot furnace into a snow-covered plain of thousands of miles, with all his bones frozen in an instant.

  A moment later, this bone-penetrating chill once again reversed itself.

  Cold, hot, yin and yang, two different kinds of qi and blood, surging inside Lv Yang's body, ceaselessly rotating, circulating, flowing all over his body, washing away the impurities accumulated in his flesh.

  Lyu Yang felt as if his body was getting lighter and thinner, floating aimlessly without a sense of direction.

  He soon fainted and completely lost consciousness.

  ……

  "Hey, A Yang! A Yang! Wake up, wake up, why are you sleeping on the ground? Hurry and wake up."

  It was unknown how long had passed when Lv Yang, who had been sleeping on the ground, suddenly shivered with a chill and woke up.

  He had just woken up when he heard a familiar voice outside the door.

  As soon as the door was opened, it turned out to be a young man in green clothes and a small hat, who was calling him. This young man was also a servant of the Lyu family, who was in charge of the medicine garden, named Lyu Feng.

  "How did I fall asleep? Hmm? Fengzi." Lü Yang rubbed his eyes and yawned as he asked.

  "I wanted to ask you something, I was going to call you to get up together, but I didn't expect you were still not awake." Lü Fēng looked at Lü Yáng with a puzzled expression, "By the way, why are you sleeping on the floor? It's freezing outside now, aren't you afraid of catching a cold? I saw you sleeping on the floor through the gap in the door and called out to you."

  "Chilling... " Lü Yang recalled the events of last night, and his heart still had some lingering fear. "Right, I remembered that small cauldron, and that cold and hot surge! Hmm? My feeling seems to be a bit different from before? What's wrong with my body?"

  As he pondered, Lü Yang was suddenly startled, because he suddenly discovered that his body seemed to have undergone a huge change from before.

  The whole body felt numb and tingly, as if it had been soaked in warm water, feeling extremely comfortable. The original fatigue was swept away, replaced by an unparalleled sense of refreshment.

  At this time, the oil lamp on the table had long been extinguished, and the room was tightly closed with a dim light, but Lü Yang could still see everything clearly, just like in the daytime.

  Not only that, but even the sound of the stream outside the door and the rustling of leaves in the wind were exceptionally clear.

  Having lived for sixteen years, Lv Yang had never felt that this world was so wonderful. If it could be said that before he was looking at and feeling the world through a layer of misty gauze, then now, this layer of gauze had completely disappeared.

  And with eyes closed, it seems that the mysterious small tripod still inhabits one's own body, but it does not bring pain or discomfort. Instead, a continuous stream of tiny warmth flows out, which seems to be a neutralization of the two extreme hot and cold currents from before. This warmth continues to flow throughout the body, filling the brain with an indescribable sense of fullness and comfort that cannot be put into words.

  Lyu Yang seemed to have an illusion that his whole body was full of energy, and this energy was endless, as if no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't exhaust it.

  "What exactly happened?" Lü Yang was extremely shocked.

  "Ah Yang, Ah Yang." Lv Feng called out.

  "What's wrong?" Lü Yang came back to his senses.

  "There's nothing." Lü Feng looked at him and muttered to himself, "So nervous in the early morning... sleeping on the ground is not a big deal, but waking up and still being dazed... forget it, let's just go to our appointment together."

  "Coming right away?" Lu Yang said.

  Lü Yang's emotions were unable to calm down for a long time, but on the surface, he didn't show any unusual expressions.

  He decided to keep this matter in his belly and avoid the storm for now.