20: Chapter 20: The Changes in the Creation Cauldron

He did not expect that there was actually a storage space inside the creation cauldron?!

And it could even store spatial treasures like a Storage Pouch?!

His heart surged with excitement! What surprised him even more was...

This space... was actually a thousand meters in size?! It was ten times larger than the upgraded Storage Pouch?!

He understood in an instant! It must have been his strong thought of "wanting to hide treasure" just now that unintentionally triggered this hidden function of the creation cauldron!

The Rank of the Spatial Law in this inner cauldron space was obviously much higher than that of the Storage Pouch, which was why it could accommodate the spatial treasure Storage Pouch.

Moreover, this place was absolutely secret and safe!

Unless the creation cauldron was snatched away and refined, it was impossible for anyone to discover the things inside!

Xiao Yuan was in a great mood, and all his worries were swept away!

He tried to control it with his consciousness, easily transferring the items in the Storage Pouch into various corners of the inner cauldron space classified by category, arranging them neatly.

"Now it's completely safe! Even if a Nascent Soul Cultivator scans my whole body with Divine Sense, they won't even find a single hair!"

He carefully observed this newly discovered space, as well as the phantom of the small tripod in the center.

He vaguely felt that the aura of the phantom seemed slightly more solid and vigorous than before.

"Could it be that... besides 'charging' the tripod, the power of Yin and Yang can also... nourish or even enhance the quality of the creation cauldron itself?" This discovery made him even more expectant.

"It seems that the secrets of this tripod are even more than I imagined..."

Having resolved his biggest worry, Xiao Yuan's consciousness returned to his body, and he felt completely relaxed all over.

He removed the Restriction, walked out of the cave, found a mountain spring to wash his hands and face clean, restored his original appearance, and disguised his cultivation back to the 2nd Layer of Qi Condensation using the Great Turtle Breathing Technique.

Then, with light steps, he walked towards the mountain gate of the Jade Maiden Palace.

When Xiao Yuan returned to the territory of the Sect, he did not turn towards his Scrap Recycling Station.

Go back now? Wouldn't that be waiting to have his door blocked?

Although Zhao Mingfang had been slaughtered by him, and it was perfectly framed on Chen Yin.

But who knew if Chen Yin would be driven to desperation, and what if Zhao Mingfang's biological brother in the Foundation Establishment Stage went crazy and took out his anger on others?

What if the other party was unreasonable, felt that his younger brother's death had something to do with him, a Trash, and casually pinched him to death to vent his anger?

After all, the other party had lost his life precisely because he came to snatch the jade talisman treasure from him!

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator had plenty of excuses if he wanted to kill a Qi Condensation Stage handyman, and the Sect mostly would not pursue the matter deeply.

Xiao Yuan made up his mind to lay low. He decided to seclude himself in the Cultivation Room, and would never come out until reaching the Peak of Qi Refining Level 9!

At least upon reaching the Peak of Qi Refining Level 9, combined with his trump cards, even if he couldn't beat someone in the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, he should still have a chance to run away, right?

He wouldn't be killed in seconds.

However, closed-door cultivation required a massive amount of resources, resources needed to be purified by the small tripod, the small tripod needed energy... and energy needed to be replenished.

It seemed that before entering seclusion, he must first find Junior Sister Luo to prepare sufficient 'fuel', and then go to the Cultivation Room for a long-term battle.

He changed direction and headed towards the lower-grade Spirit Herb Garden managed by Luo Ziyan.

However, just as he walked to the entrance of the herb garden, a sharp female voice pierced through the fence and drilled into his ears.

"...Are you going to help or not? Say something! Are you mute?!"

Xiao Yuan's steps paused, and he stopped under the shade of a tree outside the herb garden. The Great Turtle Breathing Technique operated naturally, perfectly concealing his aura.

At the same time, his hundred-meter perception, comparable to the Divine Sense of Foundation Establishment, quietly spread out, "seeing" the situation inside the herb garden clearly.

Inside the herb garden, there were three female Cultivators.

Luo Ziyan lowered her head, standing beside a field of low-grade Spiritual Plants, nervously twisting the corner of her clothes with both hands. Her face still bore that disguised scar, giving her the appearance of a timid and bullied pushover.

Opposite her stood a female Cultivator dressed in a pink skirt. Her appearance was quite pretty, but the corners of her eyebrows and eyes exuded a thin veneer of harshness and spoiled willful behavior, with a cultivation level of the Qi Condensation 4th Layer.

At this moment, the other party was akimbo, pointing at Luo Ziyan's nose and spattering saliva everywhere:

"Luo Ziyan, I'm talking to you! I'm going to seclude myself in the Cultivation Room for fifteen days to make a Breakthrough to the Qi Condensation 5th Layer to cope with the Sect assessment! My herb garden will be left to you to look after for these half a month! Remember to water, weed, and get rid of pests every day; miss even one thing, and I'll make you pay when I come out!"

The tone was not a discussion, but an order.

Luo Ziyan's lips moved without making a sound, but her face was full of reluctance and dilemma.

She herself also had a herb garden to take care of and needed to Cultivate.

If she took on this extra work, half a month would basically be spent in the herb field, so what about her own cultivation?

Although she had just entered the Middle Stage of Qi Condensation this year, according to the rules, she didn't need to participate in this year's Sect assessment and temporarily had no risk of being sent to mine.

But cultivation was like sailing against the current; if one did not advance, one would retreat!

Not assessed this year, what about next year?

If her cultivation failed to meet the standard next year due to delayed cultivation, there would still be the danger of being banished to mine in the Western Mountains!

This female Cultivator surnamed Wang was clearly afraid of failing the assessment and wanted to sharpen her spear at the last minute, yet she shifted the pressure and trouble onto the weaker Luo Ziyan!

At this moment, another female Cultivator nearby couldn't stand it anymore, stepped forward, and said, "Wang Qian, that's about enough!"

As soon as this female Cultivator spoke, Xiao Yuan's "perception" couldn't help but "look" at her a couple more times.

This girl looked... quite decent!

With bright eyes and white teeth, skin as white as snow, and a lively temperament, her appearance was not inferior to Luo Ziyan before her disguise, and she even added a bit of heroic spirit and vitality.

Her cultivation level was also the Qi Condensation 4th Layer.

"Junior Sister Luo has been in the Sect for four years and finally reached the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer with great difficulty. If she fails to break through to the Middle Stage in her fifth year, she will also face the risk of being sent to mine!"

The pretty female Cultivator's voice was crisp, carrying the anger of standing up for justice.

"Look at you, being afraid of failing the assessment yourself, you force your herb garden onto Junior Sister Luo to look after? What about her own cultivation and herb garden for these half a month? Moreover, this is not the first time you've done this! Before, you even snatched Junior Sister Luo's cultivation resources! Otherwise, given Junior Sister Luo's diligence, how could she still remain at the Early Stage of Qi Condensation after four years in the Sect?"

She outputted like a string of firecrackers, making the harsh female Cultivator named Wang Qian's face turn alternately red and white.

Although the Jade Maiden Palace was quite lenient towards its Disciples and generally would not assign dangerous tasks within five years of entering the Sect, nor would the requirements for cultivation be too high,

if a Disciple still failed to break through to the Middle Stage of Qi Condensation after five years, they would either be expelled from the Sect or sent to other places, such as mining!

If Luo Ziyan hadn't met Xiao Yuan, her ending might not have been very good. Even if she hadn't been harmed by Zhou Zheng, she would probably still have faced the risk of being sent to mine next year.

Of course, in the Sect assessment after five years, if one ranked near the bottom, there was likewise the risk of being sent to mine.

Although this female Cultivator surnamed Wang managed a Spirit Herb Garden, if her Rank was near the bottom in the Sect assessment, she would likewise be replaced by someone else and sent to mine.

Presumably for this very reason, the other party wanted to take the opportunity to enter seclusion to improve her cultivation, but when she went into seclusion, forcing her own tasks onto others was somewhat domineering and unreasonable.

However, judging by her appearance, she was probably used to bullying Luo Ziyan; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so righteous and confident!