A handsome young man, spotless and pure; an honest and reliable young gentleman.

Not long after.

“May the Heavenly Dao bear witness! I, Tu Ruoxu, hereby swear that I am willing to personally move to eliminate Killing Life Daoist Han Lie, and afterward, I will promptly return the creation cauldron to Lai Fu. Should I violate this oath, I am willing to suffer the pain of ten thousand bolts of lightning...”

After making this solemn curse, Qi Yuan subtly released a wisp of Qi unique to a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul from his body.

Since he was putting on a show, he might as well go all the way, lest the other party's worrying intelligence suddenly take the high ground... In Lai Fu's eyes, a vast and ethereal aura truly seemed to descend from the heavens, perfectly resonating with the Heavenly Dao Oath.

At this point, the last shred of doubt in Lai Fu's heart vanished completely, and he sighed:

“Not bad, Fellow Daoist Tu is indeed trustworthy. No wonder you earned the master's trust to retrieve his entire fortune.”

“This Qi is truly grand and profound, connecting to the Heavenly Dao... It seems your oath has received the Heavenly Dao's recognition. If you violate it, you will pay an unbearable price!”

As he spoke, Lai Fu took a deep breath and, with some reluctance, pulled out a small, pitch-black tripod with attached handles from his person.

The small cauldron looked dull on the outside, its surface covered with dense, mysterious, and obscure patterns, subtly emitting an ancient and heavy aura, as if it originated from time immemorial.

However, this small cauldron was incomplete. Its body was covered in cracks both large and small, with several very obvious missing pieces, and even one of its legs had vanished.

Seeing the broken cauldron, Qi Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and information about the creation cauldron involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

The creation cauldron was obtained by Han Lie in a certain ruin, and it was already damaged when it first appeared.

At the time, Han Lie was nothing more than a Loose Cultivator who was nearly driven mad by poverty, habitually scouring every place he went clean of items. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have bothered taking this broken thing out at all.

Originally, Han Lie planned to sell the creation cauldron as an antique, but no one would buy it until he discovered its various miraculous aspects.

The creation cauldron was forged from unknown material. Although covered in cracks, it was exceptionally sturdy, indestructible, and impervious to damage, even when attacked by a Tribulation Passing Realm Cultivator.

More importantly, as long as the creation cauldron was placed nearby during Cultivation, the Cultivation speed would noticeably increase, by at least fifty percent.

With the creation cauldron present, Han Lie's Dao Foundation was greatly strengthened. When forming his Nascent Soul, he only achieved a mediocre Purple Mansion Nascent Soul, but upon Breakthrough to Soul Transformation, he was able to achieve Myriad Tribulations Deity Transformation, completely transforming himself and soaring into the sky.

Perhaps the wisp of heavenly dao creation qi within the creation cauldron was exhausted during his Breakthrough to Soul Transformation. After achieving Myriad Tribulations Deity Transformation, Han Lie never had another perfect Breakthrough.

Even so, the creation cauldron's functions of strengthening the Dao Foundation and increasing Cultivation speed were still Heaven-Defying enough, making it Han Lie's greatest reliance in becoming the number one Loose Cultivator in the world.

When Qi Yuan saw the creation cauldron with his own eyes, a feeling vaguely arose in his heart that the cauldron's true function seemed to be far more than just this... After the creation cauldron was separated, the aura on Lai Fu's body instantly dropped significantly, reaching only the level of Half-step Void Refining. His originally pale face turned slightly green, and the strange Blood Gleam in his eyes also dimmed considerably.

“Fellow Daoist Tu, I'm temporarily entrusting this creation cauldron to you. After you eliminate my master, you must return it as soon as possible...”

Lai Fu reluctantly handed the creation cauldron to Qi Yuan, his tone filled with intense hope.

For it, the news that its master was still alive was like a bolt from the blue, shattering all previous ambitions and leaving only fear and anxiety.

Because of the Blood Spirit Mark on its body, it currently had no way to leave this Immortal Cave.

Even with the creation cauldron, completely erasing the Blood Spirit Mark would take a very long time. Heaven knows if its master would return powerfully before then and cast it, the traitorous slave, into the Eighteen Layers of Hell.

To resolve the threat, it could only rely on this external Cultivator who knew Han Lie's current whereabouts.

“Don't worry, Senior. I, Tu Ruoxu, always keep my word. People call me the Untainted Handsome Youth, the Honest and Reliable husband.”

Qi Yuan smilingly accepted the creation cauldron, glanced around to confirm that the Treasure Vault had been completely cleaned out by him, and then calmly took his leave.

Before leaving, he did not forget to instruct Lai Fu to shut down the Blood Fiend Great Formation and wait patiently for his good news... Meanwhile.

Outside the Immortal Cave.

“Phew... The seventy-two tents are finally set up, and the ten layers of Defensive Formations outside the camp have also been arranged.”

After a period of hard work, Zhuang Qingyun regulated his breathing and asked Senior Brother Tu Ruoxu for instructions:

“Senior Brother Tu, what should we do next?”

Tu Ruoxu glanced at the gray sky, pondered briefly, and said in a deep voice:

“For now, let's not act rashly. We'll wait until Fellow Daoist Qi returns. However, we shouldn't be idle either. I observe that although the environment here is barren, the air contains traces of moisture.”

“This indicates that there must be a Spiritual Spring Source nearby. As long as we find that source, we can Cultivate a Spirit Field to grow Spirit Medicine...”

“You mean, we're going to farm here?”

Zhuang Qingyun looked confused and asked doubtfully, “Isn't that too much of a time sink?”

Tu Ruoxu shook his head and said solemnly:

“Junior Brother Zhuang, you must understand that this is a protracted, tough battle. As the saying goes, 'Troops and horses move, provisions come first.' War is fought on logistics and supply.”

“The Spiritual Qi here is thin. Although we brought enough recovery Medicinal Pills, we can't just sit here and consume all our resources.”

“I specifically brought a treasure item used to ripen Spirit Medicine quickly. As long as we start farming, we can secure a continuous supply of resources. This is the only way for a long-term plan!”

Hearing this, Zhuang Qingyun immediately realized the significance and said respectfully:

“I see! Thank you, Senior Brother, for teaching me. I understand. I'll go prepare right away...”

Before he finished speaking, he saw an extremely fast Escape light rushing toward them in the distance.

After clearly seeing the approaching person, Zhuang Qingyun's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed:

“Senior Brother Tu, you guessed correctly again! Look, isn't Fellow Daoist Qi back?”

Tu Ruoxu, however, frowned slightly and mused:

“I see that Fellow Daoist Qi looks agitated and is moving hastily. Could he really have encountered a mishap?”

As they spoke, the two of them walked forward to meet him.

“Fellow Daoists, I was only gone for a short while, and you've already set up the camp?”

Qi Yuan looked strangely at the large patch of tents below and said:

“To be honest, a very terrifying existence lives inside this Immortal Cave. That fellow has the home field advantage and cannot be fought head-on. We should leave quickly.”

“Also, the Main Hall where Killing Life Daoist lived before he died has been emptied. There are no more Opportunities to seize, and staying here is just a waste of time.”

Now that he had obtained almost all of Killing Life Daoist's assets, he naturally didn't want to continue fighting desperately with that Void Refining Realm Blood Spirit.

Out of the little conscience he had left, he decided to come and warn these two overly cautious fellows, lest they foolishly remain here wasting their efforts.

“A terrifying existence? Emptied out?”

Hearing this, Tu Ruoxu and Zhuang Qingyun exchanged glances...