However, despite her doubts, Wan Feifei decided to remain neutral and not take any actions that could cause hostility between them. She took the pill, made the payment, and said her goodbyes before leaving. The cauldron also came with amunication token.


    As soon as the two of them left, Xie Qing''s face,whichhad beenadornedwith a bright smile, turned expressionless. "That woman is dangerous. I could sense her greed when she saw my abilities, but she seemsto besmart enough not to do anything stupid," he thought, narrowing his eyes and clenching his fist around the small cauldron.


    He looked at it curiously, wondering if its properties were as good as Wan Feifei had imed.


    As if in response to his curiosity,a familiar "ding" sound rang out, and a line of text appeared before him.


    [Eight Trigrams Cauldron] | [Rank: Legendary] | [Description: The Eight Trigrams Cauldron is one of the best cauldrons in the mortal world. It enhances the properties of pills by 0.5 times, helps to purify pills well, is very sturdy, and can transform size.


    If the user has a special bloodline, they can use the cauldron''s hidden ability, "Eight Trigrams," to double the pill''s properties with asmallchance.]


    "Impressive... item," Xie Qing marveled.


    ording toWan Feifei,the cauldron had good properties but could not be considered the best.Now, Xie Qing could understand why. "Special bloodline? I wonder if many people in this world have it...The powerful bloodlines of the ancient era have mostly disappeared," he thought with a hint of mncholy. "But damn it, what a coincidence. I am one of the few people with a special bloodline.


    What a coincidence, right?"


    ...whether it was a coincidence or not, it was not his concern.But, judging by the fact that Xie Qing had already started fiddling with the cauldron and trying to make something, I could exinin more detail aboutspecialbloodlines and their history.


    Bloodline - this word is understood by everyone.In the current cultivation world, there are only a handful of people with the bloodlines of ancient beings, but in a very weak manifestation. Xie Qing also has a special bloodline, and it canbe saidthat, although it is powerful, it is still in a dormant state. And you can only imagine what will happen if it awakens to 100%.


    In general, cultivators with bloodlines can develop faster, have a much stronger foundation, and inherit the dao techniques of their ancestors. For example, Yu Longfeng has atechnique, ording to Xu Mei''s story, that deprives the opponent of movement. Xie Qing assumed that this was the "Dragon''s Gaze."


    ***


    On the fifth day after Wan Feifei''s generous gift, Xie Qing gathered his belongings, said goodbye to the maids, paid thest rent, and left the city. During his time in Yao Cheng, Xie Qing umted a fortune of 875,000 spiritual stones.Thiswas arge sum forhim,but not enough for a cultivator.


    Many of the techniques he needed cost millions of spiritual stones, which made the young, greedy alchemist''s heart bleed.


    However, the fact was that the work of an alchemist was incredibly profitable. This type of business had strict requirements and needed a lot of investment, but most importantly - talent. Xie Qing was born under a lucky star and had this talent, even without the system. However, he did not know about it.


    One way or another, our young hero continued on his journey.The reason hedecided to travel on footwasnot because of a desire to lead a healthy lifestyle...


    "Khaaa! M-monster! D-damn it, spare us, okay? We''ll give you all ourloot,just don''t kill us!"


    "Hah, do you think I can''t strip the resources from your corpse? Or do you think I''m an idiot? It''s easier for me to turn you into a sieve than to listen to this nonsense."


    "P-please..."


    Crack!


    Xie Qing mercilessly broke the neck of the bandit who had attacked him a minute earlier. He then looked around and saw that no one was left alive. The fifty-member gang had beenpletely exterminated,noteven the dogs and chickens were spared.


    "Huh... these idiots were quite diligent.I managed to steal more than ten spatial rings, andthere aresome interesting items herethatcan be sold...but only a hundred spiritual stones.Tsk, not even enough for wine."


    The story was as follows. Xie Qing thought that he wascking in battles and, to avoid gettingcent, decided to travel on foot through dangerous areas where bandits lived. And, as luck would have it, he encountered them twenty minutes after entering their territory.


    "It seems that these guys are not quite right in the head. You''re trying to rob a person who''s walking alone and looks carefree. Don''t you think you should be more vignt? Sigh, bandits these days..." Xie Qing shook his head and scoldedthe banditsfor their stupidity. However,it should be notedthat other groups did not attack him, seeing his strength.


    On ordinary days, Xie Qing would havejustsneezed at them and left, but...


    "Sigh... Iam only drivenby the Dao of Kindness. I can''t understand why I have to have such a kind heart...Amitabha..."


    That night, all the groups in the "Death Zone" were exterminated.


    ***


    Jin Cheng City. Like Xie Qing''s hometown on the northern continent, this ce was considered one of therichestcities in the Dynasty. It was here that the Huang familywas located.


    Today, young master Huang''s mansion was bustling with activity. "Hurry, we must set up the banquet hall with all kinds of food and alcohol!Thisis the young master''s order!"


    "We cannot let the young master be ashamed because of our mistakes! Brothers, let''s do our best!"


    In the morning, the servants had received an order to prepare the banquet hall in the best possible way, from beautiful decorations to expensive alcohol and trusted allies.Thiswas because Xie Qing had sent a letter to his friend, Huang Jing, the night before, saying that hewas going tovisit him.


    Huang Jing could not allow Xie Qing - his benefactor - to be greeted in an ordinary, mundane way. Therefore, he did everything he could to prepare for avish wee banquet.Thisincluded inviting their mutual acquaintance, Fang Lan.


    "Huang Jing."


    Apanied by two Qi Condensation cultivators at their peak, Fang Lan entered the mansion of the young master. Shewas dressedin a beautiful red dress that emphasized her slender figure.Her ck hair was neatly tiedin a bun (it had grown back over time).


    "Sister Fan. It''s been a long time since west saw each other. How have you been?" Huang Jing greeted her warmly with a smile.


    "Sigh, things would be better if I didn''t have so many problems..." Fang Lan sighed tiredly and then began to look around.


    Huang Jing raised an eyebrow and thenughed, "He hasn''t arrived yet. We can wait for him here over a cup of tea. I would like to hear about your situation andthink abouthow I can help you."


    "T-thank you."


    Fang Lan blushed, and theservants,who sawthis,began to whisper to each other. "Maybe it''s because of her that the young master is having this banquet?"


    "No, did you not hear their conversation? It seems that they are both waiting for someone..."


    "Damn, it''s a pity... The young master should have taken a wife a long time ago."


    "Oh, don''t start..."


    At the same time, Huang Jing listened to Fang Lan''s situation and could not help but raise an eyebrow. "Fan Hei is so powerful? It''s amazing that he even has the support of a Soul Integration cultivator...Thisis a serious opponent."


    "Our family is different from yours. Even if we attract a high-level cultivator to our side - it''s good, but what is most valued is investment in business, especially in alchemy," Fang Lan exined and took a sip of tea. "And my business is too small, and due to the limited finances, I cannot fullypete with my older brother. Moreover, he is secretly causing me trouble."


    "I doubt that your family is unaware of his actions," Huang Jing reasoned with a sigh.


    "Of course, they are aware. But what do they care about such a small fry like me? Fan Hei''s business brings the family arge profit."


    Fang Lan twisted her mouth. It was clear that she was unhappy with her situation but also helpless.


    ====


    *Readers should remember that I once said that bloodline and physique in the setting of my book are the same thing. However, since I did not mention this often, andthe attention was not focusedon it, now these will be two different concepts. I apologize for the confusion.


    **I may not have mentioned this, but there was something like a carnival mask on Xie Qing''s face that covered everything above his lips.Thisis a spiritual item thatinterferes with perception and does not allow anyone to remember the exact features of your face.