Treasure Gathering Immortal Furnace

Upon seeing the magical artifact handed over by Wang Qingzhu, Lu Fan accepted it without hesitation, knowing that magical artifacts were generally difficult for outer disciples to obtain.

For example, Yan Ruyu only received a low-grade magic weapon from the inner sect after she had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

It is conceivable that magical artifacts are extremely attractive to those in the Qi Refining or even Foundation Establishment stages.

Wang Qingzhu had no powerful backing and not abundant cultivation resources, but she still took out a low-grade magic weapon, which moved Lu Fan deeply.

"Thank you, Uncle Wang," Lu Fan said, leaving a divine soul imprint on the magic artifact before bowing and returning the greeting.

Wang Qingzhu raised her hand and then looked at Steward Ma, saying, "Junior Brother Ma, please take good care of Lu Fan in the future, after all, I brought him here."

"Definitely!" Steward Ma hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting.

Without saying anything more, Wang Qingzhu summoned her flying sword, which transformed into a long rainbow and disappeared into the distance.

Lu Fan understood that Wang Qingzhu was kind to him purely because she saw him as pitiful and poor, with no one to care for him. But that was enough for Lu Fan.

With so many people watching now, anyone who wants to mess with him later will have to think twice.

"That cripple is really lucky," Yan Ruyu said in a low voice after Wang Qingzhu left, clearly displeased.

Yan Ruyu's dislike for Lu Fan wasn't something that had just started; it had been brewing for a long time.

When Yan Ruyu joined the Dao Sect, Lu Fan was already under Steward Ma's command, and Yan Ruyu happened to enter the Steward Ma's office.

The fact that she addressed a cripple as her senior and junior brother made Yan Ruyu, who was already uncomfortable with the physical discomfort of disabled people, feel extremely disgusted.

In addition, Yan Ruyu always lost when Lu Fan made bets, and a year ago Lu Fan even dared to point fingers at her.

Over the past decade or so, the resentment had built up to an extreme level of disgust for this cripple, and Yan Ruyu wished she could kill Lu Fan.

However, Lu Fan was too low-key, always staying in his own little thatched hut, being cautious and not interacting with any disciples, which made it impossible for Yan Ruyu to find a reason to make a move.

"Lu Fan, from now on, the task of collecting corpses will be handled by Li Niu. Since Senior Sister Wang values ​​you so much, you should focus on your cultivation," Steward Ma said slowly.

Clearly, the benefits of Wang Qingzhu's few words of advice were immediately apparent.

"Thank you, Steward Ma," Lu Fan quickly bowed.

Afterwards, Steward Ma led a group of disciples and fled towards the outer gate.

Yan Ruyu looked coldly at Lu Fan below and said, "You cripple, you better watch out and don't mess with me, or even Wang Qingzhu won't be able to protect you."

After saying that, Yan Ruyu left without looking back.

"Let's see how long you can be so smug," Lu Fan said, glaring at Yan Ruyu as she left, unusually uttering a harsh remark.

Clearly, at this point, Lu Fan wasn't so crazy as to rush to seek revenge on Yan Ruyu just because he had some power and backing; that would be reckless behavior.

Standing to the side, Li Niu was incredibly envious: "Senior brother! Is this a magic artifact? I've never seen one before!"

"Take a look," Lu Fan tossed the magic artifact to Li Niu.

Li Niu hastily accepted the magical artifact, his face full of excitement, but he only waved it symbolically a few times before handing it to Lu Fan: "I'm afraid I'll never be able to acquire a single magical artifact in my lifetime."

"Don't worry, it will happen sooner or later," Lu Fan said, before limping away.

Li Niu quickly followed.

...

Since Wang Qingzhu gave him the pointer, Lu Fan no longer needed to collect corpses, but this made things difficult for Li Niu, who had to inspect the thousands of cave dwellings almost every day.

Lu Fan now had plenty of time to cultivate.

He decided to go directly into his cave to cultivate in seclusion and continue to try to advance his Qi Refining level.

Time flew by during this period of seclusion.

Four more springs and winters have passed, and Lu Fan rarely leaves his cave except for his daily activities.

His cultivation level of Qi Refining at the twelfth level steadily increased to the twentieth level at a rate of two levels per year.

Lu Fan also raised his apparent cultivation level to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

His spiritual sense had reached 150 feet, and his physical fitness had improved significantly, making his control over spiritual energy increasingly skillful.

Most importantly, at the 20th level of Qi Refining, Lu Fan was able to maintain his bodily functions even without consuming grains for extended periods.

Furthermore, disciples who reach the sixth level of Qi Refining are generally qualified to cultivate some common spells such as sword control, object control, defense, and spiritual energy gathering.

However, Lu Fan's contributions to the sect were pitifully small; even learning these spells required contributions.

Lu Fan then took out the Dao Sect iron token he wore at his waist and probed it with his divine sense. Inside, there were only a pitiful fifty contribution points, not even enough to learn anything.

This was all he had accumulated over the years for collecting the bodies of his deceased disciples.

"It seems I can't just stay in seclusion forever. I have to find a way to make some contributions," Lu Fan scratched his head, pondering how to gain contributions.

Generally speaking, whether one is an outer disciple or an inner disciple, there are only two ways to earn contribution points.

One option is to accept sect missions and go out to carry them out. Completing the mission will reward you with a large amount of contribution points depending on the difficulty, but you must reach the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Although Lu Fan was fully qualified at the moment, he had no intention of going out. After all, his cultivation level was not high enough, and even if he accepted the task, he might not be able to complete it.

The second type is where elders or inner disciples within the sect issue tasks, and completing them also yields contributions, with no cultivation threshold. For example, Lu Fan has been collecting the bodies of deceased disciples for many years, which is a long-term task, but the contributions are pitifully small.

After much thought, it seems that only this second method is feasible, as it avoids the risks of going out and allows one to accumulate contributions smoothly.

This also means that Lu Fan must break away from his current comfortable life and go out to see the world.

As Lu Fan opened the stone door to the cave, he stretched and yawned at the entrance.

Just then, Li Niu happened to pass by and, seeing Lu Fan emerge from seclusion, immediately ran over eagerly.

"Senior brother, you've emerged from seclusion!" Li Niu was noticeably more robust than he had been four years ago, with well-defined muscles, and his cultivation had reached the third level of Qi Refining.

"Not bad, you've reached the third level of Qi Refining in four years," Lu Fan said with a smile, patting Li Niu on the shoulder.

At this moment, Li Niu scratched his head and grinned foolishly, saying, "Compared to my senior brother, I'm far behind. He's already reached the sixth level of Qi Refining."

"Sigh, let's not praise each other since we have mixed spiritual roots," Lu Fan said helplessly, shaking his head.

Then Li Niu took out five Foundation Establishment Pills from his pocket and said, "Senior brother, I'm sure I'll never be able to establish my foundation in this lifetime. These Foundation Establishment Pills I've accumulated over the past four years are useless to me. Give them to you, senior brother."

Seeing the Qi-Strengthening Pill handed to him by Li Niu, Lu Fan was quite surprised and said, "Deacon Ma actually gave you the Qi-Strengthening Pill that's only given to you once every six months?"

"Hehe, this is all thanks to my senior brother. Moreover, Steward Ma said that once you come out of seclusion, you should go to him to get the Qi-stabilizing pills," Li Niu said with a smile.

Lu Fan now understood what was going on. This was all because Wang Qingzhu had mentioned it to him four years ago, and Steward Ma was too embarrassed to cut back any further.

However, this was of little use to Lu Fan, since he lacked everything except for the Qi-stabilizing pills.

"I understand, but you should keep the Qi-stabilizing pill for yourself," Lu Fan said, refusing.

But Li Niu was very stubborn at this moment, and forced the Gu Yuan Pill into Lu Fan's hand. This unusual behavior surprised Lu Fan.