Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Hehe, of course it's a priceless 'treasure.' To be honest, even I, an old man, am quite envious of this treasure..."

He grinned again, and with a flick of his sleeve, Dao Butong tossed a storage ring to Lu Feng, saying in a meaningful tone.

"This disciple thanks Elder Dao!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng's excitement intensified. He immediately accepted the storage ring and began to circulate his Yuan energy to examine it internally, seemingly unable to wait any longer.

After all, even Dao Butong, a master of the Yuanhai Realm, was envious of this treasure, so its value must be quite high!

Lu Feng is currently getting something for free, which is undoubtedly a huge win for him!

"This, this is... a furnace cauldron?"

Lu Feng looked into the storage ring with his inner energy and found it almost empty, except for a huge cauldron with a peculiar shape, about three feet tall, and strange ram heads carved at the four corners. He was stunned.

At first, he thought Xia Xihai would reward him with some high-level pills, rare magic weapons, or divine skill manuals, otherwise he wouldn't have entrusted the Dantang elder, Dao Butong, to guard him here.

However, Lu Feng was overthinking things. The only treasure Xia Xihai had given him this time was a strange furnace that looked ordinary. Besides that, there was nothing else. He couldn't even spare a few more spirit stones, the hard currency of the cultivation world!

"Damn! After all that trouble, all they gave us in the end was a broken furnace?"

"Vice Dean Xia is so stingy! This is what you call a generous reward? No wonder he's practically bald; he must have been a miser in his past life. Serves him right!"

Suddenly, Lu Feng's mind flashed back to Xia Xihai's classic Mediterranean hairstyle and unkempt, lewd face. His lips twitched slightly, and he cursed inwardly, feeling that his expectations had been somewhat wasted.

"Hehe, you rascal, how about this treasure? It suits your taste, doesn't it?"

Seeing that Lu Feng remained silent, staring blankly at the huge furnace, Dao Butong beside him stroked his mustache and chuckled, seemingly thinking that the other party was too excited, which was why he was speechless for a moment.

"Uh, in reply to Elder, this treasure looks... alright, I guess!"

Faced with Dao Butong's question, Lu Feng immediately came to his senses. He suppressed his disappointment and forced a smile, his lips twitching slightly.

"What do you mean 'okay'? Don't you want this Four-Sheep Square Zun Cauldron?"

Upon noticing that Lu Feng's smile was stiff and looked more like a grimace, Dao Butong frowned slightly and cast a questioning glance at him, seemingly quite surprised.

After all, this furnace is no ordinary furnace. Not only is it entirely forged from rare mystic crystal ore, but it is also mixed with a large amount of the essence blood of heaven-rank demon beasts. It is a genuine and priceless ninth-grade furnace!

In addition, this Four-Sheep Square Zun Ding was one of the treasures that Vice Dean Xia Xihai had kept for many years. He never showed it to anyone easily, let alone gave it away. He treated it almost like a family heirloom.

Therefore, Dao Butong was naturally extremely surprised and envious when he saw Xia Xihai actually bestow his treasured "Four-Sheep Square Zun Ding" to his junior disciple Lu Feng.

After all, even he, the elder of the Pill Hall, usually only used an eighth-grade furnace for refining pills, which was far from a ninth-grade furnace!

"Uh, Elder Dao! Please forgive my boldness in asking, but besides this Four-Sheep Square Cauldron, does Vice Dean Xia have any other rewards? If not, would it be alright to send me some spirit stones or medicinal herbs?"

Lu Feng cupped his hands in greeting again, speaking softly and nervously, clearly not very interested in the Four-Sheep Square Cauldron.

"Hey! You ignorant brat!"

Seeing this, Dao Butong immediately understood Lu Feng's thoughts and couldn't help but curse loudly, "Do you know how valuable this Four-Sheep Square Cauldron is? This cauldron is a genuine Grade Nine furnace cauldron!"

"If I were you right now, let alone some spirit stones and medicinal herbs, even if you offered me a lot more, I absolutely wouldn't trade them for this!"

"Hmph! Since you brat don't want it, then I'll keep this cauldron for myself, lest it be a waste!"

After saying that, Dao Butong's beard trembled violently, and he immediately reached out with his right palm again, intending to take back the Four-Sheep Square Cauldron that he had given to Lu Feng.

"What the heck?"

"This dilapidated thing with four sheep heads is actually a ninth-grade furnace cauldron?!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng was stunned. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he immediately retrieved the Four-Sheep Square Cauldron and shouted, "Elder Dao, wait...!"

"Such a priceless treasure, and given with such kindness from Vice Dean Xia, how could this disciple dare to fail to appreciate it!"

"This disciple insists on having this cauldron no matter what! Otherwise, it would be a great disrespect and a betrayal of Vice Dean Xia's good intentions!"

Lu Feng spoke with great sincerity and was flattered, showing no sign of disdain or criticism. His entire demeanor was completely different from before.

"Hmph, this brat is not only quick-witted, but also quite adept at taking advantage...!"

Seeing Lu Feng suddenly perform a Sichuan opera face-changing act, Dao Butong's beard trembled slightly, and he couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart.

"Alright, I've taken care of things. I won't bother you any longer, kid. You'd better take care of yourself."

After saying that, Dao Butong didn't waste any more words. He turned around and transformed into a streak of dark light, then disappeared into the sky.

"Elder Dao, please take care!"

He bowed in the same direction as the others who had gone off, then slowly rose, a glint of excitement flashing across his face. "Hehe, I've really struck it rich this time!"

"I never expected this cauldron to be a ninth-grade furnace cauldron. I knew it! Vice Dean Xia is definitely not a stingy person; he wouldn't just casually send me a bunch of junk...!"

"But why did Vice Dean Xia not give me anything else, but instead specially give me his treasured Nine-Grade Four-Sheep Square Zun Ding, which he has kept for many years..."

"Could it be that Vice Dean Xia also knows about Elder Liu's request for me to refine the Jade Ice Skin Pill? Is that why he gave me a ninth-grade furnace cauldron as a reward? It can't be that much of a coincidence...!"

Thinking about this, Lu Feng couldn't help but feel even more puzzled.

After all, only he and Liu Lanyu knew about this matter, and given Liu Lanyu's personality, she would never mention it to any outsiders, much less make it public.

"Forget it! Refining the Jade Ice Skin Pill is more important, otherwise I won't be able to explain myself if Elder Liu starts asking questions...!"

After racking his brains for a long time without any results, Lu Feng shook his head slightly, stopped thinking about it, and then turned around and returned to his personal cave to prepare to start refining pills.

...

Meanwhile, in the vast mountains, at Gaoxing Peak

Inside a secluded cave

"Shh... cluck cluck cluck...!"

Suddenly, a white figure flashed into the cave, and the once silent cave instantly became lively. At the same time, a faint rustling sound came from inside, as if the servants who had waited for many years had finally waited for their master to return.

"Meow...!"

Just as Zhong Lingyu was taking light steps toward the depths of the cave, a white figure suddenly darted out from the side and plunged into her arms, emitting a cute and affectionate meow.

The white figure was small in size, with a long, thin tail, and looked no bigger than two adult men's palms. Its fur was as soft as snow, and it was a small white cat with heterochromia.

However, this little white cat did not have any demonic aura and was very clingy. It seemed to be just an ordinary little pet with nothing special about it.

"....."

Seeing the little white cat suddenly snuggle into her arms, Zhong Lingyu was slightly taken aback. Then, she gently stroked the kitten's back with her jade-like hand. Her usually cold and indifferent face showed a rare tenderness, as if the kitten held an extraordinary place in her heart.