"Sob sob, so Mother died that miserably back then."

After listening to that piece of Jade Hand Poison Master’s recollection, the Little Cauldron Spirit revealed its form, looking very sad. It didn’t say anything out loud, but it had always been puzzled in its heart—why did Mother abandon it and just leave back then.

"Cauldron Spirit, don’t be sad. Believe me, I’ll definitely work hard to gather the remaining cauldron fragments, and fulfill the unfinished wishes of Jade Hand Poison Master, Jiu Provinces Cauldron Spirit, and Senior Hong Meng Fang Immortal."

Ye Lingyue comforted the Little Cauldron Spirit.

In her heart, she secretly made up her mind.

Everything has cause and effect. Without Hong Meng Fang Immortal and Jade Hand Poison Master, there would be no Ye Lingyue of today.

In this life, if she had any strength to spare, she would definitely find a way to root out the black hand who persecuted those two seniors back then; that would also count as avenging the Little Cauldron Spirit’s murdered mother.

The gestation of each generation of Cauldron Spirit combines the Yin Yang Gang and Evil Energy of heaven and earth, taking hundreds or even tens of thousands of years before Spiritual Sense can be formed; it is an incomparably difficult thing.

The Jiu Provinces Cauldron Spirit was the Little Cauldron Spirit’s mother. Most likely, it had already conceived the Little Cauldron Spirit at the time, but sadly, because of some twist of fate, it didn’t live to see the Little Cauldron Spirit’s Spiritual Sense form before it was scattered body and soul.

After hearing that part from Jade Hand Poison Master, Ye Lingyue could be sure that the Black Cauldron in the Ye Family Ancestral Hall should have been refined from two of the nine Jiu Provinces Qian Cauldron Fragments.

One was the Cauldron Soul, the most original and fundamental Fragment of the Jiu Provinces Qian Cauldron.

The other was the Cauldron Breath; that Black and White Tripod Breath was a creation of heaven and earth, possessing both the power to save lives and the Power of Destruction.

It was also these two extremely important cauldron fragments, combined together, that allowed Ye Lingyue to reopen Hong Meng Heaven and obtain the Little Qian Cauldron.

Only, what Ye Lingyue had never realized was that the Little Qian Cauldron wasn’t a complete cauldron at all; it was only a broken cauldron. That also meant the Little Qian Cauldron’s true power hadn’t even been activated yet.

According to Jade Hand Poison Master, once the Jiu Provinces Qian Cauldron is fully refined, it could even refine Miracle Elixir rarely seen between heaven and earth.

"Counting the Cauldron Name, I now have three cauldron fragments. I still need six more before the Qian Cauldron can be reborn as the true Jiu Provinces Qian Cauldron."

Ye Lingyue muttered to herself.

By the mainland’s Alchemist ranks, the starting rank is Alchemist, from First Rank to Nine Rank.

After that comes Fang Venerate, but even among Fang Venerates, not everyone can refine a cauldron, much less a Cauldron Spirit.

A Fang Venerate Level cauldron is only an ordinary Void Cauldron; only by breaking through to Fang Immortal can one possess a Solid Rank cauldron.

To advance from Fang Venerate to Fang Immortal, one must go through countless rounds of Alchemy and Artifact Refining, and also have the Void Cauldron Devouring Spirit Stones and absorbing Spiritual Power, before it can condense into a Solid Rank cauldron of immense power.

Like Chen Hongru and Yue Mubai from the Dan Palace earlier, though they were both Fang Venerates, and Yue Mubai even possessed the Cauldron Spirit Zi Yan, they still only had Void Cauldrons.

Ye Lingyue had also noticed lately that even though the Little Cauldron Spirit had Devoured large amounts of Spirit Stones, the Qian Cauldron still hadn’t truly condensed into form.

Now it seemed that was because the method for the Qian Cauldron to condense into a Solid Rank cauldron was different from that of ordinary Void Cauldrons; relying on Devouring Spirit Stones alone was far from enough.

The most fundamental method was still to find the remaining six Jiu Provinces Cauldron Fragments.

Thinking of this, Ye Lingyue couldn’t help feeling both like crying and laughing.

Dammit.

Jade Hand Poison Master spent a hundred years and didn’t find a single fragment; would she need five or six hundred years and still not manage to collect all the fragments—assuming she could even live that long.

From what Ye Lingyue knew, the lifespan of Martial Artists and Alchemists could change along with the improvement of a Cultivator’s cultivation.

Generally speaking, a Martial Artist in the Reincarnation Realm could live about a hundred and twenty years; one in the Divine Power Realm could live two hundred years.

A Nine Rank Alchemist’s maximum lifespan was a hundred years; a Fang Venerate’s was a hundred and eighty.

It sounded like Alchemists, due to neglecting physical cultivation, were usually shorter-lived than Martial Artists, but in fact Alchemists tended to outlive Martial Artists. The reason was nothing more than that Alchemists could refine elixirs that extended lifespan.

But in reality, no matter how many Elixir Pills you swallowed, a Fang Venerate couldn’t live beyond two hundred and fifty years.

However, if they broke through to a higher rank, whether Alchemist or Martial Artist, their lifespan could reach five hundred years. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Back then, Hong Meng Fang Immortal and Jade Hand Poison Master had probably already been people at that five-hundred-year lifespan level.

"To find all the Jiu Provinces Cauldron Fragments, just relying on luck isn’t enough. I’ll have to desperately keep living, too."

After Ye Lingyue said that, she shook her head in self-mockery.

"Master, why do you look like you’re about to cough up blood?"

The Little Cauldron Spirit was puzzled.

"Hehe, Little Cauldron, your master is just a bit depressed. Well, soldiers block it when it comes, water’s dammed with earth—there’ll always be a way."

Ye Lingyue said with a wry smile.

Fortunately, according to Jade Hand Poison Master, the more cauldron fragments there were, the stronger their mutual sense of each other. For now, she could only hope that all the Jiu Provinces Qian Cauldron Fragments were on the Ancient Nine Provinces Continent.

After reading the Cauldron Name, Ye Lingyue also followed Jade Hand Poison Master’s recollections and obtained some of the new discoveries Jade Hand Poison Master had made in Poison Technique during the hundred years after she left Hong Meng Heaven.

Once Ye Lingyue carefully comprehended those memories, her eyes lit up at once.

This made it easy to explain why the Cauldron Breath couldn’t completely cure Tan Su’s poison.

Jade Hand Poison Master’s Five Poison Treasure Record was written in her early years; after she went into seclusion in the Qiulin Ruins, she attained great enlightenment, and instead went a step further in Poison Technique.

She had even dabbled in some medical skills, and combined with the many years she had lived with Hong Meng Fang Immortal, the two’s joint accomplishments in medicine and poison were immeasurable.

Among these were not only antidotes for the poisons afflicting Little Wuya and the others, but even a mysterious Elixir that could transform demon beasts.

This kind of Elixir delighted Ye Lingyue to no end. She had always wanted to find an Elixir to transform the physique of the Three-legged Birdmen, but had never found the key.

It had to be said, Jade Hand Poison Master really was a rare extraordinary woman of her time.

"No time like the present, Little Cauldron Spirit. Let’s start gathering herbs and refining the New Elixir."

Several days and nights passed, and outside, the stars shifted and the constellations turned.

From time to time, sounds of either frustration or joy drifted out of the small thatched hut.

The Three-legged Birdmen working in the fields and by the river were long used to it.

They all knew those two thatched huts were their new Queen’s Alchemy Room and Artifact Refining Room; for all they knew, Her Majesty the Queen was tinkering with something new again inside.

On this particular morning, inside Hong Meng Heaven, the morning dew mischievously rolled about on the leaves.

From the thatched hut that had been quiet for many days erupted a burst of cheering.

A whirlwind-like figure shot out from inside.

That figure stopped and stretched lazily in the morning light. Who else could it be but Ye Lingyue, hair disheveled and having gone several days and nights without proper sleep.

"Batu." Ye Lingyue sank her breath into her Dantian and shouted toward the inside of Hong Meng Heaven, her voice filled with vigor. Between her fingers, she pinched a few pale-blue Elixir Pills.

~Last three days of January, shake out everyone’s little pockets. If you still have monthly tickets, toss them, toss them. There should be extra Chapters this weekend~