Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Cauldron Spirit Learns a Lesson

As they spoke, the frost melted, and Situ Jiannan stretched and plopped down on the ground. Looking at his wet clothes and the water dripping from his body, he felt a wave of fear.

If the opponent's force had been any greater, or the cold wave any stronger, I would probably have been frozen solid. And that final sword strike—if it hadn't just been a symbolic gesture at my face, but had actually landed, I would probably be ice shards by now.

But none of that matters. What matters is that, as a martial artist, he is a whole realm above Xiao Chong, yet he is no match for him in a single blow. This kind of blow is the most heartbreaking. Compared to that, the damage to his body caused by forcibly using the Blazing Sun Slash is nothing at all.

After a while, Situ Jiannan recovered his senses and gave Xiao Chong a half bow, saying, "Jiannan's skills are inferior, and I have lost this match. Brother Xiao, you didn't press your advantage earlier, so I owe you a favor."

He's a pretty good young man. Although he was a bit arrogant at first, his willingness to admit defeat makes him a good comrade. Someone like that can't be too bad, no matter how bad he is.

Xiao Chong secretly assessed the situation and returned the greeting, saying, "I was fortunate to win a match, but I relied on the strength of my weapon. If we only consider my own cultivation, I am indeed inferior to Brother Jiannan."

These words came from Xiao Chong's heart, and he didn't emphasize the words "Jiannan" when he spoke. Since the other party sincerely admitted defeat, as a magnanimous person, there was no need to hold onto certain things.

Situ Jiannan bluntly replied, "Weapons are also a form of strength. If you lose, you lose, there's nothing to say about it. But I won't give up so easily. Next time, I will definitely defeat you with my swordsmanship."

There has to be a next time? Hasn't he had enough of being frozen like a snowman in the sweltering heat? Xiao Chong felt a little annoyed, but fortunately the other party was quite upright, which was better than scheming behind his back.

“If Brother Jiannan is in such a good mood, I will gladly accompany you, but I will not give you the chance,” Xiao Chong said confidently.

Situ Jiannan nodded, then turned to Situ Mingyue and said, "Mingyue, have someone pack our things. Let's find another place to rest."

"Okay." Situ Mingyue agreed and prepared to call the helpers to move. In her heart, as long as her brother was alright, nothing else mattered.

Seeing that Situ Mingyue was about to leave, Xiao Chong stepped forward and said with a smile, "Actually, there's no need to move. This camp is big enough. We can squeeze in and still find a place to stay."

"Yes, everyone squeeze it out, it would be best if we could squeeze out the oil!" Dingling, having somehow recovered, jumped out to cause trouble again.

Xiao Chong's smile froze again.

"Then... let's squeeze in." Situ Mingyue didn't think too much about it this time and readily agreed.

In fact, she knew that there was nowhere else to go besides this camp.

Hearing that the other party had agreed, Xiao Chong waved to the fat man and said with great authority, "Go, tell them to bring the cloud boat over."

Why do you personally strike up conversations with beautiful women, but when it comes to actually doing the work, you leave it to me?

The fat man glanced at Xiao Chong dejectedly, then turned and slowly ran towards the Xiao family's five cloud boats. In the already darkened night, his obese figure looked lonely and forlorn.

After a flurry of activity, all eight cloud boats belonging to the Situ and Xiao families docked at the same campsite, creating an atmosphere of great harmony and concord.

In fact, Xiao Chong's arrangement was reasonable. Although the disciples of the two families fought fiercely in each hunting competition, it was a pre-established rule and a necessary way to resolve disputes.

Outside of the hunting competition, although the two families still engaged in open and covert competition, bloodshed was rare. Unless a genius like Tie Changqing, who only appears once every few centuries, was killed, the major families would still cooperate as usual.

For example, in this expedition to the Southern Wilderness, everyone shared the same goal and came from Flying Moon City, so they had to look out for each other so that they could each gain something in this chaotic place.

Inside the camp, Fatty was nervously directing a team of a hundred men to load various supplies purchased from Tuniu Cloud Boat Camp onto the Cloud Boat.

After everyone else finished their dinner, they began to cultivate in peace. Xiao Chong also sat motionless in a corner, meditating like an old monk in deep meditation.

Taking this opportunity, he prepared to give Dingling a good beating.

"Tell me, why are you so mentally active and acting so lewdly today, like you've been injected with chicken blood?" In his mind, Xiao Chong asked the cauldron spirit bluntly.

"It's an old problem of mine, I just can't control myself," Ding Ling chuckled. "But speaking of which, that girl is really something, don't you feel anything?"

"You son of a bitch!" Xiao Chong shouted, his face full of black lines of anger.

However, the cauldron spirit could not see these black lines, and he believed that Xiao Chong's indignation was mostly due to his frustration at not experiencing the beauty.

The spirit of the cauldron became even more excited, chattering incessantly, "Could it be that the feel wasn't good? Or... or did you not even try to catch it?"

The black lines on Xiao Chong's head became even more pronounced, almost seeping through his scalp, but the cauldron spirit remained oblivious.

"As expected, they didn't catch him. What a waste!" Hearing that Xiao Chong was so angry that he couldn't speak, Ding Ling felt that he had grasped the key point and said with disappointment, "He's still young. He's too thin-skinned. He'll suffer for it."

"A shameless person is invincible!" Xiao Chong felt like his lungs were about to explode with anger.

Ding Ling persisted, saying, "Back in the day, the Crown Prince had the Azure Dragon on his left and the White Tiger on his right. He could capture the Vermilion Bird in front and explore the Black Tortoise behind. He was so glorious."

When Dingling got to the point of being proud, he felt that he couldn't express his excitement at all, so he simply started singing a little tune: "When it's time to strike, strike! Swift and decisive..."

"Enough! I'm not as despicable as you!" Xiao Chong finally lost his temper and shouted, interrupting the cauldron spirit's rhythmic singing: "From today until we reach the Southern Wilderness, I will stop supplying you with all Yuan energy."

This strike hit the cauldron spirit's vitals.

So, after all that, I was wrong? You're actually an upright young man?

Ding Ling was stunned for a long time, then suddenly knelt down with a thud, letting out a pig-like scream: "Young Master, no! Yuan Power is my lifeblood!"

This guy is quite humorous! He even brought up the dialogue between Yang Bailao and Huang Shiren.

Xiao Chong was both amused and annoyed, and interrupted the cauldron spirit's plea again, saying, "It seems that you've had it too easy these days, absorbing too much Yuan energy, resulting in an excess of energy with nowhere to vent. This is to help you correct your attitude and deeply reflect on yourself."

"Young Master, I'll change, I'll change, okay?" Ding Ling continued to weep bitterly, sounding as if his mother had died. "I've helped you a lot during this time, you can't be so heartless."

Besides, at the current absorption rate, I'll be able to take human form soon, which will be of even greater help to you. How can you bear to let me fail at the last hurdle?"

Dingling kept crying and nagging, like a resentful woman who had been cruelly abandoned.

"Hmm? Transformation, what does that mean?" Xiao Chong felt he had to figure this out and quickly asked.

"It means I can transform from a spirit into a real human body and leave your body." The cauldron spirit spoke frankly, cooperating like an obedient child.

The way he is now is giving me a huge headache. If he really comes out, who knows what kind of trouble he will cause? No, I must not let him take human form until I find a way to control him.

Xiao Chong secretly made up his mind and said coldly, "It's settled then. All supplies to you will be temporarily suspended. As for when they will be restored, that depends on your performance, and of course, on my mood."

Didn't they say it would only stop at the Southern Wilderness? Why has it become so ambiguous? When will it finally end?

Dingling wanted to say a few more words to try and gain some benefits for himself, but Xiao Chong had already cut off his connection with him, so he could only cry in Xiao Chong's mind.

Inside the cloud boat, Yin Changkong saw Xiao Chong open his eyes and stepped forward to ask, "You don't look well. Did something happen when you were sparring with Situ Jiannan during the day?"

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Yin. I'm fine, just a little tired. I'll be alright after a rest." Faced with Yin Changkong's concern, Xiao Chong could only use fatigue as a cover.

What else can I say? Can I tell others that I have a thousand-year-old ghost inside me and that I was angered by the ghost just now? Even if I were willing to tell them, would others believe such nonsense?

Xiao Chong felt that no one could understand his suffering, and even his closest friend, Fatty, could not tell him about this matter.

As for Qingmeng, who is even closer to him, it goes without saying that if Qingmeng finds out, he guarantees that within one night, everyone in the entire Feiyue City will know that he has been possessed by the old ghost.

Yin Changkong, being an old and shrewd man, could see that Xiao Chong had something on his mind, but since the other party wouldn't say it, he had no reason to force him to talk about it. Therefore, he didn't say much, just patted Xiao Chong on the shoulder, and sat back down in his seat to continue cultivating.

Around midnight, the fat man finally finished his work, returned to the cloud boat, and fell asleep immediately. The night passed just like that.

The next morning, everyone got up early, packed their bags, and prepared to set off.

Situ Mingyue made a rare appearance to greet Xiao Chong and the others, while Situ Jiannan had not shown up since returning to his own cloud boat.

According to Situ Mingyue, her brother is working tirelessly, seizing every moment to practice his swordsmanship, hoping to regain his confidence by defeating Xiao Chong.

Xiao Chong simply smiled at this and ignored it. In his mind, Situ Jiannan was essentially sentenced to death.

You may work hard to improve, but I will not stagnate either. You may not be able to beat me now, but the same will happen in the future.

Moreover, the Immortal-Slaying Sword is only one of his many reliances. Lu Daka left behind more than just a sword technique, but also a miraculous method like the "Forging God Chapter".

With the "Forging God Chapter", cultivating as a Mind Master is no longer a dream. Martial arts combined with Mind Mastery, how could you not be beaten to a pulp?

Of course, my cultivation speed is still a bit slow, but that's because my foundation is still shallow and the time is not yet right for me to refine pills.

Once I take another step forward and refine some kind of elixir that you bumpkins have never even heard of, and then chew them up like chewing gum, let's see how you'll still be able to play with me.

Therefore, upon hearing Situ Mingyue's words, Xiao Chong merely smiled, gestured for the fat man to depart, and completely disregarded Situ Jiannan.

With a deafening roar, eight cloud boats rose from the ground, slowly sailed into the clouds, then lined up in a horizontal row and flew south side by side.

After flying for more than two months, in late autumn, the Southern Wilderness finally appeared before the group.