"In ancient times, the Human Race had primitive technology and undeveloped science, so they couldn’t explain the various phenomena of the natural world. They would attribute changes in the weather, or even aging, sickness, and death—any unusual occurrence—to the wrath of divine spirits."

"To appease the wrath of these divine spirits, they would perform certain rather cruel acts, such as burying the living with the dead or offering live sacrifices... Over time, these acts even evolved into a complete set of rituals!"

"...Later, as the Human Race gradually mastered cultivation techniques, these feudalistic and superstitious practices were slowly abolished."

Ding Dawei’s tone was tinged with anger as he spoke of feudal superstitions.

As a citizen of the modern Immortal Sect, raised on the principle that ’man will conquer heaven,’ he truly couldn’t comprehend such ignorant behavior.

"What does this have to do with that cauldron?" Chen Che asked, confused.

Ding Dawei’s voice turned grave. "But these rituals didn’t disappear. Instead, they were passed down in another form!"

"Evil Cultivators, the Demon Dao?"

A thought struck Chen Che.

"Exactly!"

The sound of pages flipping could be heard from the other end of the line, and Ding Dawei’s tone grew even more serious:

"The pattern you just sent me depicts a type of sacrificial rite. It’s slightly different from the ones I know, but the basic methods are largely the same! Chen Che, the Immortal Sect strictly forbids the practice of Evil Techniques. As a Xianmen High School student of this new age, you should understand the consequences."

"If you’re discovered, the lightest punishment is the destruction of your Spiritual Root and the crippling of your Cultivation."

Chen Che nodded. "I understand."

Thanks to years of public awareness campaigns:

In the eyes of an Immortal Sect Cultivator, there was no crime more serious than practicing an Evil Technique.

In fact, law enforcement officers from the Immortal Sect often visited schools to give lectures on the law. The exhibition halls in the school corridors were even plastered with posters detailing the dangers of Evil Cultivation Techniques. Students were also encouraged to report any suspected Evil Cultivators to the authorities immediately.

"I just happened to see it online, but the image got 404’d before I could study it thoroughly. I suspected it might be related to Evil Cultivators, so I wanted to ask you about it, Teacher."

Chen Che quickly fabricated an excuse before asking the question that concerned him most:

"By the way, Teacher Ding, do you think this is a Pill Furnace, or a cauldron?"

"The ’net cops’ probably found and deleted it. You’re very vigilant. As for the object itself, I haven’t seen it in person, so I can’t be certain if it’s a cauldron or a Pill Furnace. However, research indicates that the precursor to the Pill Furnace was, in fact, the cauldron!"

Ding Dawei was satisfied with Chen Che’s explanation. He studied the image a moment longer, then offered a somewhat ambiguous conclusion.

’The precursor to the Pill Furnace was the cauldron?’

Chen Che was curious.

"Teacher Ding, could you elaborate on that?"

"I can’t, I can’t. The subject is too vast. It involves changes in culture and history, the history of the Human Race’s cultivation... I could talk for three days and three nights and still not cover it all."

A long yawn came from Ding Dawei’s end of the line; he sounded tired.

"From a modern perspective, the Pill Furnace evolved from the cauldron. In ancient times, Cultivators used cauldrons for Alchemy. It was only with improvements in alchemical techniques that they evolved into the wide variety of Pill Furnaces we have today."

’That made sense.’

Chen Che nodded. After thanking Ding Dawei, he went online to do some research.

Sure enough, the prevailing opinion online matched what Ding Dawei had said.

Some Evil Cultivators even still used cauldron-like objects for their Alchemy.

’So that means my first instinct was right. That thing in Jinyun Valley is actually a Pill Furnace! Did Ye Jingzhou bring it here? Does he even know it’s a Pill Furnace?’

Thinking of Ye Jingzhou, Chen Che suddenly remembered that the man’s lifespan was nearly at its end.

So he quickly went online and typed in the keywords: "What to do when your lifespan is ending?"

WHOOSH!

Instantly, the webpage filled with a dense cluster of advertisements.

"’What to do when your lifespan is ending? Take Wei Yuan Hall Yin Nourishing Pills!’"

"’Wei Yuan Hall Yin Nourishing Pills: slow the aging process, restore a man’s vigor, and grant women beauty and radiance.’"

"After waking up, Li Changsheng took a Wei Yuan Hall Yin Nourishing Pill, lit a cigarette as usual, and began to enjoy his wonderful day. He is the longest-lived Foundation Establishment Cultivator on record in the Immortal Sect, and today is his 350th birthday.

At 350 years old, he still maintains his daily habit of a pack of smokes and a bottle of liquor. The secret to his long life comes from none other than that inconspicuous Yin Nourishing Pill. And the history of the Yin Nourishing Pill can be traced back to before the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall..."

...

Chen Che frowned.

He returned to the search bar and added two words: "Evil Cultivator."

Sure enough, there were far fewer ads this time. Pinned to the top was a news article from sixteen years ago:

"Recently, our province’s Xianmen Law Enforcement Department solved a major criminal case. The suspect, a Ms. Tan (female, 257, Foundation Establishment Stage), was killed on site by law enforcement officers. Several incomplete Evil Cultivation Technique manuals were found on her person. According to the preliminary investigation, this case was perpetrated by an Evil Cultivator whose lifespan was nearing its end, driven by a desire to extend it."

He scrolled further down the page.

Chen Che discovered that similar incidents occurred every few decades.

After a moment’s thought, he entered a new keyword: "Evil Cultivation Technique."

A line of twelve large words appeared directly at the top of the page:

[Cherish Life, Reject Evil Techniques. It’s Everyone’s Duty. Everyone Can Help.]

Below it, various links began to appear.

However, when Chen Che clicked on them, he found they only described the dangers of Evil Cultivators and the disasters they caused, with no substantive content.

Clearly, any information about actual Evil Techniques had been scrubbed from the entire web.

Frustrated, Chen Che could only give up.

Still, the search hadn’t been entirely fruitless. There were indeed numerous cases within the Immortal Sect of cultivators who, upon facing the end of their lifespan, turned to practicing Evil Techniques. Some, even without a complete technique, would try to piece one together and experiment on their own based on mere scraps of information.

Even on Earth Element Star, with its "zero-tolerance" policy toward Evil Cultivators, some were still willing to risk everything.

Who knew what might be happening in Yunzhou.

A frown creased Chen Che’s brow as he considered the worst-case scenario.

...

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!"

Just then, a series of knocks came from the door.

"Who is it?"

Chen Che was instantly on alert.

"Wind Chasing Express!" a voice called from outside.

’I only searched for a little while... are they already here to "check the meter"?’

Chen Che’s heart skipped a beat. ’But I thought the Immortal Sect valued privacy above all else?’

He crept to the peephole and saw a deliveryman standing outside. A securely wrapped cardboard box sat at his feet. Seeing the peephole darken, the man held up the ID badge hanging from his chest.

’The Micro Crystal Brain is here!’

Chen Che realized at once.

Ever since the combat competition, he had decided to focus on widening his meridians. The very next day, he had ordered a Micro Crystal Brain online—the exact same model Old Li had. With it as an aid, his Cultivation would be much more intuitive. Moreover, it could also measure his Cultivation, Qi and Blood, and Divine Sense.

The app on his phone wasn’t sensitive enough; it could only detect his general Realm.

He opened it to find an Eight Trigrams Mirror wrapped in layer after layer of bubble wrap, and couldn’t help but admire the quality of service on Earth Element Star.

After activating it,

Chen Che eagerly opened the Assistive Cultivation System and placed his hand on top.

He was already fairly certain about his own Realm.

But he was less sure about the strength of his Divine Sense and Qi and Blood. He watched as ripple-like patterns spread across the Eight Trigrams Mirror, and then countless words began to materialize:

[Name: Chen Che]

[Age: 17]

[Realm: Qi Refining Sixth Layer (4.67%)]

[Qi and Blood: Qi Refining Sixth Layer (68.7%)]

[Divine Sense: Foundation Establishment First Layer (97.6%)]