That night.

The lights in the Lanxi Lin's Manor were bright, but there was a quiet courtyard in the northeast corner that was shrouded in darkness and had no lights.

The courtyard was elegant and the gatehouse was closed, but through the open window, looking inside, one could see a person sitting alone at a desk, supporting his head with one hand and casually twirling a pen with the other. With the help of the faint moonlight, he tilted his head to look at an ancient round stove on the desk.

The furnace is nine inches high and one foot and three inches wide.

The appearance is simple and ancient, without any decoration, in the shape of a tripod with two ears and three legs, and its color is purple-black.

Zhao Rong was waiting for the moon to rise high in the sky, brewing a richer blue-white moonlight.

At the same time, his eyes rested on the wall of the tripod one inch above one of its legs.

Looking at it now, it was pitch black there, but Zhao Rong knew that there was a handprint there.

A bloody handprint left by someone unknown.

Zhao Rong discovered it after careful observation in broad daylight.

The blood has long dried up, and the long years have worn away its brightness. Now the black bloodstains have merged with the purple-black furnace body, making it difficult to recognize. Just like this thundering purple gold furnace, the stories of the past have been washed away, worn away, and taken away by the long river of time, leaving only endless reverie for those who come after.

Zhao Rong stopped spinning the pen, stretched out his index finger, and carefully rubbed the handprint.

Who left this bloody hand? Who was practicing this furnace pill? Why was this thundering purple gold furnace forgotten in an ordinary side hall of Taibai Mountain in Zhongnan Kingdom?

Zhao Rong let out a light breath, shook his head, and got rid of these messy thoughts.

Although the operation to take the sacred furnace this morning had some twists and turns, it was generally smooth. After he went down the mountain, he drove the carriage hidden in the forest all the way back, and he did not see any Taoist priests from Mount Taibai coming down the mountain to chase after the item.

Presumably, they didn’t notice the stove was stolen, or they did but didn’t pay much attention to it for a short time.

He was actually a little disappointed at the time, feeling that all the backup plans he had made were of no use, and it felt like he was winking at a blind man.

On his way back, he had the idea of ​​turning back, pretending to be a pilgrim, going up the mountain again, and returning to the Lingguan Temple to take a look. He even seriously considered whether he should tell Chongxu Temple that someone had taken away the most valuable thing in their temple in public, which was probably something that could be exchanged for several Chongxu Temples, and then sincerely praise them for their generous hospitality.

But these thoughts were quickly suppressed by him.

How come it feels like a serial killer returns to the murder scene, admires his flawless methods up close, and then provides some clues to the clueless and incompetent officials, openly challenging and mocking their ability to handle the case?

Well, usually people like this don't have a good ending.

"What a lunatic." He cursed with a light laugh, as if he had discovered some of his hidden nature. He had once been constrained by the system of that world, but now that he was born in the Xuanhuang Realm, he had gained a certain degree of freedom.

However, he also secretly warned himself that a gentleman should do what he should do and should not do what he should not do.

"Who is the madman?" Gui asked curiously.

"Hmm? Nothing."

"You did a good job today. I am looking forward to seeing how you will harm the world of cultivation after you reach the Haoran realm and truly embark on the path of cultivation."

Zhao Rong was very upset. "Please remove the word 'harm'. How can you make me, a scholar, treat you like an unforgivable evildoer?"

"I am praising you, aren't I? Besides, you didn't even spare a little fox demon who had just awakened and transformed. How could I expect you to benefit the cultivation world? You are definitely causing trouble."

Zhao Rong opened his eyes wide, "What right do you have to slander someone's innocence? Su Xiaoxiao and I are good friends. You think of me like this, and I think you are just that kind of person."

Gui said proudly, "I don't have as many philandering thoughts as you do. I was devoted to cultivating the Dao in the past and never paid attention to these worldly affairs."

After saying that, it sneered, "Think about it, since I woke up and knew you, apart from the surprise you gave me this time, what good things have you done? Either you got involved in the love of a beautiful girl, broke her sword heart, and then planned to run away to eat her gigolo, or you were a hero who wanted to save a beautiful girl at the cost of your life, and now you are staying here to help that rebellious Lin Wenruo participate in the Confucian-Taoist debate for the ridiculous responsibility of you Confucian scholars."

It said sincerely: "That's great, Zhao Rong. What are you going to do next time? You stole something this time, are you going to steal someone next time?"

The scholar who was accused of cheating on his wife was speechless. He wanted to explain but didn't know where to start. He felt that it was a waste of time to argue with him. He rubbed his nose and sighed, "Oh, I'm sorry to make you laugh. I really didn't know that my strong peach blossom luck would make you feel so uncomfortable. I'm sorry, you old virgin."

As soon as Zhao Rong blurted out the last few words, Gui started cursing Zhao Rong like a wild cat with its fur standing on end. It was just the same few words over and over again, and Zhao Rong didn't show any fear at all.

At this time, a bright moon was hanging high in the sky, the wind was clear and the air was bright, without a single cloud blocking the view.

Zhao Rong glanced at the bright moonlight through the lattice window and covering half of the desk, then remembered that he still had important things to do, so he stopped arguing with Gui.

Zhao Rong picked up the Tingni purple gold furnace, walked to the window, and placed it in the moonlight.

The bright and clear light was like white frost, sprinkling on the inner and outer walls of the thundering purple gold furnace.

Zhao Rong looked carefully into the furnace and found that it was still empty, just like during the day.

He frowned and reached his hand into the furnace, running his palm over the strange patterns that seemed chaotic at first glance but dizzying if you looked closely. He felt around in the furnace but found nothing.

Zhao Rong's face turned serious. "Didn't you say it was refining the elixir? Where's the elixir? There's still no elixir even under the moonlight."

Gui said angrily, "Why are you in such a hurry? Let it take more notice. This pill is a little special. I don't know whether I should say that you are lucky or unlucky... Also, take your stinky face away. You are just a mere Ascension Realm cultivator, but you dare to stare at the Thunder Pattern. You are so arrogant. Are you tired of living?"

Zhao Rong raised his eyebrows and curled his lips, "Lightning pattern? That's it? What can these ghostly patterns do to me?"

But having said that, he still moved his head away for fear of blocking the moonlight.

Gui Youyou said: "It can make you impotent."

Zhao Rong: “…”

I'm so scared.

Zhao Rong immediately wanted to stay away from it and didn't want to even look at it again, but after hearing Gui's laughter, he realized it was a joke. He coughed lightly and continued to look into the furnace, but still didn't dare to glance at the furnace wall.

Time passes by every second.

"Why aren't you well yet?"

"Don't be impatient, wait a little longer. This stove hasn't been opened in the shadow of the sun for many years."

"Can you please stop keeping me in suspense and tell me what it is?"

"Good stuff. For sword cultivators, it is more than ten times better than this Thunder Purple Gold Furnace."

Zhao Rong was silent for a moment after hearing this, then said, "Is my luck a little too good?"

Gui chuckled and didn't respond.

There was silence between the two for a moment.

Zhao Rong stood quietly by the window holding the Tingni Purple Gold Furnace in both hands. He didn't know how long it had been. At a certain moment, Zhao Rong felt that the moonlight around him seemed to be a little dimmer, not sure if it was an illusion.

wrong!

The moonlight in the furnace is brighter!

The next second, Zhao Rong suddenly saw that a bucket of pale white water seemed to be poured into the furnace, and the bright moon in the sky was reflected in the center, so bright and unparalleled.

Inside the furnace, the surface of the water transformed by moonlight swayed slightly along with the furnace body, but the strange thing was that the bright moon did not show any ripples at all, as if the moon from the sky had really fallen into the furnace.

Zhao Rong subconsciously looked up at the moon, and suddenly reacted.

The moon in the sky is a full moon, but the moon in the furnace is missing a corner.

This is not a reflection of the moon in the sky.

This is clearly... that pill!

"Li Ji Sword Pill." Gui said lightly.

"Who is Li Ji?"

It asks and answers its own questions.

"The first female sword emperor in ancient times."