The broken red cauldron was something Shui Huoyan had given him long ago.
According to her, this red cauldron used to be a Rank 3 spiritual weapon. But now… it was cracked from rim to base, its inscriptions shattered, its spiritual core damaged beyond repair. No matter how skilled the craftsman, there was no saving it.
To most cultivators, it was nothing but scrap metal.
Yet Shui Huoyan had gifted it to him with a quiet smile.
She knew Han Xuan had a habit of collecting odd treasures, especially items with strange origins, and this cauldron was one of the few things she had brought from her past.
Its origin lay with her family.
Shui Huoyan and her sister, Shui Lanyue, were not born in Blueleaf County. They came from the Shui Family, a once-prominent Golden Core family located in the distant Yunhai Archipelago—a vast sea region filled with countless islands and powerful cultivators.
But during a war between two great families, the Shui Family was annihilated.
Amid the chaos of falling mountains, burning ships, and shattered formations, the sisters desperately escaped through a random Teleportation Formation. Without knowing where it would lead, they gambled their lives—and reappeared deep in a forest near Blueleaf County.
This broken red cauldron that Huoyan had picked up during the chaos.
To her, it was a worthless remnant of a ruined past.
To Han Xuan… it was one of the last fragments of her heritage.
Though useless in its current state, it still held value as a Rank 3 spiritual weapon. Refiners would pay a decent price for its materials, and even in its broken form, it carried traces of high-grade fire attribute energy.
And now, as Han Xuan stared at the broken cauldron, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Maybe… just maybe…
It could serve another purpose.
Suddenly, his gaze drifted back over the scattered treasures until it settled on a single jade slip half-buried under a stack of talismans.
Han Xuan reached down and picked it up.
The surface of the jade glimmered faintly, its inscriptions still intact despite its age.
This jade slip contained the Three-Flame Refining Method.
It was an alchemy technique once practiced by Shui Huoyan—one of the few inheritances salvaged from her fallen family. Unfortunately, this version was incomplete and could only be cultivated up to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Beyond that, the method abruptly cut off.
Han Xuan himself had never cultivated it. Alchemy was not his path, and he lacked the affinity to master such techniques. Still, he treasured anything related to his family's safety and future—so he stored it away.
In fact, all the techniques cultivated by his family members—whether Lanyue's plant-tending arts, Huoyan's alchemy method, or Qixing's sword arts—were safely stored inside Baobao's belly.
Even though Han Xuan kept a small library in his cave abode, most of the books and jade slips there were merely copies. And most of the knowledge on those shelves consisted of general cultivation basics, historical texts, geographical records, and a handful of incomplete or low-tier manuals.
The truly valuable ones, like the Three-Flame Refining Method or the rare techniques given by the system, were all hidden within Baobao's internal pocket dimension.
Han Xuan ran a thumb along the cool surface of the jade slip.
After a moment of hesitation, he nodded to himself.
"Yes… this one."
The last time he invested an incomplete manual—it had been the Seven Star Sword Art. And despite being incomplete, the system had still produced extraordinary results: Han Qixing's Seven Star Sword Body.
If history repeated itself…
Then investing the Three-Flame Refining Method might just bring out a brilliant talent or even another special physique related to fire or alchemy.
Han Xuan's eyes shone with hope, "This should work."
But even after choosing the Three-Flame Refining Method, he still felt unsatisfied.
These treasures were decent and even valuable. But he still felt it wasn't enough.
He rubbed his forehead, frowning, "Forget it… I still have a month before the Investment Phase finalizes. During this month, I'll gather as many rare treasures as possible."
More spiritual herbs, more pills, and maybe even another spiritual weapon if he was lucky.
And spirit coins.
He needed spirit coins.
A long sigh escaped his lips, "It seems I need to settle my grudge with Chen Wuye as soon as possible…"
Otherwise, every supplier, merchant, customer, and business partner in Blueleaf County would continue to avoid him. At this rate, earning even a single spirit coin would become a struggle.
Just as Han Xuan fell into deep contemplation, a familiar chime echoed in his mind.
Ding.
[Congratulations, your son – Han Qixing – has advanced to the Fourth Stage of Qi Refining.]
[Reward: 1 Minor Realm Advancement Chance.]
Han Xuan blinked.
His thoughts froze.
Then his eyes lit up like lantern flames.
"Qixing advanced to Fourth Stage already?"
He could hardly believe it.
Most children began cultivating at the age of five. Yet Han Qixing—
Barely five years had passed, and the boy had already stepped into the Fourth Stage.
Han Xuan vividly remembered his own miserable progress. From the day he awakened his Qi, it took him fifteen bitter years just to crawl from the First Stage to the Third. And after that, he had remained stuck, stagnant, and helpless until he was twenty-four.
If the system hadn't granted him a reward when Han Qixing was born, he might still be trapped in that bottleneck even now.
The disparity between a Rank 1 spiritual root and a Rank 3 spiritual root was as clear as daylight.
And yet, although a faint sting of envy pricked at him, overwhelming joy quickly washed it away. Because every time his son advanced… the benefits he received were enormous.
Without hesitation, he forced his excitement down and closed his eyes.
"Use Minor Realm Advancement Chance!"
The system responded with a soft pulse.
Ding.
A swelling wave of spiritual energy surged inside him, warm and gentle like a rising tide. His meridians hummed. His dantian brightened. His cultivation barrier shattered as easily as thin paper.
Han Xuan's realm rose smoothly.
When his eyes opened, they held a faint brilliance.
Without wasting time, he summoned the familiar translucent light screen.
His profile interface unfolded before him.
A translucent blue screen appeared before Han Xuan's eyes.
[Name: Han Xuan]
[Lifespan: 33 / 150 years]
[Realm: Seventh Stage of Qi Refining]
[Spiritual Root: Rank 2]
[Cultivation Technique: Eternal Frost Sovereign Sutra]
[Inventory: Minor Realm Advancement Chance ×1]
"Finally… I've reached the Seventh Stage of Qi Refining…" Han Xuan exhaled softly, his voice thick with emotion.
Five years ago, he was still stuck at the Third Stage of Qi Refining, the same miserable place he had been trapped for over a decade. If not for the system, he would likely still be there, watching other cultivators surpass him one by one.
But the past five years had been entirely different.
Each time his son advanced, the system rewarded Han Xuan with a Minor Realm Advancement Chance.
And over those five years, his son had advanced four times.
Four advancements mean four miraculous chances.
A Minor Realm Advancement Chance was an unbelievable resource—capable of bypassing the shackles of spiritual root. No bottlenecks, no accumulation, no struggle. As long as one used it, their cultivation would rise by one entire minor realm.
Han Xuan had used all four.
From the long-stagnant Third Stage, all the way to the Seventh Stage.
It was a rise that should have taken him decades—if he even managed to achieve it at all.
What made the treasure even more astonishing was that it wasn't restricted to him. He could use it on others as well.
But his wives needed far fewer than he did.
Both Shui Lanyue and Shui Huoyan possessed Rank 2 spiritual roots and were currently at the Fifth Stage of Qi Refining. Their cultivation progressed normally, even smoothly, compared to Han Xuan's pathetic early years.
If not for the system, he would still be a weak Third Stage trash.
The system had not only given him Minor Realm Advancement Chances.
Ten years ago, when Han Qixing was born, a similar reward had appeared—Spiritual Root Advancement Chance.
Because his son's spiritual root was Rank 3, higher than Han Xuan's Rank 1, the system automatically raised Han Xuan's spiritual root by one rank.
Rank 1 → Rank 2.
A transformation that casual cultivators dreamed of but never achieved in their lifetime.
This was why Han Xuan was so wildly excited about the twins.
If either child was born with a higher-ranked spiritual root than his current Rank 2…Then he would receive another advancement.
And with twins, the reward might very well be double.
His heart burned with anticipation.
But first…
"I need to ensure the twins have spiritual roots higher than mine," Han Xuan muttered determinedly.
Anyway, today was truly a double blessing.
Not only had Shui Huoyan become pregnant—and with twins no less—but Han Qixing had also advanced to the Fourth Stage of Qi Refining.
Two pieces of joyous news on the same day.
Two milestones that directly benefited him.
For a moment, Han Xuan couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.