noffsinger Chapter 185 Taking the Cauldron
Chapter 185 Taking the Cauldron
Chapter 186 Taking the Cauldron
With a flick of his hand, Lu Jianghe instantly condensed the crackling blue-white lightning in his hand, transforming it into three lightning whips that precisely wrapped around the three spiritual objects.
With a swift and effortless pull, the whips were firmly locked in place and pulled back into the palm of the hand.
The whole process was smooth and easy, and very pleasant.
He put the jade pendant and ancient coins into his storage bag, and then the light fell into his palm.
There, a hazy, seven-colored glow was gently bound by blue-white lightning. Within it, five pills, each the size of a dragon's eye and of different colors, spun incessantly, each emitting the aura of the five elements.
The remnant soul of Xuan Gu floated forward, approached the glowing light, and after a moment of careful observation, finally nodded gently.
"The Heaven-Mending Pill, that's right—I obtained one back then, its form, texture, and aura are exactly the same as before, there's no doubt about it!"
Xuan Gu turned his gaze to Han Li, who was walking towards him, and at this moment he had no more scruples.
"No matter what you say, since you possess the Blood Jade Spider, you must have most likely obtained that Heaven-Mending Pill."
Xuan Gu paused, as if explaining to Lu Jianghe beside him.
"After all, it would take at least a hundred years to fully refine this pill. If he had died in time—"
To Xuan Gu's great surprise, Han Li, upon hearing this, flipped his hand and directly pulled out five pills of different colors.
However, these pills were dull and lifeless in his hands, like stone beads, completely lacking the wondrous aura they had when they were enveloped in the seven-colored glow in Lu Jianghe's hands.
Upon seeing this, Xuan Gu's remnant soul stirred slightly and opened its mouth to exhale softly.
A wisp of pure and refined divine soul drifted out, enveloping the five pills in Han Li's palm like a thin mist.
In an instant, the five lifeless pills seemed to be awakened.
Although not as dazzling as Lu Jianghe's glow, each of the five distinct halos of gold, cyan, blue, red, and yellow shone brightly.
The remnant soul of Xuan Gu stared at the five halos of light, confirming it without a doubt.
However, after exhaling this essence of divine soul energy, the soul visibly thinned and became more illusory, like a candle flickering in the wind.
"Hahaha—Great! Great!"
Xuan Gu suddenly looked up and let out a hearty laugh.
Han Li frowned slightly upon seeing his expression, but ultimately kindly offered a reminder: "Are you trying to expend your divine soul essence like this, lest you no longer have the chance for reincarnation?"
Xuan Gu's laughter faltered, and the face formed by his remnant soul turned to Han Li, a hint of relief appearing on that illusory face.
"You don't need to worry about that, kid. The Xuanhun body is not subject to reincarnation, so there is no afterlife to speak of. After this matter is settled, we—will never meet again."
Han Li remained silent, a complex mix of emotions passing through his mind, but ultimately said nothing more.
The fact that things have turned out this way is entirely due to the path that Xuan Gu chose himself.
If Brother Lu hadn't been there to keep things under control, he couldn't even imagine how dangerous the situation would have become if he had been feigning compliance with a cunning old devil like Xuan Gu and scheming against each other.
This old fox, who has lived for hundreds of years, has a mind as deep as the sea. Even in his current remnant soul state, Han Li would find it extremely difficult to fathom what he is thinking if he stood before him.
Moreover, while some of the words spoken by Xuan Gu may be true, they should not be entirely believed.
With that thought in mind, Han Li stopped thinking about it and casually handed the wolf-head jade ruyi he had just obtained to Lu Jianghe.
The latter merely glanced at it casually and smiled, "Since it's an opportunity for you, young man, accept it."
Upon hearing this, Han Li did not hesitate to refuse, but chuckled and readily put the jade ruyi back into his storage bag.
He had just used his divine sense to quickly investigate and sensed that this jade ruyi was definitely an extremely precious defensive ancient treasure.
Lu Jianghe seemed to be deep in thought at this moment, recalling the method he had just used, which involved using lightning as a whip.
Thinking of this, a thought immediately arose in his mind.
A Lu Jianghe emerged from his body, splitting into two.
One is the original deity, and the other is a spirit.
Xuan Gu looked at the scene, his face showing a look of bewilderment and confusion for the first time.
What kind of supernatural power is this?
The method of creating an avatar outside the body?
Amulet?
wrong!
This is even more mysterious.
The two figures share the same origin and are both genuine. It seems that no one can definitively say which one is the true self.
Lu Jianghe's body was suspended in mid-air above the pit.
The two simultaneously formed hand seals and cast spells, their bodies erupting with blue arcs of electricity, like countless lightning snakes coiling and roaming.
The next moment, two lightning whips were unleashed from their respective hands, wrapping around the two secondary ears of the Void Heaven Cauldron!
However, the moment it came into contact with the Void Heaven Cauldron, a sudden change occurred.
The dry blue ice flames spread rapidly upwards, making a teeth-grinding "crackling" sound.
Even lightning was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture.
The freezing was incredibly fast; in the blink of an eye, the icicles had already climbed up the lightning whip to the edge of Lu Jianghe's palm.
The main body and the Yin spirit's expressions slightly froze, and their reactions were extremely fast.
The two simultaneously formed hand seals, and a square, ancient magic seal composed of pure runes, the "Five Thunder Orthodox Seal," manifested before them, radiating boundless light and exuding supreme yang and strength, a vast power to destroy evil and vanquish demons.
Once the Dharma Seal was formed, Lu Jianghe activated the Thunder Seal, forcibly lifting the frozen lightning along with the Void Heaven Cauldron.
Unfortunately, it was only teetering on the brink of collapse. As soon as it was lifted up, the entire seal was frozen, shattered, and exploded.
Upon seeing this, Lu Jianghe gently shook his head.
as expected.
Ultimately, the Five Thunder Orthodox Seal only has the form, but not the spirit.
Furthermore, he dared not exert his full strength and had to keep his overall condition, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and his essence and spirit at their peak at all times in order to prepare for the possible breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been unable to lift the cauldron more than half an inch before running out of strength.
Upon seeing this, the true self and the Yin spirit suddenly merged into one, and Lu Jianghe gently landed back on the cold stone surface of Hanlitai, his aura instantly becoming harmonious and unimpeded.
"It seems that conventional methods are no longer effective."
Lu Jianghe's tone was flat, revealing little disappointment.
"For ten thousand years, no one has been able to take this cauldron away, and it's not something that can be accomplished by simply coming up with a plan."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Gu's remnant soul trembled slightly, and he let out a hoarse laugh: "Senior, you were able to shake this cauldron by the slightest bit, and even lift it by half an inch, all by your own strength. This has already made me look at you with new eyes and amazed me."
Then, his ethereal gaze shifted to Han Li, carrying a sense of urgency and relief after everything had settled.
"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and release those two Blood Jade Spiders! Using this beast is the only correct solution!"
Upon hearing this, Han Li rolled his eyes at Xuan Gu's semi-transparent soul form, clearly annoyed.
That old devil, even though his own soul is almost scattered, he still loves to boss people around.
He made hand seals and changed his posture. The dark brown spirit beast pouch at his waist flashed with light and opened downwards.
Whoosh!
Two enormous spiders, their bodies as clear and lustrous as jade, were released, their eight long legs covered in fine white hair landing steadily on the cold, icy platform.
However, as soon as the two top-tier fourth-order Blood Jade Spiders were released, before they even had a chance to sense their surroundings, their heads turned sharply towards Lu Jianghe's direction.
"Hiss—!"
The two blood jade spiders let out terrified screams.
They didn't even bother to check their surroundings; driven solely by their survival instincts, they stumbled backward!
One of them even crashed into the cold stone wall behind it because it retreated too quickly, causing some ice shards to fall down.
Two blood jade spiders huddled together, their eight compound eyes flashing with fear, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
The absolute suppression brought by that higher realm prevented them from even having the slightest thought of resistance.
Han Li's lips twitched slightly as he looked at his spirit pet's unprecedentedly cowardly demeanor. He thought to himself, "Brother Lu's pressure is truly..."
He quickly used telepathy to send comforting messages to the two blood jade spiders.
But they didn't react much. Han Li's temple throbbed, and he said with a hint of helplessness, "Brother Lu, why don't you tone down your aura?"
Lu Jianghe did not intentionally release his pressure; it was simply due to his cultivation level. A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator is like a moving mountain, naturally exerting a sense of oppression on lower-level beings.
However, he still managed to calm and concentrate his own energy, making himself less "obvious".
The hissing of the two spiders soon subsided, and although fear still flickered in their compound eyes, they at least stopped desperately retreating.
Han Li took out several specially made Spirit Feeding Pills from his storage bag and flicked them in front of the two spiders.
The Blood Jade Spider hesitated for a moment, then instinctively extended its forelimbs and quickly rolled the pill into its mouth to chew.
With Han Li's continued reassurance and repeated emphasis on the "Pull the Cauldron" command, the two Blood Jade Spiders finally turned their compound eyes toward the large hole underground.
"Let's begin."
Han Li took a deep breath, his expression solemn.
He made hand seals and chanted incantations. Two beams of spiritual light shot from his fingertips and entered the bodies of the two blood jade spiders.
The spider then exerted force with its eight long legs, firmly gripping the cold rocky ground, and the carapace on its back, which looked like it was carved from blood jade, glowed with a hazy red light.
"Hiss hiss hiss—!"
Accompanied by a piercing friction sound, dozens of crystal-clear and incredibly tough spider silks shot out from the abdomen, fell into the depths of the cave, and stuck to the Void Heaven Cauldron.
Two blood jade spiders were positioned in different locations, deeply embedded in the hard ice and rock of Hanlitai, their eight long legs taut, working together to climb outwards.
The Void Cauldron was firmly attached to the tough spider silk, and under this combined force, it was pulled upwards little by little.
Han Li focused intently on controlling the two spirit pets, constantly issuing commands to them to keep them exerting their strength.
Thanks to the fact that both Blood Jade Spiders were at the peak of the fourth-tier demon beast level, and that their spider silk seemed to be naturally resistant to the erosion of the Azure Ice Flame, which even Nascent Soul cultivators could hardly withstand, the process of pulling the cauldron went quite smoothly.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the Void Cauldron had been pulled to the middle of the cave entrance.
As the Void Heaven Cauldron gradually detached from the core area of the Azure Ice Flame, the tremors of the entire Cold Li Platform intensified, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.
The chill emanating from the cauldron became even more turbulent and violent.
Seeing this, Lu Jianghe slightly raised one palm, and in the blink of an eye, a stream of clear, cool water poured down, silently covering the surface of the entire huge cave, forming a barrier as thin as a cicada's wing yet incredibly strong.
The overflowing dry blue ice flames collided with this layer of "flowing water," as if hitting an invisible dam, and were instantly isolated, unable to rage outwards even slightly.
The illusory image of the remnant soul of Xuan Gu hovered to the side, watching the Void Heaven Palace being pulled up little by little, and suddenly laughed again.
"Hahaha!"
The laughter grew softer and softer, more and more ethereal. The already faint and illusory soul, like a flickering candle in the wind, began to glow uncertainly. Its edges began to turn into tiny specks of light and dust, silently dissipating into the cold air of Hanlitai.
The laughter eventually turned into a long sigh, filled with reminiscence of past glories and resentment at the cruel twists of fate, yet also carrying a hint of peace as a long-cherished wish was fulfilled.
"Xuanyin Island—Xiao Cha—is gone—"
The last few words were barely audible, and the lingering soul and phantom completely dissipated, turning into specks of starlight, leaving no trace.
This Nascent Soul demon, who once roamed the chaotic star sea, scheming and plotting, and experiencing many ups and downs, ultimately chose to return to oblivion in the core of this Void Heaven Palace.
Actually, seeing the Void Cauldron steadily rising, there was already little suspense left.
Originally, Xuan Gu wanted to reveal that his real purpose was not the Void Heaven Cauldron, but the accompanying Azure Ice Flame.
But after a moment's thought, he decided to keep his options open and swallowed his words.
Without the suppression and harmonization of the cauldron, the Azure Ice Flames that had accompanied the Void Heaven Cauldron for half their lives went out of control and erupted—the consequences of which were probably unimaginable to anyone.
Although it's nothing to a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, it can still cause some trouble.
Thinking of this, Xuan Gu's lips curled up almost imperceptibly for a moment before disappearing.
Consider it a small interest payment.
Lu Jianghe watched as the Xuan Bone completely dissipated, his expression remaining unchanged.
Han Li witnessed this scene, sighed, shook his head, dispelled his distracting thoughts, and focused his attention again on controlling the two blood jade spiders to pull the cauldron.
It took another half hour to finally pull the Void Heaven Cauldron to a position almost level with the cave entrance.
Just then, Lu Jianghe made a move.
He didn't grab the cauldron directly, but instead stomped his foot.
The entire altar shook violently, as if an earth dragon were turning over.
Using this upward recoil force, the Void Heaven Cauldron was shaken and bounced up slightly by an inch.
At the same time, Lu Jianghe's sleeves fluttered, and he raised his hand as if to press down.
A semi-transparent giant hand formed from pure magical power appeared out of thin air and slammed onto the side wall of the Void Cauldron that had just bounced up.
"clang--!!!"
A deafening roar, like the sound of a giant bell, echoed across the cold, imposing platform.
The Void Heaven Cauldron transformed into a streak of light and was forcefully knocked away by the immense force, escaping the cave entrance and crashing heavily onto the side of the Cold Li Terrace.
Almost at the very moment the Void Cauldron was knocked away from the cave entrance.
The azure ice flames in the cave below erupted and surged forth!
Its power and ferocity far surpassed any previous one!
However, Lu Jianghe had anticipated this.
Lu Jianghe's natal flying sword responded instantly, no longer a trickle, but suddenly transforming into a vast expanse of water that spread out above the cave entrance.
The moment the Azure Ice Flame erupted, it was enveloped and restrained within it!
No matter how fiercely the ice and flames raged, this seemingly fragile "water curtain" was gradually confined to a small area.
The entire process, from Lu Jianghe stomping his foot and knocking away the Void Heaven Cauldron, to the eruption of ice flames and the transformation of his natal flying sword into a water curtain prison, only took a few breaths.