Stirrings Beyond the Seas; Claiming the Treasure

Chapter 476: Stirrings Beyond the Seas; Claiming the Treasure

Even Han Li, who was naturally bold, felt his mind reel and a wave of dizziness wash over him after staring into that abyss.

Forcing himself to endure the discomfort, he gazed intently for a moment longer before withdrawing his gaze, having found nothing.

Though his divine sense was powerful, it could not probe to such profound depths.

Without further hesitation, Han Li strode directly toward the pavilion.

Only upon approaching did its towering, majestic scale become apparent; it was at least three or four times the size of an ordinary building.

The entrance was a semi-circular archway, over two zhang tall, sealed by a yellow light barrier.

Standing before the barrier, Han Li examined it carefully.

He tilted his head in thought, then a flash of azure light appeared in his hand as a foot-long sword-light materialized.

With a gentle tap of his finger, the azure sword-light lightly pricked the barrier.

Ripples spread across the surface, and the sword-light penetrated it with effortless ease, encountering no resistance at all.

A little surprised by this, Han Li withdrew the azure sword-light and then extended his arm through the same spot.

It felt slightly cool, as if his arm were being wrapped by a ball of liquid.

No longer hesitating, Han Li lunged forward, and his entire body passed through the light barrier, vanishing from sight.

But the moment he crossed the archway and stood inside the pavilion, he froze.

Before him lay row after row of round jade platforms, each about a zhang tall. They varied in size and were made from sparkling white, flawless jade, spread out densely before him.

Lights flickered atop the platforms. Semi-circular light shields of various colors were inverted over the surfaces, and something seemed to be contained within each one.

Han Li’s eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of excitement appearing on his face.

The moment he had seen the words "Treasure Light Pavilion," he had guessed that he might have stumbled into great fortune—that this pavilion was likely the repository for ancient treasures.

But now the pavilion was completely empty of people. It seemed that whoever had taken this path before him had either already chosen their treasure and been transported out, or had proceeded to the second floor.

Thinking this, Han Li carefully examined the jade platforms. As he expected, he noticed that a few of them were empty, their semi-circular light shields gone.

As for the staircase leading to the second floor?

He felt a pang of confusion. After scanning the area several times, he still found nothing.

His curiosity now thoroughly piqued, he searched the room a few more times before his gaze settled on one rather unusual platform.

This platform sat alone at the back of the first floor, isolated and solitary. It was exceptionally flat, its surface engraved with profound, obscure runic symbols.

After studying it for a few moments, Han Li’s knowledge of formations allowed him to identify it as a simple teleportation array of peculiar design.

He stared at it for a while longer before withdrawing his gaze and beginning to walk slowly along the rows of jade platforms, browsing the ancient treasures displayed upon them.

But as he looked at one piece after another, his brow furrowed.

"These ancient treasures… aren't they a bit too mediocre?"

After examining only a few dozen platforms, Han Li lost all interest. He stood still with his arms crossed, muttering to himself, a puzzled expression on his face.

The items on these platforms did indeed bear the name "ancient treasures." Each one was either a long halberd or a long lance, fashioned in the style of high antiquity.

Though they shimmered with various colors of spiritual Qi, Han Li knew that in the primordial era, such items were equivalent to the flying swords and flying knives used by modern cultivators; they generally did not possess any truly extraordinary abilities.

That wasn’t to say they were completely useless.

But with treasures like the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords in his possession, he naturally could not be impressed by artifacts of this caliber. What he truly hoped for was an ancient treasure with special abilities, like the lan basket.

Nevertheless, afraid of missing something, he forced himself to inspect every single platform thoroughly.

In the end, Han Li sighed. Without further hesitation, he walked toward the teleportation array.

He believed that the second floor would surely hold something different.

After installing a few spirit stones into the array, he was transported to a new location in a flash of white light.

So this was the second floor of the Treasure Light Pavilion?

Han Li squinted, fixing his gaze ahead with tightly shut lips.

The space here was not large. Aside from a massive, spherical light barrier not far in front of him, the entire floor was completely empty.

This barrier, over a dozen zhang high, emanated a soft, azure glow. Suspended a zhang above the ground at the very center of the second floor, it was an arresting sight.

Within the barrier, several dozen ancient treasures of various shapes and sizes floated peacefully.

There were scrolls, jade tablets, round alms bowls, black banners—some he recognized, and others he did not. No two were alike.

Seeing this, Han Li’s heart leaped with joy. He knew he had come to the right place.

But then his excitement was tempered by caution. Such treasures, placed here so blatantly, would surely have been claimed by the cultivators who had come before him if they were easy to retrieve. It would not have been left for him.

With this thought in mind, Han Li clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked toward the spherical light barrier. He circled it three or four times before coming to a halt.

Opening his mouth, a tiny, inch-long azure sword shot out from between his lips.

It circled above his head a few times, then, under Han Li’s mental command, transformed into a streak of azure light and stabbed directly at the base of the barrier.

With a soft bang, a bright blue light flared at the point of impact. The azure streak was rebounded directly, having achieved nothing.

Han Li was not angered by this; if anything, he was delighted.

The more difficult it was to breach, the more precious the ancient treasures inside the barrier must be.

His face alight with excitement, he opened his mouth again and spat out nine more small swords in rapid succession. After a resonant hum above his head, the nine swords merged into a single, massive, azure-glowing giant sword.

"Chop!" Han Li let out a low growl.

The giant sword executed a "Force Splits the Mountain" strike, cleaving down upon the barrier without any reservation.

With a thunderous boom, as the giant sword touched the barrier wall, a gap several feet long was rent open.

A hint of joy appeared on Han Li’s face.

But before he could take further action, a powerful force suddenly surged from within. With a swoosh, the giant sword was violently rebounded.

The gap flickered with blue light and instantly restored itself to its original state.

Han Li stared in astonishment for a moment, then his expression darkened. He stroked his chin and studied the spherical light barrier again.

Soon, his expression relaxed, and a faint smile appeared.

He pointed a finger at the giant sword. With a clear chime, it disassembled, transforming back into nine small swords that flew back into his body.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he reached into his waist and produced a spirit beast pouch filled with Gold Devourer Beetles, tossing it into the air.

A loud buzzing filled the air as a cloud of gold and silver insects swarmed out of the pouch.

Han Li let out a low whistle, and the swarm immediately surged forward. In an instant, they had covered the base of the spherical light barrier, crawling all over it.

Moments later, a section of the barrier wall was gnawed out in front of Han Li, creating a round hole about three to four feet wide.

The barrier blazed with azure light, and the hole began to contract rapidly, warping and shrinking at a speed that rivaled even the beetles’ devouring.

Seeing this, Han Li dared not tarry. He immediately transformed himself into a thin streak of azure light, shooting through the still-open hole.

The barrier wall resealed itself at that very moment.

The azure light converged, and Han Li’s figure materialized within the barrier.

Standing not far from several dozen ancient treasures, each exuding an aura of high antiquity, he floated gently, his face now filled with undisguised excitement.

But he knew he could not linger here. He quickly tried to release his divine sense to probe the spiritual Qi levels of the treasures.

His face immediately twisted into a bitter grimace. His divine sense was completely unable to leave his body within this space.

This forced him to rely solely on intuition and experience to make his selection.

Resigned to this, he could only open his eyes wide and examine each treasure meticulously.

A strange blade? No, it was clearly an offensive-type treasure; he had no need for it.

A token? Not this one either. The image of a strange beast attached to it suggested it was used to command spirit beasts, much like the scroll painting he had obtained before.

A small drum? What did it even do? He couldn’t discern the slightest use for it. Better to skip it.

…

Muttering to himself as he examined the treasures, he eliminated one after another.

In the end, Han Li settled on three items.

The first was an oval mirror made of golden yellow metal. The second was a set of five multicolored copper rings linked together. The last was a wide, dark-red cloak.

He had chosen these three for his own reasons.

The golden-yellow mirror was an obvious choice. In the cultivation world, mirror-type treasures were almost universally prized for their extraordinary abilities and immense power.

He certainly didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

The five multicolored copper rings linked together most likely contained the attributes of all Five Elements. Though he didn’t know their specific ability, their power would surely not be insignificant.

As for the last item, the cloak...

(End of this chapter)