Storms Brew Overseas—Transformed Treasure

Chapter 491: Storms Brew Overseas—Transformed Treasure

Han Li was uncertain of the Profound Bone Saint’s intentions. His gaze swept back and forth before finally settling on the Blood Jade Spider in the distance.

At this moment, the spirit beast’s crimson light was growing ever more dazzling. Though its body trembled slightly, it continued to retract the spider silk bit by bit.

The milky-white strand of silk now reflected a faint, eerie blue light—a chill, flickering luminescence that carried an uncanny quality.

But as the blue light traveled along the silk and neared the crimson glow surrounding the Blood Jade Spider, it erupted into tiny points of white light, instantly repelled and unable to approach within half an inch of the spider’s body.

Han Li’s brow furrowed.

There was no need to ask; that strange light was certainly connected to the Dry Blue Ice Flame. No wonder none of the old monsters had lent a hand to the beasts retrieving the treasure. They were clearly deeply wary of that blue light.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a thunderous crash resounded from above, intermingled with Man Brutal Beard’s booming laughter and a furious shout.

Han Li’s attention was drawn back to the battle.

Man Brutal Beard’s form had swollen to an astonishing thirty or forty feet. The upper half of his robes had been torn away, revealing his chest covered in dense scales that gleamed like golden armor, dazzling and impossible to gaze upon directly.

Even stranger, several bands of silver light coiled and danced around his enormous body.

These bands of light were dreamlike and ethereal, drifting unpredictably, yet they prevented the purple fire-dragons conjured by Wan Tianming’s Heaven Net Art from approaching within half a step, perfectly intercepting the raging violet flames time and again.

Though Man Brutal Beard claimed his Heavenly Devil Arts were the foremost in the Chaotic Star Sea, he was no fool—he would never use that technique to directly withstand Wan Tianming’s true fire.

In his hands, Man Brutal Beard now held a pair of dull black iron gauntlets. They were covered in inch-long spikes, their design ferocious and menacing.

With these gauntlets, he struck against a massive purple sword that moved like a swimming dragon. Each punch sent a colossal golden hand flying from the gauntlet, slamming the giant sword back several dozen feet.

Wan Tianming, manipulating the giant sword from midair, wore a murderous expression as he drove two violet flame-dragons into a frenzy, searching for a weakness in the silver light bands to entrap his formidable foe.

On the other side, Celestial Condor and Green Bamboo Hermit, both clearly valuing their own skins, fought at a distance. One sent the Green Thorn Bird and his own magical treasures hurtling at his opponent, while the other, relying on his Shell Turtle and a gleaming white short ruler, defended himself impenetrably.

The two fought at a leisurely pace, as if they were sparring in a friendly exhibition match.

The most brutal melee appeared to be between Extreme Yin Patriarch and the dark, thin old man.

Within the vast range of their battle, ghostly howls and phoenix cries wove together. Green shadows and black qi roiled and surged, forming a massive whirlpool.

Occasionally, one could glimpse the figures of several Capital Heaven Corpse beasts flashing past, or thick green vines suddenly lashing wildly out from the vortex, suggesting a fight of fierce intensity.

As for the mutated Three-Eyed Leopard, which the demonic side valued so highly, it was locked in a chase with the White Cold Flood Dragon.

The flood dragon was clearly at a disadvantage, driven into chaotic flight by the leopard’s anomalous yellow light. Wherever its white, frigid breath touched the yellow light, it instantly turned into ordinary stone, unable to approach the leopard.

Still, it managed to barely keep the mutated Three-Eyed Leopard occupied, preventing it from turning its attention to the three righteous cultivators. From the looks of it, the flood dragon could hold out a while longer.

Watching this, Han Li felt a strange sensation rise within him.

These people were fighting with great spectacle—magical treasures flying wildly, secret techniques unleashed without restraint. But to him, it didn’t feel like a life-or-death struggle. It felt more like a contest of skill.

Was this what battles between Nascent Soul cultivators looked like?

Han Li silently wondered.

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he glanced again at the Profound Bone Saint.

The Saint’s wooden expression now carried a faint, cold sneer. But sensing Han Li’s gaze, he immediately stiffened his face and returned to an unreadable calm.

Han Li’s heart tightened. He felt as though he had almost grasped something.

Before he could think further, a sharp explosion erupted from the Void Heaven Cauldron at the cave entrance, followed by a piercing, grinding noise.

Startled, Han Li quickly turned his head toward the cave mouth and assumed a cautious stance.

The blue light on the altar swayed, and a dragon’s cry echoed out as a streak of fire shot forth from the cave.

The light circled rapidly above the altar before transforming into a double-headed flaming wolf that hovered in midair.

The wolf was ablaze with fierce flames. The moment it saw the assembled cultivators, it coiled its limbs and prepared to flee.

The righteous and demonic cultivators, who had been locked in combat, were all startled and simultaneously stopped fighting.

The closest, the old man in the scholar’s robe, immediately slapped his own crown, and a great azure hand shot out from the top of his head, sweeping toward the fire wolf.

“You wish! Our sect claims this treasure!” Wan Tianming cried out in urgency. His form twisted in place, and two identical clones emerged.

Both Wan Tianmings glowed with violet flames, and two purple beams merged into one, chasing after the azure hand.

The others, realizing what was happening, quickly activated their own techniques and shot toward the same target.

Multicolored light converged on a single point.

The others were clearly a step behind Green Bamboo Hermit and Wan Tianming.

The azure hand, having taken the lead, was especially swift. It appeared above the fire wolf in an instant and grabbed downward.

Just as everyone thought the scholar’s robe would seize the prize, the fire wolf swung both its heads simultaneously, conjuring a red-and-yellow light shield around its body.

The azure hand’s grab failed. With a dull thud, it was repelled.

The scholar’s robe was initially startled, but then joy flashed across his face.

The azure light blazed, and the hand was about to strike again when the purple beam finally caught up.

Seeing that it was still a hair’s breadth away and could not stop the hand from claiming the prize, the purple beam abruptly changed its target. It transformed into a violet flame-dragon and bit fiercely at the azure hand.

The scholar’s robe, controlling the hand from behind, cursed Wan Tianming for his underhandedness!

The Mysterious Transformation Hand he had shaped from his divided spirit was certainly convenient and powerful, but it could not withstand a blow from the true fire of the Heaven Net Art.

Even if he obtained the treasure, the damage to his divided spirit would be severe. He would never make such a losing trade.

Left with no choice, the azure hand halted its downward strike and instead turned to meet the purple flame-dragon.

Azure light and violet flames erupted.

In that brief moment of delay, Man Brutal Beard and Celestial Condor had caught up.

The group surrounded the fire wolf, simultaneously attacking the opponents nearest them.

This time, their strikes were far more ferocious and venomous than before. Secret arts and techniques emerged in endless succession, and for a time, they were locked in a tangled melee, none able to spare a hand for the fire wolf.

The wolf, intelligent, seemed to recognize the danger posed by the Nascent Soul old monsters. It abruptly dove downward, fleeing.

Its direction led straight toward where the Profound Bone Saint, Han Li, and the others stood.

Watching with wide eyes, understanding dawned on Han Li.

This double-headed fire wolf was undoubtedly a treasure from the Void Heaven Cauldron that had transformed. He had no idea how it had managed to break free before the cauldron was even retrieved.

He didn’t know what kind of treasure it was or what powers it possessed. But the fact that it could take form, withstand a blow from that azure hand, and act independently was proof of its extreme rarity.

Now it was charging straight at them—Core Formation cultivators. Without a second thought, Han Li slapped his storage pouch, and a stream of white qi appeared in his hand.

He reached into the white qi and pulled out an ancient, rustic basket.

Before he could cast his spell, two black pythons formed from dark qi shot up from below, instantly coiling around the fire wolf. They wrapped around it several times and then abruptly tightened.

Han Li cursed inwardly. He turned to see Wu Chou, a smug expression on his face, his fingers forming hand seals. Those black pythons were clearly manifestations of his Profound Yin Art.

A flicker of frustration crossed Han Li’s face. He hesitated internally, wondering if he should try to seize the treasure. After all, it hadn’t been claimed yet.

But if doing so angered the notoriously protective Extreme Yin Patriarch, who might then turn on him after taking the treasure, the cost could far outweigh the gain.

His thoughts raced, but before he could weigh the pros and cons, the Profound Bone Saint acted without hesitation.

A cold light flashed in the Saint’s eyes. Without a word, he opened his mouth and spat out a beam of green light. The light flared, transforming into a huge, verdant silk net that descended, enveloping both the black pythons and the fire wolf.

(Author’s Note: So much to do before the holiday. Only managed to get this chapter out now. My apologies. But I’ve given it my all. Updates may be unstable for a while, but I promise I won’t let this story go on hiatus. As for whether I can still manage two chapters a day… that depends on whether I have enough time. Heh. I can’t really predict that. Some things are just out of my hands. Only one chapter tonight. Get some rest, everyone. Sleep well!)