The Incarnation Talisman and the Heaven-Mending Pill

Just as the situation reached a critical point, Man Brutal Beard, who was still mid-air, suddenly raised his head and glared at a certain spot off to the side. His face was frosty as he bellowed:

“Who’s skulking over there? Get the hell out here!”

The moment he finished speaking, his hair and beard bristled as he punched without hesitation. A giant golden hand, over ten feet wide, materialized in the air and, without the slightest delay, grabbed toward that spot.

A dull thump rang out. A cyan light barrier appeared exactly where the hand struck, actually managing to hold firm against the blow without shattering. Then, a white figure slowly materialized within the barrier.

“You!”

“Star Palace?”

Several exclamations came from both the righteous and demonic sides as Man Brutal Beard and Wan Tianming’s expressions shifted.

“A Law Enforcement Elder of the Star Palace, and when did you start sneaking around like this? Weren’t you the ones who claimed you would never enter the inner hall?” Extreme Yin Patriarch demanded, his face ugly as he launched the first accusation.

“Hah! My luck really is terrible. I never imagined the Void Heaven Cauldron’s emergence would cause such a commotion. I was forced to use a minor trick to defend against the cold, and Brother Man ended up detecting me. It seems Brother Man truly is the foremost cultivator present.” This white-robed elder did not bother to answer Extreme Yin’s question. Instead, he stood his ground and spoke slowly to Man Brutal Beard. His expression remained completely unflustered, as if the person hiding in the shadows had not been him at all.

Extreme Yin was naturally furious, but the Star Palace’s reputation carried weight. He did not dare to take the initiative to attack the man.

As for Wan Tianming and the others, they seemed similarly wary. So many people stared down at the man from the air, yet the silence was absolute.

“No! There’s another one! Watch out for the Bloodjade Spider and Han Li!”

The scholar-robed elder had been stroking his beard and pondering something ever since the Star Palace elder revealed himself. Now, sensing something deeply suspicious in the man’s evasiveness, he thought hard for a moment, then suddenly realized the truth and cried out in alarm.

Han Li, who was retreating a fair distance away, was startled by this.

Before he could figure out what was happening, two streaks of white rainbow light erupted from the low air on the other side of the altar. Emitting scorching white light, they tore through the air toward Han Li and the Bloodjade Spider with a piercing, sharp whistle. Only after they had been launched did another white-robed elder’s figure appear in that spot.

Han Li’s face went pale.

Fast. Too fast. After a flash of white light before his eyes, this was the single thought that surfaced in Han Li’s mind.

The only reaction he had time for was to desperately shove the jade ruyi he was holding in his hand against his chest.

A bang sounded as Han Li’s hands shook violently, instantly losing all feeling. Then a wave of heat struck his chest, and his body was sent flying backward.

All Han Li could hear was the whistling wind and the furious curses of Man Brutal Beard and the others.

Before he could even stop his backward momentum, a sharp pain struck his back. He had slammed heavily into the enormous barrier not far away, sliding slowly down its surface until he came to a stop.

“Hm?” A puzzled voice came from the Star Palace elder who had unleashed the white rainbow.

He glanced a few times at Han Li, who had been knocked away without any ability to defend himself, and felt a bit surprised.

To have been struck at such close range by his magic treasure, the Piercing Sun Sword, and not be cut in half… the boy must have some top-grade treasure protecting him.

But it didn’t matter. The other flying sword had already done its job.

With this thought, his gaze turned coldly toward the altar.

The Bloodjade Spider had been cleanly sliced in two by the other white rainbow. Its blood spilled across the ground. The Dry Blue Ice Flame, which had already revealed a small portion of itself, silently sank back down.

The two mutated Fire Pythons alone could not possibly lift the Void Heaven Cauldron now.

Seeing all of this, the white-robed elder nodded in satisfaction. He waved his hand at the two white rainbows, recalling them both. Then, he smiled eerily at the livid righteous and demonic cultivators in the air.

These Nascent Soul old monsters, their minds completely focused on the other figure, had been completely unable to react in time. Now that they saw the Bloodjade Spider truly slain, every single one of them wore an expression of fury, their eyes blazing with rage.

Man Brutal Beard, having no such inhibitions, burst into a string of curses. He clapped his hands together, his body erupting in golden light, clearly ready to attack.

But amidst a calm smile, the Star Palace elder who had made the move dissolved into tiny specks of starlight within a milky-white glow, vanishing without a trace. All that was left behind was a pale golden talisman, fluttering gently down from the air.

The exact same scene played out with the other white-robed elder, the one still within the light barrier.

With the same white starlight, his body smiled as it dispersed before the eyes of the assembled monsters. An identical golden talisman was left behind in his place.

“The Star Palace’s Incarnation Talisman! So they didn’t send their true bodies here! They’re certainly willing to spend the resources. This means there’s no way to track them down for a settlement even if we wanted to.” The rage on Man Brutal Beard’s face quickly subsided, replaced by a flicker of strange light in his eyes as he muttered to himself.

Extreme Yin, Wan Tianming, and the others, righteous and demonic alike, all looked grim. They could only glare helplessly as the golden talisman touched the ground, ignited spontaneously, and turned to ash, leaving nothing behind.

……

In a hidden corner of the fifth floor of the inner palace, two white-robed elders sat cross-legged in the darkness, opening their eyes at the same time.

“Fortunately, we followed them this time. Otherwise, they might have actually gotten their hands on the Void Heaven Cauldron,” one of them said slowly, a hint of relief in his voice.

“But we were discovered a little too early. If we had waited until the cauldron was raised and they were all entangled, unable to act against each other, we could have made a move from the shadows. We might very well have seized the treasure,” the other said, his voice somewhat cold, a note of regret in his words.

“Heh! One cannot be too greedy. Having thwarted their best chance to seize the treasure is already a decent outcome. Once our Star Palace has weathered this current crisis, the next time the Void Heaven Palace emerges, the cauldron will naturally be ours.” The first speaker chuckled dismissively.

“That’s true, but the two of us may not live to see that day. I would truly have loved to see if the Heaven-Mending Pill is really as miraculous as they say. That it can compensate for impure spiritual roots and refine one’s innate foundation? Truly unbelievable!” the colder voice said, feigning indifference.

“It is a pity. But for those of us whose lifespans are nearly at an end, even obtaining a Heaven-Mending Pill would be far too late. The laughable thing is, I have no idea who started the rumor that the pill has the miraculous effect of extending lifespan and breaking through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage. So many Nascent Soul old freaks actually believed it! They don’t stop to think. If it were truly that miraculous, why wouldn’t Six Paths and the Mad Old Woman have come here themselves? The pill is certainly beneficial for a Core Formation cultivator trying to condense a Nascent Soul, but refining it is no easy task.” The first speaker’s tone was slightly mocking.

“Hmph! Do Core Formation cultivators even have the ability to come here? Besides, they’re just like us—people who have cultivated for years without being able to advance further. It’s understandable that they would place all their hopes on a pill with such a famous reputation. If our Star Palace’s old Palace Master hadn’t gone through so much trouble to retrieve one in our youth, wouldn’t we be just as fixated on it?”

The other man did not respond, seemingly acknowledging the point with a silent agreement.

“Let’s go quickly. Those old monsters might be driven by anger and humiliation to actually come looking for trouble. That would be a real mess. They’re pretty furious this time.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the darkness fell silent, with no further sound. It was as if the place had been emptied in an instant.

The two Star Palace elders’ guess was correct. Everyone on the righteous and demonic sides was deeply chagrined, feeling greatly frustrated and humiliated.

But they were all sly and experienced characters. They quickly regained their composure, knowing that getting angry at the Star Palace’s interference was useless. Furthermore, both sides were still locked in a standoff in the air.

Han Li had also stopped his slide along the edge of the barrier. He stabilized himself and rose back into the air.

Right now, he stared at his hands in shock.

They were sticky and bloody. The webbing between his thumb and forefinger had been completely torn open. But his gaze was not fixed there. Instead, it fell on the jade ruyi clutched tightly in his right hand.

At that moment, Wan Tianming coughed, about to say something to the demonic cultivators.

Simultaneously, Extreme Yin’s two Fire Pythons finally reached their limit. With a mournful cry, they released the cauldron and retracted their bodies to their original size.

The Void Heaven Cauldron immediately trembled and began to descend rapidly, letting out a humming sound.

This scene drew the involuntary gaze of everyone present, including Wan Tianming, who had been preparing to speak.

Extreme Yin’s face was cold and gloomy as he watched the scene, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

But then, something unexpected happened!

During its descent, the Void Heaven Cauldron seemed to be stimulated by something. Its humming suddenly transformed into a dragon-like roar. A muffled sound of thunder rang out, and a fist-sized, five-colored ball of light burst forth from the blue flames, shooting up into the sky.

“The Heaven-Mending Pill!”

Almost simultaneously, someone from both the righteous and demonic sides shouted the name of the object, their voices filled with surprise and joy.