The Cauldron Rises

“Boy Han, you don’t wish to form a Nascent Soul? The greatest use of the Heaven-Mending Pill is actually to wash and refine a Core Formation cultivator’s innate Spiritual Roots, making it easier for him to advance to the Nascent Soul stage.” Xuan Gu’s voice was cold.

Han Li was silent for a moment, then turned around, his eyes narrowing. “Wash and refine Spiritual Roots? Do you take me for a three-year-old? There is no such heaven-defying medicine in this world.”

His face was a mask of disbelief.

“Heh, believe it or not. But do you really think I’ve lived this long for nothing? I once captured a Star Palace elder alive and forced the information out of him with a Soul Search and Soul Refining technique. As for the rumors outside—that this pill can break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck and greatly increase mana and lifespan—they are completely false. A former Star Palace Master once took a Heaven-Mending Pill himself.”

“You already have the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng. With the Heaven-Mending Pill’s supplementary effect, your chance of forming a Nascent Soul could reach thirty to forty percent. If you miss this opportunity, the next one won’t come for three hundred years. Even if you do get the pill then, it would be useless—the Heaven-Mending Pill is not so easily refined. The entire Spiritual Root cleansing process takes at least a hundred years to fully complete. Think carefully.” Xuan Gu spoke unhurriedly, a hint of indifference in his tone.

“Thirty to forty percent chance?” Han Li’s heart stirred.

Sensing Han Li’s shift, Xuan Gu smiled faintly and continued, “As for your concern about the disturbance during the retrieval, rest assured. Even if the sky falls inside this high platform, no one outside can sense any anomaly through their spiritual sense—only what they see with their own eyes. Otherwise, why would the ancient ‘Heavenly Firmament Barrier’ be so famous? And if you’re worried that a single Blood Jade Spider can’t retrieve the treasure, don’t forget—I am Extreme Yin’s master, and I have since turned to the ghostly path. If he knows Corpse Puppetry, how could I not?”

Having said this, Xuan Gu opened his mouth and spat out a fist-sized ball of fluorescent light, which shot straight toward the Blood Jade Spider corpse on the altar.

In an instant, the ball of light turned into a large patch of pale green mist that enveloped the corpse. The mist was quickly absorbed completely.

Moments later, the two halves of the corpse, which had been motionless, automatically joined together. The break glowed with green light, and a whole Blood Jade Spider staggered to its feet.

Han Li’s face remained expressionless, but inwardly he was deeply shocked.

The cultivation world truly had no limits to its wonders. Such a bizarre technique—turning a corpse into a Corpse Puppet on the spot—actually existed.

“How is my Corpse Puppetry? This spider puppet won’t last long, and its abilities are far weaker than when it was alive, but cooperating with your Blood Jade Spider to retrieve the treasure is no problem. Once the treasure is out, I will not take a single Heaven-Mending Pill from the cauldron—they are all yours. I will also give you half of the ancient treasures inside. But the Void Heaven Cauldron itself must go to me. What do you think of this deal?” Xuan Gu manipulated the spider puppet to take a few steps, then turned to look at Han Li with confidence.

“Hmph, even if you talk until the sky falls, how do I know you won’t immediately turn on me once the Void Heaven Cauldron is out? After all, in terms of cultivation and skill, you are at least a notch above me.” Han Li pondered for a moment, a strange light flickering in his eyes, then spoke bluntly.

Hearing this, Xuan Gu was secretly pleased.

Although Han Li’s tone was somewhat harsh, it clearly indicated seventy to eighty percent agreement and compromise. He was just trying to bargain a little more.

So Xuan Gu quickly smiled and said, “Han Li, you are too modest! If I’m not mistaken, if we were to truly fight to the death, the outcome would be about fifty-fifty. It would not be decided in an instant. With others likely to return at any moment, do you think I would be foolish enough to fight you to the death? Of course not. As long as you agree to help me retrieve the treasure, I will give you the alchemy formula for the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng right now—a token of my sincerity to cooperate.” With that, Xuan Gu flipped his hand without hesitation, revealing an ancient-looking white jade slip, which he tossed to Han Li.

Han Li raised his hand quickly and beckoned the incoming jade slip lightly.

A flash of green light, and the white jade slip, wrapped in a ball of green light, landed gently in his palm.

Seeing Han Li’s caution, Xuan Gu chuckled lightly but said nothing.

Han Li began scanning the contents of the jade slip with his spiritual sense.

Although he didn’t have time to carefully verify the authenticity of the formula, it appeared genuine. It indeed mentioned the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng and two or three auxiliary herbs Han Li had never heard of.

After a brief consideration, Han Li unceremoniously put the jade slip into his storage pouch, then looked up at Xuan Gu and said calmly, “Fine. I accept this deal. Let’s begin retrieving the treasure immediately.”

Since he had decided to act, Han Li would not drag things out and increase the danger.

He immediately patted one of his spirit beast pouches. A white light shot out, and another Blood Jade Spider appeared menacingly before him.

“Good. Very good.” Xuan Gu’s face lit up with excitement. He walked to the high platform and ordered the spider corpse puppet to first spray its web and prepare to pull.

Han Li calmly ordered his Blood Jade Spider to do the same, covering the Void Heaven Cauldron beneath the opening with a milk-white web.

“Hurry. We don’t have much time. Although my cultivation art prevents me from using the Berserk Technique, I can still use some auxiliary spells—just with slightly weaker effects.” Xuan Gu struck Han Li’s Blood Jade Spider with several different-colored techniques and explained.

The last Blood Jade Spider immediately entered a berserk state, its body shimmering with black and green light in addition to its vivid red, giving it a somewhat eerie appearance.

Han Li frowned slightly but said nothing. Without these auxiliary spells, the Blood Jade Spider indeed could not pull the Void Heaven Cauldron.

Then the Blood Jade Spider and the corpse puppet both exerted force, beginning to pull upward.

The high platform shook violently once again, and blue light erupted.

This time, there was no scholar-robed old man to cast protective spells, so they had to rely on themselves.

Han Li hastily released a layer of fire-attribute protective shield around himself, activated his Spirit Resonance Pendant to its maximum, making him appear bathed in a ball of scorching white light. Inside, he also activated the Azure Origin Sword Shield—a layer of cyan, glowing shield closely covered his body, with faint golden light mixed in.

Xuan Gu, too, had his green aura flare up, wrapping himself tightly in dense ghostly qi.

It was manageable.

Although the blue cold air struck fiercely, Han Li still felt a bone-piercing chill. But by circulating the Azure Origin Sword Art at full power inside his body, he could barely withstand the cold without freezing.

This made Han Li appreciate even more the vast difference between Nascent Soul and Core Formation cultivators. The scholar-robed old man had casually cast a single shield that repelled all the cold—not a trace of chill.

Han Li sighed, then devoted most of his attention to the opening, with the remaining part always wary of Xuan Gu.

After all, no matter how persuasive the old demon’s words, he had to be extra cautious.

Under the Blood Jade Spider’s strenuous pulling, the Void Heaven Cauldron once again repeated the scene of being lifted. It was slowly raised, inch by inch.

For some reason, compared to last time, Han Li felt this retrieval process was agonizingly long. Every inch the silk moved seemed to take forever.

This made Han Li anxious. What if the old demons returned ahead of schedule? That would be disastrous.

Xuan Gu, enveloped in green qi, appeared extremely calm. However, as the blue light at the opening grew more dazzling, a fanatical gleam gradually appeared in his eyes.

Under the watch of both, time slowly passed, and the Void Heaven Cauldron was pulled higher and higher.

It was unclear where Man Brutal Beard had led the other old monsters, but no one had yet returned. While this kept Han Li on edge, he was also secretly grateful.

Suddenly, Han Li and Xuan Gu, both staring at the opening, leaped into the air.

Then the tip of the blue flame finally emerged from the opening. The great blue inferno bloomed once more, transforming the entire high platform into a world of blue ice.

Han Li stared intently at the blurred black shadow within the blue ice flame, his heart pounding.

The last time the cauldron had emerged, he had been too focused on the old demons’ movements to observe it closely. Now he had the chance to truly see its true face.

Although only a small part was exposed, the Void Heaven Cauldron’s appearance was fully captured in Han Li’s eyes.