Chapter 2332: Cold Pool

“Those puppets were originally meant as gifts for fellow Daoists. It’s no big deal even if they’re all destroyed. Brother Mo, you needn't worry about it.” Han Li smiled dismissively, showing no concern at all. Seeing this, Mo Jianli naturally expressed his profuse gratitude.

After a while, a rumbling sound echoed from the horizon, and the four adult Shura Spiders appeared, carried by a strange gust of wind.

However, two of these four Integration-stage monsters had reverted to their colossal spider forms. Although the other two still maintained their human appearance, their clothes were tattered, and they looked even more disheveled.

Clearly, although these four Shura Spiders had broken free from the formation Mo Jianli had set up, they had suffered considerably.

But as soon as they landed in the stone city, Han Li spoke calmly:

“Fellow Daoist Ying, everyone is here now. We can retrieve the treasure. Where are your spirit crystals?”

“Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Han, the spirit crystals are with me. Here are six. Catch!” The red-skirted girl, standing gracefully in the void, smiled upon hearing this. With a flip of her hand, a white jade box flew out.

Upon seeing the box, Xue Ran, Mo Jianli, and the others showed slight changes in expression, but none rashly reached out for it.

Only Han Li, with an unchanged expression, swept his sleeve and grabbed the jade box.

He opened the lid, and after multiple divine senses swept across its contents simultaneously, everyone’s faces lit up with joy.

Inside the jade box were indeed six crystal-clear, snow-white spirit crystals, each about the size of a thumb, emitting a strange, mysterious aura.

Han Li pondered for a moment, then the hand holding the jade box suddenly flickered.

Instantly, three white lights flew out, shooting towards Xue Ran and his brother, while two others circled before descending towards Mo Jianli.

A flash of spiritual light.

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist Han!” Seeing this, Xue Ran and Hei Lin could no longer conceal their joy.

Xue Ran grabbed in the air with one hand, and the two spirit crystals shot towards him settled into his palm without moving further.

Hei Lin hesitated briefly upon seeing this, but said nothing more, raising his hand to draw the third spirit crystal into his sleeve.

“Fellow Daoist Han, you only took one. Is that really appropriate?” Mo Jianli gripped the two spirit crystals that had fallen to him, but couldn't help feeling a bit hesitant.

“Don't worry, Brother Mo,” Han Li said nonchalantly, “the remaining spirit crystals will just come into my possession a little later. What difference does it make?”

“Since Fellow Daoist Han puts it that way, this old man will reluctantly accept them for now.” Mo Jianli’s expression shifted several times. After gritting his teeth, he carefully put away the two spirit crystals without further refusal.

“I have already paid the remuneration in advance. Should we set off now?” the girl calmly stated.

“No problem. Please, let your esteemed clan lead the way,” Han Li replied immediately, naturally having no reason to disagree.

The girl giggled in affirmation, then immediately descended into the stone city.

One of the Integration-stage demon beasts from the Shura Spider clan, at the girl's command, rolled on the ground. A strong wind arose, and it transformed into a gigantic black eagle, over ten zhang long.

The girl and the Shura Spider Clan Mother, along with the others, moved in unison, flashing onto the eagle’s back.

After a long cry, the giant eagle immediately spread its wings and shot towards the horizon.

“Let’s follow them too. Hopefully, the spirit stones below will also be retrieved smoothly.”

Han Li said calmly, then raised his hand. A green light shot out, and after a flicker, it transformed into a triangular green flying chariot. He lightly ascended it first.

Mo Jianli, Xue Ran, and the others dared not delay and likewise flew onto the chariot.

One after the other, the two groups instantly reached the horizon and then vanished without a trace.

Half a day later, over a boundless sea, a black wind and a ball of green light rolled along.

Some more powerful aquatic beasts in the nearby waters, sensing the faint aura emanating from the two, were greatly alarmed and fled far away, fearing to provoke the terrifying presences within.

Suddenly, the black wind in front paused, its speed slowing considerably. Then the fierce wind around it dissipated, revealing a magnificent giant eagle with iron-like feathers.

“What, have we arrived?” The green light behind it likewise receded, and a humming chariot appeared, from which a faint male voice emerged.

“Brother Han, no need to rush. The cold pond is on an island not far ahead. When we get there, we’ll need a great deal of effort from all of you,” the sweet voice of the red-skirted girl resounded from the eagle ahead.

“Good that we’ve arrived. If it took any longer, I’m afraid we might start having some unwelcome thoughts,” Han Li replied with extreme calm from the front of the flying chariot.

“What, Fellow Daoist, do you still not trust me?” the red-skirted girl chuckled in response.

“Hehe, that's hard to say. Until I have the remaining spirit crystals in hand, I can’t be entirely at ease,” Han Li said noncommittally, yawning.

The girl chuckled softly but said nothing further.

At this moment, numerous dark specks suddenly appeared on the sea ahead. Upon closer approach, they were revealed to be a dense cluster of islands.

These islands varied in size, some densely overgrown, others remarkably barren, presenting largely distinct landscapes.

“How interesting. The distribution of elemental spiritual energy here seems to be different in every single place,” Mo Jianli remarked with a flicker of surprise in his eyes after approaching the islands.

“There are fluctuations from restrictions, as if many forbidden formations have been laid out, which is why the spiritual energy is so strange. Fellow Daoist Ying, what exactly is this place?” Xue Ran asked with a sudden solemnity after his divine sense swept over the islands ahead.

Han Li frowned, his gaze sweeping over the Shura Spider clan members on the giant eagle ahead, but he didn't immediately ask anything.

“You are overthinking things, gentlemen. This is merely a remnant of an ancient battlefield from primordial times. Thus, although there are many residual formations and restrictions here, they are all incomplete and pose no threat to us whatsoever. If you still don't believe me, a closer inspection will clarify everything,” the Shura Spider Clan Mother replied with a cold laugh.

“Indeed, they are just incomplete restrictions, their power less than one or two percent of their original strength,” Mo Jianli said with relief after quickly probing them with his divine sense.

“Hehe, it seems we were overthinking,” Xue Ran also said, his expression softening after a similar sweep with his divine sense.

With that, the giant eagle and the chariot did not linger in the void but plunged into the island sea region one after another.

The Shura Spider clan was clearly exceptionally familiar with this sea region.

The giant eagle flying ahead, veering and circling in the empty sky, easily bypassed the many lingering restrictions in its path, almost unimpeded, as it vanished deeper into the archipelago.

An hour later, as a sudden chill permeated the void, a colossal island covered in ice and snow appeared before them.

From a distance, the island stretched for tens of thousands of miles, entirely covered by heavy snowfall. Everything appeared exceptionally blurry, with several colossal peaks vaguely visible rising from it.

“This is the place. The cold pond is in a valley on this island. Fellow Daoists, let’s descend together,” the red-skirted girl said, her eyes showing a trace of excitement upon seeing the island. After hailing Han Li and the others behind her, she urged the giant eagle to descend towards the island.

Han Li and the others exchanged glances and naturally followed closely.

After the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, the group appeared in a valley piled high with thick snow, hovering dozens of feet above the ground.

Both the giant eagle and the flying chariot had vanished without a trace.

“We’re here, but where is the cold pond?” Hei Lin asked, a hint of curiosity on his face as his divine sense swept the surroundings.

“Fellow Daoist Hei Lin,” the Shura Spider Clan Mother explained expressionlessly, then commanded, “Although the treasure in the cold pond cannot be taken by outsiders, this place is so remote that our clan would naturally not leave it exposed. It has long been concealed by a formation. Someone, remove the illusion formation.”

Two of the four adult Shura Spiders immediately stepped forward in response and drifted towards a corner of the valley.

One of them flipped a hand, and a square, ornate formation disc appeared in his palm.

The other opened his mouth and spat, and a misty white formation flag emerged.

Both muttered incantations, simultaneously throwing out the treasures in their hands and pointing their fingers repeatedly.

With a few “puffs,” the square formation disc spun, and countless multicolored runes immediately flew out from it, drifting forward.

After the white formation flag flashed with a spiritual glow, a roar immediately echoed, and a faint, colossal white tiger phantom emerged above it.

With a loud “rumble,” the white tiger opened its mouth wide, and a completely transparent beam of light instantly shot out, vanishing in a flash into the corner of the valley.

Meanwhile, the multicolored runes, mixed with the wind and snow, also swept towards the same spot.

The next moment, the void in the valley corner flashed wildly. After a period of blurring, a large formation suddenly appeared.

This formation looked quite mystical, its edges adorned with numerous colorful, fist-sized crystal stones, making it exceptionally eye-catching.

At the center of the formation, layers of crystal-like profound ice covered the area, vaguely forming a cylindrical platform, from which faint strands of white light seemed to emanate.

“So this is the cold pond you spoke of? It doesn’t look like much,” Xue Ran said, frowning as he glanced at the cylindrical platform.

“Hmph, if only it were that simple. If I hadn’t used this formation and several Pure Yang treasures to suppress the cold energy of this pond, the entire island sea region would likely be completely frozen the moment the seal is lifted,” the Shura Spider Clan Mother snorted, glancing at Xue Ran.

“The entire sea region frozen? Is it truly that terrifying?” Mo Jianli’s expression changed upon hearing this.

“We’ll know the truth soon enough. Fellow Daoist Luo, please open the cold pond. We’ll observe first,” Han Li said, his expression unchanged.