Chapter 2389: Entering

Chapter 2350: Entry

"The Void Emperor Cauldron? Fellow Daoist Xue Po, are you suggesting this item can easily break the seal?" Han Li asked in surprise.

"Of course not," Xue Po replied respectfully. "The shortcut I mentioned still requires Senior to primarily use the Void Heaven Cauldron to break the seal. I can only assist by holding the Void Emperor Cauldron and employing a certain secret technique. This cauldron was personally forged by my true body back then, so it contains a drop of my vital blood. This allows it to achieve subtle effects that ordinary keys cannot."

Han Li stroked his chin and said resolutely, "Since you are so confident that using both cauldrons together can break the seal, let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, I'll use my magical power to attempt to forcibly shatter the seal."

Xue Po naturally had no other objections and immediately nodded in agreement.

Without another word, Han Li tossed the small cauldron high into the air. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, a faint green beam of light shot out, instantly disappearing into the small cauldron.

The next moment, the Void Heaven Cauldron immediately expanded against the wind, transforming into a colossal object over a dozen zhang tall. The engravings of flowers, birds, insects, and fish on its surface began to emerge with a buzzing sound, swirling and dancing unsteadily around the giant cauldron.

Seeing this, Xue Po, who was nearby, also made her move without hesitation.

She lifted the small cauldron in her hand, then opened her mouth and spouted several clusters of fresh red vital blood.

With several "poofing" sounds, the vital blood self-detonated against the wind, transforming into wisps of blood mist. These mists then enveloped the small cauldron as if sentient.

Then, Xue Po chanted incantations in the air. After twisting her body, she transformed into a blurred blood shadow and directly plunged into the blood mist.

The Void Emperor Cauldron immediately emitted a clear chime and spun rapidly, drawing all the surrounding blood mist into itself. Then, after swaying with the wind, its mouth suddenly spouted countless blood-colored runes. These runes gathered and condensed, startlingly forming an extremely eerie female face. Its features were identical to Xue Po's, but it was devoid of any expression and shrouded in a faint sanguine glow.

The female face said woodenly, "Senior Han, I only have the strength for one strike. You must seize the timing before making your move." After speaking, its delicate mouth opened again, and a cluster of glittering blood threads spouted out.

After scattering with "hissing" sounds, these blood threads unbelievably pierced through the five-colored light barrier with ease.

The female face then emitted another shrill cry.

The blood threads flashed and exploded. After condensing into thick blood mist, they transformed once more into blood-red runes, which then embedded themselves in the five-colored light barrier, appearing incredibly bizarre.

Witnessing this scene, Han Li's eyes lit up. He instantly appeared near the enormous Void Heaven Cauldron and simultaneously slapped down with one hand.

A muffled clang, like the tolling of a bell, resonated.

Ten thousand streaks of green light emanated from the surface of the huge green cauldron. The illusory figures of flowers, birds, insects, and fish that it had manifested immediately expanded in size again, rushing directly towards the five-colored light barrier.

Loud "poofing" sounds erupted.

Upon contact with the seal, the various illusory figures, as if seeing nothing there, directly bored into it through the blood-red runes.

The next moment, the surface of the giant cauldron flickered wildly. Simultaneously, the five-colored light barrier within a radius of several miles began to hum loudly, and wisps of white gas flew out from the blood-red runes. The instant they touched the void, they transformed into strange waves that dispersed in all directions.

Seeing this, a look of delight appeared on Han Li's face. Clearly, with their cooperation, there was indeed hope of breaking the seal.

But just then, a muffled groan suddenly came from nearby. The sanguine glow on the female face receded entirely, and it opened its mouth to spit out a mouthful of black blood. At the same time, the entire face twisted and became somewhat indistinct.

"The backlash!" Han Li said with a frown after a glance. "Never mind, leave the rest to me. You should deactivate your secret technique." He flicked his sleeve, and a streak of green light flew out instantly, disappearing into the female face.

After a low cry, the female face immediately shattered inch by inch, transforming back into countless blood runes that flew into the Void Emperor Cauldron.

A sanguine light flashed within the cauldron, and an illusory figure flew out. After its light condensed, Xue Po's figure reappeared behind Han Li.

At this moment, her face was exceptionally pale, and she cast a complicated glance at Han Li's back.

Han Li, however, paid no attention to anything behind him. He was forming hand seals with one hand, and with a flash of golden light from his back, a golden dharma idol with three heads and six arms materialized.

After the dharma idol's six eyes slowly opened simultaneously, several of its arms blurred, and each extended a palm to press onto the giant cauldron.

A tremendous roar erupted. The dazzling green light emanating from the cauldron's surface was so brilliant it almost formed a cyan sun.

The five-colored light barrier seemed to respond in kind. Its blood-red runes also shone brightly, and even more white gas flew out from within, becoming denser and denser. Finally, with a muffled thud, the entire seal shattered inch by inch, revealing a dim black passage.

"Let's go!"

A look of joy appeared on Han Li's face. He gave the command, immediately withdrew his dharma idol, and pointed a finger at the giant cauldron.

With a "poof" sound.

Two streaks of radiant light shot out from the surface of the green giant cauldron, simultaneously enveloping Han Li and Xue Po. Then, after a prolonged chime, it transformed into a ball of green light and vanished into the black hole.

*Boom!*

Almost the instant the green light vanished into the black hole, five-colored runes immediately emerged at the entrance, and the entire seal began to close up.

When the ball of green light shot out from the black hole, Han Li felt his vision brighten. He found himself on a vibrant green grassland bathed in warm sunlight.

Han Li's heart tightened. With a flick of his sleeve, the green light on his body immediately converged into a ball, transforming back into the small green cauldron, which he then grasped in his hand.

Xue Po also appeared behind him at this moment, looking around with immense delight and surprise.

This was a space almost identical to the outside world. Looking into the distance, there were undulating mountains and lush green trees, stretching endlessly in every direction.

Seeing this, Han Li narrowed his eyes. A faint crystalline light flickered between his brows as his immense divine sense immediately spread out. Moments later, an expression of sudden realization appeared on his face.

"So it was just an illusion," Han Li praised. "Tsk tsk, such a sophisticated illusion is rare; even I almost fell for it at first." After moving his arm, he suddenly drew a finger across the void in front of him.

Immediately, a faint green sword qi shot out. After a flicker, it grew to several hundred zhang long and then lightly slashed downwards.

The void several miles ahead immediately twisted and shook. After blurring for a moment, the scenery abruptly changed, revealing a colossal palace complex comprised of towers, pavilions, and halls.

Strangely, amidst these buildings, numerous colossal light pillars soared skyward. Each pillar supported a thick light barrier, enveloping all nearby structures and artificially dividing this vast palace complex into over a hundred areas.

With a flash of blue light in his eyes, Han Li discerned the general situation within these light barriers.

Almost every area contained a main hall, along with a dozen or so other buildings of varying sizes. However, when his divine sense probed these structures, it was unceremoniously repelled.

It seemed these buildings themselves were protected by some kind of restriction that isolated divine sense.

However, as his divine sense swiftly swept through these areas, he discovered that the closer he got to the center of the palace complex, the thicker the light pillars supporting the barriers became, and the more difficult it was for his divine sense to probe them.

As for the largest light barriers enveloping the central areas, when Han Li's divine sense entered them, he could only perceive the vast outlines of some buildings.

This was a result of his divine sense power far surpassing others at his cultivation level. If an ordinary Mahayana cultivator were to attempt it, they might not even be able to penetrate some of the area barriers.

"It seems the most important treasures are in those inner areas," Han Li murmured thoughtfully, retracting his divine sense.

"Indeed," Xue Po replied, her face still somewhat pale. Her divine sense had barely touched some of the invisible restrictions laid out above the area, and a worried expression appeared on her face as she continued, "However, judging by the restrictions here, the deeper we go, the more dangerous it becomes."

"Since we've come this far, it's naturally impossible to leave empty-handed," Han Li said, his gaze shifting. "Treasures in the outer areas have most likely been plundered, and ordinary treasures wouldn't catch my eye anyway. We should head directly deeper in and see. By the way, Fellow Daoist Xue Po, have you sensed the location of your true body?"

"I naturally cast a sensing spell long ago," Xue Po replied with a wry smile, "but unfortunately, there are too many restrictions in this Heaven Cauldron Palace. Even a slight distance makes it largely ineffective."

"I see," Han Li said, frowning with a solemn expression. "That makes things a bit troublesome. You'll likely have to search every single spot here to determine where Fellow Daoist Bing Po is trapped. With the Heaven Cauldron Palace only open for a mere month, I can't guarantee we'll be able to explore all the restrictions here."

"My true body's cultivation wasn't weak back then," Xue Po suggested after a moment of thought. "She also possessed several extraordinary treasures for protection, even having a chance to escape if facing a Mahayana being. Therefore, if she is trapped, it should be in the inner areas. However, just in case, perhaps I should start searching from the outer areas first. Senior, you can carry a drop of my vital blood, imbued with a secret technique, and proceed directly to the inner areas. If my true body is indeed trapped nearby, it will naturally alert you. This way, it won't delay your grand plan of searching for treasures, and we can also search the entire Heaven Cauldron Palace in less time."

"That's not a bad idea," Han Li said, shaking his head. "However, it would only work if there were just the two of us here. If you're alone, what if you encounter those Mahayana old monsters with malicious intent?"

"Senior, please don't worry," Xue Po replied respectfully, her expression subtly changing. "I have the integration puppets you gifted me; they should be able to contend with a Mahayana being for a while."

"If it were an ordinary Mahayana, those two integration puppets might still be useful," Han Li said after a moment of consideration, finally making a decision. "But the Mahayana cultivators who can enter this place likely possess extraordinary divine abilities. How about this: I'll have Jin'er accompany you first."