Chapter 474: Eerie Black Armor

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume 4: Winds Rising from Overseas

Han Li's gaze lingered on this cloak the longest.

Firstly, the cloak had an exceptionally strange design, composed of two layers. The inner layer was woven from silver threads, while the outer layer was adorned with peculiar, unknown feathers. These feathers, within the light barrier, shifted to an eerie dark red, blood-like glow, making the cloak appear exceedingly bizarre.

Secondly, this was Han Li's first time encountering a magic treasure in the form of a cloak, so he was naturally extremely curious about its functions.

However, he speculated that this ancient treasure might possess extraordinary effects for defense or concealing one's aura. Both of these were vital abilities Han Li urgently needed to survive within the inner hall, which was filled with powerful enemies.

Gazing at the three ancient treasures, Han Li's face showed hesitation.

He could only take one of them; otherwise, the pavilion's restriction would teleport him out. He had to make a choice.

Logically, taking the golden mirror would be the safest option.

Han Li was almost certain that its power would be immense, and acquiring it would immediately boost his strength significantly.

Taking the peculiar five-colored copper rings, on the other hand, might offer him an unexpected surprise. Their set-like nature and vibrant five-colored glow made this ancient treasure appear extremely mysterious.

As for the cloak, if he took it, there was a high chance it would immediately prove useful, perhaps even saving his life in a crisis.

Han Li's gaze shifted back and forth between the three items.

Even though he usually didn't show his emotions, facing these easily attainable treasures, he couldn't help but feel a moment of indecision and a fear of missing out. After a good while, Han Li took a deep breath, and his expression became calm.

This time, after pondering for only a moment, a glint flashed in his eyes, and a fantastical idea appeared in his mind.

The unexpected emergence of this thought made Han Li's heart pound.

Based on his understanding of formations and restrictions, there was almost no clever way to counteract advanced restrictions that forcibly teleported someone out of a space, unless one found the central hub of the restriction or forcibly shattered the entire space enveloped by it with brute force. The moment a person touched a set restriction, they would be involuntarily teleported away.

Both methods were, of course, impossible for Han Li.

Finding the central hub of this space's restriction was out of the question; it would require a grandmaster-level formation expert to study and search for several years.

As for forcibly breaking it with brute force, that was something Han Li would only attempt if his brain had malfunctioned.

So many Nascent Soul stage cultivators had failed, let alone him, a cultivator who had only recently formed his Core. It was a delusion.

However, among the insights he had gained on breaking formations, Xin Ruoyin, a genius in the path of formations, had specifically proposed a theoretical hypothesis in a certain ancient text regarding spatial restrictions: it was possible to temporarily prevent a spatial restriction from affecting a person for a brief moment.

Although it was only for a very short instant, this brief window would be enough for Han Li to grab an additional ancient treasure.

However, to achieve this, a cultivator would need a way to completely sever all communication between their own spiritual energy and all spatial energy, without even a trace of connection remaining.

After writing this hypothesis in the text, Xin Ruoyin herself sarcastically noted that even Nascent Soul cultivators likely wouldn't possess such a divine ability. It was merely a fleeting fancy. A cultivator with such great power could simply break the restriction with their own strength, so why bother with such a complicated method?

After all, cultivators in this realm, at best, could only master concealment techniques to prevent detection; how could they truly sever their connection with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?

However, when Han Li read this passage in his cave dwelling, he immediately thought of the Gold Devouring Beetles' abnormal ability to consume all energies of heaven and earth. On a whim, he conducted a small experiment. The result was that by using the Gold Devouring Beetles, he actually succeeded for that brief moment. Han Li had only considered this a momentary jest at the time and hadn't paid it much mind afterward.

But now, recalling the incident, Han Li's heart involuntarily began to burn with excitement.

After Han Li focused his mind and pondered for a moment, he felt that there was a strong possibility of success. Even if it failed, he would at most only take one ancient treasure, so there would be no loss.

Having made up his mind, Han Li no longer hesitated. He immediately waved both hands. All the spirit beast pouches on his body were deployed, and tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles flew out with a buzzing sound. They transformed into a massive cloud of insects, circling Han Li.

Han Li ignored the Gold Devouring Beetles and instead re-examined the distance and position of the three ancient treasures. After mentally weighing his options, he lightly floated towards the dark red cloak first. The insect cloud followed closely, never leaving his side.

When he was about a zhang away from the cloak, Han Li felt a slight change in the surrounding spiritual energy. He quickly stopped himself, a solemn expression on his face.

Suddenly, Han Li formed a hand seal, and a clear, high-pitched hum emanated from his mouth.

The Gold Devouring Beetles, which had been circling Han Li, immediately stirred, then darted towards him like arrows. In the blink of an eye, they covered his entire body, forming dense layers that completely enveloped him in a golden and silver hue.

Yet, from within the pile of insects, Han Li's humming did not cease; instead, it became increasingly sharp.

Before long, the flying insects on his body also emitted the same low hum, gradually echoing Han Li's voice.

The buzzing of the insects grew louder, and the Gold Devouring Beetles all opened their mouths, continuously exhaling and inhaling, appearing orderly yet extremely eerie.

At this point, Han Li, surprisingly, stopped his humming and became silent.

Then, an unbelievable sight appeared.

On Han Li's body, which was covered in flying insects, black light dots gradually emerged, growing larger and smaller with the rise and fall of the insect hum.

These shimmering light dots fluctuated in size, becoming increasingly large.

As a result, when a few light dots touched, they automatically merged into a larger black patch, and when several larger black patches came together, they transformed into even larger black light clusters.

The black clusters on Han Li's body spread like blossoming ink chrysanthemums, covering every inch of his body in an instant, slowly unfurling and blooming.

Eventually, as these black areas continuously merged and expanded, they formed a completely black, profound, and sleek armor, encasing Han Li and the Gold Devouring Beetles within it, impenetrable to wind or rain.

The buzzing of the insects vanished without a trace the moment the armor appeared.

Other than its ink-black color, no other hues were visible on the armor; it was impossible to see through it at all.

And at this very instant, Han Li moved.

A strange, glossy black hand, swift as lightning, snatched the nearby cloak, then awkwardly turned and slowly drifted towards the set of five-colored copper rings.

The moment the cloak was grabbed by Han Li, a brilliant blue light flared around him, and countless shimmering rays swept towards him. However, upon contact with the strange black armor, they were immediately absorbed by the black light, vanishing without a trace.

But the blue light did not recede; instead, it grew more aggressive, gathering in increasing amounts and fiercely pressing down on the black armor.

The bizarre armor immediately began to totter and tremble incessantly.

Han Li was burning with anxiety, yet his movements were meticulously gentle and cautious, as if afraid of disturbing something.

The short distance of five or six zhang felt as arduous as walking for an hour for Han Li. He finally painstakingly shuffled to the ancient copper rings. Han Li barely managed to suppress the wild joy in his heart as his equally glossy black hand firmly grasped the item, his five fingers tightly clamping down on it.

Almost the moment the copper rings were in his hand, the black armor around Han Li seemed unable to withstand the fierce pressure of the blue light. With a harsh shattering sound, the armor first split into pieces, then disintegrated into scattered specks, completely vanishing.

Before Han Li could react further, the blue light unceremoniously swept him into itself.

After a dizzying whirl, he vanished without a trace from within the spherical light barrier.

Following a flash of dazzling blue light, Han Li appeared in a small stone chamber.

After swaying slightly a few times, he managed to stabilize himself, stood upright, and immediately cast an exceptionally vigilant glance around.

Immediately, a sense of relief washed over him!

It was fortunate that there was no one else around; otherwise, his appearance, covered in insects, would have been far too bizarre.

With that thought, Han Li let out a whistle.

All the Gold Devouring Beetles soared off his body and hovered above his head, forming a golden and silver glow without falling.

Han Li, however, didn't pay them any mind; instead, he eagerly looked at the two items in his hands.

Although he had examined them multiple times before, now that they were firmly in his grasp, Han Li still couldn't suppress his excitement.

He then touched both ancient treasures with his fingers.

The cloak was light and airy, faintly warm, while the five copper rings were incredibly cold, like ice.

After admiring and playing with them for a while, Han Li turned his attention to the stone chamber.

The chamber was empty, with nothing but the teleportation array he had arrived through and a square passage directly ahead. There were no other unusual features, giving it a desolate and chilly atmosphere.