Chapter 488: The Battle for the Ancient Treasure

"How dare you steal treasure from me?" Wuchou had never expected the usually silent Xuangu to silently contend with him for the treasure. He couldn't help but demand angrily, his face contorted in fury.

"What a joke! Was this treasure refined by your family? If you can take it, why can't I?" Xuangu retorted sarcastically, glaring coldly at Wuchou.

Wuchou was instantly enraged by the remark.

However, he seemed to recall something. Despite the malevolent look on his face, he didn't verbally retaliate. Instead, he quickened his spell, causing the black giant python to constrict even more forcefully.

It appeared Wuchou understood that Xuangu had Man Huzi, someone Grandmaster Jiyin greatly feared, as a backer, so he wouldn't be intimidated by Wuchou's attempts to assert dominance.

Xuangu sneered and, without another word, lightly pointed a finger at the green net.

The green light on the net intensified, and the green threads thickened by about a third. The entire green net then tightened.

Although the bound fire wolf was being forcefully suppressed by Wuchou and Xuangu's combined spell, its protective light shield only became more dazzling and resilient after being compressed by several circles. The fire wolf remained unharmed within the shield, glaring at the two. For a moment, they were in a stalemate.

The cultivators of both the righteous and demonic factions, intensely battling in the sky, evidently hadn't anticipated this. The treasure had unexpectedly flown towards Han Li and his companions.

Wan Tianming and the other righteous cultivators immediately grew anxious, wanting to disengage and seize the treasure.

However, Man Huzi and Jiyin remained unhurried.

After all, those attempting to retrieve the treasure were their own people. Naturally, they were content to keep the righteous cultivators occupied, allowing Wuchou, Xuangu, and the others to safely collect the treasure.

Moreover, both believed that the person affiliated with them had a greater chance of acquiring the treasure.

Grandmaster Jiyin felt confident because Wuchou possessed several treasures he had bestowed upon him, and his cultivation technique, Xuanyin, was among the top demonic arts. He believed Wuchou had a much better chance of securing the treasure than Xuangu, who appeared to be only at the early Core Formation stage.

As for Man Huzi, who knew Xuangu's true background, it went without saying that he was even more confident in Xuangu.

Seeing this, Layman Qingyi's face showed a hint of regret. After a moment of hesitation, he continued to engage Master Tianwu, preventing him from escaping.

This left Han Li as the only unoccupied person near the altar.

Yet, Han Li found no comfort in being idle; on the contrary, cold sweat was pouring down his back.

He had instinctively taken out his ancient treasure, the flower basket, a moment ago, thinking its ability to retrieve magic treasures would be perfect.

However, the instant he saw Xuangu attempting to seize the treasure, a highly unfavorable memory flashed into his mind.

This ancient flower basket was something he had obtained only after killing the ugly man guarding Xuangu. Taking it out now would be tantamount to openly admitting to Grandmaster Jiyin that he was the one who had released Xuangu.

This sent a chill down Han Li's spine. He no longer cared about seizing the treasure! His mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, desperately trying to devise a strategy to deal with Jiyin.

But after a moment, Han Li was taken aback.

He distinctly sensed that Jiyin's gaze had merely swept over the flower basket for an instant before moving away. There was no unusual emotion whatsoever, and nothing had happened!

It was then that Han Li understood, with a mix of surprise and relief. The ancient flower basket had not been bestowed upon the ugly man by Grandmaster Jiyin, and it seemed Jiyin was completely unaware that the ugly man possessed it.

Finally, he could relax.

Han Li's guess was indeed correct!

The reason the ugly man had left the island where he was guarding Xuangu for such a long time that day was because he had privately ventured out after hearing news of the ancient flower basket.

Although he later used his methods to successfully acquire the treasure, Han Li and his group had managed to dismantle most of the grand formation trapping Xuangu.

This had infuriated the ugly man, making him fly into a rage. But in the end, he died by Han Li's Azure Bamboo Cloud-Swarm Swords, and the ancient treasure he had just acquired became Han Li's spoils of war.

Han Li, having regained his composure, glanced at Xuangu, who was still contending with Wuchou for the fire wolf. He couldn't help but muse inwardly:

"You're lucky, old devil! If Jiyin had really discovered this, I would have definitely dragged you into it. Don't think you could have remained unscathed!"

Just as it was unclear whether Han Li was lucky or Xuangu was fortunate, another dull thunderous roar echoed from the cave entrance.

This time, having learned from experience, the Nascent Soul cultivators immediately slowed their movements and exchanged glances.

Then, someone moved first, and after a flash, six figures simultaneously appeared directly above the cave entrance.

At this point, the Xutian Cauldron was very close to the cave entrance. Although these cultivators were at the Nascent Soul stage, to resist the strange chill emanating from the cave, they all activated their cultivation techniques to their fullest. Defensive treasures were summoned one after another, and various strange lights continuously shimmered around their bodies. Moreover, both righteous and demonic cultivators watched each other warily.

Grandmaster Jiyin was utterly frustrated at this moment.

According to his original plan, he would naturally expel the righteous cultivators first, then retrieve the Xutian Cauldron and its treasures together, and then divide them according to the agreed-upon shares.

However, to his utter surprise, as the Xutian Cauldron approached the cave entrance, the ancient treasures within it would fly out on their own.

Now, who acquired the treasures depended entirely on individual skill.

After all, once these ancient treasures fell into someone's hands, they wouldn't be willingly given up. Consequently, the original agreement to divide the treasures was completely nullified.

Annoyed, Jiyin's eyes darted around, trying to think of a way to acquire more treasures for himself.

But just as this thought arose, a harsh scraping sound erupted, followed by two "whoosh" sounds as yellow and white beams of light shot out simultaneously from the blue flames within the cave.

The six individuals were so close to the treasures that they almost simultaneously reached out with secret techniques to snatch the beams of light closer to them.

Among them, Wan Tianming, Jiyin, and the scholar-robed elder all set their sights on the yellow light. Wan Tianming's hand conjured a purple fire dragon that lunged at the yellow light. At the same time, a strange glint appeared on his face, and he opened his mouth to unceremoniously spit out two crystalline purple orbs towards his opponents.

"Heavenly Net True Thunder!"

Upon seeing the unassuming small orbs, Jiyin cried out as if he had spotted venomous snakes.

Immediately, neither of them dared to use their magic treasures to block the orbs. They quickly flickered their bodies, temporarily dodging them.

But in that slight delay, the purple fire dragon swallowed the yellow light whole, then shook its head and retracted.

Wan Tianming, excitement on his face, cradled the yellow light. With a rub of his hands, the ancient treasure revealed its true form.

It was a square ancient jade pendant, covered in shimmering runes and exuding abundant spiritual energy—clearly a treasure of excellent quality.

As for the two purple orbs, after flying straight for several yards, they let out two faint pops and vanished without a trace.

Upon witnessing this, Grandmaster Jiyin and the scholar-robed elder turned to Wan Tianming, who was toying with the jade pendant, their faces immediately turning ashen.

"What a truly 'righteous' sect master, Wan Tianming! To use such despicable tactics, deceiving us with fake thunder!" Grandmaster Jiyin gritted out each word.

The scholar-robed elder's face was equally flushed with anger, and he stared intently at Wan Tianming with a chilling gaze.

Hearing this, Wan Tianming merely sneered in response:

"It's a shame that two cultivators renowned for so many years can't even tell the difference between real and fake Heavenly Net True Thunder. How dare you speak of despicable tactics in front of this sect master? Don't you know that unless my life is truly in danger, I would never be willing to use such a treasure? After all, these divine thunders are cultivated by damaging one's own magical power; I'm not that extravagant. Of course, if you two fellow daoists truly wish to witness these thunder orbs, I can make an exception for you."

After saying this, Wan Tianming lightly clasped his hands together.

After a flash of purple light, the jade pendant vanished, and an identical purple orb appeared in his hand.

Jiyin and the elder's expressions changed. They exchanged a grim look, both seeming somewhat indecisive.

At that moment, Man Huzi, relying on the immense defense of his Heaven-Propping Demonic Art, forcefully withstood an attack from the dark, gaunt elder and Master Tianwu before snatching the white light into his hand.

It was a glowing white ancient coin, shaped like a copper coin, and looked quite peculiar.

Upon seeing this, Jiyin's expression grew even more unsightly.

Just then, the elder at his side suddenly let out a soft "咦," appearing very surprised.

Jiyin couldn't help but follow his gaze, and a look of astonishment also appeared on his face.

Below, near the altar, Han Li was holding a yellow and red jade ruyi scepter, examining it carefully. At each end of the scepter, a lifelike wolf was carved.

From the looks of it, this was the ancient treasure formed by the two fire wolves! Not far away, Wuchou and Xuangu gazed at Han Li with helpless and somewhat disgruntled expressions. A flicker of suspicion passed through Grandmaster Jiyin's eyes, and he remained silent. But inwardly, he was greatly astonished!

This ancient treasure had not fallen into the hands of Wuchou or Xuangu, but rather into the hands of Han Li, who initially showed no intention of acting.

For Jiyin, this was truly unexpected.