Chapter 2042: The Way Is Simple

Ancient immortals refined pills, and it's said there's a record of a single batch taking three hundred years. Such a lengthy process was either due to the extreme difficulty in forming the pill or in refining the ingredients.

"But your subordinates won't last." The green flames continued to heat, and the temperature inside the cauldron was already hot enough to cook a person. Suta had erected a barrier to save their lives, but barriers always had a limit; they would turn to ash in at most half an hour.

The temperature inside the Wood King Cauldron escalated rapidly; eventually, even the Old Ox couldn't withstand it and was refined.

Nanrong He and the others' expressions changed drastically upon hearing this.

The Old Ox huffed indignantly again, "True Lord Woods must have used external power to make the cauldron so sturdy!"

Just then, the green flames on the ground suddenly coalesced and took shape, resembling tigers, elephants, and snakes, before swiftly rushing towards everyone.

These green flame monsters lunged at the Golden-Armored Divine General; although they couldn't instantly melt it, they left dark scorch marks on the metal.

This demonstrated the power of the Wood King Cauldron's True Fire. It's important to note that the Golden-Armored Divine General's upgrade process most commonly involved fire-quenching, requiring repeated re-forging at high temperatures.

Ordinary True Fire caused almost no damage to the Golden-Armored Divine General.

The Wood King Cauldron's True Fire truly lived up to its name as an immortal's precious pill-refining flame.

Meanwhile, Suta had already sent two green flame monsters flying, but once these monsters were shattered, the temperature inside the cauldron would increase slightly.

Their numbers were endless, with new monsters generating every moment.

"Absurd!" the Soul-Snatching Mirror cursed loudly. "Master, teach them a lesson!"

But its master said to it, "Nanrong He and the others can't hold on; take them inside."

Even if the fire couldn't kill them, Nanrong He and the others couldn't survive long in the toxic smoke.

Now, looking at them, their faces were purple, and they were coughing incessantly.

"Yes... huh?" The mirror paused, then realized its master wanted it to take all three into the world within the mirror.

The world within the mirror, of course, wouldn't be affected by smoke and fire; the one suffering was the mirror itself. It had been comfortably hidden in its master's embrace, but a single word from its mouth had brought such great trouble upon itself.

For so many years, why couldn't it get rid of this habit of chattering?

"Quickly."

"Ah, yes," the mirror sighed. "Please find a way to get out of the cauldron soon; I'm afraid I can't hold on much longer either!"

It wasn't an immortal's body; how could it withstand an immortal's True Fire?

So, taking Suta as the center, He Lingchuan quickly drew a circle with a ten-zhang radius using his Floating Life Blade, marking a white line, then slammed his palm onto the ground.

A fire-resistant sub-barrier was erected.

All green flame monsters lunging from outside immediately dissipated into nothingness as soon as they stepped into this white circle.

They weren't shattered but simply vanished on the spot, thus not exacerbating the rise in the cauldron's temperature.

Outside, True Lord Woods' face was ashen.

These green flame monsters were products of the Wood King Cauldron, and True Lord Woods could feel that the barrier He Lingchuan had drawn was like a vacuum, instantly absorbing all true fire, intense flames, and high heat upon approach!

He Lingchuan himself couldn't possibly possess such cultivation; he must have a miraculous fire-repelling magical artifact on him.

If this continued, when would he ever succeed in refining these people?

Inside the cauldron, the mirror landed and opened its inner world. He Lingchuan pointed, and Nanrong He and the others hurriedly jumped inside.

It was a stark contrast between inside and out; the world within the mirror remained peaceful and serene.

"Saved! Saved!" The three of them, once inside, all gasped for breath.

Having solved the immediate problem, He Lingchuan was also greatly troubled. He was discussing with Suta, saying, "Think harder; an immortal's memory can't be that bad!"

Why wasn't it Liu Qingdao, the top student, whom he brought into the cauldron!

Suta twisted his neck, trying hard to recall. After a while, he said, "Oh, I remember Master seemed to have said something back then... something like, 'Fortunately, he has a ten-zhang golden body!'"

"A ten-zhang golden body?" So True Person Qianhuan was that large even before becoming an immortal?

With so many clam shells in the world, it truly wasn't a coincidence that only It could become an immortal.

The Blood Demon immediately said, "Qianhuan's true form is the largest among the true immortals I know."

He Lingchuan deeply agreed; that was a giant clam capable of encompassing the entire Upside-Down Sea, and only by witnessing it firsthand could one comprehend its grandeur.

"So he used his true form to burst the enemy's pill cauldron?" He Lingchuan murmured. "A clam so large, one cauldron couldn't refine it?"

Although the Old Ox's memory was a bit unreliable, He Lingchuan found this explanation plausible. When they made other attempts, those outside the cauldron just watched and smiled without speaking. Only when he used the Golden-Armored Divine General to forcefully resist the cauldron did True Lord Woods utter a taunt.

What did that indicate? That True Lord Woods felt apprehensive, and deep down, did not want him to continue attempting this approach.

"This Wood King Cauldron must be stronger than the enemy Qianhuan encountered back then," the Blood Demon said, very pessimistically. "Your Golden-Armored Divine General, even at twelve zhang tall, can't burst it. And you can't transform into Qianhuan's true form."

"You're certainly good at pouring cold water," He Lingchuan said grumpily. When it came to helping, however, it was useless. "Do you also have no solution for this cauldron?"

"As you know, I can transform endlessly, but I detest True Fire and metal," the Blood Demon said. Its constitution was special; these two things were its bane. It couldn't help but sigh. "The inside of this cauldron has been tempered by True Fire for countless years. It's many times harder than refined gold. For you or me to break the cauldron wall would be extremely difficult. What's more, True Lord Woods and Qingyang are still outside, desperately supplying it with energy."

So, how were they going to get out?

Back then, Qianhuan escaped the cauldron by maximizing his true form.

Although this Wood King Cauldron was mystical, its internal space couldn't expand infinitely; there had to be a limit.

Combining this with what True Lord Woods had just said, He Lingchuan felt his initial idea was correct: if he could break that limit...

Against such a treasure, cunning was useless. Only the simplest and most brutal method could break it.

The Great Dao is simple, after all.

But what could be larger than the Golden-Armored Divine General?

The first thing He Lingchuan thought of was the red colossal shadow, Chaos, inside the Grand Flask.

That creature's size ranked third among the giant creatures He Lingchuan had seen; this small alchemy cauldron definitely couldn't hold it.

But Chaos never left the Grand Flask, and He Lingchuan couldn't persuade it.

Seeing him deep in thought within the cauldron, Qingyang immediately said, "We can't let him be too comfortable."

The subtext was to interrupt He Lingchuan's thoughts and prevent him from actually figuring something out.

She turned halfway, just about to tell others to act, but True Lord Woods said, "No need!"

Immortals had their own status, and True Lord Woods was a stubborn "wooden head," very unyielding. Qingyang couldn't disrespect him, so she suppressed her anxiety.

True Lord Woods was already displeased by these people's resistance. At this moment, he flipped his hand and formed a spell sign: "Do you think the Wood King Cauldron only has True Fire for refining? How naive."

He Lingchuan had only just entertained a few thoughts when he suddenly felt something amiss beneath his feet and swiftly sprang away.