Chapter 697: Mystery of the Small Cauldron

They hadn't flown far when an extremely eerie, loud wailing suddenly rang out. A gigantic black ghostly face appeared in the sky, along with several streaks of diverse-colored escape lights. The black ghostly face was closely pursuing these streaks of light.

Several miserable screams echoed as the streaks of escape light were caught. Enveloped by a black mist, they were drawn into the black ghostly face and vanished.

One of the yellow streaks of escape light was incredibly fast. In less than three breaths, it was less than a hundred zhang from Wang Changsheng.

"A Nascent Soul stage ghost!" Wang Changsheng's expression drastically changed as he sensed the black ghostly face's aura. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he struck his right fist into the air towards the yellow escape light.

A blue light flashed, and a gigantic blue fist, over ten zhang in size, shot out, aggressively smashing towards the yellow escape light.

The blue giant fist was not a spiritual technique, but it contained immense power that could not be easily blocked. It was a matter of sacrificing another to save himself; if no one stalled the Ghost King for a moment for Wang Changsheng, they certainly wouldn't get far.

"Bastard!" A frustrated curse came from the yellow escape light.

Wang Changsheng was slightly startled. That voice sounded like Huang Fugui. Without time for further thought, he channeled vast magical power into his blue shuttle. Its light intensified greatly as it sped towards the distance.

Countless yellow grains of sand flew out from the yellow escape light, forming a yellow shield that blocked in front of it.

Boom! The yellow shield was shattered to pieces, but the yellow escape light managed to dodge.

The wailing intensified. A black ghostly claw, over ten zhang in size, suddenly materialized above the yellow escape light and struck down like lightning towards it.

A large swathe of colorful mist flew out from the yellow escape light, enveloping the black ghostly claw.

The black ghostly claw immediately halted, emitting wisps of green smoke and sizzling sounds.

The yellow escape light revealed a young man in a yellow robe. He had a shifty expression, and his eyes were filled with terror. He was indeed Huang Fugui, who had altered his appearance. He didn't recognize Wang Changsheng, as Wang Changsheng had also changed his looks.

Huang Fugui hastily took out a talisman glowing with colorful spiritual light. He crushed it instantly, transforming into a streak of colorful escape light that shot through the air, increasing his speed by more than threefold.

As soon as the black ghostly face approached within five hundred zhang of the island where the Soul-Devouring Thunder Python resided, it immediately stopped. Its pair of blood-red eyes darted around, appearing somewhat fearful, as if something terrifying was on the island.

Countless black seawater surged violently, forming a colossal black water python that charged towards the island.

An invisible barrier blocked the black water python. At the same time, several thick golden lightning bolts streaked across the sky, accurately striking the black water python and shattering it to pieces.

The next moment, an area hundreds of zhang in radius, centered on the island, was enveloped by golden lightning. The black ghostly face dared not linger; it transformed into a black streak of light and flew back the way it came.

***

Inside a green pavilion on Red Lotus Island, Cheng Zhenyu paced back and forth, his expression uneasy. Waiting was the most agonizing part. More than a year had passed; had the Wang family still not sent anyone to the Myriad Ghost Sea? Even if the Wang family lacked the power, they could report to the Zhang family! The Wang family had Core Formation cultivators; reporting to the Zhang family would surely yield more rewards.

Did the Wang family intend to imprison him? There was no need. Were they sending people to search for Zheng Nan, planning to cut off all information?

Cheng Zhenyu was extremely nervous. He and Zheng Nan were a couple who had shared hardships, facing life and death together many times. For this transaction with the Wang family, Zheng Nan wanted to handle it, but Cheng Zhenyu refused. As a man, how could he let his wife face danger?

They possessed a third-order secret talisman, the "Life-and-Death Companion Talisman." If something happened to Cheng Zhenyu, Zheng Nan would sense it, no matter the distance.

Cheng Zhenyu wasn't afraid of death; he feared Zheng Nan being found by the Wang family cultivators.

Just as Cheng Zhenyu was fidgeting restlessly, a voice transmission talisman flew in. He hastily crushed it, and Wang Qiuhong's voice suddenly rang out: "Fellow Daoist Cheng, are you available now? We're here to escort you away."

"What's meant to be, will be." Cheng Zhenyu took a deep breath and strode out.

Wang Qiuhong and over a dozen other Wang family cultivators were waiting outside. Seeing this formation, Cheng Zhenyu's heart tightened. He feigned calmness and asked: "Fellow Daoist Wang, what is the meaning of this?"

"Thank you for the information, Fellow Daoist Cheng," Wang Qiuhong said courteously. "By order of Seventh Elder Uncle, we are personally escorting you to Green Carp Market, where a designated person will hand over the items to you." Wang Changsheng and Ye Lin had already returned to Red Lotus Island.

Wang Changsheng personally ordered Wang Qiuhong to escort Cheng Zhenyu to Green Carp Market, where Wang Qiuli would then hand over the Core Formation spiritual items to him. The allure of Core Formation spiritual items was too great, and Wang Changsheng worried someone might have ulterior motives and tarnish their reputation. Moreover, he also wanted to use this opportunity to show Cheng Zhenyu that the Wang family absolutely kept its promises.

Cheng Zhenyu let out a long sigh of relief and said, "Then I'll trouble Fellow Daoist Wang."

Wang Qingling personally led the team to escort Cheng Zhenyu away.

***

In a secret chamber, Wang Changsheng and Ye Lin sat cross-legged on meditation cushions, with a small green cauldron placed before them.

The small green cauldron was engraved with exquisite patterns on its surface and had three legs and two handles.

The power of the Mountain Sea Pearl exceeded Wang Changsheng's imagination; it had even shattered the Soul-Devouring Thunder Python's inner core. The three Core Formation cultivators swallowed by the Soul-Devouring Thunder Python had a considerable amount of wealth on them. Their magic treasures, having been submerged in the Soul-Devouring Thunder Python's stomach, all showed signs of corrosion. However, this small green cauldron alone showed no trace of corrosion.

Judging from the astonishing spiritual energy emanating from this small cauldron, it was at least a magic treasure used by a Nascent Soul cultivator. What perplexed Wang Changsheng was, if it was a magic treasure used by a Nascent Soul cultivator, how could it end up inside the Soul-Devouring Thunder Python? A third-order top-grade demonic python killing a Nascent Soul cultivator? It was unthinkable.

He placed his hands on the lid of the small green cauldron to see if there was anything else inside. To his surprise, the lid was incredibly heavy, as if something was pulling it down.

A bright blue light emanated from Wang Changsheng's body. His face turned beet red, and veins bulged. Only then did he manage to lift the cauldron lid, from which a dazzling mass of green mist flew out.

Inside the small green cauldron lay a crystalline green spiritual bamboo. It appeared to be crafted from green spiritual jade, its surface shimmered with shifting treasure light, and its spiritual energy was overwhelming.

"Is this Glazed Bamboo? Isn't this Glazed Bamboo, one of the ten great spiritual bamboos of the cultivation world?" Wang Changsheng was slightly stunned and picked up the green spiritual bamboo.

Glazed Bamboo resembles glazed glass, yet is as hard as metal, making it an excellent material for refining flying swords and magic treasures. What puzzled Wang Changsheng was, who would place Glazed Bamboo inside a small green cauldron? Could this small cauldron be an artifact refining furnace?

Ye Lin took the Glazed Bamboo and examined it carefully. He said doubtfully, "This section of Glazed Bamboo appears to be over five thousand years old, but its size doesn't match. Glazed Bamboo over five thousand years old doesn't have such a small diameter."

This section of Glazed Bamboo was only about two inches in diameter, which would suggest it was at most a thousand years old. However, it had almost entirely transformed into a glazed form, which would imply it was at least five thousand years old. This genuinely contradicted the records in ancient texts.

"Could the ancient texts be mistaken?" Wang Changsheng conjectured. "Perhaps thousand-year-old Glazed Bamboo simply looks like this?"

Ye Lin shook his head and said, "Our Nine Nether Sect's treasury contains Glazed Bamboo that is over a thousand years old. I've seen it with my own eyes, and it's definitely not like this. Perhaps it's related to this small green cauldron."