Chapter 274: Easy to Handle

Yue Mingzhu also noticed Jiang Fan's unusual behavior.

She walked over and saw the same strange, dizziness-inducing characters she had seen earlier on the footprints on the wall. This time, however, the characters were larger, and she could barely make them out, reading aloud:

"The Nine Dragon Demonic Cauldron is as heavy as Mount Tai, and cannot be moved by anything less than a Deification stage cultivator."

Deification stage?

Yue Mingzhu felt a wave of dizziness. "Deification stage? That's a legendary realm beyond the Nascent Soul stage. Every one of them is a celestial figure, like a dragon whose head is seen but not its tail. Only someone of that level can move this pill cauldron? No wonder I couldn't move it."

She let out a small breath. It seemed it wasn't her incompetence; rather, the pill cauldron truly had a major issue. She wondered what miraculous material it was forged from to be so incredibly heavy.

Immediately after, Yue Mingzhu continued reading: "Alternatively, a fellow five-star Soul Master, if destined to arrive here, may also take it away."

Yue Mingzhu looked puzzled. "A Soul Master can take it too? Could it be that this pill cauldron becomes lighter when it encounters a Soul Master? However, a five-star Soul Master is a bit of a joke; such beings are only found in books. Even the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion is only a three-star Soul Master."

Jiang Fan was pensive. Can a Soul Master really take this pill cauldron? He gazed at the words inscribed on the ground with soul power. He had an epiphany. Without a sound, he released his soul power, enveloping the pill cauldron, and attempted to lift it.

To Jiang Fan's surprise, with a single thought, the pill cauldron actually swayed! Unfortunately, his soul power was far from reaching the level of a five-star Soul Master. He couldn't lift it; it only swayed. However, this confirmed Jiang Fan's hypothesis: this pill cauldron required soul power to be lifted!

"Huh?" Yue Mingzhu paused, staring intently at the pill cauldron, and asked, "Why do I feel like this pill cauldron just moved?"

Jiang Fan feigned ignorance. "Did it?"

Yue Mingzhu reached out and tugged at the pill cauldron, finding it still motionless. She wondered if it was just her imagination. "That's strange, why am I having consecutive illusions today? First, that green light. Now, the Nine Dragon Demonic Cauldron. This is really spooky."

Jiang Fan suppressed a smile and said, "We can't do anything about this pill cauldron. I believe no one can take it away either. Let's come back for it another day, when we have the chance." He wasn't worried about the pill cauldron being taken by others, unless a legendary Deification-stage figure or a five-star Soul Master appeared. However, compared to such individuals appearing in this barren snowy plain, Jiang Fan's chance of breaking through to a five-star Soul Master was higher. His current soul power was equivalent to that of a four-star Soul Master. If he could increase his soul power a bit more, he could take this cauldron away.

Yue Mingzhu nodded. "This broken pill cauldron will probably be abandoned here. With such demanding conditions, who could possibly take it? But... are you just leaving? Don't you want all these bottles and jars?"

Yue Mingzhu's attention refocused on the rows of bottles and jars. Her eyes glowed with fervor. "Since that Nascent Soul grandmaster was a Soul Master, he must have refined many spirit pills. Perhaps what was left behind was what he considered useless. But for us, it's a rare and invaluable opportunity."

Jiang Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "No matter how good the spirit pills are, their effects have a time limit. A hundred years have passed in this place; even if there were any, they would have turned to ash. Besides, have you forgotten that this cave dwelling was already occupied? If there were any spirit pills, that person would have used them all long ago."

Uh...

Yue Mingzhu was instantly doused with cold water. Her heart felt utterly chilled. Unwilling to give up, she picked up a jade bottle and pulled out the stopper. A puff of black smoke shot out, almost hitting her face. Just as Jiang Fan had said, even if there had been pills inside, they had all turned to ash. Still not giving up, she opened several more bottles and jars, all with the same result. This made her feel somewhat defeated. "I almost died from that fall, only to end up with just one explosive jade talisman?"

No one knew how much hope she had harbored when she learned there was a Nascent Soul cave dwelling here. Yet, the actual gain was a far cry from her imagination!

Jiang Fan felt a little guilty. It wasn't that there were no treasures in the cave dwelling; it was just that most of them had fallen into his hands. He consoled her, "Miss Yue, try to relax. How often do things in the world go exactly as one wishes? It's already quite something to have obtained an explosive jade talisman."

Yue Mingzhu furrowed her brows. What he said was true. An explosive jade talisman at the ninth level of Core Formation, in the outside world, would definitely be a treasure that the Nine Sects would fight over fiercely. To have acquired it was already worth the trip. However, her expectations for the Nascent Soul cave dwelling were too high, leading to immense disappointment.

But then, she suddenly realized something. Jiang Fan hadn't gotten anything. She had obtained the explosive jade talisman. And he couldn't cultivate that mid-grade Earth-tier leg technique either. Even after finally encountering a spirit artifact, he couldn't take it away. He was the one leaving empty-handed. Thinking of this, she felt she owed Jiang Fan.

"I said you could take two items, but you ended up coming for nothing." After some thought, she took a pendant from her neck. A thin red string held a pink jade Buddha pendant. Mysterious pink mist emanated from the jade pendant. She was a little reluctant, but after much consideration, she still placed it in Jiang Fan's hand. "Take this. Consider it my compensation to you."

Feeling the residual warmth on the jade pendant, Jiang Fan inadvertently glanced at her ample bosom. He quickly handed it back. "I don't want it."

Yue Mingzhu said, "Just take it. It's a defensive magic treasure I've worn for many years. As for its level... well, don't use it unless it's a life-or-death situation." Seeing Jiang Fan's persistent refusal, she slipped the pendant directly onto Jiang Fan's neck and said impatiently, "You're a man, why are you so coy like a woman?"

Jiang Fan awkwardly said, "I'm just afraid you'll regret it."

Yue Mingzhu scoffed, "I... I never regret anything!"

Jiang Fan nodded. "You said so yourself."

The two of them checked the cave dwelling again, ensuring no treasures were overlooked, then left the dwelling side by side. They returned to the bottom of the snow-covered cliff. Looking at the shocking fragments of iron chains scattered across the ground, Yue Mingzhu couldn't help but exclaim, "It's incredible that I actually survived!" She suddenly felt that giving away the life-saving jade pendant she had worn for many years wasn't so painful anymore. After all, without Jiang Fan's rescue, she would most likely be dead by now.

"Alright, where's your rope?" Yue Mingzhu asked, "I'll take you up." She naturally assumed that Jiang Fan must have come down using a new rope.

Jiang Fan was stunned. "Rope?" He then understood what Yue Mingzhu meant and said, "I don't have a rope."

"What?" Yue Mingzhu stiffened, her pretty eyes wide. "You didn't put down a rope? Then how did you get down?"

Jiang Fan pointed upwards and said, "Of course, I climbed down."

This cliff was steep and straight; even the most skilled climber couldn't possibly climb down safely, could they? Fine, even if he was lucky and climbed down, there's no way he could climb back up, right?

Yue Mingzhu grew a little anxious. "Are you stupid? You actually didn't bring a rope? You're trying to infuriate me!" She thought they had escaped to safety, only for him to say he didn't bring a rope!

Jiang Fan pursed his lips, walked to the edge of the cliff, and asked her, "Are you coming or not?"

Yue Mingzhu retorted irritably, "How? Can you scale walls and fly over eaves?"

Jiang Fan ignored her. With spiritual energy flowing in his feet, he directly performed the Lone Goose's Shadow movement technique. With his hands behind his back, he ascended the steep cliff, staying close to the rock face. His expression was relaxed, as if he were walking on level ground.

Yue Mingzhu was stunned. Her eyes widened bit by bit, her pupils gradually contracting. Finally, they shrunk to the size of a pinprick. She let out a gasp of astonishment: "You... your movement technique has reached the grandmaster level?"