Chapter 2300: Treasures of the Cold Pond

A flash of green silk vanished without a trace, silently disappearing into the sphere of runes.

The woman then began chanting under her breath, her fingers moving like a spinning wheel as she rapidly pointed toward the air above the cold pool.

With a soft *pop*, the surface of the runic sphere erupted with radiant light. After a brief rotation, it suddenly transformed into a funnel-shaped, five-colored cloud.

The cloud shimmered with flickering runes, its aura shifting unpredictably, as if something were rapidly coalescing within.

When the mother of the Asura Spider Clan let out a low shout, the cloud blurred, and a flash of light appeared at its base. Five dazzling crystalline threads, each as thick as a thumb, emerged and descended toward the surface of the cold pool.

With a sharp *hiss*, the moment the threads touched the water, a layer of milky-white cold air surged upward, coating them in frost.

The woman arched an eyebrow and, without hesitation, pointed solemnly at the cloud once more.

A muffled thunderclap sounded as a torrent of five-colored radiance surged down the threads, instantly dispersing the milky-white cold air upon contact. The frost on the threads vanished without a trace.

The threads sank once more, disappearing into the cold pool.

The mother of the Asura Spider Clan wore a cautious expression as her hands continuously shifted through a series of intricate seals.

The five crystalline threads continued their descent into the depths of the pool.

Han Li stood atop a stone pillar, his eyes flickering as he observed the scene while channeling his spiritual power into the formation beneath him.

Though the woman had urged them to exert their full strength, Han Li, with his profound reserves, only needed to expend a fraction of his power to meet the task.

Instead, he silently calculated the exact depth the threads had reached in the pool.

Ten zhang, thirty zhang, a hundred zhang, three hundred zhang…

As time passed, Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly.

By this point, the threads had slowed significantly, hindered by the extreme cold of the depths.

When they surpassed a thousand zhang, the woman exhaled softly, her expression tense with caution.

Now, the threads descended only a few inches with each breath, their movement nearly imperceptible.

In the past, even with the aid of treasures, the mother of the Asura Spider Clan had only been able to probe this deep due to the cold’s resistance.

Thus, the threads could reach the bottom at any moment, and she dared not let her guard down.

Meanwhile, the blood-robed girl was now entirely enveloped in a crimson mist, behind which a faint, indistinct silhouette flickered.

Though the nature of her secret technique was unknown, the aura emanating from her was indeed no weaker than that of an ordinary Great Ascension cultivator.

Her earlier claim of using a secret art to elevate her cultivation by an entire major realm was evidently no exaggeration.

This drew frequent glances from Bloodburn, Mo Jianli, and the others.

Half an hour passed.

The exposed portions of the crystalline threads, despite the swirling five-colored radiance, began to accumulate a thin layer of frost once more. Their descent had slowed to the point of near invisibility.

Mo Jianli and the others, having continuously channeled their spiritual power for so long, no longer appeared as composed as before, though they persisted.

Bloodburn frowned deeply and exchanged a few hushed words with Blackscale, though their discussion remained unknown.

As for the Asura Spider clansmen outside the formation, many had grown pale, showing signs of exhaustion.

The woman observed all this with growing anxiety.

If she failed to retrieve the treasure from the pool under these circumstances, she would likely never have another chance.

With this thought, she steeled her resolve. Suddenly, she slapped the crown of her head, and a flash of green light erupted as a foot-long jade spider emerged.

The spider’s body gleamed with crystalline emerald light, its compound eyes flickering with eerie purple flames. The moment it appeared, it opened its maw toward the pool and spat out a fist-sized orb of green light, within which a white crystalline core was faintly visible. In a flash, it vanished into the funnel-shaped cloud.

Han Li and the others tensed at the sight.

The woman had released her lifebound core—she was truly going all out.

Once the cloud absorbed the core, a deafening roar erupted within, and a blinding radiance surged down the threads with overwhelming force.

The frost on the threads was instantly dispelled, and their descent accelerated tenfold, plunging dozens of zhang deeper before slowing once more.

The woman’s expression darkened.

But at that moment, a soft sigh came from within the blood mist. The fog churned, and a silver beam shot forth, also vanishing into the cloud.

The radiance surging down the threads intensified, and their descent quickened again.

This time, however, the five threads only descended another seven or eight zhang before trembling slightly and coming to a halt.

“We’ve reached the bottom. Fellow Daoists, hold on a little longer. I will now locate the treasure’s exact position,” the woman declared, her spirits lifting. She swiftly changed her hand seals, closed her eyes, and released a vast spiritual sense from her brow.

Her consciousness traveled down the threads, sweeping across the pool’s floor in an instant.

A moment later, her face lit up. “Found it!” she exclaimed, opening her eyes. She pointed rapidly at the threads while chanting an urgent incantation.

Almost simultaneously, Han Li felt his spiritual power tighten abruptly, draining into the stone pillar beneath him at more than double the previous rate.

Frowning, he adjusted his energy flow slightly before fixing his gaze on the pool’s surface.

The five threads trembled violently, emitting a low hum as they slowly retracted into the cloud.

An inch, two inches, half a foot, a full foot…

The process was agonizingly slow, as though they were hauling something immensely heavy.

Meanwhile, the once-calm water began churning violently, forming a pitch-black vortex in a thunderous roar, as if intent on grinding everything to dust.

Only the five threads remained rigidly upright at the vortex’s center.

Waves of cold air, several times more intense than before, surged from the vortex but were blocked by the surrounding restrictions.

The sheer scale of the phenomenon left even Bloodburn and Mo Jianli awestruck, their eyes locked on the scene.

Yet, the retrieval took even longer than the descent.

After an indeterminate amount of time, a deep *boom* echoed from the vortex, and a pale blue stone the size of a human head was forcibly yanked free. A powerful wave of law fluctuations emanated from it.

“Space force!” Blackscale murmured greedily after sensing the law within the fluctuations.

Though space force lacked the mystique of time force, true masters of this law were exceedingly rare.

Most Great Ascension cultivators could tear through space or teleport, but they relied heavily on profound true essence and spatial treasures. Compared to genuine spatial law experts, they were far inferior.

Thus, an artifact that allowed one to comprehend spatial laws was an invaluable treasure for any Great Ascension cultivator.

Han Li smiled faintly but said nothing.

As someone who could manifest the form of the spatial-law-proficient Heavenly Phoenix, he could naturally gain insights into spatial laws given enough time. The treasure held little appeal for him.

Bloodburn’s gaze toward the blue stone flickered with desire.

Mo Jianli, however, remained outwardly calm, seemingly unaffected by the stone’s allure.

Just as Bloodburn and Blackscale hesitated, the girl in the blood mist let out a sharp cry. With a flick of her wrist, a burst of crystalline threads shot out, wrapping around the blue stone in a flash of green light.

With a *thud*, the stone arrowed toward her.

Bloodburn’s expression wavered, his fingers twitching within his sleeve.

But then, a gaze as sharp as blades locked onto him, sending a prickle of pain across his face.

Startled, he met the gaze—the mother of the Asura Spider Clan was glaring at him with a sinister warning in her eyes.

Bloodburn’s heart skipped a beat. He glanced swiftly at Han Li and Mo Jianli, both standing motionless on their pillars, and forced a smile, relaxing his fingers.

Nearby, Blackscale watched helplessly as the blue stone vanished into the blood mist.

“Thank you for your assistance. The mission is complete—this treasure is finally in our clan’s possession,” the girl declared, emerging from the dissipating mist with the blue stone in hand, a hint of joy in her voice.

“We’ve helped you retrieve the item. Now, where are the remaining cores?” Han Li asked coolly, having already withdrawn his spiritual power as he studied the stone in her grasp.

“Of course. Since you’ve honored your word, I shall do the same,” the blood-robed girl replied with a charming smile. The stone vanished in a blue flash, replaced by a white jade box, which she tossed toward Han Li.

*Swish*—every eye turned to the box.

Han Li caught it effortlessly, flipping open the lid.

“Good. Your clan is indeed trustworthy. Fellow Daoist Blood, let’s divide them,” Han Li said, a faint smile playing on his lips as he inspected the contents.

“Excellent. With these cores, our objective is fulfilled. We can finally rest easy,” Bloodburn laughed, rubbing his hands together.

Clearly, compared to the blue stone, the thunder talisman capable of mitigating heavenly tribulations held far greater value in his eyes.

Blackscale and Mo Jianli likewise struggled to conceal their excitement.

Han Li smiled, flicking his sleeve toward the box. Four cores flew out, shooting toward the three men.