Han Li was a man of considerable courage, yet even he felt his mind waver and a wave of dizziness wash over him as he gazed into the depths. Suppressing his discomfort, he stared intently for a while longer but ultimately withdrew his gaze, having gained nothing. Although his spiritual sense was powerful, it was incapable of probing such profound depths.
Without further hesitation, Han Li strode directly toward the pavilion.
As he drew closer, the pavilion’s immense and majestic scale became apparent—it was at least three to four times larger than an ordinary building. The entrance was a semicircular arch, about two zhang high, sealed by a shimmering yellow light barrier.
Upon reaching the door, Han Li examined the light screen. Tilting his head slightly in thought, a green glow flashed around his hand, and a foot-long sword radiance materialized.
With a light tap of his finger, the green sword energy gently prodded the light barrier. Ripples spread across the surface, and the sword energy slipped in effortlessly, meeting no resistance.
This outcome surprised Han Li. He retracted the sword energy and cautiously extended his arm into the barrier. It felt cool, as if submerged in a viscous liquid.
Wasting no more time, Han Li surged forward and passed through the light screen, vanishing from sight.
But upon passing through the arch and standing inside the pavilion, Han Li froze in astonishment.
Before him stood rows upon rows of circular jade platforms, each about a zhang tall. They varied in size and were crafted from lustrous, crystalline white jade, densely packed across the floor. Each platform shimmered with light, topped by colorful semicrystalline domes that seemed to contain objects within.
Han Li’s eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of excitement crossing his features.
The moment he had seen the words “Treasure Light Pavilion,” he had suspected he might have stumbled upon extraordinary luck. This pavilion most likely housed ancient treasures. Yet the hall was empty; it seemed those who had taken this path before him had either already chosen their treasures and been teleported away or had ascended to the second floor.
With this in mind, Han Li carefully examined the jade platforms and indeed found a few without the domes, sitting bare and empty.
As for the staircase to the second floor? Han Li grew puzzled. After scanning the area several times, he found nothing. His curiosity piqued, he searched again and again until his gaze settled on a rather peculiar jade platform.
This platform stood isolated at the rear of the hall, unusually flat and engraved with obscure, esoteric symbols.
After a few moments of scrutiny, Han Li’s knowledge of formations told him this was a uniquely shaped, simple teleportation array. After a long, thoughtful look, he withdrew his gaze and began slowly walking along the rows of jade platforms, browsing the ancient treasures they held.
But as he examined each one, his brows furrowed deeper.
“These ancient treasures… are they really this mediocre?”
After viewing several dozen platforms, Han Li completely lost interest. Crossing his arms, he stood still and muttered to himself, a trace of doubt on his face.
The items on these platforms lived up to the name “ancient treasures”—each was an archaic-style weapon like a long spear or halberd. Though they gleamed with various colored lights, Han Li knew these were comparable to the flying swords and blades used by modern cultivators, generally lacking any astonishing abilities.
Not that they were entirely useless! But possessing a treasure like the Emerald Bamboo Cloud-Severing Sword, Han Li naturally found such items beneath his notice. He had been hoping for ancient treasures with unique abilities, like the flower basket he had encountered before.
Despite his disappointment, worried he might have overlooked something, Han Li mustered his focus and inspected every single jade platform. In the end, he sighed and resolutely headed toward the teleportation array. He believed the second floor would hold something different.
After placing several spirit stones into the array, Han Li vanished in a flash of white light, arriving at a new location.
So this was the second floor of the Treasure Light Pavilion? Han Li narrowed his eyes, staring ahead, his lips pressed into a tight line.
The space here was small and mostly empty, except for a massive spherical light shield not far in front of him. This shield, about ten zhang tall, glowed with a soft azure light and hovered a zhang above the floor at the center of the room, impossible to miss. Inside, dozens of ancient treasures of various shapes floated quietly.
There were scrolls, jade tablets, bowls, black banners, and other items Han Li recognized or didn’t—each one unique.
At this sight, Han Li’s heart swelled with joy. He knew he had come to the right place.
Yet, if these treasures were so openly displayed and easy to obtain, earlier cultivators would have taken them all. There would be nothing left for him.
With this thought, Han Li clasped his hands behind his back and slowly approached the spherical light shield. He circled it three or four times before stopping. Then, he opened his mouth and spat out a small green sword about an inch long.
After circling above his head a few times, the sword, guided by Han Li’s divine will, shot toward the base of the light shield as a streak of green light.
With a soft “thump,” a bright blue light flashed where the sword struck, and the green streak was rebounded effortlessly.
Seeing this, Han Li felt not anger but delight. The more resistant the shield, the more it proved the value of the treasures within.
A look of excitement on his face, Han Li opened his mouth again and spat out nine small swords in quick succession. These swords chimed above his head before merging into a single massive green blade.
“Strike!” Han Li commanded in a low voice.
The giant sword descended with immense force, slashing directly at the light shield. With a deafening “boom,” a several-foot-long crack appeared at the point of impact.
A flicker of joy crossed Han Li’s face, but before he could act further, a powerful force erupted from within the shield. The giant sword was sent flying back with a sharp “clang,” and the crack sealed itself in a flash of blue light, leaving no trace behind.
Han Li was first taken aback, then his expression darkened. Stroking his chin, he studied the spherical shield intently once more.
Before long, his expression eased, and a faint smile touched his lips. He pointed at the giant sword, and with a clear chime, it disassembled back into nine small swords that shot back into his body. Without delay, he reached to his waist and produced a spirit beast pouch filled with Gold Devouring Beetles.
A loud buzzing filled the air as a cloud of gold and silver insects swarmed out. At Han Li’s low whistle, the beetle swarm surged forward, covering the base of the spherical shield in an instant. Moments later, the insects had gnawed a three-to-four-foot circular hole into the shield.
The shield glowed brilliantly blue, and the hole began to twist and rapidly shrink, its regeneration speed surpassing even the beetles’ devouring rate.
Seeing this, Han Li didn’t dare delay. He transformed into a slender streak of green light and shot through the closing hole, slipping inside just as the shield fully resealed itself.
The green light dissipated, revealing Han Li floating inside the shield.
Surrounded by dozens of ancient treasures emanating an archaic aura, he hovered gently, excitement evident on his face. However, he didn’t dare linger. He immediately tried to release his spiritual sense to gauge the spiritual energy of these treasures, but his face fell—his spiritual sense was completely trapped within his body here. He would have to rely solely on intuition and experience to choose one.
Resigned to this, Han Li widened his eyes and began carefully examining each treasure one by one.
A strange blade? No, it was clearly an offensive ancient treasure, something he didn’t need.
A command medallion? No, the monstrous image engraved on it suggested it was for summoning spirit beast essences, similar to a scroll he had obtained before.
A small drum? What was its purpose? He couldn’t discern any use for it. Better to pass.
One by one, Han Li eliminated the treasures from consideration.
In the end, he narrowed it down to three items: a golden oval mirror, a set of five interlinked multicolored copper rings, and a dark red, wide cloak.
He had his reasons for selecting these three. The golden mirror was obvious—in the world of cultivation, mirror-type magic treasures were almost always unique and immensely powerful. Han Li had no intention of missing out on such an item.
The five interlinked rings likely contained the attributes of the five elements. Though he didn’t know their specific abilities, their power was undoubtedly significant.
As for the final cloak…
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage