Just at this critical moment, the Savage Bearded Man in mid-air suddenly raised his head, glaring fiercely toward a certain spot to the side. With a frosty expression, he shouted loudly, “Who’s sneaking around there! Get out here now!” As soon as he finished speaking, his beard and hair bristled as he threw a punch. A golden giant hand, about ten feet in size, abruptly materialized in the air and unhesitatingly grabbed toward that spot.
A dull “thud” sounded as a cyan light barrier appeared there, actually managing to withstand the blow of the golden hand without shattering. Then, a white figure slowly emerged within the barrier.
“It’s you!”
“Star Palace?”
Several exclamations of surprise came from both the righteous and demonic factions. The Savage Bearded Man and Wan Tianming’s expressions changed drastically.
“Star Palace’s Law Enforcement Elder, when did you start skulking around? Weren’t you the ones who claimed you would never enter the inner hall?” Patriarch Ji Yin questioned with an ugly expression, taking the lead.
“Ahem! My luck is truly awful. I never expected the appearance of the Void Heaven Cauldron to cause such a commotion. While defending against this cold energy, I had no choice but to use a minor technique, which ended up being discovered by Brother Man. It seems Fellow Daoist Man must be the foremost in cultivation here.” Instead of answering Patriarch Ji Yin, the white-robed elder stood in place and spoke slowly to the Savage Bearded Man. His expression remained completely unruffled, as if the one hiding nearby hadn’t been him at all.
Seeing this, Ji Yin was naturally furious, but the reputation of Star Palace was formidable, and he didn’t dare to actively attack the other.
As for Wan Tianming and the others, they seemed equally hesitant. With so many people staring at the opponent from the air, a sudden silence fell.
“Wait! Where’s the other one? Watch out for the Bloodjade Spider and Han Li!”
Since the Star Palace elder had appeared, the Confucian-robed old man had been stroking his beard, lost in thought. Now, seeing the other party being evasive and extremely suspicious, he couldn’t help but ponder more deeply. Suddenly, he remembered something and exclaimed in a flustered and exasperated tone. Han Li, who had retreated far away, heard this and was taken aback.
Before he could figure out what was happening, two white rainbows shot out from the low air on the other side of the altar. Emitting blazing white light and accompanied by sharp, piercing shrieks, they shot through the air toward Han Li and the Bloodjade Spider. Only then did another white-robed elder appear in their original spot.
Han Li’s face suddenly turned pale.
“Too fast, just too fast!” After a flash of white light before his eyes, this was the only thought that surfaced in Han Li’s mind. All he could do in response was desperately block in front of his chest with the jade ruyi he had been toying with.
With a “thud,” Han Li’s hands tremb violently, instantly going numb. Then, a wave of heat spread across his chest as he was sent flying backward. Immediately, Han Li’s ears were filled with the howling wind and the furious curses of the Savage Bearded Man and the others.
Before Han Li could stop his backward momentum, a sharp pain shot through his back. His body slammed heavily into the giant protective barrier not far away, then slid down along the barrier wall.
“Huh?” A sound of surprise came from the Star Palace elder who had released the white rainbows. He glanced a few times at Han Li, who had been sent flying without any ability to resist, feeling somewhat surprised.
Hit by his treasure, the “Sun-Piercing Sword,” at such close range, he actually hadn’t been cut in half. It seemed he must have some top-grade protective treasure on him. But that didn’t matter anymore, because the other flying sword had already succeeded. Thinking this, his gaze turned coldly toward the top of the altar.
By now, the Bloodjade Spider had been cleanly sliced in two by another white rainbow, its blood flowing all over the ground. The partially revealed Extreme Blue Ice Flame silently sank back down.
Relying solely on those two mutated fire pythons, it was impossible to pull up the Void Heaven Cauldron now.
Seeing all this, the white-robed elder nodded in extreme satisfaction and beckoned to the two white rainbows, recalling them simultaneously. Then, he revealed a strange smile toward the ashen-faced righteous and demonic factions in the sky.
These Nascent Soul old freaks, their attention completely captured by the other elder, had been unable to react in time. Now, witnessing the Bloodjade Spider truly being slain, each of them wore faces full of rage, their eyes burning with fury.
The Savage Bearded Man, having no reservations, immediately began cursing loudly. Clapping his hands together, a golden light erupted from his body, as if he was about to make a move.
But amidst light laughter, the attacking Star Palace elder, enveloped in a milky white glow, dissolved into points of starlight and vanished without a trace, leaving only a pale golden talisman that drifted down lightly from the air. An identical scene played out with the other white-robed elder within the light barrier. Similarly surrounded by white starlight, his body disintegrated with a smile under the watchful eyes of the many old freaks, leaving behind an identical golden talisman.
“Star Palace’s Avatar Talisman! So it really wasn’t their true bodies that came. They really spared no expense! With this, even if we want to settle accounts with them later, it’s impossible.” The rage on the Savage Bearded Man’s face quickly subsided, replaced by a flickering strange light in his eyes as he muttered to himself.
As for Ji Yin, Wan Tianming, and the others from both factions, their expressions were equally ugly. They could only stare dryly as the golden talismans fell to the ground, spontaneously combusted, and turned to ashes, leaving nothing behind.
In a hidden corner of the Inner Hall’s fifth floor, two white-robed old men sitting cross-legged simultaneously opened their eyes in the darkness. “Fortunately, we came along this time. Otherwise, the Void Heaven Cauldron would have truly fallen into their hands,” one said slowly, a hint of relief in his voice.
“However, our avatars were discovered a bit early. Otherwise, once the Void Heaven Cauldron was retrieved, while both sides were entangled and restraining each other, we could have secretly made our move and very likely succeeded in seizing the treasure and returning with it,” the other’s voice carried a sinister tone, but his words still held a note of regret.
“Heh! One shouldn’t be too greedy. This time, being able to ruin the best opportunity for the righteous and demonic paths to retrieve the treasure is already a good outcome. Once our Star Palace weathers this crisis, the next time the Void Heaven Hall appears, won’t the Void Heaven Cauldron naturally become Star Palace’s property?” the first man said lightly with an indifferent laugh.
“Your words aren’t wrong, but the two of us might not live to see that day. I truly want to see if the Heaven Mending Pill is really that miraculous, capable of compensating for impure spiritual roots and refining innate spiritual roots? It’s truly unbelievable!” the yin-cold voice said indifferently.
“What a pity! But for those of us whose lifespans are nearing their end, even if we truly obtained the Heaven Mending Pill, it seems it would be too late. What’s laughable is, who knows who spread the rumor that the Heaven Mending Pill has the miraculous effect of increasing lifespan and breaking through Nascent Soul bottlenecks, making many Nascent Soul old freaks believe it! They don’t stop to think: if it really had such divine effects, wouldn’t the Six Paths and the Crazy Woman have come here? However, this pill is indeed greatly beneficial for Core Formation cultivators condensing their Nascent Souls, but refining this pill is truly not easy,” the first man said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Hmph! Do Core Formation cultivators have the ability to come here? Besides, these people, like us, have cultivated for many years without being able to advance further. Placing all their hopes on something as famous as the Heaven Mending Pill is understandable. If not for the fact that our old Star Palace Lord went through immense hardship to retrieve one pill in the early years, wouldn’t we also be constantly thinking about this item?” The other person, hearing this, didn’t say anything more, seemingly tacitly agreeing that this was highly possible.
“Let’s go quickly! Let’s hope those old freaks don’t get so angry and humiliated that they actually come looking for trouble with us. That would be a huge problem. They are truly furious this time!” As these words were spoken, the darkness fell silent again, with no further sounds emerging, as if the place had been emptied in an instant.
The two Star Palace elders had guessed correctly. The righteous and demonic factions were indeed extremely vexed, feeling deeply frustrated and humiliated. However, being seasoned and cunning, they quickly regained their composure. They understood that getting angry over Star Palace’s disruption was pointless now. Instead, both sides remained suspended in mid-air, locked in a tense confrontation.
Han Li also managed to stop his descent at the edge of the light barrier, stabilizing himself and rising into the air again. At this moment, he looked at his hands in horror—they were sticky and bloody, the tiger’s mouth (area between thumb and index finger) completely split open. But his gaze wasn’t fixed there; instead, it fell on the jade ruyi gripped tightly in his right hand.
At this time, Wan Tianming in the air coughed and seemed about to say something to the demonic path members. But simultaneously, Patriarch Ji Yin’s pair of fire pythons finally reached their limit. With a mournful cry, they simultaneously released their hold on the cauldron’s ears and shrank back to their original size.
The Void Heaven Cauldron immediately began to tremble, emitting a buzzing sound as it rapidly plummeted downward.
This scene caused the righteous and demonic members to instinctively look down, Wan Tianming included. Patriarch Ji Yin’s face was especially dark and cold, his eyes filled with unwillingness as he watched this happen.
But then something unexpected occurred!
During its descent, the Void Heaven Cauldron, stimulated by something unknown, suddenly changed its buzzing into a dragon’s roar. Following a dull thunderclap, a fist-sized mass of five-colored light shot out from the blue flames, soaring skyward.
“Heaven Mending Pill!” Almost simultaneously, voices from both the righteous and demonic sides shouted the name of the object, their tones filled with surprise and delight.
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