A moment later, the small cyan cauldron shimmered brilliantly within the infant flame, emitting scorching waves of heat. The entire chamber began to swirl with rising temperatures, the air growing unbearably hot.
A cold glint flickered in Han Li’s eyes as he raised his hand and sent a spell incantation toward the cauldron. With a soft *puff*, a streak of cyan light shot upward from the cauldron—its lid had flown off on its own, hovering motionlessly above the vessel after a brief spin.
Seeing this, Han Li swiftly pointed at a square jade box on the ground before him. The lid silently vanished, revealing a dark, tuber-like object inside, about a few inches in size and somewhat flattened in shape.
After staring at it for a moment, Han Li made a beckoning motion in the air. The tuber-like object flew out of the jade box and hovered in midair about a zhang (roughly 3.3 meters) above the ground. With a flick of his finger, a flash of cyan light sliced off a fifth of the tuber, which fell silently to the ground.
With a sweep of his sleeve, a cyan radiance shot forth, wrapping around the severed piece and tossing it into the cauldron. He then cast another spell at the remaining tuber, causing it to drop back into the jade box.
Han Li paid it no further mind and instead turned his attention to a long wooden box, which he opened with another spell. Inside lay a section of an unknown, emerald-green spiritual herb stem. Following the same procedure, he shaved off a small segment with a sword beam and placed it into the cauldron.
Proceeding in this manner, Han Li carefully selected portions of various materials before him, following the alchemical recipe, until he finally retrieved one of the Spirit Candle Fruits. A flash of cyan sword light divided it into four parts, one of which he placed into the cauldron.
Only then did Han Li lightly tap the hovering lid, causing it to descend and seal the cauldron tightly.
Exhaling softly, he opened his mouth again, releasing a stream of cyan infant flame. The fire surged, and the temperature in the chamber rose sharply once more.
As he stared intently at the cauldron amidst the flames, his fingers danced ceaselessly, sending one spell after another into the vessel. Before long, faint rumbles of thunder began to emanate from within, growing steadily louder.
Han Li arched his brows slightly and altered the rhythm of his incantations, shifting between slow and fast. The thunderous sounds from the cauldron followed suit, rising and falling unpredictably, creating an eerie dissonance.
His expression remained impassive, but the flickering blue light in his eyes suggested he could somehow peer through the cauldron’s walls to observe the state of the elixir within, his demeanor neither pleased nor displeased.
Time passed slowly in this manner.
While Han Li was engrossed in his alchemy, the Ghost Spirit Sect party had finally ascended the several-hundred-zhang-high altar at the center of the basin.
It was unclear what the ancient cultivators who built the altar had in mind, but the restrictions on its steps were exceedingly harsh. Starting from the base, the gravitational force pressing down on the climbers increased significantly with every certain height gained. Thus, while it took them only a little over two hours to reach the midpoint of the altar, the journey from the midpoint to the summit consumed an entire day and night, even necessitating a short rest midway to recover their spiritual power.
The Ghost Spirit Sect’s leader and the other Nascent Soul cultivators fared well enough, but the three Core Formation disciples struggled immensely to reach the top. By the final dozen or so steps, each movement felt as though a thousand jin (roughly 1,300 pounds) weighed upon them, forcing them to inch forward with great effort.
Naturally, the most at ease among them was Wei Wuyi. From start to finish, the restrictions seemed to have little effect on this late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, who never once appeared strained. Even Wang Tiangu and the others had to pause after each step in the final stretch, their expressions visibly strained.
This display from Wei Wuyi left the Ghost Spirit Sect leader inwardly awed, raising his estimation of the man even further.
Though their cultivation levels varied, the party reached the summit simultaneously under the sect leader’s careful coordination. The moment they stepped onto the top platform, the crushing weight vanished without a trace, and the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples exhaled in relief.
Despite their protective spiritual barriers, the arduous climb had left them sore and exhausted, a sensation they hadn’t experienced since their mortal days. Ordinarily, traversing such distances would have been effortless—never had they endured such hardship.
Wang Tiangu and the others wasted no time in surveying their surroundings.
The summit spanned over a hundred zhang in area, its floor paved with gleaming white jade bricks. At its center stood an exquisitely crafted altar table, about six to seven zhang long and made of emerald-green jade. The rest of the space was empty, save for four towering bluestone pillars at each corner of the platform.
Each pillar stood about ten zhang tall, its surface densely inscribed with ancient, cryptic runes and incantations. Atop each pillar crouched a lifelike qilin statue, each in a different pose and emitting a faint spiritual glow, hinting at their unusual nature.
The group quickly took in these simple features.
Finding nothing particularly noteworthy, Wei Wuyi frowned slightly and cast a sidelong glance at the Ghost Spirit Sect leader, who stood motionless with his hands behind his back, gazing skyward as if captivated by something intriguing.
Puzzled, Wei Wuyi followed his gaze. The sky above was a bloody red, with multicolored auroras drifting at lower altitudes. Aside from the abundance of these radiant streaks, there was nothing unusual.
“Sect Leader Wang, we’ve arrived. Where is the entrance to the Ethereal Paradise?” Wei Wuyi demanded bluntly, without preamble.
“Patience, Fellow Daoist Wei. The entrance is naturally concealed by restrictions. Only the spirit within the painting knows how to break them. We need only summon him to ask,” the sect leader replied calmly.
“I see. So this was part of your agreement with Frost Li’s incarnation,” Wei Wuyi remarked slowly, his expression shifting.
“*Heh*, you’re a sharp one, Fellow Daoist Wei. Indeed, this involves certain conditions I promised to fulfill. Hold on—I’ll summon him now.” With that, the sect leader reached into his sleeve and produced the silver-white scroll.
Wang Tiangu’s eyes flickered, but he remained silent as he stepped closer.
This time, as soon as the scroll was unfurled, a green light shot out from the painting, materializing into the form of the Confucian scholar.
“Excellent, this is the place. I never thought I’d return here one day,” the spirit of Frost Li’s incarnation murmured excitedly, ignoring the others as he took in the surroundings with visible emotion.
“By our agreement, I’ve brought you to the altar. You claimed this is the heart of the Fallen Devil Valley and the entrance to the Ethereal Paradise. Now it’s your turn to fulfill your promise and open the way,” the sect leader said coldly, waiting until the scholar had calmed slightly before speaking.
“With the restrictions you’ve placed on me, do you really think I’d dare deceive you? The entrance *is* above the altar—that much is true. But the restrictions are peculiar and require my personal intervention.” With that, the scholar also looked skyward, rubbed his hands together, and conjured a grayish-white fireball. He hurled it upward, where it vanished inexplicably upon reaching the auroras.
Nodding in satisfaction, the scholar turned to examine the four stone pillars before speaking briskly, “Fellow Daoists, channel some spiritual power into these pillars. Leave the rest to me.”
Exchanging glances, Wang Tiangu and the others hesitated briefly before the sect leader said in a low voice, “Very well. You three, take those pillars. Junior Brother Wang, your assistance is needed as well.”
“As you command, Sect Leader!” the three disciples bowed in unison, while Wang Tiangu strode toward one of the pillars without delay.
At the sect leader’s signal, the four pressed a palm against their respective pillars, channeling spiritual energy into them, which then traveled upward to the qilin statues at the top.
Before long, the pillars began to hum and tremble faintly. The qilin statues glowed, their lifeless eyes suddenly blazing with a bloody light, as if coming to life.
Watching this, Wei Wuyi felt a vague sense of familiarity, as though he’d heard of such pillars before, but couldn’t quite recall where. His expression grew pensive.
The Ghost Spirit Sect leader stood silently, observing the scene without comment.
Suddenly, the qilin statues slowly raised their heads, opening their mouths to reveal swirling five-colored lights within, as though preparing to spew something forth. At this moment, the ghostly Confucian scholar acted.
Raising both hands, he flicked his fingers, sending four gray spell incantations shooting toward the statues. The lights in the qilins’ mouths pulsed before erupting skyward as four radiant beams, converging at a single point high above. There, they blossomed into a dazzling five-colored sphere about a zhang in diameter.
The space around the sphere warped and distorted before exploding with a deafening roar. Blinding five-colored light flooded the sky above the altar, accompanied by an overwhelming surge of spiritual energy that crashed down upon the cultivators like a tidal wave.
Even Wei Wuyi paled slightly at the intensity of the energy, while the others staggered back several steps, hastily circulating their spiritual power to resist.
Fortunately, the explosion was brief. The radiance faded as quickly as it had appeared, the spiritual energy dissipating into the air. The Ghost Spirit Sect members steadied themselves and looked up—only to gasp in shock at what they saw.
Wei Wuyi’s face darkened instantly. He whirled toward the scholar and demanded icily, “*This* is the entrance to the Ethereal Paradise you spoke of?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage