Holding the Ruyi in hand, Han Li felt both joy and immense relief!
Just as Ji Yin, Wan Tianming, and the others were locked in a stalemate above, the fire wolf, trapped by Wu Chou and Xuan Gu, did something entirely unexpected.
With a low growl, its two heads twisted and merged into one, and after a roll, it transformed into a massive silver-furred wolf with a single horn. Without hesitation, the wolf lowered its head, and a blinding silver light shot from its silver horn.
The light sphere was small, only half a foot in size, but as soon as it left the horn tip, it emitted a piercing screech. In a flash, it blasted a large hole through the black serpent before striking the green net and exploding.
The silver light sphere’s properties were unknown, but upon contact, the green net immediately changed color, turning into a grayish-white mist before vanishing without a trace.
Wu Chou and Xuan Gu were both startled by this. Wu Chou hurriedly formed hand seals with both hands and pointed, sending a black beam of light toward the nearly dissipated black serpent. The hole immediately shimmered with a dark glow and slowly closed, solidifying the serpent’s form once more. As for Xuan Gu, after his initial shock, he stared intently at the silver wolf as if recalling something. After a moment of hesitation, he solemnly opened his mouth and spat out a small emerald-green dagger. The dagger was a few inches long, short and handleless, with a shimmering, unstable blade aura. It was clearly no ordinary treasure.
Han Li’s heart stirred, and he couldn’t help but take a few more glances at the treasure. If his senses weren’t mistaken, this dagger was clearly the transformed Golden Lightning Bamboo arrow, merely disguised by a spell.
Was Xuan Gu insane? Ji Yin was right above them, yet he dared to use this treasure openly. It was with this very treasure that Ji Yin had ambushed him back in the day! Although the disguise spell was indeed masterful—and Han Li would never have noticed its peculiarities if his own life-bound treasure weren’t also made of Golden Lightning Bamboo—it was still far too risky.
Could it be that this silver wolf held some strange secret, making the old demon willing to take such a great risk to obtain it? Han Li pondered, growing increasingly suspicious.
In the brief moments that followed, the silver wolf inside the light shield suddenly shrank, transforming into a miniature wolf barely a foot long. Then, with a flash of silver light, it shot out through the half-closed hole in the black serpent, breaking free from its entanglement.
Seeing this, Xuan Gu immediately flicked his dagger, sending a green streak shooting toward the wolf. With a loud “bang,” the silver wolf and the dagger collided and were both sent flying sideways. Astonishingly, the silver wolf’s body was so resilient that it showed no signs of injury.
By sheer coincidence, the silver wolf’s trajectory sent it flying directly toward Han Li. Seizing the opportunity, Han Li cast aside all hesitation and immediately summoned his flower basket, directing it toward the silver wolf. Worried that the treasure alone might not be enough to restrain the wolf, he also pressed his right hand against his storage pouch, releasing five interlinked copper rings. With a puff of azure energy, the rings vanished after a flash of five-colored light.
Almost instantly, a clear chime rang out. The silver wolf, having just stabilized itself, had no time to escape before the copper rings materialized around its limbs and head. After a few flashes of light, the rings tightened simultaneously, and the silver wolf plummeted from the sky like a shot bird.
The flower basket treasure, now transformed into a cloud of white mist, swiftly enveloped the wolf before flying back to Han Li’s hand and reverting to its basket form.
Witnessing this, Xuan Gu, who had just retrieved his green dagger, and Wu Chou, who was in the midst of pulling out a black brocade handkerchief, were both stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.
Realizing what had happened, Wu Chou’s expression shifted to one of furious exasperation. This was utterly bizarre! He had assumed that retrieving an unclaimed treasure would be effortless with his Profound Yin Art. Yet first, Xuan Gu had intervened to snatch it, and just as he realized capturing the treasure would be difficult and prepared to use another artifact, the silver wolf was effortlessly captured by Han Li. This left Wu Chou feeling both humiliated and enraged!
After a moment of stunned silence, Xuan Gu’s expression turned peculiar. Though he quickly regained his composure, Han Li detected a flicker of frustration in his eyes. The old demon also glanced a few more times at the copper rings restraining the silver wolf, as if somewhat puzzled.
Han Li had no time to ponder Xuan Gu’s odd behavior. As soon as the flower basket returned to him, he eagerly peered inside.
The copper rings seemed to be the silver wolf’s natural counter, locking it tightly in place and rendering it completely immobile. The white mist within the basket swirled around the wolf, enveloping its body and leaving only its small head exposed, giving it a pitiable appearance.
Han Li chuckled softly and reached out to gently pat the wolf’s head. Then, with a flash of cyan light from his hand, he enveloped the silver wolf. Moments later, the wolf’s form faded into a faint shadow, revealing a jade Ruyi.
As Han Li held the Ruyi in his hand, admiring it with delight, the scholarly-robed elder and Ji Yin, having just failed to seize the treasure from Wan Tianming, witnessed this astonishing scene.
Ji Yin frowned slightly to himself, but with Wan Tianming as his immediate enemy, he had no time to dwell on the matter. Besides, there seemed to be no harm in the treasure being in Han Li’s possession. After all, a shape-shifting, sentient ancient treasure like this was not something a junior could easily master. He would naturally have Han Li hand it over obediently later.
Having settled on this plan, Ji Yin turned his attention back to Wan Tianming. The Heavenly Thunder Beads were one of the few artifacts capable of directly harming a cultivator’s Nascent Soul, forcing him to remain extremely vigilant.
Unfortunately, a full-scale confrontation was out of the question at that moment. The platform within the light shield began shaking again, more violently than ever before, as if the entire ground were about to collapse.
At the same time, a dazzling blue flame finally emerged from the cave entrance.
Although it was only a tiny speck, the moment it appeared, the entire platform burst into bloom with incredibly brilliant blue flowers centered around the opening. The floral light expanded and spread, covering the entire platform in an instant. Then, a sizzling sound erupted as a layer of eerie, shimmering blue frost rapidly thickened and spread across the ground.
Startled, Han Li instinctively leaped into the air. Xuan Gu was equally swift, rising almost simultaneously.
Only Wu Chou hesitated for a moment. In that brief instant, the blue ice crawled up his legs, encasing his entire body. The Profound Yin demon energy surrounding him offered no resistance whatsoever. Panicked, Wu Chou tried to fly up, but his feet were already firmly frozen to the stone platform, leaving him utterly trapped. He screamed in terror as the blue ice swiftly climbed past his calves and toward his thighs…
Han Li and Xuan Gu, watching from above, exchanged a glance, both seeing horror in each other’s eyes.
Just as Wu Chou was about to be completely encased in the bizarre blue ice, a thin black beam of light descended from above, striking him in a flash. Instantly, black flames erupted, causing the blue ice to melt and retreat amid billows of blue smoke.
Overjoyed at his newfound freedom, Wu Chou hastily flew upward, his face pale with the relief of a narrow escape.
A cold snort echoed from above, followed by an impatient voice: “Be careful. I may not be able to save you next time.”
It was Ji Yin, who had intervened from above using his Heavenly Capital Corpse Fire to save Wu Chou’s life.
By now, the veteran experts from both the righteous and demonic factions were fixated on the blue flame at the cave entrance, their expressions a mix of excitement, tension, and greed.
Ji Yin seemed to have saved Wu Chou almost absentmindedly, not even turning his head as he spoke. Instead, he licked his lips, his eyes burning with fervor.
The Void Heaven Cauldron, the foremost legendary treasure of the Chaotic Star Sea, passed down through countless generations, was finally about to appear before the very eyes of these Nascent Soul cultivators. Even a typically reserved and inscrutable old demon like Ji Yin couldn’t help but devote his full attention to the cave entrance. No wonder he had seemed impatient while rescuing Wu Chou and issuing his warning.
By now, the Bloodjade Spider and the pair of fire pythons were utterly exhausted, their bodies trembling faintly, much to the anxiety of the experts above. Yet, no one could—or dared—to assist these three spirit beasts.
The area around the cave entrance had become a world of blue light. Aside from the red glow emanating from the three spirit beasts, which repelled the cold light, even these veteran experts didn’t dare venture too close.
Han Li and the others had long since retreated to a distance of twenty or thirty zhang from the cave entrance, forced to watch from afar.
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