12dz Chapter 183 I didn't expect you to be human too.
Chapter 183 I didn't expect you to be human too.
Chapter 184 I didn't expect you to be human too.
The Yin artifact bell hanging beside Han Li swayed slightly, emitting bursts of pure Xuan Yin demonic energy, and then a voice rang directly in his mind.
"Kid, don't hesitate, listen to me, take the Xuanjing Path!"
Han Li frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the crimson heat waves rising from the Lava Road and the icy white mist permeating the Mystic Crystal Path.
He was cautious by nature, and was especially suspicious of advice from an old demon like Xuan Gu.
"Mystic Crystal Path?"
Han Li sneered inwardly and asked in return through telepathic communication.
Could it be that Xuan Gu is trying to use some means to wear down the restriction?
Or perhaps there's something in this Mystic Crystal Path that would make it easier to escape?
Upon hearing Han Li's question, which contained a hint of wariness, Xuan Gu let out a low, ambiguous groan, and his ghostly phantom swayed amidst the black mist of the bell.
"Oh, don't misunderstand."
Xuan Gu directly pointed out: "With your Core Formation stage spiritual sense level, you naturally can't find any clues. In any case, don't underestimate the spiritual sense perception of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator."
Then, in a believe it or not tone, he continued.
"Your Brother Lu, the senior who beat me into this state, is following the Xuanjing Path. Although I am only a remnant soul, I still retain a wisp of sharp sword intent, which is still clearly discernible to someone of my level. If you follow the path he has taken, you may not benefit much, but you can at least avoid a lot of trouble."
Upon hearing this, Han Li's eyes flickered, and he quickly made a mental calculation.
While Xuan Gu's words cannot be entirely trusted, his point about the Nascent Soul stage's divine sense did indeed strike at his weak point.
My own Core Formation stage spiritual sense is indeed vastly different from that of a Nascent Soul cultivator in terms of detecting restrictions and hidden dangers.
The explanation that Xuan Gu can sense this is logically sound.
However, Han Li asked in a deep voice, "What can be avoided? In the Xuanjing Path, besides the obvious extreme cold, what other dangers are there that are difficult for a Core Formation stage cultivator's divine sense to detect?"
Xuan Gu's voice was cold and sinister. "Such things are extremely secretive to ordinary cultivators, but to me, they are nothing."
The Star Palace has reigned over the Chaotic Star Sea for millennia, but it is far from the purely righteous path you might imagine. They adhere to the principle of balance; whenever the demonic path gains power, they suppress it; when the righteous path flourishes, they restrain it, never giving either side a chance to truly grow strong. Every time the Void Heaven Palace opens, there are always some exceptionally talented cultivators—who inexplicably perish within its confines.
"Because of that person's presence, none of these old monsters dared to cross the Ice and Fire Path into the inner hall this time; they were clearly all afraid. Although we don't know if the Star Palace will make any more moves, following behind them will definitely be much safer. As for whether you believe it or not, that's up to you."
Han Li seemed thoughtful, then asked directly, "Given your personality, with your physical body destroyed twice and now only a nascent soul remaining, why are you so kind? Instead of setting traps along the way, hoping for my death so you can escape, you're constantly giving me warnings?"
Within the bell, the chilling demonic energy intensified, and after a moment of silence, Xuan Gu's voice slowly rang out.
"Ha, my path to immortality is severed. If I hadn't seen you release that Blood Jade Spider when I was capturing the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, do you really think I would be so kind? This Blood Jade Spider was originally a spirit pet I raised and entrusted to that traitorous disciple, Ji Xuan! Later, it was betrayed and ended up in this inhuman, ghostly state. All my schemes were for the purpose of pulling the cauldron to avenge myself, but I never expected that this 'Brother Lu' you speak of would appear," extinguishing my last glimmer of hope. "Since you possess this spirit insect, I ultimately want to witness with my own eyes the moment the Void Heaven Cauldron is pulled up, so that my centuries of planning won't have been in vain."
Xuan Gu's voice carried a heavy sense of dejection and an indescribable complexity.
"Han Li, the technique of creating an external avatar that you practice is fundamentally a true inheritance of my Xuan Yin Island lineage. Now that the complete Xuan Yin Scripture is in your hands, regardless of whether you acknowledge it or not, you are considered half a direct disciple of my Xuan Yin Island."
Hearing these heartfelt yet fateful and helpless words, Han Li remained silent. After a moment of contemplation, he flashed and went straight into the chilling entrance of the Xuanjing Path.
However, not long after Han Li went inside, Yuan Yao, dressed in black and wearing a hood, came from a distance.
Since Senior Lu didn't recognize her, he didn't want to get too involved with Han Li.
A light flashed in Yuan Yao's hand, and a scroll appeared. She slowly unrolled it, revealing a small portion of the map of the inner palace area. One of the locations marked was the spot where the Soul-Nourishing Wood was located.
He put the scroll containing the location of the Soul-Nourishing Wood back into his storage bag, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the chilling Xuanjing Road and the sweltering Lava Road, his heart filled with hesitation.
After a brief consideration, she decided to follow Han Li into the Xuanjing Path.
In case they encounter any unforeseen dangers along the way, perhaps the two can at least look out for each other.
Having made up her mind, Yuan Yao no longer hesitated. With a flash, she disappeared into the entrance of the Xuanjing Path.
At this moment, Yuan Yao was not the only cultivator gathered in front of the entrance to the Ice and Fire Path.
Many cultivators are facing the same choice.
Some hesitated for a moment, but then decisively chose a passage that matched the attributes of their cultivation techniques or the protective treasures they carried.
Those who cultivate ice-attribute techniques naturally tend towards the Xuanjing Path, while those who possess fire-attribute magic treasures or cultivate masculine techniques mostly step into the Lava Crossroads. After all, choosing a path that clashes with one's own power is tantamount to courting death without special reliance, and almost no cultivator would be so reckless.
Yuan Yao held more than a dozen "Azure Fire Thunders" left behind by the young master of the Qingyang Sect. Each one contained terrifying power equivalent to a strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator.
With such a powerful weapon in hand, as long as she doesn't trigger certain taboos or restrictions within the Void Heaven Palace, or encounter an overwhelming number of enemies, she should theoretically be able to move freely.
Upon entering and seeing the scene before him, the remnant soul of Xuan Gu fell silent, unable to utter a word.
Han Li was only momentarily stunned before regaining his composure.
He silently followed the crystal-clear sword mark on the snow-white ground ahead, step by step.
To him, no matter how bizarre something was, as long as it was related to Lu Jianghe, it seemed so natural and insignificant.
Because across the entire snow-white land, frozen by extreme cold, a terrifying sword mark was clearly visible.
That was no ordinary path; it was a scene of something being torn apart by the sword light.
The sword mark led straight to the end of the passage, with frozen ice radiating out in semi-circular shapes on both sides.
Judging from this, it seems Brother Lu is just in a hurry to get somewhere.
Some cultivators who were lucky enough to choose the Xuanbing Path witnessed this miraculous "path-opening" feat. They were all shocked and stunned. After a brief moment of disbelief and numbness, they almost without hesitation stepped onto the safe passage that had been "plowed" out. It was truly a case of "one person opens the way, and ten thousand follow".
Yuan Yao's pretty face, hidden beneath her hood, was slightly moved, and she breathed a long sigh of relief.
She secretly rejoiced that her choice had been absolutely correct.
Lu Jianghe passed through the upside-down and bizarre maze of stone formations, and suddenly the view opened up before him.
A biting wind, carrying large flakes of snow, rushed towards him. The white, icy air, visible to the naked eye, was like tangible silk ribbons, causing his hair to flutter slightly.
He stood at the edge of the maze, looked up, and saw a lonely island platform floating in the void in the distance.
Towering majestically, it presents a peculiar "narrow at the top and wide at the bottom" shape, as if an inverted giant peak is rooted in a void island.
It was completely enveloped in a huge, transparent barrier, isolating it from the outside world.
Most notably, an unimaginable cold current was continuously gushing out from the center of the altar.
This chill is the source of the swirling snow and biting cold.
Centered on the altar, it surged outwards continuously, engulfing the entire floating island and turning the world into a vast expanse of desolation.
Looking at the scene before him, Lu Jianghe knew that this was Hanlitai.
Under the cover of the "Heavenly Gang Cover", there is no way to pass except for one set of steps leading to the high platform.
However, the steps were almost vertical from bottom to top, and the biting cold air poured down from the top of the platform.
Even a Core Formation cultivator would likely lose half their life after reaching the top.
Although Lu Jianghe had reached the perfect Golden Core stage, he dared not be arrogant and treat this ancient restriction as nothing.
Since their methods were completely different, he simply concealed his escape light and walked up the almost vertical steps using only his two feet.
Upon reaching the summit, a massive, tightly closed stone gate loomed before us.
Lu Jianghe did not stop. With a slight thought, his figure suddenly transformed into a condensed sword light and nimbly passed through the huge hole reserved above the stone gate.
Suddenly, the view opened up before me, and I found myself in the center of a huge space surrounded by high walls on all sides.
At this moment, only Lu Jianghe remained on the entire Hanli Terrace.
He walked calmly and directly to the center of the platform.
A cave appeared before us, shaped like a dry well.
Inside the well, it was not dark, but rather filled with nearly transparent, azure flames.
The flames burned silently, yet they exuded an extreme low temperature and an aura of annihilation that chilled even Nascent Soul cultivators.
This is precisely the half-life of the Void Heaven Cauldron—the Azure Ice Flame!
Lu Jianghe stood by the well, looking down at it.
Deep within the cave, a simple and heavy three-legged cauldron sat quietly at the core of the ice flames.
He stretched out his finger and slowly reached for a wisp of dry blue ice flame that drifted to the wellhead.
The moment his fingertips touched the icy flames, he deliberately withdrew his protective spiritual power.
laugh!
Visible ice spread upwards from the fingertips at an alarming speed, freezing the entire finger and even half of the palm in the blink of an eye!
Lu Jianghe's expression remained unchanged, and he gently shook his arm.
"Crack—"
The solid ice encasing his fingers and palms shattered instantly, turning into countless ice crystals that fell in a flurry.
Lu Jianghe had no interest in the Void Heaven Cauldron itself.
As for the Azure Ice Flame, he pondered whether he could refine it or integrate it into his natal flying sword to give it some unique supernatural abilities.
If one can use this flame to add a layer of toughness and sharpness to one's natal flying sword, even if it does not increase its killing power, simply making it easier and more stable for the sword energy to condense will also be an invisible benefit to one's own swordsmanship.
With a slight thought, a clear "flowing water" suddenly appeared above the hundreds-of-feet-wide opening at the edge of this enormous cave.
Ignoring the rising, azure ice mist below, powerful enough to freeze everything, it floated silently.
Lu Jianghe frowned slightly upon seeing the "shattering upon contact" reaction of the water transformed from his natal flying sword when it came into contact with the dry blue ice flames.
This azure ice flame was completely incompatible with the origin of his own natal flying sword, the Flowing Water Sword Dao, and the flying sword did not react to it at all.
As for the idea of using it to condense the form of sword energy, it seems I've misunderstood—
The "pouring water" slowly swirled in mid-air.
Lu Jianghe's mind sank, and the flowing water suddenly sank downwards, condensing into a crystal-clear column of water as thick as an arm, hanging straight down like a miniature waterfall.
The moment the "water column" came into contact with the ice flames, countless ice crystals condensed and were instantly shattered by the sharp sword energy, turning into dust.
Ice shards flew everywhere, only to be dispersed and annihilated by an even more continuous stream of sword energy.
This scene repeats itself repeatedly, in a never-ending cycle.
After several attempts, the result remained the same.
Lu Jianghe's mind was clear; it seemed that his plan to refine the Azure Ice Flame into a sword-shaped auxiliary weapon had failed.
In reality, the so-called lack of offensive and killing skills is only relative to his own higher pursuits.
If judged by the standards of this world, this natal flying sword is something that only top-tier defensive treasures can withstand, and moreover, it is silent and stealthy, so one can be pierced through it if one is not careful.
Once hit, one will be completely dismembered from the inside out by countless fine and sharp sword energies in an instant, disintegrating into a sky full of blood mist. Xuan Gu is the most naked example of this.
Since it cannot be refined, how can this cauldron be retrieved?
Lu Jianghe's methods alone are not going to work at this moment.
The natal flying sword "Water Flow" clashes with the dry blue ice flame in nature. Forcing it into contact will only result in the two sides resisting each other, one freezing and the other shattering, resulting in a stalemate and wasted effort.
It seems that in the end, we still need the Blood Jade Spider in Han Li's hands.
Over the millennia, the Void Heaven Cauldron has been plundered by cultivators. Although most of the treasures inside have been taken, several items remain, including the "Silver Moon" and a "Heaven-Mending Pill".
Since that's the case, we certainly can't let this go.
With a slight thought, Lu Jianghe's figure flashed and he left Hanlitai.
His divine sense instantly spread out, enveloping the maze-like stone array area.
Soon, a familiar figure was spotted, cautiously making its way through the maze.
If it weren't for the guidance of the Mysterious Bone, this kid would never have been able to find this place so quickly.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Jianghe's figure flashed again, disappearing from the spot.
Han Li said to the ghost bell floating beside him, "I didn't expect that even your remnant soul could be considered a person within the restrictions of this Treasure Light Pavilion."
Upon hearing this, the illusory soul of Xuan Gu within the bell fluctuated violently, clearly angered by these words, its soul light flickering erratically.
"No matter how much I cultivate the Ghost Path, now that I'm just a remnant soul, I'll still be considered a single person within this restriction. You brat, you got two ancient treasures for nothing, so don't try to act innocent here!"
Han Li scanned the two ancient treasures, each radiating spiritual light, in his storage bag with his divine sense, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips, ignoring Xuan Gu's anger.
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