Chapter 477: An Unexpected Discovery
As Han Li went to collect the two green spears, he faintly felt Zenith Yin eyeing the items, but he soon stealthily turned his gaze away.
Although this action had been quite stealthy, it had caused Han Li’s heart to shiver.
These two short spears were definitely good items and Zenith Yin wanted them for himself. But he couldn’t forcefully acquire them now and lose sight of the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
This, however, merely gave Zenith Yin yet another reason to dispose of Han Li afterwards.
With that thought, Han Li lowered his head and bitterly smiled. His expression quickly returned to normal before he raised his head.
After that, the three Nascent Soul cultivators worked together. Although the puppets and restrictions on this floor were somewhat fierce, nobody suffered any damage when they passed through this floor and moved onto the third.
...
Half a day later at some place on the fifth floor of the Inner Halls, there were three people discussing something in a whisper. They were Wan Tianming’s party of Righteous Dao cultivators.
Not far in front of them laid an enormous stone platform. It was over four hundred meters wide and about a hundred meters tall. It appeared to be entirely made from the same common grey stone. There were several hundred steps in front of it leading to the very top, and it was covered in a white light barrier.
But what was most odd was the blue radiance lying inside the light barrier. This blue radiance grew brighter as it approached the top with blinding glimmers roaming within it. It made for a scene so brilliant, one could not look directly at it and see what was within.
To the side of the stone platform was a thick block of ice. The shimmers within the translucent ice made for a beautiful contrast to the stone next to it.
Standing in front of the stone platform, Wan Tianming said in a deep voice, “What? Your magic power has almost recovered? If that’s the case, let's set off! Although we’re using the Divine Fate Sect’s Creation Rites to evade the puppet guards, we still don’t have much time. Man Huzi’s Heavenbearing Devil Arts should be able to deal with the puppets with ease. Only when he reaches the fourth floor should he have to expend more effort.”
The old Daoist Tian Wuzi spoke in agreement with a trace of excitement in his eyes, “Brother Wan speaks true. Let’s go get the treasure.”
The old dark-skinned farmer silently nodded and said nothing else.
Wan Tianming did not mind his actions. He knew that although this shriveled old man was taciturn, his Jade Core Arts were quite remarkable. His true strength was beyond that of even Tian Wuzi.
Despite having emerged from the Righteous Dao, he had spent most of his time in concealed cultivation and rarely interacted with others, leading to his detached mannerisms.
Wan Tianming smiled and led the two into the light barrier.
A dense wisp of purple smoke flickered through the air, and the barrier of white light released out a resounding hum. With a wave of his hand, Wan Tianming split open a three meter tall opening, allowing them to walk through in a line.
Soon, Wan Tianming and the others disappeared into the blue light as they climbed. The tear in the light barrier repaired itself and the steps became quiet once more.
After an unknown amount of time, Man Huzi and Zenith Yin appeared before the light barrier, but by that point Wan Tianming’s party was already long gone.
Han Li and the others soon appeared behind them.
Qing Yi looked at the large stone platform in front of him and said with shining eyes, “We’ve finally arrived at this damned place. The gold haired puppets on the fourth floor were extraordinarily vicious. Had all of us not employed our special skills, we would’ve been tangled down for quite some time.”
Zenith Yin said with a gloomy expression, “Humph! The puppets weren’t much. The restrictions we encountered on the third floor were quite difficult to break, consuming much of our time. Else, we would’ve arrived here earlier.”
“What is the point of saying such nonsense after already arriving? First, let’s see whether or not Wan Tianming’s group have already went to seize the treasure.” Man Huzi frowned and spoke with impatience.
Zenith Yin appeared somewhat displeased by his words, but he didn’t respond.
Wearing his ordinary expression, Layman Qing Yi chuckled and said, “Relax, Brother Man. According to Brother Wu and my secret probing arts, Wan Tianming’s party had already ascended several hours ago, but they have yet to leave. It would be best for us to wait here as these stairs are the only entrance and exit from the Frozen Dragon’s Terrace.
“The only way? Is that true? The Righteous Dao cultivators could be slipping away at this moment as we foolishly wait for them.” Man Huzi glanced at the old man and seemed to distrust him.
The old man twirled his beard as he said,“Hehe! There is no question about this. This light barrier was already famous even in times of antiquity, known as the Celestial Tailstar Restriction. Apart from the opening at the steps, there are no other exits that can be easily created.”
Man Huzi nodded his head, “Fine, we’ll do just that.” He then sat cross legged near the steps and began meditating.
As for Zenith Yin and Qing Yi, they moved closer to each other and started having a whispered discussion.
After seeing all of this, Han Li wryly smiled in his mind, but betrayed none of this on his face.
These Devil Dao cultivators weren’t incorrect in their actions, but Wan Tianming appeared to be a rather shrewd person himself. Perhaps he had wanted them to wait outside all along.
With that thought, Han Li looked around. He found that the Bone Sage was the only person that was close to the stone platform. He gazed into the white light barrier as if he were thinking of something.
Han Li’s expression stirred. This was a good opportunity to have another discussion, but he soon had second thoughts. This old devil forged a relationship between him and Man Huzi. Han Li’s value to him should’ve decreased tremendously. It was most likely that he had the same thoughts as Zenith Yin, to use his Bloodjade Spiders to acquire the Heavenvoid Cauldron and then dispose of him afterwards.
Why else would he forego this excellent opportunity to kill Zenith Yin? It must be to first acquire the treasure!
If he were to take the initiative to contact him, he would merely be allowing the Bone Sage to see through his doubts. The situation could only become worse as a result!
It seems he would have to rely on himself to plan for his escape.
With that in mind, Han Li’s gaze unconsciously turned cold as he looked at the Bone Sage. The Bone Sage seemed to have perceived something and turned his head, happening to see Han Li.
Han Li inwardly cursed and immediately restored his normal expression. He then walked off as if nothing had occured.
As the Bone Sage stared at Han Li from behind, a trace of doubt flickered across his face.
At that moment, Han Li was leisurely circling around the huge stone platform along with the light barrier that surrounded it.
As Zenith Yin and the others doubted it was possible for an early Core Formation cultivator to escape from the fifth floor, Han Li was relieved to find that he was allowed to move as he wished.
Not longer after, Han Li was by himself behind the back of the platform. There was a limestone wall that opposed the light barrier covering the stairs.
The wall was inscribed with a few strange beasts from ancient times along with a few talisman markings. It wasn’t particularly notable.
Han Li had seen many of these walls inside the Inner Hall and knew that they possessed no profound restrictions. But even Nascent Soul cultivators had no method of breaking the wall.
As such, even if Han Li knew that the wall led to outside the Inner Halls, he was completely powerless.
Han Li inwardly cursed the ancient cultivators for making their Inner Halls damned impenetrable and fiercely slapped the stone wall out of overwhelming frustration. The slap released a muffled thud.
He walked off for about four steps before he made a sudden stop. He then slowly turned around with an expression of complete disbelief.
Were it a common cultivator who had heard this noise, they may have left without a care as the sound wasn’t anything that was particularly notable.
However, Han Li was someone that had emerged from a sect in JiangHu. He had previously researched quite a bit about hidden room mechanisms.
From that recent sound, he was able to tell that the limestone wall was hollow.
Han Li couldn’t believe himself. He truly doubted his inference.
There existed a hidden layer in a place where ancient cultivators had enveloped everything with profound restrictions.
Of course, Han Li wasn’t about to walk away from this after discovering it.
After muttering to himself for a moment, he swiftly returned to the wall. He extended two fingers and began tapping around the limestone wall he had struck earlier.
On his third tap on the limestone wall, Han Li’s heart stirred. His gaze fell upon the red eyes of a carving of a winged demon beast.
Although the engraving didn’t store any essence, it appeared vivid and lifelike. The beast’s berserk bloodlust was displayed in brilliant detail.
Han Li merely glanced at the drawing for a moment before resuming the light taps on the stone wall.
He eventually became completely certain that the stone was indeed hollow and that something was contained within.