"What's the point in mentioning the past? My cultivation base has improved somewhat since that time, but it's nothing compared to the strides that Senior Han has made. He progressed from the Deity Transformation Stage to the mid-Body Integration Stage in less than 2,000 years; that's virtually completely unheard of in human history," Xu Qianyu replied with a dejected shake of her head.
After a brief silence, the other woman asked, "If that Senior Han really is that powerful, why didn't you try to keep him? With his assistance, we'll definitely be able to complete our task without a hitch."
"We've been separated from Mistress Blood Spirit, but she specifically told us that the tasks we've been assigned are the key to deciding whether Matriarch Ice Soul will be able to return to our Xu Family; there aren't even that many people in our Xu Family who are aware of what we're doing. Senior Han is a benefactor to our Xu Family, but it would still be best not to disclose something like this to him. In any case, he's already chased those cultivators away, so this place should be safe for now. If we work as quickly as we can, we should be able to secure that item soon, then reunite with Mistress Blood Spirit. At this stage, it would be best not to get other people involved," Xu Qianyu replied in a calm manner.
The other two women shared a glance upon hearing this before nodding in unison.
After a brief pause, Xu Qianyu strode into the room again, and said, "Alright, let's go down again."
The other two women naturally followed closely behind her.
…
Meanwhile, in an underground cave countless kilometers away, a crimson-armored beauty was pulling an ice blade that was flashing with crimson light out of a high-grade devilish being's body.
The devilish being's lifeless body thumped heavily down onto the ground, and there were two more inky-black devilish bodies lying completely still in the cave. Furthermore, all three bodies were covered in a layer of ice and frost.
The woman glanced at the bodies expressionlessly before flying deeper into the cave along a narrow passageway. After making a few turns, then descending deeper underground, she appeared in front of an ordinary-looking stone wall.
Her eyes immediately lit up, and she flipped a hand over to produce a ball of azure light, within which was contained a miniature azure cauldron. The cauldron rotated on the spot and instantly swelled to around 10 feet tall. It was shimmering with azure light, and had projections of flora and fauna surfacing around it; this was none other than the Heavenvoid Cauldron that Han Li once possessed.
This crimson-armored woman was naturally none other than the blood spirit clone of Fairy Ice Soul, and after being separated from the rest of the Xu Family entourage by the devilish army, she had flown all the way here before making short work of these three high-grade devilish beings.
It was quite clear that she had led her pursuers into this underground cave for a specific purpose, rather than just as a panicked snap decision.
After summoning the Heavenvoid Cauldron, Blood Spirit began to chant something while flicking her fingers toward the cauldron in quick succession.
Several azure incantation seals shot forth before vanishing into the cauldron one after another, and a loud buzzing sound instantly rang out from the treasure. The lid of the cauldron tremored slightly before flying up into the air and vanishing into space, following which several azure runes emerged from the cauldron amid a flash of azure light.
These runes quickly swelled in size before lining up next to one another, then flew directly toward the stone wall up ahead.
A dull rumbling boom rang out, and as soon as the azure runes came into contact with the stone wall, the latter crumbled away into dust to reveal an ancient copper gate, which had several shimmering silver restriction talismans plastered to its surface.
The cold look in Blood Spirit's eyes eased slightly upon seeing this, and she murmured to herself in an elated manner, "Thank heavens it's still intact! It seems that no one has discovered this place. My true body really made a wise decision by setting up this backup measure."
She then flicked a finger again, and a gust of fierce wind struck the cauldron from the side. The cauldron immediately let loose a clear ringing sound before expelling a burst of azure light that swept toward the copper gate.
In the face of the azure light, the silver runes on the gate were silently stripped away, and the gate slowly opened on its own.
Blood Spirit immediately flew in through the gate as a streak of crimson light, and in the instant she passed by the azure cauldron, it abruptly vanished amid a flash of azure light.
Beyond the gate was a slightly dim hall that was around several acres in area. The entire hall was empty aside from a square stone table, upon which sat another small cauldron.
This cauldron was also shimmering with azure light and had intricate patterns all over its surface; it bore a strong resemblance to the Heavenvoid Cauldron!
The crimson light receded, and Blood Spirit appeared in front of the stone table before making a grabbing motion toward the small cauldron, which rose up into the air and flew into her grasp as a ball of azure light.
A hint of elation appeared on Blood Spirit's face as she appraised the small cauldron.
"Heavenvoid Cauldron, Voidspirit Cauldron, and Void Emperor Cauldron! Hmph, I bet those bastards aren't aware that I just so happened to replicate another cauldron treasure before I set off back then. This Void Emperor Cauldron is far more powerful than even the other two cauldrons. Now that I've secured it, I have the key to access that place again. Once the devilish tribulation concludes, I'll be able to set off for the Thunder Continent!" Blood Spirit murmured to herself, and the small azure cauldron in her hand vanished amid a flash of spiritual light.
After that, she didn't remain in the hall any longer. She rubbed her hands together before raising them up into the air, and a loud thunderclap rang out as countless bolts of crimson lightning erupted out of her palms in a frenzy to strike walls of the hall around her.
The entire hall was inundated by crimson lightning in the blink of an eye, and all of its walls were shattered. Seconds after Blood Spirit shot forth out of the hall as a streak of crimson light, the entire hall completely crumbled.
Not long after that, the crimson streak of light appeared in the air above an extremely bleak and barren plain, then set off toward a certain direction. In that direction lay the small city where Xu Qianyu's trio was situated.
…
A month later, Han Li hovered high up in the air and appraised the battle down below with a frosty expression.
Over 10,000 feet below him, there were over 100 purple-armored devilish beings with peculiar devilish patterns on their faces, and they launched ferocious attacks toward a group of a dozen or so human cultivators.
Even the devilish beings with the lowest cultivation base among them were at the Nascent Soul Stage, and they were led by a pair of mid-Deity Transformation Stage devilish beings; this was an elite devilish force!
As for the human cultivators who were being attacked, they all wore similar attire, but there was great diversity in their age and cultivation bases. There were a few little girls among them who were only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, while the most powerful being among their ranks was a late-Deity Transformation Stage elderly man.
This was clearly a sect or a cultivation family.
The majority of these human cultivators were at the Core Formation Stage, so even though the elderly man was doing everything in his power to set up everyone in a profound formation, they were still in an extremely perilous situation.
The elderly man was controlling a large seal treasure, but his eyes were filled with despair as he appraised the current situation. In the face of so many devilish elites, even if he could escape with his life, all of these juniors of his would undoubtedly be killed.
With that in mind, a hint of ferocity appeared in the elderly man's eyes, and he expelled a large mouthful of blood essence toward the seal before pointing a finger at it. The sound of howling wind and rumbling thunder instantly rang out from the seal, and a white wyrm emerged from it before pouncing directly toward the two mid-Deity Transformation Stage devilish beings.
The two high-grade devilish beings knew that the elderly man was making a final stand, and they cackled in a sinister manner as a giant devilish bird projection appeared behind each of their backs. The projections depicted a pair of devilish creatures with deer heads and bat bodies, presenting quite a harrowing sight to behold.
As soon as the two projections emerged, they immediately flapped their wings and shot forth to clash with the white wyrm projection. The two sides seemed to be evenly matched, and right at this moment, the formation formed by the human cultivators was finally beginning to crumble in the face of the devilish beings' torrential barrage of attacks.
All of the human cultivators' faces turned deathly pale upon seeing this, and the elderly man let loose a loud cry as he laid a hand onto his own head, preparing to release his Nascent Soul to truly make a final stand.
Right at this moment, a cold harrumph rang out in the air above. The voice wasn't very loud, but it struck the listener with a bone-chilling sensation. All of the human and devilish beings down below felt as if thunderclaps had erupted right within their minds, and they swayed unsteadily in response.
Immediately thereafter, a ball of azure light emerged, within which a humanoid figure could be seen.
The humanoid figure swept a sleeve downward, and over 100 streaks of azure light shot forth before transforming into several hundred streaks of sword Qi.
The sword Qi revolved through the air before hurtling downward, but in the next instant, all of them vanished into thin air as if they were nothing more than projections.
Spatial fluctuations then erupted in the air above the devilish beings, and a series of azure flying swords shot forth out of space before whizzing through the air. A string of anguished howls rang out as all of the devilish beings were completely inundated by azure light, and their bodies were sliced into countless pieces; even their Nascent Souls had been shredded into nothingness.
A vast expanse of blood mist permeated throughout the entire area alongside the overwhelming odor of blood and gore.
