Chapter 254: Fighting Over the Cauldron
"Have either of you thought about how we should split everything?" Qilin 17 asked as he licked his slightly dry lips.
"Let's take a look at what's in these jade vials and this jade box first," Qilin 9 said as he drew one of the white jade vials into his grasp before removing the stopper, and Han Li did the same with the other vial.
An identical fragrance wafted out of both of the vials, and after just a slight whiff, Han Li's trio were all struck by a sense of comfort and reinvigoration.
Each of the jade vials contained around a dozen yellow pills that were giving off a faint sheen.
Han Li didn't recognize these pills, but his pill refinement experience told him that this was most likely a type of pill for advancing one's cultivation base, and its effects were definitely more potent than those of the Origin Unifying Pill.
"These are Dawn Luster Pills!" Qilin 17 exclaimed with a hint of elation in his voice.
"I'm guessing Ping Yaozi prepared these for himself," Qilin 9 replied with a nod.
He set down the white jade vial in his hand as he spoke, then picked up the purple jade box, and after taking a close look at the silver talisman adhered to its surface, he released several incantation seals in succession, only for them to be repelled by a layer of silver light that suddenly appeared over the surface of the box.
Qilin 9's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he laid a hand down onto the jade box, then began to chant an incantation, following which golden light began to radiate from the palm of his hand.
Han Li and Qilin 17 exchanged a glance, and each of them could see their own curiosity mirrored in one another's eyes.
Generally speaking, the more tightly secured a container was, the more important its contents were.
Qilin 9 was clearly thinking the same thing, and it appears that he was planning to adopt some slightly more aggressive methods to try and break open the restriction on the jade box.
He began to chant an incantation, and a layer of dazzling silver light appeared over the jade box, keeping all of the golden light that was radiating from Qilin 9's hand at bay.
Qilin 9's brows became even more tightly furrowed upon seeing this, and the golden light radiating from his hand brightened even further, while golden runes also appeared within it.
In response, the silver light radiating from the jade box also brightened, and it was able to hold its own against the golden light.
Qilin 9's expression darkened slightly upon seeing this, and sweat was already beginning to roll down his cheeks from his forehead, but his hand remained firmly pressed against the jade box, while the golden light radiating from it became brighter and brighter.
However, the silver light glowing from the box was able to keep up, thwarting Qilin 9's efforts to bypass it.
A hint of surprise flashed through Han LI's eyes upon seeing this. It seemed that the restrictions placed on the jade box were so profound that even a late-True Immortal cultivator like Qilin 9 was powerless to break through them.
A short while later, the golden light radiating from Qilin 9's hand had already brightened to the point that it was almost too radiant to look at, and the silver seemed to have finally reached its limits, beginning to succumb to the golden light.
A hint of elation appeared on Qilin's 9’s face upon seeing this, but his expression then suddenly changed as he hurriedly pulled his hand away.
The silver light on the jade box flashed a few times before returning to normal.
"Why did you stop, Fellow Daoist Qilin 9?" Qilin 17 asked.
It had appeared to him like Qilin 9 had stopped right as the silver light restriction was about to be overwhelmed.
"Whoever set up this restriction concealed a self-destruction restriction in its deepest part. If I hadn't stopped in time, this jade box and its contents would've all been destroyed," Qilin 9 explained, much to Qilin 17's dismay.
Ping Yaozi was already dead, so where were they supposed to find the method to open the box?
Han Li's brows also furrowed slightly upon seeing this.
"Judging from my past experience, it's not impossible to unravel this restriction, but I'll need ample time to study it and make preparations. At the moment, I'm powerless to do anything, but the two of you are free to give it a try," Qilin 9 said as he set the jade box back down.
A hint of intrigue appeared in Qilin 17's eyes as he picked up the box, and yellow light emerged from his hand to envelop the entire box.
A layer of silver light instantly appeared on the jade box to oppose the yellow light, and a solemn look appeared in Qilin 17's eyes as he cast a series of incantation seals toward the box.
The silver light radiating from the box instantly brightened further to keep the incantation seals at bay, and after about 15 minutes, Qilin 17 was already beginning to sweat as he made a rapid series of hand seals, releasing threads of yellow light that enveloped the jade box.
If one were to look closely, they would discover that the threads of yellow light were formed by countless yellow runes, and they were slowly suppressing the silver light on the jade box.
Qilin 9's eyes lit up upon seeing this, and Han Li also took an involuntary step forward.
Right at this moment, the silver runes on the jade box flashed, and they abruptly released a burst of light that snapped all of the threads of yellow light.
"What a ridiculous restriction!" Qilin 17 harrumphed coldly as he withdrew his hand, making no further attempts to undo the restriction on the jade box.
Qilin 9 heaved a faint sigh of disappointment upon seeing this, then turned to Han Li as he suggested, "Why don't you give it a try as well, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 15? Perhaps you'll have better luck than the two of us."
"Do be careful, Fellow Daoist. If you break what's inside, that'll count against your allocation of the spoils," Qilin 17 chuckled as he handed the jade box to Han Li.
"I'll give it a try, but seeing as neither of you were successful, I most likely won't be able to do anything, either," Han Li said as he accepted the jade box, then released a burst of azure light to envelop it.
He then made a string of hand seals, conjuring up threads of azure light that enveloped the jade box, only to be opposed by that same layer of silver light.
A short while later, the silver light on the jade box abruptly brightened, tearing all of the threads of azure light apart, and Han Li shook his head as he placed the jade box back onto the ground.
"I can't do anything about this restriction, either."
"In that case, let's not force it. We don't have much time, so let's discuss how we're going to split the rest of the treasures among ourselves," Qilin 9 said.
"You're the leader in this mission, Fellow Daoist Qilin 9. Do you have any suggestions on how we can split everything?" Han Li asked, and Qilin 17 also turned to Qilin 9.
"There are quite a few spirit plants, materials, pills, and Immortal Origin Stones, so we'll be able to split those evenly. What's difficult to allocate are this cauldron, these treasures, and that jade box," Qilin 9 said.
"That's a simple matter. There are three of us, so I suggest one of us gets the cauldron, another one gets the treasures, and the final one gets the jade box. What do you think?" Qilin 17 proposed.
"That's not a bad idea, but who's going to get what?" Qilin 9 asked.
"I've always been very interested in pill refinement, so how about I take the cauldron?" Qilin 17 asked.
"I also happen to have a keen interest in the art of pill refinement," Qilin 9 said as a meaningful smile appeared on his face, and Qilin 17's expression immediately darkened slightly upon hearing this.
Meanwhile, Han Li was standing off to the side in silence, contemplating how best to proceed.
There really wasn't a comparison to be made here. The golden cauldron was the most precious of all of the items here, being an immortal treasure, so of course everyone wanted it, regardless of whether they actually had any interest in pill refinement.
Han Li wanted to refine some pills in order to accelerate his cultivation in order to make a breakthrough as soon as possible, so he naturally wanted the cauldron as well.
However, at the moment, he was merely observing and didn't verbally express his intentions.
As he was sweeping his spiritual sense over the cauldron, he noticed that there seemed to have been something concealed within it, and this feeling was very similar to the one that he had gotten from that black saber previously in Fang Pan's protection.
Given that Gu Jie had bestowed that avatar talisman upon Ping Yaozi, it was very likely that the cauldron had been tampered with.
If coming into possession of this treasure would increase his chances of being tracked down by Gu Jie, then he definitely wouldn't take the risk, so he was very wary of trying to claim the cauldron for himself.
Having said that, perhaps Qilin 17 wouldn't have noticed anything with his mid-True Immortal Stage cultivation base and spiritual sense, but as a late-True Immortal cultivator, was it really possible that Qilin 9 had also failed to notice that something was amiss?
Qilin 17 forced a smile onto his own face as he turned to Han Li and said, "I've been stuck at the mid-True Immortal Stage for many years and desperately need this cauldron for pill refinement purposes. If you two are willing to give me the cauldron, I can give up a third of my allocation of the rest of the treasures."
"In that case..."
Han Li was just about to say something when Qilin 9 interjected, "Truth be told, I've already been searching for a suitable pill cauldron for the past several centuries. If you two can give me the cauldron, I'm willing to give up on two thirds of my allocation of everything else."
Han Li's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this, seemingly tempted by this proposition.
Qilin 17 took a glance at the cauldron, then gritted his teeth as he decided, "Alright, in that case, all I want is this cauldron, and I'm willing to give up on everything else. Is that enough?"
Qilin 9 considered this proposition for a moment, then smiled as he said, "If you're this insistent on claiming the cauldron, then it would be unbecoming of me to pursue it any further. What say you, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 15?"
"I can see that Fellow Daoist Qilin 17 is very earnest in his proposal, so I'm also willing to hand over the cauldron to him. If the cauldron had been unearthed while you were unconscious, perhaps you would've been able to wake up a bit earlier," Han Li said with a faint smile.
"Thank you, fellow daoists."
Qilin 17 could hear the mockery in Han Li's words, and was just about to flare up with rage, but decided against it after recalling the power that Han Li had displayed during the recently concluded battle.
Thus, he immediately swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a burst of yellow light to stow the cauldron away.
He then winced slightly at the sight of all of the precious materials and ingredients on the ground before looking away with a pained expression.
"Which one would you like out of these treasures and this jade box, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 15?" Qilin asked.
"I lost two sets of flying swords during the battle just now, so I'd like to claim these treasures to replace them," Han Li replied.
"Aren't you cultivating water-attribute laws at the moment, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 15? All of these are metal-attribute treasures, so they're not very suitable for you. In contrast, I just so happen to be using a metal-attribute cultivation art. Speaking of the jade box, given the power restrictions placed upon it, it must contain something extremely precious, so how about you take it instead, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 15?" Qilin 9 proposed with a smile.
"Perhaps so, but the restrictions on the box are extremely troublesome to deal with, and if I'm not careful, the contents of the box could be easily destroyed. Out of the three of us, I think you're the one with the highest hopes of successfully opening the box, so I'll settle for those treasures instead," Han Li replied.
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