Chapter 425: Treasure Hunt
Strewn across the ground behind the copper platform in a haphazard fashion were seven or eight black wooden chests with talismans adhered to them.
It was clear that Patriarch Cold Flame hadn't been able to take what was in the chests on the previous two occasions that he was here.
Han Li swept his gaze across his surroundings before striding forward, and a layer of azure light appeared over his hand as he swept his palm over one of the chests, upon which the talismans adhered to its surface instantly disintegrated into dust.
He then opened the wooden chest, and a faint smile immediately appeared on his face as the chest's contents were revealed.
Inside the chest were orderly layers of palm-sized blue crystals that totaled in excess of 100, and they were none other than Starheaven Stones.
With so many Starheaven Stones at his disposal, cultivating the rest of the Great Universe Origin Arts was going to be much easier.
Han Li suppressed the excitement in his heart as he opened all of the remaining wooden chests as well, and he discovered that all of them were also filled with Starheaven Stones, taking the total tally to close to 1,000.
With a sweep of his sleeve, Han Li stowed all of the wooden chests away into the storage bracelet on his wrist, and only after examining the rear hall to ensure that there was nothing else left inside did he exit through the secret doorway.
As he passed by the giant screen, he suddenly raised an eyebrow as he stopped in his tracks.
He raised his head to look at the starry night sky depicted on the screen, and a peculiar feeling suddenly welled up in his heart. After a brief moment of contemplation, he pressed a palm against the screen and stowed it away as well.
He then strode past Patriarch Cold Flame without even sparing him a glance before exiting the palace, upon which he was immediately greeted by Lu Yuqing with an anxious look on her face.
"Thank goodness you're finally back," Lu Yuqing hurriedly said in a relieved voice.
"Is something wrong?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.
"Just now, a loud commotion started over on the plaza," Lu Yuqing replied as she pointed in the direction of the white stone plaza.
As soon as her voice trailed off, a resounding boom rang out in that direction, following which a pillar of crimson fire erupted into the sky.
"It looks like Xue Han and the others are already breaking through the array. We have to get out of here," Han Li said.
"We've already completely diverted off our original route, and this area is outside of the map that I have. How are we going to get back?" Lu Yuqing asked in a concerned voice.
Han Li offered no response as he sprang up into the sky, then inspected his surroundings briefly from his new vantage point before descending back onto the ground.
"At this point, we'll just have to take one step at a time and adapt with the circumstances. There are quite a few palaces and pavilions on the mountain behind these three palaces, and I'm sure there are some treasures waiting to be found there," Han Li said.
Lu Yuqing nodded in response.
Right at this moment, Patriarch Cold Flame emerged from within the palace, then asked in a slightly uneasy voice, "Fellow Daoist Han, can I continue to follow you for the rest of the trip?"
"I'm willing to let what you did earlier slide, but don't take my kindness as a sign of weakness. I think it would be best for us to split up and go our separate ways from here onward," Han Li replied in a cold voice.
Right as they were speaking, another resounding boom rang out from the plaza, and two mow pillars of light erupted into the heavens.
Patriarch Cold Flame knew that he was at fault, so he made no attempt to argue as he replied, "Fellow Daoist Han, I no longer harbor any delusions of getting my hands on the second half of the Great Universe Origin Arts. All I ask is that you take me with you. If I go off on my own now, even if we set aside whether I'll be able to make it out of this secret area, I'll surely be killed if I run into Xue Han and the others."
A contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this, and after a brief silence, he replied, "Alright, but I'll only take you out of this area. Once we're out of here, we go our separate ways."
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Han," Patriarch Cold Flame said as he extended a respectful bow, but Han Li stepped away to sidestep the bow, then turned and departed with Lu Yuqing in tow.
Patriarch Cold Flame heaved a forlorn sigh as he hurriedly followed along, and the three of them made their way down a mountain path, which was lined with palaces and pavilions of different sizes, but they were far smaller than the previous three.
Han Li knew that the layout of this place was very similar to that of the Vast Glacial Palace, so there was a very good chance that there would be a spirit medicine garden on the rear mountain. He was initially planning to go straight there, but he was feeling a little hesitant after inspecting the nearby buildings with his spiritual sense.
Lu Yuqing could tell that Han Li was rather distracted, and she asked, "What's wrong, Brother Han?"
"Almost all of the buildings here have restrictions set up in them, but the quality of the restrictions vary drastically. Some are extremely crude, while others are quite advanced, indicating that there are treasures sealed inside, so it would be a real pity not to explore these buildings," Han Li mused.
A hint of concern appeared in Lu Yuqing's eyes upon hearing this, and she said, "Brother Han, we still have Xue Han and the others hot on our heels, so..."
"It's fine. Even if they've found a way to break the array, it'll still take them some time to break out. On top of that, they'll be sure to be tempted into exploring the three palaces back there, so they won't come after us anytime soon," Han Li said.
A hint of excitement appeared in Lu Yuqing's eyes upon hearing this, and she said, "Alright, in that case, I suppose we could explore this area for a while."
Just like everyone else who had entered the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor, Lu Yuqing was also keen to secure some powerful treasures and useful resources for herself, so she was naturally enthused by the prospect of being able to do some exploring.
"Let's split up and search for treasures independently, then meet back up here in an hour. If anything happens during that time, we meet back up early and get out of here," Han Li instructed.
Lu Yuqing gave an affirmative response, then immediately flew away in a certain direction.
Meanwhile, Patriarch Cold Flame was standing off to the side with an uneasy look on his face, but he didn't dare to say anything.
Han Li took a cold glance at him, then flew away in the opposite direction of Lu Yuqing.
Only after Han Li's departure did Patriarch Cold Flame heave a faint sigh, then flip his hand over to produce a jade slip, upon which a gleeful smile appeared on his face.
This jade slip contained the second half of the Great Universe Origin Arts. As it turned out, he had made this replica of the cultivation art in secret while Han Li had been locked in battle against the copper puppet, so he had obtained what he had come here for, after all.
With that in mind, he stowed the jade slip away, then also flew away in a certain direction.
……
Han Li drifted down onto a small bluestone plaza in front of a three-story pavilion.
After landing on the plaza, he examined the pavilion to find that there was a small golden bell hanging from each of the eight corners of its octagonal roof. This pavilion had to have been standing for countless years, yet the bells weren't displaying even the slightest sign of rust or discoloration.
Han Li was rather intrigued to see this, and he swept a sleeve through the air to release a gentle breeze, which swept over the pavilion, causing all of the 24 bells on the pavilion's three rooves to sway and chime.
The sound was very pleasing to the ears initially, but Han Li quickly noticed that something wasn't quite right.
The chiming of the bells should've gradually subsided over time, but instead, it was only growing louder and louder, until eventually, each strike was as loud as the strike of a gong, striking Han Li with a sense of dizziness and disorientation.
It seems that these 24 bells are a set of spiritually disruptive treasures... How intriguing...
He had already cultivated the Spirit Refinement Technique to the fourth level, and even he fell prey to the bells' disruptive effect for a moment, so he could only imagine how susceptible others would be.
In a battle, a moment of disruption was often enough to decide the outcome, and with that in mind, Han Li was tempted to take these bells for himself.
However, as he reached out to draw the bells toward him, he discovered that they were completely immovable.
A puzzled look appeared on his face as he carefully examined the entire pavilion again, and only then did he realize that the entire three-floor pavilion was a part of the set of bell treasures.
Furthermore, he speculated that the bell chime sound was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the pavilion's full power. There was most likely much worse to come inside the pavilion, and if one were to grow complacent, thinking that they had weathered the storm after withstanding the bell chime restriction, then they would be sure to suffer once they entered the pavilion.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release Daoist Xie.
"Why have you summoned me again so soon? Have you encountered some trouble?" Daoist Xie asked.
"I do have to trouble you for something, Brother Xie," Han Li said in a slightly apologetic voice.
"Go ahead, Fellow Daoist," Daoist Xie prompted.
"This pavilion in front of us is a spirit treasure of an extremely high caliber, but it'll take me some time to refine it, so in the meantime, please search the nearby buildings for treasures. Regardless of what you find, I'll compensate you with Immortal Origin Stones," Han Li said.
Daoist Xie hesitated momentarily, then nodded in response.
All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Han Li, and he flipped a hand over to produce a yellow gourd before handing it to Daoist Xie as he said, "You can send out the Dao Warriors inside to aid you in your search."
"That's a good idea," Daoist Xie said as he accepted the ground from Han Li, then vanished from the spot as a flash of lightning.
Meanwhile, Han Li began to focus on the task at hand, channeling his Spirit Refinement Technique as he strode into the pavilion.
This was clearly no ordinary pavilion, and its core was definitely inside. Hence, in order to refine it, the only way was to enter the pavilion itself.
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