Chapter 491: Acquiring the Cauldron
The Heavenvoid Cauldron had a flat bottom, two handles, and three legs. At over a meter tall and three meters wide, it couldn’t be considered very large.
It had a slightly protruding lid covered in carvings of beasts and insects along with various landscapes. Although they appeared rough and crude, they were true to life and exuded an aura of untamed antiquity.
Just as the cauldron emerged from the hole, a faint hum was heard that gradually became louder. At the same time, the blue flames surrounding the cauldon flared before swelling to several times their original size.
Having originally been standing near the hole, Han Li and the Bone Sage revealed expressions of shock at nearly the same time and increased their distance from the altar.
The entire area within thirty meters of the altar glowed with faint blue light and was completely frozen over.
Apart from the minor flickering of the blue flames at the hole and the movements of the blood-red spiders, everything had been encased in blue ice. Had Han Li and the Bone Sage been slower, they would’ve undoubtedly been frozen as well.
At that moment, the entire altar was covered in a dome of blue crystal.
Han Li couldn’t help but betray his shock upon seeing this astonis.h.i.+ng scene and asked, “How are we supposed to get the treasure out of that?” Han Li gazed at the marvelous frozen scene without any idea of where to begin.
The Bone Sage stared at the Celestial Ice Flames with a solemn expression and said, “It’s not a problem. I have a way of restraining the Celestial Ice Flames. My Profound Soul Ghost Flames are also cold by nature. Although it is in no way its equal, I will be able to break through the crystal and separate the flames from the cauldron. In that moment, you will take the cauldron out of the hole.”
Although his voice sounded cold, Han Li was able to make out a trace of excitement.
Han Li was shocked! The Bone Sage took the initiative to deal with the extremely dangerous blue flames and wanted him to extract the cauldron. As this was truly unexpected, he couldn’t help but look at the Bone Sage with an odd expression.
Han Li absolutely didn’t believe that the old devil was doing this out of kindness. However, this method didn’t seem to have any faults. Could it be that it was more dangerous to acquire the Heavenvoid Cauldron? Suspicions began to surge through Han Li’s mind.
Naturally, Han Li would definitely have refused if the Bone Sage proposed that Han Li would deal with the ice flame, and he would acquire the treasure. With that thought, Han Li could only agree.
He couldn’t shrink back now, so his only option was to move forward with discretion. If anything went amiss while acquiring the cauldron, he would naturally choose to save his own life over acquiring the treasure.
Having come to this decision, Han Li casually nodded towards the Bone Sage in agreement.
The Bone Sage responded with a pleased smile. He then glanced at the ice flames several times with an odd expression before his body began to revolve in the air. Ghostly Qi began to spiral around his body, creating a three meter wide dark-green tornado. The air surrounding him became a dense mist that intermittently released faint ghostly wails. The whirlwind then dropped down towards the blue flames.
A huge rumble erupted as the whirlwind dropped down, igniting into a torrent of flame. The result was a forty meter high pillar of red and white flames revolving around a core of dark-green flame. It completely lacked any warmth and instead gave off an extremely cold impression.
Han Li’s eyes widened as he stared at the pillar of fire colliding against the blue frost.
In that instant, the three colors of light intertwined into one, producing a harsh sound of sc.r.a.ping metal, causing Han Li to frown.
Han Li soon unfurled his frown as the flame pillar managed to forcibly drill a pa.s.sage straight towards the center of the blue flame.
Han Li grew nervous at the sight and quickly linked his consciousness to the Bloodjade Spider. So long as the Bone Sage truly managed to separate the Heavenvoid Cauldron from the Celestial Ice Flames, he would immediately order his Bloodjade Spider to exert its strength.
Eventually, the Bone Sage’s pillar of fire managed to reach the hole.
The flickering, glaring blue flames remained dormant for a short moment before finally erupting. In that instant, the pillar of flame transformed into a huge dark-green lotus, wrapping around the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
Han Li was shocked at the sight. The first thought that came to his mind was that the Bone Sage had reneged on their agreement and intended to keep the Heavenvoid Cauldron for himself. With that thought, he immediately prepared the five-colored copper band and became vigilant. However, the following scene caused Han Li to become relieved.
Shortly after, the huge lotus became enveloped in blue flames, becoming something like a sh.e.l.l over the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
Han Li’s heart quickly thumped, and his face flushed with excitement. He sighed in awe of the Bone Sage’s marvelous technique and quickly ordered his Bloodjade Spider to exert its strength and lift.
With a loud cry, the taut web violently trembled as the Bloodjade Spider heaved at the cauldron with all its might, producing an unreal result that was completely unexpected.
The cauldron they had a.s.sumed was immensely heavy flew to Han Li’s side as if it weighted nothing at all.
Han Li was overjoyed at first, but his mind then grew stern.
Not daring to be careless, he raised his hands and shot out two mists of light. They suddenly transformed into ropes along the way and wound around the cauldron’s two handles. With a heavy pull, the cauldron fell about ten meters in front of Han Li.
Han Li was rather stunned at how easy it had been to acquire the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
He faintly felt that the reason why the treasure had been so easily acquired was because it had been separated from the Celestial Ice Flame.
However, those thoughts only lasted for a moment before they were tossed to the back of his mind. Han Li then shook the ropes, having them wrap around the cauldron and slowly drag it closer.
With a muttered incantation, the ropes quickly faded away and slowly dropped the Heavenvoid Cauldron into his hand.
This sequence of events went off alarmingly smoothly without even the slightest mishap. Han Li rubbed his finger against the lid of the cauldron, not daring to believe it. The Heavenvoid Cauldron, known to be the number one hidden treasure in the Scattered Star Seas, was now in his grasp!
Han Li attentively stared at the now fist-sized, miniature cauldron in his hand when a strange thought flickered through his mind, ‘This cauldron can’t be a fake, right?’
At that moment, Han Li’s thoughts were interrupted by a howl of mad laughter.
“Haha! With Celestial Ice Flame, Profound Soul Yin Flame, and Divine Devilbane Lightning fused together, I will be able to cultivate the Sacred Asura Flames from lore! I hadn’t guessed incorrectly. Haha....” It was clearly the Bone Sage’s voice but his voice was filled with ecstasy.
For some unknown reason, Han Li’s heart dropped and his body broke into a chill. He squinted at the small cauldron in his hand and then expressionlessly glanced at the Bone Sage.
What Han Li saw alarmed him.
The green lotus had already disappeared. In its place was the Bone Sage with a foot-wide orb of light in his hand.
At first glance, the sphere of light appeared to be dark-green, but after further inspection, Han Li discovered a blue flame burning at its center. Although an outer layer of dark-green enveloped it, it restlessly flickered from place to place.
But even more astonis.h.i.+ng were the black sparks of lightning that shot from the orb, producing slight rolls of thunder with each appearance.
Han Li’s expression changed. Could it be that this had been the Bone Sage’s plan all along?
Before Han Li could finish his thoughts and figure out the specifics of what had occurred, the Bone Sage started slowly walking towards Han Li, stopping when he was about thirty meters away.
His gaze fell onto the Heavenvoid Cauldron that Han Li was tightly grasping. With an odd expression in his eyes, he said, “Very good, it seems nothing went wrong with my plan.”
When Han Li heard this, he snorted and vigilantly watched the Bone Sage in silence.
The Bone Sage smiled and leisurely said, “It looks like you’ve figured something out. Although I really want to give you an explanation, my time is quite limited and you’re going to die soon, so I’ll just have to be satisfied with giving you an ignorant death.”
Han Li’s heart trembled. It couldn’t be more clear that the Bone Sage wanted to kill him and take the treasure.
Disinterested in wasting the time or breath required for any verbal squabbles or nonsensical words, Han Li’s expression sank, and he attempted to seize the initiative.
His raised his hand, and sent out the copper bands that he had already prepared. With a flash of colorful light, they disappeared without a trace, reappearing only a moment later to restrain the Bone Sage’s neck and limbs!
Well...