Chapter 2355: Entrance
Chapter 2355: Entrance
"The Emperorvoid Cauldron? Could it be that this cauldron will be able to break through the seal with ease?" Han Li asked.
"Of course not. The shortcut that I mentioned still requires the Heavenvoid Cauldron to be the main treasure to break the seal, while I can only use the Emperorvoid Cauldron to unleash a secret technique to assist you. During the refinement of this treasure, my true body mixed a drop of her blood essence into this cauldron, so it has some abilities beyond those of a normal replica key," the blood soul replied.
"You seem quite confident that this will work, so let's give it a try. If this doesn't work out, then I'll use my magic power to try and break the seal by force," Han Li decided.
The blood soul naturally had no objections and immediately nodded in agreement.
Thus, Han Li immediately tossed his cauldron up into the air, then swept a sleeve toward it to release a pillar of azure light, which vanished into the cauldron in a flash.
In the next instant, the Heavenvoid Cauldron swelled to over 100 feet tall, and projections of the creatures etched on its surface began to emerge before revolving around the cauldron.
The blood soul also immediately sprang into action upon seeing this.
She raised her cauldron upward before opening her mouth to expel several balls of blood essence toward it.
The balls of blood essence exploded into clouds of blood mist, which instantly surrounded the small cauldron as if it had a mind of its own.
The blood soul then began to chant an incantation, and she rushed into the blood mist as a blurry crimson shadow.
The Emperorvoid Cauldron immediately began to revolve on the spot, absorbing the surrounding blood mist before countless crimson runes were released out of its opening, forming the face of a beautiful woman.
Its appearance was completely identical to that of the blood soul, but it was completely expressionless and enshrouded under a layer of faint crimson light.
"Senior Han, I only have power for a single strike, so make sure to wait for the right opportunity before you make you move," the face said, then opened its mouth to release a flurry of translucent crimson threads.
All of a sudden, the woman's face let loose a shrill cry, and all of the crimson threads exploded in a flash, following which the dense blood mist converged to form a series of crimson runes that embedded themselves onto the surface of the five-colored light barrier.
Han Li's eyes lit up upon seeing this, and he immediately flew over to the barrier before thrusting a palm against it.
A loud clang akin to a giant gong being struck rang out, and radiant azure light erupted from the surface of the giant cauldron.
The projections of the creatures around the cauldron also swelled in size before flying toward the five-colored light barrier.
As soon as the projections came into contact with the light barrier, they were able to directly enter the barrier through the crimson runes.
In the next instant, the surface of the Heavenvoid Cauldron began to flash erratically, and the five-colored light barrier within a radius of several kilometers began to emit a loud buzzing sound.
At the same time, wisps of white Qi surged out of the crimson runes, then instantly dispersed in all directions as bursts of energy fluctuations.
A hint of elation appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and it seemed that their strategy was working.
However, right at this moment, a muffled groan suddenly rang out, and the crimson light over the woman's face faded as it threw up a mouthful of black blood.
At the same time, the entire face began to warp and blur.
"You're suffering from backlash! Leave the rest to me," Han Li said as his brows furrowed slightly, following which he swept a sleeve behind him to release a burst of azure light, which vanished into the woman's face in a flash.
The face immediately shattered, then returned to the Emperorvoid Cauldron as countless crimson runes.
Crimson light flashed within the cauldron, and a projection flew out of the cauldron before transforming into the blood soul again.
At this moment, her face was very pale, and she was appraising Han Li with a complex look in her eyes.
In contrast, Han Li paid no heed to what was going on behind him as he made a hand seal, and the Provenance True Devil Projection appeared behind him amid a flash of golden light.
The projection opened its six eyes in unison, then reached out to place all six of its palms onto the giant cauldron.
A burst of loud rumbling rang out as scintillating azure light began to radiate from the cauldron's surface, making it appear as if an incandescent azure sun had appeared.
The crimson runes on the surface of the five-colored light barrier also began to glow brightly, as if to resonate with the cauldron, and more and more white Qi began to emerge.
Finally, a dull thump rang out as the entire seal was shattered, and a black passageway was revealed.
"Let's go!" Han Li instructed with an elated expression as he withdrew his Provenance True Devil Projection, then pointed a finger toward the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
Two bursts of azure light immediately erupted from the surface of the cauldron, sweeping up both Han Li and the blood soul before it sped into the passageway was a ball of azure light.
Almost at the exact same moment that the cauldron flew into the passageway, the entire seal began to rapidly regenerate amid a flurry of five-colored runes.
As soon as the cauldron emerged from the black passageway, the surrounding area immediately brightened, and a lush lawn that was bathed in warm sunlight appeared up ahead.
Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, and the azure light around him immediately converged to revert back into the Heavenvoid Cauldron, which he caught in his grasp.
At this moment, the blood spirit also appeared behind him before inspecting her surroundings with an ecstatic expression.
This was a space that was virtually no different from the outside world, complete with undulating mountain peaks and lush forests, and there was no end to this landscape in sight in any direction.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately released his enormous spiritual sense, upon which an enlightened look quickly appeared on his face.
"So this is only an illusion. Tsk tsk, what an advanced illusion; it's quite rare to see an illusion that was almost able to fool even me," Han Li praised before sweeping a finger through the air, releasing a streak of azure sword Qi that instantly extended to several thousand feet in length before slashing down from above.
The space several kilometers up ahead immediately began to warp and blur, following which the entire illusion fell away to reveal a cluster of giant palaces.
There were giant pillars of light situated between the palaces, and each pillar of light was supporting a light barrier that enshrouded the buildings nearby, dividing the clusters of palaces into over 100 areas.
Blue light flashed through Han Li's eyes, and he was able to quickly make sense of the scene before him.
It turned out that each area had a main palace that was accompanied by around a dozen other buildings of different sizes, but as Han Li attempted to inspect his buildings using his spiritual sense, it was instantly repelled.
It seemed that some type of spiritual sense restriction had been set up on these buildings.
However, as he swept his spiritual sense over these areas, he discovered that the closer a palace cluster was to the center, the thicker the pillar of light supporting the light barrier above the cluster would be, and the more difficult spiritual sense detection became.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the largest of the light barriers at the very center of the palace clusters, and he discovered that he could only sense the rough outlines of the buildings inside.
Furthermore, this was only possible as his spiritual sense was far more powerful than other cultivators of the same caliber.
If a normal Grand Ascension Stage beings were in his place, their spiritual sense most likely wouldn't even be able to pierce through some of the light barriers here.
"It seems that the most important treasures are all in those areas," Han Li murmured to himself in a contemplative manner as he withdrew his spiritual sense.
The blood soul's face was still rather pale, and a hint of concern appeared on her face as she swept her spiritual sense toward the palace clusters. "Indeed, but it looks like the further in we go, the more dangerous it'll be."
"We've already come all the way here, so we can't go back empty-handed. The treasures in the outer areas have most likely already been taken, and most treasures won't be of any interest to me anyway, so I'll have to make my way toward the center. By the way, have you managed to sense the presence of your true body yet?" Han Li asked.
"I've tried to locate her, but there are too many restrictions in the Heavenly Cauldron Palace, so I won't be able to sense her unless I'm very close," the blood soul replied with a wry smile.
"I see. That makes things a little troublesome; you'll most likely have to search through every cluster of buildings here to be able to find where she's trapped, but the Heavenly Cauldron Palace is only open for a month; even I can't guarantee that I would be able to explore all of the restrictions here," Han Li said as his brows furrowed slightly.
"My true body was quite powerful and possessed a few formidable treasures, so even against a Grand Ascension Stage being, she would have a good chance of getting away. If she were trapped somewhere, then it would most likely be in the inner areas. However, just in case we miss her, I'll start searching from the outskirts; you can take a drop of blood essence of mine that's had a secret technique applied to it. If my true body is trapped nearby, the blood essence will alert you. That way, you'll be able to search for treasures and my true body simultaneously," the blood soul suggested.
"That's a good idea, and it would be viable if we were the only ones in here, but what if the other Grand Ascension Stage beings in here decide to target you?" Han Li asked.
The blood soul's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but she then replied, "Rest assured, Senior Han; with the Body Integration Stage puppet you gave me, I should be able to hold my own against a Grand Ascension Stage being."
"Those two Body Integration Stage puppets would be somewhat effective against normal Grand Ascension Stage beings, but all of the Grand Ascension Stage beings who have entered this place are most likely quite formidable. As a safety precaution, you can take Jin Tong with you," Han Li decided after a brief moment of contemplation.