98: Chapter 98: Another Mutation of the Creation Cauldron

But as soon as Xiao Yuan poked his head out, he was stunned by the scene before him.

A giant Pill Furnace was directly blocking the cave entrance!

The Pill Furnace was about three zhang tall, completely greenish-gray, with three legs and two handles, its body covered in ancient cloud and flame patterns.

It stood there quietly, completely blocking the entrance, with only a few rays of light leaking through the gaps.

And what made Xiao Yuan's heart pound wildly was—

The source of the creation cauldron's sensation was this very Pill Furnace!

"It's this!" Excitement flashed in Xiao Yuan's eyes.

But the next second, he frowned.

Something was wrong.

The aura of this Pill Furnace... why was it so weak?

Sensing it carefully, he discovered that the rank of this Pill Furnace was actually only at the Spiritual Artifact level!

A Spiritual Artifact?

That was an item used only by Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage and below, the lowest tier in the Magical Artifact system!

Magic Treasures above Spiritual Artifacts were exclusive treasures for Cultivators above the Golden Core stage, among which Lifebound Treasures were unique to Cultivators at Golden Core or above.

He had never expected the Pill Furnace here to be merely at the Spiritual Artifact level. How was this possible!

One should know that back in that Alchemy room, even a Spirit Treasure rank Pill Furnace had weathered into dust.

How could this Spiritual Artifact-rank Pill Furnace before him remain completely intact?

Even if the Earth Fire Spirit had drained the spirituality of that Spirit Treasure Pill Furnace, causing it to weather, how could a mere Spiritual Artifact survive tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand years of time's erosion?

The more Xiao Yuan thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

"This Pill Furnace... has something wrong with it."

He stared at the Pill Furnace, a reflective glint flashing in his eyes.

Just then, Ye Qingcen's anxious murmur came from behind him: "Why aren't we moving? Why are we blocked here?"

Xiao Yuan turned back and glared at her, signaling her to stay quiet.

Ye Qingcen stuck out her tongue, let out an arrogant soft snort, and didn't dare to speak anymore.

Xiao Yuan turned back around and continued to stare at the Pill Furnace.

The sounds of fighting were coming from behind the Pill Furnace. Through the gap between the Pill Furnace and the cave entrance, he could vaguely see flickering lights and hear the booming of Spells.

He took a deep breath, slowly extending his perception toward the Pill Furnace.

Outside was a massive Alchemy room, at least twice as large as the previous three combined.

But the scene inside was identical—the Pill Furnaces in other spots had weathered and collapsed, herb racks were overturned, jade bottles lay shattered everywhere, and signs of decay were present all around.

At this moment, however, Xiao Yuan's attention wasn't on those ruins at all.

In the center of the Alchemy room, a fierce melee was taking place!

Over thirty Cultivators were engaged in a bloody battle against three blood-red figures!

Those Cultivators wore various attires—some were from the Wanfa Sect, some from Spirit Beast Mountain, some from Xuanyin Hall, and a few from Jing Country and Qing Country.

The Foundation Establishment Stage accounted for the majority, and there were even a few experts at or above the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment! The strongest person was at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, nearly reaching Peak Foundation Establishment!

As for their opponents—

Three blood-red figures, exuding violent and bloodthirsty aura, unexpectedly all possessed cultivation at Peak Foundation Establishment!

Their humanoid features were indistinct, their bodies shrouded in blood mist, with only a pair of crimson eyes vaguely visible.

They struck ruthlessly, every attack carrying dense, bloody Evil Qi, forcing the thirty-plus Cultivators to retreat repeatedly!

"Ah—!"

With a scream of agony, a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Wanfa Sect failed to dodge in time and was impaled through the chest by a blood shadow, dying on the spot!

"Damn it! These things are too strong!" someone roared in fury.

"Hold on! No matter how strong they are, there are only three of them, while we have numbers!"

Though said like that, anyone discerning could see that if this continued, it was only a matter of time before all thirty-plus people were slaughtered.

Xiao Yuan's pupils contracted slightly as he watched.

Three at Peak Foundation Establishment!

If they were discovered, even with Formation Flags in hand, all of them combined wouldn't be enough to fill the gap between their teeth!

He instinctively wanted to retreat, but the pull coming from the giant cauldron above his head made him unable to move his feet.

This attraction...

With a slight thought, Xiao Yuan communicated with the creation cauldron.

The next second, he froze.

A faint, almost imperceptible energy was overflowing from the creation cauldron, establishing a connection with the giant cauldron above!

The energy was extremely weak; had he not been sensing it wholeheartedly, he wouldn't have noticed it at all!

And as this connection was established, Xiao Yuan "saw" it!

The creation cauldron was absorbing some kind of energy from the giant cauldron!

That energy was formless and substance-less, yet it felt strangely familiar to Xiao Yuan. It seemed extremely similar to the creation cauldron!

At the instant of absorption, an image flashed through his mind:

A phantom image, identical to the creation cauldron, suspended in the endless Void Realm...

"Is this... the Origin energy of the creation cauldron?"

Such a conjecture suddenly surged in Xiao Yuan's heart, but he was quickly startled by the thought.

He didn't know if his guess was correct, but he clearly felt that as that energy was absorbed, the creation cauldron was undergoing a certain metamorphosis!

The change was extremely slow yet undeniably real—the aura of the creation cauldron was becoming deeper and more mysterious, its quality subtly rising!

It was more than ten times faster than the enhancement when absorbing the power of Yin and Yang harmony!

"Holy crap..." Xiao Yuan rejoiced wildly in his heart.

He had always thought that the creation cauldron could only achieve upgrade and evolution by relying on "recharging" energy.

He hadn't expected there was also this kind of energy to absorb, helping it evolve and upgrade!

Although he didn't know the Origin of this giant cauldron, it was clearly from the same source as the creation cauldron!

Right at this moment!

The instant the creation cauldron absorbed the giant cauldron's energy, the three blood-red figures suddenly froze together!

Their blurry heads all turned in unison toward the direction of the giant cauldron!

A flash of confusion passed through their scarlet eyes, which then turned into pure rage!

They had sensed it!

The energy inside the giant cauldron was draining away!

"Roar—!"

A blood shadow let out a beast-like roar, abandoned its opponent, and lunged wildly toward the giant cauldron!

The other two blood shadows followed closely behind!

The Cultivators engaged in the siege were stunned, but immediately after, they also sensed the drop in the aura of those three figures, and someone shouted in wild delight:

"Their strength has dropped! Pursue them!"

"No! They want to return to that cauldron!"

"Block them! Don't let them get back!"

A Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator's eyes gleamed sharply as he shouted sternly, "Everyone! Join forces to suppress them! They've been away from that cauldron for too long, so their strength is weakening!"

At his shout, the others realized it as well.

Indeed, these three blood shadows were ferocious just moments ago, but now their aura was noticeably weaker! It must be because they had been away from that cauldron for too long!

As long as they prevented them from entering the cauldron, they could slay them right here.

"Everyone, attack together! Kill these three monsters first, then we can discuss the ownership of that precious cauldron!"

The thirty-plus Cultivators seemed as if injected with adrenaline, intercepting the three blood shadows with all their might!

All kinds of Spells, Magical Artifacts, and Talismans were wildly unleashed upon those three blood shadows!

"Roar—!"

The blood shadows roared repeatedly, trying to break through the blockade, but the Cultivators fought like maniacs, firmly entangling them!

Xiao Yuan lay flat at the mouth of the cave, watching this scene, his heart thoroughly at ease.

Good grief, these people hadn't discovered his presence at all, believing the blood shadows' drop in strength was due to being away from the giant cauldron for too long!

"Fight, fight hard," he chuckled inwardly. "It's best if both sides end up mutually destroyed so I can reap the benefits."

No longer hesitating, he urged the creation cauldron with all his strength to accelerate the absorption of energy from the giant cauldron.

The energy poured into the creation cauldron continuously like a trickling stream.

Meanwhile, the aura of the creation cauldron was bit by bit becoming... stronger.