163: Snatching food from a tiger's mouth and the star lord holding the cauldron

At the Hanli Platform, the air seemed to have solidified.

In the center of the massive altar, Zhou Wannian (Old Man Han) and Purple Spirit stood on either side of the hole. Two palm-sized Blood Jade Spiders, white as jade, were spitting out incredibly tough spider silk, firmly adhering to the small cauldron wrapped in blue ice flames.

"Rise!"

Zhou Wannian gave a low shout.

At this moment, he still maintained the appearance of a "Sickly Daoist." His forehead was covered in cold sweat (faked), and his hands trembled as he pinched hand seals, as if he were overdrawing his life force to control the spiders.

"Squeak—"

The two spiders emitted sharp screeches, their eight legs sinking deep into the black jade floor as they pulled back with all their might.

Buzz buzz buzz!

Inside the hole, the previously motionless void heaven cauldron emitted a dull roar.

It moved.

Although it only swayed slightly, the breathing of the surrounding Nascent Soul Old Monsters instantly became heavy.

"It moved! It really moved!"

The greed in Ancestor Ji Yin's eyes was almost overflowing. He stared fixedly at the cauldron, his hands secretly gathering power in his sleeves.

"Once the cauldron leaves the hole..."

Ancestor Ji Yin glanced at Wan Tianming of the Righteous Path Alliance opposite him, then at Savage Beard beside him.

"I'll first kill those two spiders and that sickly ghost to cut off everyone else's hopes, then take the cauldron and escape using Blood Escape!"

Not just him, all the Nascent Soul Old Monsters present were making the same calculations... "Brother Han..."

While controlling the spiders, Purple Spirit sent a voice transmission, her voice carrying a trace of trembling, "I feel Killing Intent... at least five streaks of Killing Intent are locked onto us."

"Don't panic."

Zhou Wannian lowered his eyelids, but his Divine Sense had already locked onto the bottom of the void heaven cauldron through the Iron Pillar underground (which had now transformed into a burrowing form and was lurking directly beneath the altar).

"Wait."

"Wait for the moment the cauldron emerges from the hole."

"Creak— creak—"

With the spiders' desperate pulling, that small bronze cauldron finally rose bit by bit, extremely slowly.

First the cauldron lid, then the cauldron body, and finally those three ancient cauldron legs.

A cluster of extremely dazzling blue halo—the Azure Blue Ice Flame—flowed over the cauldron body like it was alive, emitting a terrifying chill sufficient to freeze the Soul.

"Now!"

At the very instant the cauldron legs left the hole.

"Do it!"

A loud shout came from Wan Tianming of the Righteous Path Alliance.

"True Dragon Dharma Idol! Appear!"

A purple fire dragon phantom emerged behind Wan Tianming, opening its mouth to spit out a blast of purple True Fire. It wasn't aimed at the spiders, but directly at Ancestor Ji Yin's face.

"Wan Tianming! You hypocrite!"

Ancestor Ji Yin was furious and summoned "Heavenly Capital Corpse Fire" to counterattack.

At the same time, Savage Beard also moved. His whole body radiated golden light, transforming into a Golden Body Arhat, and he threw a punch at Wen Tianren of the Confucian Sect who wanted to snatch it in the chaos.

"Rumble!"

The four Nascent Soul Middle Stage experts instantly clashed in a fray, their terrifying Spiritual Pressure making the entire Hanli Platform tremble violently.

And in the center of this chaos.

Ancestor Ji Yin's grand-disciple, Ugly Crow, rushed toward Zhou Wannian with a sinister grin.

"Kid! Your task is complete! Now die!"

Ugly Crow summoned a pitch-black Ghost Head Blade and slashed it fiercely toward Zhou Wannian's neck. In his view, a Core Formation Early Stage Loose Cultivator who was focusing all his effort on controlling spiders was simply meat on a chopping block.

However.

That "Sickly Daoist" who had always acted submissive and half-dead suddenly raised his head.

In those cloudy old eyes, where was there any sign of illness now?

There was only a trace of... mockery even colder than the Azure Blue Ice Flame.

"Indeed, the task is complete."

Zhou Wannian didn't dodge that Ghost Head Blade.

He just lightly snapped his fingers.

"Snap."

Buzz—!!!

The Void Realm vibrated.

A pitch-black figure stood up from Zhou Wannian's shadow without any warning.

It wore a voluminous black robe, its face indistinguishable, with only a pair of eyes burning with nebula-like flames.

The Star Lord Clone.

"Clang!"

The Star Lord Clone merely extended two withered fingers and effortlessly caught Ugly Crow's killing blow.

"Wha—"

Ugly Crow's pupils shook violently.

Before he could even react.

The Star Lord Clone's other hand had already clenched into a fist and struck his chest plainly.

"Pfft—"

Ugly Crow didn't even have time to scream; he was like a rag doll hit by a battering ram. His sternum shattered, and he was sent flying hundreds of feet, crashing fiercely into the distant rock wall, his life or death unknown.

"Crow-er!"

Ancestor Ji Yin, who was fighting Wan Tianming, sensed this scene, and his eyes nearly split with rage.

"Who are you?!"

Zhou Wannian ignored Ji Yin's roar.

He stood up straight, his originally hunched back instantly becoming as upright as a pine tree. The aura on his body was no longer hidden, directly climbing to that mysterious Realm that made everyone's hearts palpitate—(Physical Body comparable to the eighth-tier Peak).

"Spiders, you're no longer needed."

Zhou Wannian waved his sleeve.

Two golden sword lights flashed, instantly severing the Blood Jade Spiders' silk.

Losing the pulling force, the void heaven cauldron that had just emerged from the hole suddenly sank, about to fall back into the hole.

"No!!!"

All the Nascent Soul Old Monsters stopped at the same time and let out desperate roars.

Once it fell back, the Restriction would restart, and pulling it out again would be difficult!

"It won't fall."

Zhou Wannian said indifferently.

"Star Lord, embrace the cauldron."

Boom!

The Star Lord Clone took a step forward, directly crossing a distance of ten feet and appearing towards the void heaven cauldron.

It didn't use any Magic Treasure to collect it, nor did it use spiritual power to pull it.

Instead, it opened its arms and, using that Physical Body tempered by the Soul Transformation Stage and fused with the Reverse Star Pagoda's Origin, directly... embraced the cauldron burning with Azure Blue Ice Flame!

"Crazy! That's the Azure Blue Ice Flame! It can freeze even a Nascent Soul to pieces!" Savage Beard cried out.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

The terrifying blue ice flames instantly spread across the Star Lord Clone's entire body, freezing it into a blue ice sculpture.

But in the next moment.

Crack.

The ice layer shattered.

A silver-gray glow surfaced on the Star Lord Clone's body—that was the defensive field of the taiyi star sand, combined with the double protection of the Star Purple Membrane.

It stubbornly withstood the erosion of the ice flames!

"Rise!"

The Star Lord Clone emitted a low growl like a wild beast.

Its muscles bulged as a terrifying Divine Power of 108,000 catties erupted.

Rumble!

The void heaven cauldron was forcibly pulled out from the suction of the hole by it and held tightly in its embrace.

"Run!"

Zhou Wannian grabbed Purple Spirit, who was already dazed, and used his other hand to grab the Star Lord Clone's shoulder.

He took out the already prepared great teleportation talisman (enhanced version) from his robe.

"Seniors, this cauldron is too hot to handle. This Junior will keep it safe for everyone for now."

Zhou Wannian grinned at the dumbfounded Nascent Soul Old Monsters.

"The green mountains don't change, and the clear water flows forever."

"We... shall not meet again."

Buzz!

Silver light erupted.

Powerful spatial fluctuations instantly tore through the Hanli Platform's Restriction.

"Stop him!!!"

Wan Tianming, Ancestor Ji Yin, and Savage Beard all attacked at the same time.

True Fire, corpse qi, and golden fists converged into a world-destroying torrent, blasting toward the teleportation light pillar.

But in the last instant before the light pillar disappeared.

A black ruler—the star heavy ruler—flew out from Zhou Wannian's sleeve.

The heavy ruler swung horizontally in the air, fiercely carving out a pitch-black spatial rift.

All those Nascent Soul-level attacks struck into the spatial rift and were swallowed by the turbulence.

Swish!

The light pillar vanished.

People, cauldron, Clone, and beauty—all gone.

All disappeared without a trace.

Only the empty Hanli Platform and that dark hole remained, as if mocking the group of Nascent Soul Old Monsters who had ended up with nothing after all their efforts.

"Aaaaah—!!!"

Ancestor Ji Yin emitted a scream like a vengeful ghost, so angry that he spat out a jet of black blood three feet high.

"Han Li!!! No matter where you flee to the ends of the earth! This Old Ancestor will tear you into ten thousand pieces!!!"

Savage Beard's face was also ashen, but he was more shocked.

"Resisting ice flames with the Physical Body... what kind of monster is this?"

Wan Tianming's face was like still water as he watched the spatial fluctuations that were about to dissipate, coldly uttering a few words:

"Notify the Alliance."

"A great demon has appeared in the Chaotic Star Sea."

...Meanwhile.

Near a remote teleportation array in the outer hall of the Void Heaven Palace.

Buzz.

A flash of silver light.

Three figures fell out of thin air.

"Cough cough cough..."

Zhou Wannian coughed violently. Although he had the great teleportation talisman, forcibly teleporting with a cauldron weighing a thousand tons and two people was also a massive drain on his Divine Sense.

"Star Lord, are you okay?"

He immediately looked at the Clone.

The Star Lord Clone was still holding the cauldron tightly. Its black robe had been destroyed by the ice flames, revealing a withered body as hard as gold and iron. A large patch of white frost had been frozen onto its chest by the Azure Blue Ice Flame, but its core was not damaged.

"That was close."

Zhou Wannian breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this Clone was tough enough; otherwise, that wouldn't have been embracing the cauldron, it would have been suicide.

"Han... Brother Han?"

Purple Spirit sat slumped on the ground, looking at the "elder" before her who had regained his true appearance (the formless mask had failed due to the teleportation shock) and whose temperament had become unfathomable, her eyes full of disbelief.

"You actually... really snatched the void heaven cauldron?!"

That was right under the noses of five Nascent Soul experts!

This was simply a miracle!

"Snatched it, yes, but it's also a big trouble."

Zhou Wannian patted the cauldron body, feeling the terrifying fluctuation coming from inside that wanted to burst out (that was the aura of the Heaven-Mending Pill).

"Miss Purple Spirit."

Zhou Wannian turned his head and looked at her.

"Now there are two paths before you."

"First, I give you a Star Escape Talisman, you leave the Void Heaven Palace by yourself, and we're even from now on."

"Second..."

Zhou Wannian pointed at the exit teleportation array ahead that hadn't closed yet.

"Follow me."

"But this might make you a wanted criminal in the entire Chaotic Star Sea."

Purple Spirit looked at Zhou Wannian, then at the teleportation array.

She was a smart woman.

She knew that if she left alone now, facing the enraged Ancestor Ji Yin and others, she would surely die.

Moreover... the potential shown by this man made her see the hope for the rise of the Wonderful Sound Sect.

"I will go with you, Sir."

Purple Spirit stood up and walked firmly behind Zhou Wannian.

"Very well."

Zhou Wannian smiled.

"Let's go."

"The Void Heaven Palace instance is over."

"Next..."

Zhou Wannian looked toward the exit, his eyes becoming deep.

"Those 'responders' outside have probably already laid out an inescapable net."

"However..."

He touched the seventy-two star thunder bee cloud swords still buzzing in his sleeve.

"With this cauldron and the 'Heaven-Mending Pill' inside..."

"I am only one step away from the Soul Transformation Stage."

"Whoever dares to stop me, I'll let them know..."

"What is meant by... the wrath of a First-Grade Golden Core."