183: The chaotic battle at Kunwu Palace and the division of spoils with Old Ghost Xiang

Kunwu Mountain, halfway up the mountain.

After that world-shaking explosion, the Vajra Light Shield outside Kunwu Palace, which was claimed to be "unbreakable except by a Late Stage Nascent Soul," shattered into a ground full of golden stardust under the "Iron Head Technique" of the Soul Transformation Stage old monster, Old Demon Hu.

"Ouch, this monk's head is a bit dizzy."

The bald burly man (Old Demon Hu) shook his shiny large head, the Buddhist beads around his neck clattering loudly. He casually threw the leftover chicken bone he had been gnawing on onto the ground, which happened to hit a Ye family Core Formation stage Elder who had just rushed up.

*Pfft!*

That Elder didn't even have time to scream before his protective spiritual light was pierced by a chicken bone, and he fainted on the spot.

"Quick! While we have the chance!"

Although Grand Elder Ye Rui was also startled by this sudden turn of events, he was, after all, a man of great ambition.

"No matter who he is! Enter the palace first to take the treasures!"

"As long as we get the heaven-reaching spirit treasure, we'll have the bargaining chips to negotiate with these old monsters!"

"Charge!"

The remaining five or six Nascent Soul and Core Formation Cultivators of the Ye family, like a group of red-eyed gamblers, frantically rushed into the wide-open gates of Kunwu Palace.

Meanwhile, in the shadows of the distant forest.

"A good opportunity."

A sharp light flashed in Zhou Wannian's (Han Li's) eyes.

"It's easier to catch fish in muddy waters."

"Purple Spirit, put on this 'Spirit Concealing Veil'. Tie Zhu, activate 'Optical Camouflage'."

"We won't take the main entrance; we'll go through the side hall."

...The interior of Kunwu Palace was extremely grand, as if it were the residence of a giant.

In the center of the main hall, two treasures emitting soaring spiritual light were enshrined.

One was a small earthy-yellow Seal—the [mountain leveling seal].

One was a crimson feather fan—the [Blazing Fire Fan] (an imitation of a heaven-reaching spirit treasure, but still top-tier among ancient treasures).

"Haha! It's the original mountain leveling seal!"

Ye Rui was overjoyed; the imitation mountain leveling seal in his hand immediately let out a hum, resonating with the authentic one.

"Collect!"

He cast a hand Seal, intending to collect the great Seal.

"Amitabha. Benefactor, this item is fated with you, but it is also fated with this monk."

Old Demon Hu appeared behind Ye Rui at some unknown moment, smiling as he reached out a large hand like a cattail leaf fan, grabbing directly for the mountain leveling seal.

"Get lost!"

Ye Rui was anxious and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the imitation Seal, attempting to block him.

But the gap between the Soul Transformation Stage and the Early Stage Nascent Soul (though Ye Rui couldn't Cultivate, his level with treasures was only at this stage) was like that between a dragon and an ant.

*Slap.*

Old Demon Hu casually slapped Ye Rui, sending both the man and the Seal flying; he hit the wall so hard he couldn't even be peeled off.

"Hehe, this Seal isn't bad. It'll be perfect for cracking walnuts when I get back."

Old Demon Hu toyed with the mountain leveling seal with a look of disdain, then casually stuffed it into his robe.

Just then.

*Boom!*

At the entrance of the hall, a shrill sword whistle rang out.

"Hu Qinglei! Put down the mountain leveling seal!"

A white-haired old man wearing a Taiyi Sect Daoist robe but with a face full of Evil Qi rushed in. An ancient longsword floated behind him, its Sword Qi crisscrossing and slicing the surrounding air into fragments.

The Grand Elder of the Taiyi Sect, a Late Stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator—[Old Devil Qian].

"Oh, isn't this old man Qian?"

Old Demon Hu grinned. "What, do you want to crack some walnuts too?"

"Seeking death!"

The two top experts instantly clashed in battle.

The main hall became a chaotic mess; the others from the Ye family could only tremble in the gaps, trying to snatch the [Blazing Fire Fan] that no one was guarding... Meanwhile.

To the left of Kunwu Palace, there was an inconspicuous side hall.

This place didn't have the magnificence of the main hall; instead, it was permeated with a grayish-white cold light.

[Arctic Essence Light Hall].

This entire side hall was actually built from strange stones capable of producing "Arctic Essence Light"!

This kind of essence light was incredibly heavy and specifically harmed the Soul; an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator would suffer greatly if even a wisp of it touched them.

"A good place."

Zhou Wannian stood at the entrance of the side hall, looking at the Arctic Essence Light filling the air inside.

To others, this was a Forbidden Ground, but for him, who had cultivated the "Yuan Ci Divine Light" and possessed the [yuan ci divine peak], it was like coming home.

"Yuan Ci Divine Light, activate."

*Buzz!*

A layer of gray light shrouded his entire body.

Zhou Wannian led Purple Spirit, easily passing through the belt of essence light that was enough to kill a Nascent Soul Cultivator, as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.

Deep within the hall.

A somewhat wretched figure was sticking his butt up, holding a shovel and prying hard at a seemingly ordinary green brick on the floor.

"Heave-ho... heave-ho..."

"These are floor tiles paved with 'Ten-Thousand-Year Star Jade'. Good stuff, can't let it go to waste."

The figure pried while stuffing them into his Storage Pouch.

Zhou Wannian's footsteps paused, his mouth twitching.

"S-Senior Xiang?"

"Hmm?"

The figure stopped his movements and turned around, still holding the shovel.

It was indeed Xiang Zhili.

"Oh, isn't this little Han?"

Xiang Zhili wiped the sweat from his forehead (faking it) and looked at Zhou Wannian with a smile.

"Not bad, not bad. You actually managed to pass through the Arctic Essence Light. It seems your 'Yuan Ci Divine Light' is quite well-practiced."

"Senior overpraises me."

Zhou Wannian bowed with cupped hands, but his gaze bypassed Xiang Zhili and looked toward the deepest part of the hall.

There, a floating offering table stood.

On the table sat a small black flag.

The flag was only the size of a palm, its surface tattered and seemingly unremarkable. However, the space around it exhibited a strange distortion, as if even light was being swallowed by it.

heaven-reaching spirit treasure—[black wind flag].

"Want that?"

Xiang Zhili followed Zhou Wannian's gaze and chuckled.

"That's a hot potato."

"Sealed within this black wind flag is the essence Soul of a 'Spatial Rift Wind Beast', and it's quite fierce. Moreover, this thing is connected to the 'Spatial Node' of Kunwu Mountain."

"If you take it, not only will you be hunted by those two old fellows outside (Old Devil Qian and Old Demon Hu), but you'll also have to bear the Karma of the Seal breaking."

Xiang Zhili stood up and brushed the dust off his hands.

"Little Han, listen to this old man's advice."

"Don't be too greedy."

"As for the floor tiles in this hall, whichever one you fancy, feel free to pry it up."

Zhou Wannian looked at the black wind flag and then at the teasing Xiang Zhili.

He knew this old monster was testing him.

"Senior must be joking."

Zhou Wannian smiled and walked to the offering table.

"This Junior is a practical person."

"The floor tiles are good, but they're too heavy to carry."

"This flag is all tattered; it'll be just right to use as a sail for my flying boat. I imagine it'll make it run a bit faster."

"A sail?" Xiang Zhili was stunned, then burst into loud laughter.

"Good! What a 'sail'!"

"Using a heaven-reaching spirit treasure as a sail, you've got guts, kid!"

Xiang Zhili suddenly stopped laughing, his eyes becoming somewhat profound.

"Since you want it, then take it."

"However..."

Xiang Zhili pointed to an inconspicuous wooden tablet under the offering table.

"That 'Taiyi Green Wood Command' belongs to me."

"That thing is one of the keys to opening the 'Ascension Node'."

"Deal."

Zhou Wannian didn't hesitate for a second.

Ascension Node? That was something only those at the Soul Transformation Stage would consider. He was only at the Middle Stage Nascent Soul; taking it would be useless and would instead make him a target for these old monsters.

"Straightforward."

Xiang Zhili beckoned with his hand, and the wooden tablet flew into his palm.

"Alright, now that you've got the stuff, get lost quickly."

"Those two old fellows outside are about to start fighting for real. This Kunwu Palace is about to collapse."

"Thank you, Senior."

Zhou Wannian turned to face the [black wind flag].

"void heaven cauldron, suppress!"

*Buzz!*

The void heaven cauldron flew out, its mouth inverted.

The Azure Blue Ice Flame and Yuan Ci Divine Light erupted simultaneously, forming a massive sealing cage that descended upon the black wind flag.

*Whoosh—!!!*

The black wind flag sensed the threat; its surface instantly expanded to a size of a hundred feet. Black Winds howled as it actually tried to tear through the void heaven cauldron's suppression.

"Still resisting?"

Zhou Wannian snorted coldly.

"Tie Zhu! Energy overload! Suppress it for me!"

"As you command."

Tie Zhu activated the energy-absorption mode of the [black void meteoric iron] and rushed directly into the Black Wind, forcibly grabbing the flagpole.

"Collect!"

Zhou Wannian pushed his Nascent Soul magic power to the limit.

Under the three-pronged suppression, the unruly heaven-reaching spirit treasure finally let out a wail, rapidly shrinking and being sucked into the void heaven cauldron.

"I've got it!"

Zhou Wannian was ecstatic.

With this item, combined with his attainments in Formations, he could even set up the legendary [Spatial Storm Grand Formation]!

"Let's go!"

Zhou Wannian pulled Purple Spirit along and recalled Tie Zhu. Regardless of whether Xiang Zhili was still prying up floor tiles, he turned and ran toward the back door of the side hall... Just as Zhou Wannian left the side hall.

*Rumble!!!*

From the direction of the main hall came an explosion ten times more terrifying than before.

Immediately following.

A pillar of Devilish Qi, black as ink and filled with an aura of destruction and madness, soared into the sky, directly flipping the dome of Kunwu Palace.

*Roar—!!!*

A devilish roar that spanned eternity resounded through the entire Kunwu Mountain.

"Dammit! The Seal is broken!"

Xiang Zhili's expression changed, and the shovel in his hand dropped.

"Those fools from the Ye family! To snatch the treasures, they actually smashed the 'Demon Suppressing Monument'!"

"The Soul fragment of Yuancha Holy Ancestor... has come out!"

...Outside Kunwu Mountain.

The sky instantly turned blood-red.

Countless wisps of Devilish Qi were like dark clouds covering the sky, turning all the Spiritual Qi within ten thousand miles black.

The fleeing Zhou Wannian felt his heart suddenly tighten.

A terrifying pressure that made his very Soul tremble came from behind.

That was the aura of a true... Late Stage Soul Transformation, or even close to the Void Refining stage!

[Yuancha Holy Ancestor · Descent of the Devil Soul].

"Run!"

Zhou Wannian grabbed Purple Spirit's waist, the [wind thunder wings] (not yet fully upgraded) on his back flapping wildly, while simultaneously activating the [dragon bone ghost ship].

"The difficulty of this dungeon is off the charts!"

"This is the pace of a max-level BOSS slaughtering a starter village!"

"Old Ghost Xiang! Old Demon Hu! Old Devil Qian!"

"You tall guys, hurry up and step up to the plate!"

However.

Just as he was about to rush out of the range of Kunwu Mountain.

From the Devilish Qi filling the sky, a black devilish hand that blotted out the sun suddenly reached out.

That devilish hand didn't reach for those Soul Transformation old monsters.

Instead... it came straight for Zhou Wannian!

To be precise, it was heading straight for the [void heaven cauldron] (and the Soul of Silver Moon inside it) within him!

"Bitch! Where do you think you're going!"

Yuancha Holy Ancestor's voice, filled with venomous resentment, exploded in Zhou Wannian's ears.

"Give my body... back to me!!!"