Chapter 235: The Monkey King Offers a Treasure

This cave appeared to be naturally formed, much like most caves on the mountain, nothing special.

The interior was quite spacious, a good two or three hundred feet high, and contained several smaller caverns, seemingly the lair of this troop of monkeys. From one small cave came the chirping of infants; a few little monkeys poked their heads out, but were immediately pulled back by a hairy arm.

Then a female monkey appeared at the cave entrance, staring warily at Han Li and making threatening cries.

"Roar!" The red-furred monkey king growled lowly.

The female monkey's expression changed at once, and she retreated back into the cave.

The red-furred monkey king turned to Han Li and called out twice apologetically, then continued deeper inside, soon reaching the innermost cave.

This cave was not large, only a few dozen feet across, and filled with a rich aroma of wine emanating from a waist-high furnace.

The furnace was grayish-white, as if cast from some unknown stone, supported by three legs, with a rounded midsection and a hat-like lid on top.

Eight large runes were engraved on the furnace body, giving it an extraordinary appearance, yet the entire stone furnace emitted no aura at all, seeming like an ordinary stove.

The red-furred monkey king pointed at the stone furnace and chittered a few times, then leaped onto it, reached out, and opened the lid.

The furnace was more than half full of a pale red liquid, giving off a rich wine fragrance—it was the monkey wine from the gourd.

This batch of wine was clearly not fully brewed, still looking somewhat turbid.

Scattered around the furnace were the remains of many fruit peels and pits.

Han Li glanced at the fruit peels on the ground and frowned slightly.

"Is your monkey wine brewed from these things?" he asked, pointing at the peels and pits on the ground.

The red-furred monkey king nodded repeatedly.

Han Li fell silent, walked over to the stone furnace, and examined it closely, his eyes gradually brightening.

The fruit peels on the ground were all ordinary wild mountain fruits. Though they contained some spiritual energy from growing in the Zhongming Mountains, they were at best the most common spirit fruits.

To brew a fine wine comparable to immortal liquor from such things—the monkeys' brewing skill was certainly remarkable, but the main reason was likely this mysterious stone furnace.

After a moment, Han Li pressed his palm against the stone furnace and slowly infused it with immortal spiritual power.

But it was like a stone sinking into the sea; the furnace showed no reaction.

He frowned, and with a burst of green light, increased the amount of immortal spiritual power while also extending his divine sense into it.

The eight runes on the furnace surface briefly flickered with light, then immediately dimmed.

A glimmer of joy flashed in Han Li's eyes as he withdrew his immortal spiritual power and divine sense.

Though he still couldn't fathom the mysteries of this stone furnace, it was clearly no ordinary object.

"Where did you get this stone furnace?" he asked, looking at the red-furred monkey king.

The monkey king scratched its head, then pointed at the cave and chittered for a while.

"You mean it was originally placed here?" Han Li said tentatively.

The monkey king looked delighted and nodded vigorously.

Han Li fell silent at this.

This cave was not man-made, so how could such a mysterious stone furnace appear here? Could someone have placed it here?

But then he shook his head.

Regardless of the furnace's origin, it was definitely a treasure, at least a vessel for brewing wine.

Chitter chitter!

At that moment, the other monkeys entered from outside and began to frolic in the cave.

The previously silent cave instantly became somewhat lively.

Many monkeys glanced toward the innermost cave but did not step inside.

"This stone furnace is very useful to me. Would you be willing to part with it?" Han Li said, glancing outside before quickly turning back to the red-furred monkey king.

"Of course, I won't take it for nothing. Pills, spirit fruits, or anything else—you can choose freely," Han Li added, flipping his hand to produce a large pile of items that floated before the red-furred monkey king.

The monkey king's eyes lit up at the sight of the pills and spirit fruits.

But the monkey shook its head firmly, as if struggling to resist the temptation, and pointed toward Chixia Peak, chittering.

Han Li pondered for a moment and said, "You want me to take you to live on Chixia Peak?"

The monkey king nodded repeatedly, then, as if thinking of something, pointed at the other monkeys and chittered again.

"You want me to take them all?" Han Li asked.

The monkey king nodded, hope shining in its eyes.

The monkeys outside seemed to sense something, stopping their play and cries, falling completely silent.

"Alright, but although the spiritual energy on Chixia Peak is much richer than here, the climate is also much colder. Can you endure it?" Han Li asked after some thought.

The monkey king nodded emphatically, thumping its chest with a loud slap.

"Good. Then I'll come back later to take you away. Prepare for the move," Han Li said, putting away the items he had taken out.

The monkey king chittered excitedly twice, then turned and ran outside, chittering loudly.

The monkeys outside erupted in excited cheers, leaping about in celebration.

Han Li smiled faintly, looked at the stone furnace, and waved his hand, enveloping it in a green light and storing it along with the monkey wine inside.

A satisfied smile on his face, he then walked out of the cave.

A moment later, a beam of green light shot out from within the waterfall and flew into the distance. In the blink of an eye, it traveled several thousand li before stopping, revealing Han Li's figure.

Here stood several black peaks, sparsely covered with vegetation, quite desolate, and blanketed with thick snow.

After letting out a light breath, he rubbed his hands together.

With a "whoosh," the Heavy Water True Wheel materialized.

Han Li chanted an incantation, activating it with full force.

But the next moment, his expression changed slightly as he felt his immortal spiritual power being drained by the Heavy Water True Wheel like a bursting dam.

Before he could react, the Heavy Water True Wheel before him blazed with black light and instantly expanded several times in size.

A terrifying spiritual pressure suddenly erupted from the Heavy Water True Wheel, and rings of black light waves swept outward, producing a rushing sound like tidal waves.

Within ten thousand li, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth seemed agitated, churning violently.

Countless blue light dots materialized and converged toward one spot.

Seeing this, Han Li was first startled, then inwardly delighted.

The True Wheel before him had now grown to the size of a house, spinning rapidly, its surface emitting a dazzling black watery light. The blue water dao patterns on it blazed brilliantly, the black and blue lights interweaving and seemingly enhancing each other, growing brighter and brighter, like a black-and-blue sun.

At the same time, waves of invisible force surged forth, one after another, growing stronger, causing the surrounding void to tremble violently and stirring up massive gales that swept in all directions.

After a moment's thought, Han Li swung his arm abruptly.

The house-sized Heavy Water True Wheel shot forth, hurtling toward the ground below.

The black and blue light on the True Wheel's surface blazed, transforming into a magnificent rainbow of immense proportions.

Rumble!

The ground and sky shook violently at the same time, as if heaven and earth were splitting apart.

Black-and-blue light waves swept outward, raising a monstrous hurricane. The snow on the ground was easily swept up, and a thick layer of earth was scraped away, sending countless plumes of dust into the sky.

The clouds in the sky also churned and surged, layer upon layer, like roaring torrents spreading into the distance.

Chixia Peak, thousands of li away, seemed to tremble as well, sending countless snowflakes fluttering down.

In the spirit fields at the foot of the mountain, Sun Buzheng and the others looked at each other in surprise, unsure of what was happening.

"Could this be Elder Li practicing some technique? But the tremor doesn't seem to come from the peak," one person said tentatively.

"Who else but Elder Li could cause such a commotion? He just came out of seclusion; perhaps he's practicing a technique of extraordinary power, or refining a secret treasure and testing its might," Sun Buzheng said, looking in the direction of the tremor with admiration in his eyes.

Meng Qianqian also gazed into the distance, her beautiful eyes filled with reverence.

Thousands of li away, the earth-shattering tremors vanished, and the rolling dust slowly settled, revealing the condition of the ground.

A massive chasm now appeared on the ground, hundreds of feet wide, stretching to both sides for an unknown distance, as if the earth had been split in two.

The chasm was pitch-black and bottomless, with faint hints of scorching red light visible inside, seemingly connected to the magma deep underground.

The several peaks nearby had completely disappeared, evidently reduced to powder.

Han Li stood in midair, the Heavy Water True Wheel floating beside him, restored to its original size, spinning gently.

His complexion was slightly pale; fully activating the Heavy Water True Wheel had drained three-tenths of his immortal spiritual power.

But his expression held more surprise than anything else.

The Heavy Water True Wheel's power was so immense, far beyond his expectations. If used in actual combat, its might could probably rival a mid-grade acquired immortal artifact.

He took a deep breath, his complexion quickly returning to normal, then put away the Heavy Water True Wheel and transformed into a beam of green light heading toward Chixia Peak.

…

Half a day later, in a large cave halfway up Chixia Peak, a figure flickered, and Han Li appeared.

After a brief look around, he raised his hand and flicked his fingers repeatedly.

Streaks of sword qi shot out in all directions. The hard rock walls turned into tofu, and soon a dozen or so smaller caves were carved out, their surfaces smooth and glossy.

Han Li nodded in satisfaction and waved his sleeve.

Light flashed on the cave floor, and a troop of monkeys appeared—the very same troop from the foot of the mountain.

The monkeys looked around, delight on their faces, and soon began scurrying about the cave.

The red-furred monkey king leaped to the cave entrance, looked around, and his eyes filled with immense joy. He immediately turned back and bowed repeatedly to Han Li.

"You can live here from now on. If you have any difficulties, go to the peak and find my servant," Han Li said slowly.

The red-furred monkey king chittered and nodded repeatedly.

Han Li's figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

The monkeys rushed over, looked at each other, and then, led by the monkey king, knelt and bowed toward where Han Li had stood.

But by then, Han Li had already returned to his cave dwelling at the peak. He placed the stone furnace in a room and set up several restrictions around it.

After doing this, he entered the secret chamber.

Now that the three sect tasks were completed and the Heavy Water True Wheel was mostly finished, it was time to consider the matter of pills.

With a contemplative expression, Han Li sat down cross-legged.