Chapter 414: Exposure

In midair, Cold Flame Ancestor and Bear Mountain looked down at the island below, the excitement on their faces fleeting.

“It seems no one has found this place since the immortal mansion opened,” Cold Flame Ancestor said, glancing around.

“Of course. This place is extremely remote. If we hadn’t been chased by those cold beasts and fled in panic back then, we wouldn’t have discovered it,” Bear Mountain said, his gaze fixed on the palace in the rosy glow, a burning heat slowly rising in his eyes.

“Judging by your expression, Brother Bear Mountain, you seem quite confident! It appears you’ve made ample preparations over the years,” Cold Flame Ancestor said with a chuckle, glancing at Bear Mountain.

“Brother Cold Flame hasn’t been idle either, I presume. That ‘Great Heavenly Cycle Star Origin Art’ must be nearly perfected. Earlier, when facing those cold beasts, you probably didn’t exert your full strength,” Bear Mountain snorted lightly.

“You flatter me, Brother. How could my meager skills compare to yours?” Cold Flame Ancestor raised an eyebrow, then laughed heartily.

The two looked at each other, neither speaking for a moment.

Silence fell again, and the atmosphere grew subtly tense.

“Haha, since we haven’t entered the Nethercold Palace yet, there’s no need for such mutual flattery. Besides, our goals within the palace differ, so there’s no point in starting a conflict now. Let’s first join forces to break this restriction, lest we have more trouble later,” Cold Flame Ancestor suddenly laughed and said.

“Agreed,” Bear Mountain said with a smile.

With that, he slapped his storage pouch.

A flash of golden light, and a small golden sword materialized.

Then a streak of green light appeared, and a green wooden ruler emerged beside him.

Next, a blue light flashed, and a small blue flag appeared nearby.

The three treasures exuded astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations, not far off from immortal artifacts.

Cold Flame Ancestor, without a word, waved his hand. A red and a yellow light flashed, and a crimson alms bowl and a small yellow seal appeared before him, both also top-grade spiritual treasures.

As soon as the five spiritual treasures were offered, they transformed into five dazzling spiritual lights that shot into the sky, vanishing in an instant with a flicker.

Moments later, the void trembled, and a brilliant five-colored rosy light emerged, dazzlingly bright, enveloping dozens of miles below.

The five-colored rosy light spun rapidly, and deep within the light, the five treasures could be faintly seen arranged in a circle, forming a formation pattern.

Within the range covered by the five-colored rosy light, the void suddenly sank, and the flow of heaven and earth spiritual energy came to a halt, as if frozen by an invisible force.

In the distant mist, Han Li saw this and narrowed his eyes, a blue light flickering within.

After a few glances, he nodded slowly.

“Brother Liu, what kind of divine ability is this? It looks very powerful,” Lu Yuqing asked softly.

“This is the Grand Five Elements Spirit Capturing True Light, cast by those two using five extremely pure five-element spiritual treasures,” Han Li said after a moment’s thought.

“Grand Five Elements Spirit Capturing True Light!” Lu Yuqing was startled.

As Han Li and the others spoke, Cold Flame Ancestor and Bear Mountain began their incantations, chanting spells.

The five-colored rosy light spun for a moment, then rapidly condensed, forming a substantial five-colored beam that shone onto the black rosy light.

The black rosy light seemed stimulated and suddenly brightened.

Countless slender black lights emerged from the rosy light, like black sword qi, converging into a black sword dragon that bared its fangs and claws as it met the five-colored beam.

The two collided with a roar. The black sword dragon coiled its massive body, holding the five-colored beam aloft.

The black sword dragon growled low, using its claws and tail to fiercely grasp and bite at the beam.

Sharp black sword qi shot from the dragon’s claws and mouth, slashing heavily at the beam.

The five-colored beam was extremely stable, unmoved despite the dragon’s biting and the black sword qi’s slashing.

Cold Flame Ancestor and the other chanted spells, forming hand seals.

Within the beam, the five-colored spiritual light churned rapidly, and five-colored spheres emerged inside.

These spheres, the size of millstones, were translucent and quite beautiful, yet they gave a thrilling sensation.

With a flash of five-colored light at the beam’s tip, all the spheres shot out, striking the black sword dragon.

Boom!

The five-colored spheres exploded, turning into a vast crystalline light that engulfed the black sword dragon’s body.

The dragon let out a wail, and its massive body shattered, as fragile as paper.

Lu Yuqing’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Han Li remained calm, nodding slowly.

The five-colored spheres, having shattered the dragon, did not stop but struck the black rosy light below.

The black rosy light twisted and trembled violently, holding on for a few breaths.

With a loud explosion, the black rosy light finally tore apart, scattering into black spiritual light.

But beneath the black rosy light, the void rippled slightly, and a layer of green light curtain emerged, its surface shimmering, seemingly no weaker than the black rosy light.

Cold Flame Ancestor and the other seemed unsurprised.

The five-colored beam continued downward, spewing more five-colored spheres at the green light curtain.

The green light curtain blazed brightly, and green cyclones emerged, meeting the five-colored spheres.

Boom!

A series of earth-shattering sounds erupted.

Though the green light curtain’s changes were subtle and the cyclones powerful, they only held out for a quarter of an hour against the five-colored spheres.

With a tearing sound, the green light curtain was breached and shattered.

A white light flashed, and beneath the green curtain, a dense white light emerged, forming a white restriction that blocked the five-colored beam.

Han Li raised an eyebrow at this.

It seemed the restrictions outside the palace were more complex than he had imagined.

Moreover, these restrictions were not weak; even if he acted personally, breaking them would require considerable effort.

But judging by Cold Flame Ancestor’s expressions, they seemed to have known and prepared methods to break them.

Cold Flame Ancestor and the other continuously formed hand seals, the five-colored beam growing brighter, more five-colored spheres appearing and striking the white light curtain.

Time passed, and two or three hours went by.

On the island, rumbling sounds continued, and various colored lights flashed wildly.

The five-colored beam had grown thicker than before, countless five-colored spheres shooting out, striking a grayish restriction.

The gray restriction emitted a dense gray light, forming a thick gray cloud.

Clusters of five-colored spheres struck it, then violently exploded.

This seemingly ordinary gray cloud was exceptionally tough, trembling and scattering somewhat, but still firmly blocked all the spheres’ attacks.

Cold Flame Ancestor and the other now showed signs of fatigue.

In this time, they had broken through no fewer than ten different types of restrictions.

Each layer was more powerful than the last, and the previously invincible five-colored spheres had gradually lost their potency.

However, the relentless bombardment of spheres still had an effect; the gray cloud slowly thinned.

After half an hour, the last wisp of gray cloud was finally blasted away, revealing the gray restriction beneath.

Cold Flame Ancestor and the other quickly formed hand seals and shouted softly.

The five-colored rosy light thickened, and nearly a hundred five-colored spheres shot out from within.

These spheres did not strike immediately but rapidly converged into a house-sized giant five-colored sphere.

The sphere was no longer translucent but solid, emitting a terrifying spiritual energy fluctuation.

The giant sphere spun in midair, then plummeted, striking the gray restriction and exploding violently.

Boom!

A five-colored sun over a hundred zhang in diameter flashed into existence in the void.

A visible shockwave surged outward in all directions, causing the void to tremble.

The gray light curtain twisted violently a few times, then exploded with a bang.

Cold Flame Ancestor and the other relaxed, sighing in relief.

In the distant mist, Han Li and the others also showed joy at the broken restriction.

As the gray restriction shattered, it turned into gray light that scattered rapidly.

But at that moment, the void below rippled again.

Starlight appeared, and a layer of starry light curtain emerged.

Countless starlight dots flickered on the curtain, rotating slowly in a mysterious pattern, like a real night sky.

“Another one! How many restrictions are there?” Lu Yuqing couldn’t help but say.

“Don’t worry. This should be the last layer. Those two have really had a hard time,” Han Li said with a faint smile, blue light flickering in his eyes.

At that moment, his expression suddenly changed.

A dazzling starlight burst forth from Han Li, enveloping his body.

The source of the starlight was his storage pouch.

The starlight was extremely dense, with countless star patterns faintly visible, breaking through his concealment technique.

Han Li’s face changed drastically. Beside him, Lu Yuqing was also startled, covering her mouth to stifle a cry.

The distant starry light curtain also brightened, the starlight dots shining brilliantly.

The star patterns, which had been rotating slowly, suddenly sped up, moving several times faster, occasionally forming profound star charts.

The starry light curtain and the starlight on Han Li seemed to resonate.

Cold Flame Ancestor and Bear Mountain were also startled, turning abruptly to look into the distance.

After an initial moment of confusion, Han Li quickly reacted and was about to check his storage pouch.

With a whoosh, a ball of dazzling starlight flew out of the pouch on its own—it was a green stone slab.