Chapter 502: Arrival

The white-haired old woman swept her gaze over the golden light barrier, a flicker of surprise and delight flashing deep in her eyes, and she gave an almost imperceptible nod.

The septuagenarian elder said nothing more, but his gaze continuously pierced through the golden light barrier, sweeping back and forth over the living corpse, as if lost in thought.

Luo Qinghai's eyes flickered, and his figure shot forward, landing before the golden light barrier.

“Palace Master Luo, what do you intend to do?” the septuagenarian elder asked, his expression shifting as he spoke in a deep voice.

“What do I intend to do? There are so many Taiyi Pills inside that corpse—surely you don’t plan to keep them all for yourselves!” Luo Qinghai sneered, muttering incantations as blue light shimmered around him.

The septuagenarian elder’s expression changed, and a flash of blood-red light flickered around him as he prepared to act.

“No need,” the white-haired old woman said, reaching out to stop the septuagenarian elder, her expression calm.

“But…” The septuagenarian elder frowned deeply but ultimately let his hand drop.

A layer of flame-like blue light emerged around Luo Qinghai, radiating a vast aura of the Taiyi Stage, and he waved his hand.

Rumble!

A dazzling blue light flashed before him, and the blue staff shadow materialized once again, exuding a terrifying aura as it struck the golden light barrier.

Boom!

The entire hall shook once more, and the golden light barrier trembled violently before stabilizing again.

Seeing this, Luo Qinghai’s expression darkened, his face turning grim.

The others present were also startled by the sight, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Silence returned to the hall, broken only by the sound of white flames churning and burning beneath the central green cauldron.

“Fellow Daoist Li, what exactly is the story with that Soul-Nurturing Furnace and that wisp of remnant soul?” Hu Yan asked, walking over to Han Li.

Hearing this, the white-haired old woman and the septuagenarian elder both stiffened slightly and immediately turned to look at Han Li.

Luo Qinghai and the others also turned their gazes toward Han Li.

Taking in everyone’s reactions, Han Li pondered for a moment and said, “I found that furnace inside a restriction in some ruins. It looked a bit unusual, so I kept it with me. I never expected there to be a remnant soul hidden inside.”

His words were clearly evasive, but Hu Yan merely uttered an “oh” and did not press further.

The white-haired old woman stared at Han Li, her eyes flickering; she clearly did not believe his words.

However, she seemed to have some reservations and did not question him.

Luo Qinghai looked at the golden light barrier, suddenly snorted coldly, turned, and walked back.

The others from Cangliu Palace quickly gathered around him, their lips moving slightly as if engaged in a telepathic conversation.

Han Li gazed at the living corpse within the golden light barrier, countless thoughts churning in his mind.

What exactly was the connection between that remnant soul and this living corpse? Had it asked him to bring it out of that secret realm just to come here and reunite with its original body?

And Jiao San—first refining Void Essence Pills, and now showing such interest in that remnant soul—had she known all along that there was a living corpse here? What was her purpose?

All sorts of thoughts swirled in his mind, tangling into a mess.

He gave a bitter laugh, shook his head, and stopped dwelling on it.

These matters had little to do with him. Whether it was Cangliu Palace or Jiao San and her group, as long as they didn’t provoke him, he couldn’t be bothered to meddle.

Most importantly, the Taiyi Pills had now all been produced, and he had gotten what he wanted. This place gave him a bad feeling, and he didn’t want to stay any longer.

Just as Han Li was about to turn away, he suddenly stopped and shifted his gaze to the living corpse under the light barrier, a strange glint in his eyes.

Just now, the right hand of that corpse seemed to have twitched.

But it was only for an instant, and he wasn’t sure if his eyes had been playing tricks on him.

“Fellow Daoist Li, what’s wrong?” Hu Yan asked via telepathy upon seeing this.

“Nothing,” Han Li said, glancing at the others. None of them seemed to have noticed what had just happened, so he shook his head.

“It looks like there’s nothing else of value in this hall. Why don’t we go check elsewhere?” Hu Yan suggested, unsuspecting.

Han Li looked up at the ceiling and then at the various restrictions throughout the hall.

The golden ceiling of the hall, along with these restrictions, had been able to withstand the pill tribulation. As an alchemist, he was naturally quite intrigued.

However, he had already probed with his spiritual domain and found that the golden ceiling was seamlessly integrated with the entire hall.

The fierce battle just now had left no marks on the walls of the golden hall; they were incredibly sturdy. Dismantling and removing the ceiling was simply impossible.

“Let’s go take a look,” Han Li said with a sigh of regret, nodding.

Aside from the Taiyi Pills, this trip had not been without other gains. Having witnessed the process of the golden hall withstanding the pill tribulation several times, he had gained considerable insights into the intricacies of the restrictions within the hall.

His Yuanhe Five Extremes Mountain also had the ability to withstand a tribulation of alchemy, and it shared quite a few similarities with the restrictive power of this place.

"Have you recorded everything?" Han Li communicated with the Crab Immortal within his body.

"All recorded." Somewhere inside him, the Crab Immortal held a white jade slip, within which was a set of restrictive patterns, precisely the restrictions throughout the great hall, extremely detailed and complete.

"That's good." A hint of joy flashed in Han Li's eyes.

The restrictions here were profound. Once he left the Minghan Immortal Mansion, he would go into secluded meditation to thoroughly comprehend them, integrating this set of restrictions with the Yuanhe Five Extremes Mountain. It might not be inferior to the Golden Summit here, which would undoubtedly be of great help in his future alchemy, especially for Dao Pills.

Just then, another strange sound came from the emerald green alchemy furnace.

Han Li turned to look and his expression changed slightly.

The Golden Child had somehow jumped onto the emerald green furnace, transforming into a golden beetle form, and was devouring the furnace body in large bites.

The white flame beneath the furnace had somehow shrunk rapidly, returning to its previous state. A layer of emerald light now appeared on the furnace, trying to block the Golden Child, but to no avail.

Perhaps because the white flames had burned away the restrictions near the furnace, the gray-white stone statue puppets on either side of the hall did not move.

"Golden Child, what are you doing?" Han Li flickered and flew to the side of the emerald furnace.

Looking at the furnace corner that had already been gnawed off, a trace of regret flashed in his eyes.

"This fairy has been through a lot of trouble and is extremely hungry. I need a good replenishment! I've been holding back for a long time waiting for you to finish refining with this furnace..." The Golden Child spoke indistinctly while devouring the furnace.

"Alright, but there's no time for you to eat slowly now." Han Li sighed helplessly, waved his hand, and sent out a stream of green light that enveloped the entire furnace.

No matter how marvelous this furnace was, since it had already been damaged by the Golden Child, what was done was done. Blaming anyone would be useless, and he knew he didn't have the ability to repair it, so he might as well let the Golden Child have it.

The others glanced over but quickly looked away.

The Taiyi Pills had all been produced. If the furnace had remained intact, it would have been an extraordinary treasure. Now that it was damaged like this, its value had greatly diminished, and it wasn't worth offending a Golden Immortal who mastered the power of time over it.

Han Li waved his hand, and the green light wrapped around the emerald furnace, lifting it upward.

Boom!

The entire hall shook, and the base of the furnace, deeply embedded in the ground, was now pulled out by Han Li.

The remaining restrictive lights around the furnace flickered wildly before collapsing and shattering completely.

Han Li waved his hand, collecting the furnace along with the Golden Child into a spirit beast pouch.

Just as the furnace flew into the pouch at his waist, a white shadow shot out from the furnace and swiftly entered Han Li's body.

Inside Han Li's body, the Crab Immortal sat cross-legged.

A white light flashed, and a ball of blazing white flame emerged, then spread out to form a small white flame figure—the Essence Flame Child.

Compared to before, the Essence Flame Child had grown significantly, with more delicate features.

More importantly, the aura it emitted was now several times stronger than before.

White flames roiled around the Essence Flame Child, radiating a terrifying heat.

The Crab Immortal opened his eyes, frowned slightly, and moved a distance away from the child.

The Essence Flame Child opened its mouth and spat out a brilliant silver light—a Taiyi Pill.

However, this pill was different from the previous ones. It had silver patterns on its surface that combined to form the faint pattern of a three-legged Golden Crow, and its aura was much stronger than the other Taiyi Pills.

The Essence Flame Child waved its hand and tossed the Taiyi Pill upward.

A ripple passed, and the Taiyi Pill vanished from that spot.

In the great hall, a barely noticeable hint of joy flickered deep in Han Li's eyes as he turned and walked toward Hu Yan and the others.

Just then, two streaks of light descended, and as the light dispersed, two figures appeared.

One was a tall, elegant man, and the other was a graceful, charming woman—the Celestial Court's Inspection Immortal Envoy Gongshu Jiu and the Northern Cold Immortal Palace's Vice Palace Master Xue Ying.

As soon as they entered the hall, they saw the chaotic scene inside.

Everyone present also turned their gazes toward the entrance.

"Heh, quite lively indeed." Gongshu Jiu said with a warm smile.

His voice was not loud, but it stood out clearly in the noisy hall.

When the crowd saw Gongshu Jiu's appearance, they were all startled, and then their eyes fell on Xue Ying, their expressions varied.

Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly. He felt that Gongshu Jiu's aura was as deep as the sea, and even he could not see through it, which made him more cautious.

Luo Qinghai frowned slightly, his gaze shifting between Gongshu Jiu and Xue Ying, looking somewhat puzzled.

Gongshu Jiu's gaze swept over everyone in the hall one by one, and the smile on his face grew wider.

"It seems today is my lucky day. I actually get to encounter so many renegades from the Samsara Temple at once, and none of them are small fry. Quite a fruitful harvest." Gongshu Jiu played with the white jade Pixiu in his hand and said with a laugh.

As soon as he finished speaking, a nearly transparent light curtain slowly spread out from around him, instantly enveloping the entire golden hall.