Chapter 425: Treasure Hunt

Chapter 425: Treasure Hunt

Strewn across the ground behind the copper platform in a haphazard fashion were seven or eight black wooden chests with talismans adhered to them.

It was clear that Patriarch Cold Flame hadn't been able to take what was in the chests on the previous two occasions that he was here.

Han Li swept his gaze across his surroundings before striding forward, and a layer of azure light appeared over his hand as he swept his palm over one of the chests, upon which the talismans adhered to its surface instantly disintegrated into dust.

He then opened the wooden chest, and a faint smile immediately appeared on his face as the chest's contents were revealed.

Inside the chest were orderly layers of palm-sized blue crystals that totaled in excess of 100, and they were none other than Starheaven Stones.

With so many Starheaven Stones at his disposal, cultivating the rest of the Great Universe Origin Arts was going to be much easier.

Han Li suppressed the excitement in his heart as he opened all of the remaining wooden chests as well, and he discovered that all of them were also filled with Starheaven Stones, taking the total tally to close to 1,000.

With a sweep of his sleeve, Han Li stowed all of the wooden chests away into the storage bracelet on his wrist, and only after examining the rear hall to ensure that there was nothing else left inside did he exit through the secret doorway.

As he passed by the giant screen, he suddenly raised an eyebrow as he stopped in his tracks.

He raised his head to look at the starry night sky depicted on the screen, and a peculiar feeling suddenly welled up in his heart. After a brief moment of contemplation, he pressed a palm against the screen and stowed it away as well.

He then strode past Patriarch Cold Flame without even sparing him a glance before exiting the palace, upon which he was immediately greeted by Lu Yuqing with an anxious look on her face.This substance is firmly embedded in n0v*lbin★

"Thank goodness you're finally back," Lu Yuqing hurriedly said in a relieved voice.

"Is something wrong?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

"Just now, a loud commotion started over on the plaza," Lu Yuqing replied as she pointed in the direction of the white stone plaza.

As soon as her voice trailed off, a resounding boom rang out in that direction, following which a pillar of crimson fire erupted into the sky.

"It looks like Xue Han and the others are already breaking through the array. We have to get out of here," Han Li said.

"We've already completely diverted off our original route, and this area is outside of the map that I have. How are we going to get back?" Lu Yuqing asked in a concerned voice.

Han Li offered no response as he sprang up into the sky, then inspected his surroundings briefly from his new vantage point before descending back onto the ground.

"At this point, we'll just have to take one step at a time and adapt with the circumstances. There are quite a few palaces and pavilions on the mountain behind these three palaces, and I'm sure there are some treasures waiting to be found there," Han Li said.

Lu Yuqing nodded in response.

Han Li drifted down onto a small bluestone plaza in front of a three-story pavilion.

After landing on the plaza, he examined the pavilion to find that there was a small golden bell hanging from each of the eight corners of its octagonal roof. This pavilion had to have been standing for countless years, yet the bells weren't displaying even the slightest sign of rust or discoloration.

Han Li was rather intrigued to see this, and he swept a sleeve through the air to release a gentle breeze, which swept over the pavilion, causing all of the 24 bells on the pavilion's three rooves to sway and chime.

The sound was very pleasing to the ears initially, but Han Li quickly noticed that something wasn't quite right.

The chiming of the bells should've gradually subsided over time, but instead, it was only growing louder and louder, until eventually, each strike was as loud as the strike of a gong, striking Han Li with a sense of dizziness and disorientation.

It seems that these 24 bells are a set of spiritually disruptive treasures... How intriguing...

He had already cultivated the Spirit Refinement Technique to the fourth level, and even he fell prey to the bells' disruptive effect for a moment, so he could only imagine how susceptible others would be.

In a battle, a moment of disruption was often enough to decide the outcome, and with that in mind, Han Li was tempted to take these bells for himself.

However, as he reached out to draw the bells toward him, he discovered that they were completely immovable.

A puzzled look appeared on his face as he carefully examined the entire pavilion again, and only then did he realize that the entire three-floor pavilion was a part of the set of bell treasures.

Furthermore, he speculated that the bell chime sound was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the pavilion's full power. There was most likely much worse to come inside the pavilion, and if one were to grow complacent, thinking that they had weathered the storm after withstanding the bell chime restriction, then they would be sure to suffer once they entered the pavilion.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release Daoist Xie.

"Why have you summoned me again so soon? Have you encountered some trouble?" Daoist Xie asked.

"I do have to trouble you for something, Brother Xie," Han Li said in a slightly apologetic voice.

"Go ahead, Fellow Daoist," Daoist Xie prompted.

"This pavilion in front of us is a spirit treasure of an extremely high caliber, but it'll take me some time to refine it, so in the meantime, please search the nearby buildings for treasures. Regardless of what you find, I'll compensate you with Immortal Origin Stones," Han Li said.

Daoist Xie hesitated momentarily, then nodded in response.

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Han Li, and he flipped a hand over to produce a yellow gourd before handing it to Daoist Xie as he said, "You can send out the Dao Warriors inside to aid you in your search."

"That's a good idea," Daoist Xie said as he accepted the ground from Han Li, then vanished from the spot as a flash of lightning.

Meanwhile, Han Li began to focus on the task at hand, channeling his Spirit Refinement Technique as he strode into the pavilion.

This was clearly no ordinary pavilion, and its core was definitely inside. Hence, in order to refine it, the only way was to enter the pavilion itself.