In Lu Xuan's plan, to control the fire ants, he first needed to replenish their colony, that is, to ensure the birth of a queen ant. Only then could he attempt to control these creatures.
However, for some reason, the black desert before them contained a vast amount of iron and copper sand. At the same time, the fire elemental energy was abundant, making it perfectly suited for the growth of iron fire ants. Yet, no queen ant had appeared here.
However, Lu Xuan didn't intend to delve into this matter. With a wave of his right hand, a burst of light flew from his sleeve, instantly gathering hundreds of thousands of Iron Fire Ants. He then forcibly controlled these Iron Fire Ants within a wooden beast-taming box. The Void Heaven Palace's existence was limited. There wasn't much time to study it here. He had already wasted too much time, and to prevent any unforeseen events from happening at the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, he ultimately decided to acquire it first and then study it slowly upon returning.
At the same time, the Yin Ancestor, along with Han Li and the others, had arrived at the inner hall. A massive, tower-like building appeared before them.
This tower is soaring into the clouds, enormous in size, and entirely constructed of massive blue stones.
From a distance, the tower appears to be divided into five levels, tapering towards the top, but each level is at least a hundred zhang (approximately 333 meters) apart—an astonishing distance. The very bottom stone gate alone is fifty or sixty zhang (approximately 33-40 meters) high, truly a magnificent sight!
The tower was enveloped in a pale white light. The crowd before it, resembling ants, stood with their heads bowed and eyes closed, meditating. In the center of their circle, a white teleportation array stood silently.
The bearded man, his face still ashen, seized the opportunity to catch his breath. The more he thought about it, the more shocked he became. The injuries caused by that punch far exceeded his expectations. The rapid, vibrating ripples not only dispersed his spiritual energy but also spread throughout his body, leaving countless tiny but real wounds.
These wounds seemed insignificant. However, the harm caused by those minor injuries became apparent as soon as one activated their spiritual energy. Not only would they cause a leakage of one's spiritual energy, but they would also cause excruciating pain throughout the body. This made the bearded man increasingly apprehensive. Gone was his previous arrogant attitude; he cautiously shrank behind the crowd, hoping no one would notice him.
However, those present were undoubtedly a group of shrewd individuals. They had already noticed that the bearded man was acting strangely.
When the time came, the doors to the inner hall slowly opened.
The cultivators from both the righteous and demonic paths rose simultaneously. However, they did not enter, but instead stared intently at each other.
At this final stage, their concerns extended beyond the restrictions within the inner sanctum. The primary threat actually stemmed from their adversaries. It wasn't just a conflict between the righteous and the demonic; irreconcilable contradictions existed between righteous sects and between demonic sects. After all, so many years had passed, and many of the treasures within the inner sanctum had already been taken.
No one can say for sure if there will be enough to go around. Even if there were enough ordinary treasures, there's only one Void Heaven Cauldron. Naturally, it's impossible to divide it all. Furthermore, there are the Heaven-Mending Pills inside the Void Heaven Cauldron, and those sealed spiritual treasures. No one would complain about having too many of those things. These are benefits that absolutely cannot be conceded, hence the current standoff between the righteous and demonic paths.
However, this time, the Demonic Path wasn't exactly confident. The main issue was that Barbarian Beard, who should have been the Demonic Path's strongest fighter, hadn't uttered a single word from beginning to end. His face was ashen, he looked like he was suffering from kidney deficiency, and he even hid behind the crowd. Only the Extreme Yin Ancestor showed up. This made the Extreme Yin Ancestor curse inwardly, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward.
"Fellow Daoists," I say, "it's rather ridiculous for us to fight over a treasure we haven't even retrieved yet! How about we agree to take turns retrieving the treasure? Until then, let's both restrain ourselves. That way, we can avoid fighting each other."
After all, our enemy now is the Star Palace, not the other side. Don't be fooled by our confidence; nine times out of ten, we won't be able to retrieve the treasure. Then this fight would be even more unnecessary." After pondering for a long time, the Extreme Yin Ancestor uttered these words.
That made some sense, and the others nodded in agreement. Then Wan Tianming spoke up.
"You make it sound nice, but who will get the treasure first and who will get it later? If we succeed in getting the treasure, how can you be sure you won't try to steal it? Do you think you can rely on your silver tongue alone?"
"That's simple. Whoever takes out the treasure will naturally try to snatch it. So, as long as the treasure appears, we'll just have to rely on our own abilities."
Ji Yin spoke casually, but inwardly she was filled with unease. She secretly sent a telepathic message to Man Hu Zi.
"I don't know the extent of your injuries. Will it hinder us if we fight later?"
"Hmph..." the bearded man snorted coldly. He finally spoke.
"My injuries are quite severe. If I were to fight, I could only hold off one person."
"That's fine too. As long as we can hold off one person, we still have a chance." The Extreme Yin Ancestor didn't ask how the Barbarian Beard was injured. He knew the other wouldn't tell him.
The path into the inner sanctum was guarded by numerous ancient mechanical puppets. However, after countless years, these puppets had long since lost most of their energy and posed no real threat.
Among the crowd, only Old Demon Han was interested in puppetry. Therefore, he collected some puppet fragments. What they didn't know was that while everyone was passing through the passage, Lu Xuan had already appeared in the Spirit Treasure Pavilion within the inner hall.
Standing before a pit that resembled a deep well, Lu Xuan gazed at the faintly visible blue flames below, a smile flashing across his face.
"This is the Void Heaven Cauldron?"
Beside him were two elders from the Star Palace. The Star Palace had been researching the Void Heaven Palace for many years and had long since mastered some of its restrictions. Therefore, they were able to take a shortcut and arrive ahead of time.
Since Lu Xuan's battle with Ling Xiaofeng, the Star Palace and the Hidden Immortal Sect have formed an alliance. Ling Xiaofeng and his wife had long felt their lifespans were running out, and crucially, their daughter was only at the Golden Core stage. At the current rate, before their lives ended, their daughter would at most reach the early Nascent Soul stage.
This level of cultivation is completely insufficient to control the Star Palace. The key is that even with the cultivation of the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light, the early Nascent Soul stage is absolutely no match for the Six Paths Demon. Therefore, they need an ally capable of suppressing the Six Paths Demon. The Hidden Immortal Sect is that ally. And to win over the Hidden Immortal Sect, the Two Saints offered considerable benefits.
Besides the cultivation method of the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light, one of the conditions for the trip to the Void Heaven Palace was to fully assist Lu Xuan.
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Chapter 510
The Void Cauldron is located on the fifth floor of the tower, in a pit that resembles a deep well.
The pit wasn't deep, only a few dozen feet. But the layer of pale blue flames covering it was awe-inspiring. That was the Dry Blue Ice Flame.
The Azure Ice Flame is considered a top-tier divine power in the mortal realm. At least among the cultivators within the Void Heaven Palace, virtually none can resist this frigid flame.
Lu Xuan attempted to use the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning, condensing it into threads and drawing out the Void Heaven Cauldron. However, even with the powerful rank of the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning, it was extinguished by the icy flames after only a few breaths. Lu Xuan knew this was because he hadn't learned the Thunder Sacrifice Technique. Only after practicing the Thunder Sacrifice Technique could he fully unleash the effects of this lightning supernatural power.
Unfortunately, there's no information whatsoever about the Thunder Sacrifice Technique in the mortal realm. It's estimated that it can only be found in the Spirit Realm. Since the Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder couldn't work, Lu Xuan then mobilized the True Fire of the Sun. However, this flame immediately clashed with the Azure Ice Flame.
Theoretically, the True Solar Fire is far superior to the Azure Ice Flame. However, the Azure Ice Flame before him exists solely because of the Void Heaven Cauldron. This magical treasure's resistance is exceptionally fierce. Left with no other choice, Lu Xuan had to withdraw the True Solar Fire. Continuing the fight might damage the magical treasure, something Lu Xuan was unwilling to do.
After that, Lu Xuan tried letting the spirit beast try it.
As a descendant of the Beast God, Lu Xuan naturally possessed spirit beasts. And quite a few at that. With a wave of his right hand, more than a dozen different spirit beasts appeared within the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
He thought for a moment, then put some of it away. The properties of the Azure Ice Flame were very distinct, so only certain special spirit beasts could utilize it.
He first released an ice dragon. This was an extremely rare spirit beast. It possessed an innate body of extreme cold, which allowed it to resist the Azure Ice Flame to some extent. However, this ice dragon had been trained for too short a time and its cultivation level was too low, making it unable to shake the Void Heaven Cauldron at all.
Lu Xuan thought for a moment, then released another pair of Ice Silkworms. These were specially cultivated by Lu Xuan for the Void Heaven Cauldron. Knowing their characteristics, Lu Xuan, true to his nature, naturally made considerable preparations beforehand. These Ice Silkworms were the result of Lu Xuan's painstaking cultivation over the years. He not only used Beast Mystic Techniques to catalyze their growth but also fed them numerous spiritual herbs, bringing their cultivation to the level of Level Four, on the verge of advancing to Level Five.
As expected, the mutated ice silkworms did not disappoint Lu Xuan. Their silk threads withstood the scorching heat of the azure ice flames, forcefully shaking the Void Heaven Cauldron at its base. Seeing this, Lu Xuan's face lit up with joy. However, his smile quickly faded.
Because the ice silkworms showed signs of exhaustion halfway through their pull. Lu Xuan thought for a moment and decided not to sacrifice them. Instead, he simply recalled them.
Although his attempt failed, Lu Xuan was not in a hurry. After realizing that he could not do it, he decisively left and went to other places.
"Even the Star Palace only has a small part of the inner sanctum of this Void Heaven Palace. Most of it is still unknown, and you are free to explore it, senior. Apart from the inner sanctum, I imagine the restrictions in other places will not be difficult for you."