After teleporting through two levels, Han Li finally reached the fifth level of the tower, and appeared before the Frozen Dragon's Terrace, where he had obtained the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
When he thought about it, he realized that the past grand elders of the North Night Palace had always been referred to as Master Arctic Dragon. That was another piece of evidence suggesting that there was a connection between the North Night Palace and the Heavenvoid Hall.
However, after the Heavenvoid Cauldron had been taken, the stairs here had already been ruined, completely preserving the signs of the battle between Zenith Yin, Wan Tianming, and the others.
To Han Li's surprise, the silver-robed woman was also standing on the terrace. She was looking at the altar with a contemplative look on her face.
Han Li's arrival had clearly drawn her attention.
She took a cold glance at Han Li before her body suddenly swayed, transforming into a streak of light that flew away from the terrace, disappearing into one of the many bluestone paths in the blink of an eye.
Han Li looked on in silence as she rushed away from the scene. He had no intention of stopping her whatsoever. Only after she had truly disappeared from view did he slowly make his way over to the altar. He took a glance into the cave from which he had obtained the Heavenvoid Cauldron before slowly expanding the scope of his search.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that the control formation was hidden extremely well or perhaps Han Li was in the wrong place altogether. In any case, his search proved to be fruitless once again.
Days passed one after the other and Han Li had searched through the entire fifth level. His expression grew darker with each passing day and even after over half a month had flown by, he still hadn't found the control formation.
On that day, Han Li made his way out of a certain corner following another fruitless search. He leaned against a pillar nearby and began to space out.
"Could it be that the control formation of the Heavenvoid Hall isn't on this level, but on one of the other four levels?" Han Li murmured to himself.
Just as he was contemplating this possibility, a white light suddenly flashed nearby as the space there was torn upon, upon which the silver-robed woman emerged.
Han Li turned his gaze toward her, but didn't say anything.
He knew that she wouldn't seek him out for no reason and he was interested in hearing what she had to say.
After all, she hadn't appeared on the fifth level at all during the past few days, so perhaps she had discovered a way out on one of the other levels.
"Have you found a way out yet, Fellow Daoist Han?" the silver-robed woman asked.
"If I have, why would I still remain here? By the sounds of it, you seem to have discovered something?" Han Li replied calmly as if there had never been any conflict between them.
"I've searched through this entire place and discovered that it would require the combined powers of at least two or three Deity Transformation cultivators to break through the restrictions here by force. There are only two of us here, so that's clearly not an option," the silver-robed woman said in a slow voice.
"I'm aware of this already." Han Li stirred internally, but still put on an aloof and nonchalant expression.
"Hmph! Are you not looking for the control formation of this place?" The silver-robed woman was clearly growing rather impatiently, and she harrumphed coldly as a frosty look flashed through her eyes.
Han Li's expression changed as he admitted, "I am indeed searching for the control formation. Would you happen to know where it is?"
The silver-robed woman took a deep breath and her expression abruptly darkened as she said, "That's all I need to hear. I've found the control formation, but leaving this place won't be an easy task. Prior to this, I'm going to ask you a couple of questions first; how is this place related to Fairy Ice Soul and is that little cauldron in your hand the Heavenvoid Cauldron?"
"Fairy Ice Soul? Who's that? As for this small cauldron, if you say it's the Heavenvoid Cauldron, then I guess that's what it is!" Han Li was initially slightly taken aback by these questions before deciding to play dumb.
A cold light flashed through the silver-robed woman's eyes upon hearing this and only after a long while did she explain, "Fairy Ice Soul is the ancient cultivator who created the Celestial Ice Flame, and she's also the matriarch of the North Night Palace! It appears that you really do know nothing about this. As for the Heavenvoid Cauldron, let me make this clear to you; if you have the Heavenvoid Cauldron, then you'd be able to use it to activate the control formation. If not, then you're completely useless and there's no point for me to tell you anything."
A hint of surprise appeared in Han Li's eyes and after a brief moment of contemplation, he decided to come clean. "If you put it that way, then I'll admit that this cauldron is indeed the Heavenvoid Cauldron! Where is the control formation?"
"Good. Seeing as you've admitted to it, you can come with me. If we want to leave this place, then we'll have to join forces this time. Prior to getting out of this place, I suggest we set our differences aside. Otherwise, neither of us would be able to get out of here on our own," the silver-robed women replied calmly, seemingly completely unsurprised by Han Li's admission. Her body then swayed as she flew toward a certain bluestone path as a streak of light.
Han Li's brows furrowed, but he didn't have an opportunity to think too deep into the matter as he transformed into an azure streak of light to follow the silver-robed woman.
However, after only flying for a short while, a surprised look appeared on Han Li's face.
He discovered that the silver-robed woman was clearly leading him to the Frozen Dragon's Terrace. That was a place that he had searched countless times, all to no avail.
However, the silver-robed woman had no intention of stopping, so Han Li could only repress his curiosity as he followed close behind her.
After some time, the silver-robed woman finally descended onto the altar on the terrace.
After also landing on the terrace, Han Li was finally able to voice his query as he asked, "Are you sure this is the right place, Fellow Daoist Phoenix? Is the control formation really here?"
"Is this the right place? Hehe, I can find the control formation here even with my eyes closed!" the silver-robed woman scoffed in a disdainful manner.
"What do you mean by that? Have you been here before?" Han Li's heart jolted with surprise.
"How could I have ever been here? It's just that on the Ice Wave Island where we Ice Phoenixes reside, there's a place that's completely identical to this stone terrace. Come to think of it, the cauldron you have is somewhat connected to our Ice Phoenix race," the silver-robed woman chuckled coldly.
Before Han Li could express his surprise upon hearing this, the silver-robed woman suddenly hovered into the air before abruptly pointing to several spots in the air above the altar.
The crisp sound of cracking chinaware suddenly rang out in mid-air, following which several balls of blinding white light appeared. These balls of light shuddered before expanding drastically, reaching the size of half of a wagon wheel in the blink of an eye. They began to flash in the air like scorching white stars before finally combining as one again, transforming into a huge ball of light that began to slowly rotate on the spot.
Han Li pursed his lips and made no effort to hide the expression of shock on his face.
The silver-robed woman glanced at Han Li out of the corners of her eyes before continuing with what she was doing. Her fingers flashed through the air as she cast one Celestial Technique after another, all of which disappeared into the ball of light.
In the end, a loud boom erupted from the massive ball of light and it transformed into a dozen or so snowy white formation flags.
Each and every one of the flags was roughly five to six feet in length with some ancient runes and mysterious patterns embroidered upon them.
Those formation flags spun in the air before transforming into streaks of dazzling
white light that flew outward, disappearing into the ground without a trace.
Han Li's eyes flashed upon seeing this and a hint of enlightenment appeared on his face.
Right at this moment, a loud burst of rumbling erupted from the entire Frozen Dragon's Terrace. A massive formation spell emerged from the center of the altar and the formation almost encompassed the entire stone terrace with lights of all colors flashing incessantly over its surface.
Chapter 1127: Cultivation in Confinement
In the instant that the formation spell emerged, the two of them hovered into the air before looking down at it from above.
Han Li could determine after a brief glance that the formation in front of his eye was indeed the Heavenvoid Hall's control formation. Furthermore, at the very center of the formation, he saw a diagram that was completely identical to the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
This immediately evoked within him a recollection of the scenes back when he had opened the Profound Jade Cave in the Spirit Void Hall.
The formation that sealed the Profound Jade Cave also seemed to have employed a similar restriction. However, this formation was over ten times the size of that one and it also seemed to be more complex and profound.
The silver-robed woman noticed the flash of recognition in Han Li's eyes, and as she withdrew her Celestial Techniques, she asked, "You've also seen this formation before?"
"I've seen a similar one somewhere in the North Night Palace," Han Li replied.
The silver-robed woman didn't ask for any further details from Han Li. Instead, she urged, "I see! That's a good thing. In that case, you should also know how to control this formation, right? Perhaps you can see if the Heavenvoid Cauldron can be used for that purpose."
Han Li hesitated momentarily before nodding as he opened his mouth. A ball of azure light emerged from within before hovering straight toward the center of the formation. That azure object was none other than the Heavenvoid Cauldron, which was currently only several inches in size.
Of course, during this process, Han Li was constantly guarding against the silver-robed woman. If she expressed any intention of stealing the cauldron from him, then he would immediately withdraw it.
The Heavenvoid Cauldron flew over to the center of the massive formation, where it stopped at Han Li's behest, right over the image of the massive cauldron down below.
Right at this moment, the entirety of the cauldron diagram lit up as a pillar of azure light erupted into the air, encompassing the Heavenvoid Cauldron within.
Han Li sensed a disturbance within his spiritual sense and he lost his connection with the cauldron again. His expression changed drastically as he stole a glance at the silver-robed woman beside him. He was relieved to see that the silver-robed woman hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, and he turned his attention to the Heavenvoid Cauldron again.
Within the azure pillar of light, the Heavenvoid Cauldron began to emit a ringing sound as it swelled drastically in size.
Moments later, the cauldron had become the same size as the diagram down below. At the same time, all of the diagrams of the flora and fauna on the cauldron began to manifest themselves. Han Li felt his spiritual sense stir as he regained his connection with the cauldron. However, his magic power then began to surge toward the cauldron in a wild frenzy, a turn of events that made Han Li's expression change drastically.
Right at this moment, the silver-robed woman suddenly made a hand seal before pointing toward the center of the formation.
A white pillar of light shot forth, disappearing into the giant cauldron diagram in a flash.
Han Li immediately felt his rate of magic power loss slow down to an acceptable degree and his expression eased slightly.
If the silver-robed woman hadn't have done that, he would've cut off his flow of magic power immediately and withdrawn the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
However, the Heavenvoid Cauldron was like a bottomless pit, relentlessly engulfing his and the silver-robed woman's magic power.
A short while later, half of Han Li's magic power had been lost and his expression darkened once again.
At this moment, a low rumbling sounded from the formation. Some of the runes began to light up, but they were only glowing very feebly, as if they had only just been activated.
"This won't work! Our magic power isn't sufficient to activate this formation!" The silver-robed woman's expression changed as she withdrew her hand seal, upon which the azure pillar of light immediately crumbled.
Han Li's brows furrowed as he also snapped off his flow of magic power before waving a hand toward the cauldron in the distance.
The Heavenvoid Cauldron swayed as a pillar of light shot forth from within. It then rapidly shrank to its original size in the blink of an eye before disappearing into Han Li's sleeve.
"It's not just a matter of insufficient magic power; this control formation can only be used by a Deity Transformation cultivator. I'm a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator while you're at the late-Nascent Soul Stage, so there's no way we can succeed!" Han Li looked down at the formation below with his brows tightly furrowed.
Following the disappearance of the Heavenvoid Cauldron, the pillar of azure light erupting from the giant cauldron diagram also vanished. The rumbling and the flashing lights from the formation down below also receded before everything fell completely silent.
After a brief silence, the silver-robed woman said, "It's not necessarily the case that only a Deity Transformation cultivator can use this formation. If several late-Nascent Soul cultivators were to join forces, that would also suffice."
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before turning to her with an incredulous look. "Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist Phoenix! Even four late-Nascent Soul cultivators are no match for a single Deity Transformation cultivator. You should be well aware of the disparity between the two!"
"In terms of combat prowess, a Deity Transformation cultivator is able to draw upon the world's origin Qi, so a late-Nascent Soul cultivator is naturally no match. However, I have a secret technique that can temporarily combine the magic power of several cultivators as one. If we use this secret technique to fuel the Heavenvoid Cauldron, we should be able to activate this formation," the silver-robed woman replied confidently.
"Really, now? Could it be that you want to use my Unbroken Cinque Devils and my puppet for this secret technique?" Han Li asked with a contemplative look on his face.
"Hehe, you sure are a smart man, Fellow Daoist Han. That was exactly my intention! With the combined form of the Unbroken Cinque Devils, that puppet, and myself, there's a good chance that we'll succeed." The silver-robed woman chuckled and her icy cold demeanor was replaced by an inviting and seductive one, as if she had transformed into a completely different person.
However, Han Li paid no heed to her exquisitely beautiful features. Instead, he was contemplating something in deep thought.
"You didn't mention my name just then; am I not able to take part in this secret technique?" he asked.
"That won't work. This secret technique can only be unleashed by cultivators of the same cultivation base. Furthermore, the one who can control this combined magic power must be the participating cultivator with the highest cultivation base. You are far more powerful than any other mid-Nascent Soul cultivator I've seen, but there is still a large disparity between you and a late-Nascent Soul cultivator," the silver-robed woman explained with a smile.
Han Li's expression suddenly changed as he harrumphed coldly, "Hmph! In order to control the Heavenvoid Cauldron, you must master the Artifact Imprint Technique first. Are you asking me to hand over my Heavenvoid Cauldron?"
"A spirit treasure is very valuable, but this is the only way out unless you want to be trapped here forever!" the Ice Phoenix replied calmly.
"Don't even think about it; I won't agree to this no matter what!"
The silver-robed woman was rather surprised by Han Li's complete lack of hesitation. She raised an eyebrow and was just about to say some
thing when Han Li cut her off coldly, "Let me tell you something: this place will open once every 300 years. Even if we don't do anything, we'll still be able to get out; we'll just have to stay here for a while. I've changed my mind now. I'm not in a hurry to leave this place. Instead, I'm going to stay here and cultivate. Hehe, I'll come and find you if I end up progressing to the late-Nascent Soul Stage. Farewell for now, Fellow Daoist Phoenix!" At the conclusion of that sentence, Han Li transformed into an azure streak of light as he flew away from the stone terrace, disappearing into a bluestone path in the blink of an eye.
"This place opens once every 300 years?" The silver-robed woman was overjoyed to hear this and she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue. Even though she had missed out on the chance to snatch away his spirit treasure, it was undoubtedly good news that she wouldn't be trapped here forever after all.
She didn't have to worry about Han Li deceiving her as a mere 300 years was completely negligible for a heavenly spirit beast like her, whose lifespan numbered in the tens of thousands of years.
She was originally planning to use a secret technique with self-mutilating side-effects that could temporarily grant her Deity Transformation Stage power, thereby allowing her to easily kill Han Li and take his Heavenvoid Cauldron.
However, using a secret technique like that was extremely taxing to her body.
Not only did the user of the secret technique have to be a tenth grade Ice Phoenix, unleashing it would inflict severe damage to the user's essential Dao foundation, making it almost impossible for her to progress to the Deity Transformation stage in the future. Even for a semi-Deity Transformation cultivator like her, who had satisfied the prerequisite conditions for making a breakthrough long ago, the consequences were still bound to be catastrophic.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 611