Chapter 2370

After the silver runes completely dissipated into specks of spiritual light, the surrounding scenery, along with those dense swarms of puppets, all vanished without a trace.

The void ahead blurred and twisted, and a stretch of buildings immediately emerged.

"It's broken, that's great. Brother Xiao truly has excellent methods." Seeing this, Lady Wanhua was overjoyed.

"The restrictions here are quite mysterious; it's possible that no one has ever been here before. If we weren't in a hurry, we would have had to search it thoroughly," Xiao Ming sighed and said.

"Hehe, Brother Xiao, no need to feel regret. These outer branch palaces, even if they have some treasures, are not necessities for us. Once we reach the center and control the restriction hub, the treasures of this palace will be ours for the taking," Daoist Qingping said with a smile.

"I know that logic, but seeing treasures within reach and not being able to take them, I still feel a bit of regret," Xiao Ming replied with a slight smile.

Following that, the three of them took a small path along the edge of these buildings, raised their escape light, and flew directly toward the light screen on the other side of this area.

In another branch palace restriction on the outskirts of the Heavenly Cauldron, the man in brocade clothes stared coldly at a hundred-zhang-tall two-headed giant ape in front of him. Over a hundred of his disciples had already formed a mysterious magic array, trapping the monster inside.

As the disciples accelerated the activation of their magic tools, the power of the entire array was pushed to its limit and tightened further. Waves of invisible giant force pressed desperately onto the giant ape's massive body, occasionally emitting loud "ka-beng" sounds.

When the giant ape's body stiffened and was finally unable to move under the surrounding giant force, the man in brocade clothes flicked his sleeve, and a silver rainbow shot out, circling the giant ape's massive body once before slicing it in two from the middle.

The surrounding gray void immediately shattered and collapsed inch by inch.

In a swamp-like area, a giant centipede wreathed in dark blue electric light, a giant scorpion rolling with black energy, and a giant python with an incredibly flat head were rampaging through a sea of beasts.

Sitting cross-legged on top of each of the three giant insects was an ugly, withered old man.

The sea of beasts was not only full of tigers, wolves, jackals, and leopards, but also some strange mutated fierce beasts, each with strength no less than that of mid-to-low-tier cultivators, constantly tearing and biting at the three giant insects.

The three old men sat motionless on the giant insects, ignoring everything around them.

Outside the five-colored seal, five young men with identical faces and attire were sitting cross-legged in mid-air, their faces completely expressionless, as if they were quietly waiting for something.

Suddenly, the space above fluctuated, and a pitch-black giant hole appeared out of thin air.

With a sound of breaking through the air, a ball of blood light flew out. After circling once, it transformed into a faint humanoid blood shadow, its blurry face flashing with green light in its eyes, filled with an indescribable evil aura.

Seeing this, the five sitting young men immediately stood up. Rosy light rolled over their bodies, and twelve white bone flying swords emerged in front of each of them, with faint green phosphorus fire flickering on their surfaces.

"Five Blood-Combining Sons, you want to fight me?" The blurry blood shadow seemed somewhat surprised to see the five young men here.

"We came in a hurry and don't have the key to break the seal, so we have no choice but to take one from you, Fellow Daoist. Regardless of who you are, hand over the key, and we will let you leave." The young man in the middle said expressionlessly.

"Haha, what big talk. Fine, I, Blood Shadow, also need essence blood to nourish this body. I will accept your blood as an offering." Hearing this, the blood shadow laughed wildly. His figure blurred, manifesting five long rays of blood light that rolled directly toward the Five Blood-Combining Sons.

"Although the Blood Shadow Art is overbearing, it is not without a way to break it." The middle-aged young man sneered, and a faint white light flashed on his body. The treasures he sacrificed immediately turned into rolling light mist and met the attack.

The other four young men blurred and hid in the void at the same time.

The next moment, the void immediately roared with rolling blood light, and a battle that was nearly evenly matched broke out.

Outside the giant gate, nearly a thousand high-tier existences had gathered, mostly Body Integration and Void Refinement stage cultivators. Over thirty people joined forces to release treasures, and combined with the power of countless thunder and fire, they were attacking the giant gate wildly.

But the gold and silver runes on the gate only flashed, remaining completely unmoved.

Others watched coldly from not far away, seemingly having no intention of interfering with their actions.

"A bunch of trash, wanting to enter the Heavenly Cauldron Palace with this little bit of ability? Get out of here, all of you!"

Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly came from the sky, shaking everyone present until their ears buzzed. Some cultivators with slightly lower cultivation even felt their bodies go limp, falling directly from high altitude.

With a "hong" sound.

A ball of crimson thunder light the size of a mu tore through the void and appeared, shooting down from high above and slamming directly onto the giant gate.

In an instant, arcs of crimson thunder as thick as bowls coiled around the giant gate, and a shocking wave rolled out in all directions.

Dozens of cultivators nearby immediately changed their expressions and retreated one after another.

A few who couldn't dodge in time were caught in the wave and let out shrill screams, which stopped abruptly, as if they had fallen right there.

Under the impact, the giant gate slowly opened a crack.

Those crimson thunder arcs immediately retracted rapidly, shrinking back into a ball and bouncing up. With a flash, they escaped behind the gate and vanished without a trace.

After a roar, the giant gate slowly closed again.

"Old Ancestor Red Thunder, that person just now was definitely Old Ancestor Red Thunder!"

Someone exclaimed.

Hearing this, those high-tier cultivators watching from the sidelines couldn't help but look at each other.

Compared to the last time the Heavenly Cauldron Palace opened, when most who entered were at the Body Integration stage, this time there were clearly many more Great Ascension stage ancestors.

It seems that the leakage of the Heavenly Cauldron Palace keys has finally attracted all these old monsters.

Three days later, in the Heavenly Cauldron Palace, Han Li was in a long corridor, but in front of him, two gold and silver Vajra-like puppets blocked his path.

These two puppets were seven or eight zhang tall, each holding a giant hammer of the same color, but they were covered in scars, as if they had fought a fierce battle with someone countless years ago.

Han Li only glanced at the two puppets indifferently, then swept his gaze toward the pale vermilion wooden door behind them. After moving his feet, he walked over slowly.

With two loud "hong" sounds, the moment Han Li approached, the gold and silver puppets moved their arms, and four giant hammers smashed down with a buzzing sound.

Cyan light flashed, and countless cyan threads rolled out from Han Li's body. The two puppets, along with the four giant hammers, instantly turned into a pile of debris and collapsed.

After Han Li flashed past, he flicked his sleeve toward the vermilion wooden door, and a wave of invisible latent power surged out, pushing it open.

Inside the hall were rows of rectangular stone tables, covered with all kinds of magic tools, some dazzling, some dim, totaling over a thousand pieces.

Han Li smiled slightly and walked in with big strides.

At the same time, on an endless blue sea, Lady Wanhua and Daoist Qingping were hovering in mid-air with extremely ugly expressions.

Not far in front of them, Xiao Ming sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, one hand holding a formation disk, while the other hand's ten fingers trembled slightly, as if he were calculating something with magic.

"I didn't expect that just the second location would have such a powerful illusion. We have been trapped here for two full days." Lady Wanhua suddenly said to Daoist Qingping.

"Indeed, I didn't expect this area to have such a powerful illusion restriction, that even Brother Xiao couldn't break it in a short time. But it's not strange; although it's only the second branch palace for us, because of the route chosen, this should be considered deep within the Heavenly Cauldron Palace. Once we break through this area, we shouldn't be far from the central area," Daoist Qingping frowned and said.

"I hope so." Lady Wanhua's expression was still somewhat uncertain.

At this moment, Xiao Ming was still sitting cross-legged in front, motionless, as if he knew nothing of the outside world.

Seven days later.

At the gate of a hall in a certain area of the Heavenly Cauldron Palace, Xue Po was walking out slowly, her face full of contemplation, as if she hadn't gained much inside.

But just then, a ball of crimson thunder light shot toward her. After a flash of fire, it suddenly transformed into a tall old man wearing a crimson robe with golden thunder patterns printed on his face.

Xue Po was startled. Almost without thinking, she flicked her sleeve, and two clusters of cyan light flew out. After circling once, they transformed into two armored puppets and blocked in front of her.

One puppet wore cyan battle armor and held a giant bow as tall as a person. The other puppet wore black armor and held a pale blue long spear horizontally with both hands.

"Eh, Body Integration puppets, this is quite rare. Little girl, state your name, and who did you come in with?" After sweeping his gaze over the two puppets, the tall old man revealed a look of surprise, but immediately shouted sternly.

"Junior Xue Po, I did indeed come in with a Senior Han. Senior, you are..." Xue Po saw the other party's Great Ascension status at a glance, her heart tightened, and she couldn't help but stammer.

"Surname Han? I haven't heard of any Great Ascension cultivator with this surname. Could it be a fellow daoist who advanced recently? Forget it, it doesn't matter who you came in with. Hand over your key or whatever you gained inside. Don't think about deceiving me with lies, otherwise, I will know once I use soul-searching techniques." A ferocious look appeared on the tall old man's face, and he spoke to Xue Po without any courtesy.

"Junior didn't find anything inside, and as for the key, it is with the Senior who brought me in. Senior, doing this is a bit beneath your status, isn't it?" Hearing that the other party really wanted to rob her, Xue Po was naturally shocked and angry, and she said with a forced smile.

"If you won't give it, then I'll have to come and take it myself." Hearing this, the tall old man laughed grimly and immediately took a step forward.