Chapter 506: with translation of chapter title

Under the pitch-black night curtain.

Translation: "Under the pitch-black night curtain."

Under the pitch-black night sky.

We'll output: Under the pitch-black night curtain.

Stars and fireflies drift across the vast, boundless prairie.

Translation: "Stars and fireflies drift across the vast, boundless prairie."

Stars and fireflies drift across the vast, boundless prairie.

Yunhe holds a compass, transforming into a bundle of five-colored splendid light on the grassland, leaving a continuously extending trace on the grass.

Translation: "Yunhe held a compass, transforming into a band of five-colored light on the grassland, leaving a continuously extending trace on the ground."

The compass transformed into a bundle of five-colored splendid light on the grassland, leaving a continuously extending trace on the grass.

We'll produce: Yunhe held a compass, transforming into a band of five-colored light on the grassland, leaving a continuously extending trace on the ground.

A powerful divine sense sweeps over, and everything around appears in Yunhe's sea of consciousness; clusters of azure flames blaze conspicuously in that realm.

Translation: "A powerful divine sense swept over, and everything around appeared in Yunhe's sea of consciousness, where clusters of azure flames were extremely conspicuous."

In the divine sense's sea of consciousness, clusters of azure flames appeared, extremely conspicuous.

We'll produce: A powerful divine sense swept over, and everything around appeared in Yunhe's sea of consciousness, where clusters of azure flames were extremely conspicuous.

"These bone wolves don't seem to be coming for me; it looks like their target"

Translation: ""These bone wolves don't seem to be coming for me; it looks like their target...""

We need to keep quotes. The Chinese line includes opening quote and closing quote? It starts with 「 and ends with 」. We'll keep English quotes? Usually we use double quotes. We'll output: "These bone wolves don't seem to be coming for me; it looks like their target"

These bone wolves don't seem to be coming for me; it looks like their target

We'll output: "These bone wolves don't seem to be coming for me; it looks like their target"

Yunhe's crystal-clear wings behind him gradually filled with blood-red, the large patches of azure flames behind him faded from his sight, and only the biggest bone wolf still trailed closely behind him, saying, "Soon."

Just ahead, the object indicated by the compass gradually appeared before Yunhe's eyes—a two-legged treasure chest sprinting forward at a speed rivaling late Nascent Soul! "Declining qi!"

A burst of yellow qi shot from the Five-Qi Peacock Fan and struck the afterimage of the two-legged treasure chest.

"Jie!"

The treasure chest was startled by the sudden impact, opened its mouth to reveal the golden key inside, and then, seeming to realize it had exposed the key's whereabouts, tried to speed up to shake off its pursuers behind.

"Jie?"

The treasure chest seemed odd—its steps grew heavier and heavier as if filled with lead. "Come over here, Master!"

A cold glint flashed in Yunhe's eyes; the void power in his hand flowed, turning heaven and upside down! He saw the treasure chest as if lifted by a great hand, then vanished within a spatial vortex.

"Got it! Is the trial over here? That's too easy!" Suddenly a beam of light shot toward Yunhe's right hand, which was manifesting the universe in his palm; Yunhe's eyes gathered five-colored rainbow light, and in an instant the inverted five-element divine light met the beam! Like snow meeting sunlight, the beam touching the inverted five-element divine light instantly dissolved, and then struck straight into the bone wolf leader's body with a "wu."

The bone wolf leader let out a wail and instantly turned into a pile of powder.

However, this scene did not let Yunhe relax in the slightest; although the surrounding bone wolf pack had lost the leader's guidance, they still acted with purpose and plan—obviously this was not over. Looking at the strange treasure chest still spinning in his hand, Yunhe tried to force it open, but saw that the chest was forged by some unknown method; even with his current strength capable of shattering mountains and uplifting the four seas, he could not open even a slit.

"Ao wu!"

At the spot where the bone wolf leader vanished, a smaller bone wolf gently licked the powder on the ground, then let out a faint, somewhat mournful long howl: "Ao wu."

"Ao wu."

For a moment, the rising and falling wolf howls echoed through the heavens: "Truly marvelous—this object is clearly a dead spirit puppet, yet it possesses a trace of sentient feeling!"

Yunhe couldn't help but sigh, but at the moment it was obviously more important to finish the trial right away!

Since he couldn't force the chest open, he could only send it on its way; the chest suddenly felt a powerful, overbearing force approaching—different from before, this pressure came from all sides, as if it wanted to flatten him.

Sensing Yunhe's malice, the chest began to struggle frantically, trying to escape the immense pressure.

"Click."

But in just a moment, irregular cracks appeared all over the chest's body; the chest could no longer struggle, its straight legs trembling nonstop.

"Bang!"

Shards of the treasure chest scattered across Yunhe's hand, yet the key was nowhere to be found; all he heard was the surrounding wolf howls gradually fading, and Yunhe's compass pointed with a soft "whoosh"—a new treasure chest appeared! "Looks like passing this trial isn't that simple!"

Yunhe didn't rush to chase the chest; instead, he pondered how to clear this trial.

Those spirit puppets were also chasing the chest, but when Yunhe seized it, they didn't stop—indeed they attacked him, showing that passing the trial wasn't about grabbing the chest. "Master, where are you? I sense an interesting flavor!"

Beside the Nascent Soul, the Five Elements Nurturing Spirit Pearl flickered with five-colored light, and little Ling'er's spirit form appeared in Yunhe's sea of consciousness: "Ling'er, what flavor do you sense?"

Yunhe asked; this was the first time in many days that Ling'er had spoken on her own initiative—normally she stayed within the treasure pearl's space, tending to their gradually flourishing home.

"A fragrant scent that makes one's mouth water."

Ling'er felt it carefully, her face showing a hint of intoxication.

As the two were speaking, a commotion erupted in the distance: a bone wolf that Yunhe somewhat recognized chased after a treasure chest, with many smaller bone wolves trailing behind.

Although the chest was fast, it couldn't withstand the numerous light pillars shot from the bone wolves behind; the lead wolf kept driving the chest forward while the others took their positions, forming a large bag—when the bone wolves successfully surrounded it, the wolf king would drive the chest into the encirclement, leaving it no escape.

But how would the bone wolves take the key from inside the chest? Or rather, what use would they have for the key?

Yunhe approached the bone wolves' encirclement with some doubts; although he still wanted to observe why they chased the chest, if the chest fell into their mouths and caused his trial to fail, he'd have nowhere to plead his case.

At this moment the chest had already been driven into the bone wolves' encirclement; if it deviated, the bone wolves hidden in the half‑person‑high grass would leap out and forcibly change its direction—clearly the chest had fallen into the wolves' trap.

All the wolves formed a circle, placing the chest at the center, while the lead wolf continually shifted its position to ensure the chest always faced it.

When the lead wolf's fangs sank into the seated chest, Yunhe hadn't expected what happened—the wolf's teeth pierced like paper, easily tearing off a small half of the chest's body. Yunhe could already see the golden key inside, and with a tremendous ripping-through-the-air sound, before he arrived, five flying swords had already attacked.

Obviously the lead wolf hadn't forgotten Yunhe's strength; it let out a howl directing the pack to retreat, then seized the chest and headed another way—evidently slaughtering the wolf pack wasn't Yunhe's goal. Since the wolves didn't attack, the five flying swords struck at empty air, only managing to slay a bone wolf that reacted half a beat late.

Just as before, that bone wolf turned to powder after death, falling into the grassland and vanishing without trace.

But unlike before, the Five Elements Nurturing Spirit Pearl within him flickered, and a pure white, peculiar spiritual power drifted from the spot where the bone wolf had just fallen into the pearl.

"How delicious!"

Feeling this peculiar spiritual power merge into the pearl, Ling'er let out a comfortable sound: "Ling'er, can you absorb this bone wolf's spiritual power?"

Yunhe interrupted Ling'er's immersive absorption; he had already suspected that the regenerable bone wolves and the chest were related to this place's laws, though he hadn't yet pinpointed the key. "Ling'er feels these big guys are just like Huohuo and Xinxin—she couldn't hold back."

Seeing Ling'er seemed to like these other spiritual powers, Yunhe guessed that perhaps this place and the space inside the pearl shared similar lawful forces, and maybe the laws here originally came from the pearl—of course, this was only Yunhe's speculation.

Seeing this, Yunhe took Ling'er and killed and devoured the weaker bone wolves one by one; for Yunhe, whose escape speed was extremely fast and strength great, only a few seconds passed before only the distant bone wolf leader remained. The wolf king holding half a chest watched its companions vanish and never reappear, looking somewhat dazed.

Yunhe floated in midair; this was his first time closely observing the bone wolves' peculiar "spirit."

In his calm gaze, the bone wolf leader once again turned to powder; bone ash rose across the sky, forming a small gray vortex that was sucked into the pearl.

The remaining half of the chest likewise turned into specks of golden light that merged into the pearl.

Obviously Yunhe's guess was correct—just like the laws inside the pearl, the "spirit" produced here can devour a lower‑rank spirit, has no intention of actively attacking outsiders, and after being killed can be revived by relying on this place's laws.

Yunhe picked up the key from the ground—this trial might be passable without doing anything, but most people wouldn't believe it, nor dare to believe it, including the initial Yunhe: just the fact that a late Nascent Soul–level treasure chest that could constantly resurrect with his escape speed was enough to make most cultivators drink a pot of tea in astonishment, and there were also the strange bone wolves—who knows if cultivators would first attack the bone wolves, and which cultivator would dare to bet that if the bone wolves ate the chest and then ate the key, he could let such a great opportunity slip away before his eyes? Moreover, there's another point: he doesn't know whether the chest, after being eaten by the bone wolves, would resurrect again or take the key with it. These no longer concern him; at this moment he pays more attention to the changes inside the pearl—Ling'er's little face is flushed red, as if she's drunk, obviously benefiting greatly from absorbing these other spiritual powers: "Ling'er wants to sleep again."

Only seeing the lovely maiden stretch lazily, she turned into a rosy light and entered the pearl—just unknown how long she'll sleep this time.

Seeing Ling'er unharmed, Yunhe relaxed a bit, playing with the key in his hand, wondering whether the treasury inside would contain what he sought.

When Yunhe's divine sense touched the key, a light gate opened wide in the sky, Chui Niangniang rushed out from inside, carrying some surprise and anger.

You little brat! You

After a moment, the angry and helpless Chui Niangniang gave up questioning Yunhe, because no matter how she asked, he remained expressionless and his heart did not race, having ruined his trial without intending to compensate.

Come with me, the other cultivators participating in the trial are still in the trial; you can first choose a treasure.

Chui Niangniang brought Yunhe into the true treasure hall, facing an ordinary stone slab, Chui Niangniang said.

Place the key on the stone slab, use your divine sense to communicate with the Treasure Palace, and you can pick whatever treasure you want.

Having said that, he left the Treasure Palace without looking back, obviously not worried that Yunhe would take the Treasure Palace away. When Yunhe began communicating with the Treasure Palace, he felt his divine sense enter a vast treasure vault, and a gentle voice sounded: "Cultivators who have passed the trial, welcome. You may choose one treasure you desire here."

Lady?

Yunhe was somewhat surprised; the voice sounded exactly like the Hammer Lady's, only much gentler, without a trace of its original sharpness. Receiving no reply, Yunhe did not press further, and his divine sense wandered within the treasure vault.

There were divine swords with no visible blades amidst the thick killing intent, iron rods that seemed utterly ordinary, and even the corpse of a fifth-level demonic beast. The Treasure Palace held countless treasures, many of great value. If possible, Yunhe really wanted to take the Artifact Pavilion as easily as he had taken the Old Gourd from the Pill Pavilion, but that was obviously impossible. After turning left and right, Yunhe still had not found the "Void Essence," so he asked,

"May I ask, Lady, is 'Void Essence' available in the treasure vault?"

"What do you need all that artifact-refining material for? Could you possibly be a fourth-level artifact refiner?"

That voice carried a hint of curiosity; evidently, they had not expected anyone to ask about such precious artifact-refining material.

"I dare not take the title of artifact refiner; it's merely a hobby in my leisure time," Yunhe said humbly. "'Void Essence' does exist, but you may only choose one treasure to take with you. Are you certain you want to choose the Void Essence?" The voice gradually grew somewhat cold. "Junior, I am certain," Yunhe showed no hesitation and still chose the Void Essence.

The amount of Void Essence in the treasure vault does not match the value of other treasures; thus, I will also give you some artifact-refining materials, which should make up for it.

"Thank you, senior." Yunhe made a slight bow.

Seeing Yunhe finish speaking, his divine sense was sent out by the treasure vault. It seemed that in the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm, the amount of Void Essence was also not large, so the artifact spirit senior must have advised him not to choose the Void Essence. He also did not know whether this amount of Void Essence would be enough to forge his own Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword.

Just as Yunhe was silently pondering, a half-human-tall elliptical Void Essence fell from the air, smashing a pit into the stone bricks made of unknown material.

"That's all. I don't know if it's enough for you to forge a magic treasure," the voice said, sounding somewhat apologetic.

Then some black iron lumps and the bones of an unknown demonic beast fell as well, clearly not treasures easily obtained from the outside world. "Junior thanks the senior."

He waved his hand, storing the materials in his storage bag; this trip to the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm could be considered complete.

After that, the voice fell silent. "Hey, you chose so quickly—did you pick the Thunder Fire Divine Sword or the Heavenly Punishment Demon-Suppressing Staff?"

The voice was clearly the same, yet the feeling conveyed was different.

Seeing Yunhe remain silent, the Hammer Lady's hammerhead visibly dented slightly, as if she were frowning.

"What did you choose then? You didn't just pick up some junk, did you?"

Yunhe felt somewhat speechless, yet he kept a calm expression and said nothing. "Forget it, forget it—I don't like this junior at all. Since you've already made your choice, I'll send you out."

After the Hammer Lady finished speaking, she prepared to send Yunhe out of the Treasure Palace. "Lady, please wait," Yunhe said. "I still have a friend inside your Treasure Palace; could you please summon him as well?"

Yunhe lifted his head, staring fixedly at the Hammer Lady.

"What friend? This palace knows nothing of it."

"Lady!" Yunhe's magical power circulated throughout his body, obviously preparing to act.

One person, one hammer stared at each other; after a brief silence, a brownish-red treasure gourd was thrown out.

"Never let this palace see you again!"

After the Hammer Lady finally flung down those words, Yunhe and the Old Gourd found themselves at the border between the Fire Domain and the Artifact Domain.

(End of Chapter)