Chapter 176: Different Worlds, Different Fates for Snakes (Tenth Update! Subscribe!)

Fang Yu finally refined his first gourd of elixir on his cultivation path.

This refining process wasn't overly difficult, because the elixir relied primarily on this treasure-grade cauldron, the Five Prison King Cauldron.

The more advanced the cauldron, the higher its automation level—sorting ingredients, grinding them, extracting herbal properties, selecting heavenly flames—all could be automated.

This is the power of a Top-Grade treasure: with one Top-Grade treasure cauldron, you only need sufficient raw materials to automatically refine elixirs.

If it advances further, from a Top-Grade treasure to a Dao artifact, the refining process can even alter the flow of time—perhaps an hour passes outside, while decades or even centuries pass inside the cauldron, drastically shortening the time needed to refine high-grade elixirs.

For example, Yuhua Sect's Tianji Elixir, the Yin-Yang Wan Shou Elixir, is publicly claimed to require decades or even centuries of refining by a Zhang Sect-level master, but in truth, with a Dao artifact cauldron, it takes only a few hours.

The reason for claiming decades or centuries is simply to make disciples believe the elixir is precious, to make them understand how rare it is, so they'll be grateful upon receiving it.

After refining his first gourd of elixir, Fang Yu activated the Five Prison King Cauldron and returned to the Deathly Island; this cauldron still held many mysteries he had not yet explored, and now was the perfect time.

Upon close inspection, the interior of the Five Prison King Cauldron was filled with gold-inlaid jade carvings—nine layers of gold-and-jade screens, each dividing numerous independent chambers, each screen carved with images: earth, water, fire, wind; swords, clouds, thunder; a hundred demons marching at night; demon heads devouring humans, and more.

On these nine screens were images of both Immortal Dao and Demon Dao; each painting was a grand array.

The flying swords Fang Yu had just summoned were all on one screen; as soon as magic power flowed into it, the array's power would activate immediately.

"The Five Prison King Cauldron has too many arrays; with my current strength, I cannot fully activate them—but with enough heavenly demons, I could activate the arrays within the Five Prison King Cauldron."

As Fang Yu pondered, he deciphered the cauldron's use: among these arrays, one was called the "Soul-Devouring Array," a specialized array designed to absorb spiritual entities, specifically meant to counter heavenly demons—once activated, the cauldron would emit a terrifying suction, drawing heavenly demons inside and pulling them onto one of the screens.

Once absorbed, these heavenly demons would be forced to supply power to the Five Prison King Cauldron, activating other arrays and aiding Fang Yu in activating them.

This was precisely why the Five Prison Great Heavenly Demon forged the Five Prison King Cauldron—he intended to command his army of heavenly demons with it; the more heavenly demons absorbed, the greater its power, the more arrays activated, and the more heavenly demons it could command, forming a virtuous cycle.

"I've heard of the Five Prison King Cauldron—back then, the Five Prison Great Heavenly Demon used it to command his heavenly demons, terrifyingly powerful, possessing millions or even tens of millions of Xuan Huang Lie Ma's strength, moving mountains and filling seas without effort."

Long Xuan examined the various arrays of the Five Prison King Cauldron, her face showing signs of shock. The legendary King Cauldron stood before her—truly captivating.

"We might as well capture some heavenly demons; it's perfect timing for Long Xuan's training—we'll head to the Gui Xu region. But before we go, we can't leave the Li Hei Shui Wang She behind."

Fang Yu spoke, and with a slight activation of the Five Prison King Cauldron's arrays, over forty flying swords shot out, slicing the Li Hei Shui Wang She into many pieces; immediately, several arrays within the cauldron activated, sucking up both its blood and body into the Five Prison King Cauldron.

From now on, with sufficient materials, Fang Yu could use the Five Prison King Cauldron to refine even better elixirs.

"The Li Hei Shui Wang She's gallbladder is well-suited to enhancing physical strength."

A snake nearly a thousand years old could have transformed into Xiao Qing or Xiao Bai in another world, but here it was slain outright by Fang Yu, its entire body turned into medicine.

While refining the elixir, he activated the Five Prison King Cauldron, which pierced through space toward the Gui Xu region.

Undeniably, the Five Prison King Cauldron was an excellent flying vessel; within it, one was protected from external harm and could focus solely on cultivation.

Fang Yu sat cross-legged inside the Five Prison King Cauldron, activating some of its arrays; golden flames and true water enveloped him, and within several grand arrays, he endured the refining of true water and true fire.

This was a method to enhance physical strength and condense magic power—the advanced function of a cauldron.

Boiling oneself.

As he continuously boiled himself, Fang Yu felt his physical strength continue to strengthen, and his magic power generated endlessly.

Fire from the Fire Domain of the Shrouding Heaven Realm also descended, absorbed by Fang Yu, further increasing his magic power.

The cauldron boils the cultivator, enhancing power.

Nearby, Long Xuan was also taking elixirs and cultivating, surrounded by water and fire arrays that enhanced her strength.

She was already at the peak of the 10th Stage of Physical Body; now, with the Heavenly Juemo Sect's upper-grade human-tier elixirs and the water-fire arrays refining her body, she drew ever closer to the Divine Ability Secret Realm.

The Divine Ability Secret Realm—this realm was far too difficult for most cultivators; to shatter the Shentongzhi Sect with one's spirit and attain the Divine Ability Secret Realm was impossible unless one's physical body reached an extremely high realm.

But with good nourishment and methods to forge the body, one would draw ever closer to the Divine Ability Secret Realm.

Both were cultivating; Fang Yu, while cultivating, activated the Five Prison King Cauldron, steering it toward the Gui Xu region.

The colder it became the farther they went into the Gui Xu region; ice peaks arose across the heavens and ocean, some towering hundreds of zhang—majestic and vast.

This place was no longer habitable for ordinary humans; even cultivators of the 8th or 9th Stage of Physical Body felt the piercing cold.

Yet within the Five Prison King Cauldron, it remained warm as spring, even warm as summer.

After all, everyone was being refined by true fire.

Suddenly, Fang Yu sensed intense demonic energy; through the cauldron's walls, he saw a vast black hole on the distant ice, dozens of li across—equivalent in size to Long Yuan City.

But this black hole was not the ocean; it seemed a passage, terrifyingly dark, as if some being had used magic power to pierce through the world into another realm.

Fang Yu immediately knew: this was Gui Xu.

They had arrived at the Gui Xu region.

Gui Xu, in essence, was a passage to another world—mostly created during ancient Immortal-Demon wars or Divine-Demon wars, when spacetime was shattered.

In ancient times, great beings fought so fiercely they could obliterate stars and even break spacetime, leaving behind passages connecting different worlds.

Entering this black hole might carry one millions of light-years away to another world, with no possibility of return.

Many here gained miraculous fortune—finding ancient magic treasures, elixirs, Dao arts, ascending to heaven in a single step; far more, however, were trapped in foreign realms, dying without a trace.

Heavenly demons, spacetime, various other-dimensional spaces, terrifying forbidden arts—each could kill a cultivator.

And now, Fang Yu and Long Xuan had arrived here.