"Han Li, what do you think? Although Fellow Daoist Hanli makes some valid points, I still have certain reservations. For the sake of safety, how about the two of us stick together? As for Fellow Daoist Long—from what I know, she has quite a connection with the Little Extreme Palace. We should be careful." The gray-robed monk sent a voice transmission to Han Li.
Han Li's heart clenched. His gaze shifted as he glanced sideways at the monk, only to find the latter smiling faintly at him.
His thoughts racing, Han Li was deliberating whether the monk's words were true or false when suddenly a deafening boom echoed from the Void Spirit Hall above the Mystic Jade Cave. The entire cavern trembled slightly, as if struck by some powerful impact.
Everyone's expression changed.
Had they been standing atop the enormous mountain of the Little Extreme Palace at that moment, they would have seen an enormous ice phoenix, dozens of zhang tall and entirely snow-white like jade, circling outside the mountain's protective barrier. With a single spread of its wings, a biting cold wind howled past, and from the frigid energy beneath it, an ice mountain over a hundred zhang tall materialized out of thin air. Then the phoenix released its grip.
The ice mountain plummeted downward like Mount Tai crashing from the sky, slamming into the barrier with an earth-shattering boom.
Countless white lights exploded and flickered. The originally thick and solid barrier contorted eerily, but ultimately held. Even so, the massive mountain still shuddered under the impact, and some less sturdy structures on its slopes crumbled and collapsed outright.
This giant phoenix was the transformation of that silver-robed woman.
Because so many low-ranking Ice Sea demon tribes had been killed earlier, her fury had not subsided. Relying on her status as a cold-attribute heaven-and-earth spirit beast, she had disregarded the outer ice-cold barrier formation entirely, torn through space to appear above the Ice City, and unleashed her powers to attack the Little Extreme Palace's defensive barriers.
Though her sneak attack had succeeded in sending the cultivators inside the mountain into a flurry of panic, the high-ranking cultivators of the Little Extreme Palace below would not allow her to continue attacking unopposed.
Just as a white halo flashed on the demon bird and it began condensing another ice mountain, a silver beam of light and a sphere of white light shot up from below the barrier. Within them, figures flickered—it was Bai Yaoyi and the gray-haired elder.
Before they even drew close to the ice phoenix, Bai Yaoyi let out a sharp cry, and two silver flying swords slashed forward first. The gray-haired elder darkened his expression and rubbed his palms together. A treasure surged from his sleeve, expanding wildly in the wind—it was a crystal-clear jade bottle.
The bottle blazed with spiritual light, and from its mouth came a rumbling sound, lending it an air of profound mystery.
The ice phoenix's pale green eyes flashed. Its enormous wings swept forward, and over a dozen ice spears, each more than ten zhang long, materialized beneath the wings and shot toward the pair.
The gray-haired elder gave a cold snort. Within the white light, he formed hand seals, and the jade bottle trembled violently. From its mouth, over a dozen streams of black-and-white light erupted, vanishing in a flash before eerily wrapping around those ice spears.
No one knew what mystique these light streams possessed, but the moment the ice spears made contact, they shuddered violently and shrank rapidly, transforming to the size of chopsticks in the blink of an eye before being swept up by the black-and-white light and drawn into the jade bottle.
A flicker of surprise crossed the ice phoenix's eyes, but before it could think further, its form dissolved into a boundless blizzard that swept toward the two opponents, engulfing sky and earth.
Bai Yaoyi and the gray-haired elder were not to be outdone. Two silver beams and a sphere of black-and-white energy blazed with radiance as they met the assault.
In an instant, thunderous sounds erupted one after another atop the massive mountain. Wind and snow clashed, spiritual light flickered rapidly. But strangely, neither the beautiful woman nor the other Little Extreme Palace elders came out to assist—they were either managing the barrier formation or had gone to battle other high-ranking demon beasts.
While the battle raged fiercely outside, Han Li and the others inside the Mystic Jade Cave within the Void Spirit Hall felt the shockwaves of the great battle and exchanged uneasy glances.
Hanli Shangren also glanced toward the entrance, his expression turning grave.
"It seems those demon beasts have truly begun their assault. In that case, we cannot open this cave entrance carelessly. If we are interrupted at a critical moment during the breakthrough, all our efforts could be wasted. I still intend to rely on the strength of you fellow daoists to resist the horde of demons, and I would never do anything to disadvantage the three of you." The great elder of the Little Extreme Palace spoke in a heavy tone, a hint of steel underlying his words.
"We can understand Fellow Daoist Hanli's concern. But if we help you break through the bottleneck and you succeed—your cultivation will advance while the three of us suffer severe damage to our vital energy. With such an imbalance in power, and being trapped in this sealed underground space… it would be rather unsettling. A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall, and one cannot do without the heart to guard against others. No matter how friendly our relationship with your palace may be, we cannot entrust our lives to your whim based on a few mere words." The monk furrowed his brow and spoke slowly.
"That is understandable. If I were in your position, I would not place myself in such a situation either. But does Master Mojiu have any solution that would satisfy everyone?" Hanli Shangren asked, somewhat helplessly.
"In that case—if you truly harbor no ill intentions, why not entrust this Qianlan Cauldron to the three of us for safekeeping? Once this matter is resolved, we will return it to you. That way, we can assist you in breaking through the bottleneck with peace of mind." The gray-robed monk's eyes glinted as he suddenly made this proposal.
The moment these words left his mouth, both Han Li and the old woman standing on the light pillar were stunned—but they quickly came to a realization.
"Good. That is indeed a solution that satisfies everyone." Han Li voiced his agreement at once.
The old woman considered it for a moment, then slowly nodded as well.
But the green-robed middle-aged man's expression changed upon hearing this. He could not help but interject:
"Master Mojiu, this is inappropriate. You should know full well the origin of the Qianlan Cauldron—it is a specialized artifact used exclusively by our palace for cultivating the Qianlan Ice Flames. How can it be so easily handed over to outsiders?"
As he spoke, he shook his head repeatedly.
"We are merely keeping it safe temporarily. Before we leave this place, we will return it in its original condition. We have absolutely no intention of claiming it as our own. What objection could there be to that? Fellow Daoist Ouyang, you are being overly cautious." The gray-robed monk, who had been appearing amiable and approachable until now, showed no yielding whatsoever this time.
"But…"