Han Li didn't act immediately. Instead, he carefully extended his spiritual sense to probe the surroundings. Once he confirmed that old monsters like Ji Yin truly weren't watching him, he didn't hesitate any longer — he raised a finger, and a flash of blue light appeared. A sword gleam several inches long materialized at his fingertip, flickering in and out of existence.
With a steady hand, Han Li used the sword gleam to carve a circle about the size of a fist into the bluestone. Then, with a wave of his hand, the gleam vanished.
His other hand quickly tapped the circle. Instantly, a hole appeared in the stone.
Han Li knew his time was limited, so without a second thought he thrust his hand inside.
The space within wasn't large. He groped around blindly, and after a moment his fingers closed around something.
A flicker of expression crossed Han Li's face.
The object was long, slender, and cylindrical — soft to the touch, like some kind of rod.
But only when he withdrew his arm from the bluestone did he get a proper look at it. It turned out to be an old, yellowed scroll.
Just as Han Li, somewhat surprised, was about to unfurl it, his expression suddenly changed. He hastily stuffed the scroll into his robe, then flickered forward, pressing his body flat against the stone wall to cover the hole completely, putting on the appearance of someone resting.
The moment Han Li finished these actions, Ji Yin's gloomy voice reached his ears.
"Han Li, come back quickly. We're going in."
Hearing this, a trace of surprise flickered in Han Li's eyes.
Hadn't they agreed to rest and regroup? How had they changed their minds so quickly? Could the three old devils have sensed something amiss?
As these thoughts raced through his mind, the instant Ji Yin's spiritual sense withdrew from the area, Han Li turned around, resealed the hole, and restored the stone to its original state before walking calmly toward the platform.
When he arrived, several old devils were standing at the base of the stairs with solemn expressions, gazing up at the platform. Behind them, Wu Chou and Xuan Gu were doing the same.
Han Li glanced up in mild surprise, and his face changed slightly.
The blue light atop the platform was flickering at a dizzying rate, and amid the trembling glow, several threads of golden light could be seen reflecting back.
And in just this short while, the stone platform's surroundings had accumulated several more inches of frost. It was only because the white barrier separated them that Han Li hadn't noticed anything amiss.
Upon seeing Han Li arrive, Ji Yin nodded to him, then turned to address the barbaric-bearded man beside him:
"Brother Man, my disciple has arrived. Let's go up. I can't believe Wan Tianming's Golden Thread Silkworms could actually make the Void Sky Cauldron sway. I don't know what's going on, but we'd better go take a look."
The barbaric-bearded man said nothing in response. Instead, he shot upward with a leap — answer enough in itself.
Ji Yin and the others followed close behind, ascending the stairs.
BOOM.
When the barbaric-bearded man reached the barrier at the top of the stairs, without a word he smashed his fist — wreathed in demonic energy — straight into it. The barrier immediately cracked open, splitting into a gap several zhang wide, and the barbaric-bearded man strode through without looking back.
Ji Yin and the scholarly elder, however, flashed to either side of Han Li, trapping him between them. Without giving him any choice, they swept him along and followed through.
Xuan Gu and Wu Chou entered the barrier last.
So cold! Though Han Li had already steeled himself to some degree while outside, the moment he stepped through, the biting chill still made him shiver. He hurriedly activated the protective glow around his body before the cold finally subsided.
The barbaric-bearded man had absolutely no intention of waiting for anyone else. Without even a glance back, he marched straight toward the center where the blue light blazed brightest.
The elder and Ji Yin exchanged a look and could only manage a bitter smile before hastening after him a few quick steps.
Even so, Ji Yin didn't forget to cast a meaningful glance back at Han Li, who had fallen slightly behind, urging him pointedly to walk faster.
Inwardly, Han Li cursed Ji Yin in the most colorful terms imaginable.
It wasn't that he had any delusions about escaping — he simply wanted to hang back a little so he could take a moment to examine what the scroll in his robe actually was. After all, the place where it had been hidden was far too suspicious. It might just prove useful for his current predicament!
But now that Ji Yin had pushed him like this, Wu Chou seemed to have been reminded of something as well, his eyes locking onto Han Li with suspicion, not shifting away for even an instant. Even Xuan Gu swept a glance his way, a hint of doubt on his face.
Han Li had no choice but to grit his teeth and quicken his pace. But after only a few steps, his speed slowed once more.