A moment later, the small azure tripod shimmered brilliantly within the Nascent Fire, radiating waves of searing heat. The entire hidden chamber began to roil with rising temperatures, climbing sharply.
A cold gleam flickered in Han Li's eyes. He raised his hand and flicked a hand seal at the small tripod.
With a soft pop, a beam of azure light shot skyward from the tripod — the lid had launched itself off. After a single rotation, it hovered motionless in the air above.
Han Li's gaze shifted to a square jade box on the ground before him. He pointed at it swiftly, and the lid vanished without a sound, revealing a dark, tuber-like object inside — several inches across, somewhat flattened and round.
Han Li studied the object for a moment, then waved his hand through the air. The tuber flew out of the jade box and halted about a zhang above the ground.
With a casual flick of his finger, a flash of azure light swept past, and a portion roughly one-fifth the size of the tuber fell away silently.
His sleeve swept forward, sending a ribbon of azure light arcing out, which snatched up the severed piece and tossed it into the small tripod.
He then cast another hand seal at the tuber, and it dropped right back into the jade box.
Han Li paid the tuber no further attention. He cast another spell to open a long, rectangular wooden box, revealing a section of an unidentified spiritual herb stem, its surface dripping with vivid green.
He repeated the same process — a blade of sword light sliced off a small piece and deposited it in the tripod.
And so, following the pill recipe, Han Li selected portions from the various materials arranged before him and fed them into the tripod one by one. At last, he produced a single Spirit Candle Fruit.
Azure sword light flashed, dividing it into four portions. He placed one into the tripod.
Only then did he give the hovering lid a gentle tap.
The lid dropped straight down, sealing the small tripod tightly.
Han Li exhaled softly, then opened his mouth once more. Azure Nascent Fire billowed forth, and the flames surged dramatically, pushing the chamber's temperature even higher.
Eyes fixed on the tripod within the flames, his ten fingers danced without pause — one hand seal after another flew from his hands, striking the small tripod one by one without missing a single one.
Before long, rumbling sounds like thunder began to emanate from within the tripod, growing steadily louder.
Han Li raised an eyebrow. The speed at which he formed his hand seals shifted — now slow, now fast — without any warning.
The thunderous rumbling from the tripod rose and fell in tandem, creating an eerie, unpredictable rhythm.
Han Li's expression remained impassive, but a flickering blue glow danced in his eyes. He appeared to be peering straight through the tripod walls to observe the state of the pills within — his face utterly devoid of joy or sorrow.
Time passed, little by little, just like this.
…
While Han Li was buried in his pill refinement, over at the altar in the basin, the Ghost Spirit Sect entourage had finally reached its summit — the structure rose several hundred zhang into the sky.
It was hard to say what the ancient cultivators who originally built the altar had been thinking — the restrictions on its stairway were simply savage. Starting from the base, nearly every certain height of ascent brought a sudden, dramatic increase in the gravitational force bearing down on the climbers.
From the base to the midpoint, the group had taken a little over two hours. But from the midpoint to the very top, they had spent a full day and night — even having to rest for half a day midway through to recover their Magical Power.
The Ghost Spirit Sect Master and the other Nascent Soul cultivators were fine, but the three Core Formation disciples had barely managed to reach the top. When they reached the final dozen or so steps, nearly every step brought the weight of a thousand jin crashing down upon them. These Core Formation cultivators had essentially inched their way to the summit.
Of course, the one who had the easiest time was Wei Wuya.
From beginning to end, the restrictions had shown no significant effect on this Late Nascent Soul cultivator — not once had he shown the slightest sign of strain. When even Wang Tiangu and the others had reached the final stretch, they could only take one halting step at a time, their faces growing increasingly grim.
Naturally, when the Ghost Spirit Sect Master witnessed Wei Wuya's performance, he felt a quiet stirring of alarm and found his estimation of the man rising yet again.
Though their cultivation levels varied, under the Ghost Spirit Sect Master's deliberate coordination, they all arrived at the altar's summit together.
The moment they set foot on top, the crushing weight — as heavy as a mountain — vanished without a trace, and the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples finally breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Though their protective spiritual light had shielded them all the way up, the long climb from the base had still left every muscle aching, their legs sore and their whole bodies limp.
This was a sensation they hadn't experienced since their mortal days — back when merely getting somewhere had been as simple as taking a few steps, never imagining they would ever suffer such agony again.
Wang Tiangu and the others paid no mind to any of this. The moment they set foot on the summit, they immediately began scanning their surroundings.
The area spanned over a hundred zhang across, its floor paved with gleaming white jade tiles. At its center stood a massive offering table, some six or seven zhang long, carved from exquisite emerald-green jade. The rest of the space was empty, but at each of the four corners of the altar stood a tall pillar of green stone.
Each pillar rose about ten zhang high, their surfaces densely inscribed with countless runes and incantations that looked obscure, abstruse, and impossibly ancient. Atop each pillar crouched a stone statue of a qilin, each one lifelike and unique in posture, emanating a faint spiritual glow that spoke of something far from ordinary.
Such a simple layout — the group took it all in at a glance.