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Chapter Four Hundred and Sixty-Seven: Obtaining the Treasures

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Han Li was naturally bold, yet even upon this first glance, he felt his spirit tremble. After firmly suppressing his discomfort and gazing for a while, he still found nothing and eventually withdrew his gaze. Though his awareness was strong, it could not penetrate to such a profound depth. Then Han Li no longer hesitated and walked directly toward the pavilion. As he drew nearer, its grandeur and majesty became apparent—no less than three or four times the size of a typical pavilion. The entrance featured a semicircular archway, about two zhang high, enclosed by a yellow luminous veil. When Han Li reached the door, he examined the veil. He slightly tilted his head, thought for a moment, then raised a flash of green light in his hand, forming a sword beam about a chi in length. With a gentle touch of his finger, he lightly pressed the green beam against the veil. Ripples spread out, and the beam easily penetrated the veil, encountering no resistance at all. This situation surprised Han Li a bit, but he immediately drew in the jade light and extended his arm into the space as well. It felt slightly cool, as though enveloped by a liquid. Without hesitation, Han Li leapt forward, passing through the light curtain and vanishing. However, upon stepping through the archway and standing inside the pavilion, Han Li paused, stunned. Before him stood a series of circular jade platforms several zhang high, varying in size and crafted from translucent, white jade, densely arranged in front of him. Glowing light shimmered on the stone platforms, with semi-circular luminous domes resting atop each surface, as if something existed within each one. Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly, a spark of excitement lighting up his face. As soon as he saw the characters "Treasure Light Pavilion," he had already guessed that he had stumbled upon something remarkable—this pavilion likely housed ancient treasures. Yet now the pavilion stands empty, seemingly indicating that those who once passed through this corridor either had already selected ancient treasures and been transferred elsewhere, or had reached the second floor. As this thought occurred to Han Li, he carefully examined the jade platforms and indeed found that several of them lacked the semicircular luminous dome, appearing instead completely bare. As for the staircase leading to the second floor? Han Li found himself puzzled. After thoroughly scanning the area, he could not locate it at all. With growing curiosity, he searched repeatedly until his gaze settled upon a particularly distinctive jade platform. This platform stood alone at the back of the first-floor pavilion, flat and isolated, with intricate and obscure inscriptions and symbols carved around its perimeter. After merely glancing at it, Han Li, relying on his knowledge of array techniques, immediately judged it to be a uniquely shaped, simple teleportation array. After gazing at it for a moment, he turned and began walking slowly along the rows of jade platforms, browsing the ancient treasures displayed upon them. As he went on examining them one by one, Han Li's brows gradually furrowed. "Are these really that ordinary?" After having looked at only a few dozen jade platforms, Han Li had completely lost interest, standing with his arms folded, murmuring quietly, his face showing a touch of puzzlement. These jade platforms truly lived up to their title as "ancient treasures"—each one either a long gong or a long jie, bearing the style of antiquity. Though they shimmered with various hues of precious aura, Han Li knew well that during the age of the wilderness, such items were no different from the flying swords and flying knives used by today's cultivators—typically possessing only modest magical capabilities. Of course, they weren't entirely useless! Yet, with a treasure like the Qingzhu Fengyun Sword now in his possession, Han Li found these items simply unimpressive. He longed instead for more exceptional ancient treasures—such as the floral baskets that possessed unique magical functions. Though thinking this, afraid of missing anything, Han Li still forced himself to inspect every single jade platform thoroughly. Upon doing so, he sighed deeply and decided without hesitation to head toward the teleportation array. He believed there should be something different on the second floor. After installing several spiritual stones on the array, Han Li arrived at a new location bathed in a bright white light. Was this the second floor of Baoguang Pavilion? Han Li narrowed his eyes, his lips pressed tightly together. The space was relatively small—besides a large spherical light dome located a few paces ahead, the rest of the area was empty and bare. This dome, standing about fifteen zhang high, emitted a soft, serene blue glow and stood out prominently at the center of the second floor, several zhang above the ground. Inside, dozens of ancient treasures of various shapes floated quietly. Among them were scrolls, jade tablets, round bowls, black banners—items Han Li recognized—and several others he had not yet identified—all of which were unique, none repeated. At this point, Han Li felt a great sense of relief and knew he had come to the right place. However, these items were being left so openly here—had they been truly valuable, they would have long since been claimed by the earlier arriving cultivators. Now, it was only fair that he should have a chance. With this thought, Han Li slowly walked toward the spherical light shield, circling it three or four times before stopping. As he opened his mouth, a slender jade-like sword, about an inch long, shot out from his mouth. After circling the sky several times, it instantly transformed into a streak of bright jade light and, under the movement of his consciousness, plunged directly into the base of the shield. A soft "thud" echoed, and at the point of impact, a flash of bright blue light shimmered—yet the jade light bounced right back, failing to make any impression. Seeing this, Han Li smiled rather than grow angry. The more impressive the result, the more evident it was that the ancient treasure within the shield was truly priceless. With renewed excitement, Han Li opened his mouth again and successively expelled nine such small swords. After a prolonged resonant hum, the nine small swords coalesced into a massive blade glowing with a soft azure light. "Cut!" Han Li roared softly. With a single, forceful stroke reminiscent of splitting Mount Huashan, the great blade struck the luminous shield without hesitation. "Boom!" As the blade made contact with the shield's surface, it instantly cleaved open a long, narrow fissure. Han Li's face brightened with satisfaction. Yet, before any further action could be taken, a powerful force surged forth from within, causing the great blade to rebound sharply with a sharp "crack." The fissure shimmered once and then seamlessly resealed itself. Han Li was first stunned, then his expression darkened. He stroked his chin, studying the spherical shield intently. After a while, his demeanor eased, and a gentle smile spread across his face. He pointed at the blade, and with a clear chime, it disintegrated into its nine constituent small swords, which then flew back toward his body. Then, without hesitation, he reached to his waist and cast forth a spirit-animal bag filled with gold-devouring insects. A resonant hum rose, and a swirling mist of golden and silver insects surged forth from the bag. With a low exhalation,韩立 summoned the insect swarm, which immediately surged forward and swiftly covered the lower surface of the spherical light shield. A short while later, the shield's surface was literally gnawed through by the insects, forming a circular opening several feet in diameter. The blue glow of the shield intensified, and the opening rapidly contracted and stabilized, recovering faster than the insects themselves could consume it. Seeing this,韩立 did not delay, instantly transforming into a slender streak of emerald light and darting through the still-open circular hole. The shield surface then seamlessly sealed itself once more. Upon settling,韩立 reappeared within the shield, floating gently beside a cluster of ancient relics, each radiating an aura of antiquity. He smiled with quiet excitement. However, Han Li couldn't stay any longer and hurried to project his consciousness outward, hoping to detect the strength of the spiritual energy emanating from these ancient treasures. But immediately, a look of slight frustration appeared on his face—his consciousness remained firmly attached and could not separate from his body at all. With that, he could only rely on his instincts and experience to select one item at a time. After pondering this helplessly, Han Li settled down and carefully examined each object one by one. A strange blade? No, clearly an offensive-type treasure—he wasn't particularly interested. A seal token? No, the image of a strange beast engraved on it reminded him of the scrolls he had previously obtained; it seemed to be used for summoning and commanding the spirits of various spiritual beasts. A small drum? What purpose could it serve? He simply couldn't see any use for it—better to pass on it. As he observed each item, Han Li silently murmured his thoughts, eliminating one after another. In the end, Han Li narrowed his choices down to three items. One was a golden-yellow oval mirror, another a set of five interlinked copper rings in five distinct colors, and the third a broad, deep-red cloak. The choice of these three items, of course, was no accident—Han Li had his own reasons. The golden-yellow mirror, in particular, was well known throughout the immortal realm: among all mirror-based treasures, almost every one possessed extraordinary powers and formidable strength. Han Li certainly didn’t want to miss such an opportunity. As for the five interlinked copper rings, they likely embodied the five elements simultaneously, though the specific magical functions were unclear—yet their power was surely substantial.