"These Mini Medicine King Cauldrons each contain their own independent space filled with abundant spiritual qi.
"Since they can be used to cultivate spiritual plants, it shouldn't be a problem for a person to stay inside for a while."
Zhang Haobo caught on immediately. "You mean, using the cauldron as a vessel might allow us to break through this invisible barrier?"
Xiao Heng nodded.
"Then let's try it!" Su Xiaomei immediately retrieved a Mini Medicine King Cauldron from her storage ring.
"Be careful!" Xiao Heng's warning came too late as Su Xiaomei transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the small cauldron.
"Come on in!" Her voice echoed from within the cauldron.
Seeing this, Zhang Haobo and Xiao Heng had no choice but to follow suit.
After spinning erratically in the air for a moment, the ancient-looking Medicine King Cauldron wobbled unsteadily forward.
The moment it struck the transparent barrier, a green wall of light appeared.
For a moment, the small cauldron seemed on the verge of successfully passing through.
Then, a sudden change occurred.
The wall of light vanished abruptly, and the Mini Medicine King Cauldron tumbled through empty air.
Failing to enter the true Medicine King Cauldron, Xiao Heng and the other two had to fly back out of the mini cauldron.
"Strange, why couldn't we get in?" Su Xiaomei sounded frustrated.
"The key... perhaps it's because there were too many of us?" Xiao Heng speculated.
"Senior Skull prepared four cauldrons for us. It seems we can't take shortcuts." Zhang Haobo agreed.
"Let's try again!" Su Xiaomei, ever decisive, immediately re-entered the cauldron and sent it crashing into the barrier.
Xiao Heng and Zhang Haobo remained outside, their eyes fixed intently on the transparent barrier.
Just as expected, when the Mini Medicine King Cauldron touched the barrier this time, it did not pass straight through as it had before, nor was it blocked outright like an attack.
Instead, ripples spread across its surface. Then, like ice melting into water, it vanished from sight.
“It works!”
Xiao Heng and Zhang Haobo exchanged a glance, excitement flashing in their eyes.
“Let’s go!”
To avoid any complications, they acted without hesitation. Each piloted a Mini Medicine King Cauldron and charged forward in quick succession.
***
At the same time, in Lanlin Province, Li Fan and Huangfu Song had just completed their inspection of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.
After bidding farewell to Guan Xingxiu, the two set off westward toward Qinghuang Province.
It had to be said that these remote southern regions were all in much the same sorry state. They were effectively the bottom tier of the entire Myriad Immortals Alliance.
Still, with all construction being completed in a cluster at the final moment, it spared Li Fan and Huangfu Song the trouble of excessive travel. They only needed to conduct inspections one site at a time.
The instant Xiao Heng and the other two entered the true Medicine King Cauldron, the visuals captured by Formless Killing Mechanism vanished abruptly.
Even with perception arrays enhancing the senses, no images could be transmitted outward.
Yet Li Fan remained completely unperturbed.
Good thing I prepared another measure.
To prevent a repeat of the Chaoyuan Sect incident, where contact had been lost immediately and their fates were left unknown, Li Fan had inscribed not only a perception array but also a concealed recording array within the necklace.
It would faithfully record everything in the surrounding environment. Once contact was restored, those images could be transmitted to Li Fan through the perception array.
Now, all I need to do is wait.
Li Fan gently closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking once more into the comprehension of his divine ability.
***
Within the true Medicine King Cauldron in Cangwu Abyss.
Their surroundings shifted in a blur of light.
A moment later, a surge of power erupted from the Mini Medicine King Cauldron, forcibly expelling Xiao Heng from within.
Caught completely off guard, Xiao Heng landed in an undignified heap. Upon regaining his footing, he saw Zhang Haobo was in a similar state.
They found themselves in an empty space enclosed by metal walls that glimmered with an eerie green light. The Mini Medicine King Cauldrons that had brought them here were now nowhere to be seen.
"Xiao Heng, over here!" Su Xiaomei's voice echoed from not far ahead.
Xiao Heng and Zhang Haobo immediately flew toward the sound.
A massive bronze door stood before them. Carved upon it was the image of a tripod cauldron with three legs and two handles. Its appearance was unmistakably identical to the small cauldrons they possessed.
That must be a carving of the legendary true Medicine King Cauldron. Xiao Heng thought.
Su Xiaomei spoke up, "I've checked the area. Aside from this bronze door, there's no other exit.
"But the door won't open right now."
Hearing this, Zhang Haobo channeled his power, placing both hands against the bronze door.
He pushed with all his might, yet the door didn't budge.
"Maybe we should try attacking it?" Xiao Heng suggested.
Zhang Haobo pondered for a moment, then gave a slow nod.
Stepping back a short distance, a phantom image of a vast sea of blood suddenly manifested above Zhang Haobo's head.
Blood Sea Grotto-Heaven. Who would have thought someone as even-tempered as Zhang Haobo would possess a Nascent Soul grotto-heaven so terrifying? Xiao Heng took a sharp breath.
Even though it wasn't his first time witnessing this spectacle, the overwhelming, malevolent aura emanating from that boundless sea of blood still made his heart pound with fear.
Bloody waves churned. Countless crimson longswords shot forth from the sea.
As Zhang Haobo pointed forth, they howled through the air and slammed into the bronze door ahead.
Boom!
Boom!
Deafening explosions rang out incessantly. The bronze door, and indeed the entire space, seemed to tremble from the assault.
After a while, Zhang Haobo withdrew his Blood Sea Grotto-Heaven.
He glanced at the bronze door, which hadn’t budged in the least, and frowned. "It’s not working. Its defense is clearly beyond what a Nascent Soul cultivator can breach."
Su Xiaomei, who was usually quick-tempered, surprisingly offered no retort this time. Instead, she looked on blankly, lost in thought.
Xiao Heng also racked his brain for a solution.
For a moment, an odd quiet fell over the group.
Suddenly, Su Xiaomei exclaimed. "I've got it!"
"Got what?" Xiao Heng looked at her curiously.
"The cauldron, the cauldron," Su Xiaomei said, her eyes fixed on Xiao Heng, urging him on. "You still have one of the mini cauldrons, right? Look at this door. It must be a mechanism. Just like the barrier outside, it surely has a way to distinguish friend from foe.
"Back in the day, disciples of the Medicine King Sect probably only needed to circulate their sect's technique to gain entry.
"We obviously can't do that. But we can try to fool it, just like we did outside, using the Mini Medicine King Cauldron." Su Xiaomei explained earnestly.
Xiao Heng listened, nodding at first.
Then, his expression abruptly changed. His body flickered backward, putting distance between them rapidly.
His face darkened with anger as he roared: "You are not Su Xiaomei! Who are you, really?"
Su Xiaomei was stunned for a moment. Then her small face flushed a deep crimson.
"Xiao Heng! Are you looking to die?"
A crimson sun blazed to life above her head.
A short while later, Xiao Heng, sporting a bruised and swollen face, offered Su Xiaomei a solemn apology.
"Xiaomei, I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what? Am I really that stupid in your mind?" Su Xiaomei snorted coldly, turning her head away to avoid looking at him.
"Uh..." Knowing he was in the wrong, Xiao Heng was momentarily at a loss for words.