This place was the ruins of the Talisman Sect, a superpower from ancient times. This small plaza had once been where the Talisman Sect's disciples trained. After endless years, it was hardly strange for the captive Exotic Water to have developed a trace of intelligence.
As Hun Han knew, there was a kind of Heavenly Flames in an academy not far away. That Heavenly Flames had already developed a trace of intelligence.
"Mm."
The Exploding Heaven Gang's leader nodded, handed the storage ring in his hand to Zi Yan, then passed a water-blue Magic Core to Hun Han. He held only a black, bamboo-stick-like object in his hand and instructed, "If anything goes wrong later, immediately place this Magic Core into the groove. Do not hesitate, and do not wait for me. Escape at once."
Hun Han froze, then murmured, "Master, why does that sound like you're making final arrangements?"
"Stop fooling around. Did you understand what I said?" the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader asked solemnly.
"Mm." Hun Han nodded.
Only then did the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader hold the black bamboo stick and walk forward.
Rumble...
Rumble...
Rumble...
Standing in the distance, Hun Han could only see the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader walk up to the tall stone platform—an altar. He then planted the stick in the ground. Immediately afterward, the icy force within this space surged to a terrifying level. A powerful wind blasted against Hun Han's face, making it sting painfully. Under the influence of that wind, Hun Han became somewhat irritable as well.
Then, earth-shaking explosions echoed throughout the underground space. With stone walls all around, the sounds reverberated back and forth, deafening everyone.
"Come over!"
After roughly ten minutes of battle, the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader's weak voice came from ahead.
Delighted, Hun Han hurried over to the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader and asked, "Did it work?"
"Mm."
The Exploding Heaven Gang's leader sat on the ground, panting heavily, his face deathly pale. Ice-blue Dou Qi surged around him, while specks of frost crystallized on his hair and beard. In his palm, ice-blue Dou Qi held a small, green, ice-crystal-like snake. The snake was nearly transparent and only two inches long. It must have been the source of the Nine Nether Wind Ice.
"This place is a sealed space with only dead winds. Otherwise, even with my cultivation, I truly wouldn't have been able to do anything to it. After twenty years, this beast has become even stronger than last time," the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader remarked with feeling.
Last time? Could it be that the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader had once devoured the Nine Nether Wind Ice before him?
"Master, are you... all right?" Hun Han looked at the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader. At that moment, the latter gave off the feeling of a man in his twilight years.
"I'm fine. Don't just stand there. Hurry, devour it and let me see." The Exploding Heaven Gang's leader urged him expectantly.
Exotic Water was even rarer than Heavenly Flames. What kind of transformation would a Dou Zhe undergo after obtaining Exotic Water? The Exploding Heaven Gang's leader was immensely eager to find out.
"Mm."
Hun Han nodded. They were underground, so there was no need to worry about interference from the outside world. Touching his storage ring with a finger, he took out all 1,989 talismans he had drawn earlier.
So many Blood Rock Talismans seemed to make the temperature of the surrounding space a little warmer. Next, Hun Han took out a Jade Bottle from his storage ring and placed it on the ground. At once, faint heat melted the mysterious ice on the ground into a small pool of water.
"What is that?" the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader asked curiously.
"Fire Spirit Flame Spring, an essential item for devouring Heavenly Flames," Hun Han explained.
Next, Hun Han took out a thumb-sized stone radiating nine-colored light from his storage ring. It was smooth as jade throughout, without the slightest flaw. Within its core, nine differently colored lights slowly wriggled like tiny living worms. This was the rare treasure Hun Han had obtained through Time Sign-in—the Nine-Orifice Spirit Nurturing Stone.
Spirit Nurturing Stone was an exceptionally rare heavenly treasure. It had only an extremely small chance of existing within high-grade Nurturing Stones. Its value already surpassed that of an eighth-grade medicinal pill. As for the Nine-Orifice Spirit Nurturing Stone, it was a treasure among treasures. Such a rare item could possibly exist only within nine differently colored high-grade Nurturing Stones.
Hun Han's soul power drifted outward, igniting all the talismans around him. Immediately, rays of rune light fell onto Hun Han's body. Before long, 1,989 runes had gathered around him. The runes wrapped him tightly, and at a glance, it looked as though Hun Han were wearing a suit of blood-red armor.
The rune energy of the Blood Rock Talismans not only protected Hun Han's exterior, but also seeped into his skin. Even within his bloodline, there were traces of blood-red runes.
This was merely the first step in devouring Exotic Water.
"Master, I'm starting!" Hun Han warned.
"Good. To prevent it from erupting again, I need to restrain it. Reach out and seize its source. Do you understand the method of devouring it?" the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader asked seriously.
"I understand!" Hun Han nodded slightly.
"Since you do, then begin!" the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader ordered.
"Alright."
Hun Han nodded and reached toward the source of the Exotic Water. His rune-covered hand closed around the little ice-crystal snake.
Hisss—
The ice-crystal snake struggled violently. Waves of cold air froze the runes on Hun Han's palm into powder. It was as though firecrackers had been set off in the area, with crackling sounds ringing out without end.
If the energy was insufficient, he would make up for it with numbers.
Normally, approaching Exotic Water required a fourth-grade medicinal pill or a fourth-grade talisman. Hun Han had neither fourth-grade talismans nor medicinal pills, so he could only win through sheer quantity.
Watching runes shatter one after another, Hun Han raced against time and swallowed the little snake in one gulp.
The icy snake entered his stomach, and an extreme chill erupted within Hun Han's body. Layer after layer of runes on his meridians were successively frozen into powder by that strange cold force. Even Hun Han's meridians began to form tiny ice crystals. Once all the runes were shattered, Hun Han would become an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye.
Subduing Heavenly Flames and Exotic Water had always been a dangerous undertaking.
Seeing this, Hun Han opened his mouth, picked up the Fire Spirit Flame Spring from the Jade Bottle before him, and swallowed it in one gulp.
The Fire Spirit Flame Spring possessed the same miraculous effect as the Ice Spirit Cold Spring. After it entered his stomach, the condition inside Hun Han's body improved slightly. Overjoyed, Hun Han quickly calmed his mind and guided that tiny ice crystal to circulate slowly within his body.
All of this happened within a single second.
"Little fellow, it has already been three days."
The Exploding Heaven Gang's leader sat before Hun Han, gazing at Hun Han, who was enveloped within an azure-blue light shield. He muttered to himself, "It seems this old man will not live to see you emerge from your cocoon."
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