Xu Yan carefully reached out with a cupped hand, trying to lift the treasure vase with the Object Manipulation Technique.
But it felt as if he were trying to raise a mountain. He strained with all his might, yet couldn't move the vase even a hair!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Suddenly, spiritual winds surged at the bottom of the furnace. The star array spread across the ground began to glow, and a terrifying suction burst from the Tianshu Bottle. Xu Yan's eyes widened as he realized the Primordial Mystic Qi in his dantian and Spirit Meridian was being devoured against his will!
Even his Dao Body seemed to be getting pulled in.
Xu Yan was alarmed. He immediately used the Chaos Step, soaring ten zhang into the air, and only then escaped the Tianshu Bottle's range.
His actions seemed to have activated the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase's power.
It began to tremble, then flew up from the earth of its own accord and hovered in midair. It slowly rotated, and starlight could be seen swirling faintly inside its mouth, as if it held a miniature Milky Way.
Buzz!
A soft chime echoed through the hollow space at the bottom of the furnace.
Xu Yan's pupils narrowed. With his spiritual sense, he clearly sensed it.
The mottled spiritual qi between heaven and earth, along with the essence of the earth beneath the ground, surged wildly like rushing rivers, converging toward the mouth of the vase.
The qi of the Five Elements flowed together like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, swallowed up by the Tianshu Bottle in a mighty draught.
At the same time, countless stars swirled around the bottle, weaving a fantastical celestial array that left him dumbstruck.
Xu Yan hovered twenty zhang above the ground, fixing his gaze on the Tianshu Bottle.
"Is it... absorbing the qi of heaven and earth to condense an Embryonic Pill?"
Xu Yan was startled.
It seemed tireless. This went on for more than ten days before the commotion finally began to subside.
Xu Yan sensed the qi between heaven and earth, as well as the currents beneath the ground. There was visibly much less of it.
After about half an incense stick's time, the qi of heaven and earth swirled and compressed at the mouth of the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase, condensing into a round shape like a pill. At last, it dropped into the vase, and a strange pill fragrance drifted out.
Xu Yan furrowed his brow and cautiously descended several zhang, then used the Edict Script to identify it.
[Embryonic Pill: Condensed from the qi of heaven and earth. Flawless and pure, but its medicinal effects are undetermined. It must still be refined before it can become a true treasure pill.]
"So that's how it works."
Xu Yan seemed to understand. He looked around.
The Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase was the core of this furnace. No wonder it had produced so many treasure pills over countless ages.
Still, Xu Yan found it strange that the Tianshu Bottle produced only flawless Embryonic Pills. Refining ancient pills such as the Dragon Breath Pill and Huangtian Pill required a great many medicinal ingredients.
The Embryonic Pill was merely a base pill. Where did the other ingredients come from?
Frowning, Xu Yan carefully examined the interior of the furnace once more with his spiritual sense.
Activating the Edict Script, he sent his spiritual sense through the furnace wall and into the earth. He observed for the span of an incense stick before noticing something unusual.
The Heaven and Earth Furnace was itself an extraordinarily complex grand array.
The array's natural formations extended through the earth's veins like a spiderweb, with no telling where they ended!
"After countless ages of development, the Heaven and Earth Furnace has practically merged with the Dragon Ridge Immortal Treasury."
Xu Yan withdrew his spiritual sense and pondered.
The furnace was embedded in the earth. Like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, the qi of heaven and earth, the essence of the sun and moon, and even the rare herbs found beyond this world were swallowed by the earth and gradually gathered here, settling beneath this land.
His eyes remained fixed on the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase.
Xu Yan took a deep breath, his eyes flashing. "If I could take this vase with me, the fortune and opportunity would be beyond imagination!"
As he thought this, he tentatively enveloped it with Primordial Chaos Mana.
Bang!
The treasure vase didn't come to him. Instead, it settled firmly onto the ground.
It was as heavy as a mountain. Xu Yan's robes billowed as he poured out all his mana, yet he still couldn't move it a hair.
Such a heaven-defying treasure was right before him, yet he couldn't take it. The frustration gnawed at him.
Thinking it over, Xu Yan tried using his spiritual sense to activate the Miaoyuan Edict, wondering if he could use it to take the vase away.
Brilliant light burst from the Miaoyuan Edict on his palms.
Xu Yan continued to drive it with his spiritual sense. This was the first time he had activated the Miaoyuan Edict so recklessly.
The Edict Script could locate and appraise treasures, stabilize the qi of heaven and earth, and break array patterns. But could it help him take this object with him?
Buzz, buzz!
Xu Yan's spiritual sense roared, and the Miaoyuan Edict flared with brilliant, dazzling light.
At last, the array patterns were drawn out by his power. Dense lines of formation spread like a heavenly net, enveloping the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase.
"It moved! There's a chance!"
Xu Yan looked closely and saw the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase tremble slightly.
Gritting his teeth, he continued to activate the Edict Script.
Little by little, Xu Yan managed to hold the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase in place with the Miaoyuan Edict.
The two characters, Miaoyuan, shone in midair. Each stroke transformed into radiant array patterns, enclosing the Tianshu Bottle so tightly that not even air could pass through.
Xu Yan tried to place the treasure in his Qiankun Bag, but he had been too optimistic. The space inside the bag simply couldn't hold a magic treasure of this caliber!
Cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
Xu Yan gritted his teeth and drove the Miaoyuan Edict onward. He felt as if his palms were about to burn through.
Glancing down, he saw the two characters, Miaoyuan, slowly being forced out of his palms!
Xu Yan stared, his heart pounding.
The Miaoyuan Edict burst forth, enveloped the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase, and drew it toward him, suspending it before his eyes.
Breathing hard, Xu Yan had nearly exhausted his spiritual sense. His vision was hazy and dizzy.
He looked at his palms. The Miaoyuan Edict had vanished.
"What exactly is this Edict Script...?"
Xu Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead. With that maneuver, he had managed to force the Edict Script out of his palms, but it remained connected to his mind. With a single thought, he could call it back.
He focused on the Miaoyuan Edict floating before him. It gave off a faint spiritual glow as it wrapped around the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase. Xu Yan cautiously grasped it.
The vase was now as light as a feather.
Without hesitation, Xu Yan carefully tucked the Tianshu Bottle into his sleeve.
Then he sat cross-legged at the bottom of the furnace to recover his spiritual sense and Mystic Qi.
An hour later, Xu Yan took a deep breath and slowly rose.
He had spent more than ten days at the bottom of the furnace. By his reckoning, sixty or seventy days had passed since the Immortal Treasury opened. He needed to set out soon. The latter half of Spirit-Sealing City still stretched for ten thousand li, and crossing this place would take time as well.
"I'm afraid the Upper Three Academies are already out of reach."
Xu Yan considered his options. Only those among the first hundred to pass through the Immortal Treasury would claim the top honors and be eligible to cultivate at the Upper Three Academies of the Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies, where there were more resources and more Dao Masters than at the other academies.
Still, this treasure was even more important. Xu Yan could accept losing the top honors for its sake.
He lowered his eyes to glance at the Tianshu Bottle in his sleeve. It could absorb the qi of heaven and earth on its own and condense Embryonic Pills. Given enough time, it would be an inexhaustible source of treasure pills.
Xu Yan's thoughts raced. Then he rode the Mystic Qi and flew toward the top of the furnace. He carefully made his way through the Sword Forest Killing Array. The Taiyi God-Lock Array at the furnace mouth had been restored, and Xu Yan hovered in midair, sensing his surroundings.
It was night outside, and starlight shimmered in the darkness.
He spent several days quietly breaking through the God-Lock Array, then rode the Mystic Qi out with a roar.
He didn't linger. As soon as Xu Yan emerged from the Heaven and Earth Furnace, he summoned the Wenjin Shuttle, kept a wary eye on his surroundings, and sped eastward.
Two days later.
The sky was just beginning to brighten. Thick fog rose over the boundless mountains, and far away, tens of thousands of li in the distance, he could just make out a place shaped like the Gates of Heaven.
That was the exit from the Immortal Treasury, now wide open. It meant that quite a few cultivators had already made it through.
By this stage, most cultivators with some talent and strength had already reached the rear of the Immortal Treasury.
Cultivators streaked through the mountains from time to time, hurrying toward the distance.
Xu Yan lay low among the mountains, advancing cautiously.
His brow furrowed as he surveyed his surroundings. Many Daoists who flew past had looks of terror on their faces. Had something terrible happened?
As Xu Yan wondered, a shrill ghostly howl came from the mountains behind him.
He looked back, and his pupils suddenly shrank. A white Great Banner blotted out the sky above, covering nearly a thousand zhang. It unleashed its power without restraint, and from within the enormous banner, corpse-white bones came flying out one after another like dumplings dropped into a pot, wailing like ghosts.
"That's... the Spirit-Born Artifact I saw aboard the Sky Boat!"
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