Chapter 191

Chapter 191: The Awakening of Cold Armor

“Flap, flap, flap…”

In the blink of an eye, the chains that had bound the Purple Fortress flew away as if they had grown wings.

“They’re just gone? Just like that?” Li Hui shook his head in disbelief, feeling uneasy as the surroundings opened up. The Underground Thirteenth Layer of the Purple Fortress fell into darkness, and all formations became ineffective.

“Right, when the silver snake bracelet devoured the treasures from Dugu Yi and the Blue Snake, it seemed like a lot of things dropped to the ground. No way I’m passing up free stuff!” He raised his hand and summoned five Sheng Dou talismans, instantly conjuring five small suns above him. Though their light wasn’t particularly strong, it illuminated a significant distance.

Li Hui started scouring the area, quickly running to the spot where Dugu Yi had "met his demise." After searching thoroughly, he found not a single strand of hair.

“This guy clearly has storage talismans and must’ve collected the dropped items. What can I do? He’s the sect leader, after all. I haven’t even gathered the materials to draw storage talismans yet; the Sheng Dou talismans can only store sunlight.”

“Wait a minute. No matter how stingy you are, you must leave a few hairs behind.” Li Hui spotted the big knife stuck in the ground. Dugu Yi had dropped the Golden Silk Ring Knife while trying to escape the formation.

Aside from the knife, there was a demon cultivator lying unconscious. By the waist badge he wore, it was clear he belonged to the Hongmo Sect—specifically, the true disciple Hongmo Xi.

“An ordinary practitioner at the Bosa stage is too dangerous; I should steer clear of him.” Li Hui began to search around. The silver snake bracelet had pulled countless glimmers from the Blue Snake’s body, including many storage treasures. Various ancient items lay scattered on the ground—this was the biggest haul from this near-death experience.

Many antiques had crumbled into fragments due to their immense age and the locking power of the Wan Nest Island formation. Using the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique to sift through for a while, he ultimately gathered thirty-six fist-sized pearls, two small boxes made from Ten-Thousand-Year Abyssal Wood, and a bone-chilling short sword. Other than that, there were mostly scraps, most of which were unrecognizable.

Whatever! Li Hui waved his sleeve and collected the fragments.

Turning back to retrieve the Golden Silk Ring Knife, he performed the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique to grab it from a distance, only to see the knife tremble slightly, scattering the dragon claw phantoms.

“It’s indeed difficult to collect.”

“Nothing to be done; I have to suppress your fury.”

Li Hui took out a bundle of Blood Mouth Spitting Talismans and fed them to the Yin-Yang Nine Heads, while he himself used the Wood Jiao Talisman and began a fierce assault on the Golden Silk Ring Knife.

At first, the big knife showed significant resistance. Even without anyone wielding it, it emitted terrifying shockwaves, yet it couldn’t withstand the grueling effort and the reversal of the Yin-Yang Nine Heads.

After nearly half an hour, the knife’s body gradually fell silent and dimmed. Li Hui activated the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique again and easily pulled the knife up. However, being cautious, he did not hold it in his hands but found a random bag of treasures to store it.

“Ha ha ha, I did it…” His laughter abruptly ceased, and Li Hui felt a jolt of horror as he looked down at his waist.

He had clearly not touched the Nine-Nine Scatter Yuan Gourd, leaving it behind, and had planned to abandon it. When did it get tied to his waist?

He noticed a blue fuzzy rope wrapping around the gourd, with the other end tightly tied in a strange knot around his belt. No, it wasn’t just tied; it threaded through his belt, fastening it to his waist.

Li Hui wore a sorrowful expression as he said, “Senior Cold Armor Emperor, with your superb power, is it your intent to hold onto me without letting go? This gourd is meant as a tribute for you; it doesn’t cost a thing. If you want to possess me or something, there’s a powerful demon cultivator up ahead who is much stronger than I am.”

“Less chatter; I can hardly remember who I am.” The gourd surprisingly spoke in a cold tone, “Who I am is not important; what matters is how to survive. This gourd has a Nine-Square Grid that needs to be filled with nine types of true energy: gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, frost, electricity, and magnetism. I currently occupy the frost position, and you need to gather eight Remnant Souls of the All-Manifestation Realm to correspond with the other positions. If you can’t complete the layout within ten years, then prepare to be turned into an ice sculpture!”

“Uh, you’ve actually regained your consciousness? I, Li Yingjun, don’t yield to hard blows; I have just over a month of lifespan left. Asking me to find eight Remnant Souls of the All-Manifestation Realm in ten years is not only something I can’t do, but even if I could, I’d have to tell you four words: I’m sorry, that’s impossible.” Li Hui puffed out his chest, trying to sound imposing, even though his heart raced with fear. He knew he couldn’t show weakness now.

The gourd pondered for a long time before saying, “You can’t miss a single one of the eight Remnant Souls. I will teach you the innate Yi Wood life-extension secret technique; you can use it to borrow spiritual plants for extending your life, but you can only use it three times in your lifetime. Therefore, you must find extremely powerful spiritual plants. I remember there’s a Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King on this island; I don’t know if it’s still around. You can take a chance and see.”

“Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King?”

Li Hui tried to suppress his emotions, bargaining, “Since you mentioned it, the fact that you don’t know if the Ginseng King still exists makes this innate Yi Wood life-extension secret technique sound rather useless. If you want me to help, it’s best to offer some visible benefits.”

“Kid, you took thirty-six Mysterious Water Pearls from me, two Ice Silkworms preserved in Ten-Thousand-Year Abyssal Wood, and a blade specifically designed to sever the Ice Calamity and mine million-year-old Blue Ice. Are these not visible benefits?”

“Uh!” Li Hui had forgotten about that, thinking to himself, “You can’t even remember who you are, yet you still recall how much wealth you possess. You must have been quite the miser in life.”

“If that’s the case, it means you already have these items, young one. As long as you swear an Oath that gathering the Remnant Souls of the All-Manifestation Realm will not be detrimental to me, then I will do my utmost to complete the task.”

“Bold!” The gourd roared, exuding a terrifying coldness.

Li Hui remained unfazed, adopting a stance that said if his demands weren’t met, he would just die with dignity.

The anger of the Cold Armor Emperor came swiftly and subsided just as quickly, void of any emotional fluctuation as he said, “Fine, I had no intention of killing you, so swearing an Oath is unnecessary. Here, I swear before the heavens that if you gather the Remnant Souls of the All-Manifestation Realm within ten years, I won’t harbor any murderous thoughts…”

Once he finished speaking, Li Hui hastily took out six Oath-Bound Recovery Talismans and slapped them onto the gourd. He still had the principal-plus-interest talismans in his pocket, which he had prepared for Qian Duohai. Now, with a target right before him, he was willing to take the risk of angering the gourd.

If this Cold Armor Emperor were true to his word, then the Oath-Bound Recovery Talismans would show no reaction. But if he treated the Oath with disdain or toyed with it, then these recovery talismans would sense the opportunity in the depths of hell and activate.

“Hiss…” The six talismans ignited simultaneously.

“Trust you? That’s a joke.” Li Hui shouted, pulling out the lava talisman and the Explosive Talisman, slapping them on himself and the gourd.

“Hum, you’re asking for death…” The Cold Armor Emperor’s rage surged, and an odd feeling suddenly arose, intensifying his anger. He had been in a low point, bound by calamity power, struggling in pain for years. Unexpectedly, this little thief seemed to possess a way to seize fortune.

The Oath-Bound Recovery Talismans served as a spark; the Fortune Ascending Talismans absorbed into the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays held the key.

Fleeting shadows danced, gently swirling and devouring fortunes. Li Hui spat out ashes repeatedly, his eyes growing brighter.