Chapter 864: A Small Bottle! Wang Baole had tried unlocking the storage ring when he had been at the early-stage Spirit Immortal realm, but he had failed because his level of cultivation had been too low.
Now, he was of the view that his level of cultivation was almost at the Planet realm. He should be powerful enough... so he excitedly activated his cultivation and sent it rushing towards the storage ring like a tsunami.
He could feel, distinctly and almost instantly, resistance emanating from the storage ring. A unique hex was hidden within the force of resistance, repelling the intrusions of any Divine Sense that hadn’t been permitted access.
Wang Baole sensed Planet realm energies in the resisting force. In order to break through the resistance, Planet realm power was required. Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He wielded his cultivation and slammed it down hard against the resisting force in an attempt to smash it to bits. However... despite his incredible reservoirs of cultivation, his cultivation was still fundamentally weaker in comparison to Planet realm cultivation.
His cultivation, when compared to Planet realm cultivation, was like mist compared to actual water. He couldn’t unlock the storage ring instantly, but Wang Baole had been prepared for this. With a few hand seals, his Emperor Armor materialized and gave his cultivation a sudden boost. More powerful spirit energy rushed into the storage ring, and Wang Baole instantly felt the storage ring’s resistance waver.
It was minor at first, but as time gradually passed, as Wang Baole continued to pour his full cultivation into the storage ring for fifteen minutes, a series of crackling sounds began resounding in his mind. The hex inside the storage ring started to crack. Wang Baole grew excited at the sight. He was about to add more pressure onto the ring when a sudden white light erupted from it!
The resisting force emanating from the ring grew stronger instantly, and many of the cracks that had appeared healed. Surprise flashed across Wang Baole’s face.
Someone just cast a spell to disrupt all intrusions! Wang Baole’s intuition and the experience he had amassed led to his immediate conclusion that the person who had cast a hex on the ring was giving a boost to the hex remotely, through certain special means.
I don’t believe that I can’t break into this! An icy glint flashed in Wang Baole’s eyes. The Eternal Star Fire inside him shuddered, and the Planet realm palm materialized and floated above his head. He unleashed his Eternal Star Fire and melded it with his cultivation, then mounted another attack on the ring!
The resistance emanating from the storage ring was more intense this time, but it also seemed to be on the verge of collapse. The cracks no longer healed. A stalemate had formed. Propelled by intense curiosity, Wang Baole seized the opportunity afforded by the stalemate and sent his Divine Sense out. It snaked through the cracks in the ring and wormed inside.
The hex in the ring hadn’t collapsed completely despite the cracks that had appeared. That was why Wang Baole couldn’t retrieve what was inside the ring. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t send his Divine Sense inside the ring and take a look!
Wang Baole’s Divine Sense wormed its way into the ring through its cracks and saw, in the next moment, what was inside the ring. The space within the ring wasn’t very big, and there weren’t many items housed inside. In fact, there wasn’t anything inside save for three items!
A paper cutout of a human!
A red bow with nine gems embedded in it!
And... a seemingly ordinary, small translucent bottle that didn’t seem like a bottle made to hold pills but to hold ordinary items!
The paper human cutout sprawled on top of the bottle, looking lifeless. However, when Wang Baole’s Divine Sense flowed into the cutout, its eyes blinked and began to glow with a ghostly light.
Wang Baole’s scalp prickled at the sight of the light. The feeling was akin to being stared down by a venomous snake. He was a Dark Child and thus shouldn’t have been afraid of wandering spirits or ghosts. But somehow, at this moment, he could feel trepidation and fear rising inside him.
The bow gave off entirely different vibes. Wang Baole had felt an instant, indescribable wave of spirit energy rushing towards him when his eyes had fallen upon the bow. The nine gems embedded in the bow, especially, had appeared like nine suns! He hadn’t been sure if his eyes had been playing tricks on him.
Finally, the small bottle. It looked the most ordinary of the three. However, the aura it exuded was extremely ancient. It seemed to carry with it the slow rot of time. It was as if it had been around for a very, very long time!
Excitement coursed through Wang Baole’s blood as he inspected the items, spiking feverishly as he studied the translucent bottle and caught a glimpse... of a piece of paper within!
What is that? Wang Baole was going to send his Divine Sense deeper inside and take a closer look at the piece of paper inside the bottle. However, just as his Divine Sense surged further into the ring, the paper human cutout’s eyes glowed eerily yet again. Wang Baole’s Divine Sense started to buzz loudly, and he could feel power surging from the paper human cutout. His Divine Sense dissipated rapidly, like a snowflake that had come into contact with boiling water.
Wang Baole was startled by the sight. His Divine Sense retreated rapidly and flowed out from the cracks in the ring. As it leaked out, the resistance emanating from the storage ring rose in strength and sealed every crack in the ring, shutting Wang Baole out for good.
As this was happening, in the distant cosmos, far away from the Divine Eye civilization, an enormous golden armored beetle was racing through space. Two people sat inside this beetle, waves of cultivation surging from their persons. One of them was at the Planet realm, while the other was only at the Spirit Immortal realm.
If Wang Baole were present, he would immediately recognize the Spirit Immortal realm cultivator... as the Never-Ending Clan Planet realm cultivator whom he had crossed during the Flame Patriarch’s mission.
“Thank you, Fellow Daoist Dan Zhouzi, for coming to my aid!” The former Planet realm cultivator, who had fallen through the ranks of cultivation and become a Spirit Immortal realm cultivator, spoke softly to his companion.
“There’s no need for that, Fellow Daoist Shan Lingzi. I pray that what you said is true and that one of the nine replicas of the Galaxy Bow is indeed stored away inside your storage ring!”
“Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist Dan Zhouzi, it’s inside!” Shan Lingzi promised earnestly. He was secretly filled with exasperation. He had wanted to seek out the pig-head on his own and snatch his storage ring back, but he had bumped into an old enemy while he was injured and had no choice but to give up an item in his storage ring in exchange for his life. He had made a calculated choice, though. The replica of the Galaxy Bow was the least valuable item amongst the three items in his storage ring.
When Dan Zhouzi unlocks the storage ring, the aggressive paper human cutout is probably going to devour him!
Dan Zhouzi gave Shan Lingzi a long, meaningful look as he sneered secretly. He didn’t speak further and, instead, followed Shan Lingzi’s instructions, steering the golden armored beetle into deep space.
At that exact moment, in the Divine Eye civilization, in the reinforcement army that was heading towards the Violet Gold New Dao Sect, in the Dharmic Battleship where Wang Baole was located, Wang Baole was sitting and staring at the ring in his hand. His face was slightly pale, and he was panting slightly.
The wave of spirit energy that the paper human cutout had emanated a moment ago had been incredibly strange. His Divine Sense had been powerless in the face of such spirit energy, and he had heard waves of shrill shrieks piercing his ears. In fact, he had sensed his true form being affected by the paper human cutout’s sudden burst of spirit energy. He had sensed that the paper human cutout was being restrained by something. If not for that, and if not for the fact that he had withdrawn his Divine Sense quickly, the probe might have led to his serious injury. In fact, it might have killed him.
This is too dangerous! Wang Baole stared at the storage ring in his hand. He hadn’t expected the items inside the ring to be so deadly. A dark look colored his face, though it soon faded away. His eyes then flashed brightly. The probe might have been dangerous, but he had gained much from it.
The paper human cutout is creepy. I can sense a dark soul hidden inside. But this soul... feels terrifying even to a Dark Child such as myself. Its origin... is probably incredibly amazing!
And that bow... I can tell that it’s an amazing treasure just from one look. Now that I think about it, the nine gems embedded in the bow are probably... nine Eternal Stars! Wang Baole gasped at the thought. Unlocking the storage ring wasn’t going to be a problem for him now. The problem was in what happened after he unlocked it... His greatest problem now was the consequences that he was going to face after sending his Divine Sense inside. In addition, he was also worried about the risk that excessive probes might bring him. They might expose his location!
Both are extraordinary items. They’re both golden tickets to a breakthrough in cultivation. As for the third item... the ancient-looking little bottle. The fact that it’s being stored together with the first two items is proof that it’s equally valuable!
But... what exactly is it? Confusion appeared in Wang Baole’s eyes. He had sent his Divine Sense towards the bottle in an attempt to take a closer look at the piece of paper within and had been repelled by the paper human cutout. However, he had caught a brief glance and had seen some words on the paper. There appeared to be three segments of text.
Even though he couldn’t recognize any of those words, the meaning of each word somehow surfaced in his mind after he had seen them. Because of the earlier glimpse he had caught, he managed to piece together what the three words meant.
The three words were...
A rich person? Confusion appeared in Wang Baole’s eyes. He itched with curiosity and anticipation. He wanted to know the full contents of the bottle. He had a feeling that an incredible opportunity was hidden inside.