Chapter 705 - 378: The Alchemy Furnace and Taotie Left by the Yincao Emperor (2)
Five Ancient Immortals, all have cultivated for a thousand years and are very perceptive.
"This newcomer, their strength is a mystery."
"Since they can evoke the Taotie, perhaps it’s because they possess something that can... can break the Taotie mark?"
"Is such a possibility imaginable?"
The five Ancient Immortals each pulled out their wedges, their Immortal Artifact wedges weathered to smooth round heads over the long years. Even so, only a few scratches could be added to the Taotie mark.
They all laughed.
"Hahaha."
"Hahahaha."
"Hahahahaha."
"We absolutely cannot miss this opportunity!"
"Yes, no matter the cost, we must not miss it!"
They extended their hands, five withered, elderly hands all slowly revealing black runes, all slowly seeping black grease, all slowly emitting black smoke, and finally, with a "whoosh," igniting into five black flames!
It was a dirty fire, greasy and filthy, clinging to their skin and flesh, but burning their bones!
...
High up in the sky, Bai Mo held two disciples, hiding behind the fog, carefully observing that largest Alchemy Furnace, observing the furnace as big as a Bronze Hall.
He stayed far away, flying slowly, carefully adjusting angles, carefully observing.
Soon enough, he indeed saw a fog below the furnace.
That fog was different, an even more difficult, more unsolvable puzzle.
Bai Mo concentrated his mind, looked for a while, only able to slightly see through it, not completely.
But seeing through it slightly was enough!
Seeing through it slightly allowed him to see that the fog contained the curled-up Bronze Taotie!
This creature lay beneath the furnace, hidden in the fog, eyes wide, mouth drooling, limbs bent backward, as if lurking in the grass, waiting like a beast poised to attack!
"Is this animal instinct?"
"It has detected me too!"
"It can even instinctively come first to guard this largest furnace!"
"If the furnace slightly moves, it would lower its claw, sealing Douluo Heaven, and I simply couldn’t take the furnace away."
"Moreover... its strength is inscrutable!"
...
Swoosh... swoosh... swoosh...
Five Fallen Immortals darted swiftly through Douluo Heaven.
Their eyes were wide open.
Their ears were perked up.
They were not just focused on unusual movements, but also on the fog they couldn’t fully perceive!
"This Douluo Heaven is a mystical place created by heaven and earth."
"Any puzzle of knowledge that comes here will turn into dense fog."
"Able to solve the puzzle means seeing through the fog."
"Unable to solve the puzzle means being unable to see through the fog."
"That newcomer... their knowledge level is probably at its peak."
"They can even use fog to blind the eyes of Taotie’s knowledge!"
"Just who is this divine entity?"
"Is it an Immortal Beast waking after ten thousand years?"
"Or perhaps an Emperor who once slept to avoid disaster?"
The five Fallen Immortals were apprehensive, but their greed outweighed their fear!
They looked at the burning dirty fire in each of their right hands; with this fire present, they feared nothing!
No matter the origin of the newcomer, they were unafraid; they would simply corrupt this divine entity too, and being polluted, everyone would become like family!
Upon seeing a fog they couldn’t see through, the five Fallen Immortals soared up together, like big birds falling into it.
Five hands burning dirty flames pierced inside!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh...
They landed, finding only fog here, no beings present.
"Hmph, what does this mean? Leaving a foggy area here, is it perhaps meant to confound us?"
"Do you think this divine entity could be Yincao Emperor?"
Yincao Emperor, the one who altered the Sequence Five ascension ceremony; the Dan Country Emperor!
Douluo Heaven is created by heaven and earth, always existing.
The rules of Douluo Heaven, its fog, and its rain have always existed too.
But precisely Yincao Emperor, who single-handedly created the Douluo Altar, allowing immortals a more efficient, less sacrificial way to connect with Douluo Heaven!
The Yincao Emperor of the past vanished in their later years, neither passing away nor being buried in the Imperial Mausoleum.
The Fallen Immortals left the mist, shaking their heads in denial as they continued their search.
"Impossible!
"He was a figure from tens of thousands of years ago, and even an Emperor cannot live forever, nor survive until today.
"Moreover...in the past, I unearthed numerous tombs, flipped through ancient burial texts, and found records that might reveal the truth... The Yincao Emperor of the past not only created the Douluo Altar to connect Douluo Heaven. He also created a Taotie Pill Beast!
"That Taotie was originally his creation; he has no reason to hide from it!"
The Fallen Immortals sighed wistfully and continued to wander and search within the Douluo mist.
In truth, they did not know exactly how powerful that Taotie was... They only knew that in the past, the Douluo Immortal Thief Association’s four Sequence Two Princes stormed Douluo Heaven and died under the claws of that Taotie!
"There’s another incomprehensible mist ahead; hurry!"
...
The Bronze Taotie crouched beneath the Alchemy Furnace, hidden within the mist.
This mist was left by the Yincao Emperor; no one can see through it!
Its eyes rolled, sometimes looking to the sky, sometimes gazing into the distance.
Its stomach churned, eyes bulging, mouth uncontrollably drooling a puddle!
That was the scent of a Pot!
The scent it has smelled many times, but never tasted!
Moreover, it was a new Pot!
Freshly formed Pot!
In its murky black eyes, greed and savagery flickered... The person who had just formed the Pot undoubtedly had the potential of a Great Emperor, but could not possibly be a Great Emperor yet.
Indeed, the person was only Sequence Six and needed to take an Alchemy Furnace to advance to Sequence Five!
If this were truly the case, it only needed to lie in wait beneath this Yin Grass Furnace, not move anywhere, and wait for the Pot to come to its mouth!
Its corner of the mouth curled into a sly, humanoid grin.
...
Five Fallen Immortals continued to pursue the direction Bai Mo had just departed.
Every so often, they encountered a mist they could not see through!
Each encounter left them in astonishment.
"Who exactly is this person?"
"How does he have so many puzzles we cannot fathom?"
"Could the Cyan Emperor have arrived?"
"Impossible!"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
They flew out from another mist.
Five Ancient Immortals suddenly realized, something seemed amiss.
"We chased in the direction of his departure, and every distance reveals another group of mist left behind.
"Isn’t this too deliberate?
"Could we be fooled?"
"Does he want to lead us away, a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain?"
"If you were him, what would you do?"
The human heart is the hardest to predict!
High-level strategic games are not about intelligence, but rather choices, trump cards, and information gaps.
The five Fallen Immortals frowned.
"Let’s split up and search!"
"Fine, I’ll return the way we came!"
"No, I’ll return the way we came!"
"No, I’ll return the way we came!"
"Ha, no one should think of fooling anyone; we’ll all go back together!"
"If we win, we share the rewards; if we lose, we all play the fools!"
The five Fallen Immortals instantly turned, transforming into five streams of black light, flying back on the path they came!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh...
The dirty flames in their hands still burning, their eyes wide, ears perked, striving to see through every inch of mist and clear every path ahead!
Approaching the origin, they suddenly heard a strange sound from atop a mountain of Alchemy Furnaces!
"Hmm?"
They looked up, seeing the highest Alchemy Furnace on that mountain covered by impenetrable mist!
"I remember, atop that mountain was a Jade Kui Dragon Burner?"
All five Fallen Immortals widened their eyes, breathing heavily!
For hundreds and thousands of years, even at their wildest, boldest state, they dared not dream of stealing that Jade Kui Dragon Burner!