Wu Tie stood several meters away, cautiously but also heartily looking at this behemoth of a thing.
The Bone Devil Sacred Cauldron?
The quadrangular cauldron had four thick and short legs that anchored it to the ground, making it appear exceptionally heavy. Strands of black smoke continuously spewed from within the cauldron, swirling and dancing in the air like whirling clouds.
The entire cauldron was pitch black and mirrored as smooth as glass, without any decorative patterns.
However, within the black smoke emanating from the cauldron, one could occasionally see a frenzied dance in the sky, with falling heavenly bodies, peculiar mountains and rivers, and countless auspicious creatures like dragons, phoenixes, and qilins rushing by.
Though the cauldron itself was formless, it transformed the black smoke into countless shapes.
These black smoke... were probably not something good. Wu Tie reminded himself as he watched the swirling black smoke around the cauldron.
After watching quietly for a while, Wu Tie suddenly shouted and took a step forward, exhaling a long breath of white air that transformed into a fierce and majestic white dragon.
The white air forcefully struck the Bone Devil Sacred Cauldron, and a deafening roar followed. The entire spacious room trembled violently, causing the black smoke swirling around the cauldron to shatter one after another.
The black smoke dissipated, ignited by white flames and disappearing into thin air.
The originally pitch-black Bone Devil Sacred Cauldron emitted a faint groan, and the intense black color gradually faded away.
Not only did the color of the cauldron change, but its texture also seemed to be rapidly transforming. Gold, silver, copper, iron, jade, stone, bone... Within a few breaths, the texture of the cauldron changed dozens of times.
Several times, the cauldron even turned into a ball of fire, a pool of water, a bolt of lightning, a ray of light...
Regardless of whether it was flames, flowing water, lightning, or light, they all condensed into the shape of a four-legged cauldron, heavily placed in front of Wu Tie.
The cauldron constantly roared, and after undergoing dozens of changes in color and texture, it eventually returned to its original state. It remained pitch black and gloomy, still made of black bone.
Strands of black smoke leisurely spewed from the cauldron, gradually turning into dense clouds that enveloped the cauldron. Within the clouds, countless illusions appeared and disappeared, accompanied by strange sounds.
"Indeed, there's nothing major to worry about." Wu Tie looked at the cauldron with fanaticism in his eyes.
His left index finger trembled violently. This time, it wasn't something he voluntarily activated; it was his finger urgently urging him, an uncontrollable impulse compelling him to approach the cauldron.
Suppressing the intense tremors in his left index finger, Wu Tie stood still and wanted to see if there would be any other changes with the cauldron.
Suddenly, his left hand stretched forward, pulled by a great force, dragging him towards the cauldron.
Caught off guard, Wu Tie stumbled forward, taking over a dozen steps, until he was less than ten meters away from the cauldron. The trembling of his index finger intensified, and a dark light burst forth from the first joint of his finger.
The dim light extended over three feet, pointing directly at the... mouth of the Bone Devil Sacred Cauldron.
It wasn't the Bone Devil Sacred Cauldron itself, but something inside it that drew Wu Tie's fused bone fragment. Or rather, it was the instinct left by the shattered bone, urging Wu Tie to obtain what was hidden within the cauldron.
"You have some connection to it?" Wu Tie lowered his head and looked at his restless fingers.
The faint projection of consciousness that remained in the shattered bone had long dissipated, and the bone had already merged with Wu Tie. As a result, Wu Tie's question naturally received no response.
"It's quite ominous here, not a good place. But..." Wu Tie recalled the abnormalities of the Miner Slaves in the Abyss of Demonic Ore, as well as the astonishingly powerful Mutated Warriors at the entrance of the Black Bone Gate.
"But, there's nothing to fear either." Wu Tie muttered, "Old Tie said that I don't have to fear ghosts when walking the night road..."
"It's eerie here, so what should I fear from you?"
Wu Tie encouraged himself repeatedly. Clutching his White Tiger Tear firmly in both hands, he walked step by step towards the cauldron.
Melancholic moans emanated from within the cauldron, as if an old, hoarse voice was resounding from the underground, rippling gently in the grand hall. Icy winds blew out of the cauldron, chilling the entire hall to the bone.
Black ice crystals fell from the roof.
The temperature here had dropped drastically, and the water vapor in the air had all condensed into ice crystals. Located at the bottom of the mine, several miles deep, the air was extremely humid. Countless ice crystals fell, quickly forming a layer half an inch thick on the ground.
Faint white light oozed from Wu Tie's pores, as righteousness permeated his entire body. With his courage peaking, he approached the cauldron, his body levitating slightly. He lowered his head to peer inside the cauldron.
"No matter your extraordinary abilities, you're still powerless against the heavens' design..." A voice, ancient and hoarse, seemed to resonate by Wu Tie's ear, as if it came from underground or from the surrounding walls.
Wu Tie shuddered and glanced around him.
"The heavens and earth are unkind, treating all creation like livestock..." The voice sighed for a long time.
Wrinkling his brow, Wu Tie remembered that Gray Master had once said these words to him, but neither the Gray Master nor he understood the meaning behind it.
Wu Tie had mentioned these words to Old Tie in the Secret Realm, but Old Tie had dismissed them.
Until now, Wu Tie still didn't understand the meaning behind those words.
"It's also fate and luck..." A faint voice came, this time from within the cauldron.
Wu Tie finally confirmed that the source of the voice was inside the cauldron.
Looking down, he saw strands of extremely fine black smoke swirling around within the cauldron, occasionally condensing into numerous characters or peculiar patterns. They occasionally evolved into various phenomena such as the dancing in the sky, heavenly bodies falling, and more.
From the outside, this cauldron was merely two meters high and about four meters wide.
But when Wu Tie floated and looked down into the cauldron, the strands and wisps of black smoke seemed boundless and bottomless, so much so that no matter how hard he used his vision, he couldn't see the end of these black smoke.
It was as if the cauldron contained infinite space.
While Wu Tie was looking down, his left index finger uncontrollably leaped up, and a wisp of dim light suddenly curled towards the inside of the cauldron. The black smoke trembled as it was struck by the dim light, and in the next moment, Wu Tie's left hand suddenly became heavy.
The ancient, hoarse voice sighed continuously.
In the spacious hall, strange cracking sounds resounded from the walls. Dark green light poured down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire hall.
Wu Tie quickly looked around.
Within the walls, black bone frames were half embedded, struggling to free themselves from the imprisonment of the wall and gradually breaking free. Some of them were normal humanoid skeletons, while others were giant skeletons up to ten meters tall or even dragon skeletons dozens of meters long.
There were also some peculiar skeletal remains of birds and beasts that struggled to emerge. Green flames flickered in their eye sockets, and all of them stared at Wu Tie with a haunting gaze.
Similar to the black skeletons on the Black Bone Gate outside, these skeletons also started moving.
And clearly, they didn't welcome Wu Tie.
A tremendous force came from his left hand, almost pulling Wu Tie into the cauldron. He barely managed to steady himself, baring his teeth and glaring at the approaching skeletons.
His left hand's index finger emitted a glimmering arc as Wu Tie swung his White Tiger Tear, creating a sparkling arc in the air. Several skeletons slammed into the cold brilliance of the White Tiger Tear, cracking sounds continuously resounding as the skeletons were sent flying and their bones shattered.
"The way forward is blocked..."
"The path to transcendence is cut off..."
"There's nowhere to go..."
"Really... can't accept it..."
The ancient, hoarse voice sighed, and the chilling air in the surroundings became denser. Frost covered Wu Tie's skin.
Several smaller black skeletons broke free from the walls and rushed towards Wu Tie.
They tore through the air, causing sharp sonic booms and white waves to ripple through the air, almost instantaneously reaching Wu Tie's side.
The Black Bone Sacred Cauldron was exceptionally heavy. Wu Tie only managed to stabilize his body with all his might to avoid being drawn into the cauldron. The black skeletons charged at him, and he couldn't dodge at all.
"What the hell is this thing?" Wu Tie shouted, and his right hand swung the White Tiger Tear, leaving behind a shining arc.
Several skeletons crashed into the cold light emitted by the White Tiger Tear, and the continuous cracking sound filled the air. Wu Tie's strike sent the skeletons flying, their bones breaking into countless pieces.
"The road ahead is cut off..."
"The path to transcendence is severed..."
"Nowhere to go..."
"Really... unwilling..."
The ancient, hoarse voice sighed, and the powerful shockwaves shattered the struggling skeletons on the walls. Wave after wave of shockwaves rushed through the open gates and swept across the entire mine tunnel. The bodies of several elders from the Shi family and Lu family collapsed, crushed to pieces, and turned into black dust.
Wu Tie was forcibly pulled into the cauldron and floated in the boundless black smoke.
Countless figures danced around him.
Countless flowers revolved around him.
Countless bizarre and vivid images appeared and disappeared.
Reality and illusion, emerged and vanished in an instant, with phantom lights and illusions shifting unpredictably...
The black Crystal had already clasped in his left hand.
On pure instinct, Wu Tie exerted all his strength, squeezing as hard as he could. The bones in his left index finger vibrated violently, and his flesh and blood flew everywhere, splattering the black Crystal. Then, the Crystal was directly absorbed into the first joint of his left index finger, leaving it empty.
A strange sensation came over him, and Wu Tie learned the name of this Crystal.
The Inanimate Bone Devil.
The Spirit Crystal formed by a powerful expert who cultivated the "Inanimate Bone Devil Scripture." The Inanimate Bone Devil originally contained the expert's full power. However, due to certain reasons, almost all of the Crystal's power had dissipated, leaving only the fundamental Crystal and a trace of essence inside it.
What Wu Tie's left index finger desired was precisely the essence of this Crystal.
Evolution!
An opportunity for evolution!
Or rather, it wasn't evolution, but a chance to restore the power to that piece of bone fragment.
Wu Tie floated quietly in the boundless black smoke. The Inanimate Bone Devil fused with his finger bones, and the essence inside the Inanimate Bone Devil seamlessly melded into the golden radiance in the middle of his forehead.
The ancient, hoarse voice echoed near Wu Tie, but as the Inanimate Bone Devil blended with his finger bones and as the essence was devoured by the golden radiance, his mighty righteousness merely fluttered a little. The remaining voice that didn't want to dissipate between heaven and earth completely dissipated.
"Poor man..." Wu Tie murmured softly.
As the essence slowly dissipated, several fragmented and blurred scenes flashed before Wu Tie's eyes, but he couldn't see them clearly.
Some nameless comprehensions merged into the power of Wu Tie's soul, which transformed into the golden radiance. Wu Tie seemed to have learned something, but at the same time, didn't learn anything.
But he suddenly had a deep understanding of the content of the "Inanimate Bone Devil Scripture." As if he had immersed himself in this scripture of both righteousness and wickedness for countless years.
Gradually, Wu Tie came to understand the true origin of this Bone Devil Sacred Cauldron outside his body.
This cauldron should perhaps be called the "Inanimate Divine Cauldron"... Its essence was in ever-changing and formless.
It was only because the mighty expert continually used the power cultivated from the "Inanimate Bone Devil Scripture" to refine it that it had smoothly evolved into its current peculiar form that was entirely black.
"Very good, very interesting."
Wu Tie laughed.
His left index finger tingled intermittently, making Wu Tie feel drowsy, so he fell into a deep sleep.
In his dreams, countless characters and patterns flowed serenely.
Outside the entrance of the Abyss of Demonic Ore, a large group of people suddenly arrived.
(End of the chapter)