Chapter 399 Artifact Spirit
The Creation Cauldron!
Wang Chen stared intently at the ancient cauldron cradled in his palm, unable to suppress the admiration stirring within him.
This treasure had shed its worn and tattered exterior, revealing its true hue, yet it wasn't so dazzling as to blind the eye.
To Wang Chen, it seemed ancient, majestic, desolate, and robust...
Like an age-old mountain that had withstood countless years of wind, frost, snow, and rain, it stood unyielding.
However, within this ancientness and desolation, there was also a trace of lively and fresh vitality!
Two entirely different qualities perfectly merged within the body of the cauldron, showcasing its exceptional nature.
One million unlocking points were indeed not rewarded in vain.
But a new problem arose.
What was its purpose and what abilities did it possess?
Wang Chen knew nothing.
All he knew was the name of this treasure.
After some thought, Wang Chen tried to inject a trace of mana into the Creation Cauldron.
In the past when he had done the same, he found that no matter how much mana he poured into it, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean.
The treasured cauldron showed no reaction.
But would this time be any different?
Just as this question arose in Wang Chen's mind, something terrifying happened all of a sudden.
A tremendous suction force burst forth from within the Creation Cauldron, absorbing every bit of Wang Chen's injected mana.
Not only that, it was like a fierce beast that had been ravenous for ten thousand years, greedily demanding more from Wang Chen!
All the hairs on Wang Chen's body stood on end!
By the time he realized the extreme danger of the situation and thought to immediately let go of the treasured cauldron,
It was already too late!
The Creation Cauldron was firmly glued to Wang Chen's palm, continuously drawing mana from within him.
Drying up the meridians before draining the dantian, it seemed intent on turning Wang Chen into a desiccated corpse!
Because the mana leaked so swiftly, Wang Chen's hands bled profusely.
His blood too was absorbed by the Creation Cauldron!
This damn thing...
At that moment, Wang Chen genuinely felt the urge to pull out the Red Nether Sword and chop off his own right hand.
But he forcefully suppressed this intense urge.
Cutting off his hand would provide instant relief, but ruining his path to immortality; a crippled body would almost certainly prevent the formation of a Golden Core.
However, the fatal crisis posed by the Creation Cauldron was imminent, and Wang Chen had a flash of spiritual light in his mind, promptly activating the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net coiled around his right arm.
He leveraged the spiritual power stored within the Demon-Slaying Net to satisfy the demands of the Creation Cauldron.
The result was that the Creation Cauldron immediately changed its target, bypassing Wang Chen, the middleman, and directly drawing from the Demon-Slaying Net.
And the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net, like a dutiful and honest dairy cow, uncomplainingly offered up its cream.
Wang Chen had recently undertaken an exorcism mission in Huai Mountain County, eliminating thousands of evil wraiths, including several evil monsters and one evil cultivator, which allowed the Demon-Slaying Net to accumulate a substantial amount of pure spiritual power.
Wang Chen had originally planned to use these precious reserves of spiritual power in future battles.
The mana consumed by Purple Mansion Tier spells is incomparable to Qi Cultivation spells, and controlling a quasi-Magical Treasure like the Red Nether Sword is an immense test of one's own mana.
The Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net's ability to store spiritual energy could be said to be a force multiplier for Wang Chen.
It gave him the capability to overcome foes stronger than himself!
So it should not be squandered lightly.
But Wang Chen, in the current moment, could care about nothing else; if it meant not being turned into a desiccated corpse by the Creation Cauldron, he was willing to part with the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net no matter the cost.
Having successfully extricated himself from the life-threatening situation, he breathed a sigh of relief.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
He then discovered his entire back was drenched in sweat, his muscles tensed to the point of cramping, and a significant loss of vital blood within his body.
Cultivator's blood essence is very precious, and such a loss would take at least ten days to half a month for Wang Chen to recover.
Fortunately, the transfer was fast enough that it did not harm his origin, otherwise, losing three to five years of lifespan would be considered light!
But Wang Chen's happiness lasted only a moment, for he realized that despite the Creation Cauldron having shifted the target of its plundering, he still couldn't let go of this treasure cauldron.
He couldn't even put it into his Storage Bag!
Could this be an evil or demonic artifact?
Wang Chen felt his scalp tingle with the sensation of having fallen into a deep pit.
At this moment, his Divine Soul suddenly experienced an inexplicable throbbing and instantly formed a subtle connection with some mysterious existence within the Creation Cauldron.
Wang Chen's mind was greatly shaken!
Clang!
The Creation Cauldron suddenly slipped from his hands, crashing heavily to the ground, producing a dull sound upon impact.
In the next moment, the ancient cauldron rapidly expanded, quickly surpassing Wang Chen's height.
The three cauldron feet sank deeply into the floor!
Wang Chen was forced to back up a few steps, his eyes twitching uncontrollably.
Was this the true form of the Creation Cauldron?
Although the Creation Cauldron had slipped out of his control, the soul connection between him and the cauldron did not break, but instead became clearer and firmer.
Moreover, it was transmitting to him a sense of longing.
It was a bit like a naughty, gluttonous puppy that didn't care that its owner's pockets were cleaner than their face but still wanted to eat meat.
The problem was that Wang Chen couldn't squeeze out even half a drop of oil.
His Qi Sea Dantian was completely emptied, and he couldn't even cast the simplest Cleansing Technique.
And the Spiritual Power stored inside the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net wrapped around his arm was gone as well!
Too harsh!
Wang Chen had realized that he had made a big mistake.
The Creation Cauldron was neither an evil artifact nor a demonic artifact, but such a situation had arisen due to its high tier and the master-servant power imbalance.
Its draining from Wang Chen was entirely the result of instinct!
To Wang Chen's surprise, without receiving a response from him, the Creation Cauldron even conveyed a sense of grievance.
Wang Chen was speechless!
He knew that a tier-two Spiritual Artifact would develop spirit intelligence, and a tier-three Magical Treasure could condense an Artifact Spirit.
An Artifact Spirit possesses intelligence akin to humans, and higher-tier Spiritual Treasures can even manifest separately from the artifact and wield Taoist Skill and spiritual might!
Inside the Creation Cauldron, there clearly existed an Artifact Spirit, at least at the tier-three Magical Treasure level!
And now, Wang Chen, through serendipity, had established a soul connection with this treasure.
He feared that if he couldn't meet the demands of the Artifact Spirit, he might lose a precious opportunity!
What to do?
Wang Chen's thoughts raced, and a flash of inspiration struck his mind.
Mana, he had absolutely none left, even the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net had been drained of its Spiritual Power.
In the absence of any other options, Wang Chen tried calling up the Immortal Cultivation panel and smacked down his Human Virtue points on the Creation Cauldron.
One thousand, two thousand, five thousand, ten thousand...
As a large amount of Human Virtue was used, the surface of the Creation Cauldron began to emit a clear and bright light.
Twenty thousand, thirty thousand, forty thousand, fifty thousand!
Watching as his original amount of over fifty thousand Human Virtue points dwindled down to a mere three digits.
The Creation Cauldron still showed no signs of satisfaction.
In a fit of desperation, Wang Chen opened his Storage Bag!
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