Chapter 151

Chapter 151: Lou Yun Vanished

Though the Elder and the others possessed extremely keen spiritual perception, they could not discern the precise situation within the book mountain for several reasons. Firstly, the energy within Lou Yun had been entirely shielded by Chang Xiang. Secondly, the area was thick with restrictive enchantments. Thirdly, the Six Layers of Book Mountain was a weapon technique unleashed by Han Rui himself. Only Han Rui might have had a way to know, yet he was currently drained of spiritual energy, equally incapable of inspecting the interior. This was why the Elder had tossed him a spiritual crystal, urging him to quickly restore some spiritual energy to ascertain Lou Yun’s condition.

The second-grade spiritual crystal contained only a minuscule amount of spiritual energy for Han Rui. He absorbed it entirely in mere moments. Though it was pitifully little, it did restore some of his spiritual energy.

Discarding the now ordinary stone that was the spent spiritual crystal, Han Rui immediately focused his senses on the Six Layers of Book Mountain he had manifested.

With a single glance, Han Rui froze for the third time!

Within the six, superimposed layers of the book mountain, there was no trace of Lou Yun! Yet, it wasn’t entirely empty. There stood a single-footed, golden cauldron!

The cauldron wasn’t large, standing only about one person’s height where it rested. Dragons and phoenixes danced dramatically across its surface amidst swirling auspicious clouds and drifting, ethereal immortal mist, creating a dazzlingly intricate sight.

Furthermore, this cauldron wasn’t stationary. It rotated slowly, generating gentle yet relentless vortices of energy with each turn. These vortices acted like an impenetrable, invisible barrier, holding back the colossal weight of the Six Layers of Book Mountain.

Where was Lou Yun?

Had he hidden inside this cauldron? But what kind of cauldron was this? It could actually withstand the immense pressure of the Six Layers of Book Mountain! A living being might endure such weight, perhaps by absorbing surrounding spiritual energy or possessing innate potential— like Han Tie Feng, whose physical training had forged him into an exceptionally robust vessel, capable of withstanding tremendous pressure through such means. But an inanimate object was just that—inanimate. Even crafted from the finest materials, unless it could actively absorb spiritual energy to reinforce its own resilience, its load-bearing capacity had to have a definite limit!

So what kind of origin did this cauldron possess, enabling it to support the combined weight of six miniature mountains?

Naturally, Han Rui had no idea. Since the Chaos Golden Cauldron was hailed as the Emperor of Cauldrons, it possessed unique, extraordinary qualities. It could not only absorb spiritual energy itself, but its form could also change freely—shrinking to the size of a ring or swelling to the height of a mountain. Though it currently stood only a meter tall, its intrinsic properties remained. Therefore, bearing the weight of the Six Layers of Book Mountain was not truly strange!

The appearance of the Chaos Golden Cauldron here was, naturally, Lou Yun’s idea. The instant the first layer of book mountain descended upon him, an inspiration struck Lou Yun’s mind—the Chaos Golden Cauldron!

He likely wouldn’t have thought of it had he not just used it moments before. Coincidentally, he had previously employed the Chaos Golden Cauldron as a prison to confine Qin Wufeng. The Chaos Golden Cauldron wasn’t solely for forging weapons or pills; it could also contain living beings. Finding himself completely out of options, Lou Yun, acting on a ‘give it a try’ impulse, summoned the Chaos Golden Cauldron at the very last moment and ducked inside!

Unexpectedly, it worked!

The Chaos Golden Cauldron truly withstood the immense pressure of the Six Layers of Book Mountain, preventing Lou Yun from being flattened into pulp!

Though Han Rui suspected Lou Yun might be hiding inside the golden cauldron, his limited spiritual perception couldn’t penetrate its interior to confirm.

Witnessing Han Rui’s dumbfounded expression, the surrounding members of the Han family knew something unexpected must have occurred within the mountain. Yet Han Rui remained silent, leaving them utterly clueless and uselessly wide-eyed with helpless anxiety.

Han Tie Feng finally lost patience. Roaring at Han Rui, he demanded, "Han Rui! Why are you spacing out now? What exactly is happening inside your book mountain?"

Too shocked to even think of arguing, Han Rui ignored Han Tie Feng. Instead, he looked towards the Elder, his face etched with deep puzzlement. "Lou Yun is gone!"

"What?!" The Elder was stunned for a moment, then flashed forward abruptly, appearing directly before Han Rui. He seized the front of Han Rui’s robe and bellowed, "Lou Yun is gone?"

The Elder initially feared Lou Yun had escaped. Only after Han Rui stammered out the description of the cauldron within the mountain did the Elder’s tense expression relax slightly. If word got out that Lou Yun had escaped under tight siege by so many Han family members, the Han family would become the laughingstock of the Nine Clans!

After a brief moment of contemplation, the Elder deduced, "That Golden Cauldron you mentioned is likely one of Lou Yun’s treasures, similar to battle armor. It shields him from the book mountain’s weight, and he must be hiding inside it."

Han Rui, of course, had already considered this. The critical issue now was: What should they do? If Lou Yun stayed hidden inside the cauldron, the Six Layers of Book Mountain posed no threat at all. They couldn’t possibly afford to simply wait it out!

Han Rui absolutely lacked the capacity to add a seventh layer. Even if he could, he couldn’t guarantee it would have any effect!

The Elder glanced at Han Rui, a slight frown creasing his brow. "Can you not cast Book Prison?"

The sight of the Elder frowning made Han Rui’s heart pound heavily. He stammered urgently, "Elder, back then I felt Book Mountain was more challenging and versatile, while Book Prison seemed simpler and less useful. So I prioritized training Book Mountain. But rest assured, Elder! Upon our return, I will immediately begin cultivating Book Prison!"

The Elder glared sharply at Han Rui. "Upon return? What about now? Hmph!"

Clearly, the Elder was truly angry. Han Rui didn’t dare utter another word, immediately shutting his mouth obediently.

Ignoring Han Rui now, the Elder murmured to himself, "Since Book Mountain has been employed, Book Prison must be cast by the same individual for coherence. We cannot afford to waste time like this. Han Rui, retract the book mountain immediately!"

"R-retract it?" Han Rui stammered in disbelief. Manifesting those Six Layers had consumed all his spiritual energy, plus the energy from that second-grade spiritual crystal! It had served no purpose whatsoever, and now he was simply to withdraw it!

"Nonsense! What choice do you have? You don’t know Book Prison! Do you intend to stand here waiting him out indefinitely?" the Elder snapped irritably.

With a resigned sigh, Han Rui nodded. "Understood. I’ll retract it now."

However, the moment his words left his mouth, the Six Layers of Book Mountain gave a faint tremor. The mountain was so massive that even this slight vibration felt distinctly noticeable to everyone present.

This time, Han Rui reacted with surprising swiftness. After a shocked pause, he immediately focused his senses back inside the book mountain. What he saw caused him to experience shock for the fourth time that day—a shock far more profound than the previous three combined.

Seeing Han Rui’s expression, the Elder’s rage surged. He couldn’t resist lashing out with his foot, sending Han Rui sprawling several meters away with a powerful kick. "Spit it out!" he roared furiously. "What in blazes is it now?!"

Picking himself up hurriedly, Han Rui wore a desperate look. "Elder! This is terrible! That cauldron… it’s growing larger! It’s already at least three times bigger than before!"

The book mountain was only about ten meters tall. The Chaos Golden Cauldron, having tripled in size, now stood around three meters tall. If it continued growing unchecked, it would act like a young tree sprouting through stone, forcing its way upward and shattering the entire book mountain from within.

Han Rui had included his own main magical weapon within the manifestation of the Six Layers of Book Mountain. While a secondary magical weapon could be used to execute this technique, Han Rui, aiming to utterly subdue Lou Yun, had incorporated his primary magical weapon. Crucially, the very foundation—the first layer of the book mountain—was formed from the essence of Han Rui’s main magical weapon itself!

If the Six Layers of Book Mountain were shattered apart by the Chaos Golden Cauldron, it meant Han Rui’s magical weapon would also sustain severe damage. In such a case, his life would be in grave danger! This was the source of his overwhelming panic.

The enlargement of the Chaos Golden Cauldron was, naturally, also Lou Yun’s doing, activated from within the cauldron.

While the Elder and the Han family outside frantically sought solutions they couldn’t find, Lou Yun inside the Golden Cauldron was equally frantic. What should he do? He was temporarily safe, but he couldn’t hide inside forever. Trapped within the cauldron and buried beneath six layers of book mountain, he was completely cut off from the outside world. He had no clue what was happening beyond the golden walls. Yet he could guess: once the Han family realized the Six Layers of Book Mountain posed no threat to him, they would inevitably concoct new methods.

After brief contemplation, Lou Yun made a decision. First, he produced a four-grade spiritual crystal and began absorbing its energy to recharge. Naturally, the four-grade crystal contained over a hundred times more spiritual energy than a second-grade one; even Lou Yun couldn’t possibly absorb it all in a short time.

Once he had replenished a modest amount of spiritual energy, Lou Yun began actively urging the Golden Cauldron to expand, intending to forcibly break free from the confines of the Six Layers!

Swiftly, the Golden Cauldron swelled to nearly five meters in height. Han Rui, who had been watching intently, saw this development and felt like crying in panic. He pleaded desperately with the Elder, "Elder! Quickly! Think of something! That Golden Cauldron is about to burst through the Six Layers!"

Han Rui’s pathetic state made the Elder wish he could kick him to death then and there. But this was no time for punishment. Suppressing his fury, the Elder suddenly bellowed like thunder, "You still stand there gaping?! Hurry up and retract the book mountain now!"