Chapter 403

Chapter 403: Mixing and Mingling with the Silver Snake

The farmer turned back, shocked and in disbelief.

She had paid a great price to obtain a basket of Tianyi run-off water and had worked tirelessly to finally enter the inner courtyard. How could this elegantly dressed young man enter behind her? Did he possess the ability to leave marks on the Great Treasure Dragon Celebration Tree?

Li Hui nodded in acknowledgment and glided into the golden light. The protection formations around the treasures only reacted after he had already passed through.

“He’s in, he’s in…” The farmer was astonished beyond measure. Where was this place? The inner courtyard of the Green Copper Hall had stumped countless talented individuals since its emergence. How could anyone come and go as they pleased?

Before long, Li Hui stood firmly, five zhang away, where five spirit treasures floated.

Weapons that undergo three tribulations can become spirit treasures, with their powers starting to condense and gradually gaining sentience to cultivate and increase their might on their own.

According to common logic, the older the spirit treasure, the mightier it should be. The five spirit treasures before him shimmered with layers of formless patterns. If he could find a way to seize them and take them out, even All-Manifestation Realm cultivators would be desperate for them.

Practitioners in the Condense Essence Stage and Bosa stage used ordinary magical artifacts, while All-Manifestation Realm cultivators wielded spirit treasures. Even in the Great Xia, it wouldn’t be easy for late-stage Bosa practitioners to acquire one spirit treasure without backing from a powerful sect.

Magical artifacts were somewhat common, but true spirit treasures were rare, especially to find five at once. Such chances were too precious; Li Hui had discovered many ancient cave dwellings, yet had never seen even half a spirit treasure.

He watched silently, eagerly anticipating, and showed no sign of reaching out.

Suddenly, a grand serpentine shadow appeared.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!”

Five loud sounds erupted as the five spirit treasures exploded. Silver scales flickered in sight, vanishing for a moment. Li Hui smiled faintly and avoided the residual treasure scraps, drifting away.

The Green Copper Hall shook lightly as the terrifying force in the depths of fate appeared, attempting to lock onto the source and seize the fortune. After a brief search, it found no target, leaving it infuriated. Having opened its doors for business for thousands of years, this was the first time it had made a loss. How could it not be angry?

As Li Hui strolled, he found hundreds of second tribulation artifacts and ten third tribulation artifacts. Even if other items were better, he didn’t dare to touch them. He knew well that taking even one would bring misfortune, especially in the inner courtyard where he could lose tenfold or even a hundredfold of his fortune, so he made marks on the items he desired instead.

He wouldn’t engage in a losing trade; the Fortune Ascending Talismans and Dao Rhythm Residual Talismans could seize someone else’s fortune, but he had never been on the receiving end of such external loss.

The silver snake bracelet absorbed artifacts and spirit treasures, which was different. What did that have to do with Li Hui? Thanks to the methods left by the elder Chen Mengde, it could amplify talismans.

Three black patterns appeared on the back of the silver snake.

In fact, they weren’t black patterns but rather an overly bright silver that looked dark.

The silver snake bracelet was a Dao Rhythmic Artifact; with Li Hui’s current ability, he could control it to a limited extent. He continuously formed seals to preserve the talisman power, keeping the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays unaffected. Even though the time of preservation was limited, it was far superior to before when he lacked control.

“Hum!” A fourth black pattern appeared on the silver snake’s back, and the impact of the unleashed talisman power was so terrifying that even Li Hui, the bracelet’s master, felt it.

This way, he avoided the dangers of the Green Copper Hall without any cost or sacrificing a single bit of fortune, yet could accumulate immense talisman power.

“Rumbling…” A sound of thunder echoed within the Green Copper Hall, and a vast power directed its attention toward the silver snake. Li Hui looked up and saw the intimidating aura rolling in like a tide, as something dared to target the silver snake. He felt the need to observe closely.

“Roar…” The roar echoed in his heart, frightening the old tree demon, while the farmer had already collapsed to the ground.

The silver light coiled around Li Hui, and soon the roar transformed into a faint scream, as a large clay head fell to the ground, scattering into pieces.

“A statue? Now this is interesting—could this Green Copper Hall be a creation of the divine path practitioners?” In that fleeting thought, the silver light, invisible to ordinary eyes, surged wildly, causing the Green Copper Hall to continuously tremble as all artifacts and spirit treasures shattered.

The silver snake was quite stingy; it clearly had consumed something good, yet once it returned to being a bracelet, only a single black pattern representing its talisman power remained on its back.

Li Hui slapped his forehead, reminding himself to maintain a calm state of mind—what did he have to argue with a dead snake about? Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of crisis struck him; his left eye turned red and his right eye golden. He gazed at a mass of black mist rapidly expanding, and alarm bells rang in his head—having lost ground, the opponent was starting to get serious; it was time to leave this place.

“Go!”

Activating the Seize the Day Talisman to amplify his time flow to fifty times, he immediately utilized the talisman power stored in the silver snake bracelet to elevate his speed to a hundred times.

At this moment, everything seemed to stand still.

When Li Hui reappeared, he was already outside the Green Copper Hall.

He quickly turned back and pulled firmly, watching as the silver threads tightened and rapidly withdrew from formless to solid, pulling forth dazzling light.

The Five Spirits Transformation Talisman floated in the air, consuming a significant amount of talisman power for transportation. As the talisman surface retracted all the silver threads, it hooked over a hundred treasures in an instant. The fishing hook had long been set; it was waiting for this moment.

“A great achievement! I’ll return to visit next time the Green Copper Hall appears,” Li Hui gathered the treasures and soared away. In just a moment’s delay, a green figure silently stood where he had just been.

The green figure was not a human shape, but a marred jade sculpture that stiffly raised its arm, pointing northward.

A terrifying will extended toward the north, attempting to chase and seize the little thief’s fortune. However, after traveling a thousand miles, it had to cease its pursuit. Going further would exceed the limits of its influence; the Green Copper Hall could not bear that.

Li Hui lay on a stone mountain, observing the changes in the atmosphere. After a while, he patted off the dust and stood up, thinking, “So this power can only spread a thousand miles; if I run fast, it can’t take my fortune! I wonder if Senior Sister Chuchu entered the Green Copper Hall. It’s certainly not a kind place…”

On this stone mountain, he found a secluded spot and opened the treasure cabinet to release what he had obtained. The first thing to catch his eye was five pieces of Nirvana Green Gold, each the size of a calf, causing a broad smile to form on his face.

“Not a bad harvest! Mixing and mingling with the silver snake allowed me to pack up as I left. If I come a few more times, I’ll surely be wealthier than that Jieyin fellow!”

Li Hui took out the Azure Sky Jade Symbol Sword, excitedly saying, “Just right, as the talisman power is sufficient; as long as the Azure Sky Rock Worm consumes this Nirvana Green Gold, the quality of the artifact can surely go up a tier. The treasures I’ve gathered aren’t random but chosen after careful consideration, and they can be immediately utilized.”

“The Nirvana Green Gold is merely an appetizer; my Personal Artifact, the Green Emperor Yuanhong Vine, can also seize this chance to improve. Also, are these six pieces of jade the supreme Miao Jade?”

Among the various treasures, six palm-sized pieces of jade floated naturally.

Li Hui had seen many high-grade Miao Jade pieces, but he had never encountered supreme Miao Jade. Rarely mentioned in classical texts, they remained vague since only fragments were recorded. However, the Enamel Dragon Crystals were a calamity for supreme Miao Jade, reacting to them with slight tremors as he approached.

“Supreme Miao Jade! It looks like ordinary jade; other than floating naturally, it doesn’t seem special. Let’s try to let the treasure cabinet array absorb one and see if there’s any change.”

To his surprise, upon trying, Li Hui was greatly astonished.