Chapter 622

Chapter 622: Excavation in the Crystal Cave

Li Hui felt an indescribable immense aura approaching rapidly, and without hesitation, he unleashed all the protective jade symbols and demon talismans on his body.

The dragon claw phantom swept down, barely pausing as it touched the jade symbols and demon talismans, instantly breaking through all obstacles and lunging straight at Li Hui.

“Boom! Boom! Boom…” His followers reacted immediately, unleashing their powers to block the dragon claw phantom. In the blink of an eye, countless spirit treasures exploded, finally pushing the phantom back.

“Quick, get into the door!” Li Hui commanded, and everyone hurriedly fled.

Behind them came a heavy rumbling, as a giant creature was breaking through layers of barriers.

Soon, the dragon claw phantom returned, and Li Hui and his followers entered the door. Everyone pushed together to close it faster, feeling the vibrations clearly coming from the door.

The dragon claw couldn’t break in, but the shockwaves made many people spit blood—it was frightfully strong!

The cultivators breathed a sigh of relief; injury was better than death.

“Is that an immortal?”

Li Hui gazed in confusion, having glanced back at the far distance, where many obstacles stood between him and the entity, yet he still felt anxious. To confront an immortal, he would need to use Dao talismans.

Outside the door, the shaking continued, but thankfully, a layer of colorful mystical light protected them. It would not be easy to reopen the door.

Shrimp Ball patted his chest, filled with lingering fear as he said, “Oh my! We almost got done for. The Third Prince of the dragons doesn’t have a great temper; he didn’t know there was a treasure vault in the palace before. Now that his aura has leaked, he will definitely come rushing in at all costs.”

Li Hui asked urgently, “Can he break in? How much time do we have?”

“Reporting to the lord, this Third Prince practices both Dao and Buddhism and is said to be very powerful among the water beings. As for the specifics, Grandpa Turtle knows far better than I do. It is uncertain whether this Third Prince can break in, but we should take precautions. We’ll be safe for five days; after all, the Crystal Palace has strong defensive powers, and Grandpa Turtle left many measures, but after that, who knows!”

“Alright, let’s set five days as the limit. Rest for half an hour first, then clear the obstacles in the treasure vault.”

Li Hui sat down, surveying the radiant light ahead. He saw a crystal cave glowing with shades of purple and red, dazzling and beautiful, as if fireworks were constantly being set off; three characters read “Crystal Cave.”

“This is where Grandpa Turtle cleared the ruins and stored treasures. Everyone must be very careful. Many treasures can autonomously evolve into powerful water beings or summon Flickering Shadows. Grandpa Turtle warned not to keep them together; separating them for storage is much safer. But by then, it might be too late, as many heavy treasures borrow strength from each other, even wanting to call back their masters.”

After a pause, Shrimp Ball scratched his head and said, “It’s fortunate that drastic changes suddenly occurred in the Heavenly Realm, creating many barriers. This gave Grandpa Turtle the chance to seal off the treasure vault. He told me before he left to find a cultivator capable of subduing the Crystal Cave, but I didn’t expect he’d be gone for so many years. The revival of the Third Prince from the Western Sea Dragon Palace is actually related to a saddle from the Minghuang Palace, which the Third Prince left behind when he accompanied a holy monk to the West to fetch scriptures and became a White Dragon Horse.”

Li Hui was astonished: “That guy was just a monk’s foot soldier? How powerful must that monk be?”

“It seems he wasn’t enlightened at that time; that was a long time ago, and I know limited details,” Shrimp Ball replied regretfully. He used to love listening to Grandpa Turtle tell these stories, but Grandpa Turtle would always hesitate at crucial points, leaving many things unclear.

Half an hour later, everyone recovered, and Li Hui led the team toward the crystal cave.

As soon as they entered the cave, their vision expanded, as if they had stepped into an infinitely vast palace. Many brawny shrimp soldiers and crab generals rushed forward. Tianyi brought her fingers together and sensed, “The shrimp soldiers are late-stage Bosa, and the crab generals are late-stage practitioners of the myriad forms. They are a step up from the shrimp soldiers and crab generals we encountered before, and they are even more real, wielding weapons equivalent to third tribulation artifacts.”

“Hold nothing back, give it your all.”

Li Hui stepped forward, thinking, “Prime Minister Turtle didn’t want me to suppress the Crystal Cave because after six hundred years, the world will collapse; whether I suppress it or not becomes unimportant. However, I unexpectedly arrived six hundred years earlier. If I don’t resolve this hidden danger, will more Dark Immortals step into the present? Considering this, I need to do everything possible to weaken these treasures’ power.”

“Boom! Boom! Boom…” Nearly three hundred late-stage practitioners of the myriad forms and nineteen Profound Law Stage practitioners formed an attacking formation. Tianyi and Tian Zhu stood within the ranks, providing support. Each offensive they launched was accompanied by fierce winds and calamity fire, reducing the shrimp soldiers and crab generals to mere illusions.

At this point, Li Hui didn’t need to take action. After three sticks of incense, his followers, including Zhi Cheng, killed an enormous scallop. Suddenly, a clear sound rang out as a fist-sized pearl rolled to the ground.

Shrimp Ball exclaimed in delight, “It’s the East Pearl produced by the mother-of-pearl! It can gather water from rivers, lakes, and seas, and is suitable for water beings to nurture their souls. I humbly request you to grant this pearl to me, so my soul can have a place to rest.”

“Oh? Are you already dead?” Li Hui examined Shrimp Ball carefully and realized, “I see now. You attached yourself to the phantom, guarding this place loyally, having made great contributions. Here, take the East Pearl.”

“Thank you, my lord.” Shrimp Ball was extremely grateful. This East Pearl would greatly benefit him, as he wouldn’t have to worry about his soul dissipating anymore.

“Let’s speed up the clearing; treasures are for everyone.”

“Yes!”

Li Hui was very generous to his followers, recognizing how much risk they had taken to arrive here. Their cooperation was becoming increasingly harmonious; everyone was dear to him, and losing one person would feel like a tremendous loss.

As they gradually ventured deeper, after exterminating a giant squid, they obtained a broken drum. Shrimp Ball had already entered the East Pearl, floating next to Li Hui and saying, “This is the Kui Niu Drum!”

Upon acquiring the Kui Niu Drum, Li Hui touched the damaged drum surface and felt a unique texture.

Shrimp Ball explained, “There’s a mountain called Liuboshan in the East Sea, and it has a beast resembling a cow, completely gray, with no horns, and it only has one leg. Each time it appears, there are strong winds and storms. It shines with a light like that of the sun and moon, and its roar is as deafening as thunder. This beast is named Kui. The human emperor, Huangdi, obtained this beast and used its hide to make eighty Kui Niu Drums, with drumsticks crafted from the bones of the Thunder Beast. When he strikes the drums, the sound echoes for fifty thousand miles, shocking the enemy and commanding the world.”

“Oh? Is this one of the eighty Kui Niu Drums?” Li Hui took a deep breath, saying, “Incredible! The hide of this beast can definitely be used to make Dao talismans. I can sense the Dao Principles hidden within. The drum itself is also a precious item, made from the wood of the Thunder Tribulation; too bad there’s no drumstick.”

At that moment, ahead appeared a golden crab the size of a house, and Shrimp Ball shouted, “That’s the golden crab general army, quickly! It has a nine-pronged steel fork that weighs three thousand six hundred pounds. If we obtain this treasure, searching the vault afterward will be a bit easier.”

“Be careful, this big crab is no simple foe.” Li Hui’s expression grew serious as he gradually transformed, becoming a giant, six-zhang tall, confronting the golden crab general army, ready for battle.