Looking at the shy and bashful Qin Xiyan, Lin Yun just smiled and waved his hand. This was merely a small effort on his part. Besides, he had wanted to come and see this Nether River Dragon Palace for a long time. He simply hadn't had the chance before. This time, he had used the opportunity of helping Qin Xiyan to finally resolve the matter.
But the whole process had been far too smooth.
"I keep feeling that this was all resolved too easily," he said. "My gut tells me we should leave this place first."
Although a great treasure lay before them, for some reason, the longer he stayed here, the more he felt that something was seriously wrong. That dangerous feeling that lingered in his heart could erupt at any moment. More importantly, his panel had not changed at all.
Even the Chongqing Bird spoke up at this moment. "The Nether River Dragon Palace is indeed stranger than I imagined. But the most important thing is the plant life here. Logically speaking, this place has been sealed for so many years. No matter how powerful the methods used, the plants here should have withered away long ago. And have you noticed that there isn't a single sign of damage in the entire palace?"
The Chongqing Bird also voiced its own doubts. But unfortunately, they had no way to answer them.
"Alright, alright, you don't need to overthink it. The most pressing matter is to quickly refine the Xuanming Aberrant Flame. As long as you can use the Panlong Cauldron to refine it, this trip will not have been in vain."
Compared to these vague concerns, the more important thing now was for Lin Yun to successfully refine the flame. This was an incredibly powerful force. Even with Lin Yun's current cultivation realm, the importance of the Xuanming Aberrant Flame could not be underestimated.
Lin Yun then told Qin Xiyan his plan. Naturally, she was more than willing to stand guard for him.
The two went downstairs. Seeing the furnace again, they were still filled with a sense of awe. After confirming that the surroundings were safe, Lin Yun slowly summoned the Panlong Cauldron.
However, this process was quite difficult. Although Lin Yun had already successfully established a connection with the cauldron, the treasure seemed to have a rather arrogant personality. No matter how Lin Yun tried to channel his power, it always seemed to resist him. It took a great deal of effort for him to finally summon it.
"I really don't get it. Why is everyone so crazy about this thing?" he complained, annoyed. "If it came time for a real fight, with this thing's temper, I wouldn't be able to use it at all."
When he had first obtained the Panlong Cauldron, he had thought he'd gotten his hands on an incredibly powerful treasure. Only now did he realize the situation was completely different from what he had imagined. Inviting a god is easy, but sending one away is difficult. Once people knew he possessed the Panlong Cauldron, it would likely bring a fatal disaster upon him. At that time, he wouldn't be able to handle the trouble with his own abilities.
Yet, if he kept this thing, the cauldron would periodically draw a massive amount of Yuan Qi from his body. It was only because of his special physique that he could withstand such pressure; anyone else would have been sucked into a dried corpse long ago. But even though he was nourishing it like this, the cauldron still showed no intention of helping him with anything. Even summoning it to refine the Xuanming Aberrant Flame was this complicated.
But the moment Lin Yun finished his complaint, the Panlong Cauldron seemed to sense the presence of the Xuanming Aberrant Flame. The situation changed completely.
Initially, both the Chongqing Bird and Lin Yun had assumed that refining the flame would require Lin Yun's active intervention. But now, the Panlong Cauldron completely bypassed Lin Yun and directly smashed into the furnace.
RUMBLE—
In that instant, the earth moved and the mountains shook. The entire Nether River Dragon Palace seemed to tremble. After entering the palace, they had discovered that a powerful barrier still protected it, which was why it hadn't been flooded. But now, feeling the palace tremble, Lin Yun was worried the barrier might break.
Fortunately, after the furnace toppled, it only smashed a large hole in the floor and did not affect the overall structure of the palace. The Xuanming Aberrant Flame within it, however, had scattered all over the ground.
"What the… Are you trying to tear the place down?!" Lin Yun had never expected a Dharma treasure like the Panlong Cauldron to have such a strange personality. He had previously thought it might just be an inanimate object. But now it seemed this thing was not that simple at all. It was even highly likely that it possessed a divine sense, just like the Chongqing Bird.
The Panlong Cauldron completely ignored Lin Yun's scolding. Instead, it began to continuously gather the scattered Xuanming Aberrant Flame towards itself.
It was a strange sight. The Xuanming Aberrant Flame's fame had spread far and wide in the cultivation world long ago, and no one had ever heard of a treasure that could control it. The powerful expert back then had paid an enormous price to be able to control and refine the flame, and even then, he was ultimately consumed by it.
But the situation before them was different. The Xuanming Aberrant Flame seemed to have some kind of natural, indescribable connection with the Panlong Cauldron. With just a slight movement, the cauldron was able to rapidly gather all the nearby flames.
Then, with an aura that could swallow mountains and rivers, the lid of the Panlong Cauldron lifted slightly, and it drew the massive amount of Xuanming Aberrant Flame inside.
Lin Yun and Qin Xiyan were dumbfounded.
"Senior Brother Lin, this treasure of yours seems a bit special." Qin Xiyan had never seen such a peculiar item, one that not only disobeyed its master's commands but even had its own unique ideas.
As the Panlong Cauldron devoured the flame, the patterns on its body visibly changed to a light purple. And this was only the beginning.
Lin Yun was also deeply shocked.
An unknown amount of time passed. The Xuanming Aberrant Flame that was originally in the furnace had been completely consumed by the Panlong Cauldron.
After eating its fill, the cauldron became much more docile. Before Lin Yun could even speak, its lid lifted slightly again, and it spat an object out at Lin Yun. Immediately after, the cauldron flew directly into Lin Yun's Yuqili bracelet.
What's going on? This thing takes my stuff and then tries to trade me for it?
This was the first time Lin Yun had ever encountered such a strange treasure. Afterwards, no matter how he tried to summon the Panlong Cauldron, there was no response. It seemed that after consuming so much Xuanming Aberrant Flame, it needed some time to refine it.
"As expected of the Panlong Cauldron," the Chongqing Bird remarked with awe. "It is indeed the most special in both power and methods among all the treasures I have ever seen." The cauldron's performance just now was truly astonishing.
Lin Yun, however, remained silent. He was absolutely infuriated by this sneaky bastard of a cauldron.