At this moment, everyone was trapped inside the artifact. This cauldron was extremely strange—Yang Han was curious about such a treasure, which could be considered a powerful existence. At least, right now, it was difficult for him to break through it unless he tried using the Soul-Devouring Divine Sword. But even if he did, he might not be able to open it, so Yang Han hadn't acted yet, planning to find another way to break out, or simply wait for the owner to let them out.
"Have you thought of a way yet?" Lynn Lin asked curiously when she saw Yang Han spacing out.
"Isn't that what I'm doing?" Yang Han sighed.
Ember Yang watched everyone from the side, not sure what to do. But after seeing how dark it was around them, she muttered, "It's so dark here. I want to light it up." She opened her mouth, and a flame sprayed out, illuminating the surroundings.
Lynn Lin laughed when she saw this. "Ember, that's such a waste of your flames."
"It's fine. If I'm hungry, I just eat to get them back," Ember Yang replied innocently.
Yang Han and the others were stunned. Did Ember Yang really replenish her energy by eating? Lynn Lin was curious and asked, "So you can just eat and recover your power?"
"I think so. I haven't tried other ways, but maybe they all work," Ember Yang muttered.
"Just make a small torch," Yang Han said, casually lighting something and placing it next to Ember Yang. Ember then extinguished her flame and asked, "Dad, can we get out?"
"Hold on, let me check a bit more," Yang Han said.
Ember Yang nodded, and Yang Han said to everyone, "Look around and see if there's anything unusual here."
Lynn Lin and Melody Wood both responded, then carefully examined their surroundings. Yang Han studied the area as well, until he noticed a spot with smoke. He frowned and said, "Wait here, I'll go check it out."
As Yang Han walked toward the smoky area, everyone watched him with furrowed brows.
"Why is there smoke here? And such a strong scent?" Yang Han muttered.
Yang Han soon saw a small vent. Although it was transparent, he couldn't go down—he could only see inside.
He saw something simmering below, as if refining pills.
"Is this cauldron used for alchemy?" Yang Han muttered. Considering the possibilities, he took out the sharp Soul-Devouring Divine Sword and began drilling at the vent. Soon a lower opening appeared. Yang Han sneered, "If you're going to let me in, you'd better be ready for the consequences."
Yang Han then reached his hand down, absorbing all the thick medicinal energy with his hand.
The boiling medicinal vapor below, which had originally been surging, was now almost completely gone.
Outside the cauldron, at this moment, the cauldron was sitting inside a room, and there were many people present.
The man who owned the cauldron laughed, "Let me tell you, today I've had quite the harvest—I caught two beauties."
"Zack, are you serious?" a young man said with a grin.
"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you?" said the man addressed as Zack, smiling.
"Zack, I heard the king keeps you on a tight leash. How do you have time to get out? If he finds out you're messing with the people again, you're done for," said another man, who looked scholarly and held a fan.
"Come on, the king's busy with important matters right now. He doesn't have time for me. Besides, the two beauties I caught will make your hearts flutter when you see them," Zack laughed.
The group already showed greedy expressions, all eager to see what was going on. Just then, a guard came in and said, "Prince, the king wants you to come over."
"Oh? The king? What's he want with me?" Zack asked nervously when he heard this.
"No idea. The king just told me to find you," said the guard.
"Got it," Zack replied, then turned to his friends and said, "I'll tell you all about it later. Wait here for me."
Everyone looked a bit disappointed, but stayed there to wait. Zack followed the guard to a bedchamber.
When he saw the bedchamber, Zack frowned. "Why are we here?"
"I was the one who had him call you," said a voice. An old man stepped out, and when Zack saw him, he was both excited and surprised, laughing, "So it was Master! I thought the king really called for me."
"You brat, always causing trouble. If I hadn't said it was the king, you'd probably prank me again," the old man laughed.
"Master, what are you talking about?" Zack said awkwardly.
"Alright, enough nonsense. Bring out your Azure Moon Cauldron," the old man said.
Zack was puzzled. "Master, what do you want with my Azure Moon Cauldron?"
"Didn't I refine some pills for you last time to boost your cultivation? It's about time to check the results," the old man said.
"So that's it! I almost forgot," Zack said excitedly, handing the Azure Moon Cauldron to the old man.
When the old man opened it to check the pills, he found only empty residue inside.
The Azure Moon Cauldron has two layers: one for pill refining, one for storage. Zack always used the storage layer to imprison people. When the old man realized this, he asked in shock, "What happened here? Did you open the cauldron?"
Zack frowned. "No, this layer has always been sealed."
"Then how is there not a trace of medicinal power left? And it's all turned to residue," the old man said in shock.
Zack was confused, then suspiciously said, "Could it be them?"
"Who?" the old man asked suspiciously.
Zack explained what happened. When the old man heard Zack used the cauldron to imprison people, he scolded, "You really are..."
"Master, don't be angry. I'll let them out and ask," Zack said, depressed.
The old man said helplessly, "Alright."
After Zack used the Azure Moon Cauldron's method, Yang Han and the others came out. Yang Han smiled at the two, "Hello there."
"Tell me, did you touch my pills?" Zack yelled angrily.
"What pills? I don't know what you're talking about. And why did you capture us for no reason?" Yang Han asked.
"I capture whoever I want. What's it to you?" Zack snorted.
The old man frowned and said, "Let me handle this. Young man, I don't know what happened between you and my disciple, but I want to know where the cauldron's pills went."
"I forgot," Yang Han replied.
"You forgot? Looks like you know something. In that case, I'll capture you first and force the answer out," the old man said coldly.
Yang Han waved his hand, sending Lynn Lin and the others into his internal space. Facing the old man alone was no problem for Yang Han; in no time, the old man was pinned against the wall. Zack was shocked and hurriedly tried to control the Azure Moon Cauldron against Yang Han.
Seeing the Azure Moon Cauldron coming, Yang Han dodged, disappearing before the cauldron could grab him.
Seeing Yang Han move so fast, Zack shouted, "Let's see who's faster—you or me!"
"Obviously me," Yang Han suddenly spun around and appeared behind Zack, placing a hand on his shoulder. Zack's shoulder was immobilized, unable to move, let alone cast spells.
"Wh-what do you want?" Zack hadn't expected Yang Han to be so terrifying. The old man beside them warned, "Young man, don't be rash. He's our prince—if anything happens to him, you won't leave this place alive."
"I'm never afraid of threats, so yours won't work on me. But I don't get it—how can a prince do such pointless things?" Yang Han said helplessly.
"You can't kill me, or you'll never get out of here," Zack threatened Yang Han again.
"I already said, I don't like threats." Yang Han was about to act when a loud shout echoed, making his chest feel as if he might cough up blood.
This was definitely a master—just the voice could do this to him. Without hesitation, Yang Han retreated, leaving Zack lying on the ground, unable to move.
"That must have been a deity," Yang Han muttered to himself. At this moment, he had already left the palace and was hiding somewhere in the city.
Soon, a middle-aged man appeared beside Zack. He looked at Zack and asked, "What happened?"
"Dad, I... can't move," Zack said.
The middle-aged man frowned. "How did you provoke that freak?"
"He was too much," Zack couldn't explain. The man knew his son must've caused trouble, but now wasn't the time to blame him. He said, "Rest for now. I'll go find him and make him undo this."
"King, was that your voice just now?" the old man asked.
"Yes, it was my true voice. Just meant to scare him—otherwise my son would've been killed," the middle-aged man said.
The old man nodded. "Then you'd better hurry and find him. Don't let him escape."
"Alright, got it." The middle-aged man flashed into the city, using information from his true self, and quickly found Yang Han.
Yang Han was in a corner, just about to sit down, when the middle-aged man appeared and said, "Come with me."
"Who are you?" Yang Han asked, curious.
"Me? I'm the owner of that voice just now," said the middle-aged man.
Yang Han frowned—this was too fast. Was this divine power, able to find him so easily? Yet the man's aura wasn't as strong as expected, so Yang Han asked, "Just now was just now, now is now—two different people."
"That's right, you're clever. This is just a clone. The voice was from my true self. Every move you make, my true self sees it clearly. So you'd better come with me. If you try to leave, you'll die—even if you reach Immortal Lord, I can still destroy your soul," the middle-aged man said.
"I see. But I've never liked being ordered around—never have, never will. So I won't go," Yang Han said.
"Then don't blame me for acting." The middle-aged man stretched out his hand, unleashing a powerful force. It was fast, but not enough to defeat Yang Han.
So Yang Han punched back. Both retreated, and the middle-aged man said, "You're strong. But it's a pity."