An edge of space, like a lightning bolt stretching tens of thousands of meters, was devastatingly sharp, capable of shattering and slicing through stars.

Audrey had once believed that the countless stellar fragments and vast fields of asteroid debris within the Void Sea were all torn apart by those dragon-like, serpentine spatial blades that roamed there.

At this moment, that terrifying spatial blade was being guided by the profound mystery of the Stone Rock, cleaving down with unparalleled might. Dozens of meteorites in its path were slashed by the death-scythe-like spatial edges, instantly fragmenting into dust and scattering outwards.

Seeing the massive blade cutting toward her, a chill rose in Audrey's heart. She hurriedly circulated her own profound mysteries, weaving layer upon layer of protective barriers around herself, preparing for any contingency.

"Crack!"

The immense blade struck the surface of the meteorite. Sparks flew in countless explosions, and many stones fractured and burst open. A massive shockwave traveled through, causing Audrey’s delicate body to sway violently, feeling utterly miserable, like a small skiff tossed upon a raging sea.

Surprisingly, the giant meteorite spun rapidly but did not cleave apart under the blade's assault; only much of its outer surface stone pulverized and fell away.

"Huh! Truly strange and unusual!"

Shi Yan exclaimed, then immediately exerted more force, sending five more giant blades slicing down. They all struck the meteorite’s surface, causing the exterior to look as if it were engulfed in flame, streaks of fire manifesting as the meteorite spun violently around them like a flung discus.

"Kaka-kaka-kaka!"

Chunks of grayish-brown rock, large and small, fell from the meteorite, transforming into tiny, fleeting fragments that instantly vanished.

This meteorite tumbled and careened with astonishing force, striking the surrounding asteroids. Each impact often shattered those other rocks or dispersed them into plumes of stone dust.

Yet, it remained unharmed, its core structure unbelievably intact and hard.

Spatial blades were the sharpest attacks in existence, capable of splitting stars and annihilating life-bearing worlds. Even beings in the Immortal Realm, if struck directly by such terrifying edges, would likely suffer physical annihilation. They were absolutely impossible to resist.

But this meteorite, having endured several successive cuts from the spatial blades, only rolled and tumbled; it did not shatter.

Audrey rolled along with the meteorite's impacts, dizzy and pale. The collisions between the celestial bodies generated instant, massive shock forces, and the resulting sparks of shattered starlight were a form of torment to her.

Her protective shield, condensed from her First Celestial Heaven Realm cultivation, flickered ominously, showing signs of imminent collapse.

Just then, Shi Yan abruptly stopped guiding the spatial blades. He raised his hand and drew Audrey directly into his embrace, holding her slightly cold form tightly against him.

A warm, masculine scent suddenly flooded Audrey’s senses, and her dazed eyes became clouded. Like a drowning person instinctively grasping whatever they could, she gripped Shi Yan’s arm tightly, her body pressing unconsciously against his, her full, firm breasts pressing against his broad chest.

The meteorite continued to roll relentlessly, and the two spun wildly with it. Waves of impact force transmitted from within caused the outer stones to shatter and fall away ceaselessly.

With one arm around Audrey, feeling the exquisite curve of her body, Shi Yan gathered starlight with his other hand, forming a river with his five fingers, maintaining balance in a unique way. He subtly adjusted the rolling trajectory of the meteorite beneath them, steering it clear of the exploding areas.

Dozens of meteorites ahead were colliding, generating earth-shattering explosive aftershocks that formed a world-ending zone. He knew that if the meteorite beneath them fell there, both he and the Princess of the Nether Clan in his arms would instantly have their souls scattered. No one could save them.

After a long while, the meteorite slowly ceased its rotation. The moon-rock fragment they had arrived on had fallen away at some unknown point.

The meteorite beneath their feet gradually returned to normal, still influenced by some guiding force, drifting rapidly toward a dim, obscured area.

"Eh!"

He focused his gaze downward and couldn't help but gasp, his expression becoming profoundly strange.

Audrey awakened, about to chastise him for his reckless actions, but his sharp cry diverted her attention. She looked down, and immediately, her beautiful eyes lit up with astonishment, her gaze suddenly becoming incredibly bright.

"What... what is this?" Her usual composure was shattered, and her delicate body trembled violently.

The meteorite beneath their feet had shed its outer layer like peeled jade, revealing a clear, emerald green. This green was saturated with moisture, as if it were an unknown precious gemstone, shimmering with an eerie, green halo—exceedingly beautiful.

The common grass that had previously covered the meteorite’s surface had transformed into runes shaped like ancient tadpoles. These symbols, wriggling like living creatures, saturated every area beneath their feet. The runes pulsed with green light, constantly drifting and floating, nurturing endless profound mysteries.

"Some of the debris has also been scraped clean. It seems the outer rock was merely a disguise," Shi Yan said, his eyes gleaming. He grinned strangely, moving across the meteorite's surface like a roaming snake or dragon, repeatedly unleashing bloody light from the Blood Sword in his hand to shatter and knock off the remaining stones stuck to the surface.

Within the "Void Sea," there were many mysteries. Xuan He, Ming Hao, and the Four Heavenly Kings of the God Clan had all chosen to cultivate rigorously here after reaching the Immortal Realm. This implied there must be a miraculous entity here that attracted them. Xing Huo had only obtained a fragment of a divine weapon on the periphery, and after refining it into the "Stellar Ice Jade Fragment," his power increased exponentially, which indirectly proved the wonder of this place.

The fact that a bizarre meteorite, subjected to continuous cutting by spatial blades, had its outer layer stripped to reveal such a marvel immediately captivated Shi Yan.

He was certain that the reason the spatial blades could not cut this meteorite was due to that unique, massive jade core. An object so hard that even spatial blades could not cut it, yet it flowed with strange, unknown tadpole runes—this thing must be an unknown supreme treasure!

Audrey, however, remained still, gazing downward in stunned reverie, a look of intoxication on her face. She murmured softly, "Such a beautiful stone."

Not long after, Shi Yan independently scraped away all the fragmented stone from the meteorite’s surface, completely exposing what lay within, which pulsed with an intoxicating green radiance.

It was an incredibly massive, three-legged jade cauldron!

The cauldron was at least the size of several Undying Islands, completely emerald green, its surface covered in tadpole runes. These runes seemed to have evolved from the original grass on the meteorite's exterior. The cauldron’s mouth was deep, eerie, and sinister, exuding a chilling aura, like the open maw of an ice-cold fierce beast ready to devour.

The three-legged jade cauldron was resting obliquely, and the two stood on its surface, marveling at the divine nature of the object.

"That stone cave we found earlier should lead directly to the cauldron mouth. My refined Shade Soul, and a sliver of my own soul thought... they seem to have been refined, becoming an inconspicuous symbol on the surface of this jade cauldron. That is the feeling I get," Audrey said, covering her smooth forehead with a look of extreme surprise.

Shi Yan understood her astonishment.

The three-legged cauldron was colossal, yet the tadpole symbols on its body and surface were only the size of a fingernail. If Audrey's perception was accurate—that her Shade Soul and the soul thought attached to it were refined into a single, tiny tadpole rune—then how many living souls must have been refined to form the billions of tadpole runes covering the surface of the three-legged jade cauldron?

That meant refining how many sentient souls?

A shiver suddenly ran down Shi Yan's spine, and his expression became extremely grave. He stared deeply into the direction of the cauldron’s dark mouth and commanded in a deep voice, "Do not go near the mouth!"

Audrey, who had been pacing toward the opening, froze instantly at his sharp command. She quickly stopped, gazing warily at the cauldron's mouth. "It seems capable of inducing living beings to enter; there should be a tool spirit. Should we try to communicate with it? Since we haven't encountered any other living beings, seeing one we can communicate with is something we ought to attempt seriously."

"Communicate?" Shi Yan looked bitter. "Even if a tool spirit exists, this thing refines souls. If you release a wisp of your consciousness or soul, it will only become another one of those tadpole runes, precisely as you describe. You are welcome to try."

"Very well," Audrey challenged, unconvinced.

She possessed numerous Shade Souls in her mind. With a flicker of thought, she released a weak wisp of energy forming a Shade Soul. This time she was wiser; she attached no soul thought to it, merely manipulating profound energy techniques to cause the soul to form a wave of inquiry, then directed it toward the cauldron’s mouth.

Then... there was nothing more.

The giant three-legged cauldron remained completely still, showing no reaction whatsoever. The Shade Soul she released vanished, severed from her completely, as if sunk into the deep sea.

"It seems this tool spirit is not friendly," Audrey scoffed coldly.

Suddenly, the tadpole runes covering the surface of the three-legged jade cauldron began to writhe and distort like green lightning, forming an extremely profound and mysterious fluctuation.

The surrounding asteroid fragments, as if drawn by an invisible magnetic field, began to adhere one by one, magically sticking to the surface of the jade cauldron.

In just half an hour, the three-legged cauldron was once again covered in rock, restoring its original form before it was struck by the spatial blades. However, this time, no grass sprouted on its surface, nor was there an opening for exploration.

Shi Yan and Audrey looked at everything that had returned to normal, feeling a sense of helpless frustration, unsure of how to destroy the three-legged cauldron or how to communicate with the spirit inside.

—If a tool spirit truly existed.

"How far have you progressed in merging your Celestial Fires? How many Origin Celestial Fires does your Divine Splendor Continent possess, and how many have you managed to merge completely?" Shi Yan asked suddenly, rubbing his chin, the question seeming utterly disconnected from the situation.

"My ancestral star originally possessed seven Celestial Fires. Three of them are merged, and the remaining four are also merged. I am now only left with the final stage of unification, but this stage is proving incredibly difficult to complete. I haven't found any method to make progress and have practically given up," Audrey replied casually, perplexed.

"Let's try to temper this Three-Legged Jade Cauldron together using our Origin Celestial Fires and see if we can provoke any change, how about it?" Shi Yan proposed.

"Will it work?" Audrey asked, surprised.

"I don't know, but just as you said, we have to try something," Shi Yan spread his hands, stating resignedly. "If it works, perhaps we can uncover the profound mysteries of the Three-Legged Jade Cauldron and solve this enigma."

"Let's try it then," Audrey nodded her assent.