Chapter 486: Chapter 476: The Square Cauldron of Ancient Ages and the One Behind It

After entering the stone gate, I passed through a dark passage.

The next second, the sound of flowing water came from ahead.

After exiting the passage, I arrived at an open space, and Su Mu looked forward.

In front of my eyes was a round altar surrounded by a pool, with nine streams flowing from the ceiling into the pool around the altar.

This space was located beneath a swamp over the River of Time, and the water from above was undoubtedly flowing down from the swamp on the surface.

Su Mu had a bold guess that the water area above had turned into a swamp likely because the source of living water had all seeped down here.

At the center of the round stone altar stood an iron cauldron.

The cauldron was so large it occupied the entire altar, standing a full thirty meters tall, its surface exuding an ancient dark green hue, with no inscriptions or engravings visible, only some shallow marks as if scratched by weapons.

Furthermore, one could even see some mottled rust on the cauldron’s body.

The three-legged cauldron supported the massive body, the lid was square, and at the four corners of the lid protruded four beast-shaped sculptures, whose species were unidentifiable.

At the moment my eyes fell upon the cauldron, an ancient, majestic, and sacred aura rushed forth, as if I glimpsed some ancient relic of old from the distant past, bringing an immense sense of awe to Su Mu’s heart.

With just one glance, Su Mu knew that this square cauldron was no ordinary object; it was definitely a supreme treasure.

When the two Barrier Beasts and the Iron-Eating Beast saw the cauldron, they too widened their eyes, stunned in place.

The three of them had lived for countless years, and in terms of vision, there were few in the Ten Thousand Realms who could match them.

They had seen countless treasures and supreme treasures throughout the realms, but this cauldron before them surpassed their realm of understanding.

Not to mention seeing it before, they had never even heard of it!

"Do you recognize this cauldron?"

Su Mu inquired of the two Barrier Beasts.

After all, they had been guarding this place, so they should recognize it.

Upon hearing this, the two Barrier Beasts shook their heads, saying, "We... don’t recognize it either."

They had been guarding this place for a long, long time and had slept for a long, long time. Ever since being captured and bound with restrictions by that "lord," they had been guarding this place, and even they had forgotten exactly how many years they had been here.

So, they did not know what was hidden inside the stone gate.

But one thing was certain, which was that the lord expended great effort to confine and guard them here, so the cauldron must be very important.

"What about you?"

Su Mu asked the Iron-Eating Beast.

"Reporting to the master, I don’t recognize it either," the Iron-Eating Beast shook its head and replied.

.....

Regardless of its origins, as long as it’s a treasure, that’s enough!

Thinking this, Su Mu waved his hand, preparing to take the square cauldron away.

At the moment Su Mu’s spiritual power made contact with the cauldron.

The surrounding pool water rose, forming a "Barrier Water Curtain" to protect the cauldron.

Seeing this, Su Mu was taken aback.

Playing with water in front of me??

With just a thought, he used the Water Control Divine Technique to freeze the water curtain in place.

In the next instant, the cauldron floated in the air and was collected into Su Mu’s Dantian Space.

As the cauldron was taken away, the entire Iron Wall Space began to shake violently, about to collapse!

Seeing this, Su Mu waved his hand, grabbed the Barrier Beasts and Iron-Eating Beast, and swiftly returned the way he came, bringing along the Little Groundhog in the process.

In an instant, Su Mu returned to the swamp on the surface.

Just as Su Mu landed, the pit below collapsed.

It seemed that the core of the vast Iron Wall Space below was indeed supported by the cauldron; once the cauldron was removed, the barrier collapsed.

Su Mu looked up at the dry swamp, still seeing fish bones buried in the swamp mud, all decayed.

Because the space beneath this swamp was hollowed out, constantly siphoning away the living water, this area turned completely into a swamp, leaving no room for the fish and other creatures in this large water zone to survive.

Su Mu certainly would not sit idly by.

He used the Water Control Divine Technique to guide the water from the main river channel to this thirsty swamp.

In the next second, the mighty river water began to converge toward this place from the main river channel.

This scene caught the eyes of the two Barrier Beasts nearby; they rubbed their eyes and carefully confirmed several times—it was indeed the River of Time!

The master they were following... he was controlling the River of Time!

Hey, hey, hey, this is the River of Time!

At this moment, the two Barrier Beasts felt their worldview once again shattered!

They finally understood why the proud Iron-Eating Beast was willing to follow. It seemed their new master was unbelievably powerful!

After several breaths, the entire swamp was covered by the new river water, back to life.

However, because the ecology was severely damaged, it would take some time to recover fully.

Su Mu not only brought new river water but also transferred a lot of fish into this water area. As long as there were fish, the ecosystem should recover quickly.

After finishing all this, a system broadcast sounded in his mind:

[Congratulations to the host for maintaining the river channel stability and triggering additional cause and effect reward, Favor Points +400,000]

Hearing the number announced by the system, Su Mu was momentarily stunned.

Did he hear wrong?

Four hundred thousand??

All he did was restore the ecosystem of this water area?

Su Mu often did such things, and at most, he only received about twenty thousand Favor Points.

This time, he was rewarded directly with 400,000!

Could it be that this water area was different from the others, somewhat special?

After a careful look around, he didn’t see anything particularly unique.

He couldn’t figure it out, but he didn’t plan to dwell on it.

After all, those 400,000 Favor Points were his to keep.

Four hundred thousand Favor Points, when converted into Affinity, was a full four percent.

His River Affinity could be directly increased from eighty-five percent to eighty-nine percent, only 1.1 million Favor Points short of full refinement—he was getting close!

...

The sky was getting dark, and it was getting late.

Su Mu also planned to take the Barrier Beasts, Iron-Eating Beast, and the others back home.

"Brother Shi, where are we going?" the Big-Eared Barrier Beast quietly transmitted to the Iron-Eating Beast.

"Of course, we’re going home, where else?" the Iron-Eating Beast replied.

"Is our home above the River of Time?" the Barrier Beast asked weakly.

"Where else do you think?"

Hearing this, the Barrier Beast couldn’t help but swallow hard.

On the way home, Su Mu suddenly remembered something and asked the Barrier Beast on the little boat behind, "The person who placed the restriction on you, what is their background?"

The one who placed the restriction on the Barrier Beast was undoubtedly the mastermind behind the scenes.

Therefore, Su Mu also wanted to probe for the identity of that person from the Barrier Beast.