However, the three were exceedingly cautious individuals and did not immediately descend beside the skeleton. Instead, they exchanged a glance before Elder Wu carefully flicked his finger, sending a ball of black light drifting slowly downward.
To their great surprise, the instant the black light touched the blood-red chain, it erupted with a whoosh into raging black flames.
In the span of just a few breaths, the blood chain — which had appeared to carry considerable heritage — was reduced to ashes out of thin air.
The Heavenly Shaman skeleton within, however, remained utterly unaffected by the black flames, still maintaining its original pristine whiteness and lustrous smoothness.
All three elders were overjoyed at the sight.
Elder Wu, wasting no more time, retracted the hand seals in his palm, and the black flames below instantly vanished in a flash. His figure flickered once more, and he alighted upon the very bone segment he had been surreptitiously studying all along.
At the center of that bone lay, unmistakably, the hazy dark shadow that so closely resembled a jade slip.
The other two elders descended with equal excitement.
"Can either of you two discern what this is now?" Elder Wu stared intently at the dark shadow within the bone for a long while before furrowing his brow and asking.
"No. The Heavenly Shaman's bones conceal some sort of energy that disrupts spiritual sense. It's somewhat stronger than what we encountered outside the iron cage, but any divine thought that penetrates inside is immediately scattered. I cannot make out the true appearance of this object." Elder Yu retracted his gaze and spoke with visible frustration.
"My spiritual power is far inferior to yours, Fellow Daoists. If the two of you cannot manage it, then I am even more helpless." The last elder sighed and replied.
"Forget it — whatever this thing is, since it was left by the Heavenly Shaman, it most likely has something to do with his lineage and inheritance. If we simply break it open and extract it, won't everything become clear?" Elder Yu licked his lips and let out an odd laugh.
Without waiting for the other two to respond, white light flashed and a slender white bone sword materialized in his hand. He gave it a sharp shake and hacked fiercely down at the dark shadow.
With a muffled thump, the instant the white bone sword made contact with the bone, the tremendous power it contained vanished without a trace as if swallowed by the sea, and the blade was sent bouncing upward by a surge of colossal force from below. Not a single mark was left upon the seemingly razor-sharp edge where it had struck.
The Heavenly Shaman's remains were as hard as a diamond body.
Far from showing dismay at this scene, the Three Saints of the Shaman Spirits exchanged glances and saw looks of extraordinary delight on each other's faces. If even the skeleton left behind after death was this formidable, one could only imagine how profound the cultivation techniques the Heavenly Shaman had practiced during his lifetime must have been.
This only deepened the Three Saints' anticipation for his inheritance.
"If the Phantom Bone Sword won't work, then ordinary treasures won't be able to damage the skeleton either. Treasures with too much power would destroy whatever is hidden inside along with it. To be safe, let me use a secret technique to extract it directly." Elder Wu took a deep breath and declared resolutely.
"Elder Wu, you mean to use the Phasing Technique?" Elder Yu's expression shifted upon hearing this.
"It's the only technique that can guarantee the extraction without damaging the bones." Elder Wu replied thus.
"But this technique consumes an enormous amount of Magical Power. Elder Wu, you've already expended a great deal of vital essence — can you still successfully cast it now?" The third elder hesitated before voicing his concern.
"Rest easy. Since I've said so, I naturally have a measure of confidence. If the attempt fails, the two of you can still resort to other means by all means."
The other two elders, hearing him put it that way, naturally had nothing more to add.
They watched as Elder Wu first produced a crimson pill, tossed it into his mouth, and swallowed it. He then sat cross-legged in meditation for a time before the blood-colored glow returned to his face and he rose to his feet once more. His aura, which had previously seemed somewhat depleted, appeared to have recovered a significant measure.
The old man fixed his gaze upon the dark shadow within the bone beneath him, raised one arm, and began forming a series of intricate hand seals with his ten fingers at blinding speed while simultaneously chanting an arcane incantation.
The other two watched in solemn silence from the sides.
As the chanting grew louder and louder, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth near the blood lake began to tremble, oscillating in some strange and rhythmic cadence.
Around Elder Wu's body, milky-white runes of unknown origin began to appear, pulsing in the same rhythm and emitting a low, droning hum.
Elder Wu's hand seals came to a halt, and one palm reached slowly toward the bone containing the dark shadow. At that very moment, the milky-white runes nearby gave a brief pause before abruptly turning transparent.
Elder Wu's outstretched hand followed suit, becoming equally crystalline and translucent.
A scene of utter impossibility unfolded.
The transparent five fingers made contact with the bone and, like a formless spirit, sank directly into it, reaching in to seize the dark shadow hidden within.