Han Li kept his face completely expressionless, letting the box bounce off the light barrier and fall outside the formation.
He showed no intention whatsoever of dropping the protective wards.
He simply stared at the gold box with a wary gaze, not uttering a word.
"What, afraid this box is still made from Yin Soul Threads transformed? You can put your mind at ease — that old ghost is already dead. I have no choice but to join forces with you to eliminate Ji Yin. I won't make a move against you. Besides, you have far more Gold Lightning Bamboo treasures than I ever imagined. They should prove extraordinarily effective against Ji Yin's Mysterious Yin Great Art. I'd be cutting off my own arm if I turned on you now." Xuan Gu clasped his hands behind his back and spoke calmly to Han Li inside the barrier.
Han Li listened to these words but didn't so much as glance at Xuan Gu overhead.
As far as he was concerned, since the man had betrayed him once, he could just as easily do so again for some unknown reason.
No matter how pleasant or reasonable the words coming from that mouth, he still had better stay cautious.
With this thought, Han Li raised one hand and sent a slender, pale golden arc of lightning snapping outward. It struck dead center on the gold box's lid.
With a sharp crackle of electricity, the box wobbled a few times, but no abnormality of any kind occurred.
Seeing this, Han Li quietly exhaled.
If this box had been some evil object in disguise, it surely couldn't have survived a blow from the "Warding Evil Divine Thunder."
He then casually beckoned toward the box, and the gold box leapt from the ground and flew straight toward him.
At the same moment, the surrounding light barrier flickered briefly before returning to normal. The gold box seized the gap and passed through the barrier into Han Li's hand.
Under Han Li's spiritual sense surveillance, Xuan Gu's figure hadn't budged an inch. This eased Han Li's concerns somewhat, and he looked down at the gold box in his palm.
He stared at the object, cold light flickering in his eyes, but did not immediately open the lid, seeming to ponder something.
Xuan Gu, hovering in the air, saw Han Li's cautious demeanor and merely let out a cold laugh before leisurely gazing about in every direction, showing not the slightest impatience.
Han Li glanced at the spirit ginseng's avatar on the ground — the white rabbit.
It lay motionless on the grass, still apparently unconscious.
After a brief moment of deliberation, Han Li stopped hesitating and extended two fingers, tapping lightly on the gold box's lid.
A burst of blue-green light suddenly flared between the lid and his fingertips. The lid then opened of its own accord, revealing what was inside.
Han Li quickly focused his gaze. A rather small object came into view.
It was roughly half a foot long, entirely earth-yellow in color, with a dry, wrinkled skin like an ordinary root from an old tree.
Han Li stared at it, at a loss for words!
The only thing remotely unusual was a tiny, exquisitely beautiful silver flower growing at its tip, which emitted a faint, luminous glow and a subtle, refreshing fragrance that instantly invigorated Han Li's spirit.
Just as Han Li was growing suspicious — wondering whether this was truly the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng or whether Xuan Gu had simply grabbed some random unknown item to trick him — the wild rabbit that had been lying motionless on the grass suddenly sprang up. It transformed into a streak of white light and shot toward the "root" inside the gold box at breakneck speed.
Han Li was stunned for a moment, but then a look of pleasure crossed his face.
Since the white rabbit avatar of the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng was so desperate to reach this object, it could only mean that the object was indeed the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng. This put his mind at ease.
But Han Li naturally couldn't just let the avatar merge freely with the true body.
Without any hesitation, he flicked his finger, and a streak of blue-green sword light shot out, striking the white rabbit on the head and sending it tumbling back to where it had been.
But the little creature, seeing its true body right in front of it, frantically bounced forward again, as if determined to reach its goal no matter what.
Now Han Li was growing impatient.
He immediately sent out a crackling arc of lightning that struck the white rabbit flat on the ground, a large patch of its fur turned charred black, and it truly fell unconscious.
Han Li then telekinetically pulled the rabbit over, took one look at it, and tossed it into the gold box.
The moment the white rabbit avatar touched the true body of the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, it flashed with white light and seeped inside.
Han Li promptly shut the lid and placed a small sealing ward on top to prevent them from escaping.
Only after completing all of this did Han Li finally breathe a small sigh of relief.
Xuan Gu still showed no sign of making a move, which eased Han Li's worries even as his vigilance climbed a notch higher.
He tucked the gold box into his storage pouch and then asked in a calm voice:
"Senior, you've handed the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng over to me already. Aren't you afraid that I might flee with it right now?"