The small arrow had barely flown a dozen feet when Han Li, who had been watching it like a tiger eyeing its prey, flicked his middle finger. A beam of azure sword qi shot straight out and struck the arrow dead-on, knocking it into a stumble and forcing it to pause for a moment.
But that brief hesitation was all it took. The beam of multicolored radiance the Wailing Soul Beast had spat from its mouth swept the small arrow up in an instant.
The magical treasure immediately began flickering wildly, thrashing left and right within the glow as if trying to break free and flee.
Yet the yellow light seemed to possess some tremendous suction force. No matter how desperately it struggled, the arrow remained trapped within the radiance like a headless fly, utterly unable to escape.
After all, the Wailing Soul Beast was known as the bane of all ghosts and spirits—the Soul-Draining Divine Radiance it sprayed from its nose was certainly no ordinary ability.
The arrow's spinning had barely slowed by half a beat before over a hundred thin, earth-yellow threads shot out from within the radiance, instantly wrapping around the arrow and binding it tight.
Then all the yellow threads pulled outward in unison, forcibly wrenching a ball of green light from inside the arrow.
Entangled by the multitude of yellow threads, the green light kept shifting into the shapes of various insects, fish, birds, and beasts—even swelling and shrinking erratically as it desperately tried to break free.
But the yellow threads had pierced directly into the green light, and no matter how it struggled, it could not escape in the slightest. The threads dragged it, inch by inch, toward the great nose of the Wailing Soul Beast.
The green light ball panicked. After a series of flickers, it transformed into the wizened, sinister face of an old man, and cried out in terror toward Han Li within the radiance:
"Young Friend Han, spare this old man's life! If you will only let me live, I am willing to serve as your ghost servant for all eternity! The countless arcane techniques and secret arts I know—I will teach them all to you, one by one! And doesn't Young Friend Han wish to know the complete Profound Yin Arts? Even that traitorous disciple Ji Yin—I never once taught him the final few layers! And the wonders of the Profound Soul Demon Refinement Art—doesn't Friend Daoist wish to learn even a fraction of them? Moreover, although my base of operations was seized by Ji Yin, I still have several secret cave abodes, filled with numerous hidden treasures. This old servant is willing to offer them all to his master..."
The ghost face spoke faster and faster, its expression growing ever more frantic, and it even began referring to itself as a servant of its own accord. At this moment, it was barely a foot away from the great nose of the Wailing Soul Beast.
If it were truly sucked in, no matter how solid and tenacious its demon soul might be, there would be absolutely no possibility of escape.
Hearing these temptations from the ghost face, even Han Li—whose willpower far exceeded that of ordinary people—could not help but feel a stirring of interest, a hint of hesitation flickering across his face.
Perhaps sensing Han Li's hesitation, the ghost face let out another low growl, grasping at its last straw:
"Even if you don't want these things, Friend Daoist—don't you want to know the weaknesses of Ji Yin's techniques? Don't you want to remove the tracking mark that has been placed on you?"
Upon hearing these words, Han Li's gaze flickered several times, and his expression finally shifted.
Sure enough, Han Li let out a soft sigh, gripped the Soul-Chasing Bead in one hand, and gave it a gentle wave.
The wildly swirling radiance immediately slowed, allowing the ghost face to finally halt its slide toward the Wailing Soul Beast's nose.
The ghost face, still wrapped in yellow threads, was overjoyed. Its spirit lifted.
"Young Friend Han, this is absolutely the wisest decision! Keeping this old man alive is entirely—" The ghost face forced a smile, trying to flatter Han Li with a few words.
But at that very moment, the Wailing Soul Beast's great nose sucked in hard once more. The radiance, which had only just slackened, surged with a force three times fiercer than before, and the unprepared ghost face was sucked straight into the nose without the slightest chance to resist.
Only then did a cold, mocking sneer appear on Han Li's face.
The Wailing Soul Beast let out a belch as though it had overexerted itself, clumsily patted its belly, and showed a remarkably human expression of satisfaction.
Han Li smiled faintly and gave the Wailing Soul Pearl a brief shake in his hand. Cuibody transformed into a streak of yellow light once again and shot back into the spirit beast pouch.
"Take you as my servant? I wouldn't dare conspire with a tiger! You're a ghost that has lived for over a thousand years — in terms of cunning, two of me might not be your match. No matter how eloquently you try to convince me, it's far less troublesome to simply destroy you. Otherwise, who knows when you might turn around and stab me in the back." Han Li strode over, reached out, and collected the small green arrow into his hand, gazing at it as he murmured to himself.
Up to this point, Han Li still had not determined whether that ghostly face was Xuan Gu's main soul, or a remnant fragment that Xuan Gu had proactively separated using some secret technique in advance!
The ghost cultivation path contained the ability to split apart one's soul fragments — Han Li was not the least bit surprised by that.
However, after Han Li also retrieved the nearby dropped Five Elements Ring, he did not immediately leave the area.
The ghostly face's words had actually reminded him — he still carried a mark left on his body by Patriarch Ji Yin at some unknown point.
If this marking were not removed, he would likely be sensed by Patriarch Ji Yin the moment he stepped outside the protective barrier.
But Han Li had already probed the area with his spiritual sense several times over and found absolutely nothing out of the place. Nevertheless, Han Li had a clever method of his own for locating this hidden mark, which was precisely why he had destroyed that ghostly face without the slightest hesitation.
Han Li took out a spirit beast pouch and released it, and thousands of gold-and-silver beetles poured forth, immediately swarming over every inch of Han Li's body.
Moments later, some of the Gold Devouring Beetles on Han Li's lower leg emitted an unusual high-pitched chirp.
Han Li's heart surged with delight. With a flicker of his spiritual will, he issued a command. The beetles in that area stirred in a frenzy, and then all of the flying insects swarmed back into the spirit beast pouch in a buzzing mass.