First of all, this object absolutely could not truly be a rib of Old Demon Xuan Gu. Its current shape was merely a means for the old demon to deceive others.
Setting aside the unusual material, the faint thread of spiritual energy emanating from it was enough to tell Han Li that even if it wasn't some kind of magic treasure, it had certainly been refined by someone.
However, whether Han Li used his divine sense to probe it or slowly infused it with spiritual power, the rib showed no reaction whatsoever.
After frowning for a moment, Han Li recalled that the old demon cultivated the path of demons and ghosts. Presumably, this object required the use of some yin soul energy to activate.
Though Han Li himself did not possess yin soul power, the Soul-Gathering Bowl he had obtained in his early years was still on his person.
Although the yin souls within the bowl had long been entirely consumed to refine puppets, the residual yin energy left inside was still considerable.
Thus, with one hand he pressed against his storage bag, and the jet-black, circular bowl appeared in his hand.
Han Li glanced casually at the Soul-Gathering Bowl, and a flash of green light instantly flickered over his supporting fingers.
Threads of yin energy were drawn by Han Li through his palm into his body, then slowly channeled to the other hand clutching the bone fragment.
A mass of cold, black energy gradually took shape and quickly enveloped the rib.
Han Li's eyes did not blink as he stared intently at the scene.
The rib finally reacted. Its originally smooth, pale surface began to darken. Before long, the entire mass of yin energy was absorbed into the bone, which turned half-white and half-black.
Seeing these changes, Han Li's expression showed no surprise. Instead, his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
After closing his eyes in thought for a moment, Han Li abruptly sat up straight in bed.
Then, the hand holding the Soul-Gathering Bowl erupted with an even more blinding green light.
At the same time, a faint sound like ghostly wailing emanated from his other hand as a larger mass of pitch-black yin energy took form.
The rib, wrapped within it, ruthlessly devoured these yin energies.
After a full quarter of an hour of continuously absorbing the yin energy, the object gradually became as black as ink.
Suddenly, a low hum emanated from the object, followed by faint rays of dark light blooming forth. The room was instantly filled with an eerie, gloomy aura.
With some hesitation, Han Li put away the Soul-Gathering Bowl. At the same time, he loosened the fingers of his other hand. The rib floated free, and the yin energy enveloping it dissipated completely under the surge of dark light.
Watching this strange sight, Han Li's gaze flickered continuously.
However, aside from the low hum and the constant flashing of the dark light, the black bone fragment showed no other changes.
After a while, Han Li's expression shifted slightly. He suddenly made a beckoning gesture toward the air.
With a "whoosh," the rib was suctioned toward him through the air and grasped firmly in his hand.
Han Li then stared intently at the object, his divine sense probing inside.
This time, there was no longer the previous sensation of being unable to penetrate. His divine sense entered the rib smoothly.
After a flash of dark light before his eyes, large ancient characters and diagrams began to emerge one after another.
"A jade slip," Han Li murmured to himself, without showing excessive shock.
It was possible that this object was a specially made jade slip. This was one of his initial conjectures.
Therefore, he restrained the excitement in his heart and began to carefully ponder the text, character by character.
"Dark Yin Great Art"
Having read only the first half of the somewhat familiar characters, Han Li was completely certain of the formula's contents.
Although he had never practiced this fearsome demonic cultivation method, the "Blood Refinement Divine Light" that his clone had once cultivated was entirely derived from this technique. Naturally, there was considerable overlap in the content.
Thus, after reading only the beginning of the technique, he had already reached this conclusion from the many similar cultivation methods.
And this rib-like jade slip was precisely the so-called "Dark Yin Scripture."
Truthfully, Han Li felt somewhat disappointed.
Since he already cultivated the Green Yuan Sword Technique, even though the Dark Yin Great Art was exceptionally domineering and more powerful, he wouldn't be foolish enough to switch to cultivating this method.
However, he did not immediately withdraw his divine sense from the Dark Yin Scripture. He continued reading sentence by sentence.
Because the second half of the Dark Yin Scripture still recorded some demonic secret arts, which were not entirely impossible for him to cultivate.