Jin Yuan heard these words, still harboring some doubts in his heart, but he didn't press the matter further. After exchanging a few more idle remarks with Han Li, he rose and took his leave.
Watching the other push open the stone house door and walk out, the smile on Han Li's face gradually faded, replaced by a trace of gloom.
After a long while, he suddenly took out the jade box once more, opened the lid, and stared at the object inside without a word.
"What, are you actually planning to explore that ancient tomb?" The calm voice of the Grand Arcane Sovereign echoed through his spiritual sense.
"Of course not. I don't know how much of what that man just said can be trusted. I'm not some greenhorn fresh out of training—why would I take such a risk? That said, an emperor's tomb does pique my curiosity. Perhaps after I've recovered my full cultivation, I might pay it a visit. But that man clearly didn't have good intentions telling me all of this. 'We hit it off the moment we met, so I'll be completely transparent'? Does he think I'm a three-year-old child? Someone who's lived as long as he has wouldn't easily share such secrets with anyone, let alone a stranger he just met. Such eagerness is either treachery or theft!" A cold sneer crept across the corner of Han Li's lips as he spoke with feigned indifference.
"That's true enough. But those young ones who've just left their masters are the easiest to fool with tricks like this. They think the other party has opened up to them and let their guard down. Before they know it, they've been sold without even realizing it. Back in my day, I also..." The Grand Arcane Sovereign sighed, his voice trailing off and growing quiet when it came to himself, the words cutting off abruptly.
"Oh? Was the Grand Arcane Sovereign once taken in by such a ploy?" Han Li blinked, then let out a light chuckle.
"Hmph! I was young once too. There's nothing strange about being tricked back then." The Grand Arcane Sovereign let out a few grunts, sounding somewhat embarrassed.
"Alright, I won't pry into the Grand Arcane Sovereign's past embarrassments. But this thing actually caught the interest of the Wailing Soul Beast. It seems there really is something unusual about it!" Han Li's expression turned serious, and he slapped the spirit beast pouch at his waist with one hand. A streak of dark light shot out from the pouch and landed on the table, transforming into a miniature monkey about an inch tall, covered in sleek, jet-black fur.
The moment the little monkey appeared, it sniffed the air several times, and its gaze immediately locked onto the golden bubble. A hint of hesitation crossed its face.
Han Li found this odd. He stared at the Wailing Soul Beast in silence, using his mind to communicate with it. From the sensations relayed through their spiritual connection, the Wailing Soul Beast seemed to feel a degree of fear toward the golden bubble. But at the same time, there was an eager, almost desperate feeling—what was that about?
Before Han Li could figure it out, dark yin energy suddenly erupted from the Wailing Soul Beast's body. It leaped into the air and plunged headfirst into the golden bubble.
Immediately, the surface of the golden bubble blazed with radiant light, and wisps of gray flame materialized from within, enveloping the beast.
A look of pain appeared on the Wailing Soul Beast's face, yet it continuously emitted pitch-black yin energy that intertwined with the gray flames, its body remaining motionless within the golden bubble.
Han Li's brow furrowed tightly!
Though he didn't know what was happening, it was clear that the Wailing Soul Beast wasn't about to come out anytime soon—it almost seemed to be using the gray flames to cultivate on its own. What struck Han Li as strange was that the moment the flames appeared, the golden bubble had suddenly become brimming with spiritual energy, radiating astonishing spiritual waves as if conjured from nothing.
"Wait! This phenomenon... I've seen something like it before. I should have an impression of this object." A startled exclamation suddenly came from the Grand Arcane Sovereign through his spiritual sense, as if something had clicked in his memory.
"What does the Grand Arcane Sovereign remember?" Han Li couldn't help asking, surprised.
"Give me a moment! It seems like something from a very long time ago." The Grand Arcane Sovereign's voice grew heavier, more solemn.
Hearing this, Han Li didn't urge him to hurry. He quietly watched the Wailing Soul Beast in the golden bubble, lowering his own head in thought.
After a considerable while, the Grand Arcane Sovereign's voice came again.
"I remember now. Back in the day when I traveled freely, I once encountered this kind of thing on a ten-thousand-year Corpse King. If I recall correctly, that Corpse King had been a Buddhist master in life. After becoming a Corpse King, he refined his own sarira into a formidable shield-like treasure of incredible power—once released outside the body, it was nearly indestructible for a short time. I actually suffered greatly at its hands once. But that was a very long time ago. Besides, the shield that one released was silver. That's why it didn't come to me right away. But this sort of thing should be hidden inside a Corpse King's body. How did it end up in the hands of someone like Jin Yuan, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator?" The Grand Arcane Sovereign's words were filled with astonishment.
"Even you once suffered greatly from it? Then this thing really is extraordinarily powerful—truly a supreme treasure. Regardless of how that man obtained it, the key question right now is whether the Wailing Soul Beast is in any danger." Han Li's expression was briefly shaken, but he still asked with concern.
"You still haven't figured it out? Your spirit beast is absorbing the corpse flame from the sarira. Come to think of it, not only are you a freak, but every one of your spirit beasts is equally bizarre—you even have a spirit beast that specifically counters ghosts and demons. In all my years of life, I've never heard of a Wailing Soul Beast before." The Grand Arcane Sovereign muttered.