One hand lifted the brick and held it up for another careful look, while the other hand extended a finger, its tip flickering with green light, and gently tapped the brick's surface.
Immediately, a layer of hazy white spiritual light rippled outward like waves.
Han Li's face broke into a smile, and he nodded.
According to what Feng Zhen had said, this blue brick was no ordinary object. It was a type of storage tool, similar to a storage pouch. However, this particular item required a specific set of seals to open — otherwise, if forced open with brute strength, everything stored inside would instantly turn to ash.
Naturally, Han Li had obtained the incantation from Feng Zhen's lips before his death. He immediately began murmuring a low chant. Opening his mouth, a burst of green light containing flickering runes shot out, striking the blue brick and enveloping it.
Then, forming a seal with one hand, he quickly tapped each of the brick's four corners with a finger. With a soft "pop," a circular hole appeared on the surface of the blue brick, pitch-black inside.
Han Li didn't rashly reach his hand inside. Instead, he tapped the bottom of the blue brick, and immediately, colorful light shimmered as two objects flew out of the hole on their own.
One was a jade slip a few inches long; the other was a stack of neatly bound documents resembling account books.
With one hand, he scooped both items up with ease.
After putting the blue brick away, Han Li didn't even glance at the stack of documents. Instead, he grabbed the jade slip and immersed his spiritual sense within it.
Before long, his expression grew strange, and his face darkened.
"What, is the Feng family vault's location not in there?" Grandmaster Great Evolution couldn't help but ask upon seeing Han Li's expression.
"No. The vault's location is indeed in there, and it's clearly marked." After exhaling slowly and withdrawing his spiritual sense from the jade slip, Han Li spoke in measured tones, though his brows remained furrowed.
"Then why the troubled look? Could it be that the vault's location is dangerous?" True to form, this old monster who had lived for nearly ten thousand years needed only a moment's thought to guess a good portion of the truth.
"We might run into some trouble. This Feng family vault was actually built deep within the Snow Ridge Mountain Range." Han Li said with a slight sigh, a hint of helplessness on his face.
"Why would the Feng family build their vault there? Don't they know there's something strange about that mountain range — cultivators frequently go missing?" Even Grandmaster Great Evolution was somewhat surprised.
"Who knows? Perhaps the Feng family ancestor who chose the location figured that the more dangerous the place, the safer it would be." Han Li could only shrug and offer this guess.
"Since the Feng family has been using this vault all along, it means the place shouldn't be dangerous. Why worry so much?" Grandmaster Great Evolution said in a leisurely tone.
"Let's hope so! Now that we've obtained the map, we can't just give up because of some unknown risk. If everything goes smoothly, we should be able to find the vault within a day." Han Li said with a self-deprecating smile.
Then he put away the jade slip and casually picked up the stack of documents, flipping through them briefly before letting out a quiet sound of surprise.
"Oh! These are the Feng family's property deeds and asset certificates from the mortal world! There's quite a lot of them — enough to make one the wealthiest family in a region." Han Li looked genuinely surprised.
"There's nothing strange about that. The great families of Great Jin differ from the cultivation families of Tiannan in one respect — they view involvement in the mortal world as perfectly ordinary and don't consider it shameful to associate with officials and wealthy men. In fact, rogue cultivators frequently seek them out to offer their services. Though Great Jin is vast, its mortal population is far denser than Tiannan's, occupying most of the land. As a result, many spiritual herb and spirit stone resources aren't found in desolate wilderness — they're directly controlled by the imperial court. Tiannan is different. The mortal world there occupies very little territory, with mostly wild, uninhabited land. Tiannan cultivators naturally have no need to deal with mortals." Grandmaster Great Evolution seemed quite knowledgeable about this, explaining it to Han Li in detail.
"If that's the case, would the other sects really allow the secular royalty of Great Jin to control so many cultivation resources?" Han Li was somewhat skeptical.
"Heh, and what could they do even if they didn't allow it? Great Jin isn't like Tiannan, with its many small countries. From ancient times to the present, it has always been governed by a single powerful court ruling over the mortal world. No matter how powerful cultivators may be, they can't very well openly harm mortals. Otherwise, setting aside whatever reaction the mortal world might have, other sects and factions would seize the opportunity to make trouble. The current Great Jin court is actually a product of compromise among several major powers of the cultivation world. If I recall correctly, these major powers have an agreement — no sect may openly pressure the secular court or force it to do anything. In fact, to preserve the court's dignity, they even allow the government to directly recruit certain rogue cultivators, and the Great Jin imperial family may cultivate a set number of court cultivators. Of course, under the watchful eyes of those great sects, the rank and number of these cultivators are kept in check. They won't be allowed to grow beyond their bounds.
"In secret, however, the major factions each pull whatever strings they can to win favor with royal families and court officials, all to gain a larger share of the mortal world's cultivation resources and manpower. Almost every regional governor or official of similar rank has the shadow of some sect, large or small, operating behind them. To avoid being caught red-handed by rival factions, most of this is done through the affiliated families under their patronage. And so, gradually, cultivation families came to own considerable assets in the mortal world — something long since taken for granted in Great Jin. However, the fact that these documents were stored so carefully suggests they are property deeds related to cultivation resources. These are the key to whether a great family can continue to endure." Grandmaster Great Evolution related all of this, one point at a time.
Hearing all of this, Han Li felt quite surprised and stroked his chin.
"If these documents are so important, why were they left here? Could it be that the Feng family patriarch sensed something before the incident and deliberately left them as a backup!" This was the only guess Han Li could make.
"Perhaps. But this has nothing to do with us — no need to dwell on its mysteries. Let's find the Feng family vault as quickly as possible and see whether there's a Buddhist technique inside that can rid you of the malevolent energy!" Grandmaster Great Evolution said dismissively.
"Senior makes a good point!" Han Li smiled and slipped the stack of documents into a jade box, storing them away.
After getting his bearings, he mounted his flying artifact and soared skyward, heading straight for the Snow Ridge Mountain Range.
......