Chapter 1006: Crystal Monument

Before Han Li could figure out what was happening, Bai Yaoyi suddenly pointed to the back of the stone tablet, her face full of surprise.

Han Li raised an eyebrow. If he remembered correctly, the back of the stone tablet was completely blank.

The old man, however, wouldn't act without reason. With a slight flicker, he mysteriously appeared at the back of the stone tablet, turning its rear face towards Han Li.

After a quick glance, Han Li was also taken aback.

He saw that the back of the stone tablet had fractured into pieces, and within the deep fissures, a brilliant blue light pulsed.

"Spirit stones?" Han Li's eyes gleamed, his mind uncertain.

Suddenly, he flicked his fingers, unleashing over ten streaks of green sword energy that crisscrossed, instantly forming a ball of green light that enveloped the upper half of the stone tablet.

Stone fragments flew wildly for a moment, and the surroundings were blanketed in dust.

However, due to the sharpness of Han Li's sword energy, blue light soon emerged from beneath the sword glow, growing increasingly dazzling.

When Han Li ceased his movements and the green light vanished, the stone tablet lay before him, largely cut away. Embedded in its center was a dark blue crystal, appearing as if it had naturally grown within the monument.

The crystal was several feet long, glowing with a deep blue hue and exceptionally clear. Though not fully revealed, it appeared rectangular and flat.

The entire bluestone tablet seemed to be merely a thick casing for this crystal.

"It's not a spirit stone," Bai Yaoyi stated with certainty, blinking her beautiful, expressive eyes. "Although it looks very similar to a water-attributed spirit stone, it doesn't contain water-elemental spiritual energy."

"Indeed, it's not a spirit stone," Han Li said, gazing at the exposed part of the crystal. "No one would directly use spirit stones to forge items, let alone engrave inscriptions on them. This looks like a monument itself." He exhaled softly as he observed the ancient, raised and sunken runes flickering on its surface.

Without further delay, he gathered his magical power and, with one hand, made a grasping motion towards the crystal.

Immediately, a green ethereal hand materialized before the stone tablet. Its five fingers, like hooks, stretched forward, firmly grasping the top of the crystal and pulling it upwards with force.

It was indeed incredibly heavy, but Han Li, having anticipated this, forcibly pulled the entire crystal free from the stone tablet using his formidable magical power.

A blue crystal tablet, adorned with flowing runes and emitting a faint blue glow, materialized before Han Li.

Han Li examined the text on it closely for a few moments. His heart suddenly stirred, yet his expression remained unchanged. Instead, he quickly formed a hand seal and pointed a finger at the crystal tablet.

The crystal tablet immediately trembled slightly before rapidly shrinking. In an instant, it transformed into a brick-shaped object about half a foot in size and, with a whoosh, disappeared into Han Li's sleeve.

Although the old man and Bai Yaoyi were equally intrigued by the crystal tablet, they understood that Han Li did not wish to display it. Wisely, they dropped the subject. Instead, after a brief discussion with Han Li, the two immediately decided to follow the steps up the mountain.

They had now confirmed that the faint rumbling sound was indeed coming from higher up the mountain.

The three of them immediately concealed their presence again and soared upwards.

Han Li, of course, was unaware that the rumbling they heard was actually the sound of the Ye family cultivators strenuously breaking through a restriction on the mountain slope, along the steps, at an unknown height.

However, the distance between the two parties was not as close as they had imagined. Another restriction separated them from the location of the Ye family cultivators.

After all, the cave they had been teleported to was significantly lower than the fixed point where the Ye family cultivators had emerged from the restriction's crack.

Currently, the Eccentric and the Ye family's Grand Elder, two powerful cultivators in the late Nascent Soul stage, hovered motionless side by side above a rocky outcrop.

Not far below them, the remaining Ye family cultivators stood arranged in a temporary magic array. They were leveraging the array's power to manipulate various treasures, fiercely attacking a faintly visible, gigantic archway on the stone steps ahead.

The Ancient Devil was also among the Ye family cultivators, emotionlessly directing a dark flying sword of unknown origin in its attacks.

This archway itself could inexplicably emit ten thousand rays of light, deflecting all attacks as if it were a unique treasure.

"Kid San! How much longer do you estimate it will take to break through this 'Gate of Ten Thousand Cultivators'?" the Eccentric asked, turning to the white-robed scholar, a hint of anxiety in his expression as he gazed at the archway enveloped in various spiritual lights.

"It will take about another day and a night," the scholar replied calmly in a deep voice. "This archway is much more troublesome than I imagined. No wonder the 'Gate of Ten Thousand Cultivators' had such a formidable reputation in the past."

"We've been delayed for too long in front of this archway. If you and I could also go down and lend a hand, the time to break the restriction could be reduced by at least half," the Big-Headed Eccentric grumbled in frustration. Yet, his body remained perfectly still, showing no inclination to actually move.

"Since ancient fierce beasts like the Lion-Beast have appeared on this mountain, I naturally need to be cautious. I'd rather delay breaking the array by a day or two, but both of us must always maintain full magical power. Uncle Seven, please be patient! We've only been on this mountain for a few days; there's still plenty of time. Haste makes waste!" the scholar said calmly.

"That's true too. Even if other Nascent Soul cultivators move faster, it will still take them some time to reach here and then find the seal to enter this mountain. However, just this 'Gate of Ten Thousand Cultivators' has taken us so long; I'm afraid the restrictions we encounter later will be even more troublesome," the Eccentric sighed.

"Uncle Seven, there's no need to worry. Our Ye family has planned this operation for such a long time, so we've naturally considered the matter of breaking restrictions. Over the years, the clan has already collected several secret treasures specifically for breaking restrictions. It's just not the right time to use them yet," the scholar said with a confident smile.

"I see. Then I can rest assured," the Big-Headed Eccentric said, his expression relaxing upon hearing this.

Subsequently, the two quietly observed the restriction-breaking efforts without further conversation. However, not long after, the Eccentric's nose twitched subtly, and his expression suddenly darkened. Without a word, he flicked his fingers repeatedly into the air in a certain direction. Immediately, several streaks of yellow sword energy shot forth without warning, instantly enveloping a large tree dozens of yards away.

As a gentle breeze stirred beneath the large tree, a monster covered in green fur with silver wings on its back suddenly materialized there.

The monster didn't move its hands; it simply flapped its wings, effortlessly deflecting the sword lights.

This pointy-eared, monkey-faced creature then observed the Ye family cultivators below with cold eyes, then glanced at the scholar and the Big-Headed Eccentric. Without a sound, it immediately spread its wings and shot backward. After a few blinks, the silver-winged monster transformed into a gentle breeze once more and vanished.

"Did I see that correctly? What a superb wind escape technique, able to use wind for invisibility! This thing seems to be the legendary Silver-Winged Yaksha. If it weren't for the faint corpse aura still lingering on its body, I almost would have been fooled," the Big-Headed Eccentric remarked. He didn't pursue, but his expression grew serious.

"Corpse aura? I didn't sense it," the scholar replied, staring at the direction where the Silver-Winged Yaksha disappeared, his expression also somewhat grim. "Only Uncle Seven, who cultivates the Blood Chariot True Art, can develop such sensitive divine abilities. But it's not just that; this Silver-Winged Yaksha seems to possess quite high intelligence."

"Isn't Kunwu Mountain reputed to be a land of immortal spirits? Why are we encountering only fierce creatures like Lion-Beasts and Flying Corpse-Demons here?" the Big-Headed Eccentric asked, his brows furrowing tightly after shaking his head a few times. "It's fortunate that the two of us came together; if it were just one person, it would likely be extremely dangerous."

"The 'land of immortal spirits' is merely an old saying. The current Kunwu Mountain has been sealed for some unknown reason, so a few oddities aren't surprising. However, none of this matters to us.

"Our sole purpose on this trip is the Transcendent Spirit Treasure. There's no need to ask about other matters," the scholar said slowly after a moment of silence.

"While that's true," the Big-Headed Eccentric said, his gaze chilling, "if it were a beast without intelligence, no matter how high its cultivation, there would be nothing to worry about. But that Silver-Winged Yaksha actually possesses extremely high intelligence. We need to pay more attention to this demonic creature; we cannot let it jeopardize our important mission."

"Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Seven. I will pay more attention to this demonic creature," the scholar said, nodding with a more serious tone.

Just as the Ye family's Grand Elder encountered the Silver-Winged Yaksha and repelled it, a flash of light suddenly appeared in a seemingly ordinary, thick barrier high above the stone pavilion where the Ye family cultivators once rested. Then, a white-haired head poked through, peeking around with a somewhat comical appearance.

After finding the place empty, the person immediately shot forward without ceremony, his body shimmering with silver light as he squeezed out of the barrier. Then, standing on a large luminous disk, he slowly flew towards the stone pavilion and landed steadily on its roof.

Only then did the person lift his head, revealing a face full of wrinkles, but with small, shrewd eyes and a round, smooth countenance.

It was none other than the mysterious old man, Xiang Zhili!

"So this is Kunwu Mountain. Tsk, tsk! As expected, the spiritual energy here is extraordinary. But who, being so idly bored, dared to open this seal? What if *that thing* gets out? Do they want all of Great Jin to be buried with it? This old man is unlucky enough to be right nearby; I can't even pretend ignorance!" Xiang Zhili grumbled, glancing around. He then faintly heard a rumbling sound and immediately began stamping his feet and cursing loudly on the stone pavilion, his face etched with frustration.

"Since you knew it was unlucky to come here, yet you still dared, I do admire your courage," a sweet female voice suddenly chimed in, just as Xiang Zhili ceased his cursing. The voice was tender and soft, like a lover's gentle murmur.

However, the moment Xiang Zhili heard this voice, a sudden chill ran through his entire body, and his blood seemed to curdle.

"Senior, you... you've come out!" the old man stammered, swallowing hard.

"Come out? I emerged tens of thousands of years ago. It's just that the final layer of restriction, set up by the Three Elders of Kunwu with the power of tens of thousands of people, truly couldn't be torn open by me alone. Otherwise, I, this consort, would have left long ago. Would I still be waiting until now?" The woman's voice remained incredibly gentle, but Xiang Zhili's face instantly turned ashen.