Chapter 915: Three Corpses

Volume 6: Spirit Treasures Reaching the Heavens

Yuan still had some doubts after hearing this, but it wasn't appropriate to ask further questions. He chatted idly for a while before getting up to bid farewell.

Han Li watched as the other person pushed open the stone house door and walked out. The smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of gloom.

After a long moment, he suddenly took out the jade box again, opened its lid, and silently gazed at its contents.

"What? You're actually planning to investigate that ancient tomb?" Grand Immortal Dayan's calm voice resounded in Han Li's divine sense.

"Of course not. While I don't know how much of what that person just said is trustworthy, I'm not a novice; why would I take such a risk? However, I am genuinely curious about an emperor's tomb. Perhaps I'll explore it once I've fully recovered my cultivation. But it's clear that person didn't have good intentions when telling me all this. What 'like old friends at first sight' and 'frank disclosure'? Does he really think I'm a three-year-old child? An old fellow who has lived for so many years wouldn't easily divulge such secrets to others, let alone a stranger he just met. Such eagerness definitely indicates foul play!" Han Li curled his lips into a cold sneer and nonchalantly uttered.

"That's true. However, young cultivators fresh out of training are most easily deceived by such people. They think the other person is being sincere and easily let down their guard. They might even be sold off without realizing it! Back in my day, I also..." Grand Immortal Dayan sighed, his voice trailing off as he spoke of himself, then abruptly stopped.

"Oh, Senior, were you also deceived by such a trick back then?" Han Li paused, then chuckled softly.

"Hmph! I was young once too; what's so surprising about being tricked?" Grand Immortal Dayan grunted a few times, sounding a bit awkward.

"Alright, Junior won't pry into Senior's past embarrassments. However, this item actually seems to interest the Soul Devouring Beast. It truly appears to be quite peculiar!" Han Li's expression turned serious, and he then patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist with one hand. A mini-monkey, about an inch tall, with glossy black fur, emerged.

As soon as the monkey appeared, it immediately sniffed a few times with its nose, its gaze instantly fixing on the golden-yellow bubble, a hint of hesitation on its face.

Han Li found it a bit strange. He stared silently at the Soul Devouring Beast. He began to communicate with the beast using his divine sense.

From the sensations conveyed through his divine sense, the Soul Devouring Beast seemed to be somewhat afraid of the golden bubble. But what was that eager feeling also present at the same time?

Han Li hadn't yet figured it out. Suddenly, black ghostly energy emanated from the Soul Devouring Beast. It leaped and plunged directly into the golden bubble.

Following this, the surface of the golden bubble glowed intensely. Strands of gray flames appeared out of thin air from within the bubble, enveloping the beast.

A look of pain appeared on the Soul Devouring Beast's face. Yet, its body continuously emitted pitch-black ghostly energy intertwined with the gray flames. Its form remained motionless within the golden bubble.

Han Li's brows furrowed tightly.

Although he didn't know what was happening, it was clear the Soul Devouring Beast wasn't about to emerge anytime soon; it seemed to be cultivating itself by utilizing the gray flames. What puzzled him was that the moment the flames appeared, the golden bubble suddenly became vibrant with spiritual energy, emitting astonishing spiritual waves as if conjured from nothing.

"Wait! I seem to have seen this kind of phenomenon somewhere before; I should have an impression of this item." Grand Immortal Dayan's soft exclamation suddenly echoed in Han Li's divine sense; he seemed to have recalled something.

"Senior, have you remembered something?" Han Li couldn't help but ask, surprised.

"Let me think! It seems like it was a long time ago." Grand Immortal Dayan's voice grew a bit more serious.

Hearing this, Han Li didn't press him. He quietly watched the Soul Devouring Beast in the golden bubble, also deep in thought.

After a considerable pause, Grand Immortal Dayan's voice returned.

"I remember now. I once saw this item on a ten-thousand-year corpse king during my travels in the past. It seemed that the corpse king was a high-ranking Buddhist monk in life, and after turning into a corpse king, he refined his own sarira into an extremely powerful, shield-like treasure. It was incredibly formidable; once released from the body, it was almost indestructible for a short period, and I even suffered a great loss because of it. However, that was a very long time ago. Moreover, the shield he released was silver. I hadn't thought of it until now. But this kind of item should be hidden within a corpse king's body. How did it end up with Jin Yuan, a Foundation Establishment cultivator?" Grand Immortal Dayan's words were filled with astonishment.

"Even you suffered a great loss! Then this item truly is incredibly powerful, worthy of being called a supreme treasure. Regardless of how that person obtained it, the crucial question now is whether the Soul Devouring Beast is in danger." Han Li's expression first showed some surprise, but he still asked with concern.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? Your spirit beast is absorbing the Corpse Flames from the sarira. Speaking of which, not only are you a weirdo, but even your spirit beasts are all incredibly strange. There's even a spirit beast that specializes in restraining ghosts and demons. I've lived for so many years, and I've never heard of a Soul Devouring Beast." Grand Immortal Dayan murmured.

"Absorbing Corpse Flames?"

Han Li looked closely and indeed saw the Soul Devouring Beast's emitted ghostly energy gradually devouring the gray flames. He felt relieved, but upon hearing Grand Immortal Dayan's subsequent words, he couldn't help but smile wryly.

"To be honest, this thing has long since deviated greatly from its original cultivation method. After several evolutions, it's hard to say if it can even still be called a Soul Devouring Beast." Han Li looked a bit helpless.

"Oh, so this thing is an aberrant spirit beast. No wonder it has a demonic ghost pattern on its back. These Corpse Flames have turned gray-white; they are definitely pure Corpse Flames over ten thousand years old. Ordinary cultivator spirit beasts would die instantly if they touched them. Yet this spirit beast dares to devour them? Tsk, tsk, it's truly extraordinary. However, this treasure doesn't seem to have been fully refined, nor has it found a master. Otherwise, with a mere thought from the corpse king who refined it, it would immediately fly back, even if it were ten thousand miles away. That's rather odd." Grand Immortal Dayan remarked, sounding amazed.

"Not yet mastered! So, once the Corpse Flames are completely absorbed by the Soul Devouring Beast, I'll have acquired a treasure for free. Tsk, tsk, who would have thought I wouldn't get a Buddhist cultivation technique, but instead acquire a supreme Buddhist treasure first? I truly want to see how miraculous this Vajra Shield, formed from a sarira, really is." After a moment of silence, Han Li suddenly began to smile.

"It's not just a sarira; it's a Vajra Sarira. Most sariras are white, with other colors being rare. Only golden sariras can be called Vajra Sariras. They are an extremely rare type of sarira. Any Buddhist cultivator who refines such a sarira will generally serve as a Vajra Protector within the Buddhist sect, holding a very special status. Their status is probably similar to that of enforcement elders in other sects." Grand Immortal Dayan explained to Han Li after sighing.

"So, you're saying that the shield formed from this kind of sarira should be even more formidable than the one you saw before?" Han Li asked, his eyes gleaming.

"Probably. After all, the reputation of Vajra Sariras is very well-known in the Buddhist sect. However, I haven't actually compared them, so I can't say for sure." Grand Immortal Dayan's voice was a bit hesitant, not entirely certain.

Han Li smiled. Just as he was about to say something else through his divine sense, the golden bubble on the stone table suddenly trembled, and a rice-grain-sized green light shot out from it, swiftly fleeing towards the top of the stone chamber.

Han Li was startled. His gaze fixed on the light cluster, and his divine thought, which was accelerating its contemplation, solidified.

Suddenly, the green light seemed to hit something, stumbling before bouncing back down from mid-air. It was the divine sense barrier formed by Han Li's Divine Sense Manifestation Art. At this moment, the Soul Devouring Beast let out a snort with its nose, and a wave of radiant light shot out from below, instantly coiling the green light back into the golden bubble and swallowing it.

Han Li frowned deeply, staring at the golden bubble, vaguely guessing something in his heart.

Meanwhile, in a tomb chamber several thousand miles away, three stone coffins lay side by side. This tomb chamber was extraordinarily vast, spanning over a hundred zhang wide. Its four walls were not only carved with numerous ancient murals, but each of the chamber's four corners also held a giant copper vat, within which fierce, emerald-green flames burned, casting a dim, murky light throughout the tomb.

Suddenly, a cry of pain emanated from the stone coffin on the left. Then, with a loud "bang," the thick coffin lid flew several zhang high before crashing heavily back down.

Black mist swirled, and a tall figure abruptly stood up from the stone coffin.

"My son, what has happened? Why are you so angry?" A middle-aged man's voice, rich and deep, and naturally commanding, emerged from the middle stone coffin.

"M-my... my... a part... of my divine sense... is gone!" The tall figure in the black mist let out a few low growls, then stammered in a parrot-like manner.

"A part of your divine sense is gone? Was one of your dispatched avatars discovered and taken by someone? It's fine, it's not a big deal. This bit of divine sense will recover completely soon as long as you continue cultivating the 'Styx Heavenly Corpse Art' your father passed down to you. There's no need for such fury. Your temperament still isn't under control!" From a slightly smaller stone coffin came an unusually sweet female voice, speaking slowly.

"But... but... my... Vajra... Shield!" The tall black figure pounded its own chest twice with its hand, still grunting and looking around.

"The Vajra Shield! Is it that Vajra Shield refined from the sarira of the old monk I killed when I last awoke? Didn't I already help you refine most of it and give it to you? Why haven't you mastered and fully refined it yet?" The middle-aged man's voice deepened, turning somewhat cold.

"I..." The figure in the black mist grew flustered upon hearing this, momentarily speechless.

"My King, this isn't our son's fault. He told me about it." The smaller stone coffin also let out a soft creak as its lid was shifted aside, and a graceful, lithe figure sat up from within. However, the tomb chamber was unusually dim, making it impossible to discern the woman's face clearly.

"What exactly happened, my dear concubine? Please explain it clearly to me. That Vajra Shield is a rare supreme treasure. I only gave it to our son for his protection because his magic power is still shallow. Otherwise, I would have refined and used it myself long ago." The middle-aged man's voice softened slightly as he inquired.