Chapter 579: Closed Meditation Beads

The west hall.

The hall was in disarray, with broken fragments scattered everywhere. These included shards of jade slips inscribed with text, tattered book pages, and scraps of clothing.

Inside the hall, there were several small rooms, all quite similar.

“I told you, if something seems useless, just leave it alone. Why destroy it?”

Jiang Fan picked up a broken jade slip. It was inscribed with Buddhist and Taoist texts, likely a cultivation method, but it had been ruined.

The Evil Spirit retorted indignantly, “Hey, hey, hey, don’t blame everything on me! Back then, the Tiger Demon Emperor and I only took the valuable items. We didn’t touch anything else. It must have been later visitors who ransacked it like this.”

It gazed at a wall that had been chiseled away, looking like it had been haphazardly gnawed away, with chunks missing from all over.

“Originally, there was a mural on this wall, and the pigments used contained rare Gengjin stone powder,” the Evil Spirit explained. “Someone discovered it and dug it out.”

The Evil Spirit shook its head and sighed, “These bumpkins truly wasted a treasure. That painting was a Buddhist and Taoist treasure map. For someone like Consort Yunxia, who failed her tribulation, long-term cultivation facing it could weaken negative karma. Its effect was no worse than the Tranquil Lotus Silk of that old Taoist priest.”

Jiang Fan’s expression darkened. This place had been plundered more thoroughly than he had imagined. Moreover, most of the previous visitors were Nascent Soul stage cultivators. How incredibly keen their discerning eyes must have been! It was almost impossible for them to have missed anything.

Just then, he felt a weight in his arms, and Jiang Fan knew that the little Qilin had returned. A sense of relief immediately settled in his heart.

With a top-grade spirit artifact in hand, this trip had already broken even; even if he found nothing else, it wouldn't be a loss. Besides, the little Qilin possessed an innate ability to sense spiritual treasures. Perhaps it could even discover things that previous visitors had overlooked.

“Little Qilin, see if there are any treasures in this hall.”

The little Qilin poked out half its head and glanced around. It was about to shake its head, “Nothing... wait a moment.” Suddenly sensing something, it tilted its head back and looked up at the stone hall’s ceiling.

For illumination, the ceiling was embedded with luminous pearls, similar to those outside. For mortals, these might be rare treasures, but for cultivators, especially high-level ones, they were worthless; no one paid them any mind.

The little Qilin stared at one seemingly ordinary luminous pearl and said, “Take that pearl down. I feel like it’s not quite like the other luminous pearls.”

Really? Jiang Fan followed its gaze and took a quick look. Outwardly, it looked no different; even the faint glow it emitted was identical to the other luminous pearls. But he trusted the little Qilin’s judgment. He leaped up, gripped the pearl with his fingers, and pried it out of the stone. A luminous pearl, the size of a human eye and glowing with moonlight, appeared before him.

“What do you want that for?” the Evil Spirit wondered. But then, it noticed something and let out a soft exclamation, “Wait!”

“Try removing its outer layer.”

Jiang Fan nodded slightly, and with a gentle push of his index finger, he rubbed off a layer of white powder from the luminous pearl’s surface. A hint of transparent crystal color appeared. Once the outer layer was completely peeled away, a perfectly clear crystal orb, clearly not a luminous pearl, lay quietly in Jiang Fan’s hand.

“Just as I thought! I knew something felt off,” the Evil Spirit clicked its tongue in wonder. “This is a Zen Sealing Pearl. It’s a Buddhist bead condensed with great power by an enlightened monk who cultivated Silent Zen.”

Jiang Fan was unfamiliar with Buddhist and Taoist cultivation methods because such traditions had never appeared in the Nine Sects’ territory. He immediately asked, “What is Silent Zen?”

The Evil Spirit chuckled, “Place this pearl in your bosom, then think the words you want to say to me in your mind once.”

Jiang Fan did as instructed, placing the Zen Sealing Pearl in his embrace. Then, facing the Evil Spirit, he thought, “Can I trust what this old thing says?”

The moment he finished thinking, the Evil Spirit’s annoyed laugh immediately echoed in Jiang Fan’s mind: “Trustworthy, very trustworthy indeed!”

What the heck! It can hear my thoughts, and even transmit messages directly into my mind? Startled, Jiang Fan quickly took out the Zen Sealing Pearl.

The Evil Spirit said with a dark expression, “You brat, can’t you think kindly of this old man even a little?”

Jiang Fan gave an embarrassed smile, somewhat understanding what Silent Zen meant. Without speaking, one could directly transmit thoughts to another’s mind, and the other could transmit back. Communication could be achieved without opening their mouths. Used at certain special times, it could have miraculous effects. It was indeed a very rare treasure.

He happily put it away.

“Ahem, let’s go to the next hall.”

The east hall.

It had also been completely ransacked, leaving nothing behind. Even the little Qilin shook its head at the sight.

Jiang Fan then decisively went to the last hall, the south hall.

After a quick glance, the Evil Spirit said, “It seems this one has been thoroughly plundered as well. Never mind, let’s go find the Nascent Soul corpse I mentioned.”

For some reason, the Evil Spirit, who had never urged him before, was suddenly starting to get impatient.

Jiang Fan narrowed his eyes. He secretly transmitted a message to the little Qilin: “Search carefully. That old geezer is rushing me, which means there might be something valuable he’s hidden in here.”

The little Qilin immediately activated its vision and scanned the surroundings. But after scanning, it frowned and said, “There’s really nothing special. All ordinary stuff.”

Is that so? Jiang Fan frowned, finding it hard to believe there was truly nothing. If the Evil Spirit hadn't urged him, and the little Qilin said nothing, he would have accepted it. But the Evil Spirit seemed unwilling for him to stay here any longer. This indicated a guilty conscience.

Jiang Fan surveyed the hall for a moment, then pondered. He raised his palm and pressed it against the floor.

“Boy, what are you doing?” the Evil Spirit asked, its eyes flickering.

Jiang Fan ignored him. He softly uttered, “Void-Flow Thunder Force!”

Sizzle——

Countless arcs of lightning instantly surged from his palm, spreading to every corner of the hall. Every brick, every inch of wall, was permeated by the Void-Flow Thunder Force. At a glance, the entire hall sparkled with electricity, exceptionally dazzling.

But there was one exception. It was a corner of the hall. Lightning arcs were present everywhere else, but this one section of the stone wall had none. And the appearance of this stone wall was exactly the shape of a door!

The little Qilin’s eyes widened, and it said, feeling guilty, “Master, I truly didn’t see any difference here.”

Jiang Fan transmitted, “It’s not your fault. Someone tampered with this spot, masking it from detection.”

He retracted the Void-Flow Thunder Force and walked to this invisible door. As a precaution, he placed a cloud-bursting iron pellet, a gift from Ouyang Jun, ready to blast it open.

This startled the Evil Spirit. “Hey, hey, hey, no, no, no! The things inside are very fragile and cannot withstand such destruction.”

Jiang Fan cast a sidelong glance at it and scoffed, “So, you’ve been inside after all. No wonder you were rushing me to leave this hall.”

Seeing its intentions exposed, the Evil Spirit could no longer hide. It could only reveal the truth.