Recalling the rumors that the Corpse Xian was impervious to metal and could only be slowly refined with true fire or sealed with soul extraction techniques, Han Li couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.
The Corpse Xian before him clearly wasn’t truly dead—it had merely been temporarily restrained by an unknown golden talisman. He estimated it would take quite some time for the Corpse Xian to recover its vitality.
With this in mind, Han Li’s gaze shifted to the jade box lying beside the Corpse Xian, a flicker of suspicion crossing his eyes. Since the Corpse Xian had been suppressed here without being refined into ashes, it must have been sealed using soul extraction.
Given how fiercely the Corpse Xian had guarded this jade box, even sealing it with a golden talisman specifically designed to restrain it, logic dictated that it must contain the Corpse Xian’s essence soul.
But if that were the case, why could the Corpse Xian’s body still move freely and speak to him with such cunning intelligence, even attempting to trick him into opening the box? Had the soul extraction been incomplete, leaving remnants of its soul within the body?
Moreover, why did the Corpse Xian possess a treasure like the Spirit Eye Jade? Had it obtained it after being trapped here?
These questions swirled in Han Li’s mind, and he frowned, filled with unsolved mysteries.
But after a moment of thought, he decided to stop dwelling on these useless questions and instead scanned his surroundings, searching for a way to escape.
Refining the Corpse Xian with true fire required at least Nascent Soul stage cultivation, and even then, it would take months of continuous effort. Even if Han Li had such power, he wouldn’t waste his time on such demon-slaying heroics.
His only goal was to leave this place as quickly as possible, leaving the Corpse Xian to remain imprisoned here alone.
As for whether some other unfortunate soul might stumble in later and fall victim to its deception—that wasn’t his concern.
If the Corpse Xian ever broke free, the major sects and powerful cultivators would have to deal with it.
Yet, after surveying the area, Han Li’s gaze returned to the jade box.
After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly reached out and summoned the box into his hand with a flick of his wrist, then calmly stored it in his storage pouch.
The talisman’s inscriptions were far too peculiar—he intended to study them carefully later.
As for whether he would open the box, that would only happen after he had fully formed his Nascent Soul and was absolutely confident in his safety. If the box truly contained the Corpse Xian’s essence soul or some other malevolent spirit, he had the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder and the Soul-Crying Beast to counter it, not to mention his own cultivation at that time.
Han Li shook the jade ruyi in his hand, and the protective barrier around him vanished. The small yellow wolf leaped out, ready to execute an earth escape technique and leave the stone chamber. After all, no matter how rare and hard the Azure Gold Stone was, it was still a type of earth and stone—it shouldn’t hinder earth escape.
Just as he was about to command the wolf spirit, he suddenly paused and turned back to glance at the motionless Corpse Xian.
After a brief hesitation, he sighed and strode over to the Corpse Xian, kicking it lightly. The body flipped over, revealing an inconspicuous hollow where the Snow Cloud Fox lay, its dark eyes staring pitifully at Han Li.
Han Li chuckled softly. “You’re quite clever, finding such a good hiding spot.”
With a wave of his hand, a streak of azure light swept toward the fox.
The white fox seemed to sense danger and leaped into the air, trying to escape, but Han Li’s azure light was too fast. It was caught mid-jump and swiftly pulled into Han Li’s grasp.
Holding the fox by the scruff of its neck, Han Li turned and strode toward the stone wall without hesitation.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, “You’re quite lucky, little thing. Not only did you survive unscathed just now, but you’ve managed to live alongside this Corpse Xian for so long. Truly unbelievable.”
“Wait… unbelievable?” Han Li suddenly stopped mid-step, his expression shifting dramatically.
In an instant, he flung the fox toward the opposite wall with all his might.
But in that split second, a trace of malice flashed in the fox’s eyes.
It raised its front claws and slashed at Han Li’s chest from point-blank range. Its originally short limbs suddenly elongated, and razor-sharp claws lashed out.
A piercing metallic clang rang out.
With a furious roar, Han Li hurled the fox away, intending to smash it into pulp.
But the fox twisted mid-air and landed gracefully in another corner of the chamber.
Its cold, emerald eyes stared at Han Li, who remained unharmed, a faint trace of disappointment flickering in its gaze.
Han Li glanced down at his torn robe, beneath which a faint green glow shimmered—the inner armor he had taken from Wen Tianren, the successor of the Six Paths.
After his previous armor had been destroyed, Han Li had donned this unnamed but equally resilient inner armor.
The fox’s sudden attack, though vicious and unexpected, had failed to penetrate even this treasure, which could withstand ordinary magical artifacts.
“Who are you?” Han Li demanded coldly, his expression dark. “That transformation and attack were far beyond the capabilities of a low-level demon beast.”
He raised the jade ruyi, intending to summon a protective barrier, but to his shock, the artifact remained lifeless and unresponsive.
Startled, he glanced at the yellow wolf spirit, but it stood motionless, showing no signs of abnormality.
With an enemy before him, Han Li had no time to dwell on this. His divine sense stirred, and the flying sword above his head buzzed loudly, forming a curtain of azure sword light in front of him.
Only then did his expression relax slightly.
But at that moment, the Snow Cloud Fox spoke in a human voice that left Han Li stunned.
“Who am I? Didn’t you just greet me earlier? Have you forgotten so quickly?”
The familiar voice of a woman carried a mocking tone as the fox stood upright on its hind legs.
Before Han Li’s eyes, the fox underwent a rapid transformation.
Within moments, its body swelled several times in size, its white fur receding to reveal a naked, fox-tailed woman with an alluring figure.
Han Li’s lips pressed into a thin line, his composure shattered by shock.
“Well? Isn’t my fox form quite pleasing?” The woman, identical in appearance to the black-robed lady from before, arched her back slightly, her ample chest trembling as she smirked at Han Li. Yet beneath her seductive gaze lay an icy coldness devoid of any warmth.
“You… are it?” Han Li took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. His eyes flicked toward the stone platform, where the Corpse Xian’s body lay motionless.
This reassured him slightly, and he refocused on the woman before him, whose cultivation had surged dramatically.
By all logic, shapeshifting required at least the power of an eighth-level demon beast, yet this fox, claiming to be the Corpse Xian’s incarnation, only registered as seventh-level under his divine sense.
Though puzzled, Han Li felt no fear.
Still, the fact that the fox had deceived his divine sense made him wary. He recalled ancient texts describing high-level fox demons as masters of illusion, capable of manipulating even cultivators of the same level without their knowledge. Their ability to conceal themselves was unparalleled among demon beasts.
He had once doubted these claims, but now, seeing how easily this fox had fooled him, he was forced to reconsider.
But if this incarnation of the Corpse Xian possessed such power, why hadn’t it removed the golden talisman itself? Did it fear the talisman? Even so, with its strength, it could easily abduct a low-level cultivator and force them to remove it.
Han Li’s face remained impassive, but his mind raced with questions. He had a growing suspicion that this fox was more than just the Corpse Xian’s incarnation—there was something deeper at play.
With this realization, he steadied himself. His gaze sharpened, and a killing intent flickered in his eyes as he stared at the naked woman before him.
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