“Senior Brother makes a valid point. However, since this Du Dong possesses the Frost Moon Wheel, it’s not surprising he made it to the finals. But what about that Han Li? Does he also possess a high-grade magical artifact?” the middle-aged man with a mustache asked again.
“That’s not the case. Although we don’t know if this junior Han possesses a high-grade magical artifact, he is certainly quite generous with his resources,” the Foundation Establishment late-stage man replied with a bitter smile.
“What do you mean? What does generosity have to do with the competition?” This time, it was the sallow-faced elder who asked with some interest.
“In his first match, Junior Han threw out over thirty Fireball Talismans at once, shattering his opponent’s protective barrier before they could even deploy their magical artifact, leading to their defeat. In subsequent matches, he employed martial arts techniques from the mortal world and a clever flame-manipulation method, supplemented with talismans, barely defeating his opponents to secure victory,” the man explained.
“Martial arts and techniques aside—that’s nothing unusual, as many disciples bring their own skills when joining the sect. But using so many talismans at once does require a considerable amount of spirit stones. While it’s nothing to us, for a Qi Condensation disciple, it’s rather extravagant. Has this disciple been investigated?” the white-bearded elder asked with a slightly darkened expression.
“Yes. According to some low-ranking disciples who interacted with him, although he was a rogue cultivator, he seems proficient in talisman-making and has considerable wealth, which explains his lavish use of low-grade talismans,” the young man replied respectfully.
“Oh, that makes sense. It seems neither of these two poses any issues. However, since this person knows talisman-making, he might be better suited for the Fire Cloud Peak,” the white-bearded elder murmured, his expression softening.
“Brother Feng, that’s not quite right. Our Heavenly Spring Peak also has disciples skilled in talisman-making, and we can certainly mentor him. Brother Duan, surely you’re not seriously thinking of taking him?” the Xin-named cultivator said with a faint smile.
“Haha! Our Fire Cloud Peak has plenty of talisman-making disciples—one more or less makes no difference. We won’t snatch Junior Xin’s disciple,” the red-robed cultivator said with a dismissive wave.
The Xin-named middle-aged man chuckled but said nothing more.
After discussing some internal sect matters, the Core Formation cultivators soon took their leave and departed.
Han Li had already returned to his cave dwelling on the small stone mountain. Standing outside the spirit beast room with an unusually solemn expression, he peered intently into the stone chamber.
Not long ago, he had just finished his final round of competition. While exchanging pleasantries with a few Heavenly Spring Peak disciples who came to congratulate him, the Soul-Calling Pearl inside his body suddenly grew scorching hot. Startled at first, Han Li quickly realized that the Weeping Soul Beast in his cave had finally reached the final stage of its advancement and was summoning him.
Overjoyed, Han Li wasted no time in excusing himself from the Heavenly Spring Peak disciples and hurried back to his cave. However, upon standing outside the spirit beast room, he was shocked by the scene inside.
The stone chamber had become dim, eerie, and filled with swirling ghostly energy. Chilling yin energy seeped out from within. The Weeping Soul Beast was nowhere to be seen, but in one corner of the room lay a pitch-black, glossy cocoon about ten feet in size, with faint black spikes shimmering across its surface, as if something were gestating inside.
Han Li didn’t need to guess—the Weeping Soul Beast was inside that cocoon. While excited, he also grew cautious.
Instead of rashly entering, Han Li sat cross-legged outside the spirit beast room.
According to the ancient texts he had read, when a spirit beast undergoes evolution, its master should remain nearby but refrain from interfering unless the beast’s life is in danger. Han Li decided to follow this advice.
As time passed uneasily, Han Li initially estimated it would take several days for the Weeping Soul Beast to complete its evolution and emerge from the cocoon. However, by the next morning, the black cocoon began to change.
A faint cracking sound reached Han Li’s ears. Delighted, he opened his eyes to see the yin energy in the stone chamber being violently sucked toward the black cocoon in the corner. Then, a blinding black light erupted, forcing Han Li to shut his eyes. A familiar yet unfamiliar presence suddenly appeared in the room.
Without hesitation, Han Li stood up and gently pushed open the spirit beast room’s door. Inside, the black cocoon had split into two empty halves. The rest of the chamber was empty.
Just as Han Li was about to release his spiritual sense to investigate, a black light flickered in one corner. A low cry sounded, and a shadowy figure shot toward him.
Startled, Han Li nearly dodged but forced himself to stand still. A cold, tiny creature flew into his arms, which he promptly caught.
“What’s this?” Han Li muttered, staring at the creature in his hand.
It was a fist-sized, pitch-black miniature monkey—undoubtedly the evolved Weeping Soul Beast. At first glance, aside from its fur turning from silver-white to black, it seemed unchanged. However, upon closer inspection, Han Li noticed two differences.
First, beneath its large nose, between the two nostrils, was an additional tiny hole, barely noticeable unless scrutinized. The Weeping Soul Beast had always relied on its nose to emit soul-devouring light to suppress ghosts and spirits. Did this extra hole make it even more formidable? Han Li found this amusing but held onto a sliver of hope.
Second, on its back was a vivid, blood-red demonic pattern—a horned, three-eyed fiend that exuded a terrifying, oppressive aura.
Silvermoon, observing through Han Li’s mind, marveled at the changes but offered no useful insights.
Due to the Soul-Calling Pearl’s influence, the beast was now much more affectionate toward Han Li, nuzzling its furry head against his robes. Holding the little black monkey, Han Li could faintly sense its emotions and couldn’t help but smile.
After playing with it for a while, Han Li noticed the creature growing drowsy and carefully stored it in his spirit beast pouch.
Leaving the spirit beast room, Han Li checked the adjacent insect chamber, where only a few dozen Gold-Silver Devouring Beetles remained, having nearly finished cannibalizing each other and preparing to lay eggs. Seeing these slightly larger beetles, he nodded in satisfaction before heading to his meditation room for routine cultivation.
After winning the selection competition, the judges had informed him that the chosen disciples would receive one-on-one guidance from Core Formation cultivators. However, until then, they were to continue their own training. The guidance would last only a few days, and he’d be notified via a message talisman when his turn came.
Han Li wasn’t particularly concerned about the Core Formation cultivators’ guidance. When the time came, he’d simply go through the motions.
Now, he sat in his secret chamber, holding the Spirit Eye Jade, immersed in cultivation. Meanwhile, Silvermoon, possessing the fox body, practiced in the adjacent room.
Strangely enough, Silvermoon’s cultivation while possessing the fox body was quite remarkable. As she explained, although her artifact spirit cultivation was at the late Core Formation stage, the fox body she inhabited was only at the lowest level of first-grade demonic beasts. Thus, while she could temporarily unleash formidable power, it was short-lived, and her spirit form couldn’t grow stronger through cultivation. The fox body, however, could gradually improve, making it her true foundation.
With the help of low-grade pills provided by Han Li, Silvermoon’s cultivation progressed at an astonishing rate.
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