The appearance of the Corpse Xiong remained unchanged from before—still covered in green fur, with a single arm, and its entire body wrapped in delicate silver chains.
Han Li carefully examined the entire stone chamber, confirming that everything was exactly as he remembered, with no anomalies. Only then did he place the jade box in his hand on the ground. With a tap on one of the spirit beast pouches at his waist, a streak of black light shot out from within.
The Soul-Crying Beast, about a foot in size, materialized. As soon as it emerged, it caught sight of the Corpse Xiong on the stone platform and immediately began screeching wildly. Without waiting for Han Li’s command, black light flickered around it, and its body abruptly swelled in size. Fortunately, the beast seemed aware of the confined space and stopped growing once it reached about ten feet tall. Nevertheless, it stared unblinkingly at the Corpse Xiong, its posture eager for action.
Han Li frowned slightly and, with a mental command, the Soul-Crying Beast quieted down, turning its back to him and squatting obediently on the ground.
“Hmm?” Han Li’s expression shifted slightly as he took a closer look at the beast’s back.
The blood-colored ghostly figure on its back was noticeably clearer than before, with the ghostly silhouette even beginning to protrude slightly, giving the eerie impression that it might come alive at any moment. This observation stirred something in Han Li’s mind. It seemed that after the beast’s recent feasts, it was undergoing another strange transformation.
Though surprised, Han Li felt a flicker of anticipation. However, now was not the time to study the beast in detail—he had summoned it merely as a precaution. With another light tap on his storage pouch, a yellow flash appeared, and an ancient-looking jade slip materialized in his hand.
Han Li’s brow twitched as he examined the object. He had retrieved this from the hair bun of the black-robed youth after searching his consciousness. The slip contained over a dozen methods for refining various types of corpse puppets, most of which the Yin Luo Sect had forcibly taken from other minor sects. The black-robed youth had copied them for his own use.
This Yin Luo Sect elder seemed to have an exceptionally deep understanding of corpse refinement techniques, offering unique insights into each of the methods recorded. Many of his proposed modifications could enhance the power of the refined corpses by at least thirty percent.
Unfortunately, the man had been extremely secretive about his knowledge, never sharing it with his fellow sect members. He had longed to refine a few top-tier corpse puppets capable of dominating entire regions, but he had never found suitable corpses to work with.
Among the recorded methods was one called the “Heaven-Severing Demon Corpse,” one of the black-robed youth’s most coveted techniques. The ideal candidates for this method were already self-aware, highly powerful walking corpses. By erasing their consciousness and refining them with secret techniques, they could be transformed into Heaven-Severing Demon Corpses. Naturally, the strength of such a demon corpse depended on the type and original cultivation level of the walking corpse used.
According to the records, the Corpse Xiong was one of the best choices for this method. A demon corpse refined from such a high-tier spiritual corpse would be even more ferocious than its original form. Thus, as soon as Han Li read the technique, he immediately thought of the trapped Corpse Xiong. Such an opportunity was too good to pass up.
However, before refining the demon corpse, he needed to completely erase the Corpse Xiong’s original consciousness, just as he had done with the second nascent soul. For this reason, he had specifically brought the jade box that might contain the Corpse Xiong’s main soul to this place for the ritual.
Now, Han Li glanced at the massive silver nails before him and raised a hand. All the nails floated up gently, emitting a faint silver glow as he chanted an incantation. With a rub of his hands, thunder roared, and thick golden arcs crackled across his palms, dazzling and imposing.
Expressionless, Han Li flicked his wrists, sending over a dozen slender arcs of lightning shooting toward the silver nails. Gold and silver light intertwined as the nails trembled violently.
Seeing this, Han Li’s expression darkened. He uttered a single word—”Go!”—and followed it with a hand seal. The nails transformed into streaks of silver light, circling the Corpse Xiong on the stone platform before hovering above its limbs and vital points, poised to strike downward.
Once this was done, Han Li took a deep breath and swept his gaze over the jade box sealed with a golden talisman. Opening his mouth, he exhaled a stream of azure light that swept over the box’s surface. The golden talisman trembled a few times before finally peeling off and floating away.
With a whoosh, the lid of the box flew off as if struck by an invisible force, landing several feet away. Han Li’s pupils contracted as he stared intently at the box, his lips pressed tightly together.
A thick green mist surged out from the box, accompanied by a few ecstatic, maniacal laughs. “Hahaha! I’m finally free! Which fool released me? Since you’ve let me out, I’ll feast on your flesh first! Hmm? A Nascent Soul cultivator?”
The green mist quickly coalesced into the face of a woman—one that bore an uncanny resemblance to Silvermoon’s fox form. However, its eyes were a sinister green, and upon seeing Han Li, the ghostly face froze momentarily.
Han Li was momentarily taken aback by the familiar visage but quickly regained his composure. Silvermoon’s fox transformation had originally been a guise controlled by the Corpse Xiong, so it made sense that the box contained the Corpse Xiong’s main soul.
After a brief pause, the green ghostly face sneered and suddenly exhaled a gust of yin wind. The face swelled to over ten feet in size and lunged forward, attempting to possess Han Li. However, Han Li, fully prepared, had no intention of letting it succeed.
No matter how powerful the Corpse Xiong had been in life, its soul had been trapped for years. Han Li had no fear of it.
Standing his ground, Han Li’s expression turned icy. At his mental command, the Soul-Crying Beast snorted loudly, releasing a wave of yellow light that swept toward the ghostly face. The radiance enveloped a portion of the face and began dragging it back.
“What is this?!” The ghostly face, quick-witted, struggled desperately to break free. However, the Soul-Crying Beast’s ability specialized in suppressing souls and demonic spirits. Instead of escaping, the ghostly face was gradually swallowed by the yellow light.
Terrified, the ghostly face made a ruthless decision. The green mist convulsed violently, severing the portion caught in the yellow light. As the radiance retracted, the remaining mist churned and reformed into a smaller ghostly face. It immediately turned and shot toward the Corpse Xiong’s body on the stone platform. Realizing Han Li was not to be trifled with, it sought to return to its original form before tearing him apart.
Seeing the ghostly face turn back, Han Li curled his lips slightly in mockery. Calmly, he pointed at the silver nails entwined with golden lightning. Just as the ghostly face merged with the Corpse Xiong’s body, the nails plunged down like lightning.
A series of thuds echoed as the Corpse Xiong’s body twitched. The nails embedded themselves deep into its limbs and vital points. Though the corpse’s body was as hard as iron, preventing the nails from piercing its surface, the golden arcs crackled mercilessly, forming a net of lightning that ensnared the corpse.
A foul, charred stench emanated from the Corpse Xiong as its soul was forcibly expelled once more. Strangely, the green mist was now larger than before, and within it, two ghostly faces—one large, one small—could faintly be seen.
The two faces desperately tried to re-enter the corpse but were repeatedly repelled by the golden arcs, shrieking in frustration.
“So there was a hidden split soul after all. This wasn’t a wasted effort,” Han Li mused inwardly, his last concern dispelled. With another mental command, the Soul-Crying Beast snorted again, releasing a far more intense yellow radiance that engulfed the two ghostly faces.
This time, luck was not on their side. The light swept over them, and with a final, shrill scream, the two faces were dragged into the Soul-Crying Beast’s gaping maw. The beast swallowed eagerly, patting its belly in satisfaction.
Han Li allowed himself a small smile. Instead of retrieving the silver nails immediately, he leisurely approached the Corpse Xiong’s body.
Standing before the stone platform, Han Li examined the silver chains binding the corpse. After a moment’s thought, he flicked a finger, sending a golden sword Qi slashing downward. A crisp clang rang out—the chains remained unharmed.
Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected this. He opened his mouth, and a small golden sword shot forth. With a surge of spiritual power, the sword’s edge gleamed brilliantly as it silently struck one of the chains. Another clang sounded, and upon closer inspection, a tiny chip the size of a grain of rice had been made.
Han Li’s expression shifted slightly. Though he had known the chains restraining the Corpse Xiong couldn’t be ordinary, he was still surprised that even his Goldpeak-infused Green Bamboo Cloud-Swallowing Swords could only make such a minor dent.
Despite his astonishment, Han Li continued channeling spiritual power into the flying sword, directing it to strike the same spot repeatedly.
After what felt like an eternity, the silver chain finally snapped. Han Li curiously beckoned, and the chains, now free from the corpse, slithered like silver snakes into his hands.
Running his fingers along the chains, he discovered that their seemingly smooth surfaces were actually engraved with countless minuscule runes, so fine they were nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Han Li’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of shock passing through them.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage