Chapter 585: Soul Division

Han Li's gaze lingered on the gray talisman for a moment, and he noticed that its runes were vastly different from ordinary ones, bearing some resemblance to the patterns on the gray cloth and the gray gauze.

With a thought, he waved his hand and cast a spell seal onto the talisman.

A layer of gray light shimmered on the talisman, repelling the spell seal with a jolt.

Han Li raised an eyebrow, and a golden light emanated from his palm, exuding a faint law of time. It touched the gray talisman but was also repelled.

His expression unchanged, he pondered briefly, then urged the baleful aura within him to try touching the gray talisman.

This time, the gray light on the talisman flickered faintly but then dimmed, not repelling the baleful aura as before.

Han Li's heart stirred, and he immediately urged the baleful aura to merge into the talisman.

The seal structure within the talisman was not complex; he quickly understood it and then cast a spell to break it.

A quarter of an hour later, with a soft "puff," the gray talisman flashed with light and flew up from the black jade box on its own. The black jade box opened automatically, revealing a crimson mask inside.

Han Li picked up the mask and was slightly startled.

This mask was all too familiar to him—it was the crimson mask of the Cycle Son of the Cycle Temple, somewhat similar to his own dragon-head mask. At the top of the mask were two small characters: Dragon Four.

"Dragon Four... Could this Gray Immortal be from the Cycle Temple..." Han Li murmured to himself.

The Cycle Temple mask that Jiao San had given him back then was marked "Dragon Five."

He didn't dwell on it and put away the mask and the jade box together. Shifting his gaze, he reexamined the Gray Immortal corpse before him.

Just then, Mo Guang's voice suddenly rang out in his mind:

"Fellow Daoist Han, it seems our luck is quite good, encountering a complete Gray Immortal corpse here. Moreover, its cultivation before death was likely at the Tai Yi stage."

"Even if it was immensely powerful in life, it's now just a dried corpse. Why are you so excited, Fellow Daoist Mo Guang?" Han Li asked nonchalantly.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you are mistaken. When I followed Ma Liang, I obtained a fragmentary scroll in a ruin, which recorded some information about Gray Immortals. Among them was a secret technique to refine a Gray Immortal corpse into an external incarnation. Ma Liang had always wanted to obtain a Gray Immortal corpse but never succeeded. I never expected to encounter one here," Mo Guang said.

"Are you serious?" Han Li's heart stirred.

Inside the Minghan Immortal Mansion, he had already witnessed the power of Mo Yu, that Taiyi Gray Immortal. If he could possess a Taiyi Gray Immortal avatar, his chances of contending with the Taiyi Metal Devouring Immortal behind him would be greatly increased.

"I would not dare deceive Fellow Daoist Han. Everything I say is absolutely true. Gray Immortals are different from you cultivators; after they fall, the energy within their bodies does not dissipate quickly like that of cultivators, but mostly remains inside. Thus, they can be refined into avatars. You are truly fortunate to have obtained a Taiyi Gray Immortal corpse here. If you successfully refine it into an avatar, you will have a Taiyi-level Gray Immortal clone to use against that Taiyi Metal Devouring Immortal," said Mo Guang.

"Let me see the refining method," Han Li said noncommittally.

A black shadow flickered at his feet, and Mo Guang's figure emerged.

Han Li took out a blank jade slip and handed it to Mo Guang. Mo Guang took it, quickly inscribed the method, and returned it after a moment.

Han Li took the jade slip, probed it with his divine sense, and frowned slightly.

The refining method in the jade slip took a different approach, quite distinct from ordinary avatar refinement techniques, requiring many prerequisites.

One of them was that the refiner must possess dense baleful aura, which would be injected into several key nodes within the Gray Immortal corpse during the refinement for later control.

The second was that the refiner must use a soul-splitting secret art to first split their soul, then use another secret art to fuse the split soul with their own baleful aura, transforming it into a baleful soul, which would then be integrated into the Gray Immortal corpse.

With this double safeguard, one could successfully control the Gray Immortal avatar.

"The first condition is not a problem, but as for the second—splitting the soul and transforming it into a baleful soul—will it harm the original body?" Han Li asked after a moment of silence.

"The harm from splitting the soul is unavoidable. Moreover, after transforming into a baleful soul, it will often transmit violent, bloodthirsty, and other negative emotions to the original body. But there is no way around it. The energy within a Gray Immortal is diametrically opposed to that of a cultivator, mutually restraining each other. If an ordinary soul entered a Gray Immortal corpse, it would likely be extinguished in no time. Only by transforming into a baleful soul can it persist for long," Mo Guang said helplessly.

Hearing this, Han Li's enthusiasm gradually cooled.

If he could refine this Gray Immortal corpse into an avatar at a relatively low cost, he would naturally welcome it. But the soul-splitting technique would certainly damage his soul, and it might also affect his sanity.

Such a price, he was unwilling to pay.

"Fellow Daoist Han, if you feel the impact is too great, there is actually another solution," Mo Guang said, glancing at Han Li before suddenly speaking.

"What solution?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"The method is simple: let me split the soul in your stead and enter the Gray Immortal corpse," Mo Guang said with a smile.

"You?" Han Li said, a look of surprise on his face.

"I am a heavenly fiend, formless and incorporeal, very similar to a soul, and I naturally have strong resistance to the energy within Gray Immortals. Entering their bodies should be no problem," Mo Guang nodded and said.

Han Li did not speak immediately after hearing this. After a moment of silence, he said, "Fellow Daoist Mo Guang, how long has it been since we signed the contract back in the Spirit Realm?"

"I often sleep, so I don't have a strong sense of time, but it should have been over ten thousand years. Fellow Daoist Han, why do you ask?" Mo Guang was taken aback, then said.

"We have been together for so many years; you must know my character well. I would never agree to that soul-splitting technique. Your intention in helping me refine this Gray Immortal clone was to enter its body from the start, wasn't it?" Han Li looked at Mo Guang and said calmly.

Mo Guang's expression stiffened, then he smiled bitterly and said, "Nothing can escape your thoughts, Fellow Daoist. I do indeed want to enter this Gray Immortal corpse, but I have no ill intentions toward you. I only wish to help you. That Great Vehicle Gold Devouring Immortal could catch up at any moment. If you are killed by it, my fate won't be any better."

"Oh, is that all?" Han Li raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, I also want to improve my strength. Fellow Daoist Han, you have already reached the late Golden Immortal stage, and both Gold Boy and the Crab Daoist have long reached the Golden Immortal level. Only I am still at the True Immortal stage. It doesn't feel good to be left so far behind by you all," Mo Guang sighed, looking desolate.

Han Li looked at Mo Guang, his eyes flickering, and remained silent for a moment.

A moment later, he suddenly raised his hand and emitted a beam of green light, wrapping around the Gray Immortal's corpse.

The green light rippled faintly, and within it appeared crystalline green threads that coiled around the Gray Immortal's corpse, quickly wrapping it into a green cocoon.

The dense baleful aura emitted by the Gray Immortal was instantly sealed within, unable to leak out in the slightest.

"We'll discuss this later." Han Li said, waving his hand to put away the green cocoon.

Mo Guang nodded, his form flickering as he once again vanished beneath Han Li.

Han Li turned and walked back to the giant rat skeleton, his brow furrowing.

Although the spiritual power within the giant rat skeleton was abundant, as one of the sources of baleful aura here, the baleful aura it contained was extremely dense, and both the Golden Boy and the Pixiu would surely be unable to devour it.

However, this matter was not without a solution.

Han Li pondered for a moment, then waved his hand to take out a stack of black formation flags and plates, and began to arrange them near the giant rat skeleton.

After a day and a night, a gourd-shaped formation appeared near the giant rat skeleton, enveloping the massive remains.

Within this formation were four black rings the size of round tables, with the array patterns around them being the densest, appearing to be four important nodes of the formation.

Han Li muttered an incantation and cast a spell seal.

Black spiritual light flickered across the gourd formation, especially at the four ring nodes, where the black light blazed brightly, giving rise to four black pillars of light.

The four black pillars twisted and swayed in midair like living tentacles.

He let out a low shout and simultaneously changed the hand seals he was forming.

Immediately, the four black pillars shot forth and plunged into the giant rat skeleton.

The rolling baleful aura emanating from the giant rat skeleton suddenly halted, and then countless black runes emerged within it.

Then, with a muffled "boom," it was as if a long-accumulated mountain flood had suddenly burst forth!

The baleful aura from the giant rat skeleton immediately thickened again, and its speed increased severalfold.

Countless streams of almost tangible baleful aura surged out like a tide, dispersing, and the light at the bottom of the abyss instantly dimmed.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression relaxed.

This formation was improvised and designed by him based on several different formations; he had not been sure if it would work, but fortunately it was effective.

His ten fingers moved like spinning wheels, rapidly forming seals, continuously driving the formation.

But at that moment, the giant rat skeleton suddenly trembled, its massive bones shaking, emitting a series of "cracking" sounds, while two faint green lights lit up in its hollow eye sockets, like a pair of eyes, looking toward Han Li.

Under that gaze, Han Li felt as if he had fallen into an ice cavern, his heart skipped a beat, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

The scene of the giant rat skeleton resurrecting in the earlier illusion involuntarily surfaced in his mind. Forgetting to drive the formation, he radiated a burst of green light and shot backward.

With a "crack" sound!

The giant rat skeleton's mouth suddenly opened, and a dense green shadow shot out from within, speeding straight toward Han Li.

The green shadow was extremely fast, far surpassing Han Li, and in an instant it pounced in front of him, trying to burrow into his body.

At that moment, a loud thunderclap arose, and countless dazzling golden arcs of electricity suddenly emerged from Han Li's body, then rapidly converged into a single thick bolt of golden lightning, which struck fiercely toward the green shadow.