Chapter 827: Inspection

Han Li stood on the spot, pondering for a long while. After a moment, he shook his head and let out a long sigh toward the sky.

Clearly, the situation was no longer under his control; he could only take things one step at a time.

He shook his head, no longer dwelling on the matter, and sat down cross-legged. He took out a black bone ring, which was the storage magic tool of the Bone-Reflecting True Man.

During this time, he and Shi Chuankong had been rushing nonstop and hadn't had a chance to examine the ring. A storage magic tool belonging to a Daluo realm cultivator should not disappoint him.

As he thought, Han Li released a strand of divine sense into the black bone ring.

He closed his eyes to inspect the contents of the ring. It took a full half-hour before he opened his eyes, formed a hand seal, and waved his sleeve.

A patch of cyan light swept out, and on the ground appeared eight half-foot-tall white stone pillars, a white bone tablet, and a black relief sculpture.

The eight white stone pillars emitted bursts of bone-white crystalline light; they were the eight Bone White Pyramids.

Each Bone White Pyramid exuded astonishing fluctuations of the Withered Bone Law. When all eight were connected, the effect was even more striking. Even without anyone activating them, the bones within his body were subtly stirred by the law force, trembling incessantly.

These eight Bone White Pyramids were likely the Bone-Reflecting True Man's lifebound demonic treasures, nurtured by this Daluo realm demonic cultivator for who knows how long, thus containing such terrifying Withered Bone Law.

Although Han Li could not activate the eight Bone White Pyramids, he could make good use of the surging law force within them.

He smiled faintly, formed a hand seal, and summoned the Profound Heaven Gourd. A stream of emerald light shot out from it, wrapping around the eight Bone White Pyramids.

With a whoosh, the eight Bone White Pyramids were drawn into the Profound Heaven Gourd. After a few cracking sounds, they were crushed apart.

Eight bone-white orbs emerged within the Profound Heaven Gourd, each radiating astonishing fluctuations of law force.

Joy flickered in Han Li's eyes. These eight clusters of Withered Bone Law force were extremely powerful and could serve as a trump card for him in the future.

Just as his divine sense was about to withdraw from the Profound Heaven Gourd, the eight clusters of Withered Bone Law suddenly changed, slowly merging with each other.

"Eh!" Han Li let out a soft exclamation, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

The eight clusters of Withered Bone Law quickly fused completely, forming a bone-white orb about two or three times larger. Within the orb, a faint gray-white phantom of a withered bone was vaguely visible.

The law fluctuations emitted by the bone-white orb were not as intense as before, but when Han Li looked at the withered bone phantom within, he felt a chill in his heart.

He was slightly stunned for a moment, then was overjoyed.

If the eight clusters of Withered Bone Law could be considered one of his trump cards, then this withered bone phantom could definitely serve as his killer move. Released unexpectedly through the gourd, it might pose a threat to Daluo realm cultivators.

Han Li carefully sensed the terrifying aura of the withered bone phantom once more before reluctantly putting away the Profound Heaven Gourd.

He then picked up the white bone tablet, which was densely covered with countless small characters. It was the cultivation technique practiced by the Bone-Reflecting True Man, the "Withered Bone True Scripture," along with some of his cultivation insights.

As a cultivation technique that a Daluo realm demonic cultivator had painstakingly studied and carried with him, the "Withered Bone True Scripture" was naturally extraordinary. If placed outside, countless people would vie for it. However, for Han Li, it was of little use.

He currently focused primarily on the Law of Time and had already collected many texts on this technique, which he had yet to fully comprehend. He could not abandon it halfway to cultivate a completely new technique. He had long understood the principle that one cannot bite off more than one can chew.

He briefly skimmed the earlier parts of the technique but did not read them in detail. Instead, he carefully examined the later cultivation insights.

After about a quarter of an hour, he flipped his hand and put away the bone tablet, then picked up the last item, the black relief sculpture.

This relief was only the size of a palm, depicting a three-headed, six-armed demon god sitting on the ground in a strange posture.

Han Li turned the black relief over in his hands. After a moment, a crystalline light shot out from between his brows and entered the relief.

The black relief seemed to come to life, its limbs moving and forming various postures.

With each posture, tiny characters appeared on the back of the relief, seemingly providing explanations.

However, Han Li did not recognize a single one of these characters; they appeared to be some kind of ancient script.

Han Li did not know what kind of treasure the black relief was. He had taken it out simply because it was peculiar and, when stimulated by his spiritual power, moved on its own.

The relief had a total of twelve postures, and the characters on its back corresponded to twelve sections.

After a moment's thought, he flipped his hand and took out a blank jade slip, copying the twelve sections of text that appeared on the back of the relief. He planned to find an opportunity to ask someone about them later.

The contents of the black bone ring were not limited to these three items; there were also many materials, demonic spirit stones, pills, and other things.

However, those items were numerous and not particularly precious, so he couldn't be bothered to sort through them one by one.

Moreover, the Bone-Reflecting True Man had a considerable amount of demon origin stones, over two million pieces, which should be enough for his time in the demon domain, and he could even gather quite a few rare treasures.

"Fellow Daoist Crab, please help me sort through this storage ring. If there's anything you can use, feel free to take it." Han Li summoned the Crab Daoist and handed him the black bone ring.

The Crab Daoist nodded silently, took the black bone ring, and sat down cross-legged.

In the following time, Han Li did not stay long in the Flower Branch Space and soon returned to his room, where the sky outside had already darkened.

Suddenly, Han Li raised an eyebrow and looked toward a certain spot outside the room, his eyes flickering.

Although it was fleeting, he clearly sensed an extremely faint aura outside, seemingly spying on him.

He paused for a moment, but did not investigate or probe further.

As an outsider in Yeyang City, it was normal for Shi Pokong to send someone to monitor him. As long as they didn't press too hard, he would naturally pretend not to notice.

With this thought, Han Li turned and walked into the inner chamber, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

The night passed quickly. Early the next morning, a series of banging knocks came from outside the courtyard.

Han Li's expression shifted as he stood up, went to the courtyard, and opened the gate. It was Shi Chuankong.

"Fellow Daoist Li, did you rest well last night?" Shi Chuankong greeted with a smile.

"It was the most peaceful sleep I've had in a long time. Please, come in." Han Li smiled, stepped aside, and invited Shi Chuankong in.

"I won't come in. I just returned to Yeyang City and have many matters to attend to. I came to tell you something." Shi Chuankong's expression was somewhat uneasy.

"Oh? What is it? Please speak freely, Fellow Daoist Shi." Han Li felt a sense of foreboding and asked.

"It's about inviting the High Priest to treat Fellow Daoist Tihun. I inquired with my third brother yesterday, but the situation has changed. The High Priest has now sided with my eldest brother, so inviting him might be difficult. However, rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li, my third brother is already thinking of a way. We will do everything we can to bring the High Priest here. Please be patient for a while." Shi Chuankong hesitated and said.

"This... I'm not rushing you, but the medium-grade Purple Sun Warming Jade I have left is limited, enough for at most one or two decades. Please hurry." Han Li frowned slightly.

"Don't worry about the Purple Sun Warming Jade, Fellow Daoist Li. My third brother has already sent people to purchase more. It should arrive soon." Shi Chuankong said upon hearing this.

"If there is enough medium-grade Purple Sun Warming Jade, it can buy some more time." Han Li's expression relaxed.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li. Since I promised you this, I will see it through. I won't keep you waiting too long." Shi Chuankong said with a firm gaze.

"Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist Shi." Han Li nodded.

"Also, I will be going into seclusion for a while to attempt a breakthrough to the Taiyi realm, so I may not be able to attend to you. If anything comes up, just instruct the servants in the residence." Shi Chuankong then said.

"Then I should congratulate you in advance. With your aptitude, Fellow Daoist Shi, advancing to the Taiyi realm is almost certain." Han Li smiled.

"I hope your words prove true." Shi Chuankong smiled back.

The two chatted for a while at the door, and then Shi Chuankong took his leave.

Han Li watched his figure disappear, his expression darkening. He stood still for a moment, then turned and walked back into the courtyard.

Time flew by, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Shi Chuankong had already begun his seclusion.

In recent days, Han Li had stayed indoors, remaining in his room.

Before Shi Chuankong truly entered seclusion, Han Li had met with him once to borrow some books for reference. First, he wanted to see if he could find any descriptions related to Tihun's current condition; second, he wanted to look into cultivation methods for the spirit domain.

His previous battle with the Bone-Reflecting True Man had ended in a muddled victory, which made Han Li uneasy. The former's spirit domain felt very different from any he had encountered before, and he needed to understand what was going on.

He had thought that, since these were clan scriptures, Shi Chuankong would at least hesitate. Unexpectedly, that very afternoon, Shi Chuankong brought a stack of beautifully bound ancient books and delivered them to Han Li.

Before leaving, he specifically instructed that these books were his third brother's private collection and must not be damaged, lest his third brother complain. Additionally, the books were sealed with restrictions, allowing only reading, not copying.

Han Li nodded in agreement, and Shi Chuankong took his leave.

In the days following his departure, Han Li did not rush to read the ancient books. Since Shi Chuankong hadn't mentioned a borrowing period, Han Li first spent a few days familiarizing himself with the environment of the detached residence before beginning to seriously peruse the books.

The dozen or so thick ancient books had covers made of sturdy metal, engraved with exquisite patterns of flowers and exotic beasts. The pages inside were made of some kind of animal hide, soft and highly resilient.

Most of the content in these ancient books dealt with soul wounds or infant sealings. Among them were even several demon clan secret techniques, which should have been secrets unknown to outsiders, yet they were all laid out before Han Li without reservation.

However, Han Li was not a demon clan member and did not primarily cultivate demon clan techniques, so he merely glanced over them without attempting to practice.