The Shijiao's appearance remained unchanged, still covered in green fur with a single arm. Han Li carefully examined the entire stone cottage, confirming that everything here was exactly as it had been before, with no discrepancies, before placing the jade box on the ground. Then, he tapped the spirit-beast pouch at his waist, and instantly a beam of dark light shot out from within. A figure of the啼魂兽, about a foot tall, materialized. As soon as it appeared, it immediately spotted the Shijiao on the stone platform and began to chirp and call incessantly. Without waiting for Han Li's command, its body shimmered and suddenly expanded in size. Fortunately, knowing the space was cramped, the beast only grew to about one zhang in height before stopping. Yet it maintained steady, unwavering focus on the Shijiao, clearly eager to act. Han Li frowned slightly at this, then with a subtle mental command, the啼魂兽 settled down, turned its back to him, and crouched on the ground, becoming remarkably calm and composed. "Hm," Han Li said, his face lighting up with surprise as he studied the beast's silhouette. Facing away from his啼魂兽, the blood-colored ghost shadow scroll behind him had clearly become sharper and more distinct, with the ghostly figures even beginning to slightly rise out of the surface. It now seemed as though the ghosts might come to life, which stirred a sudden thought in Han Li's mind. It appeared that after the last two inspections and absorptions, the啼魂兽 was undergoing some unusual transformation. Though surprised, Han Li now felt a growing sense of anticipation. Nevertheless, this was not the time to carefully study the啼魂兽—he had summoned it merely as a precaution against any unforeseen incidents. Then, Han Li lightly tapped his storage pouch once more, and a flash of yellow light revealed an ancient, elegant jade slip in his hand. Han Li glanced at the object, his brow furrowing slightly. He had discovered it on the youth's hair crest after thoroughly examining the black-robed young man's consciousness. The slip contained over a dozen methods for crafting corpse-based alchemical forms, most of which had been directly seized and covertly acquired by Yin Luo Sect from other external sects. This technique had been copied by the young cloaked disciple. The senior monk of Yin Luo Sect had studied the art of corpse cultivation with great depth, offering unique insights on all eleven methods. Many of these refinements, when implemented, could enhance the power of corpse cultivation by as much as one-third. Unfortunately, he held these methods in high regard, treating them as his own personal treasures and never sharing them with fellow disciples. He had long been eager to cultivate several top-tier corpse cultivators capable of asserting dominance in their domain, yet had never found the right candidates for the task. Thus, he had remained inactive. Among these methods, one known as "Heaven-Ending Demon Corpse" was one of the several elite corpse cultivation techniques he particularly desired to master. This method employs already spiritually awakened and powerful wandering corpses. By erasing their consciousness and then refining them through various secret techniques, such corpses may be transformed into Heaven-Ending Demon Corpses. Naturally, the strength of the resulting Demon Corpse depends on the type and original cultivation level of the awakened corpse. According to the method of corpse alchemy described, this corpse spirit is one of the very best candidates. The resulting magical corpse, crafted from a celestial and terrestrial spiritual corpse of this rank, retains a fury that exceeds three parts of its original strength. Thus, upon reading the alchemical instructions on the scroll, Han Li immediately thought of the corpse spirit trapped here. Such an excellent opportunity, Han Li naturally could not miss. However, before proceeding with the alchemy, he must first erase the original consciousness of the corpse spirit completely—just as one would do when cultivating a second true infant stage of spiritual essence. For this reason, he specially brought with him the jade box, believed to house the corpse spirit’s original spirit. It would be used for the ritual. Now, Han Li glanced at the silver giant nails before him, extended his hand, and with a gesture, all the nails gently floated upward, emitting a soft silvery glow as he chanted his incantations. He then rubbed his palms together, and a thunderous rumble followed, forming several broad golden arcs across both hands, radiating brilliant light and impressive power. Han Li maintained a composed expression and raised his hands. Dozens of slender pad arcs shot forth from the palm, each striking one of the several massive spikes. The golden and silver glimmers intertwined, causing the spikes to tremble simultaneously. Seeing this, Han Li's expression darkened, and with a single exhalation of "Qi," he immediately cast a series of spells. All the spikes transformed into streaks of silver light, spiraling around the corpse phantom on the stone platform before hovering motionless, precisely targeting its limbs and vital areas. After completing this, Han Li took a deep breath, glanced at the jade box affixed with the golden seal before him, and then opened his mouth, releasing a cascade of jade-like light. This light swept over the surface of the box, causing the golden seal to tremble slightly before finally drifting down and settling on the box. With a sharp "whoosh," the lid of the box was forcefully propelled, flying diagonally several meters away. Han Li's eyes narrowed instantly, fixing his gaze on the box, his lips pressed tightly together. A thick green mist surged forth from the box, accompanied by several delighted, exuberant laughter. "Haha! Finally free! Who on earth released me? Since you've let me out, I'll just take your flesh and blood for now to sustain myself. Hmm, a Yuan婴 cultivator?" In an instant, the green mist coalesced into a woman's face—strikingly identical to the silver moon fox's appearance, though her eyes were now vividly green and fierce. Upon seeing Han Li, her expression momentarily froze in surprise. Han Li, gazing at this face so familiar, was himself momentarily taken aback, but quickly regained his composure. The silver moon fox had first manifested as a humanoid form under the control of the Sheqiao spirit. Indeed, the jade box had sealed the Sheqiao's primary yuan spirit. After a brief pause, the green-faced spirit sneered and suddenly blew out a gust of cold wind. The wind swelled powerfully, and then the ghostly face swelled to a height of several zhang before lunging forward, determined to attach itself to Han Li's body. Yet Han Li, having prepared a flawless strategy, would not allow this to succeed. Even if the Shēxiāo had been a master of extraordinary cultivation during his lifetime, now he is merely a yuan-shen trapped for years. Han Li has no fear at all. Standing still, he barely shifted his stance, and as the cold light flashed across his face, the Ti-Hun beast on one side suddenly exhaled sharply through its broad nostrils, a wave of golden-hued light sweeping outwards. The light surged and instantly engulfed half of the ghost face, beginning to pull it back toward the center. "What is this?" The ghost face proved remarkably agile—once it sensed the disturbance, it struggled desperately, tearing and pulling itself free. Yet, the Ti-Hun's special ability was specifically designed to counter yuan-shen and spirit souls. Not only did the ghost face fail to break free, it gradually sank deeper into the light, being completely absorbed. The ghost face now felt as though its soul had been carried away to the heavens. Still, it was resolute and decisive—immediately, the green mist forming its face surged violently, and the part caught in the golden light severed itself. As the golden light began to contract and retreat, the remaining ghost mist rolled and swirled, then reformed into a smaller At that moment, it hurriedly turned around and launched itself at the spectral ghoul in the center of the stone platform. Having learned that Han Li was no easy opponent, it decided to first retreat into its own body before finally tearing him apart alive. Upon seeing the ghoul turn its ghostly face toward him, Han Li's lips curled slightly, revealing a touch of scorn. Unfazed, he gently pointed at the十余 massive spikes encircled by golden electric arcs. As the ghoul's face just barely entered the ghoul's body, the silver spikes plummeted downward with the speed of lightning. A series of sharp "popping" sounds echoed as the spikes struck the ghoul's limbs, abdomen, and other vital areas simultaneously. Though the ghoul's body was as hard as iron and the silver spikes failed to penetrate its surface, the golden arcs struck with full force, instantly weaving a broad golden net that completely enveloped the ghoul. At once, a scent of charred and putrid aroma radiated from the Shiqiao's body. The Shiqiao's spirit, which had just attached itself, was struck again and expelled from the Shiqiao's form. Meanwhile, the green ghost mist, now more expansive than when it first attached, seemed even more eerie. Within the mist, two ghost faces—large and small—were subtly visible. Both faces desperately tried to reattach to the Shiqiao's body, yet were constantly driven back by the shimmering golden arcs on the silver spike, emitting loud cries and unable to penetrate. "Indeed, there are still latent spirit fragments within the Shiqiao. This wasn't in vain," thought Han Li, greatly relieved. With his final concern removed, he swiftly issued a command to the Ti Hun beast. The beast exhaled once more, its great nostrils snorting with a yellow glow now even more brilliant than before, shooting directly toward the two ghost faces. This time, the two ghost faces were far less fortunate than they had been last time. After the brilliance passed over them, the two ghost faces only managed to emit a piercing, agonized cry before being swiftly swept up in the golden radiance and carried back into the啼魂兽's mouth. The啼魂兽 gurgled excitedly, patting its belly with satisfaction, clearly pleased. Han Li observed this and smiled gently as well. Instead of immediately retrieving the silver giant spikes, he calmly walked toward the corpse of the spirit-being. Upon reaching the stone platform, he glanced at the silver chains bound to the spirit-being, paused briefly, then suddenly flicked his finger, sending a golden sword-like aura slicing down. "Clang!" the chains remained undisturbed. Han Li's expression remained calm, as if this scene had been anticipated all along. He then opened his mouth and expelled a small golden sword, which, after a brief spell of incantation, instantly glowed with a brilliant sharpness and struck silently at one of the silver chains. Once again, a crisp "clang" echoed, and after the flash of gold, a small rice-grain-sized opening appeared on the chain. Han Li's face slightly changed, showing a touch of admiration. Though he knew the silver chain could restrain a corpse phantom of immense strength—certainly no ordinary artifact—he had not expected it to do even slight damage to the Qingzhu Fengyun Sword infused with Geng essence. That truly surprised him! Nevertheless, Han Li was deeply intrigued, yet he never ceased to activate his hand seals. The flying sword continuously struck the same area, delivering relentless blows. After a long while, the silver chain at last broke under Han Li's attacks. Curious, he reached out and summoned the chain, and instantly, the once-confining object, as supple and agile as a silver serpent, transformed into two streaks of silver light that settled into his hands. He gently traced the surface of the chain with his fingers, only to discover that despite its smooth appearance, the surface was etched with a dense network of fine characters—so fine that the human eye could barely perceive them. A flicker of astonishment passed through Han Li's eyes.