Jin Yuan remained somewhat puzzled, yet found himself unable to press further questions. He thus lingered in casual conversation with Han Li for a while. As he watched Han Li's figure step out of the stone cottage and vanish into the distance, a subtle shift in Han Li's expression began—his smile gradually faded, replaced by a growing sense of gloom. After a pause, Han Li suddenly retrieved the jade box once more, opened it, and gazed silently at its contents. The seasoned elder, who had lived so many years, would never easily reveal such a secret—especially to a stranger he had just met. Such attentiveness must surely mean either fraud or theft! Han Li emitted a quiet冷笑, casually remarking. "That's true. But the younger apprentices, just stepping out into the world, are the most easily deceived. They assume the person has truly opened up to them and thus lose their guard. They'll likely be sold short without even realizing it! Back in my day, I too..." The Daxian Sovereign sighed, lowering his voice as he spoke of himself, then abruptly stopped mid-sentence. "Ah, so the elder once fell for such a ruse as well?" Han Li was momentarily surprised, then chuckled lightly. "Hmph! I was young myself back then—being deceived wasn't anything unusual." The Daxian Sovereign hummed a few times, slightly embarrassed. "Very well, I won't press the elder on his past embarrassments. But this item seems to have even captured the interest of the Ti Hun beast. "It really does seem rather odd!" Han Li straightened his expression and then gently tapped his spiritual beast bag at his waist. A streak of dark light shot out and landed on the table, transforming into a miniature monkey about an inch tall, with sleek, glossy black fur. As soon as the little monkey appeared, it lightly sniffed the air several times, its gaze immediately settling on the golden bubble, its face showing a moment of hesitation. Han Li found this unusual, watching the啼魂 beast silently, and then focused his consciousness to communicate with it. The sensory feedback from his spirit awareness suggested that the啼魂 seemed somewhat afraid of the golden bubble. Yet, at the same time, there was a strong sense of eager anticipation—what could explain that? Han Li had not yet fully grasped the contradiction when suddenly, dark阴energy surged from the啼魂's body, and it leapt forward, plunging headfirst into the golden bubble. Immediately, the surface of the bubble glowed brightly, and wisps of gray flame materialized out of nowhere, enveloping the beast within. The Ti-Hun beast's face showed evident pain, yet it continuously emitted a mingling of dark,阴ish qi and gray flames, its form now motionless within the golden bubbles. Han Li furrowed his brows! Though he didn't know exactly what had happened, it was clearly evident that the Ti-Hun beast would not be able to emerge any time soon—it seemed as though it were using the gray flames to cultivate on its own. What puzzled him further was that, the moment the flames appeared, the golden bubbles suddenly became rich with spiritual vitality, radiating a remarkable surge of spiritual waves as if they had sprung into existence all at once. "Wait a moment! This scene seems familiar—I should have a memory of it." A soft "Ah!" came from the Divine Sovereign of Daxian, as though he had just recalled something. "What is it that you remember, Master?" Han Li asked, surprised. "Let me think... It must be something from a long time ago," the Divine Sovereign's voice grew more serious. Hearing this, Han Li said nothing, merely gazing silently at the golden bubble housing the啼魂 beast, and bowed his head to ponder as well. After a while, the voice of the Daxian Immortal once again reached him. "I recall now. During my travels, I once saw this item on the body of a Wanyuan Shibi King. That Shibi King had been a high-ranking Buddhist monk in life, and after transforming into a Shibi King, he transmuted his relics into a remarkable protective shield-like artifact—extremely powerful, so strong that once released, it remained nearly impervious to attacks for a short period. I myself once suffered significant losses due to it. However, that was a long time ago. Moreover, the shield emitted by the other party is silver in color. I couldn't quite remember this detail at first. Yet, such an artifact should have been concealed within the Shibi King's body. How has it ended up on a Juzhi-level cultivator like Jin Yuan?" The Daxian Immortal's voice was filled with astonishment. "Even you have once suffered such a setback! This item truly is exceptional—no doubt a true treasure." No matter how he obtained it, the current key issue is whether Ti-Hun is in danger." Han Li's face first showed some expression of surprise, yet he still asked with concern. "Have you not yet grasped it? Your spirit beast is currently absorbing the corpse flames from the relics. Indeed, not only are you a peculiar one, but your spirit beasts too are unusually strange—some even possess the special ability to counter ghost and demon beings. I've lived for so many years, and I've never heard of anything like the Ti-Hun beast before." The Grand Sovereign of Daxian murmured. "Absorbing the corpse flames?" Han Li observed carefully and indeed saw the Ti-Hun beast's阴气 gradually consuming the gray flames, which brought him reassurance. Yet upon hearing the Grand Sovereign's subsequent remarks, he could only shake his head with a wry smile. "To be honest, this has already diverged significantly from the original cultivation methods. After several evolutions, it's even uncertain whether it remains a Ti-Hun beast at all." Han Li expressed his growing sense of helplessness. "Ah, so it's an evolved spirit beast." I mentioned how there could be such an image of a demon or ghost behind it. These corpse flames have turned entirely gray and white—absolutely pure, having existed for over ten thousand years. Ordinary cultivators or spiritual beasts would perish instantly upon contact. Yet this spiritual beast dares to consume them. Truly exceptional! However, it seems this treasure has not yet been fully refined or claimed by a master. Otherwise, the spirit of the corpse king, once it sensed a connection, would instantly return—even if separated by thousands of miles. That does indeed seem strange. The Great Yanshan Sovereign looked on in quiet admiration. "Not yet claimed! Then, once the corpse flames are completely absorbed by the Ti Hun beast, I shall have to consider this treasure as a mere acquisition. Remarkable—though I had hoped to gain the Buddhist cultivation techniques, I’ve ended up receiving a true Buddhist treasure instead. I’d like to see just how marvelous this jade-encased dome formed from the relics truly is." After a moment of silence, Han Li suddenly smiled. "It's not just relics—it's *jade relics*. Most relics are white, while others come in various colors." Only golden relics can be called jingang relics, which is a relatively rare type among relics. Any practitioner who produces such relics generally holds a position of a jingang protector within the Buddhist community, enjoying an exceptionally distinguished status—roughly comparable to that of the judicial elders in other sects." After taking a deep breath, the Daxian Divine Sovereign explained to Han Li. "So, the protective shield formed by these relics should be even more powerful than the one you've seen before," Han Li said, his eyes gleaming with interest. "That makes sense. The reputation of jingang relics is indeed well-established within the Buddhist world. Still, I haven't personally compared them side by side, so I can't be certain." The Daxian Divine Sovereign's voice carried a slight hesitation, expressing some uncertainty. As Han Li smiled and was about to use his divine awareness to add more, a sudden tremor passed through the golden bubbles on the stone table. Then, a green glow, about the size of a grain of rice, burst forth and shot straight upward toward the ceiling of the chamber. Han Li was startled, his gaze fixed on the luminous orb, and his contemplative spirit momentarily congealed. At that instant, the green light seemed to collide with something—stumbling slightly, it was then rebounded back down from the air. It was precisely the spiritual barrier formed by Han Li's spirit manifestation technique. At the same time, the Ti Huo beast snorted, and a cascade of霞light shot upward from beneath, instantly drawing the green glow back into the golden bubble and swallowing it whole. Han Li frowned, intently observing the golden orb, his mind subtly forming a hunch. A dark mist swirled, and suddenly a tall figure emerged from the stone sarcophagus. "Wang'er, what has happened? Why are you so angry!" A deep, resonant voice came from the central sarcophagus, calm and commanding without any visible anger. "My... my... one... moment of concentration... gone!" The tall figure, emerging from the dark mist, roared a few times before speaking in a stammering, parrot-like manner. "One moment of concentration lost—was it one of the dispatched avatars discovered and taken by someone? That’s not such a serious matter. As long as you continue to practice your father’s 'Minghe Heavenly Corpse Technique,' your concentration will recover fully soon. There’s no need to be so furious. Your composure still isn’t under full control!" A softer, exceptionally sweet female voice came from a smaller sarcophagus, speaking gently. "But... but... my...金刚... shield!" The tall black figure pounded his chest twice with his hands, still glancing back and forth, humming softly. "The Dharma Shield! Is that the very one I first encountered when I awoke—when I slew the old monk and transmuted his relics into the Dharma Shield? I didn't hand it over to you fully, half-transmuted, long ago? How come it still hasn't taken root, hasn't been fully integrated into your essence yet!" The middle-aged man's voice deepened, growing cold and sharp. "I...," the figure in the dark mist grew startled, momentarily at a loss for words. "Your Majesty, this is not the fault of Prince Wei. He mentioned this very matter to me." The smaller stone sarcophagus creaked softly, its lid shifting slightly, revealing a graceful, elegant figure seated upright. Yet the chamber remained dimly lit, making it impossible to see the woman's face clearly. "Now, my lady, please explain what exactly has happened. That Dharma Shield is a rare treasure indeed. I entrusted it to Prince Wei because I thought his spiritual power was still developing at the time." Otherwise, I would have already absorbed and utilized it myself." The middle-aged man's voice paused slightly, and he asked. ------------ Single chapter request for monthly votes! I originally didn't intend to publish a standalone chapter, as it wasn't part of my habit. However, the competition on the double-vote leaderboard has been so intense that I've had no choice but to send out this chapter in hopes of securing next month's vote. Otherwise, being pushed out of the top five is just a matter of time! It's been over a year since I last took a proper trip outside—day after day, I've spent more than ten hours in front of my computer, and I'm truly exhausted. I long to simply take a break, to enjoy a solid ten to fifteen days of uninterrupted leisure and fun. Every morning, I wake up to start writing, and every night, I fall asleep thinking about details and the logical coherence of the narrative. The daily writing routine is truly demanding. Yet, whenever I think about how much everyone is waiting for my stories, I find myself persevering, one step at a time. As for this month's current ranking, honestly, it's one of our best performances so far. Let's just say it—every day since we started writing this article, we've been working late, constantly draining our last bits of energy, and never missing a single update. So, please, help us out a little by giving us a bit of your attention. Let us keep holding onto that top-ranking position. I'm sure we won't have such a golden opportunity again soon. Book lovers with monthly subscriptions—don't wait! Make sure to support us with a few extra monthly subscriptions during this special double-monthly subscription period! Hehe, check your pockets—maybe one of your subscriptions has quietly been tucked away in the corner. Don't hesitate or worry about the effort—please don’t let us miss out! We’ll truly be heartbroken if we do.