The Ghost's Final Pitch

The small arrow had barely flown a few feet when Han Li, who had been watching it like a hawk, flicked his middle finger. A cyan sword-light shot out in a straight line, striking the arrow precisely. The impact sent it tumbling, forcing a momentary pause.

That instant of delay was all that the Crying Soul Beast needed. The multicolored light it had spewed engulfed the arrow.

The treasure flickered wildly, struggling desperately within the radiant cloud, charging left and right in an attempt to break free and flee.

But the yellow light possessed a tremendous suction force. No matter how it struggled or thrashed, the arrow spun helplessly within the glow like a headless fly, utterly unable to escape.

Since the Crying Soul Beast was renowned as the bane of all ghostly souls, the soul-devouring light it emitted from its nose was naturally not so simple.

The arrow's rotation slowed for just a fraction of a second. Then, over a hundred thin, earthen-yellow threads shot out from the glow, swiftly wrapping around the arrow and binding it tightly.

In the next instant, all the yellow threads pulled outward at once. With a forceful wrench, they ripped a ball of green light out from the arrow.

Under the entanglement of the numerous yellow threads, the green light continuously morphed into various shapes—fish, birds, insects, beasts—even fluctuating wildly in size as it strained to break free.

But the yellow threads had already pierced directly into the green light. They could not be shaken off in the slightest, and they slowly, inexorably dragged the green light toward the Crying Soul Beast's large nose.

The green light cluster panicked. After a flicker, it transformed into the face of an old man—gloomy, sinister, and aged. Within the radiant light, it cried out in terror to Han Li:

“Fellow Daoist Han, spare me this once! If you let me live, I am willing to serve you as a ghost slave for life! I know countless secret arts and profound techniques, and I am willing to hand them all over! And Fellow Daoist Han, do you not wish to know the complete Profound Yin Art? Even to that rebellious dog Extreme Yin, I never taught the final layers! And what of the wonders of the Profound Soul Demon Refining Art? Do you not wish to learn a thing or two? Although that bastard Extreme Yin seized my foundation, I still have several secret caves filled with countless treasures. This old slave is willing to offer all of them to you, Master…”

The ghost face spoke faster and faster, the terror on its face growing more frantic. It even began to proactively refer to itself as a servant. By now, it was barely a foot from the Crying Soul Beast's large nose.

If it were truly sucked inside, even if its demon soul were as solid and tenacious as could be, there would be absolutely no chance of escape.

Hearing these tempting offers, even Han Li, whose mental fortitude far exceeded that of ordinary men, felt his heart stir. A hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

Perhaps sensing Han Li's uncertainty, the ghost face roared out once more like a drowning man grasping at a final straw:

“Even if you don't want these things, don't you want to know Extreme Yin's weaknesses? Don't you want to break free of the tracking mark placed on your body?”

At these words, Han Li's eyes flickered. His expression finally shifted.

Han Li let out a soft sigh, then gripped the Soul Summoning Pearl in his hand and waved it lightly.

The wildly churning clouds of light immediately slowed. The ghost face’s slide toward the Crying Soul Beast’s nose was temporarily halted.

The ghost face, bound by the yellow threads, was overjoyed. Its spirits lifted.

“Fellow Daoist Han, this is a wise decision! Keeping me alive will certainly be worthwhile…” The ghost face forced a smile, trying to flatter Han Li.

But at that very moment, the Crying Soul Beast inhaled forcefully again. The slightly slowed light cloud surged with suction three times fiercer than before. The ghost face, completely unprepared, was sucked wholly into the nose without any chance to resist.

Only then did a cold, mocking smile appear on Han Li's face.

The Crying Soul Beast seemed to have gorged itself. It let out a clumsy belch, patted its stomach with an awkward motion, and displayed a human-like expression of satisfaction on its face.

Han Li smiled faintly, shook the Soul Summoning Pearl in his hand, and the Crying Soul Beast once again transformed into a flash of yellow light, flying back into the spirit beast pouch.

“Take you as a slave? How could I dare scheme with a wolf? A thousand-year-old ghost like you—even two of me couldn't outthink you in a contest of wits. No matter how beautifully you spun your words, killing you off was still the most reassuring choice. Otherwise, who knows when you might have turned around and backstabbed me.” Han Li walked over, picked up the green arrow, and murmured to himself as he examined it.

Even now, Han Li still hadn't fully determined whether this ghost face was the Profound Bone Saint's main soul, or another remnant soul he had separated using a secret art.

That a ghost cultivator would have a technique to split apart their own soul was hardly surprising to Han Li at all.

He collected the Five-Colored Rings that had fallen not far away, but he did not immediately leave this place.

The ghost face’s words had reminded him of something: on his body was a tracking mark placed by Extreme Yin Patriarch at some unknown time.

If he didn't remove this mark, the moment he stepped out of the protective barrier, Extreme Yin would sense him.

Han Li had already used his spiritual sense to examine his body several times, but had found nothing unusual. However, he had another clever method for locating the mark. That was why he had shown no mercy in destroying the ghost face.

Han Li sacrificed a spirit beast pouch, and several thousand golden-silver beetles flew out, crawling all over his body.

Moments later, near Han Li's calf, some of the Gold Devourer Beetles let out a strange, piercing cry.

Han Li was overjoyed. With a thought, he issued a mental command. The beetles in that area stirred briefly, then all of them swarmed back into the spirit beast pouch.

Without further hesitation, Han Li flew straight back toward the stone staircase.

He had already spent far too much time here, and it was making him deeply uneasy.

A few dozen feet passed in an instant.

Han Li opened his mouth and spat out a flash of cyan light. The Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword carved a wide, ten-foot gash into the barrier wall.

Han Li transformed into a long rainbow and shot out through the opening.

According to his calculations, his best course of action was to sneak back to a secret chamber on the first or second floor, break its seals, and then teleport out of the Void Heaven Palace from there.

The secret chambers on the other floors were far too dangerous for him.

Thus, following the path he remembered, Han Li flew back in silence along his original route.

All the mechanisms and restrictions on the way in had already been cleared. Aside from having to avoid bumping into any of those old monsters head-on, he had no other concerns and could fly freely.

So, while flying, Han Li extended his spiritual sense outward on one hand, and on the other, he finally had some time to take the worn-out scroll out and give it a proper look.

“Eh!”

After only a few glances, Han Li couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise. The streak of light in which he was flying slowed down involuntarily.

At first glance, the scroll appeared utterly unremarkable. Not only did it emit no spiritual power whatsoever when unfurled, but its contents were also crudely simple—a few rough outlines formed a mere sketch.

But after just a few looks, Han Li immediately recognized what the scroll depicted. It was a diagram of the inner hall's fifth floor.

Never mind the rest; the high platform and the small, two-eared, three-legged cauldron sketched in a few strokes upon it were unmistakably the symbol of the Void Heaven Cauldron.

And the crisscrossing patterns in front of the high platform were definitely the passages and secret chambers.

However, what stunned Han Li was that every other pattern in the diagram was drawn in black ink, except for a single route that was traced in vivid red.

This route ended at a high wall on the edge of the inner hall. Behind this wall was a pattern depicting what looked like a teleportation formation.

Seeing this, Han Li couldn't help but slow his advance.

According to his original plan, he was supposed to walk all the way from the fifth floor down to the first or second floor. The chances of running into a few old devils along the way were high.

But if the markings on this diagram were genuine, would he be able to teleport to another location through this formation?

Even if it didn't teleport him directly outside the Void Heaven Palace, it would still be far better than staying on this fifth floor of the inner hall.

What moved Han Li even more was that, according to the markings on the diagram, his current location was such that, after turning at the next intersection, he could step directly onto the red-lined route.

His only concern was whether there would be any restrictions or mechanical puppets along this path that he couldn't handle.

As for the authenticity of the diagram, Han Li wasn't worried.

No one would be bored enough to hide a map like this inside that block of green stone.

Moreover, the diagram was clearly extremely ancient. The style of the brushstrokes was filled with a primitive charm, marking it as a relic from the same era as the Void Heaven Cauldron. It was impossible for someone to have been playing such a prank.

While Han Li was still hesitating, he had already arrived at the next intersection.

He couldn't help but glance left and right, feeling uncertain.

“Fine! If I run into real danger, I can always turn back the way I came. According to the markings on the scroll, this route isn't very long. The risk is far smaller than walking all the way back to the first floor.”

“Besides,” he thought, “a map that looks so much like an escape route wouldn't mark a path that's too dangerous for the person holding it to follow.”

Having made up his mind, Han Li no longer hesitated. He raised both hands.

With a few flashes of white light, several giant ape puppets appeared before him.

At Han Li's mental command, they immediately turned and stepped onto the other passage. With a grave expression, Han Li followed closely behind them.