Chapter 581: Stone Talisman and Beast Crystal (Part 1)

Han Li stood on the empty high platform, looking at the extremely strange round stone disk in front of him, revealing a few traces of surprise on his face. Net

The round disk was about a zhang in size, placed flat, and engraved with some strange patterns and many seemingly profound talismanic incantations. At this moment, although no one was casting spells here, faint purple mist was still rising from it, curling up into the sky and merging with the purple clouds above the village.

Han Li himself had quite a high level of attainment in magic arrays, so he immediately narrowed his eyes and began to study this stone disk.

Not long after, Han Li's expression began to fluctuate, sometimes revealing a look of realization, sometimes frowning tightly. His mind was completely immersed in it.

"How is it, Fellow Daoist? Have you seen any mysteries?" Just as Han Li was completely focused, a strange voice suddenly came from behind him.

Han Li was startled in his heart, cursing himself for being so careless as to let someone approach his back without noticing. If this person had ill intentions toward him, wouldn't it be dangerous?

However, this situation couldn't be blamed entirely on Han Li's carelessness.

Having been accustomed to using spiritual sense to control everything around him, now that his spiritual sense and magic power were completely gone, it was natural that he couldn't adapt quickly.

Han Li secretly became vigilant, but turned around without showing it on his face.

Before him stood an old man with a long beard and white hair. The man's face was full of wrinkles, but his eyes were bright, and he was looking at Han Li with a smile.

"Are you also a cultivator?" Because his spiritual sense was gone, Han Li could only guess hesitantly.

"This old man is Bao Cai Huan-Zi from the Five Dragon Seas. Fellow Daoist must be one of the two newcomers, right?" The old man replied with a smile.

"Five Dragon Seas?"

Han Li felt his heart stir upon hearing this name. The Great Elder seemed to have mentioned this name. He became quite interested in chatting.

"So it is Fellow Daoist Bao Cai Huan-Zi. My surname is Han, and I am a loose cultivator from the Starry Sea." Han Li said with a softened expression.

"Starry Sea? There was once a fellow Daoist from the Starry Sea here, but unfortunately, he fell while encountering a powerful Yin Beast during a mission. However, there aren't many fellow Daoists in the cultivation world who are proficient in talismanic arts, and seeing how focused you are on this stone talisman, it seems your attainment in this area should not be low!" The old man sighed first, then changed the subject and asked.

"Stone talisman? Do you mean this round disk?" Han Li revealed a strange look. This time, it wasn't an expression he had deliberately made, but he really had heard this name for the first time.

"Hehe! It's no wonder you don't know about this. Stone talismans, jade talismans, these things are estimated to have long been lost elsewhere. Only in some sects of our Five Dragon Seas are there still people who know how to make these ancient talismans." The long-bearded old man narrowed his eyes, his wrinkles trembling slightly, looking quite proud.

Hearing this, the strange look on Han Li's face disappeared instead.

"I have indeed never heard of the saying of stone talismans and jade talismans in this world. However, I have studied talismanic arts for a period of time, and I was surprised that there were talismanic runes engraved on this stone disk. Now that you have said this, it has cleared up some of my confusion. But this stone talisman seems to have the characteristics of a magic array. Did I see it wrong?" Han Li looked at the old man and frowned slightly.

"I really didn't expect that you are proficient in both magic arrays and talismanic arts; I am truly impressed! Fellow Daoist Han did not see it wrong. This Tanyun Stone Talisman is indeed different from a true stone talisman. In order to borrow Yin-Underworld power, some modifications similar to magic arrays were specially made. It simultaneously possesses the effects of both a talisman and a magic array. Although this has greatly reduced its power." The long-bearded old man was slightly surprised at first, but then laughed loudly.

Han Li nodded thoughtfully after hearing this, but turned back to look at the stone disk and suddenly asked again:

"I heard the Great Elder say that you can use Yin-Underworld power here by combining Yin-Underworld beast crystals with magic arrays to cast magic spells. But I didn't see any beast crystals embedded in this stone talisman. Does this stone talisman have any other tricks?" Han Li flashed a look of doubt.

"This is something you don't know. I think you must have seen that Jiao-Zhen beast today, right? Although most people in the village have practiced some martial arts and their physical combat ability is much stronger than ordinary people outside, if such a powerful Yin Beast were to charge right in front of them, no matter how high their martial arts are, they would definitely not be a match for it alone. Even if they could defeat them by relying on numbers, the villagers would suffer heavy casualties, which we simply cannot afford. In this way, borrowing Yin-Underworld power to cast some magic spells to trap the enemy has become the key to whether the village can survive. And the amount of Yin-Underworld beast crystals stored is the standard for measuring whether the village is powerful. However, these beast crystals are extremely hard to find! Although generally speaking, the more powerful the Yin Beast, the higher the possibility of having beast crystals in its skull, this is not certain. Often, we have spent a lot of effort to kill a Yin Beast that looked extremely powerful, only to find its skull empty. There are also cases like the villagers who brought you back today, who killed a few weak Fire-Scaled Beasts on the way and actually found a small piece of beast crystal. It's really hard to say."

"But generally speaking, the village often needs to cast spells to repel enemies and perform daily protection, so the demand for beast crystals is very high. But the Yin-Underworld beast crystals collected throughout the year are usually only a dozen or so pieces. It's barely enough. Therefore, beast crystals are usually managed separately by several elders in the village. Only when it is necessary to cast spells to repel enemies are they handed over to us to use. And once the battle is over, they are immediately taken back. As for this stone talisman, it is usually injected with a few days' worth of usage to maintain daily consumption. The beast crystals are not directly embedded on it. This makes the several embedding slots specially left when the talisman was originally made somewhat wasteful." The long-bearded old man seemed dissatisfied with the practices of the elders in the village, lowered his body, touched the diamond-shaped grooves around the stone disk, and revealed a look of self-mockery.

Han Li didn't respond to the other party's words, just smiled faintly and remained silent.

Although he didn't know what the other party's intention was in telling him everything without reservation, he estimated that it mostly involved power struggles in the village. He didn't intend to stay in this village for long. Naturally, he didn't want to get involved.

It seems that these cultivators, once their path of cultivation is cut off, also become like mortals, playing games of power and profit.

Han Li sighed secretly, feeling it was truly quite sad!

The old man saw that Han Li didn't take the initiative to respond, and a look of disappointment flashed in his eyes. But immediately, he returned to his normal expression and chatted with Han Li about other things.

"Fellow Daoist also knows that I don't know how many tens of thousands of years this ghost place has existed. Although very few cultivators have been sucked into it, over so many years, it is estimated that there have been no fewer than hundreds or even thousands of cultivators who have perished in this Yin-Underworld Land. And I heard that there were even Core Formation or Nascent Soul stage cultivators who were trapped here to die." The old man mentioned casually.

"A Nascent Soul stage cultivator once came here?" Han Li was moved upon hearing this.

"Yes. Although I don't know how many years ago this was, this expert was still trapped here for the rest of his life after being sucked in. I estimate that he was also like you two, having run into the eruption of Spirit-Extinguishing Qi at the same time. Otherwise, with such great supernatural abilities, ordinary Ghost Mist would not have been able to do anything to him." The old man sighed lightly.

"Maybe. However, this Spirit-Extinguishing Qi is truly terrifying enough. I estimate that only the legendary Spirit Transformation stage cultivators would be unaffected by it." Han Li said with a bitter smile.

"Spirit Transformation stage! Hehe, Fellow Daoist is thinking really far ahead. However, although that Nascent Soul stage predecessor died, he left behind some classics. Some of them are even his experiences in cultivation. These things are naturally extremely precious if placed outside. But now, hehe..." The long-bearded old man shook his head, revealing some regret.

"Cultivation experience! I am truly interested. Fellow Daoist, do you know where these things are now?" Han Li was moved by these words and asked with a look of interest.

The experience and insights of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator were naturally extraordinary. He naturally intended to take a look.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist's reaction is the same as mine when I first heard about this. However, as long as you stay here for a few years, you will no longer be interested in these things. Without magic power, no matter how many of these things there are, you can only stare at them. But if you are really interested, you can go and take a look. They, along with some other cultivators' relics, are specially placed in a warehouse." The old man touched the wrinkles on his face, said noncommittally, and pointed to a dilapidated stone house in a corner of the village.

Han Li suppressed the surprise in his heart and thanked the old man with a calm expression.

Below, the long-bearded old man chatted with Han Li for a few more sentences, and seeing that Han Li seemed absent-minded, he smiled and took the initiative to bid farewell.

Han Li looked at the old man's departing back, pursed his lips, pondered slightly, and then shook his head and climbed down from the stone platform.

Then he walked quickly toward the dilapidated stone house.

Net ===== CHAPTER 582 =====

Net