Soul Stabilizing Bead

Shortly afterward, Zhang Huan came to the Underworld main hall again.

A great figure had made an exception to approve his application, letting Zhang Huan come to the main hall to collect the exchanged spiritual objects.

It happened that he should also ask the Female Saint for some burial pits.

Through a long period of searching and checking, he felt that the ancient tombs between the burial pits were especially numerous, though he did not know what pattern they conformed to.

Waiting with the Female Saint, the other party was obviously very excited, making Zhang Huan wonder curiously which great figure it could be—could it be those few Quasi-Emperors in charge?

Chattering and trying to claim credit with Zhang Huan, after being questioned, the words that came out of the Female Saint's mouth were also vague and confusing. She only knew that the other party had a lofty status, whom even her immediate superior dared not offend, and a mysterious identity, while knowing nothing else at all.

According to what she said, Zhang Huan guessed that it might be some figure among the three main branches ruling the Underworld.

Not long after, Zhang Huan sensed a fierce aura heading toward him.

It carried no killing intent, but the aura was gloomy and bone-chilling. Seeing this, Zhang Huan did not act rashly, waiting quietly for him to come to the door.

The door was thrown wide open, and a middle-aged man walked in as if no one else was there.

"You are Zhang Huan?"

He tilted his head to look down, his gaze gloomy and full of deathly aura, just like a ghost.

Zhang Huan stood up, silently sizing up the other party.

He could sense that the other party's strength was definitely not bad, having gone very far in the Great Saint Realm, and probably having already touched the absolute peak.

However, there was too much deathly aura on his body, damp, gloomy, and rotting, making one's heart feel chilled.

"This is a dead person, refined back to life, acting like a tool, having retained some of the intelligence of the past!"

In the other party's hand, the materials that had originally been submitted were marked with a red circle, indicating approval.

"I am."

A bead and the materials were thrown into Zhang Huan's hand together, accompanied by his voice which sounded like the howling of an evil ghost.

"You are not bad; you have been taken a fancy to by the master. This Soul Stabilizing Bead is enough to help you kill that soul. When the time comes, leave the Emperor Body behind, as the master has use for it."

Having said that, he no longer lingered, as if he were merely running errands for the master behind him, and before leaving, he intentionally exhorted Zhang Huan again.

"Do not let the master down, or you will wish you were dead."

The attitude was really arrogant enough. Just a mere servant, yet he dared to be so aloof.

Watching this dead person leave, Zhang Huan cast a sharp, predatory look. With a servant like that, the master could not be much better; even his true body had not bothered to come, obviously putting Zhang Huan's status on par with a servant.

Such contempt for others obviously relied on immense backing, being able to boss around a Great Saint, and there were not many who met the conditions within this Underworld.

The master in the other party's mouth was definitely someone from the three branches.

A mere threat was not worth mentioning, but the master behind this person was a bit interesting. He had booked a Quasi-Emperor Corpse in advance—what did he want to use it for?

In his view, he mostly wanted to refine it into a War Slave.

When Zhang Huan broke through to the Quasi-Emperor Realm, that would be another War Slave acquired. Relying on a prop that could be retrieved at that time, getting two Quasi-Emperors for free—it simply could not be more profitable.

"Could it be that the three branches of the Underworld are going to fight for the control of the War Slaves, first come, first served?"

Zhang Huan thought it very likely. Quasi-Emperor-level War Slaves were already scarce to begin with; there were only a dozen or so in the entire Underworld. The Underworld's own people and those corpses with great potential would not be touched by them, as they were nurturing sentience in the baleful earth.

The remainder were very few. Quasi-Emperor-level War Slaves must be rare goods even among the three branches, no wonder the other party cared so much and demanded that Quasi-Emperor Corpse.

He turned around and asked the Female Saint, who at this moment had not yet calmed down from her shock.

It seemed she had also never seen the scene of a Great Saint running errands.

Zhang Huan swept his hand up and down before her eyes and asked.

"What kind of thing is this Soul Stabilizing Bead?"

He had not heard of this kind of thing before, and thought it was uniquely produced from the Underworld, having no idea what its utility was.

"The Soul Stabilizing Bead, in a sense, is a priceless treasure. It specifically restrains evil spirits and is the nemesis of Corpse Ghosts."

"Every single one has a grand origin and cannot be said to not be precious. Irradiated by the divine light on the bead, one's strength will be slashed by more than half on the spot. For your Quasi-Emperor enemy, this object is equivalent to a natural enemy."

The Female Saint's explanation was very comprehensive, as she had done her homework.

Zhang Huan formed hand seals to control the bead, and the Soul Stabilizing Bead immediately burst forth with a withered-yellow radiance.

Zhang Huan, an ordinary person of his caliber, did not feel any sense of weakening upon contacting it, only feeling a bit warm.

"This object also has the effect of nourishing the soul?"

Zhang Huan asked.

"Yes, Great Saint. This bead is extracted from certain specific Yin corpses, having fused the full essence of their lifetime and death. Therefore, not only can it nourish spiritual sense and souls, but it also has an exceptional effect on tempering the physical body."

The Female Saint continued, saying that judging by the grade of this bead, it should have been extracted from a Quasi-Emperor body. There were not many such beads throughout ancient and modern times, making them rare and precious.

"It has such utility? Then I truly must thank that unknown figure."

Zhang Huan smiled. They really were plotting against him, and his previous guess was eighty or ninety percent consistent with that person's intent.

This person's mind was vicious, specifically choosing such a treasure to calculate a good deal of killing two birds with one stone.

He would make a note of it for now. If he could find out who he was in the future, Zhang Huan would definitely find an opportunity to settle accounts with him.

"Is there any Yin corpse in this place for me to test its might?"

He wanted to see on the spot whether its utility was as formidable as the Female Saint described, getting used to operating it first and refining it before talking about anything else.

By the time he had a real combat encounter with that playing-dead sentient Quasi-Emperor, he would not have the time to test the might of this bead.

By the time he left the main hall, Zhang Huan was already adept at it, having tortured a Sage-level Yin corpse back and forth until it was half-dead. The utility was indeed as the Female Saint had said, having a very strong suppressive effect on such corpses.

When the time came to interrupt that Quasi-Emperor Corpse's transformation and then unleash this single bead, he would be able to suppress its strength to the lowest limit.

"Master, just now I didn't dare to speak. This Soul Stabilizing Bead seems to have a section of incantation specifically used for manipulation."

The Demonic Box transmitted its divine sense at the appropriate time.

"An incantation?"

Zhang Huan stopped and asked for details.

"The Soul Stabilizing Bead has an extremely strong restraining effect on extreme-Yin Corpse Ghosts, but that is not its only use either—Master heard the Female Saint say so just now."

"It can help people condense the divine soul and temper the physique; it is a rare body-refining treasure."

"However, if one wants to stimulate its true potential, one needs a section of incantation to manipulate it, making it actively emit the energy inside. Otherwise, without grasping the method, one will forever only be absorbing the surface and will not bring out its true value."

The Demonic Box chattered away, chanting the secret method. According to it, this incantation was created by an Ancient Heavenly Venerate of the Mythological Period, specifically to extract the good fortune of this Soul Stabilizing Bead and wear it down.

The formation and wonderful uses of this bead, all sorts of sources, originated from him. In that period, ghosts were numerous and plagued the common people, and this Heavenly Venerate was troubled by slaying ghosts.

He had a flash of inspiration at some point and thought of this method of weakening the enemy to aid himself.

Relying on absorbing the bead, which was like a supreme restorative pill, that Heavenly Venerate's strength advanced by leaps and bounds for a time, suppressing the turmoil of the rampaging ghosts, thereby achieving the Dao and ruling over an era.