Torn Page

The aura radiating from this stone coffin felt strangely familiar to Nie Li, though he couldn't say why.

Waves of energy rippled outward. They were probably the Soul Power of some mighty expert that had lingered after his disappearance.

Soul Power was an eternal force. Even after a thousand years, it could remain attached to an object and never fade away.

The stone coffin was assembled from slabs of stone, and there were no signs that it had ever been opened. Even the experts of Ancient Orchid City might not have been able to open it.

Nie Li felt the Soul Sea within him churning. The dragon's roar deep in its depths grew clearer and clearer. He stepped beside the stone coffin and studied the mysterious incantations carved across it. One thought after another flashed through his mind, and he placed his right hand on the coffin lid.

Suddenly, pillars of light shot into the sky. White light flowed across the stone coffin.

Boom!

The powerful pillar of light slammed into Nie Li.

"Ah!" Nie Li felt as though every bone in his body were about to be pulverized. Even his exceptionally strong will couldn't withstand this horrifying pain.

The beams of light were like millions of fine needles, stabbing viciously into every part of his body.

His Soul Sea felt as though it were about to explode.

Seeing Nie Li's agonized howls, Ye Ziyun, who had been watching him closely from afar, panicked.

What had happened?

What was wrong with Nie Li?

Ye Ziyun hurried toward him, but when she came within five or six meters of the stone coffin, thump! A powerful force sent her flying.

She couldn't get anywhere near the stone coffin!

But how had Nie Li managed to get inside?

Several beams of white light struck Ye Ziyun, leaving her injured in multiple places and drenched in blood. Ignoring her pain, she pulled a Silver Rank longsword from her Spatial Ring and swung it at the barrier around the stone coffin.

Ye Ziyun was repelled again. The force was far beyond anything she could resist; even the stray beams of white light had already left her badly wounded. How badly hurt must Nie Li be, surrounded by that light? After being thrown back twice by the barrier, Ye Ziyun's Soul Sea shuddered, and her internal organs were severely injured. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Nie Li, you must be all right! That was the last thought to pass through Ye Ziyun's mind before she fainted.

At that moment, Nie Li was enveloped in white light, steam rising from his entire body. The intense pain made beads of sweat seep from his skin, but as soon as they touched the white light, they evaporated into steam.

"I'm thirsty!" Nie Li felt as though all the moisture in his body were about to be boiled away.

He struggled desperately. He knew that if he let his guard down for even an instant, the white light would blast him to pieces.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Nie Li's Soul Sea shuddered and cracked apart, yet it kept healing and repairing itself.

Slowly, the Soul Sea formed a vortex, like a giant whale greedily swallowing the beams of white light.

With only the last thread of consciousness remaining, Nie Li desperately guarded his Soul Sea. Even he was now deeply puzzled. What exactly is the thing hidden inside my Soul Sea?

Who cares? If it can absorb that white light, then let it!

With the last of his strength, Nie Li frantically urged his Soul Sea to absorb all the white light.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The white light kept pouring into Nie Li's Soul Sea, but it didn't cause the slightest ripple before vanishing without a trace.

Nie Li could feel that although the light had disappeared, it had stretched his Soul Sea outward a little, filling it with surging Soul Power.

The rampaging Soul Power coursed through his muscles, making them tougher. Impurities in his skin were rapidly expelled with his sweat. It was as if his whole body had been cleansed and renewed.

Nie Li roared furiously. His current cultivation was still far weaker than it had been in his previous life, but the feeling of growing stronger was still wonderful.

He opened his eyes, and everything around him gradually came into focus.

Nie Li hurriedly pulled several bottles of water from his Spatial Ring and gulped them down. His shriveled, dehydrated skin miraculously regained its healthy glow in moments, and he looked even more handsome than before.

Looking ahead, he saw the stone coffin disassembling piece by piece, its lid slowly opening.

Nie Li had expected to find a decayed corpse inside. The stone coffin looked as if no one had ever opened it, but to his surprise, it was completely empty.

How could this be?

Nie Li thought he must have been mistaken, but the coffin really was empty. There was no corpse, nor any sign that one had ever been placed inside. The bottom was smooth and clean, without even a fragment of debris.

Even if the corpse had completely decayed, there should at least have been some bones left behind.

Two objects rested quietly at the bottom of the coffin.

One was a torn page, and the other was a gemstone pendant.

The page was made of some unknown material. It was as thin as a cicada's wing, almost translucent, and covered in dense, indecipherable writing.

Anyone else who saw the page would have had no idea what it was. But when Nie Li looked at it, he was struck dumb with shock, as if he'd been hit by lightning. He had known this object all too well in his previous life.

It was a torn page from the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit!

How could Nie Li ever forget? In his previous life, he had gained immense power from the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit. He had also spent hundreds of years inside its space, learning an ocean of knowledge. And after his battle with the Sage Emperor, his blood had stained the book—and brought him back to life.

The mysterious thing in Nie Li's Soul Sea was probably connected to the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit, too!

But in his previous life, the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit had been incomplete.

Eight pages had been torn from the book. Nie Li had never seen what the complete Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit looked like.

The writing in the book was so obscure that Nie Li had never been able to understand it. Every time he tried to memorize the characters, a few hours later he would look again and find that he couldn't recall a single thing.

In his previous life, Nie Li had tried to find the other eight missing pages of the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit, but he hadn't found a single clue. He never expected that, after being reborn, he would find one of its torn pages here.

Unfortunately, the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit wasn't in his hands yet. Just as in his previous life, he would have to travel to the edge of the Endless Desert and enter the Desert Divine Palace to obtain it!

He wondered what difference the extra page would make to the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit.

Nie Li tucked the torn page from the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit against the skin of his chest. As if sensing the page, his Soul Sea began to churn. Just as it had in his previous life, the page had the same ability as the book itself: it could nourish Soul Power.

Nie Li's gaze fell on the gemstone necklace beside it, and a look of surprise crossed his face. "It's a Deep Gem! What a rare treasure!" Even a legendary expert like Ye Mo might never have seen one. A Deep Gem was a priceless heirloom!

However, as precious and rare as the Deep Gem was, it was nothing compared to the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit.

This Deep Gem necklace will make a nice gift for Ziyun! Nie Li thought with a smile. His bond with Ye Ziyun was so deep that he would gladly give her the torn page from the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit without hesitation. But it would be useless to her. This necklace, on the other hand, would greatly benefit her cultivation. With it, Ye Ziyun's cultivation speed would at least triple.

Nie Li still had no idea why a torn page from the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit had appeared here. The stone coffin was empty, which meant Emperor Kong Ming wasn't here. So where had Emperor Kong Ming gone?

This was one mystery upon another.

Nie Li picked up the two objects. When he turned around, he finally noticed Ye Ziyun lying unconscious on the ground.

"What happened to Ziyun?" Nie Li's heart lurched, and he leaped toward her.

He landed beside Ye Ziyun and saw that she had burns in several places, with deep wounds across her chest, arms, and thighs. Nie Li hurriedly placed his hand on her wrist and sent Soul Power into her body. Only after confirming that she was all right did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking at Ye Ziyun unconscious and badly wounded, Nie Li felt a pang of gratitude. She must have heard him cry out and tried to save him, but she couldn't get close to the stone coffin. When she forced her way through, the barrier around it had injured her instead.

The burns must have been caused by the white light.

Seeing Ye Ziyun like this, Nie Li felt his heart soften with concern. He slipped the Deep Gem necklace around her neck. The gemstone gave off faint beams of deep blue light, which fell on Ye Ziyun's wounds and helped heal her burns a little.

"She's lost too much blood. I need to treat these worst wounds right away!" Nie Li fell silent. Looking at Ye Ziyun's lovely face, he thought it over and decided there was no time to worry. At worst, Ye Ziyun would misunderstand him. That was better than leaving her injuries untreated.

Nie Li crouched down and slowly began to loosen Ye Ziyun's clothes. Her smooth, rounded shoulders and slender arms came into view. A purple lace ribbon wrapped across her chest, lending her an elegant air.

Her youthful breasts paled in comparison to those in his previous life. They weren't particularly full or pert, but had a sweet, delicate charm.

After loosening Ye Ziyun's clothes, Nie Li looked away and focused on her wounds. He took a jar of salve for treating injuries from his Spatial Ring, scooped out a little, and carefully spread it over the wounds.

Once the salve sealed them, the bleeding slowly stopped.