After roughly half an hour, more than half the outer shell of the ink-black jade had been stripped away, and the silver-blue specks on its surface had vanished.
Li Bufan slowed his movements, continuing to peel it away with greater care. Each time the blade touched the stone, it was gentler than before.
Finally, when the last layer of dark gray shell fell from the jade's surface, a warm blue glow shone through the exposed cross-section.
Li Bufan immediately withdrew his blade and lightly brushed away the remaining stone dust with his fingertips, revealing what had been hidden beneath the shell.
It was a small lump of deep-blue soil. Its texture was fine and moist, its surface gleaming with a profound luster like the depths of the sea, and it emitted dense waves of Vital Energy.
The concentration of that Vital Energy was even a notch greater than the Spirit Marrow Black Soil in his Hundred Herbs Garden.
Li Bufan cradled the blue soil in his palm, carefully sensing the aura emanating from it.
That aura was exceedingly complex. It possessed both the gentle warmth of the water element and the deep, weighty foundation of the earth element. The two auras blended with remarkable finesse, forming a unique texture that seemed utterly seamless.
His first thought was that this should be some rare spirit soil, but he could not yet determine its grade or purpose.
"Forget it. I'll open the other piece first, then ask Little Devourer about them together once I enter the cauldron. There might be records of this thing in its inheritance."
Li Bufan carefully sealed the blue soil in a Jade Box, then picked up the jade stone veined with dark gold patterns and gripped the Seven Killings Blade once more.
This time, he was even