Stone Sphere

The white ball of light before him was exceptionally conspicuous. If someone happened to pass by nearby and saw it, it would be a lot of trouble.

Although few people came to the back mountain at this hour, there was no guarantee that some disciple, with nothing better to do after eating, might come take a walk and digest their meal.

The surroundings were still silent, but this was no longer a place where he could linger.

Shen Luo swiftly stuffed the spent talismans on the ground and the last Yuan Stone into his robe. He then cleared away the Yuan Stone fragments and other traces from the scene. Only after ensuring that no clues would be left behind did he raise his head to look at the talisman emitting a soft white glow.

After pondering for a moment, he bent down, picked up a dry branch about a foot long, and slowly approached the white light.

Stopping just before the light, Shen Luo's eyes flickered. Then, with utmost caution, he used the branch to probe the edge of the white glow, inch by inch...

The tip of the branch slowly entered the white light without changing in the slightest.

Only then did Shen Luo, who had been prepared to turn and run at any moment, relax.

After thinking it over again, he threw away the branch and touched the white light with one hand. Then he slowly inserted his entire arm into it and waved it around inside.

When Shen Luo felt nothing unusual in his arm, he gritted his teeth and simply stepped entirely into the white light, returning to the boulder where he had placed the "Minor Thunder Talisman."

The white light emitted by the talisman remained gentle. It seemed vastly different from the effects described in books when a Minor Thunder Talisman was activated.

Even Shen Luo did not know whether he should be pleased or disappointed.

If he was pleased, then the five Minor Thunder Talismans he had painstakingly drawn had not succeeded even once, and he had wasted five precious Yuan Stones.

If he was disappointed, the talisman before him had undeniably been activated. It counted as his first successful talisman and greatly boosted his confidence.

"Although this talisman can't attack, it should be quite good for lighting up the night. The cost is just a little too high," Shen Luo muttered.

With that, he bent down and pinched the talisman between two fingers. After hesitating briefly, he did not return the way he had come, instead heading deeper into the secluded valley.

The white light from the talisman formed a soft halo spanning four or five zhang around Shen Luo. Everything along his path was illuminated in clear, bright white.

At first, Shen Luo was quite curious about this sight, which he had never seen before. He kept looking around, wondering how long the talisman could remain lit.

Before he knew it, he had reached the depths of the secluded valley, before a mountain wall covered in green vines.

There was no path beyond this point. Further ahead was a cliff.

Shen Luo glanced at the talisman in his hand, which was still emitting its gentle glow. Just as he was about to inspect it further, he suddenly let out a soft, surprised "Eh?"

Under the talisman's white light, the lush green vines covering the mountain wall rapidly withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, revealing the wall's previously obscured surface.

The mountain wall was smooth as a mirror, as though someone had forcibly cleaved it from top to bottom before polishing it smooth.

What startled Shen Luo even more was that, beneath the white light cast by the talisman in his hand, the mountain wall became somewhat transparent. Its surface seemed to turn to glass, allowing him to vaguely see one or two feet into it.

Shen Luo had never witnessed anything so miraculous. Clicking his tongue in amazement, he unconsciously approached the mountain wall, wanting to inspect it more closely.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred!

The talisman abruptly became scorching hot, and the temperature against his fingers rose rapidly.

Shen Luo jumped in fright and flailed his arm, hurriedly trying to throw away the talisman. Yet it stuck firmly to his fingers and could not be shaken off. At the same time, searing pain shot from his palm, as though it were being roasted over a fire. His arm also went numb in waves, and he began to lose strength.

"Damn it!"

Alarmed, Shen Luo hurriedly grabbed the talisman with his other hand, intending to tear it apart.

At that very instant, the talisman vanished with a soft puff, turning into ash out of thin air and disappearing completely from his hand.

The white halo nearby silently shattered as well, turning into countless large and small balls of light that drifted unsteadily in every direction.

Shen Luo froze for a moment, then hurriedly looked at his hand. There were no signs of redness, swelling, or burns, and the piercing pain had suddenly vanished as well. Only then did he let out a slight sigh of relief.

Everything he had just experienced felt like an illusion.

Just as Shen Luo stood there in silence, filled with uncertainty, an even stranger scene unfolded!

The scattered balls of light seemed to be drawn by something. They suddenly changed direction and all drifted toward the mountain wall. When they touched its surface, they burrowed inside one after another like mice entering a hole, scrambling to be first.

As more and more balls of light entered, that part of the mountain wall became increasingly transparent. It was pitch-black inside, as though there were a hollow space within.

Seeing this, Shen Luo walked over to the mountain wall in a few steps, picked up a small stone, and tapped against it.

The knocks produced faint echoes.

"It's hollow."

He muttered to himself. After sweeping his gaze around, he carried over a larger stone from the nearby grass and smashed it hard against the mountain wall.

After several strikes, the mountain wall finally broke apart with a boom, leaving a hole as large as a bowl.

Shen Luo struck the area around the hole twice more, widening the opening considerably.

There really was a small cave inside, though it was only four or five feet deep. The balls of light that had entered the mountain wall earlier had long since disappeared. In their place, however, lay something resembling a round stone sphere two feet in diameter in one corner of the cave.

"Could this be what attracted the white light from the talisman?"

Shen Luo hesitated and did not immediately reach in to take it out.

Back then, it had been in a confined place that yin energy had invaded his body.

This thing had been hidden so deeply and had caused such bizarre phenomena. Who knew whether it was some unclean object?

Of course, it was even more likely to be some treasure often mentioned in those miscellaneous books and travel journals!

Fortunately, now that he possessed the Minor Transforming Yang Art, ordinary yin energy could no longer invade his body.

Shen Luo deliberated at the cave entrance for a long time. In the end, he removed his outer robe and wrapped it around both hands. He then took out the four spent talismans from earlier, stuffed them into his palms, and added another layer of protection.

At the same time, he circulated the Minor Transforming Yang Art through his body with all his strength, protecting his entire body.

Only after doing all this did Shen Luo reach both hands inside and embrace the object.

The object was unexpectedly light in his hands, with no other abnormalities.

The worry in his heart eased slightly. With a faint exertion of strength, he easily lifted out the "stone sphere," held it before his chest, and lowered his head to examine it carefully.

It was gray and dull, its surface covered in countless tiny holes. No wonder it was so light. It looked as though it had formed naturally.

Shen Luo slowly turned the "stone sphere" around but discovered nothing else. Subconsciously, he gave it a shake.

Glug.

A muffled sound actually came from inside the "stone sphere."