Chapter 966: The Anomaly at the Bottom of the Lake

If he could kill the Spirit Devouring Beast from the outside, he should be able to obtain a complete stomach. Even with minimal refining, it could be transformed into a powerful rare treasure.

Once an enemy was trapped within such a treasure, they would likely be beyond help, their pleas to heaven and earth going unanswered.

Neither mana nor fleshly body divine abilities would be of any use, unless one possessed a third, devastating power like Li Qing's.

This could be a special physique, or a race with exclusive bloodline inheritance like the True Spirit Kunpeng.

"Actually, an ultimate divine soul attack could also break this deadlock. But despite nourishing my divine soul all these years, I haven't cultivated any powerful soul-striking techniques."

"I'll have to find time to make up for this weakness!"

After confirming his victory, Li Qing prepared to leave the blood-stained lakebed.

But his movements abruptly halted as he continued to descend, reaching the rugged, uneven lakebed.

No fish swam here; the surroundings were a crimson expanse, the lake water saturated with the Spirit Devouring Beast's true blood.

Li Qing noticed that the blood-infused water wasn't dispersing further but was slowly settling toward the lakebed.

"All the blood has been absorbed? There's something strange at the bottom of the lake!"

Having activated the Kunpeng Treasure Technique, Li Qing transformed into the form of a Swimming Kun, allowing him to move freely through the water without any hindrance.

He quietly watched as the blood-stained lake water seeped into the earth, disappearing without a trace.

The water level of the entire lake had dropped significantly, all of it having seeped into the unknown depths below.

Once all the blood-stained water had seeped away, the surroundings returned to clarity. Beneath the accumulated silt, an ancient pattern emerged on the lakebed.

"Indeed, there's something extraordinary here. Today, it seems the saying 'When a blind man loses his way, he might stumble upon a treasure' holds true."

"However, this true blood alone probably isn't enough to unlock the secrets of the lakebed. More is needed!"

Li Qing had no intention of performing bloodletting on himself. With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved a white jade bottle.

Inside was the essence blood of a fifth-tier, spirit transformation stage weasel. Only three bottles of essence blood had been extracted from a single creature.

The essence blood was extremely valuable. The young master of the Marquis Family from Profound Ancient City had once tried to force its purchase, but Li Qing refused to sell, saving it for other purposes.

Now that he needed more true blood to reveal the lakebed's secrets, Li Qing took out a bottle of weasel essence blood and carefully poured it out.

The essence blood did not disperse like ordinary blood. Even when it fell into the lake water, each drop maintained its complete form without dissolving.

As the entire bottle of essence blood was poured out, the ancient patterns on the lakebed absorbed all of it.

Soon, a halo rippled across the surface. At the center of the lakebed, an opening appeared, resembling the gaping maw of a giant beast.

A massive amount of lake water rushed into the opening, and a whirlpool formed on the surface.

Seeing this, Li Qing immediately charged into the beast-like opening. Once inside, he used his magical power to seal the passage, stopping the flow of water. He feared that if the lake drained completely, it might attract other cultivators entering the Heavenlight Secret Realm to investigate.

"So, it really does require essence blood to unlock the secrets of the lakebed. If an ordinary savage beast had submerged here, it would have detected the anomaly long ago."

"But the Spirit Devouring Beast is different. This ancient savage beast devours everything without a trace—not a drop of blood, not a single hair is left. Everything is completely refined in its stomach."

As Li Qing entered the underwater entrance, his eyes shone with anticipation.

The entrance was remarkably deep, completely isolating him from the lake water above. He could still hear the faint sound of the water that had previously flowed down.

After a long while, a stone chamber came into view. All the water had seeped away completely.

Before Li Qing could move, the stone gate of the chamber swung open on its own.

Rumble!

A jolt went through Li Qing's heart as he saw the scene inside.

First, a transparent crystal coffin lay before him, containing a skeleton. The skeleton was clad in magnificent robes that had remained undecayed through countless ages.

"Hiss!"

"This must be the true Golden Jade Garment. Compared to this, what was that Golden Jade Garment I refined in the lower realm?"

The skeleton's robes seemed woven from golden threads, lined with an inner armor like Nine Heavens Profound Jade. The entire ensemble appeared seamless, with no visible traces of refinement.

"At least a Profound-Grade Spirit Treasure... No, it might even be an Earth-Grade Spirit Treasure!"

Li Qing immediately made a judgment, the burning intensity in his eyes growing even more intense.

He couldn't resist stepping forward, wanting to open the transparent crystal coffin!

But before his hand could touch the coffin lid, a sharp pain shot through his palm.

Only then did he realize that the crystal coffin wasn't floating on its own, but was suspended in the air by countless transparent, resilient strands.

"So these are crystal silks, specially refined through a specialized process. It must have taken tens of thousands of repeated hammerings and refinements of spiritual materials to create such threads."

"This method of artifact refinement is truly unprecedented."

At that moment, Li Qing didn't dare move carelessly. These crystal silks were impossibly tough and sharp, even his fleshly body couldn't withstand them.

Just now, a mere graze had left a bloody gash on his palm.

"What a peculiar method of refining silk. Even divine sense can't easily detect these threads."

"They would make perfect raw materials for hidden weapons."

"I wonder if this method of artifact refinement is hidden somewhere within this underground chamber."

Indeed, besides the transparent crystal coffin, there was a stone table in the chamber, upon which lay stacks of scrolls resembling personal journals.

These handwritten notes had weathered for countless years, and any slight disturbance would likely reduce them to dust.

Therefore, Li Qing dared not act rashly. Instead, he extended his divine sense, meticulously memorizing the contents of each scroll into his mind.

"Some were written in the Spirit Realm Common Language, while others used strange runes I couldn't decipher at all."

"Never mind. I'll memorize everything for now and investigate further later."

The last entry in the scroll written in the Spirit Realm Common Language read:

"I sense my death is approaching. It seems my grievances have never been cleared. Not a single clansman has come to release me and restore my mana cultivation."

"I refuse to accept this. Has no one come to review my case? Must I bear all the blame alone? This is unjust."

"Have they all forgotten me after all these years? What about those solemn promises we made?"

"Heh, it seems this crystal coffin I personally refined will truly become my tomb. The only burial offering is this Golden Thread Garment."

"How truly laughable."

Only these final words remained in the scroll. Even after countless years, Li Qing could still feel the master's profound bitterness and regret emanating from the coffin.