Huh?
There really is something?
Xiao Wu, who had gone to check the Emaciated Man's corpse for valuables, found a necklace around his neck.
The jade on the necklace exuded a faint, peculiar flow of air.
The moment she saw it, Xiao Wu knew it was treasure, though she couldn't immediately tell what exactly it was.
What is it? Let me see.
Yu Yan, figuring there was no harm in looking, had sent Xiao Wu to search the Emaciated Man. He hadn't expected her to actually find something.
Unable to identify it, Xiao Wu tossed the necklace to Yu Yan.
Catching it, Yu Yan studied it carefully and soon figured out what it was.
If his guess was right, this necklace was the storage soul tool he'd been longing for.
He'd read detailed descriptions of storage soul tools in books and had even seen one auctioned in Vast Sea City.
Those two sources formed the basis of his judgment.
When he tried to inject spirit power to verify it, an awkward problem arose: he had only a sliver left; using any more would exhaust him completely.
Xiao Wu, this necklace is probably a storage-type soul tool. Try channeling spirit power into the jade. I'm all out.
Pour spirit power into the jade. If you sense a space inside, then it's a storage soul tool.
With no spirit power to spare, Yu Yan threw the necklace back, explaining how to test it so she could confirm.
In much better shape, Xiao Wu took the necklace, sent spirit power into the jade, and felt a one-meter cube of space.
The one-cubic-meter storage was seventy percent filled with gold coins; as a fugitive Fallen Soul Master, the Emaciated Man couldn't deposit them in a bank and had to carry them.
Besides the coins, she saw pouches of blood taking up another twenty percent. Given the man's identity, their purpose wasn't hard to guess.
Apart from coins and blood, there were two books and three small boxes.
This necklace really is the storage soul tool you wanted. Inside there's…
She listed everything stored within, then waited for Yu Yan to decide what to do with it.
Throw away the blood pouches—we don't need them—and take out the two books and the three boxes for me to see.
Following his instructions, she used spirit power to remove the books and boxes and tossed them to Yu Yan, then cleaned out the blood pouches.
Yu Yan's decision matched what she'd already planned.
She'd asked only because she wanted his opinion.
As for the books, the moment she saw their titles she knew he'd be interested.
Catching what she threw, Yu Yan focused first on the two books: Han Family Meditation Technique and Spirit Beast Illustrated.
He opened the Han Family Meditation Technique and skimmed it rapidly.
The opening explained its origin: the Han family's Spirit was a mutated Tool Spirit, the Thousand-Engine Soul-Drawing Needle, evolved from an ordinary thin needle.
The records said the Thousand-Engine Soul-Drawing Needle was high-quality but flawed; to unleash its true power required extremely fast spirit power circulation and precise control.
To fix that flaw, generations of the Han family created this Meditation Technique.
spirit power cultivated with it circulated far faster and was easier to control.
After the origin came a list of notable Han clansmen, their Spirit Power Levels, and deeds.
To Yu Yan this section was meaningless, and he skimmed past.
The only conclusion he drew was that the Han family was in decline.
At first, the recorded members ranged as high as Rank 79 Spirit Saints and no lower than Rank 61 Spirit Emperors.
Later entries dropped to a peak of Rank 58 Spirit Kings.
The last recorded member was only Rank 38.
The family's fall illustrated how hard it is to maintain power once gained.
After that came the detailed cultivation method and cautions.
Pressed for time, Yu Yan only glanced through, but he could tell it was far superior to the basic Meditation Technique distributed by Spirit Hall.
Next he skimmed the Spirit Beast Illustrated; compared with common bestiaries, this one covered more species in greater detail.
Centuries of Han family knowledge naturally surpassed what was sold in bookshops.
This truly was a huge Opportunity.
Xiao Wu, we're in luck. These two books…
Despite his pale face, Yu Yan grinned as he shared what he'd read.
Having expected as much, Xiao Wu smiled too after hearing his summary.
Switching to this Meditation Technique would speed up both their Cultivation—pure good news.
He tossed the books back for her to store, then turned his attention to the three boxes.
With the Han Family Meditation Technique and Spirit Beast Illustrated as precedents, he was even more curious about what the boxes held.
Opening the first, he found a palm-length dagger, about sixteen or seventeen centimeters, its blade gleaming coldly.
He lifted it for inspection; Xiao Wu, finished disposing of the blood, came over, glancing between him and the dagger.
Knowing little of cold weapons, Yu Yan handed it to her so she could test its edge on a nearby tree.
Xiao Wu took the dagger, swung it a few times, then drove it into the trunk.