Xiaohei dog-paddled in the underworld water, and the underworld monsters bound within it were tormented by Xiaohei, unable to escape, looking utterly disgraced and resentful. Ten minutes later, Xiaohei finally stuck his head out of the underworld water, satisfied, with two shiny yellow stones in his mouth.
"What are these?" Xiang Beifei exclaimed in surprise.
After examining them closely for a moment, Xiang Qingde said, "They should be the crystal cores of those two underworld monsters."
"Crystal cores? Not Beast Pills?"
In his heart, Xiang Beifei still thought of the Meat-Winged Monster as a desolate beast, but when he had killed the Meat-Winged Monster, he hadn't seen any Beast Pill.
"When the Moon God Race sacrifices themselves to the underworld, it means they've also offered their Beast Pills. The Beast Pills in the underworld water are eroded into crystal cores. They're not spiritual power crystals but a more special existence, considered the essence left behind after the corrosion by the underworld water," Xiang Qingde explained.
"What use are they?" Xiang Beifei asked.
Xiaohei barked twice, then bit a specific part of the crystal core, and a slight ripple spread out. Immediately after, the monsters in the patch of underworld water all froze, becoming very dumb and dazed.
"It's for controlling this." Xiang Qingde looked at Xiaohei with appreciation and smiled.
"So with these crystal cores, we can control this patch of underworld water?" Xiang Beifei inquired.
"As I understand it, it should only be possible to control them temporarily. Since the Moon God Race dedicated themselves to the underworld, the controlling power of the main underworld river surpasses all else. Before you encounter the true underworld, these crystal cores can control these patches of underworld water. Additionally, they probably also use these to identify their own kind," Xiang Qingde said.
Xiang Beifei took the underworld crystal core in hand, tried it out, and made the monsters perform some actions, discovering that controlling the underworld monsters was actually so simple.
This was a good thing; with his powerful spiritual power, perhaps he could use the underworld crystal core to disguise himself as one of them and gather some intelligence.
Xiaohei dug around in the underworld water again, dragging out an arm.
This was a severed arm made of stone, as if it were broken off from some stone sculpture, very crude, and its origin unknown.
Xiang Qingde looked at the stone arm, seemingly taken aback.
Xiang Beifei also noticed something special about the stone arm. The corrosive ability of the underworld water was very strong, with ordinary objects being eroded away, stone included, yet this stone arm was perfectly fine!
He tapped the stone arm, which emitted a crisp sound, indistinguishable from ordinary stone. However, when Xiang Beifei channeled spiritual power into the stone arm, he found that it elicited no response.
"This stone arm's feeling... why does it feel like Wufeng?" Xiang Beifei said in astonishment.
Xiaohei indicated that the stone arm was not only like Wufeng but also resembled the Stele of Wei Constellation and the Stele of Void Constellation!
This revelation shocked Xiang Beifei even more.
Xiang Qingde had a serious expression, as if deep in thought while staring at the stone arm.
"Where did grandpa's Wufeng come from?" Xiang Beifei asked.
Xiang Qingde was silent for a moment, then said, "Acquired from a certain place."
"Edge Corner Airspace?"
Xiang Beifei recalled the words of Brain Deficient and Ye Ji just before they were killed. When they saw Wufeng, it made them think of that place, and they seemed very fearful, as if they dreaded the Edge Corner Airspace!
"Not many memories were left behind." The present Xiang Qingde was just a past consciousness, and the things consciousness knew were limited.
"When I set down this consciousness, I generally wouldn't leave any memories behind that I thought needed to be kept secret," Xiang Qingde said.
Xiang Beifei didn't dwell further on the matter; he couldn't expect a past consciousness to know much.
The stone arm might have been something the two Meat-Winged Monsters, Ye Ji and Ri An, inadvertently found somewhere. Its specific functions were undetermined, so he decided to take it with him for now.
Xiang Beifei turned his attention to the Yin Ice in the air only after dealing with the underworld water.
After Ye Ji was killed, all that remained of the Yin Ice in the air was a cloud of black gas, which emitted a cold breath. The air within ten meters was frozen, unable to flow at all.
This thing was very sinister; it could neutralize the devouring power of the mound spirit and freeze many things, including spiritual power and Orifice Soul. Clearly, using it required a great deal of vital energy and was very lethal.
"Grandpa, what is Yin Ice? Why can it counter the devouring power of the mound spirit?"
Xiang Beifei had never seen anything capable of countering the mound spirit's devouring power before. Up to now, the only one not afraid of the devouring power was Xiaohei, with his thick skin and flesh.
Xiang Qingde pondered for a moment, then said, "It's from a place with heavy Yin energy, but I'm not very clear on the specifics."
"You don't know either, grandpa?"
"Nothing in this world is absolutely invincible. Although the mound spirit can overwhelm all spiritual power, it also has its bane, and not just the mound spirit. Even your Five Pieces of Stone formation patterns will eventually come across something that can overcome them. That's why in the outside wastelands, one must always maintain a heart of respect," Xiang Qingde explained.
The Five Pieces of Stone referred to the two bricks that Xiang Beifei possessed. Currently, these two bricks were invincible for him as many things bound by the golden formation patterns would get immobilized. Xiang Beifei had already resolved many difficulties with these two bricks.
However, Xiang Qingde's words gave Xiang Beifei a clear understanding of the path ahead, realizing that he still had much to improve in terms of his own strength.