Chapter 81: Voice Control

Qin Li thought for a long time before making a decision about how to handle the Inner Core of the Black Water Kui Bull.

To be honest, Qin Li never considered himself a good person. Being good was too tiring and had too high standards; he was not qualified. If a good person did even one thing that did not satisfy others, they would offend a lot of people. Also, the saying “nice people get bullied” was absolutely true; Qin Li really admired the ancient sage who said that. So, in his previous life, Qin Li was not a good person, and in this life, he did not plan to become one either!

He only wanted to be a carefree person who followed his own heart and clearly knew the difference between good and evil!

Qin Li also wanted to swallow the Inner Core in one gulp and refine it. He believed that Chen Yihan would not dare to come back here again in a short time.

Although the Inner Core of a Heaven Rank Spirit Beast was extremely valuable, there were still countless unknown treasures waiting for them to discover and claim inside the underwater Ancient Ruins in the lake. Most importantly… the sole purpose for these Royal Martial Artists coming here, even defying the blockade policy that offended the nation’s heroes, was for that legendary… Tianxuan Elixir recipe!

Therefore, Qin Li concluded that Chen Yihan and the others would not dwell on this matter too much.

Moreover, in the eyes of Chen Yihan and his group, these few weak adventurers just had a stroke of luck, gaining the favor of a Shape-Shifting Spirit Beast. Without that powerful Spirit Beast, they could not even cross Phoenix Mountain!

So, the Black Water Kui Bull was just temporarily stored with them. As long as they offered these adventurers a high enough price later, the Spirit Beast would still belong to him in the end!

The reason Qin Li chose not to take the Spirit Beast’s Inner Core but instead entered the ruins was because he himself also set his sights on the Tianxuan Elixir recipe!

Who wouldn’t want such a thing? Not to mention, Qin Li also wanted Watermelon to become a normal master, not to have to collect her corpse after three Nirvanas and eighteen months!

Qin Li believed that the majority of Martial Artists who came here this time were after the Tianxuan Elixir recipe! Anyone with a little bit of brains would know what this Ancient Alchemy Recipe meant for a country or a faction!

Qin Li suddenly thought: this place would soon become very lively. People from this country, neighboring countries… whether from the Imperial Family or those big families, would all show up one after another!

It was completely normal to have this idea; the Tianyuan Continent was extremely vast, and countries like the Azure Dragon Kingdom were as numerous as the hairs on an ox!

After learning about the immense size of this planet, Qin Li even found it hard to believe, because the planet’s size had completely exceeded his understanding!

The Azure Dragon Kingdom was not a small country; its territory covered three to four million square kilometers. Yet such a country was actually… as common as ox hairs on this magical continent!

How big was the Azure Dragon Kingdom exactly? Even the best travelers probably could not give a perfect answer, simply because it was just too big!

Because of this, those ambitious families with strong influence were not content with just being nobles. They secretly built up their own forces, and as soon as a suitable opportunity arose, they would immediately act upon the news and establish their own regimes!

The Azure Dragon Kingdom was actually founded under such circumstances back then. To prevent similar incidents from happening again, they naturally were extremely cautious, using strong power to blockade Phoenix Lake, aiming simply to not give others any chance.

But these matters had little to do with Qin Li. At this moment, he had already entered the building through the large hole blasted open by Chen Yihan and the others.

At the periphery of this structure, Qin Li sensed the fluctuations of that energy and deeply admired the skills of the ancients from the Tianyuan Continent. They could actually create a Barrier that only prevented water—it was truly unheard of!

The place Qin Li entered was indeed a large hall. It was pitch dark and extremely quiet inside. Qin Li took out a torch he had prepared earlier and lit it. The flame immediately illuminated the area around him for over ten meters.

It was empty; there was nothing.

Qin Li continued walking inward. He smelled a faint fishy odor and noticed what looked like marks left by something lying there for a long time. Walking over to check, he found several palm-sized black scales on the ground and knew they were left by the Black Water Kui Bull.

Without staying long, Qin Li walked all the way to the end of the hall and found a doorway over three meters tall, but without a door. Qin Li did not rush in. Instead, he carefully circled around the hall and discovered another doorway on this side. Before even reaching it, a damp, watery air rushed toward his face.

Qin Li walked out through the doorway and found himself on a platform—he had actually walked outside! This circular platform seemed like a large balcony. Qin Li suddenly realized it was not good to be holding a torch, so he retreated back into the main hall. This side faced away from the Royal Martial Artists. Qin Li then headed toward the other doorway.

After entering, he found it was a small hall similar to an entrance foyer. It was also very empty, with nothing inside. However, in the corner of the small hall, there was a spiral staircase. Under the faint torchlight, the stairs extended downward, giving off a mysterious feeling.

Qin Li released his Innate Purple Qi outside his body. Within a hundred-meter radius, he did not sense any danger, so he confidently went down the stairs.

The stairs were made of some unknown material. After countless years, stepping on them still felt solid and stable, without making any sound.

Qin Li’s gaze suddenly focused. He slowly crouched down, reached out, and wiped the stairs. Under the torchlight, his pale fingertip had only a faint trace of dust!

Qin Li’s heart immediately grew alert. A strange feeling rose in his heart. Earlier in the main hall, he had felt something was off but could not figure out what it was. Now he finally understood: an ancient building that had been submerged at the bottom of a lake for thousands, even tens of thousands of years, was practically no different from an ancient tomb.

Even if the building was very tidy and clean back then, after so many years, it could not possibly remain so clean! It was even excessively clean; describing it as “spotless” was not an exaggeration at all!

So then… who had been cleaning this place so thoroughly over all these countless years?

Thinking of this, Qin Li’s steps became hesitant, and a chill ran up his spine. It’s not about being brave or fearing nothing—only idiots fear nothing at all!

All humans have things they fear and respect; it’s just that everyone’s standards are different.

“Roar!”

Qin Li suddenly let out a loud roar. In the silent, empty environment of the night, his echo immediately rang back. Other than that, there was nothing.

However, to Qin Li’s great surprise, following his loud roar, the room beneath his feet, along with many connected rooms, simultaneously… lit up.

Qin Li stared dumbfounded at this scene, his face full of shock and speechlessness. After a long while, he finally murmured, “Whoa, voice control…”

At the same time, Qin Li’s eyes fell on the wall at the far end of the room beneath his feet. There hung a painting. Qin Li only glanced at it once, and then he could not look away.