Inside the room of the Ding Twenty-Third Division, Shen Bai stared at the Copper Mirror before him, falling into a long silence.

His silence surprised Daoist Chongling, but the Daoist simply took a light sip of his tea and did not disturb Shen Bai.

Daoist Chongling figured Shen Bai must have made a discovery upon seeing the Copper Mirror and needed to think it through.

He felt it would be impolite to interrupt him at this moment.

What Daoist Chongling didn’t know was that Shen Bai’s silence wasn’t because he had discovered some secret within the Copper Mirror, but because the mirror had triggered the smoke from his Golden Finger.

A Deceitful Object!

The Copper Mirror was actually a Deceitful Object!

Shen Bai truly hadn’t expected the Copper Mirror before him to be a Deceitful Object.

He had thought there was some secret hidden inside the Copper Mirror. Now, it seemed the secret was already surfacing.

Shen Bai currently had eleven wisps of Evil Qi, and he was tempted to appraise the Copper Mirror right there in front of Daoist Chongling.

But he didn’t.

The reason was simple: if he appraised the Copper Mirror on the spot, it would likely turn into an ordinary object in an instant.

Daoist Chongling was still here. If Shen Bai did that, the Daoist would surely notice.

Thinking of this, Shen Bai forcibly suppressed his impulse to appraise the Copper Mirror. He turned to Daoist Chongling and asked,

"Daoist Chongling, you never mentioned that this Copper Mirror was a Deceitful Object."

As he spoke, Shen Bai kept glancing at the Copper Mirror from time to time, the desire to appraise it growing ever stronger.

’An occupational hazard. This is definitely an occupational hazard,’ Shen Bai thought.

He had appraised so many that he now couldn’t control himself whenever he saw a Deceitful Object.

Daoist Chongling put down his teacup and shook his head. "Indeed, it was never said that this Copper Mirror was a Deceitful Object. This humble Daoist has brought it out now precisely so that Lord Shen might see if there are any clever mechanisms within it."

Hearing this, Shen Bai shook his head. "One can’t see anything unusual just by looking. Daoist Chongling, do you have any clues regarding this Copper Mirror?"

Shen Bai was already certain it was a Deceitful Object. What he wasn’t sure about was whether the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple had ever tried to attune with it.

Attunement, in this case, meant using the Deceitful Object. After all, the way Shen Bai used Deceitful Objects was different.

Shen Bai appraised them directly, while others could only use their abilities.

The abilities of a Deceitful Object have limits and a set number of uses. Once depleted, it becomes nothing more than an ordinary object.

Daoist Chongling seemed to understand Shen Bai’s meaning. He shook his head and said, "No one has been able to control this Deceitful Object. We tried long ago."

Controlling a Deceitful Object requires exceptional skill.

First, one must communicate with its Qi, and the difficulty of communicating with a Deceitful Object varies.

If one encounters a particularly peculiar Deceitful Object, it might be impossible to ever use its ability in one’s lifetime.

Shen Bai stroked his chin. "In that case, did the Temple Master ever say how to break the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple’s seal if they did find a suitable person?"

Shen Bai had asked the most crucial question.

He had seen the item and understood the situation. What couldn’t be said at Xuanxin Temple should be made clear now.

If things weren’t made clear, how could the problem possibly be solved?

Daoist Chongling nodded, then took out a piece of Talisman Paper. It was covered with intricate patterns drawn entirely in Cinnabar.

This action from Daoist Chongling piqued Shen Bai’s curiosity.

Not knowing what the Daoist was about to do, he watched patiently.

Then, the Talisman Paper moved without any wind, turning into a wisp of ash in Daoist Chongling’s hand.

The ashes fell to the ground and miraculously coalesced into a line of text.

The text looked crooked and twisted, making it completely impossible to discern its content.

But as soon as the text appeared, it immediately shielded the entire area.

Shen Bai stroked his chin. "It seems this is a very secret matter."

Having reached his current level, Shen Bai had already amassed a great deal of insider knowledge. He could tell at a glance that Daoist Chongling had just used the Talisman Paper to isolate their surroundings.

And the purpose of this isolation was surely to prevent their conversation from being overheard.

After Daoist Chongling finished this process, their surroundings were completely shielded. Only Shen Bai and Daoist Chongling remained, sitting in the room of the Ding Twenty-Third Division.

A trace of shame appeared in Daoist Chongling’s eyes. "Using a Sound Insulation Talisman in the Observatory... Lord Liu and the others can actually sense it, but they seem to have tacitly approved of my actions."

Shen Bai smiled. "Everyone in Fenglin Continent remembers what the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple did for it back then. So, it’s fine to have this precedent."

Hearing this, Daoist Chongling shook his head. "That was earned with the blood of my fellow disciples. I am merely one who reaps the benefits they sowed. It’s not worth mentioning, and I am quite ashamed." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Shen Bai shook his head. "You don’t need to say that, Daoist Chongling. If it had been possible at the time, I believe you would have also gone to your death."

"Of course," Daoist Chongling said without hesitation. "Back then, every one of my martial brothers was willing to die for that battle. But the Temple Master told us to draw lots to leave nine people behind to ensure the temple’s lineage would continue. I was just unfortunate enough to be chosen."

When he said this, Daoist Chongling used the word "unfortunate."

Shen Bai could also see in Daoist Chongling’s eyes that he was speaking from the heart.

"Daoist Chongling, since we’ve already isolated our surroundings, let’s not talk about the past. Let’s discuss how to solve the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple’s problem," Shen Bai said.