Chapter 1877: Mysterious Shadows in the Deep Sea

The birth of the Insect King primarily relies on mutual devouring among them.

This naturally left Han Li somewhat frustrated.

Unable to find a suitable solution for the time being, he could only resort to various methods to continuously temper and stimulate these dozen or so spirit insects.

While this wouldn’t immediately force them to devour one another, it could gradually enhance their strength, increasing the likelihood of cultivating an Insect King in the future.

Moreover, even if an Insect King wasn’t bred now, these dozen or so Purple-Striped Armored Beetles could still be easily controlled with his divine sense. They were far more practical than the tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles, giving him an additional trump card in battle.

Over the past two hundred years, Han Li had also exhausted most of the Netherworld Spirit Milk, which had brought about some indescribably profound changes to his physique.

The most obvious of these was that his speed in converting the world’s spiritual energy during cultivation had increased by at least thirty percent compared to before.

This seemingly modest thirty percent increase meant that his cultivation time could now be reduced by nearly a third.

Not to mention, Qing Yuanzi had once confidently asserted that a body cleansed by the Netherworld Spirit Milk would greatly benefit in breaking through the Body Integration bottleneck. Otherwise, why would the four great demon kings of the Abyss have risked venturing deep into the Netherworld to snatch some of this spirit milk from the jaws of death?

With these astonishing changes, coupled with Han Li’s continuous consumption of various elixirs to enhance his spiritual power, his cultivation progress had surged at an unprecedented rate.

He was now on the verge of reaching the peak of the mid-stage Body Integration realm. With just another decade or so, he could attempt to break through to the late stage.

Lost in these thoughts, Han Li’s main body let out a faint sigh, placed his hands on his thighs, and prepared to close his eyes once more to resume cultivation.

But at that moment, a flash of white spiritual light suddenly appeared at the door of the secret chamber, followed by a ripple of translucent waves spreading outward.

Seeing this, Han Li was momentarily stunned. After a few quick thoughts, he flicked his sleeve toward the door.

With a soft “puff,” the spiritual light on the door split in two and opened.

A fireball shot in from outside, flickered once, and then strangely landed in Han Li’s hand.

Han Li’s eyes swept over the fireball, and his divine sense instantly penetrated it. Moments later, his expression abruptly changed.

With a “bang,” he clenched his fist, crushing the fireball into nothingness.

Under the flickering firelight, Han Li’s face turned extremely grim.

“The Demon Spots have appeared so early! It seems I have no choice but to go out,” he murmured in a voice so low it was almost inaudible. Spiritual light erupted from his body.

The other two “Han Li” clones, seeing this, immediately moved expressionlessly, merging into his main body like phantoms.

Two dull thuds later, the three became one.

Han Li’s aura surged wildly before abruptly receding. He then stood up with a flick of his sleeve.

With a wave of his hand, the massive cyan cauldron before him spun rapidly, shrinking to the size of a fist before disappearing into his sleeve in a flash of cyan light.

Then, with a single step, Han Li traversed over a dozen zhang in an instant, appearing at the door. With a slight sway of his shoulders, he vanished into the doorway without a trace.

Deep within a mountain range in the barbaric wilderness, at the foot of a towering peak, a white-robed youth stood with his hands behind his back, facing off against three colossal ancient beasts.

One of the beasts was a hundred-zhang-tall, two-headed giant with a ferocious appearance, a wild mane of yellow hair, and a massive black club in one hand.

The other two beasts were a pair of crimson serpents—one over three hundred zhang long and the other around seventy to eighty zhang—both spewing red mist that seemed lethally toxic.

The three beasts stared intently at the seemingly insignificant youth before them, clearly wary.

“Heh, I gave you all a little warning a couple of days ago, ordering all powerful creatures here to leave. The others had the sense to obey, but you three stubbornly remain. Do you really think that banding together will allow you to defy me? How foolish!” The white-robed youth, his face adorned with strange gold and silver patterns, swept his gaze over the three beasts and spoke in a voice as cold as ice.

The three beasts, possessing some intelligence, reacted immediately. The two-headed giant gnashed its fangs, pounded its chest with a massive fist, and let out a furious roar.

The two crimson serpents flicked their tongues rapidly, their eyes gleaming coldly as a chorus of hisses filled the air.

The white-robed youth smirked, formed a hand seal, and suddenly rolled on the ground. With a “bang,” a wave of freezing white mist erupted, spreading across several acres in an instant. Snowflakes the size of eggs materialized in the air, shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight.

A sharp, eerie cry erupted from the mist as the cold air churned violently. A jade-white, crystalline centipede, its body resembling carved ice, shot out.

The centipede had six wings on its back and eyes as red as blood. Initially only seven to eight zhang long, it expanded to over a hundred zhang in a single flicker. Without hesitation, it opened its maw and spewed a wave of white, freezing flames that surged toward the three beasts like a glacial tide.

The beasts, clearly aware of the danger, reacted instantly. The two-headed giant swung its black club repeatedly, summoning a hurricane that roared toward the freezing tide. The two serpents spewed red mist, transforming it into blazing flames to shield themselves.

Yet, when the white glacial tide swept over them, both the hurricane and flames were extinguished in an instant. The three beasts had no time to react before they were frozen into towering ice sculptures.

The colossal centipede circled above them, its six wings trembling as six white beams shot out, wrapping around the ice sculptures like lightning. With a series of thunderous booms, the sculptures shattered into piles of icy debris.

Three faint spirit essences emerged from the wreckage, frantically attempting to flee.

But the six-winged centipede opened its maw again and inhaled deeply. An invisible force enveloped the area, sucking the debris and the three spirit essences into its gaping mouth.

In a flash of white light, the centipede vanished, replaced once more by the white-robed youth.

He coldly scanned the area below, ensuring nothing was left behind, before shifting his gaze to the towering mountain beside him. A flicker of excitement crossed his face.

With a swift motion, he transformed into a white streak and shot toward the mountain, disappearing into its midsection after a few flickers.

A short while later, deep within a natural cavern beneath the mountain, the white-robed youth stood before a rugged, purplish-red stone wall, his face alight with excitement.

“Haha, the Purple Yin Vein! To think I’d find such a rare mineral deposit. It seems my True Spirit form will reach completion sooner than expected.”

Without hesitation, he rolled on the ground once more, reverting to his centipede form—this time only a few zhang long. Opening its maw, it spewed a radiant mist that enveloped the entire wall.

Under the shimmering light, the purplish-red stone gradually eroded, revealing a dark, gaping hole.

The six-winged centipede darted inside in a streak of white light.

Soon, the sound of rumbling echoed from within the cave.

In a secret chamber of an underwater palace, a massive cocoon suspended by countless blood-red threads writhed incessantly. Suddenly, countless crimson runes emerged on its surface, and it began expanding at an unbelievable speed.

Within a single breath, the originally spacious chamber was completely filled by the swollen cocoon.

A faint shadow within the cocoon stirred slightly.

The cocoon pulsed once before exploding apart with a deafening boom.

In the chamber’s void, a naked youth now sat cross-legged in midair.

His face was as pale as jade, strikingly handsome, with golden lotus patterns covering his front and back.

The lifelike lotuses, each several chi in size, spanned most of his body, exuding an eerie aura that induced dizziness in those who gazed upon them.

The youth’s eyes remained closed, his expression serene as he floated motionless.

After the time it takes to finish a meal, a faint golden light flickered across his body, and the lotus patterns twisted and shimmered as if alive.

Slowly, the youth opened his eyes.

His pupils were clear, black and white, yet deep within them lay a crystalline glow, as if concealing an unfathomable power.

With two soft “pops,” flames burst to life in his eyes—one gold, one silver—flickering in size as he turned his head.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on an object in the corner of the chamber, and his expression grew peculiar.

The object was a fist-sized crystal orb resting on a low jade table, emitting a faint spiritual light that projected a vivid image.

Within the image, a silver lotus pod hovered lifelike, as if it were real.