After attaching a wisp of his divided consciousness to the puppet, although he remained above the pool, he could clearly observe everything within it through mental connection.
The pale silver pool water was evidently far more mysterious and viscous than he had anticipated!
As the giant wolf plunged three to four zhang deep into the pool, a rebounding force surged from the bottom, while countless strands of immense pressure emanated from the surrounding water, making its descent extraordinarily difficult.
When the wolf managed to inch another zhang deeper, the surrounding forces suddenly multiplied several times over, and the rebounding pressure made it impossible to descend any further.
Simultaneously, the puppet’s body emitted intermittent cracking sounds, as if it might burst under the immense pressure at any moment.
Sweeping his divided consciousness around, he sensed nothing but the pale silver water.
Above the pool, Han Li frowned slightly and gave a mental command.
The giant wolf’s limbs twitched, causing it to rise half a zhang before slowly swimming at the same depth.
Though its movements were sluggish, the pool was only about a hundred zhang wide. Within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the wolf puppet had searched the entire area but found nothing.
Han Li pondered for a moment before raising a hand and summoning the puppet back.
With a whoosh, the giant wolf flew out of the water, accompanied by a streak of white light that vanished into Han Li’s body in a flash.
After scanning the puppet and finding no abnormalities, Han Li flicked his sleeve, storing it away.
Naturally, he wasn’t ready to give up. With a wave of his hand, a pitch-black beast ring whirred into the air, spinning rapidly.
A swirl of pale golden light erupted from the ring, releasing hundreds of enormous golden beetles, each gleaming with a fierce pair of fangs—mature Gold Devouring Beetles.
Without hesitation, Han Li formed a hand seal, and a flash of white light burst from his brow, accompanied by a sharp hissing sound.
Hundreds of crystalline threads shot out, each precisely embedding itself into a beetle.
At his command, the beetles transformed into golden streaks and dove into the pool, swiftly sinking deeper.
Given their nearly indestructible bodies and immense strength, the beetles could easily descend much further.
In moments, they had plunged seven to eight zhang deep before slowing their descent.
Yet, even at this depth, the pool’s bottom remained unseen.
A look of surprise crossed Han Li’s face as he considered whether to deploy a dozen reserve beetle kings next.
But when the beetles finally reached ten zhang deep, his expression brightened with joy.
Beneath the ten-zhang mark, a vast expanse of white sandy ground came into view.
Overjoyed, Han Li immediately ordered the beetles to fan out and search.
Soon, they discovered seven spiritual lotuses, each about a chi tall, hidden in two remote corners of the pool.
Each stem was transparent like crystal, threaded with dense blood-red veins leading up to the lotus flower at its apex.
Of the seven lotuses, three bore fist-sized pale buds, two had partially unfurled petals, and only one was in full bloom.
The unopened lotuses were an unremarkable pale yellow, but the fully bloomed one had flesh-red petals with faint, human-like veins—a truly peculiar sight.
Far from disappointed, Han Li was elated.
Though information about the Spirit Cleansing Pool and Pure Spirit Lotuses was scarce in the Spirit Realm, he had gone to great lengths to gather some intelligence before venturing into the Demon Realm.
According to his findings, the Pure Spirit Lotus was a rare treasure that only grew in the Spirit Cleansing Pool. Before blooming and changing color, it was as mundane as any ordinary spiritual herb.
Once it bloomed, however, the lotus could last a thousand years. If left unharvested, it would gradually dissolve into pure spiritual energy, merging back into the pool. The next bloom would take several millennia.
Thus, even the Long Family Ancestor and others, who had long coveted these lotuses, couldn’t guarantee they’d find one in bloom. And even if they did, with multiple contenders, securing two or three petals per person would be the best outcome.
Now that the Long Family Ancestor and the others had unexpectedly perished, leaving Han Li alone, this single lotus was more than enough for him to fully absorb its miraculous effects.
Suppressing his excitement, Han Li ordered the beetles to scour the pool’s bottom once more.
Apart from the Pure Spirit Lotuses, they found no other spiritual herbs.
This wasn’t surprising.
Given the pool’s crushing pressure, few herbs could survive at its depths. Moreover, the pool’s spiritual energy was excessively pure; any stray seeds that fell in would simply explode, let alone sprout.
As Han Li pondered this, the beetles at the pool’s bottom suddenly grew restless, as if excited by something.
Puzzled, Han Li quickly reconnected with his divided consciousness and inspected the beetles.
Moments later, his expression changed. With a mental command, one beetle reluctantly floated back to the surface.
When the fist-sized golden beetle emerged, Han Li scrutinized it intently.
Outwardly, it seemed unchanged, but its aura had subtly shifted—not in strength or weakness, but in essence.
Frowning, Han Li suddenly recalled something, and a blue glint flashed in his pupils.
His face registered surprise.
Though the beetle appeared the same, its golden carapace now bore faint white threads, nearly invisible to the naked eye. He was certain these hadn’t been there before.
His mind raced as his expression shifted. Abruptly, he summoned another beetle from the spirit beast ring.
This new beetle landed obediently in his palm.
Lifting it, Han Li scanned it with his blue-lit eyes.
Soon, his expression darkened.
His earlier suspicion was correct: the new beetle’s carapace was smooth, devoid of the white threads.
Clearly, the threads had appeared after the beetles entered the pool.
Could the Spirit Cleansing Pool also benefit these Gold Devouring Beetles?
Without delay, Han Li summoned another mature beetle from the pool.
This second beetle also bore the fine white threads.
Now convinced, Han Li realized the pool could induce further mutations in the mature beetles—though the nature of these changes remained unclear.
Though inwardly intrigued, he showed no outward excitement. Instead of releasing more beetles, he frowned and summoned the rest from the pool, storing them all back in the spirit beast ring.
Han Li understood the beetles’ rapid mutation resulted from absorbing the pool’s mysterious energy—the very energy crucial for his own metamorphosis.
Until he completed his own cleansing, he couldn’t afford to deplete this energy.
If the energy proved insufficient and his cleansing failed, even enhanced beetles would be small consolation.
After all, advancing to the Mahayana realm was his ultimate goal. Everything else was secondary.
Once his cleansing was complete, however, he’d release the beetles to absorb the pool’s energy freely.
Having settled this and located the Pure Spirit Lotus, Han Li stowed the spirit beast ring and flicked his sleeve, releasing a faint golden shadow that morphed into a foot-long golden beast—the Leopard Qilin Beast.
“Though it’s unlikely anyone else will enter, guard the area while I’m in the pool. If anyone intrudes, hold them off as long as possible,” Han Li instructed gravely.
“Rest assured, Master. I’ll do my best,” the beast replied in a child’s voice before vanishing into thin air.
Han Li nodded impassively. A green glow enveloped him as a faint green figure emerged—an exact replica of himself, clad in a pale green robe. This was the Spirit Physique of the Ginseng Immortal.
Next, he tapped his forehead, releasing a wisp of black mist containing a dark infant—his second demonic infant.
The infant, sharing Han Li’s thoughts, immediately merged into the Spirit Physique with a low cry.
Without further instruction, the physique’s silver eyes opened, and it smiled before transforming into an emerald streak, darting into a nearby forest.
Han Li then produced stacks of formation flags and plates, swiftly setting up three intricate temporary formations around the pool, sealing it tightly.
To guard against potential schemes from the two Demon Realm Ancestors, he took every precaution.
Though the Leopard Qilin Beast, the demon infant-controlled physique, and the formations couldn’t stop a true Sacred Ancestor, they would buy him enough time to react to any surprise attacks.
Satisfied, Han Li finally relaxed and drifted gently into the pool.
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