Amidst the black mist, the demonized golden-robed man let out a piercing scream as a massive bloody hole instantly appeared in his abdomen, hollowed out as if his flesh and blood had vanished into thin air.
Yet, such a strike was clearly not enough to claim his life.
Though his face twisted in pain, he swiftly formed a hand seal with one hand while pressing the other toward the wound. Before his palm even touched his body, a surge of thick black mist erupted from it.
He was clearly attempting to heal the injury immediately!
But in the next moment, golden light flickered within the bloody hole, and countless specks of light eerily emerged.
“No!”
The golden-robed man let out an earth-shaking roar upon seeing this, but it was already too late.
In an instant, the light became blindingly radiant, transforming into countless golden threads that shot out in all directions.
The sound of tearing air filled the void as golden threads crisscrossed, leaving countless bloody gashes across the demonized man’s body.
Then, a mist of blood dispersed, and chunks of flesh rained down from the sky.
The Golden Giant Crab’s strength was indeed unfathomable—it didn’t even need a third strike to effortlessly annihilate this incarnation of the Nirvana Sacred Ancestor.
Even the golden-robed man’s nascent soul, hidden within, failed to escape the golden threads’ lethal onslaught.
Han Li released his spiritual sense, his pupils flashing with blue light as he confirmed that no remnants of the golden-robed man’s soul had escaped. Only then did he exhale deeply and turn his gaze back to the Golden Giant Crab below, his expression hesitant.
“I have already struck twice. You have one more chance to request my aid. If you do not need it now, you may return later. However, I am bound to this place. Next time, you must lure your enemy near the Thunder Sea for me to act,” the Golden Giant Crab spoke again, its voice dull as the golden light on its body dimmed slightly.
“Cannot leave this place? Why is that?” Han Li asked calmly, feigning indifference.
“Without sufficient immortal spiritual energy, I cannot move freely for long,” the crab replied.
“Immortal spiritual energy? You mean…” Han Li’s expression shifted slightly.
“The natural energy contained within your offerings. The reason I agreed to act was because those offerings contained something I needed. As a puppet, every movement I make consumes immortal spiritual energy. Half of the energy from the offerings is stored as my payment,” the crab explained frankly.
“You are a pseudo-immortal puppet? Yet you seem to possess intelligence—I may even call you ‘fellow Daoist.’ How long can the drop of Creation Dew I just provided sustain you?” Han Li asked, his thoughts racing.
“I am a pseudo-immortal puppet forged in the Upper Realm, but I was stranded in this lower realm due to an accident. My original master perished in that incident, allowing me to develop a sliver of autonomy over the years. The Creation Dew you gave me, though not genuine, is the purest spiritual dew I’ve encountered in all this time—half as potent as the real thing. A single drop can sustain my free movement for two months, provided I do not engage in battle or face powerful enemies. Otherwise, it would only allow me a few full-power strikes,” the crab replied, its eyes gleaming with light.
“So, the reason you were dormant and unwilling to leave was purely due to a lack of energy?” Han Li’s eyes brightened as he pondered.
“Essentially, yes. But I remained here because this place has the purest spiritual energy in this realm. Dormancy here consumes no energy. If I accumulate enough immortal spiritual energy, I may even have a chance to return to the Upper Realm,” the crab admitted honestly.
“The Upper Realm you speak of—is it the True Immortal Realm?” Han Li pressed solemnly.
“Indeed. You lower-realm beings call it the True Immortal Realm or simply the Immortal Realm, but we denizens of that world still refer to it as the Upper Realm,” the crab replied bluntly.
“It seems your master was a true immortal, no wonder they could possess such a formidable puppet. However, if I could provide sufficient energy, would you be willing to accompany me for a time?” Han Li suddenly proposed, his words startling.
“Accompany you? If you can provide a drop of that pseudo-Creation Dew every month, it might be possible. But if you wish for my aid in battle, additional compensation will be required. And once I’ve accumulated enough energy, I will leave—you must not hinder me,” the crab replied after a long silence, its voice low.
“How much energy must you accumulate, and how long would that take?” Han Li countered after a brief hesitation.
“The mechanism within me that converts immortal spiritual energy is severely damaged. At most, I can refine one drop of Creation Dew per month. If you provide one drop monthly, it would take roughly a thousand years,” the crab answered, blinking its massive eyes.
“A thousand years! Heh, that’s more than enough time. Very well, I agree to provide a drop of Creation Dew each month. Fellow Daoist, you shall accompany me during this period,” Han Li declared with a laugh, his resolve firm.
“Agreed. But if you fail to deliver in any given month, I will consider our pact broken and execute you on the spot,” the crab stated bluntly.
“Very well. I accept,” Han Li gritted his teeth, glancing briefly at his chest before nodding.
“Then we shall form a temporary contract,” the crab rumbled as golden runes flickered across its body once more.
With that, the crab suddenly spat out a dark green stone slab, three to four feet long, which floated before Han Li.
Han Li tensed momentarily but relaxed when the slab showed no hostility. Upon closer inspection, he found silver script shimmering on its surface—Ancient Silver Script.
He silently thanked his luck and quickly deciphered the text, confirming it outlined their agreement.
“If you find no issue, simply spray a drop of essence blood onto it,” the crab instructed.
“Just essence blood? That’s simple enough,” Han Li agreed readily.
Had the crab demanded a fragment of his soul, he might have hesitated, wary of hidden traps. But essence blood posed no such risk.
As his blood touched the slab, it transformed into several unknown crimson runes before vanishing inside.
A hum resonated as the slab turned into a streak of green light, returning to the crab’s maw.
“The temporary contract is sealed. I may now accompany you. When do we depart?” the crab asked.
“Fellow Daoist is truly decisive. Let us leave at once. However, your current form is rather conspicuous. Could you alter it slightly?” Han Li suggested, eyeing the crab’s colossal frame.
“Smaller? Certainly.”
Golden light erupted as the crab’s body rapidly shrank. When the radiance faded, the crab was gone—replaced by a pale-skinned young man in green robes.
He appeared to be in his late twenties, tall and slender, with golden pupils and dark green eyebrows. His expression was utterly devoid of emotion as he addressed Han Li:
“Call me ‘Crab Daoist’ in this form.”
Han Li’s eyes flickered with surprise. His spiritual sense instinctively probed the man but was instantly repelled, sending a jolt of shock through him.
“Senior Crab is too modest. This junior is Han Li, a denizen of the Spirit Realm. Please accompany me for now. This is no place to linger—let us depart,” Han Li said with a respectful bow.
Crab Daoist offered no objection. Together, they soared into the sky as azure and golden streaks, vanishing into the horizon.
Meanwhile, at another corner of the island, Baohua, the Black Crocodile, and Yuan Yao remained locked in a tense standoff.
Suddenly, both Baohua and Yuan Yao stiffened, each producing a jade box.
“Hah! The boy kept his word—the strand of divine sense is gone!” Yuan Yao laughed maniacally before summoning his three-headed black flood dragon with a sweep of his sleeve.
Mounting the central head, he vanished into a storm of dark wind.
Moments later, his icy voice echoed through the void:
“For the sake of the spirit medicine, I shall not personally hunt down that Han brat. But the Extermination Decree will be issued immediately. From now on, that human will find no refuge in the Sacred Realm. Whether he returns to the Spirit Realm depends on his luck.”
The voice faded.
Baohua remained expressionless, stowing the jade box before casting a distant glance toward the Thunder Sea.
A trace of doubt flickered across her face as she murmured,
“Strange. That pseudo-immortal puppet struck, yet the boy escaped. Does Han Li possess some unforeseen means of survival?”
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