One object was a several-zhang-long strip, shimmering with silver light—it turned out to be a section of the giant turtle’s tail. The other was a broken ghost-headed cane, still emanating a startling spiritual aura.
It seemed the outcome of that great battle was truly uncertain.
Once the lightning tribulation ended, they might have chased each other away from the nearby sea.
After all, at the Nascent Soul stage and the level of an eighth-grade demon beast, whether a cultivator sought to slay the demon for its core or the demon beast aimed to devour the cultivator’s Nascent Soul, neither could be accomplished easily. The weaker side would find it much simpler to flee than to fight.
Han Li examined the two objects in his hand, his expression growing cautious. After a moment’s thought, he waved both hands and tossed the items back into the depths of the sea.
Even though the possibility was slim, Han Li had no desire to be tracked through these objects and bring trouble upon himself.
He scanned his surroundings once more, confirming that no cultivators or demon beasts were hiding nearby, before flying decisively toward the Misty Sea.
The restrictions outside his cave dwelling remained intact, easing Han Li’s last trace of worry. He hurried inside.
Before the great battle began, Han Li had planned to relocate from the island. Yet, after witnessing the fierce clash between the three cultivators and the demon beast, he changed his mind.
Whether the giant turtle was alive or dead, it had undoubtedly suffered severe injuries. Even if its lair was in these waters, the shock of the battle would likely drive it away. Moreover, finding another island as secluded as this one would be no easy task. Even if he did, who knew what other high-level demon beasts might lurk nearby?
Thus, this place seemed safer after all.
Still, Han Li took no chances. He swiftly set up several illusion arrays around the island and created two decoy cave dwellings in other parts of the mountain range, each concealed with restrictions. This way, even if a powerful enemy invaded, he would have a chance to escape.
With these preparations complete, Han Li finally felt somewhat at ease.
Unbeknownst to him, the battle between humans and demons he had witnessed that day would later become a major catalyst for the war between cultivators and demon beasts in the Chaotic Star Sea. The enraged flood dragon clan of the Chaotic Star Sea joined the ranks of high-level demon beasts slaughtering human cultivators, leading to heavy losses on the human side.
After some time passed without incident around his cave, Han Li soon put the memory of that battle behind him.
Now, he focused on refining trap arrays and tools for future demon beast hunts. Since he would be dealing with sixth or seventh-grade high-level demon beasts, he dared not be careless.
It was during this time that the Gold Devouring Beetles, having finished their feast, finally laid eggs.
When Han Li joyfully inspected the eggs, he was taken aback.
Though the eggs were still pale white, their surfaces were now dotted with conspicuous black spots.
“What is this…?” Han Li’s first thought was that the Gold Devouring Beetles had advanced to their mature form, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
Based on his earlier observations, while the beetles were already formidable, they were still far from the near-immortal mature form of legend. There was no way they could have evolved so quickly.
After some contemplation, Han Li naturally thought of the countless Ironfire Ants they had devoured. Could consuming so many have triggered some unexpected evolution?
His curiosity was piqued.
However, according to past experience, it would take about a year for these eggs to hatch. Without delay, he suppressed his anticipation and set up a soul-control array, moving all the eggs inside and performing a blood ritual to claim ownership. Afterwards, he took a detour to check on the Golden Silk Silkworms in the adjacent chamber.
Aside from the two silkworms that had consumed the two five-colored beads, the rest had gradually died despite being sustained with spiritual medicine. Even the two that had survived thanks to the mysterious power of the beads showed no signs of recovery.
By now, Han Li had given up hope. He prepared some Rainbow Skirt Grass to feed to the two silkworms, hoping to stimulate egg production as with the Gold Devouring Beetles.
He was now certain that even if the five-colored beads weren’t Heaven Mending Pills, they were at least beneficial rather than harmful.
Half a month later, Han Li finished refining all his array tools. He fed the Rainbow Skirt Grass to the pair of Golden Silk Silkworms and entered seclusion to consume the five-colored beads.
Excluding the small bead he had used earlier, Han Li still had six left.
…
Sitting cross-legged in the center of the seclusion room, Han Li calmly gazed at the beads in the box. Having made his decision, he showed no hesitation. He deftly picked up one bead and placed it in his mouth. A look of surprise soon crossed his face.
The bead, which should have been hard, became incredibly soft upon entering his mouth. It tasted slightly bitter but slid down his throat effortlessly. A warm, unusual sensation rose from his dantian.
Frowning slightly, Han Li used his spiritual sense to inspect internally. The five-colored bead remained intact in his stomach, emitting a faint glow.
After a moment’s thought, Han Li formed a hand seal, and a thin stream of cyan flame shot out from his Golden Core, enveloping the bead as he began refining it. The warmth instantly turned into a scorching heat!
Han Li closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
Two months later, the bead had been completely refined by his core flame, yet he felt no immediate changes. Hesitating briefly, he began refining the second bead.
In the blink of an eye, over a year passed. By the time Han Li emerged from seclusion, all six five-colored beads had been fully refined. He now faintly sensed that his ability to absorb heaven and earth spiritual energy and convert it into spiritual power had slightly improved. Though the change was subtle, it filled him with exhilaration.
After all, the effects of the five-colored beads had only just begun.
However, his excitement was quickly dampened upon leaving seclusion.
The Golden Silk Silkworms, after consuming ample Rainbow Skirt Grass, had indeed produced eggs—over a hundred of them. Yet, every single egg was dead, and the pair of silkworms had died shortly after laying them.
Han Li stood outside the insect room, staring at the chamber filled with dead eggs, utterly speechless.
Despite this setback, Han Li hadn’t gained nothing. At the very least, he had verified the general effects of Rainbow Skirt Grass.
Although he had long suspected that consuming the grass when its leaves unfolded had a miraculous effect on stimulating reproduction in high-level demon beasts, he had never had the chance to test this theory. Now, based on the silkworms’ outcome, it seemed highly likely to be true.
The rarer and higher-level the demon beast, the more difficult it was for them to produce offspring! No wonder high-level demon beasts swarmed to the grass when its leaves unfolded.
As the saying goes, misfortune and fortune are intertwined. Just as Han Li was feeling disheartened over the silkworms, the Gold Devouring Beetle eggs began to hatch a few days later.
The newly hatched beetles brought him another pleasant surprise.
Their appearance was largely unchanged, but their golden shells now bore black stripes alongside the silver spots. Moreover, their spiritual aura felt subtly different to Han Li.
He was now certain that these Gold Devouring Beetles had evolved differently due to their predecessors consuming vast quantities of Ironfire Ants.
Naturally, Han Li wanted to test their capabilities thoroughly.
He filled a spirit beast bag with the new beetles and returned to the secret room. After most of the day, when he emerged again, his face was alight with excitement.
The power of these new Gold Devouring Beetles far exceeded his expectations, boosting his confidence for his upcoming demon beast hunt.
Although Han Li wanted to study the puppet parts he had obtained from the Void Sky Cauldron, he knew it would take years to make progress, so he set the idea aside for now.
Instead, he prepared to set out to sea to collect high-level demon cores. He packed his array tools and Rainbow Skirt Grass, and made sure to bring along the Bloodjade Spiders and the Soul Cry Beast, certain they would prove useful. However, he was concerned about the spiritual herbs in his cave, especially the Ninecurl Spirit Ginseng, which couldn’t be transplanted easily since it couldn’t survive long away from soil.
After some consideration, Han Li decided to leave a small portion of the newly hatched Gold Devouring Beetles in the cave.
His orders to them were clear: eliminate any cultivator or demon beast that intruded.
This way, unless a Nascent Soul cultivator or an eighth-grade demon beast broke in, the cave would be virtually impregnable.
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