Chapter 519: The Five-Color Pearls and the New Golden Insects

One was a bar-like object several zhang long, shimmering with silver light—it was part of the giant turtle's tail.

The other was half of a ghost-headed cane, still radiating astonishing spiritual energy.

It was hard to say who had truly won that great battle.

After the thunder tribulation ended, they may have chased each other away from these nearby waters.

After all, at the level of Nascent Soul and eighth-grade beast, whether a cultivator sought to slay the beast and extract its core, or the beast sought to devour the cultivator's Nascent Soul, neither was an easy feat.

The weaker side fleeing would be far easier.

Han Li looked at the two items in his hands, a hint of solemnity on his face.

After thinking for a moment, he waved his hands and tossed both items back into the sea.

Even if the likelihood was small, Han Li did not wish to be tracked down over these two items and invite disaster upon himself.

He scanned the surroundings again, confirmed no cultivators or beasts were hiding nearby, then no longer hesitated and flew toward the misty sea.

The seals outside the cave remained intact; Han Li's last lingering worry vanished, and he hurried inside.

Originally, before the great battle began, Han Li had planned to relocate from this island.

But after witnessing the fierce battle between the three cultivators and the beast, he changed his mind.

Whether the giant turtle lived or died, it had certainly suffered grave injuries. Even if its nest truly lay in this sea, the shock would surely drive it to flee.

Moreover, finding another such secluded island was no easy task. Even if one were found, who knew what other high-grade beasts might dwell nearby?

Thus, this place now seemed safer after all.

Yet Han Li dared not grow careless. He immediately set up several illusion arrays across the island, and in other parts of the mountains, constructed two fake caves, each likewise sealed with protective barriers.

This way, even if a powerful enemy invaded, he would have a chance to escape.

After completing all this, Han Li finally allowed himself to relax somewhat.

He did not know that the human-beast battle he had witnessed that day had become the crucial spark igniting the future Yaoxiu wars of the Chaotic Star Sea.

The enraged dragon clan of the Chaotic Star Sea joined the ranks of high-grade beasts slaughtering human cultivators.

Human cultivators suffered devastating losses!

After seeing that his cave remained undisturbed for some time, Han Li soon forgot about that great battle.

Now he was focused on crafting array tools to trap beasts, preparing to hunt sixth- and seventh-grade high-grade beasts—he dared not be careless in the slightest.

During this time, the Golden Insects, having finished devouring, finally laid eggs.

When Han Li, filled with joy, saw the insect eggs, his face twisted into a look of shock.

Though still white and egg-like, black spots had appeared on their surfaces—strikingly conspicuous.

"This is…"

Seeing this, Han Li's first thought was that the Golden Insects had advanced to maturity. But he immediately dismissed the idea.

According to his estimation, the previous generation of Golden Insects, though powerful, were still far from the legendary invincible mature form. It was impossible for them to evolve so quickly.

After further thought, Han Li naturally recalled the countless Ironfire Ants they had devoured.

Could it be that devouring too many Ironfire Ants had triggered some unexpected evolution?

Han Li's curiosity surged.

Yet according to past experience, the eggs would not hatch for about a year.

Without delay, he suppressed his anticipation, formed the Spirit Control Array, and moved all the eggs inside, dripping blood to claim them as his own.

Then Han Li casually glanced into the adjacent Golden Silk Silkworm chamber.

Of the Golden Silk Silkworms, only the two that had consumed the Five-Color Pearls remained alive; the rest, despite being fed medicinal herbs to prolong life, had gradually died.

Even these two, having survived due to the mysterious medicinal power of the pearls, showed no sign of improvement.

At this point, Han Li had fully given up. He had prepared some Rainbow Robe Grass, intending to feed it to these two silkworms to see if, like the Golden Insects, they might produce eggs.

Han Li was now certain: even if the Five-Color Pearls were not the Heaven-Repairing Pill, they were beneficial to the body, not harmful.

Half a month later, Han Li completed crafting all the array tools.

He then fed the Rainbow Robe Grass to the pair of Golden Silk Silkworms and entered the meditation chamber to consume the Five-Color Pearls.

Excluding the small pearl he had used earlier, he still had six left.

…

Sitting cross-legged in the center of the meditation chamber, Han Li gazed calmly at the pearls in the box.

Since he had made his decision, he would not hesitate. He swiftly picked up one and placed it in his mouth.

Immediately, Han Li's face showed a hint of surprise.

The pearl, which should have been hard, became incredibly soft upon entering his mouth—bitter, yet easily swallowed.

A warm sensation rose from his dantian.

Han Li frowned slightly and used his spiritual sense to inspect internally.

The Five-Color Pearl remained intact within his abdomen, emitting a faint aura of colored light.

Seeing this, Han Li paused briefly, then formed a hand seal.

A slender thread of blue flame erupted from his Golden Core, enveloping the pearl entirely, beginning its refinement.

The warmth instantly turned into searing heat!

Han Li closed his eyes and entered deep meditation.

Two months later, Han Li had refined the pearl into nothingness—but he felt no immediate change.

After a moment's hesitation, he began refining the second one.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a year passed.

When Han Li emerged from the meditation chamber again, all six Five-Color Pearls had been fully refined.

At this point, he faintly sensed that his absorption of celestial spiritual energy and conversion into spiritual power had slightly increased. Though subtle, it filled Han Li with ecstatic joy.

After all, the effect of these Five-Color Pearls had only just begun.

Yet no sooner had he left the meditation chamber than he was doused with cold water.

The Golden Silk Silkworms, having consumed sufficient Rainbow Robe Grass, had indeed laid eggs—over a hundred of them. But not a single one was viable; all were dead.

Moreover, the pair of silkworms died immediately after laying them.

Han Li stood outside the insect chamber, staring at the room full of dead eggs, utterly speechless.

Though struck by this blow, Han Li was not entirely without gain.

At the very least, he had confirmed the general medicinal nature of Rainbow Robe Grass.

Though he had long suspected that consuming this herb during its leafing phase could stimulate high-grade beasts to reproduce, he had never had the chance to test this hypothesis.

Now, judging from the silkworms' case, it was almost certainly true.

The rarer and higher-grade the beast, the harder it was to reproduce! No wonder high-grade beasts rushed en masse whenever this herb began to leaf.

As the saying goes: misfortune and fortune are intertwined.

While Han Li, disheartened by the silkworms' fate, brooded in gloom, the Golden Insects began hatching several days later.

The result delighted him once more.

The newly hatched Golden Insects looked no different from before—but on their golden shells, besides the silver spots, black stripes now appeared. Their spiritual energy also felt subtly different to Han Li.

Han Li was now certain: these Golden Insects had clearly diverged from the ordinary kind due to their ancestors devouring too many Ironfire Ants.

What exactly made them different, Han Li would need to test thoroughly.

So he placed a batch of Golden Insects into a spirit beast pouch and re-entered the sealed chamber.

Half a day later, when Han Li stepped out again, his face glowed with unmistakable excitement.

The power of these new Golden Insects far exceeded Han Li's expectations—he now felt greater confidence in venturing out to hunt beasts.

Though Han Li still wished to study the puppet parts obtained from the Void Heaven Cauldron, he estimated it would take more than a few years to yield results, so he set it aside for now.

He prepared to set sail to collect high-grade beast cores.

The array tools and the Rainbow Robe Grass he would carry with him; the Blood Jade Spider and the Cry-Soul would not be left behind—they would surely prove useful.

But the medicinal herbs and spirit grass in the cave, especially the Nine-Twisted Spirit Ginseng, gave him some concern—he dared not transplant them away.

After all, he did not know how long he would be gone. The Nine-Twisted Spirit Ginseng, being a plant, could not survive long away from the ground.

After careful thought, Han Li simply left behind a portion of the newly hatched Golden Insects in the cave.

His order to them: kill any cultivator or beast that dared intrude.

Thus, unless a Nascent Soul cultivator or eighth-grade beast broke in, the cave would be utterly secure.

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