Chapter 880

In a sealed chamber, a green stone altar over a zhang tall stood at the center, surrounded by a dozen colorful flags planted around it, forming a temporary array that glowed with faint spiritual light.

On the altar rested a green, bowl-like disc resembling a talisman plate, emitting waves of green vapor; within it, a faint, blurred infant figure sat cross-legged, swallowing mist and exhaling clouds, as if cultivating some technique.

At each corner of the chamber sat an elderly man with white hair, gripping a green magical flag, seated in meditation. All the flags pointed toward the central bowl, each tip spewing thin streams of green mist that drifted slowly toward the bowl.

This eerie scene unfolded like a silent painting, utterly still and soundless.

After an unknown length of time, the four elders' faces showed signs of fatigue; the infant within the green mist had grown slightly clearer in form.

"That'll do for today. Thank you three sincerely for your help. In a few more days, Brother Gui should regain his strength on his own. I am deeply grateful." The red-haired elder seated in the northwest corner gathered his flag and rose, bowing with clasped hands to the other three.

"Hah! Brother Cai Huan, no need for such formalities. We've known Immortal Gui for a long time. Helping him is only natural." The other three elders likewise retracted their flags; one clean-shaven, pale-faced elder quickly returned the bow.

"Regardless, this favor—I and my brother will remember it forever." The first to rise, the red-haired elder, gazed at the still-seated infant with deep sincerity.

"Hah! Friend, you're too courteous!" Another elder smiled and spoke.

"By the way, we've been in this chamber aiding Immortal Gui in restoring his Nascent Soul—has there been any word on that outsider? It's hard to believe someone could command over ten thousand Golden Chewing Beetles. We all know how difficult it is for them to lay eggs. I arrived late and missed the battle to intercept him. Was he truly that terrifying? Three Nascent Soul cultivators perished."

Upon hearing this, the other three elders exchanged glances, their faces filled with lingering fear.

"Terrible doesn't even describe him. Besides commanding the Golden Chewing Beetles, he wielded violet flames and golden lightning. The first group of cultivators who confronted him—two were wounded, one died, instantly. Most of the damage came from those two arts. The golden lightning could trap a cultivator's Nascent Soul; the violet flame could obliterate it effortlessly. Even later cultivators, aware and cautious, still lost two more. They couldn't resist."

"Moreover, his magic treasure was formidable—a set of strange golden and green flying swords, sixty to seventy in number, razor-sharp. Several friends' treasures shattered into two pieces on contact. Even stranger: behind his back were wing-like treasures that could activate Thunder Dash without any incantation. His form was utterly untrackable. Don't laugh, Cai Huan, but six or seven of us, all roughly your level, surrounded him at once—and still we sweated through our clothes, barely holding on. We even considered retreating. Fortunately, Grand Immortal Hu arrived just in time. He secretly unleashed the Great Five Elements Capturing Immortal Hand, striking unexpectedly and severely wounding him. But even wounded, the outsider instantly transformed into a blood shadow and vanished from the encirclement. Our spiritual senses found no trace. Only when Grand Immortal Hu told us he was hundreds of li away did we know his location. By then, pursuit was impossible."

"This outsider is so powerful—could he be a famed top-tier cultivator from a major Great Jin sect? No wonder Brother Gui, despite possessing the Six-Soul Splitting Technique, ended up like this."

"Don't worry, Brother Gui. You know how potent the Great Five Elements Capturing Immortal Hand is. Even if he escaped, that strike must have damaged at least half his cultivation base—he's no longer a threat. And luckily, the Holy Maiden is accompanying Great Jin's guests to the nearby Tianlan Holy Temple to preside over the Spirit-Opening Ceremony. If he's truly from Great Jin, those guests should recognize his strange arts. Once we know his identity, we can deal with him. Even if he's from a major Great Jin sect, killing so many of our high-level cultivators won't be overlooked by our Grand Immortals. Moreover, we must uncover how he cultivated so many Golden Chewing Beetles."

It seemed this elder had suffered a considerable blow in his clash with Han Li.

"I hope so. But thankfully, all his Golden Chewing Beetles were immature. Otherwise, he wouldn't even need to use any arts—just release ten thousand of them, and even four Immortals together would have to retreat."

Hearing this, the other elders exchanged glances and could only smile bitterly.

They, as Tuyu cultivators, knew well the power of mature Golden Chewing Beetles.

As they pondered, an unexpected event occurred.

The infant seated in the green mist suddenly let out a piercing scream, clutched its head, and rolled about in agony, its form flickering and dissolving unevenly.

"Danger! Quick, everyone, act now!" The red-haired elder cried out in alarm.

The other three elders, sensing the gravity, immediately reactivated their flags, chanting incantations; four streams of green mist surged again toward the center of the chamber.

Thick green mist immediately enveloped the writhing infant, continuously repairing its dissolving Nascent Soul.

Time passed slowly. Under the full effort of the four elders, the cries within the mist grew fainter. After a while, the infant finally stabilized, sitting cross-legged again, greedily absorbing the surrounding green mist.

After an unknown duration, a faint, broken voice drifted from within the mist.

"Th-thank you all… for your great help… I'm… fine now… you may cease your efforts." Hearing this, the four elders finally exhaled in relief.

To be honest, they could have sustained longer—but their spiritual energy would have been irreparably damaged.

Thus, all four withdrew their cultivation.

"Brother Gui, what happened just now? Your Nascent Soul, which had stabilized, dissolved again. That's extremely dangerous."

"D-don't worry, friends. It won't happen again. Just now… the Golden Chewing Beetle linked to my Primordial Spirit… was destroyed. My spiritual sense… was slightly affected."

"What? A Golden Chewing Beetle destroyed? How? Mature Golden Chewing Beetles are nearly indestructible in this realm. How could anyone kill one so easily?"

"Not surprising. Without Brother Gui directly commanding them, even the most powerful Golden Chewing Beetles can be countered. No matter how invulnerable their bodies, there are top-tier dark arts capable of directly attacking the Primordial Spirit and soul essence—no need to destroy the body itself."

"Oh? Then this man is a dark cultivator? But his arts during our earlier battle didn't seem like dark techniques at all," the last, thin elder hesitated.

Silence fell over the chamber. The elders exchanged uneasy glances.

…

Meanwhile, far away, in another location, Han Li exhaled deeply, his heart suddenly easing.

After half a month of nonstop cultivation, he had finally extracted the Primordial Spirit of the mature Golden Chewing Beetle and absorbed it into the Yin Luo Banner.

During this time, the Canglu tribe had not disturbed him once—this surprised Han Li, and he was naturally pleased.

He did not know that, at the very moment he extracted the Primordial Spirit, he had nearly destroyed the very culprit who had brought him to this state.

He raised his hand and grasped the void before him; instantly, a black magical aura shot out a small, jet-black banner with a "whoosh," which he caught in his palm.

The remaining dark mist churned, then coalesced into a second Nascent Soul, black and green, its hands gripping a massive, golden-glowing insect.

Beneath the Nascent Soul, the lid and talismans of the jade box had vanished; the interior was empty.

Han Li toyed with the small banner, his gaze sweeping over the golden insect.

The insect was half a foot long, its fangs protruding an inch from its mouth, grotesque and ferocious—exactly Han Li's Golden Chewing Beetle, magnified several times over. It was the mature form.

But its Primordial Spirit was gone; all life had ceased.

Han Li thought for a moment, then unfurled the Yin Luo Banner. A fist-sized black-green light sphere shot out, circled once, then floated gently before him.

Within the soft green light floated a spectral insect, identical to the mature Golden Chewing Beetle—yet much smaller, entirely black, its eyes blood-red and dripping.

"Go."

Han Li lightly pointed; the Golden Chewing Beetle's Primordial Spirit instantly transformed into a black streak, vanished in a flash, and plunged into the original insect's body.

The giant golden insect's eyes blazed crimson. It spread its wings and began to fly, circling the second Nascent Soul.

"As I suspected. Turning this insect into a demonic corpse should work. Though its power is reduced from before, it's still formidable. But to control it fully, I'll need to refine its body with dark qi." Han Li murmured softly, a hint of delight on his face.

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