Chapter 1425: Gold Marrow Crystal Worm and Golden Mother Coral Sand

Volume Five

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Volume Five

“You have a way to capture Gold Marrow Crystal Worms alive?” Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but his heart surged with wild delight.

“Indeed. Our Bright Beast Clan, once we achieve even a slight mastery of our innate abilities, can naturally identify these crystal worms among countless ores. And we possess a method to prevent them from turning back into crystal stones,” the small beast said proudly.

“Good, very good. For this alone, I can overlook your earlier trouble. I can give you the Wood Bell Flowers!” Han Li suddenly smiled, his expression noticeably softening.

“Such a good deal! What are the conditions?” The small beast was exceptionally clever; it first showed delight but immediately reacted with suspicion.

“It’s simple. I’ll give you as many Wood Bell Flowers as you want. But in exchange, for every ten flowers, you must give me a pair of Gold Marrow Crystal Worms. Additionally, I’m also very interested in the Gold Mother Coral Sand among your offerings. One tael of this sand can be exchanged for one Wood Bell Flower,” Han Li said with a light chuckle.

“The crystal worms are sacrificial offerings, and we don’t have too many of them. Besides, ten pairs have already been promised to Venerable Baoguang,” the ox-headed small beast said, its eyes darting around.

“Venerable Baoguang? Merely a sea beast that has just transformed. Since I want these spirit worms, I will naturally deal with it. I’ll give you seven days to prepare for this. Come to my cave abode in three days to exchange for the Wood Bell Flowers. If you don’t come, hehe…” Han Li gave a chilling smile, shook his sleeve, and a gentle breeze suddenly arose nearby, causing him to vanish into thin air.

The ox-headed small beast and the three-headed giant python were startled. They then realized that the red threads that had tightly bound them had also disappeared.

The two beasts regained their freedom and couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

After a long moment, the three heads of the three-headed giant python looked around. The middle head blinked its green eyes and suddenly whispered to the small beast:

“Has that person really left?”

The ox-headed small beast hesitated upon hearing this, but then it immediately opened its mouth and spat out a misty green pearl.

The pearl spun in the air, then released a layer of green light that enveloped both beasts.

“There’s no problem now. With this sound-isolating barrier formed from my inner core, if that person tries to eavesdrop on our conversation with divine sense, I’ll definitely detect him,” the small beast said, blinking its eyes.

The three-headed giant python relaxed at this, but then asked:

“Do we really have to exchange for the Wood Bell Flowers?”

“The offerings aren’t just a matter for the two of us; we need to discuss it with a few other fellows. But if we want to get through this offering, I’m afraid this is the only way,” the small beast said with a bitter smile.

“Gold Marrow Crystal Worms and Gold Mother Coral Sand are also exceptionally rare. If we exchange them now, we might not be able to gather so many again next time,” the giant python reminded.

“We can’t worry about so much. While crystal worms and Gold Mother Coral Sand are indeed incredibly hard to find, we can eventually find them if we spend more time. However, the Sky-Roc Clan requires an enormous quantity of Wood Bell Flowers, and other places have long since dried up. Only the mountain where this person resides can supply enough for this offering,” the ox-headed small beast said, somewhat helplessly.

“Instead of doing this, why don’t we wait until the Sky-Roc Clan members come to collect the offerings and tell them about this? Let them deal with this strange person,” the three-headed python said suddenly, its three heads swaying for a moment.

“Hmph, don’t even think about it. Have you forgotten the lesson from before? Even if the Sky-Roc Clan members could truly kill this person, they would certainly take all the Wood Bell Flowers on the mountain, and the required offerings wouldn't be reduced by even half a flower. And if we truthfully tell them that the Wood Bell Flowers are almost gone from Black Hidden Mountain, will the Sky-Roc Clan still keep us? Historically, whenever the Sky-Roc Clan collected offerings, if the quantity of Wood Bell Flowers was sufficient, even if other offerings were a bit less, it was manageable. But conversely, if the Wood Bell Flowers were scarce, no matter how many other materials were offered, there would be severe consequences. Those Wood Bell Flowers seem to be extremely important to the Sky-Roc Clan. If it weren't for their extreme apprehension of the Black Nether Mist, they would never dare to stay here for too long. They probably would have sent people to personally guard this place long ago,” the ox-headed small beast said coldly.

“But if things continue like this, even if we manage this time, we won’t be able to provide the next offering either. Won’t it be the same outcome then? You must remember that we’ve all been branded with slave marks by the Sky-Roc Clan; if we travel ten thousand miles away from here, we will immediately self-detonate and die,” the three-headed giant python said anxiously.

“I naturally know that point. But there’s no need to worry about this. Have you forgotten the promise given to us by that senior in the Black Nether Mist? If we secretly send him spirit stones for another hundred years, he should achieve great mastery of his abilities and be able to remove our slave marks. At that time, we can escape without any worries,” the ox-headed small beast’s voice suddenly became solemn.

“But is he truly reliable? Don’t forget, although he was once the only surviving senior on our Black Hidden Mountain, after fleeing into the Black Nether Mist, he devoured the core of an ancient giant ghost and is now a half-ghost, half-demon. What if he undergoes some other transformation by then…?” The three-headed python hesitated.

“What, Brother Hua, are you worried that senior won’t keep his promise? You can rest assured on that point. This senior also originated from the Bright Beast Clan and bears a deep hatred for the Sky-Roc Clan. No matter how you look at it, he wouldn’t be detrimental to us. Besides, we’ve secretly sent him spirit stones for several centuries to aid his cultivation. Now that success is within sight, do we have any other choice?” The small beast shook its head repeatedly.

“Perhaps I, Brother Hua, have been overly concerned. But what exactly is in this Black Nether Mist that makes the Sky-Roc Clan so terrified? Has that senior ever investigated it thoroughly?” the giant python asked, suddenly curious.

“No, but there’s definitely something strange inside. Even with that senior’s current powers, he can only stay at the edge of the Black Nether Mist; he wouldn’t dare venture into its center. But these Black Nether Mists have existed for an incredibly long time. It’s said they appeared when the Sky-Roc people were at their most powerful, almost dominating the entire Flying Spirit Race,” the small beast said with a bitter smile.

“That’s true. Whatever exists within the Black Nether Mist is of no benefit to us. If we, with our cultivation, enter this mist, our flesh and blood will be absorbed within moments, leaving only withered bones,” the three-headed giant python nodded.

Immediately after, the small beast and the giant python discussed a few more things, then retrieved their demonic cores, transformed into two gusts of demonic wind, and flew away.

Shortly after the two beasts left, spatial fluctuations occurred nearby, and a faint azure figure shimmered out of thin air.

It was none other than Han Li, who was supposed to have left already.

He looked up at the departing beasts, gave a strange smile, and then suddenly reached out with one hand into the empty space where the two beasts had been.

A golden light flashed, and a tiny golden insect, no bigger than a fingernail, suddenly appeared—it was a Gold Devouring Beetle, shrunk more than ten times its normal size.

The insect unfurled its wings and flew into Han Li’s palm.

Han Li touched the spirit insect with a finger, then closed his eyes, immediately retracting the wisp of divine sense attached to the Gold Devouring Beetle. The previous conversation between the small beast and the three-headed python was fully imprinted in his mind.

“Black Nether Mist, half-ghost, half-demon, slave marks? How interesting. If the Sky-Roc Clan members cannot stay on this island for too long, then as long as there are no Integration stage entities, there’s no need to worry excessively for now. I truly didn’t expect that these few low-level demonic beasts could capture Gold Marrow Crystal Worms, such a sacred medicine for body refinement. Even the Integration stage elders in Heavenly Abyss City can’t find such things! With it, and finding a few other spiritual materials, plus my own Vajra Sarira, I can learn from the Buddhist Sect’s Vajra Dharma Body and condense my own Vajra True Devil Dharma Idol into a physical entity. Hehe, as for the Gold Mother Coral Sand, that’s also something I urgently need right now. If used to temper and seep into my flesh, it’s enough to make my physical body even more formidable…” Han Li muttered a few words to himself, then burst into an unusually joyful laugh.

After a while, Han Li’s laughter ceased. Suddenly remembering something, his lips moved, and then, behind him, the phantom images of a great Roc and a five-colored phoenix flashed, and a pair of crystalline feathered wings emerged.

With just a slight flap of his wings, Han Li’s figure suddenly emitted dazzling azure light. In a flash, his entire being transformed into a crystalline thread and shot out.

A long, azure-white streak immediately appeared in the sky, as if tearing through space, extending from where he shot out all the way to the horizon.

The next moment, a spiritual light flashed at one end of the long streak, and the crystalline thread had already appeared there. With another flash, it vanished into the distant sky.

With Han Li activating his Wind-Thunder Wings, which had already become spirit treasures, his escape speed was several times faster than ordinary speeds. In just over two days, he had flown out of the island and appeared over a sea area tens of thousands of miles away from it.

This sea area was covered with coral reefs of various sizes; some were like small islands, while others were barely large enough for one person to stand on.

Han Li hovered above a coral reef several mu in size, his arms crossed, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

This was precisely the location of the so-called Venerable Baoguang’s cave abode, which he had obtained through soul-searching techniques.

This venerable one was merely an Eighth-level demonic beast that had just completed its transformation. Two hundred years ago, it had wandered here from elsewhere, subdued seven or eight low-to-mid-level sea beasts nearby, and then settled in this place.

The ox-headed small beast and the other demonic beasts on the island had only managed to forge some acquaintance with this demon’s subordinates through past exchanges of spirit medicines. That’s why, unable to independently assault Han Li’s cave abode, they thought of using the Gold Marrow Crystal Worms to borrow this demon’s power.

Of course, this was also because the small beast and others had misjudged Han Li’s true cultivation, believing him to be, at most, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, which led them to act this way. Otherwise, they wouldn't have bothered with such a futile endeavor.

Han Li didn't delay further. With a flick of his wrist, a dark, gleaming palm extended from his large sleeve and slowly pressed down towards the coral reef below.

With a deafening rumble, the phantom image of a small mountain emerged from his palm, rapidly expanding and growing amidst a grey glow. It then solidified and slowly pressed downwards.

Under Han Li’s full activation, the Primal Magnetic Divine Mountain rapidly expanded to over a thousand zhang in size within moments. The primal magnetic divine light emanating from its base swirled and pulsed, enveloping several mu of the sea surface beneath it.