Chapter 1893: Insect Cultivation Secret Technique

“I see,” Han Li said thoughtfully, his eyes glinting. “It seems cultivating this Bug King probably requires a large number of Gold Devouring Beetles to devour each other.”

“Young friend, you are indeed remarkably intelligent. While not entirely accurate, you’re close,” the Ethereal Elder said, praising Han Li before letting out a cold laugh. “However, very few outsiders know about the Gold Devouring Bug King, apart from a few Supreme Elders of our Ephemeral race. You showed no surprise when you mentioned the Bug King just now, so it seems you already know something about it. Qing Yuanzi must have told you. He is the only one close with another Supreme Elder of our race and could know a thing or two.”

“I did indeed hear about it once from Senior Jiang,” Han Li said slowly after a moment of silence. “I heard that once the Gold Devouring Bug King matures, even true immortals from the Immortal Realm would retreat three feet. Is that true?”

“While somewhat exaggerated, the Gold Devouring Bug King is indeed incredibly powerful,” the Ethereal Elder said with a light chuckle. “At least, if I were to encounter one, I would definitely not want to fight it head-on.”

“I see,” Han Li said, nodding. Then he abruptly changed the subject and asked, “But if Senior were to obtain my spirit insects, what is the approximate chance of cultivating a Bug King?”

“What chance?” The elder narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment before finally holding up two fingers to Han Li.

“Only twenty percent,” Han Li replied in a deep voice, his expression changing slightly. “That’s certainly not a high probability.”

“Hmph, young friend, what do you take the Gold Devouring Bug King for?” the elder said, his expression darkening at Han Li’s somewhat surprised tone. “A twenty percent chance is something this old man can only achieve after years of diligent research into insect cultivation techniques, and with other backup methods. If it were anyone else, there wouldn’t even be a ten percent chance. Alright, you’ve asked all you needed to ask, and this last question already went beyond our agreement. Now it’s time for you, fellow Daoist, to fulfill your part of the agreement. You can state your conditions now.”

“How dare I underestimate Senior?” Han Li said without hesitation, seemingly having already made up his mind as soon as he heard the Ethereal Elder. “As for the transaction, since I’ve agreed, I will naturally fulfill my part. As for the exchange conditions, I have only two.”

“What two conditions? Tell me,” the elder said, nodding as his expression softened upon hearing Han Li’s words.

“First, I don’t want any other treasures from Senior; I only ask for more Stygian Spirit Milk,” Han Li said, stating each condition with a solemn expression. “Senior just said that with enough Gold Devouring Beetles, the spirit milk is no longer of much use to you. This condition should not be difficult for you. Second, I also understand the art of insect cultivation, and I still have some residual Gold Devouring Beetles, so I wish to try cultivating a Gold Devouring Bug King myself. Although it might be many years before I can gather enough Gold Devouring Beetles again, I still want to try. Therefore, I would like to request a complete secret technique for cultivating the Gold Devouring Bug King from Senior.”

The Ethereal Elder, who had been smiling, narrowed his pupils abruptly after hearing Han Li’s words, and then fell into contemplation.

“The first condition is easy enough,” the elder said, his brows slightly furrowed after a long moment. “While I can’t give you all the spirit milk I possess, providing four or five bottles is feasible. The second condition, however, is a bit troublesome. That Bug King cultivation secret technique is a unique secret of our Ephemeral race; not even all of our clan elders fully know it. To reveal it to an outsider now would be quite inappropriate.”

“It’s only a bit troublesome, but Senior can still do it, can’t you? Am I wrong?” Han Li said frankly with a slight smile. “Moreover, Senior should be very clear that compared to your Natal Spirit Insects or the remnants of the Profound Heaven treasures, my conditions are quite trivial.”

“Heh heh, young friend, there’s some truth to what you say,” the elder said with a sudden smile. “Alright, this old man can agree to your conditions. However, regarding the second condition, the Bug King cultivation secret technique, you must swear a poisonous oath before me, using your inner demons, never to reveal this secret technique to a second person. At your cultivation level, the restrictive power of inner demons is the most terrifying. If you violate it, there’s a high chance you could perish during your tribulation. If that is the case, this old man can agree to impart this secret technique.”

“No problem, that’s perfectly reasonable. I am willing to swear the oath!” Han Li was overjoyed. With a solemn expression, he indeed swore a vicious oath using his inner demons, one that even the Ethereal Elder could not fault.

“Good, then let’s begin the transaction,” the elder said, nodding in satisfaction. “Young friend, please take these bottles of spirit milk first.” With a flick of his sleeve, five small emerald bottles flashed into existence and flew directly towards Han Li.

Han Li’s expression hardened as he raised his hand and, with a grab, drew all five small bottles into his grasp.

He then opened each bottle cap and scanned them with his spiritual sense, a hint of joy appearing on his face.

“Senior, within this are five thousand mature Gold Devouring Beetles. Please inspect them,” Han Li said. He then took out a spirit beast ring from his sleeve and, with a flick of his wrist, tossed it over.

The elder swept his sleeve, receiving the ring into his hand.

He did not immediately open the spirit beast ring. Instead, he gently pressed several fingers onto the ring, closed his eyes, and directly infiltrated it with his spiritual sense.

A moment later, an excited expression appeared on the elder’s face.

“Excellent, they are indeed all fully mature Gold Devouring Beetles, and they are even better cultivated than I expected. Very good,” the elder said, exhaling lightly before opening his eyes. “Take this jade slip and guard it well. Never let a second person see this object.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a jade slip, already prepared, flew out from his sleeve. With a few flashes, it eerily arrived above Han Li’s head.

“I will keep that in mind, Senior,” Han Li replied respectfully, a flash of joy in his eyes. He promptly grabbed the jade slip and placed it on his forehead.

In an instant, dense ancient text and vivid, lifelike images from the jade slip immediately appeared in his mind.

After the Ethereal Elder put away the spirit beast ring filled with Gold Devouring Beetles, he completely relaxed. Instead, he watched Han Li with a peculiar smile that wasn’t quite a smile, seemingly growing more interested in him. After an unknown period, Han Li’s expression shifted, and he moved the jade slip from his forehead, retracting all his spiritual sense.

“How is it? Is there any problem with the secret technique this old man gave you?” the elder asked with a light chuckle.

“How could I dare think such a thing, Senior! The insect cultivation secret technique Senior provided is incredibly profound, and it has cleared up many of my previous doubts,” Han Li replied respectfully after putting the jade slip into his sleeve.

“Oh, to gain such insights just from a brief glance shows that young friend’s attainments in insect manipulation are indeed considerable,” the Ethereal Elder said with profound meaning. “However, this old man still advises you, young friend: although the Gold Devouring Bug King is incredibly powerful, cultivating one truly requires both immense fortune and diligent effort; neither can be lacking. It would be best for young friend to act within your capabilities.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Senior. I will consider my actions carefully,” Han Li said, his expression shifting.

“Mm, as long as you know,” the elder said, nodding impassively. “Since our transaction is concluded, you may leave the Black Wind Pavilion first. I will follow shortly. Don’t keep Daoist Jin Yan and the other fellow Daoist waiting.”

“Yes, I will take my leave now, Senior,” Han Li said. He naturally had no objections. After bowing again, he transformed into a streak of green light and flew out of the hall, vanishing into the black mist outside in the blink of an eye.

“Heh heh, the Gold Devouring Bug King! A mere Integration stage cultivator actually dares to think about such a thing,” the elder sneered and muttered to himself as soon as Han Li’s light vanished. “If it were truly so easy to cultivate an existence comparable to a true immortal, wouldn’t our Ephemeral race have long since dominated the entire Spirit Realm? Our race has possessed this insect cultivation technique for so many years, yet no one has truly succeeded. Those few bottles of spirit milk are a bit of a waste, though. However, with so many Gold Devouring Beetles, this old man’s refining of the Ten Thousand Spirit Umbrella for tribulation transcendence should have an eighty to ninety percent chance of success. Mature Gold Devouring Beetles are almost indestructible themselves, so a Ten Thousand Spirit Umbrella refined from them should also be invulnerable. I’ve indeed gained a bit more confidence in transcending that ascension tribulation.”

Then, the Ethereal Elder flipped his hand, and the spirit beast ring containing the Gold Devouring Beetles reappeared. The elder immediately formed a hand seal with one hand and lightly pointed at the ring.

Suddenly, a spiritual light flashed, and a black mist surged from his fingertip. After enveloping the ring, the entire spirit beast ring transformed into a piece of black profound ice, radiating an astonishing cold aura.

Two “snap, snap” sounds echoed!

With a flash of his other palm, the elder instantly affixed several shimmering blue talismans onto the profound ice. Only then did his expression relax as he put the profound ice away again.

Half an hour later, two dazzling rainbows, one golden and one green, flew out from within the island’s white light barrier. After circling once, they identified a direction and soared through the air.

Within the streaks of light were naturally Han Li and Qing Yuanzi.

After Han Li and the Ethereal Elder emerged from the Black Wind Pavilion one after another, perhaps due to an unspoken understanding, neither Marquis Jintao nor Qing Yuanzi inquired about any details of the transaction between Han Li and the Ethereal Elder.

After chatting about other matters and sampling the excellent spirit wine brewed by Marquis Jin Yan, the group bid farewell and departed.

Along the way, the two did not converse much and flew directly towards Qing Yuanzi’s cave abode.

More than ten days later, Han Li finally saw the somewhat familiar towering giant peak in the distance.

At this moment, Qing Yuanzi’s escape light suddenly paused and stopped. Han Li, startled, naturally stopped in place as well.

“Young friend Han,” Qing Yuanzi suddenly said to Han Li in a calm tone, “you should have obtained what you wanted from this trip, and even gained some additional benefits. This old man has now repaid your favor. Therefore, after we return, this old man will not keep you here for long. Instead, I plan to immediately seal the mountain and concentrate on preparing for my next great heavenly tribulation. Yao’er can only assist me during my tribulation if her magic power also advances to the Integration stage. Thus, this old man intends to enter secluded cultivation with her. The pills for her breakthrough have already been fully prepared for her by the big brother; unless she can successfully advance to the Integration stage, this old man will not easily allow her to leave the mountain. Young friend Han, do you understand my meaning?”