Chapter 1897: Deep Sea Shadow

## Volume 10: The Demon Realm War

The birth of a Bug King primarily relies on the mutual devouring among the insects themselves. This naturally left Han Li feeling somewhat disheartened. Unable to find a suitable method immediately, he could only continuously temper and stimulate these dozen or so spirit insects using various methods for the time being. While this approach wouldn't make them devour each other instantly, it could gradually enhance their power, increasing the possibility of cultivating a Bug King in the future. Furthermore, even without a Bug King for now, these dozen purple-patterned beetles could be easily controlled with spiritual sense. This was far more practical than tens of thousands of Gold-Devouring Beetles, providing him with an additional trump card in combat.

Over these two hundred years, Han Li had also used up more than half of the Styx Spirit Milk, which brought about some inexplicable, subtle changes to his physique. The most apparent change was that his rate of converting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth during cultivation had increased by at least thirty percent compared to before. One should not underestimate this mere thirty percent increase in conversion rate, as it meant he could save nearly one-third of his cultivation time compared to previously. Not to mention, Qing Yuanzi had sworn that a body purified with the Styx Spirit Milk would be immensely beneficial for breaking through the Body Integration bottleneck. Otherwise, why would the Four Great Demon Kings of the Abyssal Lands have risked great danger to venture deep into the Styx River region, snatching the spirit milk from the jaws of peril?

With this astonishing transformation, coupled with Han Li's continuous consumption of various pills to enhance his magical power during this period, his magical power surged at an incredible rate. He was now nearly at the perfected stage of the late-middle Body Integration, and with just over ten more years, he could begin attempting to break through the late-stage bottleneck.

As these thoughts lingered in his mind, Han Li's main body let out a soft sigh, placed his hands on his thighs, and was about to close his eyes to resume cultivation. Just then, a flash of white spiritual light appeared at the secret chamber's door, followed by a ripple of translucent undulations spreading outwards. Upon seeing this, Han Li's main body was momentarily startled. After a few thoughts, he suddenly flicked a sleeve towards the door. With a soft whoosh, the spiritual light on the door instantly split into two, opening it. A fiery orb flashed and darted in from outside the door, appearing mysteriously in Han Li's hand with a single flicker. Han Li's eyes scanned the fiery orb, and his spiritual sense immediately penetrated it. A moment later, his expression drastically changed. With a bang, he clenched his fingers, crushing the fiery orb. Illuminated by the red light, Han Li's face was extremely grim.

"The Demon Mark has appeared so early! It seems I must go out," he muttered in a voice barely audible. A burst of spiritual light suddenly emanated from his body. The other two "Han Lis" saw this and immediately moved, their featureless forms appearing like phantoms as they merged into his main body. After two muffled thuds, the three became one! Han Li's aura surged dramatically before abruptly receding, and he stood up with a shake of his sleeve. With a single gesture, the large green cauldron before him spun rapidly, shrinking to the size of a fist. With a flash of green light, Han Li tucked it into his long sleeve. Then, Han Li took a step, strangely traversing a distance of several dozen feet to appear at the door. With a slight shift of his shoulder, he flashed and vanished into the doorway, leaving no trace.

Beneath a towering peak deep within a mountain range in the Savage World, a white-robed youth stood with his hands behind his back, confronting three massive ancient savage beasts. One of the ancient beasts was a colossal hundred-zhang-tall two-headed giant with a ferocious and hideous appearance, messy yellow hair, and a dark, club-like weapon in one hand. The other two ancient beasts were two crimson giant pythons, one large and one small. The larger one was over three hundred zhang long, while the smaller one was about seventy to eighty zhang long. Both spewed red mist from their mouths, appearing extremely venomous. All three ancient beasts stared intently at the comparatively tiny youth opposite them, seemingly filled with apprehension.

"Heh heh, I already gave you a small warning a couple of days ago, telling all powerful creatures here to leave obediently. The others wisely departed, but only you three are still lingering. Do you truly believe that just because you're gathered together, you can contend with me? You're truly courting death! In that case, don't even think about leaving; just obediently hand over your core crystals and essence blends!" The white-robed youth, whose face was inscribed with strange gold and silver patterns, swept his gaze over the three giant beasts and spoke with chilling words.

The three ancient beasts seemed to possess some intelligence. Upon hearing this, the two-headed giant ground its fangs, slammed a massive fist against its chest, and let out a furious roar. The other two crimson pythons also flashed cold light in their eyes, their purplish-red forked tongues flicking rapidly from their mouths, accompanied by loud hissing sounds. Seeing this, the white-robed youth's lips curled into a cold smile. He formed a hand seal with one hand, and his body suddenly rolled onto the ground. With a bang, a strangely cold white mist dispersed, instantly expanding to several acres in size. Subsequently, translucent egg-sized snowflakes appeared in the nearby void, glittering with dazzling light under the sunlight.

At this moment, a strange sharp shriek suddenly erupted from within the white mist. As the cold air violently churned, a pure white centipede, its body shimmering like an ice sculpture, burst forth. This centipede had six wings on its back and blood-red eyes. When it first emerged, it was only seven or eight zhang long, but with a flicker, amidst its shriek, it transformed into a massive hundred-zhang creature. Without hesitation, it opened its mouth wide, and a misty white cold flame immediately spewed forth, forming a vast white sea of frost that surged towards the three giant beasts. The three beasts were startled by this sight, clearly aware of the terrifying nature of the cold energy. They all, without prior agreement, used their respective methods to resist it! The two-headed giant immediately gripped the black club in both hands and violently swung it several times in the air before it. After a few explosive roars, a hurricane formed out of thin air, directly confronting the distant cold energy. The two red pythons, however, opened their mouths wide and spewed forth large quantities of red mist, transforming into surging flames that meticulously protected themselves.

But after the misty white sea of frost swept through, both the hurricane and the flames were, to their great surprise, extinguished upon contact. The three giant beasts, without even time to make a second move, were instantly frozen into ice sculptures. The massive centipede merely circled once above the three giant beasts. Instantly, with a shake of its six wings, six beams of white light shot out. These lights circled the three ice sculptures in pairs, like lightning, for several turns, followed by thunderous rumbling sounds. The three ice sculptures then collapsed into piles of ice fragments. With a flash of light, the essence blends of the three giant beasts appeared from within and frantically tried to flee afar. But the six-winged centipede opened its mouth again, taking a deep, head-shaking, tail-wagging breath downwards. An invisible force immediately enveloped the void below. The remnants of the giant beasts encased in ice fragments and the three essence blends were all swept up and swallowed by the massive centipede. With a flash of white light, the six-winged centipede vanished into thin air, and the white-robed youth reappeared in its place. He coldly scanned the area below, and after confirming nothing was left behind, he shifted his gaze to the massive mountain peak beside him, a hint of fervent excitement appearing on his face. With a movement of his body, the youth immediately transformed into a white rainbow and shot forth. After a few flashes, he vanished into the mountainside of the towering peak, disappearing from sight.

A short while later, in a natural cave countless feet below the towering peak, the white-robed youth stared at a rough, purplish-red stone wall within the cave, his face filled with excitement. "Haha, a Purple Yin mineral vein! I've actually found such a rare mineral vein. It seems my True Spirit body should reach completion even earlier than expected." As soon as he finished speaking, he no longer hesitated, rolling on the ground and once again manifesting his true centipede form. Although this time it was only a few zhang in size, it spewed a luminous mist from its mouth, which enveloped the entire stone wall. Then, as the luminous mist flickered, the purplish-red stone wall slowly weathered away and disappeared, revealing a dark, gaping hole. With a movement, the six-winged centipede immediately transformed into a streak of white light and plunged into it. Soon after, rumbling sounds echoed from within the cave!

In a secret chamber of a deep-sea palace, a giant cocoon, suspended and enveloped by countless blood-red threads, continuously pulsed. Suddenly, countless blood-colored runes appeared on its surface, and it began to expand at an astonishing speed. In almost a single breath, the originally vast secret chamber was completely filled by the expanding cocoon. Then, a vaguely visible dark shadow within the cocoon moved slightly. Immediately, after a series of expansions and contractions, the cocoon burst open. After an earth-shattering roar, a naked youth, sitting cross-legged, suddenly appeared in the void of the secret chamber.

This youth's face was as pale as jade and exceptionally handsome. On the front and back of his body, a brilliant golden lotus pattern was inscribed. This lotus was incredibly lifelike, several feet in size, and almost covered various parts of the youth's body. Yet, a single glance at it caused a feeling of dizziness, making it appear extremely bizarre! The naked youth's eyes were tightly closed, his expression serene, as he floated motionless in the void. After about the time it takes to eat a meal, a faint golden light flickered across the youth's body, and the inscribed golden lotus patterns twisted and shimmered as if coming alive. The youth slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were distinctly black and white, but the depths of his pupils were exceptionally clear, as if containing a mysterious power. With two soft "pfft" sounds, two flames suddenly burst forth in the youth's eyes. One gold and one silver, they flickered, growing larger and smaller as the youth's head turned. Suddenly, the youth's gaze settled on an object in a corner of the secret chamber and remained fixed, his expression immediately becoming extremely strange. That object was a crystal ball placed on a low, ornate table. It was fist-sized, but its surface glowed with a faint spiritual light, reflecting a clear image. In the image, a brilliant silver lotus pod floated there, appearing remarkably lifelike, as if real.