Chapter 2143: Swallowing

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume 7: Roaming the Human Realm

After the giant waves receded, the entire pond astonishingly split in two from the middle. The light silver pond water was forcefully cleaved into two halves, revealing the pale white bottom of the pond.

The power of Han Li's single finger strike just now was unfathomably profound!

The next moment, with a "boom"!

The water from both sides surged towards the center, covering the pond bottom once again.

"Good, my magic power has increased considerably. But most importantly, my spiritual sense and Nascent Soul have both grown by at least a third. As for the other benefits, I'll have to experience them gradually later," Han Li murmured to himself with a smile after sweeping his body with his spiritual sense, then suddenly let out a long howl.

In an instant, the surrounding restrictions fluctuated. A golden shadow and a green light shot over from two directions, and after a flicker, stood steadily before Han Li.

It was precisely the Leopard-Kirin Beast and the Lingzhi Immortal Avatar!

"I have completed my marrow cleansing and meridian transformation. You two should go down and soak for a while too," Han Li commanded without hesitation.

Hearing this, the Leopard-Kirin Beast was naturally overjoyed. After uttering a human-like thanks, it immediately, along with the avatar controlled by the Second Demonic Nascent Soul, plunged into the spirit pond with a splash.

Next, Han Li released Qu'er, the incarnation of the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, and over ten Gold Devouring Beetle Kings, allowing them to also enter the spirit pond.

Finally, he raised a hand and released the spirit beast bracelet filled with mature Gold Devouring Beetles.

After activating a spell, tens of thousands of spirit insects surged out. Under Han Li's low command, they did not fly towards the Spirit Cleansing Pond. Instead, they transformed into over a dozen swarms of insects, rushing towards the giant trees and vegetation outside the restriction.

Immediately, wherever the insect swarms passed, large areas of spirit herbs and spirit trees were completely devoured. Even some shallowly hidden spirit stones and spirit ore on the surface vanished one after another, revealing fresh, slightly earthy-smelling soil beneath, as if a layer of the ground had been scraped away.

The previously lush green landscape nearby instantly became barren, and this desolate scenery rapidly spread outwards at a visible speed.

Han Li smiled slightly at this sight.

He had already swept this space with his spiritual sense earlier and found no rare medicinal herbs. He figured either this space originally lacked such spirit medicines, or they had been harvested by foreign powerful beings who had visited before.

Even so, given the rich spiritual energy in this space, even ordinary plants, due to their age, possessed a value far exceeding the rare spirit herbs and medicines found outside. Though he owned the mysterious small bottle and didn't value these items highly, it would truly be a waste to abandon such a large quantity of items containing vast amounts of pure spiritual energy. It was naturally better to let the Gold Devouring Beetles consume them all to slightly enhance their power.

With his current spiritual sense, he could now normally command the entire swarm for some time, so he wasn't worried about excessive consumption for a while.

Moreover, this space was originally only about a hundred li wide. With the mature Gold Devouring Beetles' devouring capability, it wouldn't take long for them to consume everything.

During this time, Han Li naturally had no intention of waiting idly. With a solemn expression, he turned his hand, and a small purplish-gold bottle, adorned with a restrictive talisman, appeared in his palm.

He lifted the small bottle, opened his mouth, and gently blew on it. The talisman silently detached and fell.

Han Li then flicked his wrist; the small bottle immediately inverted, its mouth opening, and a clear cry emanated from within.

A flash of golden light!

A fist-sized golden firebird actually flew out from it, circled once, and then spread its wings to soar into the high sky.

Han Li was clearly prepared. He spread the five fingers of his palm and grabbed at the empty space. Immediately, an invisible force surged out, engulfing the golden firebird.

Although the firebird desperately flapped its wings, after being suddenly squeezed by the immense force, its light retracted, transforming into a thumb-sized, gleaming golden pill that quietly floated in the air.

This golden pill, its surface covered with intricate, dense pill patterns, was precisely the "Void Spirit Pill."

Seeing this, Han Li unhesitatingly slightly bent the joints of his five fingers!

With a "whoosh," the Void Spirit Pill shot towards him as a golden light and landed steadily in his palm.

Han Li gazed at the pill, a hint of contemplation appearing on his face.

The jade slip he obtained from Baohua did not mention when the Void Spirit Pill should be taken after marrow cleansing.

However, according to common sense, such an antidote-like pill would naturally be more effective the sooner it was consumed.

Doing so might prevent him from fully refining all the effects of the pill in a short time, but taking it early was still more beneficial than detrimental.

Pondering this, Han Li no longer hesitated, tossed the pill into his mouth, and swallowed it directly.

The medicinal power instantly dispersed, and a warm current slowly flowed through his limbs and various meridians.

Although this medicinal power was far less potent than that of the Purifying Spirit Lotus petals, after the warm current diffused, it gave Han Li an exceptionally comfortable sensation throughout his body.

Han Li's heart was filled with joy, knowing that the Void Spirit Pill was indeed greatly beneficial to his current condition. He immediately sat cross-legged by the pond and began to refine the pill's power little by little.

After an unknown period, the dozen-odd swarms of Gold Devouring Beetles that had flown out finally buzzed back, converging into a single golden insect cloud above the pond.

Han Li's eyelids twitched, and he opened his eyes, scanning his surroundings. The corner of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a slight smile.

By this time, the vast space had completely transformed into a desolate land. Looking around, as far as the eye could see, everything was a yellowish-brown, like a desert.

However, the spiritual energy in the air remained extremely pure and dense. In just a few hundred years, everything here would recover its former lush greenness.

But the powerful spiritual energy contained within the vegetation would not be regenerated for tens of thousands of years.

As for the Gold Devouring Beetle swarm, which had just devoured so many items imbued with powerful spiritual energy, the golden light on their bodies was subtly brighter than before.

This was still before the spirit insects had fully refined everything they had just consumed; it was conceivable that the benefits they would gain later would be far more than what was currently apparent.

Han Li had no intention of recalling the insect swarm just yet. Instead, after calculating how long his spiritual sense could last and how much time he could still remain in this space, he immediately let out a low whistle.

Instantly, the golden insect cloud descended towards the pond, and then submerged into it, vanishing from sight.

At this point, Han Li did not continue to refine the Void Spirit Pill. Instead, his gaze flickered slightly as he looked at the light silver water in the Spirit Cleansing Pond, seemingly contemplating something.

A moment later, Han Li suddenly raised his hand in a summoning gesture. A yellow light flashed in his hand, and a yellow gourd appeared.

Holding the gourd in his hand, Han Li gently shook it towards the light silver pond water.

Immediately, after a slight flicker, the gourd rapidly expanded in size, transforming into a massive object about a zhang (roughly 3.3 meters) tall.

Han Li tossed the gourd into the air, and at the same time, formed a hand seal with one hand, pointing a finger at it.

With a "poof"!

Immediately, a black-and-white mist sprayed out from the gourd and, swirling, reached the water's surface.

After the two-colored mist flashed wildly, a light silver water pillar was swept up and accurately drawn into the giant gourd.

He had suddenly gotten the idea to collect some of the pond water from this place. As for whether anyone had done the same thing before, only heaven knew.

Han Li stood in place with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed on the scene of the giant gourd drawing in the pond water, his face devoid of any expression.

After the time it takes to eat a meal, he suddenly flicked his sleeve towards the giant gourd. A green spell shot out, flashed, and vanished into the gourd.

Immediately, the giant gourd trembled, the black and white mist it had emitted vanished, and its size rapidly shrank, transforming back into its original miniature form in the blink of an eye.

With a single gesture, the shrunken gourd immediately landed steadily in his hand.

After Han Li swept his spiritual sense inside, his expression immediately darkened. He flipped his palm, and the mouth of the gourd inverted.

The next moment, a gurgling, transparent liquid flowed out from the gourd; it was just clear water with not a trace of spiritual energy.

A muscle twitched on Han Li's face, revealing a faint, wry smile.

This Spirit Cleansing Pond indeed held great mysteries. As soon as the extremely mysterious pond water left the pond, it immediately lost all its effectiveness.

Although he felt a great pity in his heart, he had a faint premonition, so he didn't appear overly disappointed.

Han Li immediately began to slowly walk around the edge of the pond, seemingly wanting to study something from it.

On some parts of the pond's walls exposed above the water, there were naturally formed patterns, resembling runes or perhaps mysterious ancient characters.

Of course, he was secretly calculating the time he had spent here, intending to leave this space immediately when the three-day limit was almost up.

Although he didn't know if Baohua and the others' claim of a three-day limit was true, he had no desire to personally verify it.

Time passed little by little. The aura of the Leopard-Kirin Beast and the others in the pond water appeared to fluctuate between weak and strong, clearly indicating they had all gained significantly. Due to time constraints, they couldn't undergo a complete marrow cleansing and meridian transformation like Han Li, but it was still a heaven-sent opportunity, rarely encountered in ten thousand years.

After a short half-day, Han Li, who had been observing with his head lowered by the pond, stirred and raised his head, muttering with a hint of regret:

"It's time to go! What a pity. If I could truly stay here for a month or so, I might really be able to comprehend something."

As soon as his voice fell, a clear cry, like a dragon's roar, emanated from his mouth.

The previously still pond immediately churned with waves. Several shadows flew out from it, followed by dense Gold Devouring Beetles that shot out like raindrops, instantly reforming into a golden insect cloud.

Han Li raised his hand and waved at the Leopard-Kirin Beast and the others, then flicked his wide sleeve again.

Immediately, the little beast, Qu'er, the avatar, and the others all rapidly shrank in size and vanished into his wide sleeve with a flash.

However, when his gaze swept up and down at the golden insect cloud in the air and the still full, light silver pond water, his eyebrow suddenly twitched. At the same time, he urged the insect cloud with his spiritual sense.

The golden insect cloud immediately buzzed, and astonishingly, it descended into the pond water once more, vanishing beneath the surface in the blink of an eye.

The dozen-odd candidate Beetle Kings were clearly among them.

Han Li's expression was unreadable, his gaze fixed on the pond water without moving.

As a result, a surprising scene appeared a moment later!